Roth woke up in the graveyard. There was no ceiling above him, only twinkling stars in the night sky. He’d been transported back to the surface. It took him a few moments to recover from the shock of being butchered without being able to do anything about it. He was utterly helpless under the onslaught of Zin's attacks. Not even [Second Wind] of his set had activated. With that one powerful silencing skill, all of Roth's skills and treasures had become useless.
He’d felt each slash of Zin’s knives and could still feel the blades cutting through him. The pain was so vivid. He could even feel the blood dripping down his arms.
“I’m talking to you, human!” Lin shouted as he scratched Roth’s arms again, finally waking him up from his stupor.
“Lin? What—?” Roth blinked, disoriented, as he pushed himself to a sitting position. His cat was glaring at him, tail flicking with irritation. Roth looked at his arms, crisscrossed with claw marks and little dots where Lin had bitten him. “Weren’t you supposed to be in Sapphira?”
“I was. But then you had to get yourself killed. Argh… What a nuisance. That was very, very unpleasant.”
Roth looked down at his arms. The lingering pain turned out to be Lin’s doing, not the traumatic vestiges of Zin’s attack. He supposed that wasn’t bad news. The wounds were already starting to close.
“Well, at least dying wasn’t a total waste, though. I got to my second life,” the kitten said as he drew and withdrew the claws from his paws playfully.
Roth still didn't understand why Lin was here, so he opened his notifications to make sense of his situation.
You lost a level. Penalty canceled because of your title [Martyr].
You lose three dexterity. The penalty was canceled because of your title [Martyr].
“So far, so good.” He died, and the [Martyr] title had canceled the penalties. It was the next part that tripped him up.
You have died.
[Nine Lives] has been activated. Lin dies.
“[Nine Lives]. What does that do again?”
Roth remembered reading about the skill when he first obtained Lin, but it had never triggered until now. He opened Lin’s character sheet and expanded the description of the skill.
Nine Lives (Pet Skill)
Description: Your pet has suffered a special mutation and has nine hearts. Every time it dies, it loses one of its hearts, unlocks a new stat, and gains incredible powers.
Effects:
2nd life: +100% movement speed
If you die, your pet dies. If your pet dies, you die.
Your pet can only respawn seven more times. After that, it’ll die for good.
Roth gulped. That’s why Lin had died with him. Their lives were linked. If one of them went down, the other did, too. It did trigger a buff in return, but Roth would have preferred it if his little kitten hadn’t died. What if he lost Lin for good? That would break his heart.
Roth couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Lin and enveloped him in an embrace.
“W-wait! What are you doing, human?”
“Oh, Lin. I’m so sorry that I died. Because of me, you died too.”
“Argh… there, there. It’s fine, it’s fine.” Even though Lin played difficult, he still couldn’t hide his purr. He was happy to see Roth, too.
Since Roth obtained Lin, they had never been apart for so long, and reuniting was a happy moment for both, even under these circumstances. “I’m so sorry I died, Lin. We need to be more careful from now on. I can’t lose you.”
“It’s what it is. Did you know that Master is in his 7th life already?”
“He is?”
Lin nodded.
Roth forced a grin, though the unease in his chest hadn’t completely faded. Zin’s kill was a setback, but it was more than that. The link between him and Lin, the fragility of their shared lives… It was a reminder that every move he made had consequences. He had to stay sharp, stay ahead. He couldn’t afford to lose this little cat. “Never mind that. How did the heist go in Sapphira?”
Lin looked away. “I-it went perfectly well. Here. As requested.”
“It did? Why do I feel you’re hiding something from me?”
“It’s nothing. I got in and got out. Easy-peasy. Here. Have your stupid gold.”
Lin has completed the quest [Stealing from the Slavers].
Lin has transferred 500 million gold into your inventory.
You’ve granted 10,000,000 XP to Lin.
You lose a level.
Lin level up!
Naughty you, leading your pet down a shady path.
-20 righteousness;
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
+1 subterfuge;
+1 darkness alignment.
Roth kept eyeing Lin suspiciously. He had come through on his mission. However, there was something he wasn’t telling him. Oh well. At least he'd succeeded. Even though Zin’s kill was a little setback, all his plans kept steadily moving forward. Without their money, the slavers would be under huge pressure. He hadn’t expected them to still have this much money left after the war went on for a few days. They were filthy rich!
With these billions in his pocket, Roth was confident that he could conclude the legendary quest in Sapphira despite Loki getting involved. But that would come after settling things in the Molympic Coliseum. He had just become king, and he had work to do.
Roth found his bearings and, leaving the cemetery, found himself on a dusty road in a wild west town. He was in Charlesville. He’d been here once before. He spotted the tavern where he’d been once and heard some jolly piano music. Summoning Lua, Roth took off toward the mines.
*
The last time Roth was here, mostly miners carried pickaxes or pushed carts loaded with coal. This time, the entrance to the mines had almost a certain festive quality. Lamps hang overhead, casting a golden glow. Instead of soot-covered miners, these were warriors, adventurers, and hunters who had come for the monthly extermination event.
At the center of the crowd stood an NPC Roth hadn’t seen before, a strange figure clad head-to-toe in a sleek, modern exterminator suit. The suit gleamed unnaturally clean against the backdrop of grime and dust. Players buzzed around him like flies, exchanging event points for rewards with feverish urgency.
Ignoring the commotion, Roth pushed through the crowd, moving against the tide of players leaving the mines. As he passed the threshold, the temperature dropped noticeably, the cool, damp air inside the tunnels starkly contrasted with the dusty heat outside. Roth traveled through tunnels riddled with corpses of cockroaches. Their lifeless bodies still jerked occasionally, with a moving leg or a twitching antenna.
Was Zin still around? The way the assassin spoke sounded as if he had only wanted to kill Roth once. If so, he had nothing to worry about. But what if he wanted to keep killing him like his former guildmates had done?
Roth pressed forward, trying to keep himself calm. Even if Zin planned to stay around, the element of surprise was gone, and Roth had the [The Unsung Hero of Ages] title, which allowed him to see through the assassin’s camouflage. Even if he didn’t plan to fight Zin, Roth was confident he could run away from him. He had plenty of orbs in his inventory that allowed him to teleport away and more than a few life-saving skills in his inventory. Lin was also here with him, for what it was worth.
Roth kept stepping over dead cockroaches, waiting for an attack that never came. After several more minutes, he had reached the depths of the mine. He found the familiar hole that served as an entry point into the mole tunnels. He miniaturized and stepped through it, followed by Lin.
The two walked together toward the nearest sound, a rhythmic scratching. It was time for the king to return to his domain.
*
Roth was back at the arena where he’d been appointed king. The moles surrounded him, expectantly with a look of deference. Lin, of course, misinterpreted their respect.
“Look at these moles… They recognize greatness when they see it, don’t they? Yes, little diggers! It is I, Lin, the legend! Bow to me, and live knowing that mighty Lin recognizes your existence! Nyahahaha.”
Roth chuckled at Lin’s antics. It was good to have his company again. Everything felt too quiet when the cat wasn’t around.
“Is the bad man still around?” Roth asked the surrounding moles.
“We heard him leave, Your Majesty. We can assure you that you’re safe now.”
“We apologize for failing to protect you, Your Majesty.”
“Lin,” Roth whispered, “if you feel the presence of another thief, let me know.”
The kitten saluted and squinted his eyes as he scanned the surroundings. With the assurance from the Moles and Lin watching his back, Roth turned his attention toward his legendary item, the [Crown of the Molian King], and studied the management menu.
The menu had four tabs: one for construction, one for the military, one for trade, and finally, one for politics. Roth sighed in relief once he found out that the management menu was quite intuitive. Rather than having countless buttons and options, it allowed the managing player to state his wishes and for the system to enforce them for him.
Roth started with his specialty: trade. He had felt bad about taking over Eron’s trade agreement in the past, but he didn't care anymore after being assassinated by his boss. Stealing his trade agreement was the least Roth could do as payback.
Are you sure you want to cancel the trade agreement with Eron?
“Yes!”
Roth went ahead and gave himself the most generous profit margin possible.
You’ve gained an exclusive trade agreement with a whole race!
+200,000 broker XP.
MOLIAN TRADE AGREEMENT (Exclusive)
You have earned the right to represent the moles as their broker.
Specialty products:
[Black Coal] - 2 tons per day
[Blue Coal] - 2 tons per day
[River Silver] - 10kg per day
[Nubian Gold] - 5kg per day
[Black Iron] - 30 kg per day
[Mountain Ruby] - 100 per day
[White Sapphire] - 150 per day
[Amber Topaz] - 100 per day
[Forest Emerald] - 120 per day
[Mountain Gravel] - 10 tons per day
[Mole Claws] - 500 per day
[Trained Cockroaches] - 100 per day
Rate:
You keep 20% of all profits generated
The moles could provide a never-ending supply of metal, coal, and gemstones. The dwarves, especially, would go nuts with this. After some thought, he added Nathan and Drew to the agreement. They were going to have to transport tons of materials daily. They might even resort to the services of the Transport Guild. There was no way that they could carry so much on their own.
“You! Former champion of the burrowthon!” Roth said, gesturing toward one of the elites nearby.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
Roth threw him his catalog. “Go through this catalog with the other former champions, and tell me what the moles want.”
“Of course, Your Majesty!”
The moles huddled together as they discussed the many items in Roth’s catalog. Quickly, new items started popping up in the molian’s procurement list.
[Crow Feather Necklace] added to the Molian trade agreement.
[Crow Feather Earrings] added to the Molian trade agreement.
[Morelshroom] added to the Molian trade agreement.
[Treeant Chitin] added to the Molian trade agreement.
…
While good at mining, the Molians weren’t particularly good at crafting. The fact that his crown was of dwarven craftsmanship only highlighted this. Therefore, they seemed the most interested in trinkets.
“What do you want treeant chitin for?” asked Roth, curious.
“It’s a delicious snack, Your Majesty. Crunchier than popcorn.”
Roth scowled at the thought of eating old shells, but if they liked it, to each their own.
Roth moved over to the laws section. There was a list of allies and enemies. Roth smirked, seeing that Zin had already been added to the enemies list. Roth took the liberty of adding the whole Pegasus guild to the list. Other enemies included snakes, owls, coyotes, and other animals that preyed on moles. He removed the snakes from the enemies list and grabbed the parchment containing his peace treaty.
As the king, he had the right to sign for the race and swiftly added them to the treaty.
You’ve successfully added the Molians to a peace agreement.
+1 charisma;
+10 righteousness;
+40 nature affinity;
+40 earth affinity;
+1,000,000 xp.
Roth was making decisions for the molians left and right while they just observed him silently and respectfully. He felt like he was cheating the game somehow. But what could he do? He was their king now. They trusted him to make decisions; therefore, he would make the decisions for them.
After adding the moles to his peace treaty and trade route, there was one last thing to figure out. What was he supposed to do with the construction team and the military?