cassioferreira
patreon
HC: Pacifist | Ch. 312 - Vine Network
🕑 Added 2024-07-29 14:14:36 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note:
＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersWilson.＞＞
＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersGary.＞＞
Grape Vine Network #134 activated.
Players from the Gallant Knights guild have hunted Jade Bear.
＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersXana.＞＞
Grape Vine Network #22 activated.
Someone has assassinated Captain Morris in the Kili Fortress.
＜＜You’ve received a message from UsurpersShirley.＞＞
Zin read the memos one at a time. Most were things he already knew. Pegasus was having a more challenging time keeping a hold on the Dark Abyss. All top 10 guilds had reached the Core. There was a civil war in Sapphira, a conflict between tribes in Aqua, and one of the volcanoes in the Fire Pits had erupted. The Yuppies had placed a spy in the Krakens, and there was a good chance that the Phoenixes would soon deal a massive blow to the Basilisks.
The world of AstroTerra was a vibrant web where every thread was connected. By mixing in-game skills and his network of spies, he could keep tabs on each movement on the web. Even if it was impossible to know everything, Zin could extrapolate the most crucial information from what he knew.
His eyes lingered on a memo and one of the messages.
Grape Vine Network#3 activated.
Duke Dandelion has closed a 50 million deal with an unknown party.
The plant Zin had placed by the Duke’s window had picked up on a significant transaction. Zin compared this information with everything else he knew. He grabbed the fire poker and stirred the fireplace in front of him.
“I was a few minutes too late,” he told himself.
“That’s unlike you, Mr. Zin. I had you for someone punctual,” Eron commented as he turned the page on another one of his novels.
Zin ignored the broker. “I can’t believe he came into my city, negotiated with Duke Dandelion himself, and left before I got wind of it. Whoever this player is, he’s not afraid to use the teleportation gate. They must have incredible financial resources. No wonder, too,” Zin mumbled to himself.
Whoever had flooded the market with this new set was making a fortune. It represented no danger to him; however, he liked to keep tabs on all major players in the game.
He reread one of the messages he had received.
UsurpersGary: “Mr. Zin, despite my best efforts, I can’t figure out what Loki is up to. He seems to have no interest in the Core, and while he keeps tabs on the situation in the Dark Abyss, his focus is elsewhere. I’ll keep investigating.”
Loki’s old pawn, Gary, was far from the best rogue out there, but he was a competent and motivated spy. After Loki used him as trash to hunt the Slayer and commissioned him to permafrost duty, he practically foamed whenever he heard Loki’s name. Zin had saved him and the rest of the team, and now they were among his army of minions.
If he and his crew couldn’t unearth anything about Loki’s current plans despite their intimate knowledge of his operations, it was because Loki was keeping this one close to his chest. Whatever he was planning, it was important to him. But what could it be? Why wasn’t he focusing on the Core like everybody else?
Zin heard Eron flipping another page of his book. “How is your mission going?” the broker from the Usurpers asked.
With his back toward Eron, Zin kept stirring the fireplace. “I’ve had a breakthrough. I found a weakness I can exploit.”
Zin heard Eron closing the book. “Really? I thought the old man had no weaknesses.”
“The game might have given him his youth back. But there are things in the game that not even that monster can compete with.”
“Like what?”
Zin looked into the fire and pondered whether to share what he knew with Eron. The broker was his closest thing to a friend. He was one of the only people alive who knew his story—certainly the only one who had heard his story from him.
The broker had had many opportunities to betray him. Should he open up? Should he tell him about the cat? Or about the weekly heist? But what if he turned out to be just another traitor? In the worst-case scenario, Eron might ruin his plan if he leaked that information to his old commander.
Zin didn’t believe in trust anymore. No. Not after what the old man did to him. After a few silent moments, Zin lied. “There’s someone close to him I can use. How much can you spare after the last run?”
Zin and Eron’s eyes met. The broker looked down and shook his head. He had seen through Zin’s misdirection. “800 mil.”
“And here I thought some of your routes were having issues. How were you able to increase your profit again?”
“I might have lost a couple of customers, but in the meantime, I’ve expanded my clientele.”
“Well done, Eron.”
“Don’t forget about the games,” Eron warned him.
“I would never. It’s an important part of the plan. I’ll be there.”
“Do you need a ride?” Eron asked.
“No, thank you.”
Eron grabbed his heavy backpack and left the room toward the roof of the windy castle. There, he would summon his giant pelican and go off on whatever errands he had left before the big day.
Zin cracked his neck and headed out the door. He would head out, too.
*
The landscape blurred as Lua galloped across the red landscape. After two days of non-stop crafting and three days of traveling and negotiating around AstroTerra, it felt good to be out. Roth had a conference with Jack and Godsfried as Lua did the traveling for him.
“You are something else. I can’t wait to tell old Martin that he isn’t the number 1 merchant in the guild anymore.”
“Stop it, Jack. I was just doing my part. I’m sure that this Martin fellow has a higher level than me. I just have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Godsfried interrupted. “We’ve already reached the 2 billion gold mark. All that’s left is to let the auction houses digest the remaining armor sets.”
“How is the war in Sapphira going?” Roth asked.
Jack’s suddenly went serious. “Ugly. There’s fighting every day. Both parties are surprised by how much strength the other side has been hiding.”
Roth wasn’t surprised. The slavers were very wealthy and devious. He was glad he wasn’t in the city to see the bloodshed. “We just need to let them weaken each other. After I’m done here, I’ll pay them a visit and make an offer.”
Jack nodded.
“Has the guild asked us about this operation? I can’t imagine BlueFire knowing we’re about to splurge 3 billion gold on a quest.”
“This has nothing to do with him. Besides, he’s too busy in the Core these days.”
“What is it like down there?” Godsfried asked curiously.
“It’s a map with high-level dungeons and many rare harvestable resources. It’s the best place to level up to 80. Players can run dungeons, turn in a dungeon item to an NPC, and be awarded huge amounts of XP. Ogre and BlueFire have already reached level 61 thanks to it.”
“Wow! That’s four levels in two days!
Roth’s mood sank as he heard the news and thought about his place in the ranks. He had dropped a few places yesterday. Now he knew why. “I’ve got to go, guys!”
“Alright, Roth. See you when you’re back.”
Roth disconnected the call and felt the wind blow away a tear. During the past five days, he hadn’t gained any levels or become stronger. He’d been giving his all. And now the guilds were reaching a new high-end map and leveling up like crazy? How on earth would he ever ever leave this cursed pod at this rate?
He took a few steadying breaths, letting Lua’s fast gallop rock him to calmness. He was on the verge of finishing a Legendary quest in Sapphira. All that’s left was to wrap it up. So far, high-grade quests were always worth it. He just needed to stick to his guns and let all his efforts bear fruit.
Furthermore, there was something special about the Molympic Games. He could feel it. He would give it his best and, maybe, gain something good out of it.
The flat plateau became hilly, and Lua galloped upward toward the mountain Roth had crossed to reach the Rock Canyon. He spotted more miners, NPCs, and players coming in the opposite direction, and finally, he spotted the entrance to the Charlesville Mines.
“Your Royal Highness, we’ve arrived.”
Lua neighed and stood on her hind legs, ending the ride with a flourish. Roth unmounted and petted the princess of the Moonlight Herd and then bowed respectfully. Roth heard a few people laugh and found a group of miner players pointing at him. He shrugged. Maybe they found it funny that he was bowing to his pet, but he didn’t care.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Roth said in Horsian, kicking the ground and neighing.
“Always, human. This is Her Royal Highness’ homeland. For her to feel it under her Royal hooves as a free mare is priceless. Her Royal Highness never forgets her friends. It also pleased Her Royal Highness to do this trip without the plebeian, uncultured, brutish cat.”
Roth chuckled. He had missed hearing the two bickering like siblings, but he wouldn’t say that to Lua. She wouldn’t take it well. Her comment made him think of Lin. Roth looked behind, toward Sapphira. He’d left him behind on a mission. It was mid-afternoon, and still a few hours left until midnight. The next part of the plan depended on his little cat burglar.
I’m counting on you, Lin. It’s all up to you now, he prayed. Turning to Lua, he petted her one more time. “You can leave now. I’ll go alone from here.”
Lua disappeared around the corner, and Roth headed toward the players who had mocked him earlier. “Good afternoon, gentlemen!”
“G-good afternoon,” they stammered, embarrassed.
Roth walked past them and set his eyes on the entrance to the Charlesville Mines. Now that the clacking of hooves on rock was gone, miners’ songs and the clicking of pickaxes on rock filled the air.
As he followed his map, Roth soon passed a busy entrance and reached the empty, deserted tunnels deeper in the mountain. Even though it would be easy to dig his way to the Molympic Coliseum by activating [Mole Form], Roth preferred to travel on foot. He didn’t know whether he would need any of his forms to participate in the games; therefore, he would keep some aces up his sleeve, just in case.
Roth wanted to be prepared. His goal was to win every single game. The moles had hinted at a valuable reward if he managed that. He would need all his best skills and items off cooldown for that.
He quickly found the small gap in the tunnel, drank a miniaturizing potion, and entered through it. He heard the different rustle of a mole swimming through gravel. He marched toward the source of the sound. It was time to get a ride from one of the moles and return to the Molympic Coliseum.
*
The president of the capital stared out the window, his gaze set toward the southwest, his home city. He had long lines on his face and seemed tired.
“I don’t understand! I thought you would use my money to fund an expedition against Crownia. Why the change of plans?” Loki said. He was proud of himself for keeping a neutral face, but he couldn’t hide the angry tremor in his voice.
“My father is at war against the other slavers. You know that he’s my pillar. Without his support, my power in the capital will be severely weakened. My enemies have already brought up the civil war in Sapphira against me in the last parliament session.”
Why didn’t you use your own money, then?! Why did you have to spend MY 10 million gold? Do you think money grows on trees? I should have you whipped! These and other violent, snarky comments flashed through Loki’s mind, but he maintained his composure outwardly. “That’s so sad to hear. Would you like me to look into this matter for you?”
“Would you?” O'Shaughnessy said with wide eyes. He was a thirsty man in a desert who’d just been offered a glass of refreshing, cool water.
“Of course, Mr. President. We’re friends. I’m confident I can help your father, and then, perhaps, we can revisit the campaign on the Dark Abyss.”
“Yes! Yes! Of course. If you help me with this, I’ll ensure you are appointed Crownia’s steward. You will rule it!”
[Conquering Crownia] has been updated.
Conquering Crownia (Legendary)
Description: A city was discovered in the Dark Abyss, and the president wants to add it to the capital’s domain. As a condition, however, you must first end the war in Sapphira.
Objectives:
Quell the Slavers War in Sapphira and report back to O’Shaughnessy.
Loki let out a deep breath. Seeing his quest change, he felt some relief. This was probably part of the quest all along. He messaged all his main forces and ordered them to converge on Sapphira. He would end this petty war, and then, Crownia would become his.
Comments
Cássio Ferreira
Thank you for dropping a line!
Harley Dalton Jr.
Thanks for the chapter.
Coleman
With the other changes this bit of the shuffle feels natural. A real gambit pile up that serves a a beginning to the end of the book. It is funny to see Roth literally in between ruining the plans of his novel antagonists without realizing just who he is beating with his own plans. The whole string of events feels like an inspector gadget plot. The funniest part is while you would think Loki is claw in this scenario he is more like a reoccurring henchman in terms of effectiveness. Zin is the real mastermind in the setting. He has capital, rare classed individuals, and fall guys who don’t realize where they are on the totem pole.
