HC:Pacifist | Ch. 18 - Ratatouille

A shrunk Roth followed his guide into the inconspicuous, hidden entrance behind the stone throne of the boss's room. The protrusions in the rock and the shadows hid it well. It led into a tunnel carved into the rock.

After walking for roughly one minute, the pathway opened into a glorious golden room. Thousands of glow mushrooms illuminated the giant space from a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Luxurious scarlet tapestries with woven golden thread covered the walls and warmed the room.

You are the first to discover the True Throne Room. +5000 XP, +300 reputation with all Ratans

[Level up!]

The first? Did that mean that no other player had ever been here? The rewards were generous enough to help him gain a level. Someone with a neutral relationship with the Ratans would gain respected status with them in one go if they found the room. Of course, for that, they would have to figure out that this place existed in the first place. The way the chandelier made the ghostly light of the mushrooms feel sunny, and the way the light reflected off the golden thread in the tapestry fascinated Roth. After all those years in prison and the past few weeks walking impoverished villages of naked stone and dusty roads, Roth was frozen still, and his heart raced as he took it all in.

"That's as far as I will go. The king will see you now."

Roth awoke from his daze and nodded. He was speechless right now, but the rat seemed happy to see a human so impressed with a view of their king's glory.

Roth slowly walked the red carpet that led to the true rat king. He looked more closely at the tapestries lining up on the wall. They seemed to be historical depictions of important moments in the history of the mice's race. The first tapestry to his right showed different mice dying of intoxication after eating rat poison, being caught in a mouse trap, or being hunted by domestic cats. A human with an abnormally big grin was portrayed in the background, making Roth feel that the artist pinned the deaths on his race.

The first tapestry to the left showed comets falling from the sky and hitting cities. It showed rats and mice being elevated and becoming more intelligent. Afterward, they were shown leaving human towns and moving into the woods with other animals. Other tapestries showed a war between mice and rats, the signing of a peace treaty and the start of the Ratan Dynasty, the crowning of monarchs, the construction of this place, and other meaningful historical events. Roth would take time to study them in more detail later, but it seemed impolite to leave the king waiting while he examined the artwork.

Closer to the throne, on the sides of the red carpet, were four mice, two on each side, standing on two legs and wearing feathered hats and sapphire blue uniforms. As he tried to examine them, he couldn't see their level.

Athos, the Mouseketeer

????

????

That meant that their level was very high. They remained silent and stoically still, like statues.

Roth kneeled and respectfully greeted the Ratan monarch sitting on the throne. Its eyes were yellow, and its fur was grayish blue. Its gaze revealed intelligence, the respect of its guard and subjects revealed authority, and its cape and crown revealed majesty. If a low-level mob was as intelligent as he had seen, he could not fathom how much depth these high-end NPCs had.

"Greetings, oh King," said Roth in impeccable Ratan. He kept his head low, waiting for the king to acknowledge his presence.

"Greetings, human. Congratulations on being the first human to make it here." Roth noted how the king had addressed him in human language. The courtesy implied polite respect. Everyone assumed that this dungeon ended with the giant mouse boss. Boy, they were wrong. The King of Rats wasn't the brutish bear-like rat on the other side of the tunnel, but this refined monarch facing him.

"Thank you, oh King."

"The reason I called you here, human, is because I am in a predicament," the king said, sighing.

"How so, your majesty?" Roth tried to sound as polite as possible as if he were talking to an actual government official. His politeness paid off.

The Rat King is pleased with your respectful manners and your use of honorifics.

+1 charisma

He had gotten his first point on charisma! It hadn't been too difficult. Could it be that the lower a stat was, the easier it was to level it up? Roth would test this out later. If this were the case, that, coupled with his excellent relationship with all Ratans, seemed to have caused the spontaneous increase in the stat. He hoped that it would keep increasing throughout the conversation. His attention returned to the king's speech.

"For too long, our kind has been oppressed by you, humans. You come into our woods, burrows, and lairs and butcher us." The king spared a glance at the first tapestry Roth had observed when entering. "Well. It’s true that we butcher many of you in return…" The rat king trailed off as if lost in his thoughts. Roth wondered what the ratio of Ratan to human killings was. He imagined that throughout the game's first two years, many had already perished battling the Ratans.

"You, on the other hand, refuse to harm us. Many of my subjects told me you saved them from your own kin!"

Roth waited for the king to get to his point.

"When I originally called you, I had something in mind for you..." The king paused. Roth's mind went to the tapestry, and for a moment, he feared that the king was thinking about whether to attack him. "But you are now a broker. Hmmm. That changes things. I have another use for you. Here..." A window appeared in front of Roth.

The quest [Audience with the Rat King] has changed to [Ratan Trade].

Ratan Trade (Unique)

The Rat King has been locked in by the many humans hunting his kind. He seeks to establish a trade route with them, hoping that commerce opens the way to peace.

Quest objective: Take some of the Ratans’ specialty products to a human town and sell them for the highest price possible.

Quest rewards: It depends on how much profit you generate.

The Rat King wants to trade you 20x [Miniaturizing Potions]. Do you accept?

[Y/N]

20 potions? Roth gulped. If one [Miniaturizing Potion] cost 100 gold a piece, then he was looking at an incredible haul. If he sold all of these and kept the money to himself, he would make 2k gold. That was no small amount, even for high-rankers. This was quite a windfall. Or was it? Roth thought for a moment.

"I am sorry, your majesty, I can not accept your kind offer."

Rattatoile's smile darkened into a snarl. His eyes narrowed, and his fur stood up. The temperature in the room became colder, and the air became thick and hard to breathe.

-500 reputation with the mice faction

You are no longer esteemed by Ratans.

"What is the meaning of this?! I thought you were our friend! Don’t you appreciate the great honor that we are bestowing on you? Explain yourself!" shouted the king. Roth noted how the four guards standing close to the throne had moved one of their feet forward and put a paw to their scabbards. They were ready to dash and attack him if the king gave the order. It seemed that he was in quite a pickle. Roth sighed and decided just to speak his mind and hope for the best.

"Your majesty, if I show up at the local market selling [Miniaturize Potions] like this, everyone will wonder where I got them. I don’t know where this quest leads, but I fear that your majesty will lose the little peace you have left by opening a trade route. I have met your subjects, and they all love you. What kind of friend to your race would I be if I led bloodthirsty humans right to your doorstep?"

The king answered in a soft tone. "I see."

"Besides, Oscar has been your broker for many years. He was the one who taught me about the broker's profession. I can't accept your offer in good conscience without speaking to him first. I don't want to steal any business from him. After all, he's been the broker between the woods and the humans for too long. I need to ask him if he doesn't mind first. Your majesty, if I might be so bold as to suggest this, why don't you ask Oscar? He's much more experienced than I as a broker and will probably get you a better deal."

A moment of silence followed Roth's defense. The rat king smiled radiantly, and his laughter echoed across the massive room. His guards joined the monarch.

"You truly are something, human. Such a righteous man. You care not about profit if it brings harm to others. Oscar was right! You are indeed worthy of representing us."

+20 righteousness

+1000 reputation with the Ratan faction

You’re now revered by all Ratans.

Your title [Esteemed] has been upgraded to [Revered].

Title: Revered (Rare)

Title description: It is difficult to become friends or earn their respect. But you have proven yourself to be someone with great character worthy of others' reverence.

Title effect:

- Grants +5 charisma;

Conditions to unlock [Revered]

- Achieve revered relationship status with any faction inside the game {complete}

"But your majesty. I don't want to cause any trouble..." The Rat King raised his hand, gesturing for Roth to stop speaking. There was something about it that made Roth stop speaking immediately. He didn't know if it was a skill or just an effect of the king's high charisma.

"Fear not, friend. As strong as the other humans may be, they still have a long way to go before they harm us. See for yourself."

Now that he had broken to the next level in his relationship with the mice faction looking up, the king withdrew the fog covering his stats and those of his guards. Roth was astounded.

Rattatoile, King of Ratans

1000000000/1000000000

Lvl. 99

Looking around, he saw the guards. Aramis level 80, Porthos level. 80, Athos level. 80, and D'Artagnan level 80. In a moment of clarity, Roth chuckled. The four 'mouseketeers'. Good one.

Roth wasn't worried about their safety anymore. With the average level of players being in the high forties, these NPCs could snuff them out like candles.

"And are you sure that Oscar is OK with this?"

"Oscar has served us well for many years, but he's getting well advanced in years. He wants to start passing on some of his work to younger brokers. He was the one who sent word that you might be able to represent us."

"And isn't this too valuable cargo to try me out? 20x [Miniaturize Potions] is no small matter, majesty."

"I will let you in on a little secret we only share with our close friends. The ingredients needed to make these are dirt cheap. It's just a combination of some mushrooms we find in the woods. Each bottle costs less than 10 coppers to make." He winked and added, "Go ahead, human. We're not worried."

"In that case, I accept."

Rattatoile has transferred 20x [Miniaturizing Potions] into your inventory.

You have accepted the quest: [Ratan Trade].

"I will do my best." Roth bowed. The king performed a curt bow.

Roth checked the timer on the effect of the [Miniaturizing Potion]. He still had 20 minutes to go. There were ten tapestries in the throne room in total. Roth decided to make the most of his time here and spent a few minutes appreciating each of them. It had been a long time since he had seen anything artistic. There had been some graffiti in prison, but that hardly compared to the craftsmanship he could see in these works of art. He stood before them one at a time, appreciating their beauty.

Roth decided that his favorite tapestry was the last one. It was the one closest to the throne, on the left. It took him a few moments to understand its meaning. It was not a historical event but a hopeful portrayal of a peaceful future. In it, Ratans, humans, cats, and other animals were all shown having a meal in peace. Roth spent the most time admiring this tapestry. He got an unexpected notification after a few minutes of looking at it.

Your appreciation for art expands your intellect. +1 to intelligence.

Your appreciation for art expands your intellect. +1 to intelligence.

Ch. 17 - Mrs. Bessie

INDEX

Ch. 19 - The Full Tour