ALL NOVEL 47. It’s a Trap
Flora stared at the pink cupcake-shaped building 'Homemaker's Haven'.
It even had shimmering sprinkles on its creamy white roof and a cherry on the top!
"I think it's a trap!" Flora stated.
An affirmative beep sounded in Flora's mind.
"Is that you, Aitoshuri?"
It beeped again.
"Stupid logical fallacy! If one beep means no, it makes the same sense as if one beep means yes!"
It beeped again.
"What do you think, Aidan?"
"I believe Aitoshuri agrees with you. But I'm sorry, I don't see it. Humans perceive cupcakes as delicious, aren't they?"
"In Germany, there are many fairytales where innocent maidens get enticed by eatable houses only to get eaten by witches at the end, like Hansel and Gretel, or the land of milk and honey. I don't remember Charly and the chocolate factory that much, but it wasn't entirely safe."
"No comments in the bulletin boards hint any nefarious activities."
"We'll beam to the Hunting Lodge first and get Detect Traps."
The Hunting Lodge turned out to be a cozy compound in the woods. Log cabins surrounded a central place, with a wooden fence encircling them and an archery field.
Flora found the check-in and swiped her badge.
Daily Quest: Skinning (Hunting Lodge)
Description: Help Skinner Darkly skin ten animals.
Rewards: Reputation with the Hunting Lodge
Penalty: none
Difficulty: D
Weekly Quest: Mammoth-Hunt
Description: Participate in one mammoth hunt, starting daily at 11 P.M. and 11 A.M. C.C.T.
Rewards: Reputation with the Hunting Lodge
Penalty: none
Difficulty: C
Flora thought about the dead kingators that lurked somewhere in her inventory and accepted the first quest.
"This game is horrible. You never run out things to do."
Swiftly, she found a workshop for the class "Trapper" that taught everything on her list. It started in a quarter-hour, so she visited the skinning teacher in the meantime.
-------------------
You gained an ability: Salvaging (Animals).
-------------------
The skinning knife in Flora's hand shook.
'Get a grip on yourself! If you want to eat it, you should be able to cook it. If you want to cook it, you should be able to prepare it. If you want to prepare it, you should be able to kill it. Because without this step, it never ends in your stomach!'
But the bunny was so cute! It was a creamy beige and had a little unicorn horn protruding from his head.
Its lifelessness felt wrong. The bunny should hop over a meadow and enjoying the sun with its friends!
Flora put the knife down.
"Suggestions?"
"If you switch to half auto-mode, there is an option to make helplines appear where the cuts should be, Milady. Another possibility is to build a robot or use the octopus to skin the rabbit."
"Thank you. Let's try the helplines, first."
Surprisingly, it helped. The glowing lines, reaching from one paw along its legs to the other, hammered home that this was a game. Or maybe it bridged the connection to CAD-systems and woke up Flora's professional side.
Flora made the cut.
She had expected that the next step, flaying the hide, might even be more difficult, but concentrating on the technical aspects, she managed to execute it swiftly.
"Ha!" she exclaimed proudly but got subdued when she remembered that she had to repeat the process ten times. "Next!"
The workshop captivated Flora. The topic was all new and exciting.
The first part was about where to place traps and what traps are suitable for what situations or animals. In the second part, they built a pit trap. At last, they learned about spells to deploy or even create traps and to detect traps.
The instructor advised the students to participate in the next workshop, Tracking, to make full use of the class, but Flora opted out.
--------------
You gained a new ability: Trapping.
--------------
You gained a new skill: Create Bear-Trap
Description: Creates a bear-trap for one minute. Initial damage and high probability for bleeding and fixates the enemy for up to 10 sec.
CD: 1 minute.
--------------
You gained a new skill: Deploy Traps
Description: Distribute one or more traps from your inventory.
--------------
You gained a new skill: Detect Traps
Description: Indicates traps for one minute.
--------------
You gained a new skill: Escape Trap
Description: Moves you away from the trap and removes the primary debuff of the trap.
CD: 25 sec.
--------------
You gained a new skill: Lure
Description: Creates an irresistible object for one minute. If your opponents won't touch it, their attribute OVs gets halved for 25 sec.
CD: 5 minutes.
--------------
You gained a new class: Trapper.
Class: Trapper.
Branch: Survival.
Passive:
- + 1 Training efficiency modifier for Ability Trapping
Active:
- Bonus for Trapping Skills
-----------
After the workshop, Flora fetched the Treasure-Chest from her inventory. She wanted to check with Skinner Darkly on how to process the kingators.
When she opened the door of the container, some parts fell out of it. The chest was filled up to Flora's height with camping equipment, hull pieces, statues, knick-knack, and assumably two kingator carcasses.
It would have been better if there had been no room at all because the current situation gave Flora the hope to find them and get them out.
First, Flora looked at everything visible from the door. She was sure she saw a scale reflecting the light a bit further in the room.
Jumping up and grabbing the doorframe with one hand, she set her foot carefully on the head of a statue and leaned in to reach the blanket that was blocking her sight.
Unfortunately, her naked underarm touched a statue.
Lady Mnoder versus Huebueld Wypadek - Mannequin-Routine.
A small but growing crowd gathered around a container in the middle of the Hunters Lodge.
It was painted like a treasure chest with thick studded belts and carvings of maps, tropical islands, pirate ships, and skulls.
One leg jutted out of its door. The rest of the woman, wearing a shabby looking greenish-white mech-suit, was balancing on top of a mountain of trash without moving an inch.
"Do you think she is doing some performance art?"
"Maybe it's a challenge, someone should try to get one of the items in the chest, and we'll see what happens."
"Dude! Look at the leg. I bet it comes down as soon as I make a move!"
"I still think it is art. The chest represents our futile greed for wealth. The trashiness of the mech-suit our limited abilities. The junk in the container that is not worth the pursuit. That she is stuck in an uncomfortable position is an allegory how we are all stuck in our miserable lives in a society ruled by consuming!" A girl with multi-colored hair explained to the audience.
Finally, the woman started to move, diving even deeper into the container.
"Now, she is in the throws of her own greed! No! She let go of the doorframe! Hold on, Granny! Don't let the capitalist monster eat you!"
"Ha! I got you!" The woman exclaimed.
She climbed out of the container holding the tails of two crocodile-like creatures and froze when she saw the crowd staring at her.
"And she found a beast symbolizing her primal ferociousness in the depth of the consumer hell. It enabled her to free herself from the shackles of our modern society!"
The commentating girl clapped with enthusiasm but then changed to the sign language form of clapping, and the crowd joined in.
'What is happening here? Why are those young people trying to dislocate their wrists?'
Rapidly, Flora put her chest back into her inventory and marched away, only throwing a suspicious glance above her shoulder to see if she was followed.
The second visit with the skinner was more enjoyable than the first. He showed her not only how to skin the beasts, but traded them with her for two blueprints: Frost-Trap and Explosive-Trap and even taught her the spell for the Frost-Trap.
----------------
You gained a skill: Frost-Trap.
----------------
Flora felt ready for the Homemaker's Haven.
"Alright, sweeties! Guard yourself! How are your firewalls?"
"Up and Running, Milady!"
Aitoshuri gave a confirming beep.
"When someone happens, or you sense something that could pose a danger, warn me!"
Slowly, Flora approached the cupcake-shaped building.
<Detect Traps>!
She entered and arrived at the pink, yellow striped hall.
<Detect Traps>!
----------------
Zone: Homemaker's Haven
Color: Yellow
Automated Reputation Losses
Fighting: - 5 Rep
Littering: - 1 Rep
Cussing: - 1 Rep
Property Destruction: - 3 Rep
Automated Reputation Gains
Consum: + 1 Rep per 10 VirDos
Quests: + 1 Rep per Quest
Teach: + 1 Rep per hour
----------------
Only after checking every corner, Flora swiped her badge across the console.
----------------
Daily Quest: Blooming Home (Homemaker's Haven)
Description: Create a flower bouquet in the winter-garden.
Rewards: Reputation with Homemaker's Haven
Penalty: none
Difficulty: D
Weekly Quest: Work-Shop Leisure-Home (Homemaker's Haven)
Description: Attend a workshop in Homemaker's Haven.
Rewards: Reputation with Homemaker's Haven
Penalty: none
Difficulty: E
----------------
The next workshop for acquiring the Homemaker class started in twenty minutes. Flora took the time to inch carefully towards the classroom.
<Detect Traps>!
She passed cozy parlors, <Detect Traps>!, a bakery, <Detect Traps>!, a sewing room, <Detect Traps>!, and several kitchens, <Detect Traps>!, <Detect Traps>!, <Detect Traps>! and started to feel ridiculous.
Just when she decided that she had no reason to feel paranoid, the spell lightened up a wall in blue!
"Ha! I knew it! But why is it blue? In the lesson, the glow was yellow. Is it an extra mean trap?"
"No, Milady. It's a secret door. They glow blue, unknown mechanisms glow orange and deactivated traps green."
Flora was disappointed and walked now in a regular tempo.
"Oh, well. Let's go to the course. I might have misjudged this establishment."
A few meters later, Aitoshuri made distressed sounds.
<Detect Traps>!
Immediately after casting, Flora pressed her back on a wall and took a defensive posture.
"What's up?"
"Aitoshuri sent me a link: The five principles of adventuring successfully in the Cetviwos."
- Increase the reputation with both of the main factions of the branch of your main class
- Take part in competitions
- If you see something in an unlikely place, investigate it
- Raise only physical vigor until you have 100 levels in it.
- Positioning is key
"What means the last point?"
- Do not stand in AoE's!
- Be aware of the range of your skills
- Control the point of engagement
- Stand behind your opponent
- Use terrain advantages
- Keep the overview
- Don't obstruct your teammates
Aidan read her the list but added that Aitoshuri marked the third point.
"So, she thinks I should investigate the hidden door? But isn't it impolite to snoop around other people's places?"
"It's a game, Milady. And there is no reputation loss for entering restricted areas in this zone."
"We try it your way."
Flora walked back and inspected the wall with Detect Traps. One lamp on the wall was a deeper blue than the rest. After fiddling with it, a wooden panel slid back and revealed a staircase.
Before entering, Flora XYZ-rayed the mechanism. She had no intention of getting stuck on the other side.
The stairs led to a round stone room. It only contained a pedestal with a shimmering scroll on it.
'Mother JJCherrytree's Secret Cherry-Chocolate-Cupcake Recipe'
Flora read it.
--------------------
You gained a hidden recipe: Mother JJCherrytree's Secret Cherry-Chocolate-Cupcake
Effect: + 3 OV Magical Micro-Control, + 2 OV Magical Defense
Tier: 1
Rating: S
--------------------
Beware! If you share a hidden thing, you will lose it and one additional one!
--------------------
Raising her eyebrows, Flora questioned Aidan about the last message.
"You are not allowed to teach a hidden skill, class, or recipe or tell anything about the quest you had to do to get it. You are allowed to link its name, effects, and description and mention the name of the teacher. Revealing the location is more ambivalent, I advise against it or only in the vaguest possible terms."
After searching futility the room for additional secrets, Flora went to the workshop.
They did a bit of cooking, cleaning, and sewing and how to prepare a budget.
--------------------
You gained a skill: Magic Stir.
You gained a skill: Magic Needle.
You gained a skill: Magic Ledger.
--------------------
Flora was disappointed that no household appliances were used at all! The workshop ended with the obligatory recommendation for the next workshop, in this case, Gardening.
--------------------
You gained a new ability: Cooking.
You gained a new ability: Tailoring.
--------------------
Class: Homemaker
Branch: Crafting
Passives:
- +1 Training efficiency modifier for Ability Cooking
- +1 Training efficiency modifier for Ability Tailoring
- +1 Training efficiency modifier for Ability Negotiation
- +1 Training efficiency modifier for Ability Appraisal
Active:
- Bonus for Homemaker skills
--------------------
The janitor's office was in the cellar of the building. Enduring a lecture by a gnarly older man about proper behavior in corridors, Flora got the next class.
--------------------
Class: Janitor
Branch: Crafting
Passives:
- +1 Training efficiency modifier for affinity/resistance time magic
Active:
- Bonus for crafting utility skills
--------------------
Finally, Flora could connect her crafting classes to the Champion of Evailyn class:
Champion of Evailyn → Priestess of Evailyn → Homemaker → switch Homemaker with Janitor → switch Mechanic with Technician
Priestess of Evailyn → Priest
Janitor → Homemaker
Technician → Mechanic
Technician → Electrician
Technician → Smith
At last, Flora connected Pupil to Technician.
"Aitoshuri, please switch Pupil around to whatever I level at the moment."
