HC:Pacifist | Ch. 49 - Summons

Roth teleported into the Rat's Cave. He had figured that since they were the first ones to tell him about the heists, he owned them to visit them before all others.

For once, since it was the middle of the night, the inside of the cave was brighter than the outside. His eyes quickly adapted to the ghostly lighting, and he took off straight toward the Throne Room. He was already so familiar with the route that he could do it with his eyes closed.

Feeling his presence, a couple of Ratans took the initiative to greet him.

"Martyr. Welcome."

"Hello, little ones. How are you?"

"Human, I've been saving this for you. I hope you'll accept it."

You've been traded 1x[Morel Shroom]

"Thank you. That's very kind of you."

There was nothing better than being given free stuff.

Roth continued walking the tunnels and was given more freebies from the Rats here. On the way to the throne room, a few intersections contained agglomerations of Ratans. Elites could be found in some of them, and Roth greeted them, just as he had done for others. The elite at this intersection was a Rat Soldier.

Rat Soldier (Elite)

1500/1500

Lvl. 5

"Hello, friends."

"Martyr, are you going to visit the King?"

"Yes! I am. I came to return the stolen Ratan Tapestries."

"That's excellent news. Aramis, especially, will be thrilled to hear it. By the way, I've been meaning to give you this."

You've been given a 1x[Rat Poison] skill card.

Rat Poison (Common)

Skill description: For ages, humans poisoned the mice, and in doing so, mice became experts in the art of poisoning.

Skill effect: Active. Release a cloud of poison in 3x3 meters, poisoning everyone in it. It can stack up to six times.

Class Restrictions: Can be learned by all classes

Roth stared wide-eyed at the skill card that the elite was giving him. He was being given a skill card for free! Skill cards farmed from elites and bosses were always in high demand and short supply. He hadn't expected to be given one for free. If he were to sell it, he would get at least a few silver.

Roth had to admit that he had been worried about how he'd be able to progress his character in the game. After all, in RPGs, most players hunted mobs to gain loot, such as skills, equipment, or other drops. How would he be able to do the same if he didn't want to hurt them?

He'd been happy to receive random loot from the ratans because of their high relationship. But he hadn't expected to be given free skills. This was a great boon to his character. He tried to think of where else in this dungeon there were elites and took off toward the locations.

"Hey there! How are you guys doing today?"

"Human, you don't usually come this way. We've heard much about you, but it's our first time meeting you." Roth gulped. He didn't want to look like someone on the prowl for free skills.

"I was feeling bad about not spending time with everyone here, so I decided to say hello."

Your sympathy moves the ratans in the Rat Cave

+4 Reputation with all Ratans.

"Aren't you sweet?" the elite seemed genuinely touched by the consideration Roth offered him. "You know what, I have a few of these and would like to share one with you. Please, accept it as a token of our friendship."

You've been given a 1x[Ratan's Strike] skill card.

Ratan's Strike (Common)

Skill description: By observing Ratans fighting, you understand that the key to their strength and viciousness lies in their quick strikes.

Skill effect: Active. Deal 100% damage. Refreshes auto-attacks.

Class Restrictions: Can be learned by all classes

Bingo! Another skill card! He wasn't planning to learn these two skills because they didn't fit his playstyle, but the idea of being able to acquire skills from chatting with elites was something that he wasn't expecting at all. He refreshed his memory in the forums and went to the other two locations with elites in the dungeon. This time, no one gave him anything other than a few mushrooms.

It seemed that movement speed and charisma would be crucial to his character's development. The more ground he could cover, the more elites he could chat with. The more charisma he had, the quicker he could gain reputation and the more chances he would have of getting free stuff.

Even though Roth was out of elites to milk, he still had one boss in the dungeon. He tried to butter up with the impostor that posed as the monarch of the rats, hoping for a free reward.

"Hello, Mouse King! You look powerful today."

"Thank you, human."

It didn't say anything. Perhaps to be gifted things by bosses, Roth would have to unlock the next reputation level. That just showed that he couldn't stop investing time in his relationships with the different factions of the woods. There was still hidden potential to tap into here.

Now sure that he wouldn't be given any more gifts from the inhabitants of the Rat Cave, it was time to try the skill that Ratattoile had gifted him. His only epic skill.

Miniaturize!

Roth's body shrank until it was only a few centimeters tall. Roth looked at the Miniaturized buff he had been given. It all felt anticlimactic to him. He had hoped at least for a different animation from when he drank a [Miniaturizing Potion], but it seemed to have the same effect. Oh well, at least that wouldn't draw too much attention when he used it.

He squeezed into the gap behind the throne room and ran the tunnel until he found the glorious throne room where Ratattoile sat, and the Mouseketeers stood guard. Feeling smug, Roth marched triumphantly toward the king. What kind of rewards would he get for this complex quest? The number of NPCs he had to curry favor with and the great deal of investigation he had been forced to pursue to complete this quest had been tremendous.

Roth's heart was racing, and he felt his mouth drool at the prospect of being given some fantastic equipment or another epic skill. He looked forward to seeing Aramis' reaction to his heroic return.

"Your majesty," Roth said while performing a bow, "I bring great news! After much effort, I'm glad to return to you the treasures of your people. Here you have the Ratan Tapestries that were stolen from your people."

"Martyr! That's great news! Thank you for being willing to brave so much danger to protect the inheritance of my people."

[Cat Burglar] updated

Oli, the cat burglar, stole treasures from different races of the woods. After facing many dangers, you were able to retrieve them and can now return them to their proper owners.

Quest objectives:

- Return all stolen items (25% complete)

Quest rewards: Unknown

Roth blinked his eyes a few times and reread the notification. Did this mean he would only be given the rewards after returning all the items? Roth felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dropped on his head, cooling his excitement. He was looking forward to the rewards so much.

It seemed he had to hurry and see every other race to see what he could gain from this questline.

"Since I am here, my king, I would like to show you the updated version of my catalog. I have recently become trading partners with some humans living in the surrounding villages and even with one of the dwarf exiles. I was wondering if you'd like to make an order."

"Hmmm. We can never have enough cheese. Also, these pickaxes might prove useful for some expansion work I planned to do in the caves. I will leave it up to you what kind of exchangewe could make to get these items."

Items added to Ratan's Procurement List

"Leave it up to me, your majesty. I will ensure you have lots of cheese to feast on and that we get those items in exchange for some of your specialties. I must leave now. I have other visits to make and items to return. I'll be back soon."

"You're always welcome here, friend."

Roth left the dungeon and ran to the Fox Tunnels. Thank goodness that he didn't have anything to return to the badgers. He didn't think that his heart could take him having to wait 20 hours until midnight of the next day to complete this quest.

*

Both the baroness and the count had been happy to get the items they had lost. Count Crow couldn't resist hanging the disco ball in his office immediately. If Roth thought that the office looked shiny, he now felt that being in the office of Count Crow was the same as being inside a burning star. The brightness was too much.

With all other visits done, Roth only had one last item to return. The clearing was empty, as usual, and the breeze rustled the leaves, breaking the deafening silence.

"Prince Piglet. It's me, Pax! I've found your tusk. And I'm here to retrieve it."

Prince Piglet materialized out of thin air before him. How did he do that? It didn't make sense to Roth that this NPC had the gift of invisibility. He might have bought it if he had been a chameleon or another animal. But he was a boar, and a warrior on top of that, by the look of it. How was he able to make himself invisible?

"My tusk! My beautiful tusk!"

He picked it up from Roth's hand, finally triggering the much-awaited notification.

Congratulations, [Cat Burglar] completed.

Quest Completion Rate: S

Quest Rewards: 100,000 XP (+10,000XP); +300 reputation with all factions in the woods; 2 random pieces of the [Woodland Set]

Bonus Rewards: 50,000 XP (5,000XP); +200 reputation with all factions in the woods; 1 random piece of the [Woodland Set]

[Level up!]

You are now revered by foxes.

You are now revered by badgers

You are now revered by boars

You are now revered by corvids.

The string of notifications was music to Roth's ears! The amount of reputation he'd been awarded was massive. He hadn't expected to be given such a high grade for the quest, and perhaps it'd resulted from him not rushing to complete it.

Perhaps it was possible to finish the quest without involving so many factions. Looking back at all his steps, he could have completed the quest just by dealing with the ratans, Oscar, and the corvids. That was where he'd found all the essential information. Since he'd retrieved other stolen items, the system judged his completion rate as an S.

While Roth was reading the messages, Prince Piglet had already inserted his tusk back. Even though it was the same prince, restoring the missing tusk gave him a renewed air of dignity.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to have both tusks. It is a great shame for a boar to be toothless like I was. Thank you, human."

"You're welcome." Roth was in a rush to finish the dialogue. He wanted to investigate his new equipment. The notification he received stopped him in his tracks, though.

Special quest unlocked: [The Beast Within]

Requirements to unlock it:

- Revered status with five races of the woods.

Quest description: The Lord of the Woods has been keeping his gaze on you and has come to appreciate how you've touched the lives of all different creatures of the woods. It wishes to meet you.

Quest objectives:

- Meet the Lord of the Woods. He has a proposition for you.

Would you like to accept [Y/N]

"Human, you have entwined your life with the different creatures of the woods. Our Lord wants to meet you."

"Show me the way."

Ch. 48 - Drake

INDEX

Ch. 50 - Woodland Warrior