Gabe
I realize as we're walking to the church that I haven't checked my Pacifist Points in a while. And if we're headed to the PAX Dimension, that's going to cost... a bunch of points, right? Especially since everything now costs 3x as much. And I'm bringing another person who isn't Grace and Lucia.
Wait.
Come to think of it, how am I not out of Pacifist Points? Am I out? At 25 pts/minute, 75 pts/minute currently, doubled with Lucia or tripled with Grace... that's 225 pts/minute! There is no way I have enough Pacifist Points to keep something like that up for any amount of time. Just an hour of farming with the three of us would be 13,500 points!
I pull up my status menu, groaning at what will probably be looking at me.
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Name: Gabe
Type: Otherworld Adventurer
Proficiency: Pacifist (2)
Level: 1
HP: 24/24 (50 start; permanent -6HP cost to successfully Pacifist Heal targets with less than 1 HP; 20HP (4 kids remaining) temporary max HP loss of which 11 permanent from overdraw - max when all the kids are healed will be 33 HP)
MP: 20
STR: 2
AGI: 2
DEX: 2
END: 4
INT: 2
WIS: 2
CHA: 4
PER: 4
Skills:
[Oath of the Pacifist] (4032pts): Points awarded for nonviolent gameplay, used to fuel certain Pacifist skills.
[Pacifist Protection] (500pts 1500pts) (Level 0*): Choose one other being. You will take all damage in their stead. This ability may cross dimensions. Damage forms protected depend on range. Becomes invalid if the Pacifist dies.
[Pacifist Heal] (20pts/HP 60pts/HP) (Level 1*): You may freely give your HP to another being you touch with HP of 1 or more. Your HP will be reduced by 90% of the amount given. Pacifist Heal has a chance of granting HP to a target below 1 HP. Chance decreases over time. Such grants are permanent and incur significant additional costs regardless of success.
[Peace of the Pacifist] (25pts/min 75pts/min) (Level 0*): Beings and objects within the range of (touch) are blessed by Peace of the Pacifist. Gains stacking subsidiary skills upon interaction with other Pacifists.
Current attributes:
Glow - give off a soft glow of light (Lucia)
PAX Dimension - enter the PAX Dimension (Grace)]
[Passive skill: Pacify] (Level 0, 99.43/100)
[Use awesome, flashy powers to change hearts and bring peace to the world! The user may equip any weapon or learn any skill without fear of causing harm]
[Skills, abilities, and attacks no longer cause physical or mental damage to others]
[Each skill, ability, action, and weapon type will be assigned other values that will allow the user to pacify enemies]
[Due to the extreme difficulty of turning all actions into pacifist skills, all skills, abilities, physical actions, and mental actions taken by the user now require 3x the usual amount of resources to accomplish at all times. In addition, due to the practice required, skills, abilities, and weapon proficiencies must be at least level 1 to be effectively used in "battle"]
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Oh.
Yeah.
So much has happened lately... I haven't been keeping track of the evolution values for Pacify. I remember I was so concerned about it leveling and giving me an option that improved my running speed, or lowered the cost for running or something. I have no idea how the whole experience with Hector, the curse breaking, and all the rest has impacted the skill. It will probably level while we're in PAX. And I don't have a lot of Pacifist Points, even though they tend to rise just as I play the game, probably because I've been to PAX so often lately to tend to the garden.
But it still doesn't really check out. I should be completely out of Pacifist Points from taking Lucia and Grace to PAX even one time - let alone going with them almost every day. And apparently Grace sometimes goes multiple times a day, even taking two kids from the orphanage with her, or a third if someone carries Lucia.
Hmmmmm....
I read through the skill descriptions again.
"Is anything the matter, Gabe?"
Miyoko is next to me, walking beside me as we head to the orphanage / church combo after closing at the tailor shop. I spent the day helping her out, and even with the tripled difficulty for me in doing everything, I feel like I was able to make at least some difference.
"Well... the skill that we use to go to the PAX Dimension - the place where we planted the garden - it costs me Pacifist Points. They're points that I get for just doing stuff and not hurting people."
"Yeah?" She nods, indicating that I should continue.
"Well... it costs a lot of points. And I'm honestly not sure how I haven't run out yet. So I'm confused."
Miyoko looks at me quizzically.
"And the skill clearly states that? Is there anything that could make it different?"
"Well... it is a subsidiary skill?"
Miyoko turns her head and hums for a second. Then she snaps her fingers and looks back at me.
"What made it a subsidiary skill? What does that mean in the context of the skill?"
"Well... I think it means that as time goes on, and I meet more Pacifists, my skill Peace of the Pacifist will have more and more things that it does. The cost will be the same, but it'll slowly grow in power and maybe get really, really powerful. For now, though, all it does it allow me to make something glow, or to take people with me to the PAX Dimension. Or both at the same time."
"Does anyone else have the skill to go to PAX?"
"Uh... that's a good question. I know Grace has it. And I'm guessing that Lucia has it, since I got the glowing ability from her."
"Is it possible that one of their skills is different from yours?"
"Woah. I had never even thought of that."
It is possible that their skills would be different from mine. Maybe not their Peace of the Pacifist skill - as I think that will simply add lines that are the same for each Pacifist and grow as our ranks increase or until the skill gets banned or capped or nerfed somehow - but their base skills? Lucia can do some pretty incredible things with light. Go invisible, for example - which is a big jump from just being able to make something glow. Why wouldn't Grace's ability to go to PAX be different from my own?
"Well, maybe we can ask Grace if her skills are written differently?"
"I don't think she'll be much help there, Gabe. Children don't have access to their status sheet, and their sheets are locked to outsiders without special skills. That's to protect them. Grace can learn to use her skills, but she won't be able to actually share her status with us."
"Well, I guess we can see when we get there then, and see how the points change over time."
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We arrive at the church, and I find Grace playing with the two kids who have classed into crafters. Thankfully, they returned some of my hit points, though I'm still afraid that my maximum is going to be much less than the 50 I originally had. I won't be able to tell until everyone is healed though. So there's still time there. And since the crystal seemed to think it was possible, but "game breaking" to get back all of my lost max HP, there might be other ways to fix it. Maybe. Though I can understand it being gone forever as a cost to bring half a dozen kids back to life.
We head to PAX - Grace holding Miyoko's hand as I shift myself with Lucia in my pack. Lucia can obviously shift herself, since she's been coming along every time I go. Or maybe the fact that I've got a direct connection to her using mithril (not mana mithril, but still treated interestingly and with a lot of mana or at least my intuition tells me that) allows me to cast the spell. Dunno.
I check my status once we're in PAX and I don't find anything happening to my Pacifist Point totals.
Well, 75 points gone. So it cost me 75 points to enter PAX. But my total isn't going down at all right now. Which means that Grace's skill must be covering for mine.
"Grace?"
"Yeah, Gabe?"
"Uh... just a question, and it's ok if you don't know... do you know if coming to PAX costs you Pacifist Points? Because it usually costs me points, but I just realized that when I come here with you, it doesn't cost me anything."
"Ummmmm... I don't know? What are Pacifist Points? How do you get them?"
I leave that conversation short.
"Pacifist Points are points that you get for being nice to people. They make it so you can use your powers - like making things glow, or coming here."
"Well... I come here all the time to play, especially with friends. We can even run around a little bit now! Look!"
She lets go of Miyoko's hand, and suddenly a golden circle extends from Grace's feet like a wave, moving across the surface until it slows and stops 10 meters out in every direction.
"You just have to stay inside the golden circle!"
Well, that's an interesting development. A golden circle to keep people safe, and resurrected kids that can now stay inside it and really be safe. And if it really doesn't cost her any Pacifist Points, that means that Grace and anyone she is with could actually live here for as long as they want once we start harvesting food.
This... this could actually end up being really overpowered, right?
"So, what happens when people go outside the golden circle?"
"You can't."
"You can't?"
"Yeah. Some of the other kids tried. But you just stop. It's like a wall, so you can touch it, but stuff goes through it. I can't try because the circle moves when I move."
So is this some type of spell barrier that accompanies a skill increase? Because this definitely wasn't here before when all of us were farming together. But not having to hold hands or be within [touch] range is really nice. Maybe that's the limit of the skill for guests? I'm guessing that maybe it doesn't apply to other Pacifists.
I cautiously approach the golden circle. An arm reached out doesn't find any resistance. I step outside the circle, but my Pacifist Point total doesn't change. So Grace must be the anchor for the dimension, or the core of the skill. If she's here, other Pacifists don't have to spend Pacifist Points keeping the dimension open. Or something. And she probably has a maximum number of people that can come, or a maximum distance that they can be when they all go inside, to be able to cover the initial skill cost and the ongoing cost of the skill for her and others.
I get an idea, and walk back into the circle.
"Miyoko, come over and take my hand? I want to try something out."
"Hmmm?"
Miyoko is looking out over the garden, but she turns to me when I call her name.
"Can you come over? I think we have plenty of points I just want to confirm something."
"Oh... ok."
She walks over and takes my hand, her face flushed slightly red. I will my status window to just show me my Pacifist Points total. We're both inside the golden circle, and it's not costing us any points. Well, it's going up super slowly but I've never been able to actually figure out that part of the skill. We walk to the edge of the circle, and as soon as she begins to cross, my Pacifist Points start counting down. It's a little faster than 1/second, so I'm guessing it matches up with the 75/minute cost of Peace of the Pacifist, but not the cost of three people - which would be me, Lucia, and Miyoko, who are outside the circle.
"Alright. Just one more step. Let go of my hand for just a moment, and then take it again. I'm guessing that we'll get an error message - I just want to confirm that nothing has changed."
She loosens her grip on my hand until our fingers are barely touching, then breaks apart for just a moment before reconnecting again. In that brief moment, the world flashes red and I see a somewhat familiar system message.
[Warning! All visitors to PAX Dimension must remain within the range of [touch]! Any visitors outside the range of [touch] will be forcefully ejected at cost of [300% of current points] after 30 seconds!]
"Aaaaand one last test. This one is just for fun. This time, you'll stand inside the golden circle, with just your hand holding mine outside it - and then let go and pull your hand inside the circle."
We do the test, and yet again the world flashes red and it threatens to use 300% of my Pacifist Points to eject us within seconds while the point total itself keeps counting down. But as soon as Miyoko's hand crosses the boundary, the alarm and my quickly dropping points go silent.
"Alright! So I think I understand what's happening! Grace is the center of this skill - it makes sense since it was her skill to begin with. Other Pacifists - like Lucia and me - can bring guests here, but it costs us Pacifist Points for us and our guests for as long as we're here, and our guests have to be holding our hands. If Grace is here, her skill covers the cost for anyone inside her circle, or any Pacifist... probably inside the entire dimension. So as long as Grace is here, and any non-Pacifists stay inside the golden circle, we can stay here for as long as we want."
I look around at my audience - a tailoring apprentice, a little kid, and a glowing prismatic slime.
"Does that make sense?"
"I think so. Grace is the anchor of the skill, right? That also means that as the skill levels, it's possible that it might change."
Miyoko looks at me with total clarity. Just being a crafter doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy maths.
"Uh... Gabe?"
"Yeah Grace?"
"Let's look at the plants now."
Lol.
"Yeah! Let's do it. Will you show Miyoko around?"
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Gabe
Miyoko seems to know what every single plant is that is planted in the garden. We have 8 different plants, in long rows leading out from the spring in the center. Tomatoes, a grain similar to wheat (ironically called Carb), a red herb called Bloodgrass that is used in alchemy, ornamental Zamzam flowers that are already covered in multicolor blooms, potatoes (I thought that one was a bush?!? Apparently I had never seen potatoes growing before), beans, green squash, and onions.
The trees she isn't sure about, but after we assure Miyoko that they were most definitely tree seeds and she has looked all over the garden, she then talks.
"Phew."
She sits on the ground and wipes her brow.
"It looks like the seed spirit didn't give anything weird this time."
"Weird?"
"Yeah... sometimes weird seeds will get tossed in with the others. I've heard of people getting all sorts of things. Usually we catch them before selling them, but I was honestly concerned that maybe she would give you something dangerous."
Dangerous plants? That sounds eerily familiar. I'm hoping I don't ever encounter them again please.
"But it looks like she was good this time. Just a couple magic herbs and vegetables. Though I guess the trees could end up being trouble. But who knows how long they'll take. She once gave a divine peach and those apparently take a thousand years to produce a single fruit. Like anyone has a thousand years to wait for something like that."
I hear a soft chime, and Lucia jumps into my arms. Shimmering just underneath her surface is a bright red ball.
"Is that...?"
Miyoko suddenly jumps up, her face neatly pressed into Lucia.
"Tomato! Some of them are ripe? How did we miss them?"
Lucia chimes softly and glows a mix of different colors, then jumps down from my arms and up the row of tomatoes. We follow along, looking at the different plants.
The tomatoes look like they are growing well, but I don't see any that are ripe - not even the ones that look like they will end up being smaller. And none like the large red tomato that is still bouncing around a prismatic slime's version of an inventory.
We reach the very end of the row, and there, on the far side of the very last plant, hidden under a sheaf of dark green leaves, are three beautiful red tomatoes.
"This must be where it came from! And look! There are three more!"
"Well, that seems pretty perfect, since there are three more of us - why don't each of us pick one?"
Miyoko blushes and begins to stammer, scrunching up the edge of her apron.
"But I'm not... I mean... I didn't..."
Grace pulls on Miyoko's apron and looks up at her.
"You helped us get seeds! And we have lots of tomatoes. And you're our friend. Please?"
Miyoko looks from Grace, to me, and then to the plant. I notice as I look closer that all three of the tomatoes are shimmering, which means that they can be safely harvested. She pulls off a tomato. Grace follows her, pulling off the second one. I take the third, and wonder for a moment at why the fruit in my hand seems a lot heavier than I expected. I'm about to inspect it, or at least try, when Miyoko touches my shoulder and speaks.
"But... why is this plant so much healthier and growing so much faster?"
Miyoko ponders for a moment, trying to figure out the puzzle.
"Did... did you get a Quest for your seeds Gabe?"
A quest?
Maybe?
I think back.
"Oh. Yeah! I did. We got a quest that said we needed to plant all the seeds the same day. So we did, and then we got a little vial. I used on the..."
I look around, trying to remember where in the garden I am.
"There! On the Haruka seed!"
There, not far from the healthy tomato, is a small, dark green plant. I guess it makes sense why we wouldn't have really noticed it before, since it's in the section with trees, and half the trees look like tiny 3-inch bushes in their own right.
"But... this looks slightly different from the Haruka plant that the old woman was selling..."
As I get closer, I realize that the undersides of the leaves of the Haruka plant are veined with a vibrant, deep blue color. I'm not completely sure, but I think I would have noticed if the leaves had almost glowing blue stripes on their backs. I reach the edge of the walkway and kneel down in the soil, careful to not damage or disturb any of the other plants, putting my face close to the Haruka plant, and taking a deep breath.
A status screen appears in the corner of my vision, and I find myself almost transported. The air around the plant is fresh, vibrant, and cool - as if I were standing on a mountain peak. My body feels more relaxed, my mind feels more centered.
"Smell it - Haruka plants..."
"Purify the air. Yeah. Mom says they're almost impossible to grow, so the only place you see them is where they grow wild on the tops of the mountains. You... you offered a Haruka seed to the Seed Spirit, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
I look at the messages that appeared on my screen and, after reading them, start laughing.
"Grace, Miyoko... I..."
I don't even know where to start. A feeling of calm washes around me, and I find myself surrounded by what I now recognize. After so many things going wrong lately, having a win is nice.
[You are under the buff Mountain Air*!]
[Congratulations! Pacify has leveled up 0->1]
[Pacify is now level 1. Choose a new attribute.]
1: Pacify exempts motion, digestion, breathing, and other voluntary and involuntary necessary bodily functions from tripled cost. Pacify also gains experience in motion-based and body-based skills 100% faster.
(Unlocked by losing and regaining at least 1000 liters of blood, 1000 points of mana, and 1000 points of stamina over a short period of time.)
2: Pacify exempts Pacifist skills from tripled cost. User may now spend Pacifist Points to increase knowledge or experience when acquiring new skills.
(Unlocked by viewing a potentially game-breaking glitch, becoming aware of 3+ new skills from different classes, and becoming aware of a skill that requires over 1,000,000 experience to learn.)
3: Pacify is now a Toggled skill, and can be turned on and off at will. When Pacify is turned off, costs return to normal for all actions. While Pacify is turned off, all skills gained and leveled through Pacify revert to level 0 and may not be used in combat.
[Buff: Mountain Air]
[Increased air quality; improves concentration and meditation; mild boost towards natural mana regeneration.]