Chapitre 40: Rank Advancement Quest (2) : Engineering Pioneer

Arnold sighed and opened the <Knowledge> tab. This was the only way he knew to obtain a new subclass. There were around 4-5 new knowledges there but he wasn't interested in them but soon Arnold's eyes found something he was interested in.

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[BASIC ENGINEERING SKILL] : The basic knowledge required by <Creationist> to be able to craft an <Automaton> and various other gears and equipment having basic and limited functions which can be upgraded over time. Acquiring this knowledge would also reduce the cost of manufacture for various weapons/equipments. Buying this knowledge also unlocks the ability [QUICK ASSEMBLY].

[QUICK ASSEMBLY] : (Passive ability) Basic ability for <Creationist> class. This ability decreases the duration required to forge an equipment/automaton/weapon as well as increases their durability by 15%.

[ Rank : C ]

Price : 5 <basic beast> crystals.

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"Automatons would be pretty helpful in fighting as well as in creation as they'd necessarily act as my assistants. If I could get my hands on half a dozen of them, soon I'd be able create an army to help me out!" Arnold's eyes were shining brighter than the stars themselves.

"Then there is the problem of gathering 'funds'... wait a minute! With the help of these automatons, I'd be able to mass produce some weapons like the [VINDICATOR], it goes without saying that I'll intentionally make these weapons have a lower grade so that I'd still have the upper hand in case of equipments. Furthermore the guns can only use <basic enchanted bullets> and as far as I know, only I'm be able to buy those from the shop of my interface, meaning that I'd have a monopoly on the guns and the bullets!

"This would indefinitely act as my main source of income." Arnold nodded. Although his idea was perfect, he wouldn't be able to execute it for now as the automatons would require some modifications before they are able to mass produce the blueprints that he had, but this didn't bothered him a bit, as long as he can make and upgrade the automatons they'd be able to provide an endless supply of manpower. With this in mind he immediately bought the knowledge and a familiar message popped up on the interface.

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YOU'VE SELECTED [BASIC ENGINEERING SKILL] KNOWLEDGE. DO YOU WANT TO LEARN [BASIC ENGINEERING SKILL]?

•YES or •NO

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"Yes."

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REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED.

LEARNING...

YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY ACQUIRED THE KNOWLEDGE [BASIC ENGINEERING SKILL].

You've unlocked new ability(s):

• [QUICK ASSEMBLY] : (Passive ability) Basic ability for <Creationist> class. This ability decreases the duration required to forge an equipment/automaton/weapon as well as the cost by 15% (The cost can be further reduced by leveling up the skill) and also increase the durability by 15% (can be increased by leveling up the skill). Furthermore, you'll be awarded EXP for every equipment/automaton/weapon you forge. The EXP awarded would depend upon the grade and durability of the equipment/automaton/weapon that you forge.

[ Rank : C ]

Congratulations! You've received a new subclass : <Engineering Pioneer>

REWARDS :

INTELLIGENCE (INT) : +15

You've gained a new utility blueprint :

• [AUTOMATON] : These are robots having a humanoid shape and can be used for a variety of purposes - from fighting to manufacturing. There only limitation is that their function is fully dependent on the imagination is their creator. Apart from this, they are essentially better than any standard human being.

Grade : B

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Just like it had happened when he learnt the [BASIC SHOOTING SKILL], Arnold felt like he knew all about machinery, their construction, their working, their pros and cons etc, like he had been working with them his entire life. Machines weren't just simple 'things' for him anymore, they were a piece of art and he was the artist.

"Not to bad... let's see what's the cost of manufacturing one of these."

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Items required to construct an [AUTOMATON] :

• Steel (20kg)

• Aluminum (26kg)

• 1 <Basic Artificial Intelligence> chip (Available in shop)

• Machinery tool kit (One time requirement)(Available in shop)

• 10 <basic beast> crystals

• 1 <Yellow soul> crystal (one time requirement)

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"Most of the items are easily available. Hmm... right now I'd only be able to forge one automaton, which would be perfect to test it's abilities and upgrade the areas where it is lacking." Arnold smiled, "Just look at me. Who'd have thought that one day, I'd be so happy about the technology and stuff?"

He then placed an order at the shop, which was located inside the estate, to deliver the necessities like Steel and aluminum in his room. While he waited for them to be delivered, he decided to buy the other things like <Basic Artificial Intelligence> chip from the <Shop> so that he could complete at least one of the automaton and add some progress to his rank advancement quest.

"Damn. These chips are costly." Arnold frowned after seeing that the price of 1 <Basic Artificial Intelligence> chip was 1 <Yellow soul> crystal. Although Arnold could buy it now and proceed with the construction of the automaton, if he wanted to build an army of automatons, the amount of <Yellow soul> crystals he'd need would be ridiculous. So far there were only two ways to obtain <Yellow soul> crystal. One, he could try to clear a lot of dungeons by himself and hope that the boss monsters would drop the crystal or he could buy them from the market in bulk.

The problem with the first case was that it was time consuming and even if he was able to kill all of the bosses, there would be no guarantee that he'd be allowed to keep the crystal for himself. He could try to clear a dungeon himself but he doubted that he'd be given the permission to do so. And the issue with the second case was - the lack of money. Even a single yellow crystal went anywhere from 11000-25000 dollars in the market. If he wanted to build an army, he'd need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be able to buy the intelligence chips. To get more money he'll have to clear more and more dungeons or he could try to replicate the blueprint of weapons like the [VINDICATOR] so that he could produce a low quality handgun which wouldn't require a <Red soul> crystal to be forged and sell it in the market. There were many ways to make money but the amount he needed was huge as well. All of a sudden the money in his account seemed like water droplets.

Arnold lightly slapped his cheeks. "Now isn't the time to worry about the future. I have to focus on the Rank advancement quest."

KNOCK

"There's a delivery for Mr Arnold." one of the butlers knocked on the door.

Arnold opened the doors and the butler rolled in the cart which was carrying the items Arnold had requested.

"Do you require anything else sir?" The Butler politely asked.

"No, thanks. That'll be all."

The Butler nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Arnold opened the boxes in which iron and aluminum bars were stacked neatly and one by one placed them in his inventory. He then bought the intelligence chip and the machinery tool kit which cost him 1 <Yellow soul> crystal and 10 <Basic beast> crystals respectively, and placed them in his inventory as well.

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Proceed to forge : [AUTOMATON]?

• Yes or • No

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"Yes."

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Forging has been started.

Estimated time to complete forging [AUTOMATON ASSEMBLY KIT] : 2 hours.

You'll be notified once forging is completed. The crafted items would be stored in your inventory.

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"Wait wait wait... what do you mean you're forging [AUTOMATON ASSEMBLY KIT]? I thought you were going to forge a complete automaton!"

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[AUTOMATON](s) are too sophisticated structure for the system to construct by itself. Hence it can only provide the user with an [AUTOMATON ASSEMBLY KIT]. The user will have to build the [AUTOMATON] by himself. A basic assembly guide will be added to the [AUTOMATON ASSEMBLY KIT].

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"DAMN IT!"