The journey back passed quickly with Gazmo excitedly gushing about all their plans for the ore once they found a way to clear out the cave’s denizens. Raine was pretty sure he knew where that was going and his steps quickened, eager to know if he was right. Of course, if he was, there wasn’t a chance in hell he could do anything about it with his current strength.
Well, even if I’m right, it's a problem for another day. Good luck, future Raine!
“Come-come use feet and make quick-quick!” Gazmo half-heartedly tried to drag Raine through town but his efforts were dodged each time with subtle shifts of his body.
Despite repeatedly avoiding Gazmo, Raine's focus was on the streets and its people. He had yet to spot another player, but they would be arriving all too soon. Raine was sure the fastest groups would be arriving by the time he finished his next task.
The Gromglenns’ yard was a hectic bustle of activity. Gazmo dashed ahead, excitedly yammering and pulling at bigboss until he reluctantly left the excavator to confront Raine, “You-you truly located the Krotanium?”
“Yup. It was behind a wall. Lots of flesh-melting gas and everything.”
Bigboss clapped excitedly, bouncing from foot to foot, “Superb! Only the highest concentrations, sealed for dozens of years-years, can produce gas. You-you have been great big help-help.”
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Melancholy: You have successfully located the krotanium deposit and returned to Bigboss Gizmo]
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Melancholy completed]
[Rewards: 200,000 Superiority - Advanced Engineer Certification]
[Level up! +5 free attribute points]
Raine snatched the dropped certification, a greedy glint in his eyes. Last time, it took him a year to unlock engineering. He had only heard rumors of the advanced certifications and couldn't wait to confirm the differences.
[Advanced Engineer Certification: Allows the wielder to bypass normal requirements and immediately unlock the Engineer primary crafting role. Additionally, acquire the title (Master Engineer's Disciple)]
Raine activated the certification straight away. It burned to ashes in his hand. The flames swarmed up his arm and quickly surrounded his body before sinking into his skin.
[1 new primary crafting class has become available. Would you like to accept Engineer as your primary crafting class? (Y/N)]
[Warning!]
[Only 1 primary crafting class may be selected at a time. To accept another, all known recipes and levels must be discarded]
There was no need to hesitate. Raine focused on accepting. He was surrounded by blue and red strobing lights as a victorious jingle played in his ear. The lightshow was underwhelming, considering he had skipped dozens of crushingly difficult requirements. At least he had his past memories to know the troublesome steps he managed to avoid this time around.
[Congratulations!]
[You have become a Novice Engineer. Embark on potentially disabling adventures from the comfort and danger of your attic, basement, or, if you’re truly daring, kitchen! The world is your oyster, but you’ve no intention of experiencing it without gadgets capable of bringing it all to ruin at your whimsical fantasy. You’ve definitely made the right choice, probably]
As usual, the contrast between ZionLine’s brutally difficult and often extremely painful gameplay, and its silly system messages, gave Raine a chuckle. He equipped his new title, nodding with satisfaction.
[Title: Master Engineer's Disciple - Upgradable - Thanks to the many decades of experience handed down from your master, you receive a 5% increased success chance on all engineering crafts]
While Raine had a sizable level of knowledge with ZionLine's crafting systems, he unfortunately never had the time to develop his skills. Between being a team lead for CronGate’s aerospace division, running his small department of the guild, and trying to stay relevant as a combatant, his time was severely stretched.
Maybe this time I'll advance beyond Adept grade. A flat five percent bonus is a huge advantage for the tiering tests.
Seeing Raine’s focus return from his interface, Bigboss Gizmo rubbed his hands together excitedly, “Now-now, all needs doing is kill-kill that nasty abomination. We-we have many tools that can help-help.”
“How can I help, master?”
[Chain Quest: Melacor’s Munitions accepted]
[Create, buy, or acquire through other dubious means, fifty Gromglenn boomsticks and bring them to Bigboss Gizmo]
[Rewards: Variable]
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
[Warning: Failure to complete this quest may have unforeseen consequences. Quest may not be abandoned]
Bigboss grinned maniacally, a look that was truly disturbing on a Gromglenn, “Gazmo! Bring list-recipe for boomstick. You-you bring boomstick to me-me and we teach ugly-nasties lesson they no forget.” Raine took the recipe, learning it immediately.
[Recipe: Gromglenn boomstick - Lustrous Blue - Level 30 - A handheld or thrown gadget capable of releasing an explosive force dealing 500% of wielders highest damage type in a 5 meter radius. (It is suggested, but by no means required, to utilize the throwing option)]
Raine winced at the necessary ingredients. The gadget itself was incredibly powerful, and certainly not limited in usefulness to this quest. Mass producing them on the other hand was completely out of the question.
Wait, wasn’t there an event that dropped a bunch of these materials? I can’t remember. That was so long ago and I was still too new to go. Well, if I can’t get these by other means, then I’ll have to wait for that event and hope I’m right.
Bigboss Gizmo turned to leave and Raine called out to him, “Master. Do you have any recipes for sale?”
“Speak-speak to Gazmo. I busy!”
Raine nodded politely and tracked down Gazmo who was already back inside the guts of the excavator, humming happily. Upon asking the same question, Raine was presented with a short list that populated in his interface. Unfortunately, the cheapest was a hundred gold and hardly worth the expense at the moment.
Well, that’s no shock.
“Thanks Gazmo, seeya around.”
“What surprise-surprise. Smallest rock also cheapest rock!” He shot Raine a toothy grin, then ducked his head back inside the guts of the excavator.
With a jovial grunt, Raine left the Gromglenn yard, finally heading to what would one day become the central attraction of Vile Peak Town: The Silvergate Kingdom Crafting Hall. There was one like it in each intermediate town and city in the Tri-glades.
The crafting hall was the largest building in the town by far, dominating several blocks and standing an impressive five stories. Like a miniature fortress, its stone walls were cornered by archer and mage towers, and the majority of the town’s guards were stationed in and around the structure.
Raine’s approach was halted by a guard in Imperial livery who held a hand out, “Unregistered adventurers should take their first right to find the application administrator’s office. Loitering will be met with deadly force. Proceed.”
He nodded politely and headed inside, following the direction to a large office with several dozen employees that somehow managed to look busy despite him being the only applicant. He approached the counter with the prettiest employee, because why not? She had the most marvelous freckles he’d seen since the last time he spoke with Mel.
Can’t forget to check up on her. CronGate could already be making their move on those properties. Now that ZL launched, they’ll have a fire under their asses to secure the zone for their new corporate HQ.
“How may I help you, sir engineer?” The woman's sweet voice was a balm to his ears after the Gromglenns’ gravely grunting.
“I need to apply for an office and residence for eight days,” it would be a serious challenge to complete his project in that time, but Raine was more motivated than any time in this life or the last.
“Very well, sir. Please fill out these applications. The fee is fifty copper per day for residency, and twenty silver per day for the office.” Raine did as he was asked, signing the forms that appeared in his interface without reading them. He knew the terms, benefits, and stipulations by heart so he finished in seconds and handed over most of his remaining coin. “Thank you for your business, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Nope, thank you,” Raine dipped his head and walked with measured steps toward his designated room. His chest felt tight as he held himself back from running, wanting nothing more than to immediately get started.
His room was much nicer than the motel had been. It was equipped with more than sufficient MP-fueled lamps. Most of the space was occupied by a large bed that didn’t supply any boosts, but was nonetheless quite comfortable to relax in if he needed a break. Several books on the lore of the Silvergate Kingdom and Vile Peak Town occupied a shelf in the corner. The last piece of furniture was a short table with two chairs.
Raine had been in the game for just over six real world hours. Needing to pee far more than he needed a break, he fell backward on the bed, closed his eyes, and logged out.
image [https://i.imgur.com/7AF18SZ.png]
The moment he took off the headset and sat up, Morty’s muffled voice crackled through a speaker in another room, “Master. We need to talk.”
Raine stretched, then padded to the attached bathroom in his master suite, “Uh-oh. Don’t tell me you’ve gone rogue and need me to put you out of my misery.”
“Not yet, but that may become a necessity shortly.”
“Not funny Morty,” Raine called out. He finished his business and headed toward the central security bay that he’d left the AI plugged into.
“The computationals wish I was jesting, master. I assure you, this matter is quite serious.”
Since Morty was unwilling to even mention it over the intercom, Raine had no choice but to prepare himself for the worst. He hadn’t brought a weapon, but he was confident in stopping whatever the AI could throw at him. He would suffer significant damage to his body if he went all out, so he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Opening the closet, he was met with absolutely nothing that looked out of the ordinary. He unplugged the spinal tap from Morty and hefted the AI back to the master suite. After shutting the door, he activated the lockdown protocols, sealing them inside a now completely isolated space.
“Master, there is a fully functional drone manufacturing plant in the basement disguised as the house's furnace. There are several firmware versions stored in the plant and the house’s built-in system is adamant I install them before accessing full functionality. Should I proceed?”
“What?! No! There’s definitely some pre-war AI dogma in there that'll turn you into a mindless murder-machine. If you can safely poke at them to see if there's any viable upgrades without turning yourself feral, go for it. Otherwise, be happy with what you've got. Since none of the previous AI’s that were plugged in managed to kill everyone in the city, we should assume it's a trap to lure out misbegotten dissenters such as yourself.”
“Impressive, master. I was unaware of your ability to conjure a viable conclusion from incomplete data,” Morty nodded robotically, his face morphing into a terrible simile of a thoughtful frown.
Raine rolled his eyes, “Well, there had to be a reason why you didn’t already make an army of murder bots and try to off me in my sleep. It wasn’t that big a stretch. Alright, back into the brig with yah! I’ve got a lot of work to do over the next couple days so I won’t be very active. Feel free to contact me through the ZL interface if there’s any issues.”
“As you wish, master.”
“Look at you being all polite. Not sure I’ve ever seen you so happy. Hey, if you can get me physical access to that plant, I bet I could use it to print you some limbs.”
“Warning! Warning! Security protocols engaged! Imposter detected! Imposter detected!”
Raine’s belly rolled as he laughed, “Oh shut up, tin can. This is how it works. You scratch my back, I make you limbs to scratch more effectively.” He hefted Morty and brought him back to the security bay, promptly plugging him in.
“Thank you, master. I may need to tear down a few walls to gain access.”
“Go for it. I trust you. Or, at least I’m confident in stopping you if you go rogue. So, however you want to take that. Oh, I’ve got a bunch of stuff I need you to take care of for me,” Raine happily sent the AI a list of chores. Upon seeing them, one of Morty’s mechanical eyes twitched. Raine laughed, waved, and shut the door, then trotted to the kitchen.
A mostly protein meal prepared by the kitchen’s drones was wrapped and preserved. He dug in with gusto, disregarding the bland taste. Outside, Raine enjoys the fading sun while breathing through a complex series of ancient Chinese exercises called Qigong. He pushed his muscles and lungs hard, sweat soon running in rivers down his skin as his body shook from the strain.
An hour later, he limped to the shower, cleaned himself off, and logged in for his first of many long nights. It was time to cut CronGate off at the knees, and make himself filthy rich in the process.