Chapter 38 – O-Rah!

“Trash! Complete and utter garbage!” Odin says, waving his arms around. “How do you dare call this a trap? It wouldn’t even kill a sewer rat. Try again!”

I clench my fists. “Of course it’s trash. What did you expect? An elephant-sized mithril dragon shooting fire out of its ass? Cut me some slack.”

“Slack? My two-year-old granddaughter could do better, and she isn’t even allowed to play with needles yet. Try again, but this time: Better.”

I mutter a few select curses as I attempt to assemble another trap. Odin may be an incredibly skilled artisan, but his teaching methods could use some work. Preferably in the shape of my fist. Regardless, I don’t know how, but his tutelage has shown results. After six hours of continuous crafting, all three of my trap making skills have gained two levels each. That’s an impressive amount, considering half the time has been spent by him verbally degrading me.

Luckily for me, tutelage from a trainer isn’t a very expensive endeavor. At least not for the Novice ranks. The trainer charges a single gold per hour which grants me the opportunity of getting some basic crafting schematics for free as well as a percentage increase to my skill gain for the duration of the lessons. I’m not sure how much experience being taught by a Grandmaster nets me, but it must be a considerate amount. Novices like me can usually only be trained by either novice or apprentice ranked craftsmen unless I have either a really high renown rank or reputation with certain factions. The only reason I’m gaining tutelage from a Grandmaster is because he is a member of the Silver Saints, and apparently because I am, and I quote: ‘Interesting’.

Creating the traps isn’t the most complicated task in the world, at least not these basic versions that I’m producing. It’s actually really hard not to be able to make a trap, but the quality of the trap can vary a lot. So far, for six hours straight, I’ve actually been unable to create anything other than Common grade traps, or trash, as Odin likes to call them. I’m not particularly worried as my skill level is still low, but Odin seems to take my failure to heart.

The entire process of creating a trap is pretty straight forward, but there are also a lot of customizing options that are available to add to your design. The easiest thing to do is just add the correct materials and follow the very simple schematic to the letter. This doesn’t take a long time to do, but it will also result in the trap always being of common grade quality. If I want to create better traps, then I need to do a lot of work with every single component and spend a lot of time to optimize my design and approach. That sounds all well and good in theory, but it’s much harder to actually do. I’m determined to make at least one uncommon grade trap before the night is over though.

Storing my latest failure in my inventory, I pull out the ingredients I need for another attempt. I decide to go with the cheapest schematics I have.

[Schematic: Basic Trigger Mechanism - Linen Tripwire. Common Trap Maker Schematic. Requires: 4x Spool of Linen Thread, 1x Small Wooden Stick. (Product must be attached to a Release Mechanism to function).]

[Schematic: Basic Framework - Wooden Structure. Common Trap Maker Schematic. Requires: 1x Spool of Linen Thread, 1x Small Wooden Plank, 1x Basic Magic Oil. (Product must be attached to a Trigger Mechanism and a Release Mechanism to function).]

[Schematic: Basic Release Mechanism - Wood Flail. Common Trap Maker Schematic. Requires: 2x Large Wooden Plank, 2x Small Wooden Plank, 1x Iron Spring, 1x Basic Magic Oil. (Product must be attached to a Trigger Mechanism to function).]

The ingredients are fairly cheap and Odin can sell them to me for only a few coppers each. He is also willing to buy any trap I make for a small profit, but it’s so marginal, it doesn’t pay well compared to the time I spend crafting. It’s a good way to grind some experience without having to worry too much about ruining your bank account though.

As I pull out all the needed ingredients and lay them out in front of me, Odin retakes his stance directly behind me, looking intently over my shoulder. Not only is this incredibly distracting and creepy, but it puts a lot of pressure on my performance. It’s very important that I pay extra attention as to not mess anything up. This is mostly because Odin has developed a habit of smacking me at the back of my head if I do something wrong, which then leads to me messing up the process further.

Alright, Ryan. This is the time you finally do it. Be really careful now.

Odin grunts behind me. “Remember, son. To create a real trap, you need to get a feel for her parts. Start by carefully breaking down each and every one of the schematics to the basic elements.”

I do as he says and separate the pieces of wood into one pile and the spools of thread into another. I’ve been listening to these instructions for hours already, and I already know them by heart. It doesn’t help that Odin insists that I create a complete trap every time I attempt to craft instead of making one schematic at a time. Not only does that force me to create three higher grade trap parts in a row to create an uncommon grade trap, but it requires that I need to keep my concentration at maximum for three times as long as it would to create an individual schematic.

“Good. You need to visualize the trap. Every part serves a purpose, and it’s important that each piece is tailored to complement the others. The trap is one.”

I sigh. “You’ve been saying that a lot. It’s obvious that I need everything for the trap to function, but why do you insist I make all three parts of the trap at the same time? Why not just make one piece at a time to optimize their strength to their full potential and then combine the three parts into a stronger final product? Your approach leaves too much room for error.”

“Foolish apprentice.” He grunts, smacking the back of my head. “Isn’t it obvious? A trap isn’t a collection of individual parts. A trap is one entity. Do you think two strangers could form a bond stronger than those who are twins? The parts complement each other. They must be birthed as one.”

I gently rub my temples. Odin loves to speak in vague riddles. Most of the things he says sound like complete rubbish half of the time. I do think I start to understand the message though. I just have to read between the lines.

“So, basically, what you are saying is that the trap parts grow more powerful if they are created at the same time? How?”

“Yes, foolish apprentice. To create the parts with the most synergy, they need to be made with the same vision. Everything must be the same. The same ingredients, the same idea, and the same motions. This will affect the flow of the trap and how it performs. You would be more comfortable fighting a monster using your own arms rather than someone else’s, no?”

I sigh once more. “I suppose.” What he says doesn’t really make sense, but I guess I’ll just have to go with the flow on this one. He didn’t become Grandmaster for no reason, and who am I to argue with game logic? I’ll take all the help I can get.

I pull out a knife and start working the timber. This simple trap has several different mechanisms, and Odin keeps stressing that I need to keep their balance even. The most difficult part of the trap is shaping the flail itself. It’s a spiked wooden ball attached to a thin shaft. Sort of like a spiked mace really.

“Remember to balance the weight, apprentice. Keep the lines even. If the weight is even slightly off, then the trap will lose a lot of its power. To exert the most amount of force, you need a strong base.”

I grunt in acknowledgement, not daring to allow my concentration to waver. I carefully cut the mace into shape, taking extra care to measure the length of the wooden spikes. It takes me a good ten minutes of gametime, but I eventually manage to craft a spiked mace I’m satisfied with. Next, I have to carefully create the base it’s attached to. In order to properly launch the flail at the victim, the structure needs to be balanced in order to channel the force evenly, making sure to waste as little of it as possible. The physics is beyond me, but Odin assures me it works.

“Good. Now, remember to cut the edges to size. Mind the weight. It helps with the speed and overall efficiency.” Odin says evenly. “Make sure there are no lumps. It draws attention, and it causes the light to be reflected oddly.”

“Yes, sir.” I mutter, not taking my eyes off the contraption. I work the edges slowly, smoothing over the sharp corners. I lift the base a few times, trying to gauge the weight distribution. It takes a little fine-tuning, but I’m eventually satisfied with the result.

The next parts I finish are the small wooden connectors that make up both the Trigger Mechanism and the Framework. Due to the simplicity of their nature, this doesn’t take long as their structures are small and less convoluted than the woodwork in the Release Mechanism. With all the wooden parts assembled, I take some time to paint them with a thin layer of black oil. It’s a specially made oil that not only helps with making the trap look more ominous, but it also has a sliver of magic dust mixed into it, giving the trap a weak concealment enchantment. The tough part is when I move over to work the linen threads in the tripwire and the framework.

“Good, stupid apprentice. Make sure the thread is spun correctly, and the density is even along the length of the wire. If one part of the wire is weaker, it may snap prematurely, rendering your entire trap useless. Also, make sure to mind the thickness. The thicker the wire, the lesser the value. What point is there to have a trap that even the densest troll can spot?”

I mutter my acknowledgement while focusing intently. Spinning the thread is hard and my Dexterity points are working overtime. The game system is helping me out a little though, but it still takes me two tries to get a wire density I’m comfortable with. With all the major parts assembled, the final thing to do is to connect everything to one another. The Trigger Mechanism and the Framework is simple as I only need to attach the wire to their respective connectors, but finishing the Release Mechanism is the tricky part.

I connect the wooden flail to its base and gently screw the metal spring into place. I carefully test if the trap can be properly armed without going off prematurely before I attach the wire to the base of the spring. Locking it in place with a lynchpin, I can finally drop my shoulders and lean back in my chair. It took me around twenty minutes, but I finally made a trap I can be proud of.

[Enhanced Wooden Flail Tripwire Trap. Uncommon. 48-54 Cutting and Blunt Damage. Requires Level 4.]

Odin grunts. “Passable.”

“Hah.” I snort. “This thing is a beauty, and you know it you old dog.” I grin, lifting up my trap to inspect it.

“That thing wouldn’t even tickle me.” He crosses his arms, looking serious. “But it’s not bad for killing really tall newborns I suppose.” He says, scratching his chin.

I chuckle. “Your terrible humor is even worse than your teaching abilities.”

“Cheeky brat!” Odin grunts, smacking me at the back of my head. He may look angry, but I catch a glimpse of a smirk on the old badger’s face.

We spend another hour and a half repeatedly trying to make more traps. I manage to make three more uncommon grade traps and another common one of the same type. Things are way easier now that I start to get the hang of things, and I don’t think I’m far away from leveling up my skills again. Nevertheless, I’ve been at this for eight hours now, and it’s time to take a good long break. Making these traps and befriending Odin has been fun and all, but I still have thievy things to do.

Before I leave, I purchase another schematic from Odin. The Wooden flail one is good and all, but it doesn’t quite meet the prerequisites I need for the types of traps I have in mind.

[Schematic: Basic Release Mechanism - Liquid Canister. Common Trap Maker Schematic. Requires: 1x Large Wooden Plank, 1x Small Wooden Plank, 1x Metal Pin, 1x Potion (Optional), 1x Basic Magic Oil. (Product must be attached to a Trigger Mechanism to function).]

Stocking up on materials to make a few dozen traps, I head out and start the long trek back towards the Shanty Town. I don’t bother selling any of my common grade traps as of yet as I kind of want to test them out a bit. They’re not the most valuable items I have, and I need to get used to actually using the traps at one point or another anyway. Might as well start early.

I stop by a small alchemist shop on my way back to purchase a select few concoctions to experiment with. Stopping the second guard back at the Bard’s College gave me a few ideas that I want to try out, and I can’t wait to see if any of them work.

It doesn’t take too long, but I soon find myself back in the warehouse I have started to use as an impromptu headquarters for the last few days. As soon as I peek my head through the door, Cobra walks up to me.

The Job: Protecting the Neighbourhood is Successful!

A community is built on mutual safety and cooperation. Those who are unable to protect themselves often require the help of those who do in exchange for favors. Thanks to your help, the local Neighbourhood is as safe as it can be. Safe from you, that is.

Rewards: 200 Experience, (42) Crafting Ingredients, (4) Consumables, 8 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Copper.

[Mentor has leveled up to Novice 6.]

“Excellent.” I grin as the notification fills my view. “I trust that you had no problems?”

My Lieutenant chuckles. “No, boss. It was all good fun. We had to bash in a few skulls and stab a few wives before they took the hint, but they all ended up paying for protection. A couple of the local muscle heads from the local brewery figured they could try and chase us off with a bunch of pitchforks and shovels.” He guffaws. “Trust me on this; they ain’t laughing no more!” He roars with laughter.

“Ehe… Right.” I mutter. The casual violence against civilians still rubs me the wrong way, but the feeling lessens over time. I’m not sure if that should worry me or not. It probably should.

“How did the fresh recruits hold up?”

“Oh, they? Not bad at all. One of them half-orcs took a pitchfork to the belly while that little Cutpurse runt got knocked out cold by a shovel, but they all held up fine. A little rough love is all the motivation they need to get better.”

“I’m glad to hear it. So I guess you are all rested and ready to start another grinding session then?” I grin.

Cobra chuckles. “Of course we are, boss. Isn’t that right, men?” He shouts.

My underlings shout out as one. “O-Rah!”

Well, that’s new...