Roth couldn’t believe it. The thief was running away with the sheep! He had been so close to his destination, too! The thief approached the flock using [Camouflage] and had already taken one sheep far away.
Roth gave a mental command to the flock. He sent them a mental image of the clearing where he was taking them and told them to go in its general direction. It's a good thing he’d learned telepathy; otherwise, he would never have been able to complete this quest. He hoped no one would attack the sheep while he chased the missing one. Beginners would deal them little damage, and it wasn't as if Roth had a choice. The quest would fail if even only one sheep were missing.
The sheep was already a tiny, shrinking white point in the distance. The thief was a rogue, alright. His movement speed was no joke.
Ratan Form!
Roth's nose stretched into a snout, and whiskers sprung from it. His nails stretched and became pointer and sharper, and a tail grew from his back. Two gray ears also popped up from his hair.
Congratulations! Your dexterity has reached 350+.
[Quick Hands] has been upgraded to [Lightning Hands].
Lightning Hands (Stat Bonus)
Bonus description: Your agility makes your hand movements lightning-fast, granting you the ability to achieve unimaginable feats.
Bonus effects:
+40% attack speed;
+10% crafting success;
Restrictions: 350+ dexterity.
You’ve gained [Fast Feet].
Your wisdom is under 100.
You’ve lost [Strategic Thinking].
Your strength is under 50.
You’ve lost [Healthy Bones].
Your charisma is under 100.
You’ve lost [Charm].
Your endurance is under 150.
[Horse’s Gallop] has been downgraded to [Cat’s Sprint].
[Stone Skin] has been downgraded to [Bark Skin].
Your intelligence is under 50.
You’ve lost [Inner Calm].
[Ratan Form] resonates with [Ratan Stride].
[Ratan Stride] has been upgraded to [Ratan Sprint].
Ratan Sprint (Uncommon)
Skill description: You learn from observing how ratans dash and can imitate their speed.
Skill effects: Passive. +20% running speed.
Restrictions: Rogue, lvl. 10.
Grateful he had the foresight not to carry more weight than he should, he set out to chase the thief. Even after losing 25 kg carrying capacity, Roth maintained top speed. Now that he had funneled all he could into movement speed, he felt the wind swing past him like never before. The speed he’d gained was much greater than he had expected. What happened? The last time he transformed into this form, he couldn’t break through to these stat bonuses.
He spared a look at the notifications and noticed that his [Ratan Stride] skill had been upgraded for some reason into [Ratan Sprint], doubling its speed bonus! He had to draw his eyes away from the notification as he approached the figure of the floating sheep.
*
Frankie ran with the sheep on his shoulder. Even though it weighed considerably, he had prepared a [Strength Pill], which boosted his weight carry capacity for 30 minutes.
Strength Pill (Consumable)
Item description: A combination of herbs that boosts adrenaline production and strengthens your muscles.
Item effects: +30 kg weight carry capacity for 30 minutes.
Half an hour would be enough to run away from that freakish medic. He'd had to use every tool in his arsenal to evade the jackals, but he'd made it in time. Now that he had one sheep, he was victorious. There was no way that a medic would be able to catch up to a rogue.
As he ran at full speed, Frankie saw a smoke explosion right before him. He tried to switch directions and not go through it, but the blast had been aimed too accurately, and it wasn't easy to change directions so suddenly when running at top speed with the sheep on his shoulder.
You've been hit with the [Hallucinated] debuff. You become more susceptible to mental attacks.
"What in the world? Was that a [Hallucinogen Grenade]?"
Cloud Sprint!
He activated one of his active speed buffs, hoping to gain some distance from the attacker. How in the world had that medic caught up to him? He looked over his shoulder and saw a man disguised as a rat. Was that the medic? He heard an otherworldly scream. Frankie dropped the sheep and started running uncontrollably.
You've been hit by a [Fear] debuff. You can't stop running for 10 seconds.
10 seconds? Wasn't that [Screeching Terror]? I thought the fear debuff only lasted 2 seconds! This medic had to have multiple buffs to make fear last this long, even with the help of a [Hallucinogen Grenade]. As soon as Frankie snapped out of the debuff, the player was already almost outside his view. The fear debuff had made him run with all his speed buffs on away from the medic. To worsen it, the medic had also run in the opposite direction, creating a big gap between them. He was already close to the tree line.
Frankie couldn't let him get away. He took out a [Speed Potion] from his inventory and gulped it. It was an expensive consumable, but the player was running too fast, and he had to catch up to him no matter what. Frankie soon broke the treeline and entered the Green Woods. He hadn’t been here since he was a noob. The player was running toward the Boar Zone. What was his plan?
Frankie ran with all his might but lost sight of the player behind some trees. When he broke through them, he reached a clearing. Everything was eerie and silent.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
*
From behind the cloak of the Lord of the Woods' illusion, Roth saw Frankie stomp on the ground and scream at the empty air. It had worked. Thank goodness, it worked. Many things could have gone wrong, but he'd been able to bring the sheep to safety. More importantly, he had done so without compromising on his principles. He had made the whole trip without hurting anyone.
Now that he was calmer and the sheep thief couldn't see him, Roth returned to his notification log to find out what had given him such a massive burst of speed.
[Ratan Form] resonates with [Ratan Stride].
[Ratan Stride] has upgraded to [Ratan Sprint].
Ratan Stride (Common)
Skill description: You learn from observing how ratans dash and can imitate their speed.
Skill effects: Passive. +10% running speed.
Class restrictions: Rogue, lvl. 10.
Ratan Sprint (Uncommon)
Skill description: You learn much from observing how ratans dash and can imitate their speed.
Skill effects: Passive. +20% running speed.
Restrictions: Rogue, lvl. 12.
Roth went through the notifications again and sat on the ground. Was this similar to how [Inner Light] made his light skills more powerful? If so, this was a fantastic discovery. He looked at his inventory. He had many more skills in there that were named or inspired by rats. He tried learning one of them.
Would you like to delete [Taunting Roar] to make room for [Rat Poison]?
Roth selected yes. He could always learn [Taunting Roar] by spending a few silver at the auction house once he returned to Hilsford.
You've learned [Rat Poison].
[Rat Poison] resonates with your [Ratan Form].
[Rat Poison] has been elevated to [Rat Toxic Poison].
Rat Toxic Poison (Uncommon)
Skill description: For ages, humans poisoned the mice, and in doing so, mice became experts in the art of poisoning.
Skill effect: Active. Release a cloud of poison in 5x5 meters, poisoning everyone in it. It can stack up to six times. Poison power scales with wisdom.
No restrictions.
His guess was correct. Any skill with rat or mouse in its name was instantly upgraded as long as he was in ratan form. Roth now tried canceling the form.
Human Form!
[Rat Toxic Poison] has downgraded to [Rat Poison].
[Ratan Sprint] has downgraded to [Ratan Stride].
This changed things. So many skills were named after boars, foxes, badgers, etc. If all of them resonated with his race, then zoomorphs were much more powerful than Roth had anticipated. This made his need to have extra skill slots desperate. All that Roth wanted to do now was to run back to the Auction House and conduct experiments with different skills, but that would have to wait. He spared a happy look at his flock.
The sheep were all now lying on the grass, happily singing. Roth confirmed how his stats looked after returning to human form.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Pax
Class: Pacifist
Race: Zoomorph (Human Form)
Profession(s): Broker, Lvl. 10
Level: 22
Affinity: Light (134/300); Nature (1/100)
Alignment: Good (294/300)
Positive relationships:
Badgers (1245/3000); Boars (1313/3000); Corvids (1311/1000); Cyborg Union (1100/3000); Dogs (102/300); Dwarf Exiles (105/300); Flock (125/300); Foxes (1310/3000); Snakes (3153/10,000); Golden Mountain Inc. (864/1000); Greenleaf Inc. (332/1000); Hilsford Garrison Soldiers (103/300); Peace Corps (100/300); Ratans (3251/10,000); Silkworms (10/100); Treeants (400/1000)
Negative Relationships:
Bears (-10/-100); Gazpachos (-1400/-3000); Grassland Wolves (-45/-100); Thadeus (-10/100); Timberwolves (-90/-100);
Titles: [Adored]; [Alpinist]; [Art Enthusiast]; [Darksbane]; [Discoverer of Species]; [Explorer]; [First of a Kind]; [Friend of Snakes]; [Jumper]; [Marathonist]; [Martyr]; [Micromanagement]; [Mindfulness]; [Novice]; [Overachiever]; [Pioneer]; [Polyglot]; [Richling]; [Triathlete]
STATS (4 Free Stat Points)
Hp: 130/199
Energy: 586/935
Damage Reduction: 34.6%
Status Resistance: 3.4%
Cooldown Reduction: 11%
Running Speed: 137.2%
Weight: [Light] - (21.4/90.5 kg)
Strength: 54
Dexterity: 53
Intelligence: 64 (+1%)
Wisdom: 100
Endurance: 237
Charisma: 97 (+5%)
Resilience: 17
Insight: 13
Subterfuge: 17
EQUIPMENT
Right Hand: [Plumber's Torch] | +5 intelligence
Left Hand: [Empty]
Shoes: [Plumber Boots] | +20% speed
Bottom: [Black Toxicologist Leggings] | +5% poison dur.; +4 wisdom; +1 intelligence
Top: [Dark Toxicologist Jacket] | +1% poison dur.; +3% damage red.; +5 wisdom; +10ep
Gloves: [Plumbing Gloves] | +5% damage red.
Head: [Black Toxicologist Hood] | +2% poison pot.; +3 wisdom; +3 intelligence
Cape: [Errand Cloak] | +10% speed
ACCESSORIES
[Crow Feather Earring] | +1 intelligence; +1 energy regen.
[Cybernetic Scanner]
[Witness Protection Mask]
[Crow Feather Necklace] | +1 wisdom; +2 intelligence; +5ep
[Utility Belt] | +10 kg
[Ring of the Wanderer] | +2 wisdom; 5ep
[Ring of the Wanderer] | +2 wisdom; 5ep
SKILLS:
Stat Bonuses: [Charm]; [Eidetic Memory]; [Fast Hands]; [Healthy Bones]; [Horse’s Gallop]; [Inner Light]; [Kind Hearted]; [Perfect Timing]; [Strategic Thinking]; [Stone Skin];
Profession Related: [Discount]; [Exasperate]; [Novice Hiring]; [Porter]; [Supplier's Fortune]
Passive: [Basic Toxicologist I]; [Boar's Might]; [Flagbearer]; [Plumber Set I]; [Ratan Stride]
Active: [Camouflage]; [Miniaturize]; [Peace Decree]; [Peace Treaty]; [Rat Poison]; [Screeching Terror]; [Search]; [30 Steps]
Even though it was a pity to lose the speed bonus from [Ratan Form], in his human form, he had a higher charisma, which could influence the quality of quest rewards.
Roth’s mind was connected to the flock, and he noticed a change in the tune. It sounded like a whole new ensemble of instruments had joined in. It was as if there only had been strings before, but now, there were also woodwinds, brass, and percussion, all gloriously joining into the music. The song became a breeze, and Roth felt the words form in his mind.
"Hello, human."
"My Lord."
"You've expanded your mind since we last met."
"It's so I can better hear you, my lord." Roth felt the rustle of leaves and interpreted that as a chuckle from the Lord.
"I wasn't expecting members of the flock to be brought to my abode." Roth felt curiosity and humor but some concern as well.
"I'm sorry, Lord. I didn't know where to leave them. They've been through a lot, and I hoped they might find refuge here."
"Human, not all telepaths see mind to mind. Although I have no enmity with the flock, I'm no part of it."
"Why?"
"The flock is a song. They are inflexible. Me... I'm a maestro."
Great, another riddled. "I’m sorry for intruding, my Lord. I wasn’t expecting this to be a nuisance to you. Would it be a problem to leave these sheep here for now?" A wind twirl spun close to Roth, making leaves spiral up and down a miniature cyclone. The Lord was pondering.
"This many are OK. But only temporarily. The treeants play their own song, which isn't one the flock cares to listen to."
"How long can I leave them here?"
After a few moments of ponderation, the treeant set the deadline. "You have three months."
"Deal."
He looked at the flock and smiled. After bringing them here, they didn’t look like just a homogenous flock. He could now see the difference between the individuals. Some enjoyed staying in the middle of the flock, while others were more adventurous and stayed at the fringes. With a warm feeling in his heart, he turned to them.
“Here, you’ll be safe for now. I’ll find somewhere you can call home, but the Lord will let you stay here for three months.”
A calm, blue melody with a festive beat came to him as a response. “You’ve made green our reality. The ‘we’ is closer to the ‘us.’”
You’ve saved twenty poor sheep from a tragic fate.
+20 nature affinity.
The sheep can stay in the abode for three months until you find a more permanent solution.
Report back to Commissioner Jack for your quest's rewards.
With this, there was one less thing on Roth's shoulders. Roth looked at the sheep's thief across the barrier. From his disappointed look, it seemed he had failed the quest the Beanies issued him. The thief kicked up a cloud of dust in frustration and took off, running toward Hilsford. Roth sighed in relief. With this, his work with the flock was done, at least for the following three months, until he could find a more permanent solution.
He also confirmed the suspicion he had developed when he saved the silkworm. Under the right circumstances, he unlocked one affinity point with nature for each animal he saved. And this time, he hadn’t needed to go on a reverse rampage to accomplish that. He had only harmed the interests of one player, but who told him to join a crime family anyway?
“Thank you, again, for your hospitality, my lord.” Just as Roth was about to disconnect his mind from the treeants, a gentle breeze caressed Roth’s face, and he felt a soothing shift in the song around him. The Lord wasn’t done talking to him.
“Human, you seem to have expanded your circle of friends.”
“Do you mean the snakes?” Roth felt a building excitement within him.
“Yes. Solomon is a friend. He’s told me about you. The snakes have asked me to extend you an offer.”