HC:Pacifist | Ch. 146 - Pinecone Honeydew

It was Roth’s fourth trash run. The more runs he did, the more trash he could carry and the more experience and free stats he could gain. If this snowball kept rolling and getting bigger like this, he entertained the thought of sending a message to Loki to let him know he was catching up to his level. His face flushed at the thought. Who was he kidding? He’d never do that.

As he arrived at the rim of the landfill, he emptied its contents and enjoyed the sweet melody of notifications.

Congratulations. You have taken out one stack of [Treeant Trash].

+50,000 XP;

+1kg weight carry capacity;

+1 reputation with the treeants;

You can trade with the treeants for the next 40 days.

Congratulations. You have taken out one stack of [Treeant Trash].

As he kept dumping the stacks of [Treeant Trash], the fat, juicy notifications shrank.

Congratulations. You have taken out one stack of [Treeant Trash];

+1 reputation with the treeants;

You can trade with the treeants for the next 50 days.

Roth’s shoulders slumped, and he kicked a nearby pebble. Maybe it was just a grain of sand, but to his minuscule size, it still hurt! He had hoped that he could keep farming for free stats and XP down here, but it turned out that he couldn’t keep doing this indefinitely.

He passed his hands through his hair. The number of rewards decreased as soon as he dumped his 100th stack of trash. It was already good enough. He gained over 100 reputation points with the treeants and could now carry much more weight. His work as a broker was going to be easier from now on.

When he thought of his broker profession, he remembered something which was as enticing as XP points and free stats: gold! It was time to see what items the treeants made. Having to go through this quest to unlock trade with the treeants only hinted further at the value of their merchandise. The first place he was going to visit was where he’d been humiliated. It was time for some vindication.

*

It was midnight in Greensburg. Nightlife in the slums was even busier than in broad daylight. Shady characters moved to and fro, gathered into suspicious groups, and discussed their next crimes in hushed tones. Bars and restaurants used as fronts for mafia families played joyous music and released the perfume of delicacies through open windows and smoking chimneys as if trying to convince any passing players that a life of crime was a happy one.

But it wasn’t just the NPCs that were active at this time. Thousands of players traveled the cramped roads and dark alleys. Some were level 10 players who had just arrived from their beginner villages, hoping to become rogues. Others were warriors, espers, and medics who came to turn in a quest, hoping to be issued one or seeking to form a relationship with one of the more distasteful characters in town.

But by far, most players on the streets were established rogues. Shimmering translucent forms roamed the streets, forming an optical mist. Some blended perfectly in their surroundings, while others were very discernible, even in locations with poor lighting. Often, annoyed grunts were heard in seemingly empty streets as camouflaged rogues bumped into one another.

Moonlight Dance was one of the most famous restaurants in the whole city. It was a front for the Zucchinis, a crime family doing exceptionally well in Greensburg. A shimmering haze came in and out of view under the lamp in the alley at the back of the restaurant. The translucence of this rogue’s camouflage was impeccable, but its form was too large to hide.

“Greensburg here. The journey from the sewers to the slums was successful. Ready to deploy.”

“Good. Await my command,” answered Loki.

*

On the way back to the colony's center, Roth felt the delicious perfume of food a few times but ignored it and kept marching toward the larder where he’d been told off by one of the honeypot ants. He had pinned it on his map to ensure he could find his way back there.

Although the delicious smell hadn’t changed, seeing a larder with his eyes open, instead of perceiving it with his mind, made it feel like it was his first time here. All around Roth were ants whose bellies were so bloated with food that he had the impression that if he punctured them with a needle, they would burst. Strangely, he didn’t see any pots. How did the ants cook?

He located the honeypot ant who had spoken rudely to him a few hours ago and went to stand in line so he could collect food from it.

Winnie, the Honeypot Ant

Description: Honeypot ants are responsible for keeping the larders of Antioch.

Lvl. 45

Hp: 40,000/40,000

Ep: 10,000/10,000

Skills: [Cook]; [Trophallaxis]; [Seasoning]; [Honeydew Bomb].

Winnie. That was an adorable name for such a rude treeant. He tapped his foot as he waited his turn. All the ants in front of him were carrying seeds. Being much taller than them, he could get a good view of what was happening with the worker ant in front. It fed the seeds to Winnie. Then, the honeypot ant convulsed, and a drop of golden liquid appeared in its mouth. The worker ant sucked it and left happily.

“Uugh!” That was disgusting! Was Winnie regurgitating the food? Did that mean that the treeant chefs cooked food in their stomachs? That was so repulsive. He took a few steps away from the line. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be here anymore.

He had thought that players in the chef profession would be able to learn some techniques from the honeypot ants, but he couldn’t see how the skills would translate between races. No sane human would want to cook food like this.

Just as he was about to leave the larder, he remembered something from his science class. He had never been a stellar student but remembered his teacher telling them how fermentation worked. Alcohol required fermentation, which was caused by fungi digesting whatever was being fermented.

When he heard that, he had found it gross. Later that day, when meeting his father, he told him that beer was fungi vomit. His father had always enjoyed having cold beer on Sunday afternoons, but Roth remembered that he didn’t have one that Sunday. “Roth, if you think about it, all alcoholic beverages are juices pre-digested by a fungus. And people still drink it, right? Pops liked it.” He took a deep breath and got back in line. He would see at least what the consumables did.

Finally, his turn came. “Hi, Winnie.”

“Welcome, Martyr. I’ve heard the rumors. Your excitement for keeping Antioch clean is contagious.”

Winnie takes back the bad things she said about you.

+5 reputation with the treeants.

He expected to be treated poorly again, but his anger melted away after hearing the heartfelt comment. She even restored the lost reputation points. He couldn’t stay mad anymore.

“Oh well, what can I say? Antioch is a beautiful city; I want to keep it that way. Can I see what kind of food you have for sale today?”

“There is no selling or buying here, human. To take food, you have to leave food.”

Roth sighed. He had a few mushrooms spontaneously given to him by the rats and some roots and ginseng from the Fox tunnels from his last trade run. He hoped it was enough to trade for Whatever the ants had here.

“Of course. That’s what I meant. Can I see the menu, please?”

“What menu? I only have one kind of food here. Just check if it’s what you want.”

A system window appeared in front of Roth. Thankfully, he wasn't blindfolded anymore and could check the specifics of the food stored in the honeypot living larders.

Pinecone Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed many pinecones today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+200 hp for one hour

Roth read and reread the notifications. This consumable was incredible! [Healthy Bonus], the stat bonus awarded to players with 50 plus strength, granted 20 bonus hp. This consumable gave him ten times that much. It wasn’t such a gross item as he had expected. It had such a nice name, too.

“And this is the only food you have?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’ll come back later.”

Roth took a few steps away from the line as he considered his discovery. He looked at the line again and at their cargo. These treeants were bringing pine seeds to this cook. Because of that, she was producing pinecone honeydew. What if they were fed something different? Roth walked deeper into the chamber.

The larder was shaped like a ring, and many different tunnels led here. It was kind of like a roundabout. He walked to the next tunnel entrance and saw that the food the ants were carrying was different. Instead of white seeds, there were darker, shiny globes—berries.

He got in line. Since he was waiting, he decided to make his time count. He inspected all the ants around him to build his insight. He then read his [Kind Porter] poem. Finally, he tried again to inquire about the supercolony quest. “Hello, there.”

“Hey, human!”

“This line, uh?”

“I know. I’m late to work!”

“So am I. There’s a lot of trash out there to take out. By the way, do you know why the colony has been losing their young?”

“This is the 34th time you asked this question to one of us. We told you we don’t know, human. If we did, we would never have asked for your help.”

Roth gulped. Were they keeping track? And they chatted with each other about it? He thought ants were too busy to gossip! Maybe it was just information they had learned from the Lord. Anyway, in thirty-four tries, he still hadn’t had any lucky breaks with the quest. The line moved, and finally, his turn came.

“Can I see the food you’re serving?” Roth asked.

“Right away!”

Elderberry Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed many elderberries today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+10 energy regen per 5 seconds for one hour.

Roth was impressed. So, based on what these ants were fed, they produced a unique type of buff to whoever ate its honeydew. It took on some of the characteristics of the original consumable and enhanced it. Roth couldn’t help but think of a shop selling gelato of different flavors.

He didn’t feel repulsed anymore. This place wasn't half-bad if players got over the fact that this was eaten and vomited food. He went on to the next honeypot ant, excited to explore all the different buffs for sale in this larder. What would the next honeydew flavor be like?

Roth located another line of ants. They were bringing black dried bits of something Roth didn’t recognize. He got in line, waiting to see what the next flavor of honeydew would be.

“Hey there. Can I please see your honeydew?”

Royal Poop Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed much of Prince Piglet’s poop today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+20 strength for one hour.

The urge to gag came back with its full strength. Dude. This was so disgusting! Roth had to step outside for a few moments. He felt a little oozy and had to put his head between his knees.

This place was repulsive, but the items these honeypot ants sold were excellent. If he could keep hidden from players how the ants produced these substances, and its effect still worked when consumed by players in their normal size, then this larder was a gold mine. As the thought came to him, he felt his cheeks burn. He couldn’t sell this in good conscience. He would find a way to disclaim the origins of these goods before distributing them to customers. Some of these buffs were enticing enough to make players overlook how they were cooked.

After Roth’s stomach calmed down, he focused on gold, not how that honeypot ant produced the strength-giving honeydew. Mustering enough courage, he walked back into the larder.
Ch. 145 - Landfill
INDEX
Ch. 147 - Drills