Chapter 59: Master Sister of the Trap Door

Chapter 59: Master Sister of the Trap Door

A text bubble automatically appeared above Ren Yu's head: "Swimming Fish: Third Steward, greetings. I am not a disciple of the Trap Door Sect, but I am somewhat unclear about the driving mechanism inside the wooden horse. I have come specially to seek your guidance on the matter [cupped fists]."

"Third Steward: Hmph, now even any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to scheme against my Trap Door Sect. They really have a death wish!"

"Swimming Fish: No, I..."

"Third Steward: Take this!"

The scene changed, and without further discussion, it entered battle mode.

A martial arts platform, surrounded by jujube-red wooden railings. Swimming Fish was on one side, and the Third Steward was on the other. He waved his large hand, and three iron balls were thrown towards Ren Yu. Instinctively, she jumped to dodge them. As she leapt into the air, a sudden inspiration allowed her to rise a bit higher, somewhat like a double jump in a game.

This was probably the jumping enhancement provided by the 'Explorer' attribute.

Boom, boom, boom. The iron balls exploded beneath her, and a patch of flame burst forth, with numerous trap parts flying apart. Some small flying darts whizzed into the railings behind her.

This was a trap-type weapon attack.

While in the air, she could still counterattack. She was holding a blue weapon and initially wanted to switch to the Flame Gun, but was prompted that she couldn't operate her inventory. She had no choice but to fire a shot, and upon landing, she took off her wine flask.

She couldn't use items from her inventory, but those hanging from her body were unrestricted.

"I wonder if this can intoxicate the NPC!"

Boom!

The air was filled with the smell of wine!

The Third Steward, seeing that he had missed his target, snorted angrily.

"Third Steward: Hmph, such petty tricks dare to show off in front of this steward!"

He suddenly had a crossbow in his hand. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he was enveloped in a cloud of wine aroma, and the crossbow dropped from his hand as he began to stagger.

Ren Yu didn't know how much health the Third Steward had and didn't dare to wait for the 'Golden Sable for Wine' trigger. She began a series of attacks, boom, boom, boom.

The steward's health was indeed thick, and even after several shots, she couldn't take him down. However, the 'Golden Sable for Wine' she hadn't dared hope for did trigger.

Plop. Something fell at her feet. It was: Basic Trap Mechanism!

Ren Yu's heart was filled with joy as she moved to pick it up, pick it up, and pick it up again.

But she couldn't pick it up.

Here, not only could she not take things out of her inventory, but she also couldn't put things into it.

She instantly felt a painful sense of missed opportunity. In her anger, she used 'Wine Aroma' again and continued her attacks. Her blue weapon's ammunition couldn't keep up with the sustained fire, and suddenly the scene changed again, returning her to that corner.

"Third Steward: Impressive, young warrior. Very well, this isn't too secret a thing. I'll teach you!"

Before the beating: What Tom, Dick, or Harry?

After the beating: This isn't too secret a thing.

You've really mastered double standards.

"Third Steward: However, you can't just take things from my Trap Door Sect for free. I happen to have some foolish disciples who, while practicing trap mechanisms, accidentally left some parts near 'Crack Valley.' If you can retrieve those parts for me, I will teach you the trap mechanism for making the wooden horse. Accept/Decline?"

Ren Yu pressed 'Accept,' and suddenly a collection progress appeared.

"Parts for the Third Steward: 0/10"

At the same time, a route indicator appeared on the map, showing it wasn't close, and there were many small monsters along the way that would be tough for an average player to handle.

But could two tasks be accepted at the same time?

Ren Yu scanned the courtyard and didn't see the 'Second Steward,' so she headed towards the main hall of the Trap Door Sect.

Entering the hall, she immediately saw the Second Steward studying blueprints at a desk nearby.

Ren Yu switched to her Flame Gun and approached. The Second Steward automatically 'activated,' showing a text bubble.

"Second Steward: Young warrior, what brings you to my Trap Door Sect?"

This Second Steward was quite polite.

"Swimming Fish: Your sect's trap mechanisms are renowned worldwide. There are some matters regarding traps that I don't understand. May I ask if the Second Steward can enlighten me? [cupped fists]"

"Second Steward: Preposterous! How can someone not of our sect learn our secret techniques? Go back to where you came from!"

"Swimming Fish: I see you don't appreciate kindness. No wonder the Trap Door Sect is stuck in this remote, desolate place..."

Ren Yu: ...She's really arrogant, isn't she?

"Second Steward: Ignorant child, daring to act wild in front of this old man. Allow me to teach you some manners on behalf of your elders, take this!"

Again, without further discussion, the fight began.

It wasn't exactly without discussion; the game made her arrogant, and arrogance deserved punishment. It was only fair.

But Ren Yu didn't want to get hit, so she unleashed a series of attacks to bring the Second Steward to submission as well.

It was inevitable; before the Second Steward could even make a move, she fired her gun, causing him to become stunned. She counted the seconds and launched a series of attacks, giving him another wine flask before the countdown ended. The Second Steward began to stagger, and she continued her attacks. Once her magazine was empty, the scene returned to the hall.

"Second Steward: Enough, enough. Young people these days are so hot-tempered! What question do you need enlightenment on? Bring the blueprint, and let me take a look."

A blueprint suddenly appeared in Ren Yu's hand, and she handed it over.

The Second Steward pretended to examine it for a few moments before popping out a text bubble again.

"Second Steward: I thought it was some difficult problem. The wooden horse’s drive mechanism setting is hardly a core secret of our Mechanism Sect. It wouldn’t be impossible to teach it to you."

"Second Steward: But I can’t just teach it for free. I happen to be collecting 'Star Stones.' I heard that the 'Two-Headed White Wolves' near 'Cracked Gorge' carry what I need. If you could help me gather some, I’ll teach you how to make the wooden horse’s mechanism. Accept/Decline?"

Press 'Accept'!

A progress reminder also appeared next to it.

"Star Stones needed by Second Steward: 0/15"

They were all near 'Cracked Gorge.' A quick trip and two quests should do it.

To save time, Ren Yu took out her delta wing and took off immediately.

After a short while, she landed on the open ground in 'Cracked Gorge,' instantly attracting several attacks.

Her first stop was the location of the mechanism parts, where level 12 monsters, 'Mutated Horse Deer,' used fire-based attacks.

Ren Yu got out of the cockpit and stepped out of the delta wing’s shield range, and several fireballs came crashing down on her.

With 90% of the pain reduced, even her muffled groans were softer.

Her health bar rapidly dropped but recovered even faster.

Meanwhile, the enemy monsters continued attacking her obliviously while their health collectively dropped.

Ren Yu sprayed a gourd of wine.

Immediately, the attacks stopped, and the monsters started to wobble.

This time, Ren Yu didn’t use her blue weapon; she took out a laser cannon, which was also prepared to replace the flame gun.

But she didn’t rush to attack, waiting for two or three seconds until a monster triggered 'Jin Diao Huan Jiu,' throwing over a piece of green equipment armor, a bottle of health potion, and even a… beginner mechanism manual.

She got what she didn’t get from Third Steward from the monsters.

Bang, bang, bang, she started to counterattack.

The strong recoil made Ren Yu stagger a few times, but the damage wasn’t low, except she couldn’t control them.

She didn’t need to control them now; one shot, one kill, every shot a critical, harvesting the remaining health of the Mutated Horse Deer.

After clearing them, she picked up the drops.

The materials were mainly deer hides and meat, with a considerable amount of silk and other basic materials, along with four skill book pages and 'mechanism parts.'

The parts were exactly what Ren Yu needed to collect.

Collecting parts essentially meant killing monsters.

"Parts needed by Third Steward: 4/10"

Four pages, two attempts to combine, one success, one failure.

Putting away the delta wing, Ren Yu ran a few steps inside, circling around to attract over ten monsters. By the time she stood still, some monsters were already in danger from the reflected damage.

'Drunken Frenzy' took out a few monsters with the lowest health, and the rest started to wobble.

Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, four items fell at her feet. Ren Yu looked down to see a hairpin.

A green equipment hairpin that boosted spell power, useful for teammates.

The other three: advanced health potions, two skill book pages, and a green equipment iron sword.

The pages were combined immediately, resulting in success.

After clearing all the monsters, she picked up the drops, ending the quest for collecting mechanism parts.

Ren Yu opened the map to check the route and ran inside.

Whenever monsters attacked, she circled around to wear them down, just keeping an eye on her health bar.

After two circles, she stood still and started attacking, picking up the drops, then ran straight into the territory of level 13 monsters, 'Two-Headed White Wolves.' Ren Yu came to an abrupt stop.

In front of her was an elite monster!

Near the elite monster were twenty Two-Headed White Wolves.

The two closest to her had already started spitting ice arrows at her.

Spell-based attacks, perfect, just like the deer she had just fought, they would heal her and take damage from the stone shield’s reflected damage.

Assured that the 'wolf healers' were capable and she wouldn’t die, Ren Yu charged in and teased all the Two-Headed White Wolves before leading them towards the elite monster.

Before the elite monster could launch an attack, Ren Yu positioned herself and used her ultimate skill 'Griddle the Pie.'

Elite Monster: Using an ultimate as soon as you start, how rude!

The ultimate skill had no specific target limit, similar to 'Drunken Frenzy,' and no clear range, so Ren Yu wasn’t sure how much it covered. She tried to gather them as close as possible and stood slightly biased towards the elite monster’s side.

The skill activated, and a sky full of orange light surrounded all the monsters, including the elite one, sending them flipping through the air.

The regular monsters couldn’t withstand a single hit and fell from the sky, dropping a lot of items.

The 7-star elite monster 'Silver Moon Giant Wolf,' with its 21,000 health, wasn’t as fragile.

The ultimate dealt 190% damage, and a critical hit could deal over 2,000 damage.

Ren Yu performed her unique skill with great ease this time, successfully triggering the skill five times before it was interrupted. The elite monster, with less than half of its health, wobbled and fell to the ground. Before it could steady itself, the "alcohol-soaked" status was inflicted, further exacerbating the monster's wobbling.

She then switched to the laser cannon and began attacking, landing critical hits of over a thousand each time, which was quite astonishing, causing the elite monster's health to plummet rapidly.

Even then, the monster threw a piece of equipment in her direction.

Ren Yu didn’t have time to check it but caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye—a blue pendant, a necklace drop. She couldn’t tell if it boosted physical or magical power.

As the alcohol effect was about to wear off, she summoned Little Fox and cast an intermediate charm.

Timing it perfectly, she hit the monster with a gourd attack again.

In this manner, the "Silver Moon Dire Wolf" fell to the ground without ever regaining its footing, spilling all its loot.

Ren Yu first picked up the loot from the two-headed white wolf, worried that if she didn’t collect it soon enough, the game might refresh and the drop would disappear.

A lot of basic materials such as wolf pelts had dropped, along with five pieces of skill book fragments. Ren Yu attempted to combine them twice but failed both times—bad luck.

After collecting everything, she only gathered seven star stones, still needing eight more, so she had to continue farming.

She also picked up the necklace and gave it a quick look.

"Meteor Necklace (Exquisite): Strength +9, Intelligence +5, Physical Attack +10, Strength +6, Durability 150, Required Level 7."

It had an added intelligence boost, but it was primarily a strength-focused item, so she equipped it immediately.

With this necklace, her basic attack damage exceeded nine hundred.

Afterward, Ren Yu checked the elite monster's drops.

Fine Wolf Pelt x1, a high-quality material, and it was even purple-rarity.

Silver Coins x5, Copper Coins x128, Heroic Outfit (Rare), Longbow (Exquisite), Skill Book x4, Wooden Horse Blueprint (Exquisite) x1, Boots (Superior), Gauntlets (Superior), Silk x8, Sharp Wolf Fangs x2, Unknown Scroll x1, Thread x10, Sapphire x2, Topaz x1, Milk Tea x1.

Both she and Little Fox gained 400 experience points.

Ren Yu checked the Heroic Outfit and saw that its attributes were quite similar to what she was wearing, but it lacked the 1 point of agility bonus, so she decided not to replace her current outfit and instead put it up for sale at the trading hall.

She continued to hunt the two-headed white wolves, and once she had gathered enough star stones, she found an open area, deployed her tri-wing, and flew back to the Mechanism Sect.

After landing, she didn’t rush inside. First, she synthesized the skill books.

From the latest batch of two-headed white wolves, she obtained five fragments, adding to her previous stock, making it a total of six.

She succeeded twice and failed once.

However, she had enough reinforced stone shields.

Time to reinforce!

"Level 7 Stone Shield: When attacked, automatically forms a stone shield around the body, reducing pain by 95%, increasing defense by 85%, and returning 60%-70% of the damage."

"The pain reduction and defense boost decreased, but the damage return increased by 10%."

Overall, she was quite satisfied!

She still had three skill books left, which she decided to save.

Since there was no indication of it being the highest level, it could still be reinforced further.

Only then did Ren Yu go inside to turn in the quest.

First, she sought out Third Steward.

"Third Steward: Indeed, these are the items dropped by my incompetent disciples. Thank you, young hero. I shall now impart to you the mechanism technique for crafting the wooden horse. Watch closely, young hero!"

The scene changed, and Ren Yu found herself alongside Third Steward in a room filled with various mechanisms. She watched as he demonstrated some mechanical items and found herself nodding involuntarily, seemingly understanding the process.

Shortly after, the lesson ended, and the scene reverted.

Only then did she officially master the basic wooden horse blueprint and its driving mechanism construction and crafting. Ren Yu went into her carpentry skills and found the lit-up wooden horse blueprint. Upon opening it, she exclaimed, "How complicated!"

"Wooden Horse (Common): Requires 170 wood, any type. The better the wood, the higher the attributes and durability of the horse."

It required a lot of small carpentry parts, but fortunately, she had already mastered them; otherwise, she would have had to gather the blueprints bit by bit.

Crafting a horse was far more complicated than making equipment.

And yet, despite this being a small quest, there was no experience reward.

Well, she had learned their mechanism technique, after all.

She then went to find Second Steward to turn in the quest.

"Second Steward: You've returned so soon, young hero? Indeed, these are the materials I needed. It seems you've dealt with those troublesome two-headed white wolves. A hero arises in youth. Please, follow me!"

The scene changed again, and Ren Yu observed a more complex mechanism technique demonstration. After returning to the main hall, she had officially mastered the crafting of high-quality wooden horses.

Clicking to view, she saw even more complex parts that required processing.

After finishing learning the blueprint, Ren Yu prepared to leave.

As she turned, she suddenly remembered the basic mechanism technique in her inventory.

Opening her inventory, she saw the [Learn] option next to it.

"Can it be learned?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she pressed 'learn,' only for a prompt to pop up.

"You are not a disciple of the Mechanism Sect, so you can only learn two mechanism blueprints at most. [Continue Learning] / [I'll Think About It Again] / [Join the Mechanism Sect] (Joining requires mastery of ‘Basic Carpentry / Basic Forging’)"

Ren Yu's heart skipped a beat. "Join the Mechanism Sect? Is it actually possible to join the Mechanism Sect?"

The game still has hidden sect gameplay?

And it's outside the conventional classes.

"Should I... join or not?" Ren Yu opened the map and dragged it drastically, trying to find if there were any other sects in the wilderness.

Finding none, she wasn't sure if it was because she hadn't triggered the event yet or if there was only one Mechanism Sect.

Ren Yu went back into her inventory and pressed 'Learn,' a prompt popped up, and she, holding her breath, selected [Join the Mechanism Sect].

"Player You Yu, you have joined the ‘Mechanism Sect.’”

"Mechanism Sect: Welcome, You Yu, to our sect. Go find the Grand Steward, and he will teach you some mechanism skills and give you some simple blueprints to practice with!"

"You are the first player to join the sect, and we grant you the title ‘Senior Sister of the Mechanism Sect.’ Additionally, you are rewarded with 1000 character experience points."

"Title: Senior Sister of the Mechanism Sect: You tend to have a better understanding of mechanism skills compared to others, and the mechanism devices you craft have better attributes than those of your junior disciples. The title of Senior Sister carries weight, and you have some persuasive methods in managing your fellow disciples."

Seeing the newly added title, Ren Yu raised her eyebrows. This title isn't impressive enough.

Skipping the message, she pressed 'Learn' again, and the skill disappeared from her inventory, but no new skills were added to her skill bar.

"It requires Basic Carpentry or Basic Forging, so... the skill is in the carpentry or forging interface?"

Ren Yu checked and, sure enough, on the carpentry interface, there was an additional skill slot, with the ‘Basic Mechanism Skills’ icon lit up.

"Basic Mechanism Skills: Proficiency 0/200"

She clicked on ‘Basic Mechanism Skills,’ and a prompt popped up: "You have not learned any blueprints yet."

"So, these Basic Mechanism Skills just add an icon?"

Ren Yu closed the interface and went to find the Grand Steward.

Looking around, she didn't see any NPCs labeled ‘Grand Steward.’ There didn't seem to be anyone by that name in the hall. Ren Yu looked to both sides of the hall and saw a path leading to the back. She decisively ran over.

In the backyard, Ren Yu found the busy ‘Grand Steward.’

The backyard was much larger than the front, with more sect disciples and various mechanism devices.

Approaching the Grand Steward, a dialogue box automatically popped up.

"Grand Steward: Oh, it's You Yu. You've come at the right time. Here, take this ‘Basic Mechanism Skills’ book and these blueprints. I hope you will study the mechanisms diligently and set a good example for your junior disciples."

He handed over the blueprints and a manual.

A text bubble automatically appeared above Ren Yu's head.

She made a ‘receiving’ gesture and then started speaking.

"You Yu: Thank you, Grand Steward!"

The conversation ended, and Ren Yu's inventory now contained three blueprints and the Basic Mechanism Skills manual.

Since she had already learned it, she couldn't learn it again.

She checked the blueprints.

"Basic Plum Blossom Dart Blueprint (Wooden): A thrown prop shaped like a plum blossom with hidden wooden spikes, capable of dealing 20 damage to the target."

Ren Yu: ...

She felt a bit detached, and seeing the 20 damage made her feel a bit disdainful.

"Basic Hunting Trap Blueprint (Wooden): A hidden underground mechanism that automatically triggers when stepped on, dealing 20 damage to the target."

"Basic Grappling Hook Blueprint (Wooden): Upon hitting the target, it can drag them a distance of 5 meters, dealing 15 damage, and can also be used as a climbing tool."

Ren Yu scratched her head. Alright then.

They are basic, after all, and still somewhat fresh.

And they are specifically marked as ‘wooden.’

"If they were made of metal, would the damage be higher? Next time, I'll bring Xing Kong to try."

Satisfied that she couldn't get anything else from the Mechanism Sect, Ren Yu flew away in her delta wing.

This time, she landed in the Home Plaza, put away her delta wing, and hurried home under several shocked gazes.

First, she would make a wooden horse. The prerequisites for this task were so complex, taking her far away, and she was too curious about the riding effect of the wooden horse.

Since she had planned to upgrade her carpentry skills, she had plenty of wood materials at hand.

She pressed to craft.

"Deducting 30% fatigue to craft a Wooden Horse (Common). The entire process will take 180 minutes, during which no other operations can be performed. If attacked by players or monsters, you cannot retaliate, and if the crafting process is interrupted, it will fail, materials will not be returned, and no experience will be gained. Do you wish to begin?"

"Three hours?"

Ren Yu took several deep breaths and pressed ‘Yes.’

She had operated the carpentry skills before but at an intermediate level, with each movement smooth and fluid. Now, officially starting as a carpenter from the beginning, it felt slow and awkward.

Fortunately, as she began crafting the mechanism parts to drive the wooden horse, experience notifications like +5, +4, +2, and +3 started popping up in front of her.

The carpentry skill had previously gained several dozen points from chopping trees. At this rate, by the time the wooden horse is finally completed, it’s likely to surge to the intermediate level.

If that happens, it would save a lot of trouble, allowing me to directly craft more advanced items.

Three hours passed.

"Wooden Horse (Common): Mount, Talent ‘Swift Run,’ Duration 3 minutes, Cooldown 1 minute. Using ‘Swift Run,’ maximum movement speed reaches 120; in non-‘Swift Run’ state, movement speed is 60. Durability 300. Cannot engage in combat while mounted. Rideable at level 10."

Skill experience gained: 150, Character experience gained: 150.

"You are the first player in the server to create a wooden horse. As an item that incorporates elements of mechanical engineering, the learning path is arduous and the creation is challenging. As a reward, you receive 100 character experience points, 100 skill experience points, a ‘Saddle’ blueprint, and a ‘Stirrup’ blueprint."

"Through your diligent efforts, your ‘Apprentice Carpenter’ has advanced to ‘Journeyman Carpenter,’ enabling you to craft more advanced items."