HC:Pacifist | Ch. 113 - Tranquilizing Syringe

Grizzly Bear (Elite)

Lvl. 38

10,000 hp

Even from here, Roth could hear it snore. He spared a look at his inventory. He already had used eight [Haste Scrolls] and only had three left. As for [Hallucinogen Grenades], he only had one left, but he doubted it would work on the bear. He could always try to activate [Badger Form]. [Screeching Terror's] efficiency scaled with intelligence, after all.

Roth had basically 3 options. One, wait for the bear to roam out of the road. Two, wait for a high-level player to pass by and hunt the bear. He was right now more than halfway between Hilsford and the Green Woods. Although it was possible that there would be hunting parties out here or a single high-level player completing a quest, it could take several hours before that happened. Roth wanted to cover as much ground as possible before it turned dark. In the darkness, it would be harder to protect the sheep. Additionally, he wasn’t sure how he would react if a player hurt the bear before him. He’d probably lose it, and things would get even more complicated.

The third option was to deal with the problem himself. He looked at his arsenal of countermeasures and studied the level of the bear. He still had two aces in his bag. With a level 38 elite monster, he didn’t want to use [Screeching Terror]. He risked giving the bear a [Fear] debuff that was too short or too weak.

He hated the idea of going the rest of the way without the trump cards he had, but there was only so much money he could spend on the quest. Roth looked around. This was bear territory. Nothing was preventing another bear from roaming close enough to the sheep and attacking them. He had to hurry. The longer he waited, the more his chance of success decreased. This was no time for hesitation.

Roth ensured the flock was out of sight of the bear and walked toward him. As Roth drew close, the animal's ears twitched slightly, signaling that it had picked up on Roth's presence. The bear yawned, stretched, and walked lazily toward him on all fours, sniffing the air curiously. Roth stretched his arms with his open palms facing the bear, trying to let him know that he meant it no harm. The bear approached his hands with his nose.

"Hello, Mr. Bear. It's beary nice to meet you." Roth attempted a pun to see if the bear liked it, but the bear yawned again, letting Roth get a good look at its powerful jaws and scary teeth. "Any chance that you could let me pass by walking away from the road?"

The bear sat on the road, gesturing it wouldn't. It then pointed with its paw at the side of the road. Roth interpreted that as: "Why don't you go around me? Can't you see I'm napping here?"

Roth sighed, seeing that even with 75 charisma, he wouldn't be able to convince an elite more than 20 levels higher than him to do something as simple as walking away. He had no choice.

"Look! A beautiful she-bear! And is that salmon she has in her mouth?"

The bear turned its neck to follow Roth's finger, and Roth took out a thick syringe from his inventory and stuck it into the bear's neck. The bear let out a roar of pain and looked at Roth annoyingly. It stood up on its hind legs threatening Roth, but after a few seconds, closed his eyes and collapsed on the floor. It had worked.

Tranquilizing Syringe (Consumable)

Item description: A powerful sleeping drug made from sloth extract and strong medicinal herbs.

Item effects: Can put a monster under level 50 to sleep temporarily. Doesn't work on bosses. Duration of sleep varies with race and the level of the monster. The [Sleep] debuff is canceled as soon as it is attacked.

Roth had found these in the auction house. Although many guilds had seasoned team fighters, others were just getting started. Running a dungeon could be overwhelming. After finishing a monster, another one sometimes popped up without letting the hunting party get a break.

This item was supposed to help less experienced guilds take breathers between hunts. Using it successfully on elite monsters could help a hunting party plan their strategy, recover their health, refresh their buffs, and position themselves before starting to attack. Guilds that used it had to pay a heavy price for the consumable. They cost 50 gold a piece.

Roth was using the item differently. He was just putting this elite to sleep so he could go past him without fighting. He didn't have to hurt the animal. It would wake up normally in a few minutes.

How dare you stick a needle in a bear without asking for his permission first?

-20 reputation with the bears.

The bear is sleeping soundly. You've helped it take another nap right after he'd have woken up from sleep.

+10 reputation with all bears.

Roth blinked, confused. It turned out that bears liked to sleep. Although it didn't appreciate being stung with a syringe, it was grateful for Roth’s help in returning to his nap. He made a mental note of that. The question was, how could he deepen his relationship with bears? Did he have to go around spreading soporific grenades?

Just in case the item's effect wore off sooner than he expected, Roth rushed back to the flock and sent the mental command for the sheep to follow. The flock resumed its march but became fearful at the sight of the bear. Hearing the grizzly bear snore loudly and their shepherd walking in front of them unperturbed, they reluctantly followed him. He'd been able to overcome another hurdle in completing the quest.

*

Frankie looked at his map. Why would this foreigner want to return the sheep to the beginner area? The player wore a shiny blue cloak and a sleek black uniform. It seemed like he was a medic. Frankie found online that the set he was wearing was the level 20 [Basic Toxicologist] set. That meant that the player wasn't very high-leveled. For some reason, he didn't have a staff, drones, or a shield generator, the weapons of choice for medics.

It was dark now, so his camouflage would work better. All he had to do was to kill the player and take the flock. The quest only asked that he take away one sheep, but what kind of completion rate would he get if he returned with the whole flock in tow? The thought of all those bonus rewards made him drool. Besides, it was just a lone medic in the middle of nowhere. This was low-hanging fruit.

Camouflage!

Frankie's figure faded in the darkness. As a rogue, he had several bonuses to his stealth, and even if the medic already had unlocked insight, there was no way he would detect his presence. He approached the flock as quietly as possible. A few sheep bleated, and he cursed under his breath. The shepherd player turned back, scanning the surroundings and looking for what had caused the sheep to feel nervous.

Even though the player stood still, the flock didn't stop moving. The sheep moved ahead, leaving the player behind. This was his chance. He didn’t have to fear the sheep alerting the player to his presence.

He carefully went around the player so that he could attack from behind. As a rogue, many of his skills dealt bonus damage when he hit the target from the sides or their back. He struck like a vicious viper!

Concussion!

Frankie hit the shepherd on the head with the pommel of his dagger and managed to stun him. He then tried his highest dps combo, making sure he landed a regular hit in between skills to deal that extra bit of damage.

-9

Double Strike!

-26

-14

-12

Triple Stab!

-13

-12

-45 Crit!

-12

What in the world? How high was this guy's defense? He was sure that he'd be able to finish him off in one go, but he still had a third of his HP left. The stun should be almost over, and Frankie already had the next stun skill ready, but the player moved a little sooner than he had expected. Shoot! He has resilience!

Peace Decree!

The shout was loud, and the animation was spectacular. Frankie had never seen this skill before. The whole air trembled and shimmered as if the scream had changed the world. Was this some sort of debuff? Frankie looked at his stats. Nothing happened. Maybe the skill hadn't stuck or was some self-buff. Frankie activated another of his crowd-control skills.

Paralyzing Stab!

The dagger sparked and hummed, and Frankie managed to land a hit. The stun stuck. His target was finished.

-Null

Ultimate Slash!

-Null

-Null

-Null

-Null

-Null

-Null

-Null

What? What is this? Why wasn't he landing any hits? How was this medic dodging his every attack? Frankie was lost as to what to do. The player exited the stun and turned around, facing Frankie calmly.

"Hello, friend."

Frankie kept attacking.

-Null

-Null

-Null

"What is going on? Why won't you die?"

"Why are you trying to kill me?" For the first time, Frankie realized how tall the man was. He had to look up at him. Why did he look so familiar? Had they met before?

"It must be that skill you used early. It can't last forever. Just wait! You're dead meat!"

-Null

-Null

-Null

"Yet, here we are."

Why isn’t he striking back?

-Null

-Null

[Double Strike] came off cooldown.

Double Strike!

-Null

-Null

Frankie took deep breaths and stared uncomprehendingly at the calm tall man. "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"There's no point. I don't want to hurt you."

"Even after I tried to kill you and steal your sheep?" the man's eyes widened in realization. Shoot. I said too much.

"So you're after the sheep? The Beanies must have sent you then."

"What if they did?" Frankie thought furiously. This was a weird situation. He didn't know what to make of it. Every time he attacked a player, they didn't bother to start chatting. They just fought back. It was the first time someone reacted so calmly. It was creeping him out.

He didn't have to kill the player, though. All he had to do was to steal the sheep. He tried to take a look at the sheep discreetly. They had disappeared. He looked back at the man and found him smiling.

"I sent them ahead. As for you, thank you for giving me the time I needed to channel this item."

"Wait, what?"

The player opened his hand, revealing a small cube that was glowing blue. He had seen this glow before. It was similar to one of the cubes of... Frankie activated [Thirty Steps] and tried to run for it, but it was too late.

You've entered Pax's [Junior Containment Cube]

You can't move. Nothing can harm you, either. The containment field will last 15 minutes.

Frankie was surrounded by a blue force field similar to the one he'd seen trapping the Gazpachos captains. How on Earth had this player gotten his hands on an item like that? He couldn't be higher than level 20, could he?

Under the light of the shield, the player’s face came in and out of focus. He was wearing some sort of mask. He checked if he was allowed to use an observation skill while trapped, and seeing his opportunity, went for it.

Owl Vision!

Character’s Name: Pax.

That was how much their difference in stats allowed for. Maybe the information would come in handy, and he could sell it to the Beanies. The player took a ball out of his inventory. Frankie gulped. He recognized it. It was a [Bait Ball]. The player threw it on the ground and took off running. Red smoke started coming out of the bait ball. Jackals started coming out of the tree line sniffing the air and being drawn by the red smoke. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by more than 20 of them. His heart sank. He should have just taken one of the sheep and ran.

*

Roth was sweating profusely but tried to keep his nervousness from influencing the telepathic commands he was issuing to the flock. That had been a close call. He had thought about the possibility of being attacked by players, but he had never expected there to be someone with a quest completely opposed to his. What if the Beanies had sent more than one goon after him? He bit his tongue and took out the last [Haste Scroll]. There was no time to lose.

According to his calculations, the thief player should have left the containment cube he’d bought from Commissioner Jack.

Junior Containment Cube (Consummable)

Description: A piece of technology that survived the rain of fire. These are rare, and are only issued to law enforcement or citizens with outstanding contributions.

Item effects:

Traps an opponent for an amount of time;

Cancels all disguises;

Time of imprisonment dependant on prisoner’s level and resistances;

Channeling time: 10s.

It had cost him 50 gold to buy it from Jack, and then another 50 gold to charge it. But it had been worth it. It had bought him enough time. He was also careful to leave a wall of jackals between the thief and him, which should slow him down, but he didn't know how fast he moved. Thankfully, he was almost there.

You've entered the Green Woods.

Roth felt the frustration of losing the [Swift] bonus of the road and herded the sheep, urging them to cross the prairies. After marching the whole day, the flock was tired, but Roth tried to send them encouraging emotions and summon a mental picture of the beautiful, calm place he was taking them to. Emboldened by Roth's efforts, the flock pressed on.

A few beginners hunting mice in the field stood stupefied at the unexpected sight of a shepherd taking twenty sheep out to graze. Roth was now in level 20 equipment and looked like a prince compared to the drabs full of holes and tears that beginners wore.

Roth ignored them. The containment cube only had one charge. He’d have to take it to the Peace Corps before recharging it. He would be unable to hold off the rogue if he came back. If he decided to try again, there was little Roth could do. On top of that, he still wasn't sure if his plan would work. The shroud of night covered the flock while hiding away anyone preying on it. Roth was now walking behind the flock to ensure that none of the sheep was taken away without him noticing.

Just as the flock was about to make it to the treeline of the Green Woods, Roth felt a pang of panic disturb the mental song of the sheep. It was as if the string of a violin in an orchestra had torn apart. One sheep was lifted off the ground and quickly pulled away from the flock. It bleated desperately, and the song became a jumbled mess. The thief had come back!

Ch. 112 - Turncoat

INDEX 

Ch. 114 - Ratan Sprint