HC: Pacifist | Ch. 220 - Trapping Light

The image of a rustic, warm workshop dissolved into a world of dingy darkness and flashing pain. Roth was back at Oli's hideout, and his face and arms were on fire. Even though his perception should have allowed him to see well enough in Oli’s hideout, he couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t breathe either.

“Us goin un?” he asked, but the words came out muffled.

“Wake up, martyr! WAKE UP! Nyah!”

Roth pulled at the cat, who was digging his claws into his skin and scratching his face. “Ouch! Argh. Gut uf.” He finally managed to pry Oli off his face. “Get off, Oli! I’m back. Please stop!”

“Oh? You’re finally paying attention. It’s OK, disciple. You can stop.”

Roth glanced over at his arm, where his little kitten had been busily leaving bite marks, which now scarred his whole arm. “Lin? Why?”

Oli answered before Lin could. “You see, my disciple? This strategy is good for capturing your pet’s attention.”

“Meow, nyah, trill.”

“Hmmm. It’s not the first time he spaces out, uh? Here’s a little hint. Look at the marks you left. Can you see your mistake?”

“Meow?”

“No! There isn’t any blood in it! You have to bite harder. Look at his face. See how my scratches pierced the skin. That’s how you want to do it.”

“Nyah! Meow!”

Roth clicked his tongue at the realization that Oli was turning his naive, cute kitten into a demon. His arms were hurting, but his face felt like it was melting. Unfortunately, the Ogres hadn’t been able to turn off the pain settings on his pod, and he couldn’t do anything about the pain.

As the cats stopped attacking him and his hp regeneration kicked in, the pain receded, and the little bite marks Lin had left on him started closing. Turns out that nature affinity’s enhanced hp regeneration did have its uses. Oli’s scratches would take longer to go away, though.

“Why did you have to do that?!” protested Roth. “Lin, this is a bad lesson. Don’t listen to this crazy cat. That’s no way of treating your friends!”

“That’s what you get for ignoring us. Lin, listen to the first commandment of the cats: You shan’t be ignored!”

Lin took in the words of wisdom and seemed to get lost in thought, pondering the deep truths hidden in the commandment.

“Why did you space out, martyr? What did you see?” Oli demanded.

“Calm down, Oli. I was talking to your master.”

Oli's lion-like fury melted away. His pupils dilated, and his ears drooped. “Master? You were talking to Master?” He asked, frailty in his voice.

“Yes, I was. I saw him playing with you.”

“It can’t be. How can you have spoken to Master? He’s been dead for centuries.”

“I’m telling you. I saw him operating some sort of machine in his workshop. There was a laser and a tall machine that sealed engravings in a vacuum. He was carving symbols on black bricks. We talked briefly, and he invited me to become a light trapper.”

“How? N-No. It can't be,” mumbled Oli. “Master is gone. Even if you had talked to him, he never found a worthy disciple. Why would he trust you?”

Roth shrugged. “I know. It’s hard to believe. However, he did speak to me and told me to ask you for his stuff. Something about his legacy.”

Oli’s hair stood up, and he drew his sharp claws again. “The gall you have, human. This is all a ruse, isn’t it? You’ve been planning to take away the mementos of my late master!”

“No, Oli. Of course not.”

“Over my dead body,” he roared. The room became darker, disappearing in a thick gloom emanating from Oli. “I cannot see his painting. I cannot see his face. All I have is the scent he left on his tools. Master's tools were his most precious treasure. How could I give them to you, human? Even though you're my disciple's pet, I can't just part with my master's legacy. I won't. It’s MINE!”

Oli’s display of fury took Roth aback. He had suspected that Oli wouldn't be happy to part with the souvenirs of his master, but he never expected this much resistance.

“Oliver,” he said calmly. The cat froze, and all the darkness disappeared.

“What? How…?”

“Your master told me that he found you under an olive tree. That's why he called you Oliver. He trusted that you would give me his legacy after hearing this.” The cat's brave front collapsed, making him look as small as little Lin. He wrapped his tail around himself, his shoulders slumped.

“Master... meow...” The sound was so sad and painful that Roth couldn’t help but walk toward the cat.

“Oh, Oli,” spoke Roth reassuringly. “I know you miss your master. He misses you, too. I could see how happy you two were when you played together. And you're right, even though he was so busy, he took the time to play with you, didn't he?”

Oli nodded sadly. He had gone from being a towering giant to a fragile child. Roth felt the urge to reach out toward him, and remembering the cat’s reaction the last time he tried to pet him, he stopped. Seeing how sad the cat was, he couldn't help but reach out again and place his hand on Oli’s head. “It's okay. It's okay.” He said while the cat whimpered.

You’ve shown affection to a sad cat.

+2 reputation with Oli.

“I promise you that whenever you want to see your master’s stuff, you just have to come see me, and I'll share it with you. Your master wanted light trapping to continue. Isn't that the best way of preserving your master's memory? By honoring his work?”

“Okay, martyr. I cannot disobey Master,” he said, looking toward the painting longingly as if he could see the picture of the two of them together. Oli was slowly coming to terms with parting with his master's old tools. “What about that?” he said, turning to Lin, his voice sounding a little perkier. “Who would have known, disciple? My master became your pet's master. We do have a lot in common, don't we?

“Chirp, nyah.”

Progress in learning Felinian: 15%.

Roth couldn't help but laugh at the notion that he was Lin's pet. Whatever. Let him believe it.

“Okay, Martyr. I'll now pass on my master's legacy to you.” Oli moved toward the bookshelf and pulled a few volumes, causing a vault to emerge from the ground. He moved the dials on the vault’s door a few times, and the lid clicked. He started pulling out items from the safe.

“Here is the manual,” said Oli as he handed over a leather tome. There were so many notes and loose pieces of paper inside the book that it seemed about to burst, but the book somehow stayed together.

“Thank you. I’ll treasure this.”

Light Trappers Manual (Unique)

A book containing the thoughts and insights of the late Master Bergelmir. It can guide a light trapper throughout his entire career.

Effects: Teaches the [Light Trapper] profession. Bound to Pax.

The second item was the same tube he had seen Bergelmir use in the cinematic earlier. It looked older and more used.

“This is Master's laser.”

Bergelmir's Laser (Legendary)

Description: A fundamental tool of any respectable light trapper. This laser can fit any gem.

Gem: [White Quartz]

Effects:

Used to carve and activate light traps;

It can use any gem.

Roth gulped. This pen-sized item was a legendary piece of equipment!

“Depending on the crystal you insert into it, the light changes. Inside the laser is a white quartz, the most basic crystal you can use. Rubies and other precious stones work much better, but Master would want it this way.”

Roth squinted, eyeing Oli suspiciously.

“Are you sure that's what your master wanted?” he tried. “Wouldn’t he prefer I get a proper ruby right from the start?”

“Of course not! He would want you to start from the bottom. Build some character!”

Was this cat looking out for his best interests, or was he unwilling to part with any of his precious gemstones? Roth couldn't know, but he supposed he could buy better gemstones later.

“Finally, here is a glass gun.”

Bergelmir’s Glass Gun (Rare)

A device used by light trappers to form beads of reflective glass.

Effects:

Requires sand and energy to work;

Creates a reflective bead of glass.

“The quality of the reflective glass depends on the sand you put in. You also need to feed energy to your gun,” Oli explained, referring to Roth's energy bar. “This will melt the sand and generate little pieces of reflective glass. The better the glass, the better the light trap.”

Roth accepted the second device without knowing what a light trap was or what it was used for. But he sure was glad to receive all this free stuff. He wasn't even sure where to begin if he had to find these tools alone. So he would take everything Oli gave him and read the manual. It looked rife with information.

“Finally, you will want a vacuum maker. Where was it?” Oli started pulling different objects from the vault and throwing them everywhere. There was a gemstone the size of a basketball that he threw so carelessly that it bumped into the armored mannequin, making the armor treasured by the rhinos fall with a bang like a bunch of kitchen pots.

“Aha! Here it is. This was something that Master kept from his early days as a light trapper. It’s a little broken, but it still works somewhat. I guess it's suitable for you, too.”

This cat…. He really is being cheap! thought Roth. He was only parting with the essential items that would allow him to start his career.

“Fine”, he said begrudgingly.

Vacuum maker (Common)

This machine applies an adhesive over an engraving and sucks the air out of it, creating a vacuum. This machine is broken and needs to be fixed to regain some of its functionalities.

Effects:

Can seal light traps level 10 or lower.

“That's it. The most precious,” Oli said, pointing toward the ledger now in Roth's hands, “is that ledger. It contains all of Master's insights. He wrote it with light. So, the more sensitive you become to light, the more information you will unlock.”

“Very well. Thank you.” Roth opened the manual.

Do you want to become a light trapper? [Y/N]

Roth was already a broker and an ecotailor. This would have been it for the average player, but he could have more professions thanks to his unique class. He still had three profession slots left to fill. He had no idea what a light trapper did, but to be guarded by one of the strongest NPCs in the game, it had to be something special

“Yes.”

Congratulations. You've become a [Light Trapper].

+10 dexterity;

+10 intelligence;

+10 light affinity.

The stats granted by gaining the profession were incredibly generous. They were far higher than what he had gained for becoming a broker and an ecotailor. Curious about what light trappers did, he opened the manual. The penmanship was simple but flawless. After seeing Bergelmir's work earlier, he could recognize his steady hand and imagine him writing this book, hunched over the desk where he worked.

“Dear protégé,

If Oli gave you this manual, that means I have seen potential in you. You are the one who will bring light trapping back to life. To understand this fine art, first, you must master light. What is light?

There is no simple way of explaining this to you. Light is the opposite of darkness. It's energy. It's particles. It's waves. Light is many things. As you understand each feature of this incredible form of energy, you can tap into its power.

As a trapper, you will create mazes: labyrinths of mirrors. Light will bounce off the walls of your trap indefinitely, distorting the space-time continuum and generating incredible phenomena. By setting a light trap in an object, you can enhance it and empower it.

Step one: Carve a pattern.

What I called a maze earlier is a pattern or a carving. It can be etched in metal, rock, sand, fibers, or anything where you can set mirrors at the proper angles. The angles must be just right so the photons bounce off the mirrors in an infinite loop. Precision and mastery of the glass gun are key here.

Step two: Vacuuming.

If air is in between the mirrors, light will gradually lose its strength, causing light to leak some of its energy over time. That’s the opposite of what you want. You want light to build up strength. Therefore all air has to be sucked from the inside of your trap so that there is nothing in between the mirrors. The more complex the pattern, the better your vacuum maker has to be.

Step three: Light imbuement.

Once you are satisfied with the trap and it is well isolated in a vacuum, you shoot a laser into it. The trap will have different properties depending on the wavelength and frequency of light.

Here is the simplest pattern you can make.”

Roth turned over the page and saw the illustration of the most basic light trap he could make.

Ch. 219 - Stealing for Dummies

INDEX

Ch. 221 - New Beginnings