HC:Pacifist | Ch. 6 - Bartholomew, the Merchant

The game Roth used to play also had a title system. Some titles were awarded by completing quests, others by doing something unique inside the game, or by completing hidden challenges or achievements. Back then, some titles were regarded as powerful as epic or legendary items! He hurried to check out the description of this one. This had to be the explanation for his death penalties being canceled.

Title: Martyr (Unique)

Title description: You have died a thousand deaths without retaliating. Your righteousness and endurance are rewarded.

Title effects:

• All negative stats from dying are negated;
• Increased friendliness with righteous NPCs;
• You can feel closer to the light.

Conditions to unlock [Martyr]:

• Dying 1000 deaths without retaliating {complete};
• Having the pain settings turned on {complete}.

"What in the world?" The conditions to gain the stat were messed up. But developers could never have imagined someone enduring so much pain with locked pain settings. Putting that aside, this title looked incredible. Negating all stat losses was terrific. It was a unique title, too. Did this mean he was the only one in the game who had it? It made sense that it was rare; otherwise, his teammates would have known about it. Had they known about this title, they would never have left him like this, with something to cling to.

But how could this be? He doubted this was the first time someone had been killed inside the game a thousand times. He knew that, in the gaming industry, there were very vengeful individuals. He remembered how once, one guy had sold him an item that turned out to be overpriced. When he found out he'd been wronged, he relentlessly chased the player and killed him to level 0. Whenever he saw the player logging on, he would go out of his way to hunt him again. He hadn't stopped doing this until the swindler had quit playing.

Thinking about it, he realized he probably was the first player to have died so many times without retaliating or logging out. The gang had forced him to keep his pain settings on and had locked him into the game. No sane human would go through such torture willingly. Unknowingly, his former friends had helped Roth unlock what seemed to be a very powerful title. Roth was thankful for the windfall. The [Martyr] title was his saving grace. Without it, he would have been stuck in this beginner village for years before he could undo the damage his former guildmates had done. Playing with the debuffs of negative status would have been horrible. The situation was still very dire, but at least now, there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

Now that the mystery was solved and he understood why his character wasn't hopelessly wrecked, he could give a second appreciative look to the endurance stat he had gained. He guessed that having a 200 stat at level 0 must be uncommon. He still didn't know how useful this would be. The stat bonuses he had unlocked from having such high endurance looked cool too. He wasn't planning to get involved in any fighting, but the extra speed and carrying ability granted by [Horse’s Gallop] would save him some time when carrying items around. From previous experience, he knew that in any game with a weight carry limit, managing inventory could quickly become its own nightmare.

Now that he knew where he stood regarding his stats, he had to establish priorities. First priority: get out of here as quickly as possible. He had just gone through hell. He wanted to get far away from here. He didn't know if the gang would return, but it was better to be safe than sorry. With newfound purpose, Roth dragged himself out of where he was. He needed to recon and figure out where he was and where he could go. He cautiously left the alley. He peered around the corner to see if any of his assailants had returned, but no one was there. He forced himself to step out of the shadows. Seeing that nothing terrible had happened, he sighed in relief and, for the first time, took a good look at where he was.

He was standing in the middle of a very simple village. The settlement had no more than thirty houses. The main street was just a dusty road with shops on each side. The architecture reminded him of an old French or Italian village. Moss dotted the stones of the walls with green. Grape vines climbed and coated whatever wall, pole, or lamp post they could find, giving the village a natural and somewhat wild look.

Roth saw that even though this was roughly the center of the village, and there were a few similarly dressed novices to himself walking around, there weren’t many. This told him that despite the game being two years old, it still had a healthy influx of new players. This was a good sign for the developers. Any game that could make it to two years old and still have many players joining was on its way to lasting success. On the other hand, the village wasn't full or crowded by any means. This told him that, although the game was still receiving new players, most had already passed the beginner stage and were higher-leveled.

He needed to find a map to figure out where to go. He first considered asking one of the players walking around, but hurt by the previous player’s reaction to his earlier cry for help, he decided to try an NPC (non-player character) instead. He approached the first one he saw. It was a man dressed in peasant clothes, carrying a stack of hay on his shoulders.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you know where I can find a map?" Roth didn't know how important it was to be polite to NPCs in this game, but it was good practice for a gamer always to treat every NPC respectfully. Anyway, gone were the days in which Roth thought he had the birthright to be rude.

"Oooh, a martyr?" What a righteous man you must be! Why don't you try the shopkeeper over there?” he said, pointing to one house at the end of the stretch.

"I thank you, sir."

Roth walked down the dusty path until he made it to the shopkeeper. As he walked in, a bell rang, signaling to the clerk that a customer had arrived. The shop was a simple stone house with wares lining the walls. There were some rusty tools and gadgets, food, and drinks. The shopkeeper seemed to be doing alright for himself. He wore garments made of fine linen. They weren't ostentatious, but they gave the merchant a wealthy look. He also had a little pin with a leaf on his garment. Roth checked him out.

'Bartholomew, the Merchant.' His name was written in green.

"Oh? A Martyr? What a privilege to have you in my humble establishment! How can I assist you?" The merchant's voice was pleasant and welcoming. He reminded him of Doctor Hilstone, his counselor in the Rageaholics.

"Excuse me. Do you have any maps for beginners?"

"Hmmm... of course, of course."

A window appeared floating in front of Roth. The interface was very user-friendly, and after a quick look, he got the gist of how it worked. It listed all the items that were for sale in this shop. Bartholomew had helpfully highlighted the one Roth had asked about.

Old Map of Greenfield Village (Common)

Item description: An old map drawn on some animal skin. The markings are unclear, but it's still possible to read them.

Item effect: Updates your world map with information about Greenfield Village and the surrounding area.

Price: 5 coppers

"It's only 5 coppers."

Roth checked his inventory. Every item he had received as a beginner had dropped when he had been mercilessly slaughtered. He couldn't even remember if he was given any money at the start of the game. He did not have one measly copper.

"I'm sorry, good merchant. I have wasted your time. I now realize I don't have even that much."

"Not even 5 coppers?" The merchant looked befuddled. "But that's nothing at all. All you have to do is hunt some rats or mice on the outskirts of town. You'll have five coppers on you before you know it. They are fragile things. You can get the weaker ones with your bare hands if you don't have any weapons." At the mention of hunting and hurting mice, Roth shuddered. His thoughts returned to the torture he had suffered for hours. He forced himself to keep his mind on this conversation, though.

"I'm sorry, good merchant. I'm a friend of peace and animals. I don't have the stomach to attack another soul."

The merchant looked shocked and intrigued.

Bartholomew is impressed by your demeanor and refusal to hurt even the most fragile of souls.

+10 righteousness

+10 reputation with all mice

"I tell you what... You seem to be a righteous man. I'll offer you a deal. I have a package that I need to have delivered to my niece. She runs the shop two towns over. If you do this for me, I'll give you a map in return. Deal?"

"Deal. Thank you, sir."

You have received the quest [Package run].

Package run (common)

Quest description: Bartholomew has a time-sensitive delivery that he needs to get to his niece, who lives in Mapleleaf town. He asks for your assistance.

Objectives:

Take the package given to you by Bartholomew to his niece in Maple Leaf Town.

"I will let you have the map to find my niece more quickly, but the rest of the rewards are only available after the job. Safe travels."

You have received [Old Map of Greenfield Village].

You have received [Bartholomew's Package].

Your world map has been updated.

Roth looked at the map. He could see that to the east, there was a forest or some woods marked in green. That wasn't where he wanted to go. There was a road that connected Greenfield to Mapleleaf. He just had to go north and follow the path.

Leaving the shop and thinking back to the encounter with Bartholomew, Roth once again marveled at the programming of the NPCs in this game. Even a seemingly insignificant NPC, like the clerk of a shop in a novice town, seemed so real and had such a defined personality. He also pondered over the notifications about gaining righteous alignment or favor with the mice. He didn't know if that was good or challenging to gain.

He started running toward Mapleleaf Town.

A player in beginner robes crossed paths with Roth as he returned to the village after his first hunt. He had collected a lot of mouse pelts and suspected he could get some coppers for them. The player saw a villager walking down the path, carrying a bundle of straw on his shoulders.

'Pete, the farmer.' His name was written in gray letters. He would try to ask him.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know where I can sell mouse pelts?"

The man kept walking, completely ignoring the player.

"Oh, man. That's rude." He tried to approach another NPC who was watering plants. "Excuse me, mam, where can I sell these?" The NPC just threw the watering can at the player. "Cursed be these tourists. Can't you see I'm having my zen moment watering these plants?" The player ran away, frustrated.

"Man, the NPCs in this game are so unhelpful."

Ch. 5 - Martyr

INDEX

Ch. 7 - Errand Cloak