HC:Pacifist | Ch. 144 - Creature of the Night

Roth stepped aside and watched helplessly as all the other ants were served. His shock turned into indignation, and his indignation into a fiery inferno burning in his chest. How dare they call him lazy? And how dare they tell him off in front of all others? Nostrils flaring, and fists closed tightly, Roth tried counting to ten and then to twenty, and then to thirty, and he finally managed to calm himself down.

It wasn’t a big thing, and it had only involved NPCs. But, still, he had been triggered somehow by the tone and the emotions he had just received from the honeypot treeant. He tried to analyze the thought pattern that had made him almost erupt. The feeling of being called out like this in front of everyone was annoying, true. Being denied food made him think of some unpleasant episodes in prison. Being called lazy had also stricken a nerve.

To worsen it, he was feeling frustrated with the blindfold, grumpy from being denied tasty, hot food, and he was feeling cramped in a complex of underground tunnels with Pegasus hunting for him above ground. He took in deep breaths. No wonder he had almost exploded. All the variants, when mixed together, were a recipe for disaster. Once he understood why he felt so angry, it became easier to regain control of his thoughts and emotions.

With a calmer mindset, he analyzed the notifications he received. Sadly, in one minute, he lost all the hard-earned points of reputation he had earned by being nice to treeants as he explored the map. It looked like he had to run some quests before he could gain access to the city’s riches. This was standard in many games.

Should he complete this quest? Or should he just ignore it? Chances were that this wasn’t the only place where he would be blocked from trading. Maybe he could only access Antioch’s NPC shops after he went through this questline. Perhaps he had gotten away without doing many of these quests because of his previously established relationship with the treeants.

The worst thing about the quest was it didn’t explain what kind of work he could do for the colony! He just had to find work to do and do it. Roth felt like a kid going through a punishment designed by an overzealous primary school teacher.

“Fine. Want me to work? Then, I’ll work.” What could he do? He couldn’t bring food to the honeypot cooks. To harvest the resources, he needed the forager or herbalist profession. Same thing for the fungi farms and leafcutting. He sighed. He had just had an idea. He didn’t like it, but it was an idea.

Roth located a treeant whose brain waves looked calm and peaceful. It was that of a worker who had just eaten its fill. “Excuse me?”

“Yes? Make it quick. I’m about to go to work.”

Roth felt the rage bubble again in his heart at the rude outburst. “I just want to help clean the colony. Is there any trash I can take out?”

Oh, the humility and earnest desire to work for the glory of Antioch!

+1 reputation with the treeants.

“Sure! It’s in the corner over there.”

“Where do I take it to?”

The treeant gave him directions that would take him to an underground landfill.

“Thanks.”

Roth marched toward the pile of trash. He couldn’t see it, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything mushy or wet. It felt to his hands like the husks of seeds used in cooking. He grabbed them and started stuffing them into his inventory.

You are carrying too much weight. You are [Heavy].

You move 50% slower.

As soon as he got the notification, he stopped. He took out enough items until the debuff was canceled and was ready to go. Should he cancel [Badger Form] and go for [Boar Form]?

“System, what time is it?”

“20:34,” he heard.

It would still take a few hours before his racial skills came off cooldown, and the truth was that his badger form helped him have a better mental range as he explored. He would do this for now and figure out the rest later. He let out a deep sigh. To enjoy Antioch, he first had to become their garbage man. He should probably not tell this part to the big guilds.

Roth began his trek toward the landfill. The information he got from the treeant was that he should keep walking until he reached the periphery and, from there, follow the stench. Where it smelled worst was where he had to put down the trash. He had in his inventory a set that canceled bad smells. But, even though he could save himself the pain, he had no choice but to keep his senses exposed to the smell so that he could find the landfill. He was having a hard time keeping his mood in check.

The landfill was farther than he would have liked. From what Roth had surmised so far, in his current size, it took six hours to cross the full breadth of Antioch. The most he had ventured so far was a ninety-minute walk from the center. He would have to walk beyond that to reach the periphery and even farther to reach the landfill.

As he walked with his inventory full of garbage, he received a notification.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked a new title: [Creature of the Night].

Creature of the Night (Uncommon)

Description: After spending much time in total darkness, your eyes adapt to the new environment, and you can find your way in the blackness of night.

Title effects:

Unlocks perception.

Conditions to unlock [Creature of the Night]:

Spend 10 hours in total darkness; {complete};

or complete a relevant quest.

Finally! Some good news. There really was a title! It had been inconvenient to be totally blind, but Roth would have had to make the effort sooner or later. After a few seconds, the system read the notification that explained what perception did.

You can hear music in the silence around you. You can see the light in the dark.

You have unlocked a new stat: [Perception].

Improves the senses.

After ten hours blindfolded, Roth removed the wool and opened his eyes. What before would have been total darkness now looked like dusk. It was a world of black and white, but even without the help of his flashlight, he could see enough!

Half his perception points were funneled into intelligence because he was in badger form. He deactivated it for now and returned to human form.

Human form!

Congratulations! Your strength has reached 50.

You have gained [Healthy Bones].

Congratulations! Your dexterity has reached 50.

You have gained [Fast Hands].

Congratulations! Your wisdom has reached 100.

You have gained [Strategic Thinking].

Congratulations! Your endurance has reached 200.

[Cat's Sprint] has been upgraded to [Horse's Gallop].

[Bark Skin] has been upgraded to [Stone Skin].

Congratulations! Your charisma has reached 100.

You have gained [Charm].

Your intelligence is now under 100.

[Eidetic Memory] has been downgraded to [Inner Calm].

You lost [Perfect Timing].

Right now, all his perception points came from titles and equipment that granted a bonus to all his stats. But even with this much, he could see well enough in the dark. He wasn’t sure if [Farsight] improved his night vision or if it only helped with long-range vision, but whatever the case, he was developing super senses! Being in complete darkness for 10 hours had been worth it.

Happy to be able to see again, Roth decided to check his character sheet and see how his new stat looked on it.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Pax

Class: Pacifist

Race: Zoomorph (Human Form)

Profession(s): Broker, Lvl. 12 | Ecotailor, lvl. 10

Level: 23

Affinity: Light (139/300); Nature (21/100)

Alignment: Meek (344/1000)

Positive relationships:

Badgers (1723/2000); Boars (1712/2000); Corvids (1803/2000); Cyborg Union (1100/2000); Dogs (207/300); Dwarf Exiles (214/300); Flock (242/300); Foxes (1788/2000); Snakes (3153/8000); Golden Mountain Inc. (1235/2000); Greenleaf Inc. (617/1000); Hilsford Garrison Soldiers (103/300); Oli, the Cat Burglar (1/100); Peace Corps (100/300); Ratans (3495/8000); Silkworms (10/100); Treeants (501/1000)

Negative Relationships:

Bears (-10/-100); Gazpachos (-1400/-3000); Grassland Wolves (-45/-100); Thadeus (-10/-100); Timberwolves (-90/-100);

Titles: [Adored]; [Alpinist]; [Art Enthusiast]; [All-Nighter]; [Creature of the Night]; [Darksbane]; [Discoverer of Species]; [Entitled]; [Grand Explorer]; [Hero of Ages]; [First of a Kind]; [Jumper]; [Marathonist]; [Martyr]; [Microman]; [Mindfulness]; [Novice]; [Overachiever]; [Pioneer]; [Polyglot]; [Richling]; [Single Minded Craftsman]; [Sweatshop Worker]; [Triathlete]

STATS (9 Free Stat Points)

Hp: 226

Energy: 297

Damage Reduction: 41.9%

Status Resistance: 6.6%

Cooldown Reduction: 11%

Running Speed: 144.4%

Weight: [Light] - (54.3/91.5g)

Strength: 56

Dexterity: 67

Intelligence: 82 (+1%)

Wisdom: 112

Endurance: 239

Charisma: 101 (+5%)

Resilience: 19

Insight: 22

Subterfuge: 23

Perception: 12

EQUIPMENT

Right Hand: [Plumber's Torch] | +5 intelligence

Left Hand: [Flag of the Rat Cave] | +10 wisdom; +6 dexterity; +10% speed; [Ratan Stride]; [Ratan Dash]

Shoes: [Plumber Boots] | +20% speed

Bottom: [Black Toxicologist Leggings] | +5% poison dur.; +4 wisdom; +1 intelligence

Top: [Dark Toxicologist Jacket] | +1% poison dur.; +3% damage red.; +5 wisdom; +10ep

Gloves: [Plumbing Gloves] | +5% damage red.

Head: [Black Toxicologist Hood] | +2% poison pot.; +3 wisdom; +3 intelligence

Cape: [Wool Poncho] | 5 intelligence; +3% status resistance; +5% speed

ACCESSORIES

[Crow Feather Earring] | +1 intelligence; +1 energy regen.

[Cybernetic Scanner]

[Witness Protection Mask]

[Crow Feather Necklace] | +1 wisdom; +2 intelligence; +5ep

[Utility Belt] | +10 kg

[Ring of the Wanderer] | +2 wisdom; 5ep

[Ring of the Wanderer] | +2 wisdom; 5ep

SKILLS:

Stat Bonuses: [Charm]; [Fast Hands]; [Good Character]; [Healthy Bones]; [Horse’s Gallop]; [Inner Calm]; [Inner Light]; [Strategic Thinking]; [Stone Skin]; [Timely]

Profession Related: [Discount]; [Exasperate]; [Novice Hiring]; [Plenty of Fiber]; [Porter]; [Supplier's Fortune]; [Tailors Bag]; [Wool’s Will]

Passive: [Basic Toxicologist I]; [Boar's Might]; [Farsight]; [Flag Bearer]; [Plumber Set I]; [Ratan Stride]; [Snake Slither]

Active: [Camouflage]; [Inspiration]; [Miniaturize]; [Peace Decree]; [Peace Treaty]; [Ratan Dash]; [Screeching Terror]; [Search]; [30 Steps]

Now that he could use his eyes again, he could check Antioch’s shops and hopefully learn more of its secrets. But before he went on a shopping spree, he had to finish his work. He still had to take out the trash.

*

Drake and Maggie studied the screen in front of them. They had taken this joint quest from the blacksmith district, combining their tinkerer and technomancer professions, and had been largely successful.

The forges were having trouble keeping a high enough temperature, and they had narrowed it down to the bellows. Most of the program had been fixed, and the furnace’s bellows worked at almost optimal capacity. The only thing left was regulating the air valves. It had to be programming. There was one bugged line in the program that they hadn’t found yet.

How Drake wished that dealing with Loki was as simple as fixing a machine. There were just too many variables, too many unknowns. He was trying his hardest, but it was an uphill battle. As he thought of Roth out there in the woods, surrounded by those Pegasus hooligans, he put so much strain on his mechanical arm that it started overheating and letting out puffs of steam. For all the horrible things that he had done in life, was saving this boy really out of his reach?

“Captain?”

“Yes, Maggie? Figured out what the problem is?”

“No. Look.” Drake followed her gaze and saw a blacksmith. It was a man in his thirties dragging a massive hammer toward an anvil. Drake had to keep watching him for several seconds before he could pick up on what Maggie had seen. Finally, he saw it. The way he limped. He used one of its legs as if it were a crutch. The man was disabled.

“Can I, captain?”

“By all means.”

Maggie walked toward the man, intercepting his route, leaving the blacksmith with a frown. Without a word, she knelt and rolled her jeans on one of her legs, showing him the metal leg.

“Hey. The name’s Maggie.”

The man smiled. “How did you know?” After a few seconds, the realization hit him. “My limp?”

“Yes. That man over there is my friend, Drake.” Drake waved at him from a few meters away, ensuring he used his cybernetic prosthetic.

“Are you trying to start a club for the handicapped?”

“Nah. We just like to meet people who understand.”

“I see.”

“The name’s Maggie.”

“Jason. How did you lose your leg, Maggie?”

“Stepped on a landmine in the war. You?”

“Nothing so fancy. Car accident.”

“Are you into crafting?” she asked, pointing at the hammer. 

“Oh yes. It’s an escape from work. I sit in a cubicle all day, doing insurance work. Feels nice to come out here and work with my hands.”

“Are you in any guild?”

“No. I have enough pressure and deadlines at work. Don’t need one more boss ordering me around as I pursue my hobby.”

Maggie smiled at Drake. He nodded. “My friends and I don’t want to join guilds either. We created a sort of club.” Drake chuckled as he saw Maggie using the blacksmith’s own words in her pitch. “If you want a cool prosthetic like my friend and me, just let us know. We share all the information we have with everyone in the group.”

“No strings attached? Do I have to sign a contract?”

“No, of course not. This is just something casual. Just a club.”

Drake smiled as he saw Jason accept Maggie’s invitation. Slowly, they were growing. The Union Collective already had more than 100 members on the forums, and the number only kept growing. That’s what he had to focus on. His plan was solid. He would make it work. 

Drake paused and grinned. He had just found the bugged line.

Ch. 143 - Pull Your Own Weight

INDEX

Ch. 145 - Landfill