HC: Pacifist | Ch. 308 - Grape Vine Network

Someone has bought a set of [Dwarven Vanguard] armor in Crownia.

+200,000 gold.

Someone has bought a set of [Dwarven Vanguard] armor in Hadestown.

+350,000 gold.

Roth watched the money roll in as, throughout the world of AstroTerra, different customers purchased the armor he and his friends had painstakingly created. The total profit made from sales to players surpassed the 600 million gold mark, but they were just getting started.

Lin bit Roth’s hand gently, reminding him to keep petting his head. “Sorry, Lin. Is that better?”

The kitten purred contentedly in response. It had taken bribes and apologies to get his kitten to forgive him, but not even the stubborn Lin could resist him after he activated [Fox Form].

A soldier stepped through the door, his red cape billowing behind him. His firm, decisive steps echoed in the room. “The general is ready to see you,” he announced.

“Thank you, captain.”

Roth stood up and followed after the captain into a room. Generals' office spaces seldom had windows. They favored staying closest to the heart of their fortresses so they could feel its beating pulse over having a good view.

The lack of furniture and the cold stone walls made Roth think of prison. However, book-lined shelves, the practical-looking desk, and the mannequin wearing an imposing, spotless armor helped him dispel that impression.

The garrison general in Nimbus City had her salt-and-pepper hair tied in a ponytail. She studied Roth from across her desk with a stony expression. Roth’s orange beard, pointy ears, and elongated nose with springing whiskers didn’t make her cringe. Her brows moved ever so slightly once she spotted Lin.

“Leave us, captain.”

“Yes, sir!”

Roth walked over to the general and stretched his hand. “Thank you for seeing me without an appointment, general.”

She stood up. She was slightly taller than Mel, but even though she was much shorter than Roth, that didn’t make her less imposing. This NPC was no joke. “It’s not every day I receive the visit of such an illustrious guest. Please have a seat.”

Roth did, noting that the chair, like the rest of the office, prized practicality and simplicity over comfort.

“Enlighten me. What business could a peacemonger possibly have with a general?”

Roth spouted the speech he’d been using in every garrison he visited. “Although I hate war, I also believe that life is precious. I and the dwarves have made these.”

Hearing the word ‘dwarves,’ the general’s eyes widened, her most expressive response in their meeting so far. One by one, Roth placed pieces of [Dwarf Vanguard Set] on the table. The general stood up as she inspected each piece of equipment. “Awnium and magnitidium. As expected of dwarven craftsmanship.”

Roth left the chest plate and the shield for last. Once he landed them on the table, she could see little else but the brilliant light patterns on the armor.

“These... patterns. I’ve read about them. I thought these were lost to us,” she said as her eyes felt the transparent seal keeping the light trap in a vacuum.

“Would you like to place an order?” Roth suggested.

The general picked up the shield and studied its pattern. “It’s good armor. It’s impressive what the dwarves were able to do with these softer metals. Not good enough for a ranked-officer, though. Our armorsmiths can do better than this.”

“Of course, they can. Provided they have access to undestroium or invicium. You and I know, however, that those metals are too expensive. Besides, you only have what? One thousand ranked officers in this garrison? What about your 20,000 other soldiers? They need armor, too. This is better than regular tempered steel.”

Even though the general wasn’t impressed with Roth’s [Fox Form], he could almost feel his overwhelming charisma arm wrestling with the general’s programmed stubbornness.

“What’s the price?” she finally said after a few silent moments.

“Depends on the size of the order.”

The general grinned, her presence similar to a tiger who had just met someone to fight. “Why don’t you make me an offer, martyr?”

“The price of 50 sets with light traps is 15 million. Two hundred sets without light traps would be 40 million. What do you say if we close the deal for 54 mil?”

“I thought you would make me an offer for the whole garrison.”

“You and I know you can’t afford to clad all your soldiers in these. There’s not enough money in your budget for it. However, you probably will want to equip one platoon, a sign of favor for a promising lieutenant. Am I wrong?”

The general sneered. “45 million gold.”

“I’m sorry, general. That’s too low. I’ve offered the same deal with other garrisons. Let me assure you that I never settled with such a low offer.”

“48 mil?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Why don’t we meet halfway,” offered Roth. “52 mil.”

The general stood up, her fists clenched. “50 mil.”

“Done!”

You’ve negotiated with the general of Nimbus City and closed a massive trade deal.

+1 charisma.

+100,000 broker XP.

Roth watched as all the sets he’d brought over with him disappeared from his inventory. He stood up and performed a slight bow. “General.”

“Martyr.”

The general returned to her paperwork as if she had just spent 50 coppers instead of 50 million gold. As for Roth, he walked himself out of the fortress. As he left the center of the fortress and the ranks and level of soldiers dropped, the awe in the eyes of the soldiers grew. Some even stopped to salute him as if he were the general of the fortress. 

Roth ignored them. It was the combined effect of his 1000+ charisma, his different skills and, above all, his latest title.

Friend of Soldiers (Rare)

Description: Soldiers can feel your experience and inner strength, and they have grown to respect you.

Effects:

The military respects you more.

Conditions to unlock: [Friend of Soldiers].

To reach friend status with soldiers from five different different garrisons. {complete}

Roth checked how many armor sets were left to sell. Half of the original 15,000 sets they had made were gone. He had visited over 20 garrisons and negotiated with several generals. He wasn’t done yet. There was one garrison in every mid-tier city, ten cities per region, and seven world regions with garrisoned cities. He had 50 other generals to negotiate with and sell the rest of his stock.

If everything went according to plan, they were looking at an overhaul of 3 billion gold. Hopefully, it would be enough to enact the rest of the plan. It would all depend on how Lin and he did after returning to Sapphira.

Roth checked his notes and calendars. The Molympic Games would begin in a couple of days, and there would be a Table meeting in five days. He wanted to attend both. Hopefully, between these events and using the item Zin had purchased from him, he would have enough resources to break into the top 10 of the game and finally break out from his rigged capsule.

Roth left the garrison of Nimbus City and ran over to the teleportation gate. 

*

＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersWilson.＞＞

＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersGary.＞＞

Grape Vine Network #134 activated.

Players from the Gallant Knights guild have hunted Jade Bear.

＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersXana.＞＞

Grape Vine Network #22 activated.

Someone has assassinated Captain Morris in the Kili Fortress.

＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersShirley.＞＞

Zin read the memos one at a time. Most were things he already knew. Pegasus was having a more challenging time keeping a hold on the Dark Abyss. All top 10 guilds had reached the Core. There was a civil war in Sapphira, a conflict between tribes in Aqua, and one of the volcanoes in the Fire Pits had erupted. The Yuppies had placed a spy on the Krakens, and there was a good chance that the Phoenixes would deal a massive blow to the Basilisks soon.

The world of AstroTerra was a vibrant web where every thread was connected. By mixing in-game skills and his network of spies, he could keep tabs on each movement on the web. Even if it was impossible to know everything, Zin could extrapolate the most crucial information from what he knew.

His eyes lingered on a memo and one of the messages.

Grape Vine Network#3 activated.

Duke Dandelion has closed a 50 million deal with an unknown party.

The plant Zin had planted by the Duke’s window had picked up on a significant transaction. Zin compared this information with everything else he knew. He grabbed the fire poker and stirred the fireplace in front of him.

“I was a few minutes too late,” he told himself.

“That’s unlike you, Mr. Zin. I had you for someone punctual,” Eron commented as he turned the page on another one of his novels.

Zin ignored the broker. “I can’t believe he came into my city, negotiated with Duke Dandelion himself, and left before I got wind of it. Whoever this player is, he’s not afraid to use the teleportation gate. They must have incredible financial resources. No wonder, too,” Zin mumbled to himself. 

Whoever had flooded the market with this new set was making a fortune. It represented no danger to him; however, he liked to keep tabs on all major players in the game. 

He reread one of the messages he had received.

UsurpersGary: “Mr. Zin, despite my best efforts, I can’t figure out what Loki is up to. He seems to have no interest in the Core, and while he keeps tabs on the situation in the Dark Abyss, his focus is elsewhere. I’ll keep investigating.”

Loki’s old pawn, Gary, was far from being the best, but he was a competent and motivated spy. If he couldn’t unearth anything about Loki’s current plans, it was because Loki was keeping this one close to his chest. Whatever he was planning, it was important to him. But what could it be? Why wasn’t he focusing on the Core like everybody else?

Zin heard Eron flipping another page of his book. “How is your mission going?” the broker from the Usurpers asked.

With his back toward Eron, Zin kept stirring the fireplace. “I’ve had a breakthrough. I found a weakness I can exploit.”

Zin heard Eron closing the book. “Really? I thought the old man had no weaknesses.”

“The game might have given him his youth back. But there are things in the game that not even that monster can compete with.”

“Like what?”

Zin looked into the fire and pondered whether to share what he knew with Eron. The broker was his closest thing to a friend. He was one of the only people alive who knew his story—certainly the only one who had heard his story from him. 

The broker had had many opportunities to betray him. Should he open up? Should he tell him about the cat? Or about the weekly heist? But what if he turned out to be just another traitor? In the worst-case scenario, Eron might ruin his plan if he leaked that information to his old commander. 

Zin didn’t believe in trust anymore. No. Not after what the old man did to him. After a few silent moments, Zin lied. “There’s someone close to him I can use. How much can you spare after the last run?”

Zin and Eron’s eyes met. The broker looked down and shook his head. He had seen through Zin’s misdirection. “800 mil.”

“And here I thought some of your routes were having issues. How were you able to increase your profit again?”

“I might have lost a couple of customers, but in the meantime, I’ve expanded my clientele.”

“Well done, Eron.”

“Don’t forget about the games tomorrow,” Eron warned him.

“I would never. It’s an important part of the plan. I’ll be there.”

“Do you need a ride?” Eron asked.

“No, thank you.”

Eron grabbed his heavy backpack and left the room toward the roof of the windy castle. There, he would summon his giant pelican and go off on whatever errands he had left before the big day. 

Zin cracked his neck and headed out the door. He would head out, too. Before going to the border between the Rock Canyon and Green Country, he had to stop at the Core. He had to ensure he found out what time the weekly heist was.

*****

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! I realize that it's been a long time since I last mentioned Zin, Eron, Jaw-Long, and Oli. I plan to write a filler chapter soon that will go earlier in the timeline to help us keep track of these side characters. I will let you know when I write it.

***** 

Ch. 307 - The First Customers

INDEX