“Ahh, so boring…” A golden winged cat breathes out a long sigh as it watches a young man hammering down on some Bronze Ingots.
‘You have made 1x Bronze Pte (Average).’
‘You have made 1x Bronze Pte (Averave)’
‘You have made 1x Bronze Pte (Average)’
There’s no EXP notification… Because these ptes aren’t considered Machinery components. But what about…
‘You have made 1x Bronze Pipe (Poor) and gained 3 EXP’
‘You have made 1x Bronze Pipe (Average) and gained 5 EXP’
This is Saika’s main objective in this Engineer Workshop. It provides a stable source of EXP.
Every starting css has a different method of earning Experience Point and Leveling up. For the Engineer and Mechanic csses, crafting Machines or Machinery Components is the way.
Some csses have pretty strange EXP gaining methods.
Beyonders, for example, don’t even have a level system. As long as their Potion Digestion reaches 100%, they can perform their advancement ritual and consume the next Sequence Potion.
Or Magical Girls, who gain increased EXP from quests, and also get EXP for any NPC’s Affection positive increase.
“So, how long are you going to stay here? I’m bored! Didn’t you like exploring a lot when you first pyed?” Yuru is still compining by the side as Saika works.
“Alright, after I finish my first piece of equipment.”
‘You have made 1x Steam Piston (Poor) and gained 9 EXP.’
“Dammit! Stop distracting me!”
“But I didn’t say anything?”
’You have made 1x Steam Piston (Average) and gained 15 EXP.’
“Haa… Ok…”
‘You have made 1x Steam Mechanical Arm (Poor) and gained 18 EXP.’
The crafting system for Engineers and Mechanics is quite realistic. After all, they do have the real world to reference from. Saika is used to this thanks to the closed beta, but normal pyers will probably only be able to pump out Trash and Poor grade components.
He focuses up, and starts crafting the next item. It’s more complex, demanding him to pay more attention, but the difficulty isn’t that high.
Soon…
‘You have made 1x Steam Exoskeleton Arm (Poor) and gained 18 EXP.’
“Nice!” This is actually Yuru giving him a thumbs up. Its cat paws struggle to raise a cw up though, and it soon gives up, which makes Saika let out a chuckle.
“Let’s check the attributes, shall we?”
—Steam Exoskeleton Arm (White)
Attack Power: 0
-6 Dexterity+8 Defense
Active effect:+13 Attack Power+8 StrengthConsumes 12 Steam per second when active
Grade: Poor—
“Ooh! Not bad!”
“But of course! I’ve made this thing so many times before!”
Saika managed to make this in about 30 minutes after Tyler left. In the real world, with the 4x time acceleration, only 7.5 minutes has passed.
“That old man should be back soon…”
In the meantime, Saika takes a look at his Character Information. This is actually the first time he has opened this interface… since the beta test.
—Pyer Name: SaikaCss: Apprentice Machinery MasterLevel: 1 (0/100)EXP: 107
HP: 100/100Stamina: 65/100Spirit: 30/30Energy: Not yet unlocked
Main Stat
Constitution: 4Strength: 4 Intelligence: 9Mystic: 0
Secondary Stat
Dexterity: 6Perception: 6Wisdom: 5
Special Stat
Luck: 5Machinery Affinity/Insight: Not yet unlocked—
There seems to be a lot here, but none of the stat does anything on its own. It is simply used in scaling formue.
Simply put, Mystic does not increase a Mage’s Mana bar, but the Max MP of a Mage scales with Mystic.
Why does this make any difference? It will be more apparent as the game goes on. Just wait and see.
Looking at the Skill tab, it only contains 3 Skills.
—Combat Skill:None
Utility Skill:AppraisalComponent Crafting (Level 1)Machine Assembly (Level 1)Machine Repair (Level 1)
Knowledge:Machinery Blueprints (Expand)—
The skills are quite expnatory, and as it stands, the devs never give proper numbers.
Like ‘a chance to increase Quality of crafted equipment’ or ‘a small increase in Defense’. Who knows what that ‘small increase’ is supposed to be. So, Saika never bothers with Skill descriptions too much.
And one thing to note, every Blueprint also counts as a Skill and can be leveled up.
As he’s browsing, Tyler has come back.
“Hey kid, take this! Your Apprentice Engineer certificate!”
‘You have obtained 1x Apprentice Engineer Certificate.’
‘Your Css has changed to Apprentice Engineer.’
‘You have unlocked Stat Machinery Insight.’
‘You have obtained Utility Skill Blueprint Study (Level 1)’
‘You have obtained Utility Skill Blueprint Modification (Level 1)’
“Thank you sir! By the way, can you take a look at this? I made it when you’re away.” Saika says, grabbing the equipment he just crafted and handing it to Tyler.
“Oh? This is? A Steam Exoskeleton Arm? The quality is a bit poor, but not bad for a beginner! Really not bad!”
“Alright, I am someone who appreciates talent! The material you used up just now, consider it free! But from now on, as an Apprentice Engineer in my workshop, you do have some obligations!”
And Tyler starts reading out a long list as if he’s a wyer. But there is only one thing of note aside from the usual ‘don’t damage the Workshop’s reputation’, the quota. Every 4 days, Saika will have to turn in a sufficient amount of Machine or Machine Components. That's 1 IRL day.
Of course, he’ll get paid for it, and the quota isn’t hard to meet, so he has no problem with it! With this, most of the starting steps for the Engineer path have been done!
“Uhh… Why do I have a bad premonition…? You don’t pn to sit here and craft till you reach Level 10, don’t you?” Yuru asks tentatively. It wants adventure! Exploration! Not getting holed up inside a greasy Workshop!
“Of course not! Don’t worry, I just want to get the Portable Boiler!”
“Oh… You better hurry!”
“Yes, my queen!”
As someone who pys MMO solo, having a golden flying talking cat around makes things a lot more enjoyable. It’s like having a friend…
Well, enough wandering thoughts. It’s time to get to work!
‘You have made 1x Bricked Bronze Hull (Average) and gained 10 EXP.’
‘You have made 2x Small Bronze Pipes (Average) and gained 5 EXP.’
The materials he’s using aren't free like his first batch, but he does have a bunch of Components he made earlier that can be turned in.
‘You have made 1x Small Bronze Boiler (Poor) and gained 25 EXP.’
‘You have made 2x Iron Tanks (Average) and gained 10 EXP.’
‘You have made 1x Portable Boiler (Poor) and gained 30 EXP.’
“Woohoo! Finally! Now we can go explore! Come, I’ll lead the way!”
“Calm down… Let’s check the equipment first.”
—Portable Boiler (White)
+90 Max Steam
Recovers 9 Steam per second when active
Quality: Poor—
This Portable Boiler occupies the pyer’s back, and can be activated by using anything burnable. Where does the water come from, you ask? Don’t worry about it and just py the game!
This Portable Boiler is required to use most Steam Equipment, like that Steam Exoskeleton Arm he has crafted earlier.
The main characteristic of Steam is its fast recovery and low reserve. A mere 10 seconds is enough to recover to full, but the Steam Exoskeleton Arms can chew through that in 7 seconds if the Boiler isn’t on.
Regardless, he has some combat power now. So, as Yuru said, it’s time for exploring.
“Let’s go, nyaa!”
A/N: I have lost count of the times I have to told myself not to use "she/her" for Yuru. I am using "it" to remind myself (and everyone) that Yuru is a cat, and that we do not the cat. Yet.
