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HC: Pacifist | Ch. 316 - Let the Games Begin!
🕑 Added 2024-08-02 10:39:38 +0000 UTCEron was still deciding which story to give to Amelia. He had successfully helped her win undercover mole as the scripter for six consecutive months. However, the presence of another human player changed things. Tricking NPCs and tricking a talented player were two entirely different things.
After mentally reviewing each of the stories, Eron finally decided. “Here’s the story for this edition of the undercover mole.”
“Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.” The translator drone chirped and squeaked, translating Eron’s statement to the golden mole.
“Squeak, squeak. Squeeeeak, squeak, squeeeak,” the mole replied.
“So be it. Thank you, merchant. If I win, our agreement stands.”
Eron bowed respectfully to the small, golden mole and left the tunnel, where he found Zin waiting. The man’s eyes were looking downward, which, from Eron’s experience, didn’t mean he was remorseful or sad. The assassin seemed incapable of feeling either. This was the gaze of a hunter thinking about his prey. He was facing the core, thinking of the upcoming battle against Jaw-Long.
Hearing Eron approach, Zin spoke to him, never taking his eyes off his goal. “I just had a chat with Roth. My suspicions were true. He’s the one who’s been stealing business from you.”
"So it was him.” Eron thought of the customers he’d lost to this mysterious player. Something about him shielded his business deals with the animals. No matter how much Eron tried to persuade his old customers to return to him, they never flinched, showing unwavering loyalty toward this player.
Zin had briefly mentioned some of this player’s exploits and singled him out as the likely culprit for encroaching on Eron’s business turf, but it seems that after confronting him, he was 100% sure now.
Eron had confidence in his ability, but Roth's appearance in the Molympic Games unsettled him. He looked back at Amelia’s location and thought of the story he’d devised to trick humans and NPCs. “Should we be worried?”
Zin shook his head. “He's of no importance. Don’t worry. He’s only competing for the first time. There's no chance he can beat us in a game we’re used to."
“Are you confident that you can win the burrowthon this time?”
“I got some powerful consumables that should finally do the trick.”
Eron walked over to Zin and followed his gaze, looking down. “I’m sure you’ll win this time.”
Zin looked away, uncomfortable.
"Have you figured out when the next heist will be?"
"Yes. Tomorrow. At noon." Zin clenched his daggers. “I’ll finally be able to kill the old man.”
*
As the games began, Roth expected the Molympic Coliseum to become livelier. He imagined stands filled with moles cheering for their favorite competitor, munching on popcorn, or, worst-case scenario, on cockroaches. He was completely wrong.
The whole coliseum was dead quiet. He could hear his heartbeat and his breath echo off the walls of the starting point for the burrowthon. The spectators were scattered around the cavern, hidden from his sight, leaning to the rock throughout the underground space to follow the games through their hearing.
Roth double-checked all his skills. It was time to give it his all. He wasn’t sure what the reward for winning all four sports of the Molympic Games was, but whatever it was, it was enticing enough that it drew one of the most powerful players in the game here. It only made him want this reward even more.
A golden mole came in, swimming through the gravel. The other moles bowed respectfully as she passed. Roth inspected her.
Molan, the Golden Mole
Lvl. 35
Hp: 6000
Ep: 1000
Skills: [Burrow], [Champion’s Strength], [Confetti Slash], [Dig], [Enhanced Smell], [Sonar] .
She had similar stats to the champion of the undercover mole competition. Roth had over 15 levels of an advantage over her. She wasn’t his match regarding stats. Glancing toward his right, he found Zin a few lanes over. The assassin and guild leader of the Usurpers looked him up and down, studying his [Mole Form].
Roth tried to stand as straight as this form allowed him, not backing down. Zin was his most significant concern. He had no idea what level he was, but he was probably well over 60. Zin had perhaps been playing the game for years longer than he had. How many statboosters had he consumed? How many precious items did he have in his inventory?
Roth forced himself to break eye contact with the assassin and faced the rock wall before him. He couldn’t afford to think about anything else other than digging.
“As the reigning champion, I am honored to declare the start of this edition of the Molympic Games! The first game will be the burrowthon. Follow the sound of the bongos to find the finish line. The first to cut through the finish line wins.”
Roth grabbed a couple of items from his inventory and stuffed them in his mouth.
You’ve drunk [Adrenaline Extract].
+10% movement speed for 10 minutes.
You’ve eaten [Peppermint Honeydew].
+40% movement speed for 5 minutes.
“Once you hear the third beat of the bongos, you can begin. Anyone who departs any sooner will be disqualified.”
A delicious, powerful smell filled the tunnel. Glancing over at Zin, Roth found that he was also eating and drinking consumable after consumable. From the scent of the food Zin ate and the craftsmanship on the containers he was drinking from, they had to be incredibly valuable. Zin unsheathed his daggers with a confident smile.
Roth wondered if Zin could understand the mole's squeaks, but the system window that appeared afterward told Roth that he didn’t need to.
Congratulations on participating in this edition of the Molympic Games!
The first sport is the Burrowthon. Dig through the mountain and head toward the bongos. The first to cut through the finish line wins. Attacking other participants is forbidden. If you depart before the third beat of the bongos, you’ll be disqualified.
Roth stretched his claws and focused.
Boom-ba!
There was the first beat. The sound came from somewhere ahead and downward.
Boom-ba!
The second beat. Roth honed onto his destination.
Boom-ba! Boom-ba!
Roth dug his claws into the rock, tearing it apart. When he was in Mole Form, the solid rock became as soft as loose soil. He felt like his hands were shoveled, and the rock turned to sand. All around him, he could hear the other racers digging and hear the debris flying.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Ta, ta, ta, ta.
While mole claws breaking through the rock made a constant swooshing sound, Zin’s digging sounded like a power drill. Roth immediately used one of his mole form skills.
Earth Ripper!
For 5 seconds, all your attacks bypass any damage resistance, dealing true damage.
The little resistance he encountered when digging disappeared, and suddenly, it was as if he wasn’t digging but just phasing through the rock. But Roth wasn’t done yet.
Turbo Tunneling!
Double digging speed for 10 seconds.
The overwhelming excavation sounds Roth heard around him suddenly became faint whispers. Roth couldn’t help but laugh as he dug. He had expected a little more of a fight but left all his opponents in the dust in the first 10 seconds of the race.
Zin's power drill digging sounds became distant, while the sound of bongos became much closer. Roth kept digging, worrying that he had only come ahead because of his powerful combo, but after a while, he relaxed. Even without using skills, Roth found that he was still digging faster than everyone else. The sound of their digging became fainter by the second.
[Mole Form] sped up digging tremendously, and the [Earth Ripper] and [Turbo Tunneling] combo essentially allowed him to cross great distances unimpeded in short bursts. Both skills had a 3-minute cooldown, so he would just spam them whenever they were off cooldown.
As he dug through the mountain, [Sonar Compensation] revealed a much darker shade of soil ahead. From Roth’s experience, this meant that the material would be denser. Had he been a miner, he would have been delighted, but as his goal was to finish the race as fast as possible, Roth bypassed the mineral vein, digging around it and heading toward the bongos.
Earth Ripper!
Turbo Tunneling!
He used the combo again and emerged in a mid-sized cavern, where a mole played a pair of small bongos. “Squeak? Already?!”
Congratulations! You’ve won the Burrowthon!
You win 10,000 gold;
You can assign moles their turfs for a month;
+100 reputation with all Molians;
+5 permanent dexterity (You can only gain this bonus once);
+10% permanent movement speed (You can only gain this bonus once).
Congratulations! You’ve broken a Burrowthon record!
+100 reputation with all Molians;
You are offered a free level (You can only gain this bonus once per sport.)
Roth grinned from ear to ear. He had expected the rewards to be enticing but never imagined they would be so juicy! He gained a permanent boost to dexterity and movement speed and was even granted a free level as a reward for breaking the burrowthon record!
These days, it took him several days to gain a level. When he heard that guilds were in the Core and were leveling up like crazy, he became worried, but not anymore! Winning the Molympic Games was even better than grinding in the Core! He immediately set a goal to break all other records. If he did, he would leave this place with four extra levels!
Roth concentrated and found that the other contestants were only now reaching the middle of the course. Roth took a seat next to the mole playing bongos and waited. The sound of a power drill grew louder and louder. Finally, two daggers broke through one of the walls, revealing Zin.
As he emerged from the hole, with a triumphant look, he spotted Roth and froze.
Roth waved at him. “Congratulations on winning the silver medal, Zin!”
Even though Roth didn’t believe Zin could become paler, his skin still turned whiter, revealing the veins underneath. “H-how? I-I…”
Seeing the assassin turn speechless, Roth couldn’t be happier. Remembering Zin’s threats earlier and knowing he was under the moles’ protection, Roth couldn’t help but pile on and do some face-slapping. “Oh my. You’re a fast digger, aren’t you? No wonder you were so confident back there. It’s just too bad. I hope you didn’t lose too much money on those consumables I saw you taking earlier.”
Zin couldn’t speak. He turned his back toward Roth and walked away.
*
Eron paced while Zin punched the wall. “I can’t believe he beat me by such a large margin!”
It was the first time Eron saw Zin so frustrated and venting his emotions like this. On the one hand, it made Eron feel relieved. Sometimes, he felt that his savior was a cold, emotionless robot. At least today, he got to see that he had emotions too.
“Argh! We didn’t make it again! It’s impossible to win all four sports now that you lost the first one?!”
Zin whirled toward Eron with eyes full of fury! “What was I supposed to do, Eron?! Did you see how fast that idiot dug? He beat all of the other racers by over a minute! It must have something to do with his race. If only I knew how he got it… It would be the perfect match for my play style. I can’t believe this!”
“What will you do now, Zin? Your plan is ruined.”
“If I can’t use the moles to bury the Dragons alive in the Core, I’ll just have to kill them off individually.”
“What about the other sports? Are you still competing in the whack-a-mole?”
Zin took a deep breath and regained his stoic composure. “Of course I am, Eron. Roth can’t be allowed to win all four sports. We need to guarantee that this reward will still be up for grabs in the next games. I’ll find a way to beat him before the next Molympic Games, even if I have to kill him back to level zero. From now on, our goal isn’t winning the games anymore but to make sure Roth doesn’t.”
Comments
Cássio Ferreira
You're welcome!
Cássio Ferreira
You're right! That sentence did come out weird. I've fixed it. Thank you for pointing that out.
Harley Dalton Jr.
Tyftc
Coleman
I was talking specifically about Roth effectively not having a death penalty to his stats. It hasn’t come up in a while but I don’t think any of his enemies looked into why he has positive stats or just how high they are. With Roth’s emphasis on non combat it is easy to ignore everything besides his incredible speed.
Lee Dillard
ty for the chap " From now on, our goal isn’t winning the games anymore but to prevent that Roth doesn’t.” needs to be either something like "But to ensure that Roth doesn't" or " But to prevent Roth from doing so". it's currently a double negative
Cássio Ferreira
Thank you for your comment! Even if he knows about the [Martyr] title, he still doesn't know how Roth got the zoomorph race.
Coleman
On top of that embarrassing loss I’m much more surprised that Zin of all people doesn’t know about the martyr bonus. He has to know that Roth was killed at least a hundred times due to Loki. It is nice to see that Zin can be surprised by a lack of information.
