HC: Pacifist | Ch. 212 - Tipping Point
Added 2024-02-02 15:49:05 +0000 UTCThe gears turned in ColdHand’s mind as he considered the options available. He had already sacrificed four rogues allocated to maintaining the barrier to increase the DPS. Maybe he just had to run the risk of calling in the last rogue from the barrier team, having Cerberus join the battle, and praying for a miracle.
“Lin!”
ColdHand looked toward Ticket Boy, terrified of whatever shenanigans he was up to now. He was a loose cannon who defied logic and turned the hunt upside down whenever he moved. So far, it had been for their benefit, but who knew what he would do next? The last thing he needed was Ticket Boy to turn the battlefield chaotic again.
“Lin!”
Who was Lin? He didn't recall having a Lin in his hunting party. Finally, ColdHand spotted who Ticket Boy was talking to: It was a cat. The creature was so small, and its fur blended so well with the gray background of the observatory that he would have missed it if Roth hadn’t called for it.
A cat? Wasn't that the pet born during the auction that Mel told him about? Mel had been so impressed with the invasion of different felines bursting through the auction house. ColdHand had regretted not going to the auction himself after hearing about how interesting the whole thing was.
Seeing Ticket Boy’s pet, he couldn’t help but think about Cooler. He was going to pout for days before he forgave him for the death. He had spent a whole week completing a quest in the ice mountains to obtain the polar bear cub. Since Cooler died, his skill's damage and energy regeneration had plummeted. More than most, ColdHand could appreciate how much of a difference having a powerful pet made.
Just how powerful was that pet? How would he compare to his late polar cub? Ticket Boy kept calling out for his cat, who seemed to ignore him, just as Ticket Boy completely ignored the battle around him.
“Come here, little kitty. I promise I’ll play with you to your heart’s content. I’ll get you a toy. Two toys. As many as you want.”
Roth goaded the little kitten to return to him. Just where had he gone off to? And hadn’t Mel told him he was born only three or four days ago? How had it grown so much in such a short time? ColdHand had Cooler for three months, and it only grew a little, but Ticket Boy’s kitten was already well-developed.
ColdHand pushed his considerations about the cat aside and focused on Loki. Knowing by now how the leader of the Pegasus guild lost his cool where Ticket Boy was concerned, he wasn’t surprised when he went berserk and tried attacking them left and right. The cat seemed to be hit by Loki’s attack, but it was just an afterimage. The feline dodged Loki’s attack brilliantly, only enraging him further. He set out to attack again.
That's when Ticket Boy did something completely unexpected. He joined the battlefield. Sprinting toward his pet, he shouted, activating a skill that shifted the air in the observatory and turned everything black and white.
Peace Decree!
Null!
Null!
Null!
Loki's attacks hit like dry thuds, not dealing one ounce of damage. ColdHand’s jaw dropped. What kind of grade did this man’s skill have to be effective on someone 50 levels higher than him? At the very least, it had to be epic, perhaps even of a legendary grade. The atmosphere of the observatory remained black and white.
It wasn’t only Loki’s attacks that were being denied. Everyone else’s were too.
Null!
Null!
Null!
Roth's skill canceled Ogre’s attacks and everyone else’s. They were all twenty levels above him, and he could stop them all from dealing damage. What kind of skill was this? This was unheard of.
One second. Three seconds. Five seconds. Eight seconds. The seconds kept ticking, and the skill’s effect persisted. ColdHand looked terrified at Loki’s hp, dreading that this would give Loki the chance to recover.
-21
-19
-16
-12
-14
Seeing that the stack of BlueFire’s burn effects and Kraken's poisons were still ticking and preventing Loki’s health bar from recovering, ColdHand sighed in relief.
Loki charged toward the Ticket Boy, but all the damage was still being canceled. This skill was just what they needed to change the outcome of this battle. The time it was buying could probably help them refresh their cooldowns and turn the tide.
“Jaw-Long, protect Roth. We need him alive. This skill is key to this battle.”
Jaw-Long appeared between Roth and Loki and brought his hands together, causing a thunderous sound.
Space Clap!
A series of shockwaves pushed Loki back, step by step, creating a small distance between him and Ticket Boy.
Ice Wall!
ColdHand chipped in with a skill to help Jaw-Long get Roth to safety while counting how many seconds the crowd control effect lasted. Fifteen seconds, twenty seconds. What an incredible skill. It had the downside of nullifying the damage of both enemies and allies, but even so, it could make a huge difference when activated at the right time.
After being pushed back several times, Loki gave up on killing Roth and tried to use the opportunity to drink a potion and recover his health. Thanks to Jaw-Long, however, ColdHand already knew that crowd control skills would still work despite [Peace Decree] being activated.
“Quick! Try to stop him! Use any crowd control skills you can to interrupt him!”
Stunning Blow!
MountainTop’s shield gained a brilliant glow, and the lizardman rammed into Loki.
-Null
The skill dealt no damage, and the stun only lasted for half a second, but he still managed to prevent Loki from drinking a potion. [Peace Decree] stuck for a whole minute before it stopped working. ColdHand didn't recall receiving so many surprises from the same person in one day. Maybe they should have tried harder to bring Roth into their guild. Despite his crazy quirks, he didn't seem like a board piece they could afford to ignore.
“BlueFire, Kraken, make sure that the damage per second skills are kept activated. They're the only thing that keeps Loki from renewing his hp while Ticket Boy skill sticks. Jaw-Long, talk to Ticket Boy, find out the cooldown on his skill, and see if you can convince him to activate it when we want," he commanded with renewed confidence. This was the piece that he needed. He might just make this hunt work.
*
Roth hugged Lin and put himself between Loki and his cat. He had used [Peace Decree] without hoping it would nullify Loki’s attacks; after all, he must be dozens of levels above him. He was ready to feel unspeakable pain, but the attacks landed on him without causing any damage. He opened only one eye uncertainly and saw how everything around him had turned black and white. [Peace Decree] had worked.
He read the notifications to figure out what had happened.
You face a creature of darkness. [Darksbane] is in effect.
You face a creature of darkness. [Inner Light] shines brighter.
Roth sighed in relief. Loki had an affinity with darkness, which seemed to give him an advantage when fighting him. He owed the success of [Peace Decree] to the difference between their affinities and the [Darksbane] title.
Darksbane (Rare)
Title description: You're not afraid of the dark. The creatures that hide in the shadows stand no chance against your brilliant light.
Title effects:
Darkness becomes weaker around you.
It's easier to gain reputation with creatures of the light.
Conditions to unlock [Darksbane]:
Defeat a dark creature 20 levels higher than you {complete};
Or defeat 1000 dark creatures.
He had unlocked this tile by accident when he blew up the grenade in the sewers, and it was the first time he felt its power to weaken darkness.
Roth petted his cat, a tear forming in the corner of his eye. He hadn’t realized how attached he’d grown to this digital creature. Lin’s growth was all the more obvious now that he was in his lap. Before, the kitten fit in the palm of his hand, but he had practically doubled in size. His fur had become much shinier and softer. He was stronger, too. Lin purred while biting his hand playfully.
“Ouch!” Maybe not playfully after all. He bit hard enough to convey his displeasure at Roth but not so hard that it pierced his skin. “I get it. I should have taken better care of you. I’m sorry, Lin. I promise you it won’t happen again.”
Lin is in a forgiving mood.
+2 affection with Lin.
In the meantime, Loki had closed the gap and was furious. “Why are you doing this to me? Why don’t you leave me alone?” shouted Loki, clawing and throwing attacks at Roth while waving his claws.
“What’s wrong with you, Loki?! I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who keeps targeting me. I’ve told you I’m sorry about your injury. Please just let me go in peace.”
“Peace?!”
Space Clap!
Loki yelped as Jaw-Long arrived and pushed him back.
“Step back, Roth. Get away from here.”
Roth gladly ran away, chased by Loki. An ice wall formed between them, slowing Loki down. That didn’t prevent him from threatening Roth from across the barrier. “After you brought all these people to hunt me down, you want me to let you go? Peace?! No. You don’t deserve peace!”
Orbital Push!
Jaw-Long sent another skill to create distance between Loki and Roth. Seeing how much Loki hated him was unsettling. He had somehow managed to make their irreconcilable differences worse by coming here.
“Don’t worry. He’s just talk,” spoke Jaw-Long reassuringly. MountainTop and Ogre had arrived and were now successfully pinning down Loki.
“Just talk?” asked Roth in disbelief. He felt his blood boil. How was trapping him in a booby-trapped capsule and going after his family just talk? Did the old man have any clue about how ridiculous his statement was?
“That skill you just used. What’s its cooldown?”
“Five minutes,” answered Roth sourly. Even though he had said something incredibly insensitive, he had already saved Roth’s life several times today, so he answered.
Hearing the number, Jaw-Long’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “Is that so? Can you use it again if we ask you?”
“No. I only came here to bring you to the Hive King. I don’t want to be involved in the fighting.”
“You just used it!”
“I used it to save my cat. That was different.”
“So, save us, then.” Roth bit his lip. He would have liked it better if no one died, but this was not his fight. His sympathy for these guilds was gone after the auction for his life. Having to fight for their attention and convincing them to save him and his family had hardened his heart. Jaw-Long’s cold remark only worsened it. “No. This isn’t my fight.”
“This isn’t your fight? Seriously?” the old man looked offended by Roth’s defense. “You brought us here! You started this fight!”
“I didn’t start this fight—Loki did. I only brought you here so you can end it and spare everyone the pain of this event!”
“What’s the difference between bringing us here to kill Loki and you doing it yourself?”
“There is a difference.”
“No, there isn’t. Using a sword to kill him or using us is the same thing.”
“No, it isn't. How I feel about it differs. What you do is just as important as why you do it. I used [Peace Decree] to save Lin. You want me to use it to kill Loki. I brought you here to prevent thousands of NPCs from being infected by hivies. You came here to make your guilds stronger. You and I are not the same!”
Jaw-Long locked eyes with Roth and then looked away, sighing. “Fine. Don’t help us, then. Just stay close so that I can keep you alive.”
Had he just butted heads with the strongest player in the game and won? Roth eyed the old man suspiciously, but he seemed to have accepted Roth’s arguments and now just kept his eyes focused on the battle.
After the effects of [Peace Decree] ended, everyone seemed to have received a boost of energy. Resting for a few seconds had relieved some of the pressure, and the players' movements were noticeably sharper. Loki’s hp was getting progressively lower, and guild players were using their skills more boldly.
Roth watched uncomfortably as Loki activated a skill that made his attacks more powerful and shot beams and lightning everywhere for several seconds. He just wanted this battle to end so he could return to the city and leave this whole thing behind him.
“What’s your cat’s name again?” Jaw-Long asked from his side with a kind tone.
“This little guy? His name is Lin,” Roth answered proudly.
“He’s so cute…” Jaw-Long reached out his hand toward the cat. Before Roth could react, Jaw-Long’s hand flashed in a blur and grabbed Lin by the scruff of the neck.
“What are you doing?” asked Roth, terrified.
“Loki! Here is Roth’s pet!”
Jaw-Long threw the cat into the middle of the battlefield.
