HC:Pacifist | Ch. 16 - Rat Cave

Brownie kept towing Roth along as they crossed many different Ratan turfs. Roth got tired of just waving and greeting mice and decided to freshen things up a bit, trying to find new ways of increasing his reputation with his tiny friends. He had noticed that Brownie had been smart enough to laugh at him when he met Oscar. It was incredible that such a low-level mob had been smart enough to laugh at him because he thought he'd magically learned Oscar's language. As Roth's thoughts went back to that moment, he stopped. Brownlie looked back, leaning his head to the side. He asked Brownie in human language. "Brownie, can you understand me?"

"Squeak, squeak. Yes," it answered in Ratan. Bingo. So they understand humans, but humans don't understand them! When he had talked to Oscar, he had done so in human speech, and Brownie had still laughed at his joke. It spoke human. He was sure that there was some tremendous philosophical implication here. What was it like to live in a world where you understand others, but they don't understand you? Going back through the sequence of events, Brownie had let out little squeals of laughter then. That meant that it had a sense of humor. It was time to try something. Coming into a field run by gray tree mice, Roth randomly addressed one of them.

"Hey! What is the gray and hairy thing growing on the face of a mouse?"

"Squeak? I don't know."

"A mouse-tache."

The mice around Roth burst out laughing.

The group of red mice finds your company delightful.

+10 reputation with all Ratans

Roth had never been much of a jokester, but there was this guy in jail who liked cheesy jokes like these and told them all day long to whoever gave him a listening ear. Roth still remembered some of them. He tried again.

"What will happen if you can make mice dance to your tunes?"

"What?"

"What?"

"You will have a mice-tro." Another round of happy squeaks.

The red mice find you funny.

+8 reputation with all Ratans.

The jokes were a big success. It turned out that mice loved laughing and having fun. Surprisingly, they began to tell him some jokes of their own. He started increasing his store of cheesy jokes. He would often retell them at the next turf with resounding success. When Roth was almost at the Rat Cave, he achieved the objective that he was going for.

"Which mouse was a Roman leader and emperor? Julius Cheeser!" The white rats around him loved the joke and started letting out squeaks of laughter.

The white rats find your company delightful.

+10 reputation with all Ratans

Congratulations! You are now esteemed by all Ratans!

You have gained a new title: [Esteemed].

Roth hopped excitedly while looking at the notifications. He had tried as hard as he could to unlock a better relationship with the mice, hoping that he would do better in his audience with the Rat King. After all, learning Ratan had earned him a generous amount of reputation. It wasn't hard to get the rest of the points. What he was surprised by was that he received yet another title! Roth looked up the effects of [Estemeed].

Title: Esteemed (Uncommon)

Title description: Relationships are important to you. You have made lasting friendships, and others see your demeanor as worth respecting.

Title effects:

• Unlocks [Charisma]

Conditions to unlock [Estemeed]:

• Achieve esteemed relationship status with any faction inside the game. {complete}

He went to the forums to check if the title was mentioned anywhere and found that it was. It was gained automatically when one gained enough reputation with any faction in the game. Chances were that sooner or later, everyone would reach such a relationship with at least one faction or NPC in AstroTerra. Charisma was a reasonably common stat, but that didn't mean it wasn't highly valued. It allowed one to gain better quests or more generous rewards from said quests. It also gave a bonus on the number of reputation points one acquired as they interacted with NPCs! It was an important stat for those with commerce-related professions because charisma went a long way when haggling with NPCs. As he searched the forum, he found that most players could only unlock charisma when they were level 30. Everyone said that the sooner charisma was unlocked, the better. He looked forward to seeing what kind of doors this stat would open for him.

Roth checked his stats.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Pax

Race: Human

Profession(s): [Broker]

Level: 5 (50/5000)

Affinity: [Empty]

Alignment: Neutral (30/100)

Relationships: Ratans (305/1000); Greenleaf Inc. (100/300)

Titles: [Martyr]; [Marathonist]; [Friend of the Ratans]; [Bilingual]; [Overachiever]; [Esteemed]

STATS (25 free stat points)

Hp:109

Energy:108

Damage reduction: 31.6%

Running speed: 134.2%

Weight: [Light] (2/44,4kg)

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 18

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 13

Endurance: 216

Charisma: 0

EQUIPMENT

Right Hand:[Empty]

Left hand: [Tin Ring]

Shoes: [Crappy Shoes]

Bottom: [Moldy Trousers]

Top: [Horrible Vest]

Gloves: [Empty]

Head: [Ghastly Headband]

Cape: [Errand Cloak]

Accessories: [Empty]

SKILLS:

Stat Bonuses: [Stone Skin]; [Horse’s Gallop]

Profession-Related: [Discount]

Passive: [Empty]

Active: [Healing Ray]; [Shepherd’s Shout]

After a long walk through rat-ridden woodland, they finally made it to the lair of the Rat King. From behind the bushes, Roth could see the entrance to the first dungeon run in Green Country: the Rat King's Cave. It was a cave inhabited by hundreds upon hundreds of scary rats. This was one of the most popular hunting spots for players up to level 5 in this region, and the crowds gathered around the entrance attested to this.

Seeing all the humans circling the cave, Brownie took a few hesitant steps back, afraid. Roth took the hint.

"It's alright, Brownie. I'll go in and talk to your king. You don't have to come with me."

"I see. Thank you for all the jokes. When I return to my field, I have many things to tell my friends."

"Sure. I'll visit as soon as I have some new ones to share. Bye-bye!"

"Bye!" Roth followed the little figure with his eyes as it nimbly disappeared under some nearby bushes. Now, having to mingle with his own kind, Roth broke off the shrubbery and joined the crowd of players. There wasn't a waiting line or anything. When someone wanted to go on a dungeon run, all they had to do was go to the tablet at the cave entrance and sign up. Many people waited here because they were looking for party members so that they could raid the dungeon.

"Looking for someone level 4 or above with 10+ intelligence and the Healing Ray skill."

"Miniature potion grind. Need one esper. PM, please."

"I am level 1, but I will pay you 20 credits if you take me on a dungeon run."

"Looking for a miniature potion grinding party. I'm a level 3 warrior."

"Warrior with 15 strength is ready to join a party."

"Looking for someone with high DPS for miniature potion grind!"

The Green Country beginner zone was built so that players started in satellite villages surrounding these woods, and after gaining a few levels, they would all meet in the center and run dungeons together. Therefore, this was Roth's first time seeing so many players in one place. It was mind-boggling that after two years of the game had already elapsed, there were still so many beginners in front of a low-level dungeon. He noticed that even though none of these players was level 10 or had a class, they already identified themselves as warriors, espers, or whatever. It must be nice to have an idea of where your character is going, thought Roth as he sighed. He still had no clue about what class would suit him or what the best profession for him would be. Unlike other players, he couldn't afford to make one wrong decision about his class. After all, if he regretted it, he couldn't reset his character.

He also found many people talking about miniature potions. He had no idea what it was, but for everyone to talk about it, it seemed like it was a highly sought-out item. He kept passing group after group of players until he found the tablet at the cave entrance. The system to run dungeons back in New Earth was quite similar. He tried to touch it and got a notification.

Welcome to the cave of the Rat King. Many rewards and treasures await you inside. Would you like to go in? [Y/N]

Roth entered.

He was teleported underground. There were many dark tunnels around him. Everything was silent and eerie, and the cave smelled moldy and moist. Like the apartment where my real body is, thought Roth. He was the only player in the dungeon. Other players would be running the same dungeon but as if they were in an alternative dimension. He chose one of the tunnels at random and started walking. The ghostly light inside the cave came from glowing mushrooms that grew on the cave's walls. Roth wondered if that was something he could pick up. He went to the forums and found that he needed the herbalist's profession to do that. Shame. He kept walking until he saw a group of rats ahead. He called up to them in Ratan.

"Hello, friends!"

"Squeak? So you are the human who has learned Ratan. Word in the woods is that you're quick with a joke."

"I guess." Had no one else learned Ratan? They were making such a huge fuss over his language skills.

"Quick. Do one!"

"What did the mouse and his wife do after they fought over who would eat a snack?"

"Squeak? What?"

"They compro-miced and had half of it each." The group burst out laughing. "The king will love meeting this funny human."

The rats in the cave love your sense of humor. +10 reputation with all Ratans.

"Can you take me to him?"

"Sure. Follow me."

The rat went ahead and guided Roth through a maze of tunnels. Players typically needed three hours to run this dungeon, but Roth had crossed it in less than ten minutes. They finally made it to the final boss of the dungeon. Roth examined it.

Mouse King (Boss)

Lvl. 5

3000/3000

It was a giant mouse as big as a bear, with dark fur and a small crown.

"Hello, oh King," said Roth while bowing respectfully. He heard his guide laughing.

"You humans are so funny. That isn't the king," he explained.

"It isn't?" Roth looked on the forums for information on the dungeon and saw screenshots of the boss. Everyone was under the impression that it was.

"No. Our king is ahead. But to get to him, you are too big. Here. Have one of these."

Miniaturizing Potion (Consumable)

Item description: The color and consistency seem to throw you off, but it seems OK to drink after smelling it.

Item effect: It shrinks you to one-tenth of your usual size. Useful to enter small places. The effect expires after 30 minutes.

Wow. What an interesting item! So this is what everyone outside was looking for, although they referred to it as 'miniature potions.' Probably an effort to save some syllables. Roth looked for a description in the forums to ensure they were the same item and confirmed it was. He also found out that it was the rarest drop in this dungeon. There was one chance in a hundred of getting it from the boss. It only dropped if everyone in the party was below level 5. This was also the only place in the game where players could get it. Roth's eyes widened when he found out that it cost 100 gold. This item was so valuable that guilds had farming teams that kept resetting their characters to farm this dungeon to provide the guild's coffers with this useful item.

Roth regarded the fortune in his hand, but after a few moments, he shrugged and gulped down the potion. He began shrinking until he could look at the rat that had brought him here at eye level.

"That's better. Follow me," said the rat, not surprised by the transformation. It disappeared into a hole hidden behind the stone throne where the mouse king sat. Roth followed.

Ch. 15 - Broker

INDEX

Ch. 17 - Mrs. Bessie