HC:Pacifist | Ch. 67 - Swimmer

By practicing swimming, your back muscles grow stronger, and your posture has improved. +1 strength

Due to the constant exposure to dirty water, your immune system has become more robust. +1 resilience.

Roth felt elated. It was a good feeling to be given immediate rewards for exercising. If everyone got notifications like this every time they went to the gym, he was sure there would be many more people exercising!

He wondered if it was public knowledge how exercise in the game unlocked stats. He had to check the forums to see how much they charged for such a guide. Who knew? Perhaps he could sell the information too.

After seeing the idea behind the Gazette, Roth started thinking of new ways to use the forums to generate income, and writing guides was possible. He would think more about it later after he left the sewers.

Encouraged by the gains in stats, Roth pressed on. After a while, he tried alternating swimming strokes to keep things interesting. After he was done getting comfortable with all the swimming strokes, his mind went into auto-pilot. Eventually, he discovered he could even spare some attention to read the forums when he used the breaststroke.

He had been struck with an idea earlier. He wondered why he hadn't been caught by Loki yet. After all, his nemesis had a mighty legion of employees. When he went to the forums and looked for guilds, Pegasus was among the first to show. The psycho had done well for himself.

When he'd first met Loki, he ran a 3rd tier guild in New Earth. Now he was a fierce contender competing for the top 10 spots. It was time to understand the situation with the guilds and how deep Loki's power in this game ran.

Roth avoided reading the information because he thought it would do him more harm than good. He didn't need to be reminded of how powerful his enemy was. That was just another blow to his psyche. His situation was already hopeless enough as it was.

Roth opened a post that gave helpful information on the top-tier guilds. He skimmed through it until he found the list.

"Currently, the top 10 guilds in AstroTerra are the following:

Dragons

Griffins

Phoenixes

Krakens

Cerberus

Hydras

Ogres

Gorgons

Basilisks

Pegasus

Although there has been some shuffling on the ranks 6 to 10, the top five have stayed solid and unchanged since the game began."

Roth knew all of these names from his previous gaming experience. The Krakens had been the strongest guild in New Earth, but it seemed that the Dragons were doing better for themselves these days.

Roth scrolled down, skimming over most of the generic information. The post described the area of influence of these guilds and their most noticeable players and characteristics.

"The Pegasus guild is the newest member of the top 10. Their guild leader, Loki, rarely appears publicly and keeps more to himself. Although they are number 10 in the ranks, they currently have the highest-leveled player in the game, Zin.

They are known to be heartless and fearless. Their swift climb through the ranks mostly came from relentlessly poaching talented staff and players from other first-tier guilds. They managed to steal Xerxes from the Basilisks and Yillian from the Chimeras.

They are known to offer excellent salaries but have rigorous non-disclosure agreements and contracts that keep their members on a tight leash.

They keep a strong presence in Sky Island and Green Country."

Roth was in a sour mood after reading this. He switched to a butterfly stroke. Its broader and more powerful strokes helped him let out some of his frustration. That monster was doing too well and the implications were terrifying. That only made it more suspicious that he hadn't been found yet.

He could have just sent this so-called Zin or one of the other high-ranking guild members after him if he had wanted to. Why only send Gary and the others?

Feeling energized by his frustration, Roth hauled himself off the water and looked for a rope or something to allow him to experience the current. He felt good about how long he could swim without rest and how fast he could go. It was time to see if he was strong enough to swim against the current.

He found an old rope near the pier and tied it to his waist. Then he found an anchor point that he could tie the rope to. He found a solid and heavy pipe, closed his eyes, and jumped into the river, where the water was frothy and powerful.

As soon as he jumped, Roth knew it was a bad idea. What was he doing? What was he trying to prove to himself? In a way, Loki was like the mighty river that mercilessly dragged him. Was he trying to tell himself that he could resist Loki if he could swim against this current?

He started to swim in a front crawl, trying to measure if he could advance despite the current. Roth tried to keep calm despite the powerful force pushing him downstream. It was hardly enough. He was moving forward at a snail's pace. Just as he had advanced two meters after one full minute of swimming, a floating crate crashed into him, sending him back downstream until the rope was taut. As it stood, there was no way on earth that he could swim against this current.

He grabbed the rope and started pulling himself toward the pipe. Without unlocking a relevant title, there was no way on Earth that he could come back to the city through the sewers. He curled into a ball.

"As things stand, there is no way I'll be able to leave the game either," he whispered. After a few moments of commiseration Roth started thinking of his mother and his brothers. He owed it to them to persevere.

He jumped back into the pool and kept swimming.

*

Ogre studied the map showing the Forest Fortress and the surrounding terrain. BlueFire and Cyclops had put the strategy together and even after extensive study and trying to be as picky as humanly possible, he couldn't find any weaknesses in the plan.

"Are you sure that this is the optimal configuration?"

"Our greatest concern is Zin. His class is extremely annoying in this type of battle. Xerxes and Yillian will also be there, but we have enough 2nd advancement players to hold them down.

"BlueFire and I will personally deal with Zin. The secret to winning the battle is to get rid of him first."

"They're probably thinking the same about you two."

Ogre's talents had always been with management and recruitment. That and his wealth were the bedrock upon which the Ogres stood.

"Let's do the following. I'll contact Hydra and hire ColdHand to come here and discuss the battle plan with you. Maybe he sees something that we can not."

"Are you sure that's necessary, sir?" Protested BlueFire. Ogre could see how his suggestion wounded his pride. Cyclops, more cold and resilient, didn't even blink before the suggestion.

"BlueFire, winning control over the Forest Fortress is paramount to the guild's development." Ogre stood up and walked closer to the map. "The number of players traveling to the capital is increasing every day. Our projections show that 20% of the players will travel to the capital in the next 6 months." BlueFire pouted. Ogre knew he was well aware of what was involved. But Ogre was talking more to himself than to his generals. It helped him reason.

"The first guilds to secure these five fortresses will have the upper hand in the next battle. Even though Pegasus is only 10 in the ranks, I dare not underestimate Loki and Zin. Remember what happened to the Chimeras."

BlueFire resignedly sighed. "Very well, sir. Let's see what ColdHand has to say." Ogre nodded happily. BlueFire had always seen ColdHand as his rival. The fact that he was willing to put down his pride for the sake of the guild showed his maturity. With these two talented generals by his side, there was nothing to fear.

"This is the closest we've come to owning property inside the game! We can not fail. Cyclops, I want you to double the drills and mock battles of the top 100 players participating in this battle. Ensure everyone logs out the afternoon before the battle so their mind is fresh and well-rested."

"Aye, sir."

"BlueFire, I want you to consider some bonuses for our team. Let's give them both the stick and the carrot. I want everyone to be motivated."

"Remember, we can't afford to lose this battle. Long live the ogres."

"Long live the ogres, echoed the generals."

They both left the tent, leaving Ogre staring at the map. The Sky Fortress would be disputed between the Dragons and the Phoenixes. The Basilisks and the Griffins would dispute the Fortress Under the Mountain. The Griffins were the most numerous guild, but in this sort of battle, numbers didn't help. Only quality mattered. The top 100 of the Basilisks was a force to be reckoned with and they might win.

The Cerberus would fight the Hydras for the Sea Fortress. It was ironic that the Krakens wouldn't be in this battle, given the name of their name-sake. They would be fighting the Gorgons for the Volcano Fortress. This was the first big game in-event that put guilds directly at odds. The guilds had to pay a hefty sum, and if they lost the battle, they would get nothing back from the investment and have to wait for a month before challenging the fortress masters. Worse, they would have to pay taxes to travel to the capital.

He looked for ColdHand's contact and sent him a message. He would do everything in his power to make sure he'd prevail over Pegasus.

*

You've unlocked a new title [Swimmer]

Title description: Through steady practice and patience, you've refined your technique and can swim more gracefully.

Title effects: Swim 20% faster. You spend less stamina when swimming.

- Swim for ten hours in one day;

- or swim fifty hours.

You've unlocked a new title [Triathlete]

Title description: You are a true sporting marvel. With unwavering dedication and boundless athleticism, you've conquered three sports with finesse.

Title effects:

All physical activity becomes less extenuating.

Conditions to unlock [Triathlete]

- Unlock three sport-related titles: [Swimmer]; [Alpinist]; [Marathonist]

Roth splashed happily in the water after getting the two titles. He knew it! It was a similar situation to learning languages. The more related achievements he unlocked, the better he would get across the board. By having three sport-related titles, he now had a good title regardless of the physical activity!

Across his swimming training session, Roth had also unlocked +2 strength, +2 dexterity, and +3 resilience. He was only one strength short before permanently unlocking a stat bonus for it!

When he unlocked dexterity or strength, he noticed that his swimming speed slightly increased. As his resilience grew, the debuffs he got kept getting weaker and more sparse. He was starting to gain some resistance to it.

It was time to try swimming against the current again. With the swimmer title, Roth felt confident in swimming back to shore, so he left the rope on shore and jumped in. As soon as he fell into the river and started swimming, he immediately felt the difference.

On the one hand, the energy bar was decreasing much slower. Conversely, he could steadily cover a reasonable distance even when swimming against the current. With this, he could rest assured that he had a way to leave and reenter the city undetected.

Feeling lighter, Roth swam for the shore, diving to dodge a fast-approaching crate that threatened to bump into him, and, with the added assistance of his [Alpinist] title, scaled the wall and quickly put his feet back on solid ground.

Now that he had become an excellent in-game swimmer and had an escape route, It was time to go back to exploring the sewers under the slums. He needed to find as many entry and exit points as possible to increase his chances of pursuing or evading the Gazpachos.

As he took off toward a direction he hadn't explored yet, he got the unfamiliar ring of a new message in his inbox. He only had one friend, so he immediately knew who it was.

Ch. 66 - Front Crawl

INDEX

Ch. 68 - Reunited