When Roth stepped through the portal, notifications cascaded across his eyes.
Congratulations! You’re the first player to discover Crownia, the Abyssian City.
Congratulations on discovering a hidden region!
+10,000,000XP;
+1000 reputation with corvids;
+10 light affinity;
+10 darkness affinity.
[Level up!]
Roth’s heart raced as he rubbed his hands! He’d finally broken through to level 50!
However, the rest of the rewards for finding Crownia felt a little subpar compared to how big of a deal it was to discover Antioch. Was his attitude the problem? Was it a matter of having gained immunity to the thrill of these awesome achievements? Or was he missing something?
According to his quest log, he hadn’t yet completed the quest that had brought him here. This was just part of the reward for discovering Crownia. Only after he met with the Emperor and heard him out would he know what was in it for him. He hoped the Emperor wouldn’t take him through the wringer of completing a series of obnoxious tasks. Finding this place had been hard enough as it was.
Roth took a moment to study his surroundings. Crownia was a colossal hollow tower that reminded him of Sapphira with some major differences. One was that it seemed to stretch on forever in either direction. Despite all his bonuses to vision and high perception, he couldn’t make out the bottom of the tower. The only thing he could see was the top.
Roth rubbed his eyes and squinted. For a moment, he thought diamonds were encrusted on the tower's ceiling, but now he could tell he’d been mistaken. “Stars,” he let out. The small piece of heaven was a sight for sore eyes. The Dark Abyss was dark and lifeless, with skies constantly covered with stormy, gray clouds. After spending several hours without seeing the sky, seeing a small part of it brought Roth comfort.
It sadly reminded him of the time he’d spent in prison. How often had he wished to see just a little piece of the sky? How many times had he counted the minutes until he was given a few minutes in the prison’s courtyard to breathe fresh air and see something other than metal bars and dull concrete? Even then, he hadn’t been able to see the stars, as prisoners were only allowed out during the day when the sunlight helped wardens keep track of what they were up to.
There was the distant cawing and calls of corvids. He had grown used to those in the Raven’s Nest dungeon, but here, the echo of the tower made the sound grander and cathedral-like. The cawing came from the bottom, but Roth’s well-honed gaming instincts urged him to climb the tower and reach the stars. There was an untold pressure from up there that he had only felt when meeting Zion. That’s where the Emperor had to be.
“Behave,” Roth warned as he petted his kitten affectionately.
“I don’t dare do otherwise,” the kitten said nervously. Roth’s eyes widened. The usually defiant kitten was so well-behaved.
“Well. Before we move forward, let me make sure that I’m as strong as I can be. Every bonus will count if this Emperor is anything like King Zion.”
Roth distributed his newly gained free stat points into his charisma. He proceeded to open the [Way of Peace], the book that contained all his class-related skills and upgrades. Level 50 marked a major power spike for all classes. He had to find out if there were any new chapters and what the next step was in his character’s development. Sure enough, there was a new entry. It was another chapter written by General Maximus Secundus. His handwriting was shakier than in earlier chapters, a sign of his more advanced age when writing this entry.
The Legend of the Great Peacemonger
In my search for the great truths of war and peace, I’ve spent my vast blood-tainted wealth traveling, purchasing tomes and books from all over the world, and hiring consultants and wise men to share their experiences with me.
My travels took me to an old man living in the hut of a small village in the frozen tundra. When I asked him what his people’s thoughts were on war and peace, he shared a legend that stuck with me. I’ll tell it to you, just as he told it to me.
‘Once upon a time, in the vast white prairies of the tundra, where reindeer run free in spring and where wolves raise their snowy white pups in the summer, lived the Great Fraurian. Even though he was officially the leader of his village’s army, he refused to be called ‘general’ or ‘war chief.’
Only the last herd of great elephants roamed the tundra in those days. The meat of the mammoths was vital to fill our pantries, their coats of fur essential for our clothing, and their bones and tusks made for the mightiest of spears and arrows. A year without a kill meant starvation, cold, and death.
Alas, we’d hunted the giant creatures too much, and there wasn’t enough to go around every tribe. Those were trying times. The tribes fought viciously amongst each other to decide who would get the spoils of the herd, but the Great Fraurian refused to participate in the conflict, vowing that his tribe would not hunt the beasts. He could see beyond that year and that if a solution couldn’t be found soon, all tribes would die out.
The Great Fraurian rounded up his men but, instead of leading into war to fight the tribes over the elephants, disappeared into the frozen sea. On one sunny day, one of the few in the tundra winters, the sleds and dogs brought back home the warriors, and news soon spread through all the tribes. Fraurian’s tribe had food—more than enough to go around.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The tribes that had fared worse in the tribal war visited the Great Fraurian. The tribe proudly hung the meat of strange creatures, half-fish, half-dog, at the village entrance. Their meat was fatty and rich, and their skin was smooth and silky. When the tribes asked the Great Fraurian if he could share the food with them, he promptly accepted, on one condition. One weapon had to be broken before his eyes for each portion of food.
At first, the tribes resisted the deal. Weapons were the lifeblood of their tribe. One less flint arrow or mammoth spear could spell the difference between warding off a wolf or, worse, an enemy tribesman. However, their empty stomachs spoke louder, and they began, one by one, to bring their weapons and smash them before the eyes of the Great Fraurian.
The more powerful tribes who’d earned the rights to the hunt of the mammoths did poorly that year. The mammoth herd was sickly and frail and hardly had any meat on their bones. They decided to attack the village of the Great Fraurian and take from them the fish-dogs that the Great Fraurian had been flaunting to all who passed.
Once the warriors arrived, though, they found hardly any meat left. Enraged, they approached the village and met the Great Fraurian unarmed.
“Give us the fishdog meat!” they demanded of the wise Fraurian.
“You’ve come to place an order for next week?” Fraurian asked peacefully.
“Next week?”
“Fear not, my fellow people of the tundra. The bounty of the tundra is rich, and there’s enough to go around. My hunters will soon be back and bring a new batch of meat. Tear your spears and arrows as advance payment, and we’ll take the meat to you as soon as it gets here.”
The enemies were lost as to what to do. Their greed spoke higher than reason. “Why don’t we just take it all from you now?”
“Come. Come into my village.”
The enemies marched into the village and found only a few empty tents. All of Fraurian’s tribesmen were gone. “My hunters have left toward the fishdog land. They will only come if I send for them. Choose now, warriors. Either only my tribe will prosper, or all of us will.”
Without raising a spear or shooting an arrow, the Great Fraurian united the tribes and began the great tradition of seal hunting, which still sustains us through harsh winters today.’
When I heard this story, everything clicked in my mind. The greatest warrior is the one who does not need to unsheathe his sword. The greatest general wins the battle away from the battlefield. Through wit, planning, and wisdom, there is no battle that can’t be won.
How I wish such a revelation had come earlier to me in life. Maybe that way, many innocent lives would have been spared. Maybe you, dear reader, can pursue the highest way of peace. Maybe you will be the one who will end the war without unsheathing your sword.”
Are you sure you want to follow the path of diplomacy and become a [Peacemonger]? [Y/N]
Roth stared wide-eyed at the notification. As far as he knew, other classes had to go through a fastidious quest line and perform a series of challenges before they could unlock their class advancement. Why wasn’t it like that for him? Did the developers consider bringing up a character to this level using the pacifist class too hard already? If so, he wasn’t one to argue. He promptly accepted.
Congratulations, you are now a [Peacemonger].
You’ve been awarded with 10SP.
+20 charisma
+20 wisdom.
The sound of the battle drums fails to seduce you. You walk the path of non-aggression to the bitter end.
+20 righteousness.
As he received the new stats, he hurriedly opened up the rankings and found he had climbed seven spots to 37th! “Yes!” he shouted triumphantly. Now he was talking!
Now that he had transitioned into a [Peacemonger], there had to be more skills to choose from. He opened his class skill tab.
Peace Declaration (Rare)
Skill description: By imbuing your voice with persuasion and conviction, you reach the hearts of those around you and stop them from fighting.
Skill effect:
Active. All those affected by [Peace Declaration] cannot deal damage for two minutes;
Skill effectiveness and radius are affected by wisdom, intelligence, and charisma.
Restrictions: Pacifists, lvl. 15.
Peace Treaty (Epic)
Skill description: You are known to cherish the common good and can mediate deals between factions.
Skill effects:
Active. You can sign treaties between two different parties;
Whoever breaks the treaty promises to pay compensation to the other parties. You receive a percentage of it;
For each day a treaty remains active, you receive experience;
You can sign treaties between 1 + (1 party per 50 points of wisdom);
Compensation if the treaty is broken:
Total fine, affected by wisdom, and strength - Current value: 26543 gold;
Your cut, affected by intelligence and charisma - Current value: 431 gold;
Experience if the treaty isn’t broken: Affected by wisdom, intelligence, and charisma - Current value: 4,540,000 XP per day;
Restrictions: Pacifists, Lvl. 20.
Upgrades:
Grand Diplomacy - Doubles daily XP gained.
Flag Bearer (Rare)
Skill description: Your banner represents something greater than yourself. It has become a symbol of prosperity and peace.
Skill effects:
Passive. Allows you to unlock a flag’s hidden properties.
The deeper the relationship with the factions represented by the flag, the stronger the effects.
Restrictions: Pacifists, lvl. 10.
Upgrades:
Stamp - You can add your relationship bonuses to documents;
Friends of Peace - Gain bonuses from factions you’re in a treaty with;
Equivalency - Other agreements also add bonuses.
Since he’d unlocked [Stamp] and all the other bonuses that allowed him to make the Union into what it was today, Roth had been using all skill points to increase the power of his daily gains of XP. Thanks to [Severe Repercussions], he gained as much XP on a daily basis as a normal player would from hunting or running dungeons. He had spent 18 skill points to get [Repercussions] to what it was now.
Grand Diplomacy (Peace Treaty Upgrade)
Description: As you make a name for yourself as a diplomat, the consequences of disrespecting you become graver.
Effects: Doubles daily XP gained from peace treaties.
He already had plenty of ways to gain gold, and the truth was that his charisma was so high that no faction dared to violate his peace treaty, so he had gone all in on his daily XP gain. That way, he could passively keep leveling up and getting closer to reaching the top 10.
With the 2nd class advancement, he had to make a choice, and he had been given ten skill points in addition to the two unspent ones he had. He turned the page and found two new skills to choose from.
He read their description and gulped. He hadn’t expected his class to take him in this direction.