Chapter 10: Pacifism

Chapter 10: Pacifism

“I’ve never seen a boar knock a sword out of a player's hand before. Perhaps this boar is secretly much more powerful than the others?” Zekor asked, trying to keep the broadcast interesting as Winter got tossed around by the level 1 beast.

“No, no... it’s just a typical boar.” Samathara sighed.

“Based on the expressions Winter is making, many viewers have pointed out that it’s likely he’s set his pain level to 10. Still, it doesn’t explain his horrible swordsmanship.”

“My 5 year old sister was able to stab boars on her first day, honestly this is just pathetic. Pain level 10 or not.”

“Either way, it looks like he’s getting a lot of shield mastery experience. Uh oh, one more blow and he’ll be done for again!” Zekor shouted out.

Eli watched his avatar on the television charge at the boar once more, get hind kicked across the forest into a tree, and die.

“Aww dang. Poor guy, he just can’t seem to take out that boar. It’s a shame his friend isn’t still around to help him.”

“I wonder if he’s going to give up.”

“I hope so.” Samathara groaned.

“It looks like we’ll be taking another break, tune in while we join Black Phoenix’s grind team in the Darklight Caverns, and we’ll be back with more on Winter’s great boar duel.” Zekor tried his best to hype the situation before it switched back to commercials.

“Seriously, they’re still going to keep going?” Eli shook his head in disbelief. An hour went by, he logged in, swore vengeance on the boar, went back to the forest, and repeated the process, dying a 3rd time.

“Should I just kill the boar for him? I honestly feel bad at this point.” Samathara commented as he went back to watch his third death, on the TV he was able to catch his last moments thanks to the delay.

You have died.

Login Restriction: 1h

(Reduced Login penalty due to player level)

He climbed out of the Simbox and began nervously pacing around the room. His idle hands led him to start cleaning things around the house aimlessly, things that clearly didn’t need cleaning. By the time he was done, the Simbox looked brand new. His mind raced about what would happen when he logged in. Would he have a quest to get the skill, or would he have it learned already? What if 50 deaths wasn’t enough, does he keep going until he hits 75, or does he give up? Was he wasting precious time that he could have been using to make money already in the game, or would this be worth while? Why did he follow through with the random words of a mage on a forum post that no one else believed? He had read over the post multiple times now, the name of the mage deeply ingrained in his mind. Aros, a level 45 mage. It was based on Aros’ determination to prove he was right, that Eli set out on this endeavor.

The long hour ended, and the login restriction was lifted, but Eli didn’t jump in right away. He took a deep breath outside of the Simbox, then slowly sat inside and began the simulation, his heart racing from anxiety. After the bright flashes of light, the simulation began, and he found himself standing once more in the graveyard, but a notification was waiting for him, indicating he had acquired a new skill.

His heart skipped a beat, he couldn’t help but shout out for joy, jumping in the air, which was not well received by the other players logging in at the graveyard after having met their own demise’s. He hastily touched the notification to open his skill window and read it.

Pacifism - Passive

Deity: Eirene

A blessing granted to those who refuse to cause harm to others even in the face of certain death.

Effect: Increases Experience Gained by 100% for all non-offensive skills. Reduces experience gained by 100% for all Offensive attacks and skills.

Restriction: This skill is lost if the favor of Eirene is lost. This skill is removed permanently if you cause harm to any creature or player in the Shattered World,

A gigantic grin grew across Winter’s face. He reached his hands out, intertwined his fingers with one another and cracked his knuckles as he looked in the direction of the Crafting Guild Hall.

“Time to start playing.” He said to himself.