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HC: Pacifist | Ch. 328 - Power Shift
🕑 Added 2024-08-27 14:03:18 +0000 UTCAfter Roth transferred the property to the three dwarf lords, an uneasy silence hung in the air.
“Why isn’t the quest being marked as completed?” Godsfried asked, unsettled.
“Hush. Give it a moment. This is a legendary quest. Legendary. Maybe there’s a cutscene or something.”
Even though Roth remained silent, his heart was pounding in his chest. He had a lot riding on the rewards of this quest, and he desperately needed a win. In the short time that had elapsed since he left the moles and came here, he had already dropped one spot in the ranks. This was the first legendary quest he finished. There had to be something extraordinary in the rewards.
A sharp, metallic tearing sound cut through the quiet. It was like steel being rented in two—jarring and unnatural. A crack appeared in the space beside Roth, Jack, Godsfried, and the three dwarf lords.
Roth swallowed hard. The sensation was eerily similar to what he had felt when [Lion’s Breath] was activated. Whoever was about to arrive was incredibly powerful. His suspicions were confirmed when, one by one, five NPCs clad in black robes stepped through the tear.
Three men and two women emerged, their presence immediately commanding the room. Roth was instantly reminded of Mildred, the magistrate from Hilsford. It wasn’t just their attire but the aura of absolute authority they exuded.
The magistrates in Sapphira wore black instead of white, perhaps a symbolic reflection of the city’s darker affiliations with slavery. The tight jaws and fleeting flashes of dissatisfaction on most of their faces spoke volumes. They weren’t happy about what had just happened under their noses.
The magistrates regarded the three dwarf lords. One of them spoke first, a tall, severe-looking man with iron-gray hair and a voice like cold steel. “Grimnir, Rurik, Brunna,” he greeted them with the practiced politeness of a diplomat who had long since lost his patience.
“Silas,” the dwarf lords responded, their tones formal.
“It seems the dwarves have returned to reclaim what was once theirs,” the gray-haired magistrate said.
Grimnir, the most outspoken of the dwarves, snorted. “One could argue we never left. Our legacy is etched into the very stones of this city. Not even layers of paint or the passage of centuries can erase our mark.”
A younger magistrate, a woman with sharp features and cold, calculating eyes, sneered at Grimnir’s words. “Just because you did some bricklaying in the city doesn’t mean that-”
Silas cut his fellow magistrate mid-sentence. “The magistrates represent all inhabitants of this city. The dwarves’ return and purchasing of so much of the city’s property marks a significant power shift. It is only fitting that 60% of the magistrates’ seats now belong to the dwarves.”
“Agreed,” Brunna, the dwarf matriarch, responded immediately, her voice calm but resolute.
Grimnir, not one to mince words, added with a smirk, “And it is only appropriate that those magistrates who the slavers have bought step down from office.”
The magistrate who had tried to interrupt sneered, but before she could respond, the lead magistrate—Silas—raised a hand to silence her. His voice was steady. “Silvinia, Jurima, Bhat,” he commanded, turning to this and two other compromised magistrates. “Turn over your augmentation bracelets.”
The three named magistrates exchanged dark looks, their reluctance clear, but they obeyed. They pulled up the loose sleeves of their robes, revealing a machine covering their whole forearm. It had blinking lights and intricate circuitry over the metal. They pushed a button, and the device folded upon itself until it was reduced to a metal circle.
Roth noticed a subtle shift in their demeanor as the bracelets came off. It was as if part of their presence faded away with the removal of the bracelets. It was a little easier to breathe now. Now holding the three bracelets, Silas turned back to the dwarf lords. “Are you prepared to take the magistrate’s oath?”
Rurik, the eldest of the dwarves and the most stoic, stepped forward. “Not only did we dwarves develop the advanced technology behind these bracelets, but we once ruled this city. We know the oath well, and just as we did in ages past, we shall stand by it now.”
“Aye,” said Brunna.
“Aye,” echoed Grimnir.
“So be it,” Silas intoned solemnly, handing the bracelets to the dwarf lords.
As each dwarf lord fastened a bracelet onto their wrist, the devices began to glow with a soft, pulsing light. Intricate circuitry patterns illuminated the surface of the bracelets, and they began unfolding and covering their forearm. In an instant, the dwarf lords’ presence swelled, filling the room with a palpable sense of power. Roth’s eyes widened in awe. These were no ordinary pieces of equipment.
Silas nodded approvingly. He turned toward the deflated magistrates. “The deposed magistrates will now be escorted to the capital. After that, fellow magistrates, shall we discuss how the dwarves' arrival affects the city’s policy?” Silas asked invitingly toward the dwarf lords.
With a dignity that wasn’t there before, Brunna responded. “First of all, magistrate, let’s agree not to address dwarves as such. They are humans, just like you. Let’s discuss how the arrival of these people affects the city’s policy,” she corrected.
“Of course, magistrate. I beg your pardon,” Silas said while casually waving his hand.
Reality Tear!
Another crack appeared in reality. One by one, the five ruling magistrates and the three deposed ones walked through the rift in reality and disappeared from view. The moment they did so, all the dwarves erupted into cheer, and Roth’s quest was marked as completed.
[Freeing the City of Sapphira] has been completed.
Completion rate: Legendary
Rewards: 5 billion XP; +2000 reputation with dwarves; [Patron to the Dwarves].
Bonus rewards: 10 billion XP; [Makeover Coupon]; +3000 reputation with dwarves; [Honorary Dwarf Lord].
You’ve become forever beloved by dwarves.
[Overachiever] has been upgraded to [Questaholic].
Questaholic (Epic)
Title description: When given tasks, you worked at them diligently. Your efforts have earned you a reputation for being a hardworking man.
Title effects:
+25% to all quest XP rewards;
Deadlines are not a problem when considering quests.
Conditions to unlock [Questaholic]:
[Overachiever];
Complete a quest for each grade - common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary;
Obtain a legendary rate on a quest.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Patron of All Dwarves (Shared Unique)
Description: You've given one of the dwarf cities back to its rightful owners, and now they can become great once more.
Effects:
Whenever a player becomes a dwarf, you, OgresJack, and OgresGodsfried receive 100 gold divided by three.
Conditions to unlock [Dwarf Race Patron]:
Recover one of the lost dwarven cities. {complete}
With this quest, Roth's reputation with the dwarves reached the maximum. He had reached the top relationship with yet another race. With the increase in their relationship, immediately his dexterity climbed, thanks to the benefits of his pacifist skills.
[Overachiever] was upgraded into a new title that gave him even more XP and helped him gain enough experience points to level up eight times! Eight levels were no joke, especially when he was already level 55. He immediately assigned all free stat points, hoping to climb a few more spots in the ranks. He climbed up to 14th. However, nothing else happened, even as he kept adding his free stat points to intelligence. The rankings remained the same. He was stuck at 14th place.
He scratched his beard, worried. It seemed like such a short jump from 14th place to 10th, but the higher he climbed, the harder it was to cross to the next level. He sighed. At least this way, he had widened the gap between him and the player next to him.
"Well, I can't believe we got a legendary rate," Godsfried exclaimed, pulling Roth from his dark thoughts. Jack snorted triumphantly as if he wouldn't have settled for anything else. Their enthusiasm rubbed off on Roth. It was true. They were fortunate to get such a high completion rate. Maybe it was because of their unique solution to this quest—one that didn't involve fighting the slavers but simply ripping them off. It was elegant and made use of the dwarf power available.
More importantly, Roth, Jack, and Godsfried spent billions buying the city’s estate. If they had wanted to use that amount of gold for anything else in Astro Terra, the world would have been at their feet. They could have bought prime estates. Even Loki would probably be unable to have resisted the allure of so much gold in an offer for one of its prized possessions, like the arena or the auction house. In the real world, if they converted the gold to credits, they could have bought a mansion and lived worry-free for the rest of their days!
However, they gifted it all to the dwarf clans. It was probably for the best that Ogre and BlueFire never learned of how much gold they had blown on this quest. Yes. A legendary rate did seem fair.
Roth inspected each reward, starting with the [Patron of all Dwarves] title.
Patron of All Dwarves (Shared Unique)
Description: You've given one of the dwarf cities back to its rightful owners, and now they can become great once more.
Effects:
Whenever a player becomes a dwarf, you, OgresJack, and OgresGodsfried receive 100 gold divided by three.
Conditions to unlock [Patron to All Dwarves]:
Complete the relevant quest. {completed}
It was similar to a title with a similar name that Roth had previously received from the lizardmen.
Lizard Race Patron (Unique)
Description: You've united all of the lizard races in AstroTerra, and they have become one.
Effects:
Whenever a player starts the game as a lizardman you receive one gold.
Conditions to unlock [Lizard Race Patron]:
Unite all lizard factions in AstroTerra. {complete}
There was a striking difference: it didn't unlock the dwarf race in the opening menu. That showed that dwarves would probably never become a race that beginners could start the game with.
Additionally, the gold awarded for each new dwarf in the game was 100 times higher than that for the lizardmen. The dwarf race was higher-tiered than lizardmen. Although the developers made this variation of the human race unavailable in the opening menu, it would become much easier for players wanting to become dwarves now that they ruled the city.
Something told Roth that they would see many more dwarves from now on. This title was a reward for a legendary completion rate for a legendary quest. What would be the use of the title if there weren't enough new dwarves joining the game to make them earn some gold out of it?
Additionally, there was something else that played in their favor. Unlike the [Lizard Race Patron] title, where he only got money when new players started as lizardmen, this title would earn him gold when any player became a dwarf. If a level 60 player chose to become a dwarf, they’d make 100 gold.
It seemed to be at least at the same level as the lizardmen race title, even though he had to share the profit with Jack and Godsfried. He didn’t mind it. He was happy they could share it.
The next reward had made him an honorary dwarf lord.
Honorary Dwarf Lord (Epic)
Description: Although you’re not a dwarf, you have contributed significantly to their well-being. They grant you part of the abilities of the mutation of the Rain of Fire.
Effects:
+10% crafting success rate;
It’s easier to create masterpieces;
You have [Mineral Nosiness].
This title gave him access to all the perks of the dwarf race without having to change into one. Now, whenever he crafted, he would have a higher success rate! Changing into [Ratan Form] and [Badger Form] helped him with crafting endeavors, but they couldn't match the benefits of the dwarven racial traits. He was incredibly excited about the special skill that came with the title.
Mineral Nosiness (Racial)
Skill description: The part of your brain that processes smell has melded with the one that perceives shape, allowing you to do things that shouldn’t be possible.
Skill effects:
1% chance of gaining a recipe from studying an item;
You can see all the hidden information of an item.
He couldn’t wait to sniff around legendary items and gain unique recipes.
He looked over at Jack and Godsfried, who also examined the rewards of their quest. They were smiling broadly, probably because they had also gained rewards that catered to them already being dwarves. He was happy to see them so excited.
However, he was a little disappointed.
He had expected that the rewards for this legendary quest would help him skyrocket through the rankings, but they didn’t. True, gaining eight levels was incredible, and receiving these two titles was fantastic. But it didn’t translate into a short-term increase in his strength.
All his hopes were resting on the only tangible item awarded for completing a legendary quest with a legendary completion rate: the [Dwarf Makeover Ticket]. He inspected the golden piece of paper sitting in his inventory.
Comments
mr. redd
Huh, could he enter into a trade agreement with the dwarves since he has the title?? Also, can’t he add the dwarves and the moles to the peace treaty??
Cássio Ferreira
Haha. congrats to Roth!
Cássio Ferreira
Thank you for dropping a line
Harley Dalton Jr.
Thanks for the chapter.
Coleman
Congratulations on a quest well done. You even got the administrative corruption out as well. Fun times were had by all.
