HC: Pacifist | Ch. 202 - Infiltration

Roth stared at the fracture in reality he had created with the help of the [Lion's Breath] skill. The portal Mannyfested in the form of bright lines hovering in midair and cast a pale light on the two players standing next to Roth, making them look somber and pensive. ColdHand was lost in thought, and Jaw-long considered what Roth had just said with a frown.

"That would mean you must be the first to be teleported in. And after that, we can only teleport one person every 10 seconds," commented Jaw-Long.

"That is correct," confirmed Roth.

"If you're the first to go in, no offense, but you're not going to last,” mumbled ColdHand in his characteristic robotic tone. He didn’t mean it as an insult but was merely stating the facts. Roses were red, violets were blue, and Roth was a noob. “You are only level 31. For there to be a boss that requires at the very least 100 players to hunt means that you'll probably get one shot."

Roth bit his lip. It looked like he had to reveal another of his cards for the sake of this mission. "I think I could make it work."

Jaw-Long snorted while ColdHand looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You can survive for ten seconds against a high-level boss?”

"Yes, I think I can hide for a while. And even if the hive king finds me, at the very least, I can stall him for a few minutes, no more than that," Roth said thoughtfully.

"Are you positive?" Cold Hands asked.

"Yes, I can do it," Roth replied.

He and Jaw-Long exchanged doubtful looks. "There's no other option," said ColdHand. Roth believed that they would have taken literally any other road. But as it were, he was the only one who could open the teleport gate and had to be the first to go in.

"How are you going to do that?" ColdHand asked.

Roth activated [Camouflage], making his figure blend into his surroundings. Both men looked at him, shocked. "I thought you were a medic," hissed Jaw-Long.

"I have a special class," Roth explained.

Jaw-Long looked at his invisible figure from top to bottom like Roth had never turned [Camouflage] on. The skill seemed to do nothing to hide him from this old geezer.

"Very well. It can work. But not as it is now. Your subterfuge isn’t high enough," ColdHand noted. Roth didn’t argue with him. He already had [Camouflage] activated while in [Snake Form] and could tell the difference in how powerful [Camouflage] became when he had low or high subterfuge.

Even though his blue caterpillar jewelry slightly boosted his [Camouflage], Jaw-Long could still easily see through it. To make it worse, since Roth was in [Badger Form], his subterfuge had decreased from 60 to 30, making him lose a stat bonus that slightly improved invisibility.

He thought about canceling [Badger Form] to recover his normal level of subterfuge, but he worried he might have to use [Lion's Breath] again. He might need to pool the greater energy bar provided by [Badger Form] with Griffin to open the way back.

ColdHand sent a message in the party chat.

"Griffin, please put together a list. Find out what medics in our party or the Ogres’ have buffs that can boost camouflage effects. Anything that boosts all stats, subterfuge, or gives some kind of bonus to invisibility. Same thing for items and equipment. If anyone has anything that boosts subterfuge, I want it here now."

It didn't take longer than five minutes for four medics to be gathered and several players to step up, volunteering to lend equipment that boosted subterfuge. Such equipment was largely meant for rogues, and between his ecotailor and his pacifist’s restrictions, he couldn’t wear it.

However, there was one earring that he could equip, which would help boost the power of his disguise.

Misty Moon (Rare)

Description: A moon-shaped earring crafted during a New Moon on a misty night.

Item effects:

Boosts your [Camouflage];

+5 subterfuge;

+5 dexterity.

Restrictions: Lvl. 30.

The owner of this earring was a rogue from Cerberus called BlackShoe, who was having a hard time parting with his treasure. Under the stern, impassive look of ColdHand, the rogue said some loving parting words to his dear earring and handed it over to Roth.

“Don’t worry. I’ll give this back to you after this is done,” Roth promised.

“Thanks,” the man answered sadly, the man watched Roth equip it and then marched back to the formation with hunched shoulders.

In the meantime, Jaw-Long looked up from an intense exchange of messages with the smiling ease of someone who had just won a sizable bet. “Ticket boy. I called in a favor. You’ll receive an invitation to join a guild. Accept it.”

“Uh? You did what?”

You’ve received an invitation to join [Gorgons - Assassin Branch]. Do you choose to accept? [Y/N]

“What is this all about?”

“Just take it,” commanded the old man. The name ‘assassin’ threw Roth off, and he didn’t feel happy about joining one of these large guilds, even temporarily. However, the words had been spoken with such authority that, in Roth’s mind, there was no choice but to obey his elder.

Are you sure you choose to join [Gorgons - Assassin Branch]? If you join, you must leave [Union Collective Guild]. [Y/N]

Roth confirmed the request and received several notifications.

The strength of the [Pale Chameleon Scale] runs in you.

+4 subterfuge;

+10 ep.

The strength of the [Great Wolf Black Paw] runs in you.

+3 subterfuge;

+1 dexterity.

The strength of the [Bottled Stormwind] runs in you.

+2 subterfuge;

+2% running speed.

The strength of the [Shadow Swallow’s Tail Feather] runs in you.

+3% running speed;

+1 subterfuge.

The strength of the [Monkey Lord Tail] runs in you.

+2 dexterity;

+2 subterfuge.

The strength of the [Experimental Chemical SR12] runs in you.

+3 subterfuge;

+10 hp.

The strength of the [Flag of the Chameleon Duke] runs in you.

You’ve learned [Blend In].

The strength of the [Flag of the Monkey Lord] runs in you.

You’ve learned [Monkey Step].

The flurry of notifications dazzled Roth. Drake had told him that the Gorgons kept several branch guilds with specialized bonuses to individual classes, but it looked like the guild had gone to even greater lengths than that. These bonuses weren’t for rogues in general but only for those who specialized in stealth and undercover missions. How many resources had the Gorgons spent creating different branches for different specializations in the guild?

And it wasn’t just the resources required to maintain a guild’s museum. He even got two specialized skills designed to help his camouflage work better, which came from flags. He had seen the prices these flags went for. A simple estimation told him that the Gorgons must have spent hundreds of thousands of gold on setting up this network of branch guilds.

“This is incredible!” praised Roth.

"You can be a temporary member during the day. This should increase our chances somewhat. What do you think, ColdHand?"

ColdHand nodded approvingly. “Let’s see how his camouflage holds up with a little more help. Medics. Buff him.”

You’ve been blessed with [Silent Steps].

+20 subterfuge for 30 seconds.

You’ve been blessed with [Trespassing].

+10 subterfuge for 60 seconds.

You’ve been blessed with [Hush, My Darling].

[Camouflage] enhanced for 2 minutes.

You’ve been blessed with [Heroic Endeavor].

+2 to all stats for 2 minutes.

With the help of all these items, Roth’s camouflage had been severely boosted. “I didn’t know there were buffs to help rogues have more subterfuge.”

“Few medics learn them. We only use it in guild wars to increase the chances of assassins infiltrating the enemy lines and getting to the medics,” explained ColdHand. “What about now, Jaw-Long?”

The old man again inspected Roth’s blurred figure. This time, Roth didn’t feel as exposed.

"If I didn't know he was here, it would take a few moments to realize he was present. Especially if I was focused on something else.”

“That’s good enough,” said ColdHand without any enthusiasm. Turning to Roth, he explained, “Don't forget, as soon as you teleport in, find a quiet place and sit still. Do nothing. Don’t move. Don’t inspect or even stare at the boss; otherwise, you might draw its attention. Can you share your video feed with me?”

“S-sure. I just don’t know how to.”

Instead of berating him, ColdHand just calmly explained it to him. “Go to settings, privacy, and you can tick an option for it there. Then you just need to accept my request.”

Roth found the option and selected it. He took a few moments to analyze just how much information on his character ColdHand could access and fiddled with the options until he was comfortable. The last thing he needed was for these guilds to discover his secrets.

“It’s done,” said Roth, once he was satisfied with the options.

ColdHand would like to access your video feed. Do you accept? [Y/N]

Roth agreed, and a little red circle with the text ‘recording’ appeared in the corner of his vision.

“Good. This way, I can see what’s happening and decide who to send in. If you're spotted, we'll send some help immediately. Remember, be as stealthy as you can, and above all, don’t die, or the portal might close."

Roth nodded. He waited for the buffs to expire and then for the medics’ skills to come off cooldown. He received a new series of buffs, ensured the camouflage was on, and stepped in through the portal.

The moment he stepped in, he found himself in a dark space. It had been daytime where he'd left, and he wondered if it was night wherever he'd been transported to. He checked his world map and saw that ColdHand’s and BlueFires' predictions were right. Indeed, the Hive King really was in the Dark Abyss.

A few meters away from him, with his back to him, was a creature. It had dark purple, shelled skin. From this angle, Roth couldn’t see the creature’s face but saw its sharp claws. Roth avoided staring at the creature and only gave it brief sideways glances. The way it moved its clawed hands around told him this wasn’t an NPC. The hand movements characteristic of someone operating the game interface told him it was a player.

ColdHand sent a message in the party chat as if hearing his thoughts. “It’s a player. Scenario 3. Get ready, barrier team.” As ColdHand instructed, Roth fought the urge to inspect the Hive King. Some players had counter-surveillance skills, which triggered when someone looked up their information. Roth stayed as silent and motionless as he could, not daring even to breathe.

After a few moments, the first rogue stepped through the portal and joined him in the Hive King’s lair. “I’m in.” Roth wouldn’t have known that another rogue had come through the portal were it not for the messages on the chat.

Thankfully, the monster seemed oblivious to their presence. Ten seconds later, the second followed, displaying masterful invisibility. Even though Roth was looking for these rogues, he had no idea where they were. These were some of the best players in the game who specialized in infiltration missions. Their whole skill set and equipment were geared toward stealth, and they had much better chances of evading detection than Roth.

However, regardless of how good their stealth was, the more rogues in the vicinity, the higher the chance players with heightened perception would sense something amiss. Examining his list of buffs, Roth shuddered as the first one expired.

[Silent Steps] has worn off.

The moment the skill lost its power, the third rogue teleported in, and the hive king stood up. Roth’s heart raced as he took a better look at it. Roth could see that its weird, alien body resembled a mixture of a cockroach and a wolf. Its oval head, fully black eyes, and mouth that opened like double doors into some dreadful dungeon were unsettling. However alien the creature looked, it still maintained a humanoid general form.

Contrary to Roth’s fears, the creature hadn’t noticed anything was amiss and instead disappeared into an adjacent room, allowing Roth to breathe a sigh of relief. The messages on the party chat told him that rogues were still arriving. When the last rogue belonging to the barrier team arrived, the hive king returned to the room and headed toward his chair. Roth’s heart was racing, and he was curled up in a ball, trying to look as small as possible.

He looked at the second buff on the countdown and watched it reach zero. The moment the buff expired, the creature whirled in his direction and looked straight at him. It snapped its fingers, canceling Roth's [Camouflage]. Roth tensed, ready to use [Peace Decree] or run away, but the monster remained motionless. It was observing Roth with quizzical eyes, and despite its disgusting form, there was something familiar about the creature.

“Slayer?!”

Only people who knew him in New Earth called him that. Moreover, he recognized this person’s voice. He had heard the detached, cold voice many times before and, more recently, a few days ago. Loki. Despite running from Loki for months, Roth found himself in the lair of his nemesis.

“Loki? Is that you?”

Roth's brain went haywire, unprepared for the mental shock of being face-to-face with Loki. He felt like a computer that had gotten stuck in a faulty program and had to be reset. He had never expected Loki to be the alien king. The realization that his nemesis was the player the guilds were preparing to hunt dawned on him. The memory of the day he invaded Loki’s home and beat him black and blue soured his mood. Bringing the guilds here had too many similarities to the event that got him arrested and triggered the chain of events that brought him to today. How had things turned out like this?

He was at a loss for what to say. Before he could think it through, he heard himself blurt out an insult. “Why do you look so gross and ugly?”

Ch. 201 - Abyssal Bolt

INDEX

Ch. 203 - Barrier