HC:Pacifist | Ch. 33 - Boar Fields

Gary rechecked the forums. It was a compulsion, an addiction. He spent much of the day here. There was no news of any berserker players causing ripples. There were some new riddles, but he wasn't in the mood for them. After such a long time without adequately taking care of his character, he couldn't afford to slack off in his leveling anymore. There were goals and quotas; if he failed those, Loki would notice and figure out something was wrong.

It was the last thing he felt like doing right now, but he was hunting gorillas. They were very agile mobs, but as a Lightning Rogue, he had agility in spades. Whereas Brian had gone for the Chaos Rogue advancement, which focused on heavy bursts of damage, Gary had always preferred speed and agility. There was no point in throwing a big punch if it never landed. He enjoyed seeing the string of small numbers erupting from the gorillas as he kept flashing behind them to cause extra damage.

Thinking of Brian, Gary furiously slashed the gorilla again. Brian reminded him of Shirley too. Once he had thrown them under the bus, Gary had been burning up inside. He was glad that the game made sleeping unnecessary; otherwise, he knew he would be dealing with the worst insomnia ever. Even as he finished hunting this mob and was awarded XP and even a skill card from it, all he could feel was rage. Blinding, violent rage. It was better than feeling guilty. That cursed Slayer. It was all his fault. He was the one who started it all.

He couldn't wait to finish getting his 20% XP goal for the day and to go on patrol, looking for that bastard. As Gary sought his next victim, he saw a lonesome warrior fighting against one gorilla. From his movements, Gary could tell that he was a good player. He dodged and hit, wasting no momentum. It reminded him of the Slayer.

Gary licked his lips and rushed toward him. He needed a way to exhaust his anger. He had just found his prey. As the player whittled down the gorilla's HP, Gary went to get two more gorillas and attacked them to draw their aggro. He then rushed toward the warrior player, careful to do so from his blind spot. When the warrior realized what was happening, Gary was already on him, using three skills in succession.

Lightning Step!

Numbing Thunderblade!

Aggro Transfer!

Gary used one of his bread-and-butter griefing combos. The first skill allowed him to close the gap with his enemy, while the second stunned them for one full second, regardless of resistance. The last was the most disgusting skill he had and transferred any aggro he had accumulated toward another player.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you attacking me?"

"Shut up and dance for me!"

The warrior was still able to stand his ground. He backed against a wall and started to, between dodges and sidesteps, continue to try to finish the gorilla that was almost done. Gary had to give it to him. He grabbed a dart and, at a crucial moment, threw it at the player.

Paralyzing Dart!

It dealt almost no damage but gave a mini-stun of 0.1 seconds. It was enough to disturb the player's rhythm and for one of the gorillas to land a hit. Gary laughed contentedly as he heard the warrior cursing him and fighting furiously for his life. How good it was to see others suffer as much as he did. He would soon find the Slayer and make him pay for what he had done to Shirley and Brian.

*

Roth was teleported down after spending a long time in the canopy of the woods. Although his body was back on the shaded woodland floor, his mind still lingered on the riddles that Count Crow had given him:

"Jason is lying dead. He has an iron bar across his back and some food lying in front of him. How did Jason meet his tragic end?

Always in you, sometimes on you; if I surround you, I can kill you. What am I?

Why is green grass like a mouse?

Where once there were many, now there are none. Time has stopped ticking; the hours are done. For no is an end but a beginning; for the darkest is now, but soon shall be thinning. What is it?

Forward I am an animal, but backward I am one no man can ever see. What am I?"

He was starting to get the feeling that he wasn't getting straight answers from NPCs in this game ever again. After getting the riddles, his quest window was updated too:

[Cat Burglar] was updated.

Quest description: Oli, the cat burglar, has stolen tapestries, tomes, and diamonds from other races in the woods. You are still looking for a way to find him.

Quest objectives: Find Oli and return what he stole to its proper owners.

Quest rewards: Unknown

He posted these riddles on the chat, hoping someone would answer them. He waited for a few minutes and only got one answer. It hadn't been GrandpaBill. Oh well, he must be busy, concluded Roth. It's time to move on to the last race in the woods. Roth started traveling toward the heart of this woodland. That's where he would find the boars.

Hunting boars required players to combine all they had learned by hunting the previous mobs in the beginner zone. Players learned some essential coordination from hunting mice. By hunting foxes, players learned the importance of minding the aggro zone of mobs to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Badgers helped players grasp how a mob could disrupt skills and how to time them more appropriately. As for the ravens, they helped players mind their footing.

For boar hunting, all those lessons came together. Boars were mobs with high health and at least two skills. One was a dash. If players weren't careful, the boar could quickly get into range of other boars by using it. If hit by the dash, they were sent flying. They could also be thrown toward the boar's companions and end up surrounded. Worse, they could end up in a mud pit. Boars dug up the soil; some places became so muddy that they would give players a slow debuff.

Boars also introduced the concept of berserk skills. When a boar's HP dropped below 10%, it went berserk. They became slightly faster and stronger, keeping players on their toes. For all the added trouble, enticing equipment, skills, and experience were rewarded to boars' hunters.

The biggest challenge of hunting boars was their boss, the Boar King. This was a wild boss that roamed the boar fields. It had a wide aggro zone; if it saw an ordinary boar being attacked, it rushed to their aid.

Additionally, this boss dropped two items that made players crazy over them. Whenever a Boar King appeared, there was an unending fight between players until a victor emerged. The items were extremely valuable.

Boar's Great Tusk (Guild)

Item description: The boar who had this tusk was exceptionally strong, and just by looking at it, one feels filled with vitality and strength. By putting it on display, a guild can gain prestige and grant benefits to its members.

Item effects: +2 Strength, +5HP to all guild players

Power Trufle (consumable)

Item description: A rare delicacy prized by all boars. It is extremely rare. As you smell it, your pores open, and your muscles strengthen.

Item effects: Grants +10 permanent strength. It can only be consumed once.

Guilds went crazy over the tusks, but what made players drool over this boss was the [Power Trufle]. To permanently add +10 strength by eating a consumable was no small matter. That was the equivalent of two levels' worth of stats!

These items only dropped if the boar was hunted by players level 10 and below. They would sell for an insane amount at auction houses if they were ever put on sale. But who was stupid enough to sell one of these items when it could increase one's strength?

Regardless, hunting boars was a tricky business. One had to remember the mud pits, common boars, the Boar King itself, and, worst of all, the other players hunting for the Boar King. To make it worse, the boars were at the heart of the woods meant there was less space, and players saw a lot more of each other, adding to the complexity of hunting here.

Before coming here, Roth had inquired of foxes, ravens, and badgers about boars' likes and dislikes. They all agreed with the answer. Boar's valued strength. They cared not about talking, riddles, or poetry. All they enjoyed doing was fighting. They also enjoyed rolling around in the mud, but Roth didn't see how that helped him. Unless he decided to open a spa for boars in the woods, he doubted that would ever work.

Roth had to play this by ear with no tricks up his sleeve. He would first check out the area and figure things out from there. Roth wasn't expecting the spectacle that greeted him when he arrived. Explosions, poison, fire, axes, swords, boars running, and players sent flying. It was a true warzone. Roth froze. He tried to keep it together, but this trigger was too strong! If seeing one mouse get hurt already sent him into a psychotic break, how was he supposed to handle this happening around him?

"Stoooooooop!" he screamed while running toward the nearest group hunting boars. Unlike when players stopped to give Roth some attention, they couldn't care less about his arrival this time. Before Roth even came near them, a stray boar dashing away from another hunting party bumped into him, sending him flying. Unfortunately for Roth, he was sent flying even deeper into boar territory and the middle of several hunting parties.

"Go for the boar's legs. Interrupt its dash!"

"It's going berserk. Finish them quickly!"

"Grunt, squeal, grunt, roar!" screeched one of the boars menacingly.

Roth's vision went blank, and he snapped. He lost control, and his body went on autopilot. Roth kept throwing himself into the fray, dying, and returning to the boar hunting fields for three days.

On the first day, Roth was barely conscious of what was happening. It was all just a hazy blur.

After the second day, he was more aware of his surroundings. He could remember the players' faces and register the strikes and painful hits he was inflicted.

By the third day, he felt that, although he couldn't stop himself, he could be surrounded by the chaos of battle and not blackout. He could see and hear things. He could even speak and think. What he could not do was tell his body not to jump into the middle of others' battles.

By constantly being exposed to the pain and battle around him, Roth was getting acclimated. As soon as Roth had regained enough clarity to regain control of his mind, on one of the runs from the village's respawn space to the boar's hunting ground, Roth checked the notifications he had received over the last couple of days.

The boars witness your valiant effort. Too bad you didn't put up a fight. Still, they are impressed with your efforts to help them.

+2 reputation with all boars.

The Boar King feels you are healing him and appreciates your help. It speaks of your valiant efforts for the other boars.

+3 reputation with all boars.

There were fewer of these than he would have liked, and even after three days of this, he still hadn't broken through 50 reputation. Was there anything he could do to speed things up? He wasn't having a good time at this. He kept being hurt time after time, and the pain was horrible. He had had enough pain when his squad tortured him, but now his body kept throwing him into this perilous situation. What was wrong with him?

There was one additional notification that was positive enough to merit a small smile from Roth:

You have learned a new skill. Grapple

Grapple (common)

Skill description: The skillful way you grab people allows you to keep them immobilized for a short moment.

Skill effects: Active. Immobilize your target for two seconds (this varies according to the difference in strength). Deals no damage. You are vulnerable during this time. Interrupts channels.

In AstroTerra, if someone performed skillful movements repeatedly, there was a slight chance of unlocking skills. According to the rumors in the forums, some high-ranking players trained in martial arts in real life and tried later to convert their skills to AstroTerra. Roth had always been skilled at fighting and had learned to immobilize someone without hurting them. The game had picked up on his skill, and he was happy with the reward.

Now that he had noticed he had learned this skill, he could use [Grapple] coupled with his annoying combo of [Healing Ray] and [Shepherd's Shout] to make his rescues more effective. The big issue now was how he could speed up how quickly he became friends with the boars.

If he could at least become friends with them, he could stop half the battlefield from hitting him. That would make it much less painful to gain reputation. With only co-pilot authority over his disobedient psyche, he decided to try something out.

He wasn't much of an actor but would do his best. He arrived at the boar hunting field and located two groups of players who seemed to be fighting over a boar elite.

*

"Come on, SmellySock! You know that we got here first! Get out of here, and leave this elite to us."

"Why should I, DirtyShirt? Go away. Don’t think that we won't fight you to death. We need these drops to have a chance at hunting the boar king."

Tension was palpable in the air between the two party leaders. Their companions kept cautiously hitting the boar while watching what the other players were doing. In AstroTerra, whoever scored the last hit got the full XP of the kill, and its drops. As for the drops, it was first come, first served.

As the elite’s HP bar entered the yellow and the parties stood off against each other, the scariest sound that could be heard in the novice area of the Green Woods spread in the area.

"Stoooop! Stoooooop!"

"Oink?"

"What?"

"What?"

Ch. 32 - Count Crow

INDEX

Ch. 34 - Theatrics