HC:Pacifist | Ch. 7 - Errand Cloak

Roth ran on the cobblestone road. The package he was carrying was quite heavy.

Bartholomew's Package (quest item)

Item description: a package that is quite heavy, considering its size. It seems valuable.

Weight: 35kg

Fortunately, since he had no items to his name, and thanks to the [Horse Gallop] bonus, the weight did not hinder his traveling speed. Had it been over his weight-carrying limit, he guessed that he would have gained something like a [Heavy] or [Slow] debuff, significantly reducing his speed. At least, that's what it was like in the games Roth had played before.

Now that the fear of running into his former guildmates was eased by leaving Greenfield Village, Roth felt his mind regain clarity. As he ran, he considered his situation. In one sense, he had left one prison to end up in another. As far as prisons went, however, this one wasn’t half bad. He looked at the beautiful day of sun and the clear blue skies. Around the road were verdant prairies with red poppies and white dandelions. In the distance, to the east, he could see trees forming the outer boundary of the woods marked on his map. As he breathed in, the breeze brought in the scent of pine. Yes, this prison wasn’t half-bad.

After running for ten minutes, he noticed something. His energy bar was decreasing. Was it because he was running? He stopped for a moment. The energy bar slowly filled again. He took off. After roughly one minute, he noticed that his energy had decreased by one point. So, just the act of running in the game consumed energy? That didn't seem very pleasant. Roth clicked his tongue. He would have to make resting stops along the way.

*

Roth checked his map. He had left Greenfield Village roughly five hours ago and was making good time. He should be almost in Mapleleaf town. Throughout his jog, he realized there was an added benefit to doing this quest.

You ran for 15 minutes straight! By exercising your muscles, you become stronger. +1 strength.

You ran for 30 minutes straight! By practicing running, you become faster. +1 dexterity.

You ran for 45 minutes straight! By practicing running, you become more resistant. +1 endurance.

He was awarded some stats for running for a few hours while carrying so much weight. In New Earth, the only way players had been able to gain stats was by leveling up or completing quests. In AstroTerra, it seemed that some hidden achievements granted players extra stats. Every time these notifications popped up, he felt refreshed and renewed. Running had also helped Roth to slightly shake off the shock of what he had been through. He tried not to think about the beating he had received and only focused on the nature around him as he kept a steady jog.

In the distance, he saw smoke coming from the chimneys of the settlement he was heading to. Finally, he had made it. This village was similar to the one he'd left hours earlier. Like in Greenfield Village, there were other players here and there. Some had set up shop in the main stretch of the village and were trying to sell their goods.

“Selling [Mice’s Teeth]. 1 for 3 copper!”

“Selling super rare [Worthless Dagger] for 30.000 gold!”

Roth chuckled at the last one. He wondered if a good-humored pro would ever buy it for that much. Some beginners had already changed from their starting equipment. Instead of the garments given to beginners, some had now ragged tunics. Others wore dented rusty plate armor. Still, others had spent torn leather equipment. Regardless of how poor they looked, Roth was sure they all looked more presentable than him, who had run all the way here in his underwear. Seeing him, some players pointed at him, laughing at his poverty. Once upon a time, Roth would have lashed out at anyone who looked at him funny, but now, he did not mind it. He just laughed with them. He had to agree that he did look ridiculous.

He checked how many stats he had gained in his jog here. +3 strength, +5 dexterity, +2 endurance. Not bad. His dexterity had doubled! As he looked at the time log, he noticed a pattern. He had gained most of the stats after half an hour of running. After two hours passed, he got fewer and fewer notifications. He first had to put in considerable effort before the system rewarded him. After getting stats for a while, his progress plateaued, and from then on, he gained fewer stats. The more he did an activity, the less effective it became to earn rewards. Interesting. He waved his head. He wasn’t worried about gaining stats. Stats were vital for players who wanted to increase their fighting prowess. He did not want to go into battle in this game.

The first thing he did after he arrived in the village was to go turn in his quest. Perhaps the promised 10 coppers he would gain as a reward would help him buy some cheap equipment. He didn’t care if it was good; he looked forward to putting some clothes on.

The location of Bartholomew's niece's shop was marked on the map he'd been given. The shop was on the main street of the small village, similar to where Bartholomew’s shop had been. Finding it, he went in.

A young woman with brown curly hair and green eyes stood behind the counter. She wore a similar attire to her uncle and the same leaf-shaped pin on her garment. He could even see some physical resemblances to Bartholomew. They had the same round face and pointy nose. The game developers had gone to great lengths to make the game so elegant, even in these small details.

"Hi there! I am Pax. Bartholomew told me to bring this to you."

"Oh. Hello, traveler. Thank you! I was waiting for that. I was beginning to worry it wouldn’t arrive today."

[Package run] completed

Completion rate: S+

Rewards: 10 coppers, 50Xp

Bonus rewards: 10 coppers, +50Xp, [Crappy Shoes], +10 Reputation with Greenleaf Inc.

[Level up!]

Completion rate? What was this? S+ sounded very good. He consulted his log and saw that the rewards he had received were way better than what Bartholomew had promised him. He had received twice as much money and experience as initially offered. He was even given an item! It wasn’t great, but it seemed better than nothing.

Crappy Shoes (Common)

Item description: The shoes are falling apart and stink, but they seem better than walking barefoot.

Item effects:

• +1 Dexterity
• 2% running speed when outside of combat.

Why had he unlocked extra rewards? Maybe it was because he came here straight away. Bartholomew did mention that it was a time-sensitive package. Or was it because an average level 0 player would typically not be able to run here with such a heavy package so quickly? After all, he could only do it because he had the [Horse’s Gallop] stat bonus, which was exceptional for any beginner. Whatever the case, the game rewarded him because he did the quest faster than the average player. He wasn't complaining. He would take everything he could get.

"You're someone competent. My uncle trusts you. On top of that, I can see you're a Martyr. You've gone through many hardships but kept your head up. Here. I have a time-sensitive package I need to have delivered to my brother in Traverse Town. Would you be available to help me out with this?"

Chain quest activated: [Package Run II]

Quest objectives: Get the package to Traverse Town as quickly as possible.

Rewards: 20 coppers, 100Xp

Do you wish to accept? [Y/N]

“I'd be happy to."

You have received [Margaret's Package]

Margaret has updated your map.

"As long as I don’t harm others, I am more than willing to assist you with any tasks you might have.” Thinking for a few seconds, he added. “Do you sell any clothes, by any chance?”

“I didn’t mention it out of politeness, but running around on one’s underwear isn’t appropriate, good sir.”

Blushing, Roth nodded.

“Try the shop across the street. They sell garments, armor, and weapons over there.”

“Thank you.”

Roth crossed the street and saw another stone house, much like the one he had left. A tablet was hanging from the top saying 'equipment and weapons.' He shivered at the mention of the word 'weapon' but went in.

There were two other players inside checking weapon racks. The person selling the equipment was an old dwarf.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Aye,” he said.

“Can I check what you have for sale?”

“Aye.” He again said. Not exactly friendly with the customers, thought Roth.

A window appeared in front of him. Most of what was sold here was made of tin. It was absolute garbage. This was only natural, though. After all, everyone here was low-leveled. Roth skipped all the weapons, armor, or anything used in battle.

“Are there any items you have that grant traveling speed?” he asked the dwarf.

“Aye,” the dwarf answered.

In the window, many shoes were shown. He already had the shoes he had been given earlier in the quest. Although there were better options here, he felt it was better first to check if there were other items for slots that were empty. Scrolling down to the very bottom, he found something interesting.

Errand Cloak (Common)

Item description: The aerodynamic characteristics of the old fabric grant you some extra speed. It won't last long in battle, though.

Item effects:

- Grants +10% running speed. Bonus only activated if you haven’t been in combat for two hours

This is awesome, thought Roth. It cost 20 coppers, precisely what he had earned in the last quest. He bought it and equipped it right away. He also put on the shoes he had gained from the [Package Run] quest. Overall, his running speed had increased by 12% with the help of these two items. It didn’t sound like a lot, but in real life, one had to train for months or years to achieve such a result. It was the good thing about games—instant gratification.

It was time to go. He triumphantly stomped toward the door. Leaving the door, the two players inside the shop burst out laughing.

“Dude, did you see that noob who just left?”

“Man, he looked so full of it. He walked around in his underwear with only a pair of shoes and a cloak. It looks like he bought the cloak here, though. I thought you could only buy cloaks from level 10 onward.”

“You can buy the [Errand Cloak], but no one buys it. It’s the worst item in the game. You must be out of combat for two hours before getting its special effect. It doesn’t even have any stats. It looks cool, but don’t waste your precious coppers on one.”

“Two hours cooldown? That’s horrible!”

“Come on; I chose the axe I’m buying. Let’s go back to the Fox Tunnels. I want to hit level 5 before I log out.”

"Man, it's going to take us forever to get there. We have to stop every five minutes of running to recover energy. I hate it."

"Don't worry; my cousin told me that after level 10, you have plenty of skills and items to help you run longer. We'll walk there and hunt some mice on our way there. OK?"

"It's still going to take us over twenty minutes."

"Come on, man! I want to try my brand new axe!"

Ch. 6 - Bartholomew, the Merchant

INDEX

Ch. 8 - Loki