Multiple Checks

Led by Old Wayne, Liu Xing and the others arrived at the castle's Main Building. Unsurprisingly, a huge Elder Sign was also engraved on its walls.

"Mr. Butler, what exactly does this pattern represent? Why does it seem to be everywhere in the castle?" Bai He Cheng stepped forward again, looking curious as he stirred up trouble. But it was also a question Liu Xing had wanted to ask.

Old Wayne remained perfectly composed and calmly said, "This pattern is Lord's Family Crest. It has been passed down through several eras. Legend has it that in ancient times, Lord's ancestors relied on this Family Crest to repel a demonic invasion. That is why Lord had so many of these patterns carved throughout the castle."

Liu Xing nodded, but communicated with KP004 in his mind. "KP, I want to make a Psychology check."

Psychology, 22/70, Success.

After the successful check, KP004 gave Liu Xing some information. "You can tell that Old Wayne was not lying."

Liu Xing thoughtfully glanced at Old Wayne's back. It seemed that Old Wayne did not know the Elder Sign's purpose or origin, and he could probably be confirmed as an ordinary NPC.

Once Liu Xing's group entered the living room, they received a message from KP004. "The interior of the Main Building has a typical two-story layout. The first floor contains the living room, guest rooms, and a locked door. The second floor contains the rooms of Lord's family, as well as a study. The first and second floors are separated by an exquisitely crafted wooden door. It appears that it could be forcibly demolished with brute strength."

Old Wayne led them to the guest rooms. "There are three guest rooms here, one large and two small. Please arrange yourselves as you see fit. I will go see Lord first. Please wait a moment."

After saying that, Old Wayne left first and went upstairs.

Liu Xin and the others, meanwhile, entered the same room without prior discussion. "KP, we need to open Escape Room Time."

KP004 chuckled. "All right. Escape Room Time is now active. Players, please make good use of your time to discuss."

As soon as KP004 finished speaking, Liu Xing felt a strange sensation of weightlessness, as though the room had been cut off from the world.

"Who was the one who rolled Anthropology just now?" Chen Ling was the first to speak.

Bai He Cheng immediately raised his hand and said excitedly, "Me!"

Wang Si Yi frowned and asked in a low voice, "Then did you get any information?"

"KP told me that Old Wayne should be a normal human," Bai He Cheng said with a smile.

Liu Xing nodded. "I made a Psychology check just now and found that Old Wayne was not lying. So I think Old Wayne is just an ordinary NPC and doesn't know the Castle Lord's true identity."

Everyone agreed with Liu Xing's conclusion.

"So, what should we do next? Find a way to check out the second floor, or explore the first floor?" Wang Qi asked everyone.

Bai He Cheng immediately displayed the qualities expected of a troublemaking boy once more. "Of course we should go upstairs. Let's go straight at that Castle Lord."

"Shut up!" everyone said to Bai He Cheng in unison.

"I don't think we need to go to the second floor yet. To get upstairs, we need to pass through that wooden door. Unless we obtain the key, we can only enter the second floor by forcibly breaking it down." After thinking for a moment, Wang Si Yi spoke helplessly.

Liu Xing nodded in agreement. "Sister Wang is right. Unless we directly turn against the Castle Lord, we can't just destroy that wooden door. So we have no way to get to the second floor..."

Suddenly, Liu Xing remembered that he seemed to have put points into the Jump skill...

Liu Xing recalled that the shortest distance between the first and second floors seemed to be only around two meters, though there was a wooden railing nearly half a meter high.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing immediately asked KP004 in his mind, "KP, can I make a Jump check and leap directly to the second floor?"

KP004 fell silent for a moment before speaking. "A Jump check alone will not be enough, but you can make Multiple Checks. You will need to roll Jump, Climbing, and Luck in sequence. The Jump check determines whether you can reach the second floor, the Climbing check determines whether you can hold onto the railing, and Luck determines whether the railing will break under excessive weight."

Multiple Checks were required when an action a Player intended to take was too complicated and needed several skill checks. Failing even one skill check would result in the failure of the entire action.

Liu Xing's Jump was 70 and his Luck was 80, so passing those checks would be quite easy. However, he had never put points into Climbing, so his Climbing skill's base value was only 20.

Liu Xing told everyone about his conversation with KP004. Bai He Cheng immediately nodded. "Don't chicken out. Just do it."

Everyone ignored Bai He Cheng's existence once again.

Wang Qi said helplessly, "The other skill checks are fine, but Liu Xing, your Climbing skill is too low. A one-in-five chance of success is still a little too risky."

Chen Ling also nodded, indicating that he agreed with Wang Qi.

But Wang Si Yi offered a different opinion. "It depends. Even if the Climbing check fails, he'll only fall down. Falling from the second floor shouldn't cause much damage. And as long as Old Wayne or anyone else in the castle doesn't see it, there shouldn't be any problem."

Liu Xing agreed more with Wang Si Yi's view. "I think so too. Once we find a suitable opportunity, I'll give it a try. After all, the second floor has the rooms of Lord's family and a study. I think we should be able to get quite a lot of information there."

Bai He Cheng could not stand being ignored any longer. "See? I told you we should just go up."

Liu Xing could not help wanting to give Bai He Cheng a psychoanalysis now, because he felt that there was definitely something wrong with Bai He Cheng's mind!

Next, after excluding Bai He Cheng, Liu Xing and the others decided to gather information on the first floor first. Then, when the time was right, Liu Xing would go upstairs to explore.

"Escape Room Time has ended. Players, please mind your words and behavior."

As soon as KP004 finished speaking, there came a knock from outside the door. "Friends, may I come in now?"

It was Old Wayne.

"Come in," Bai He Cheng said first once again.

Old Wayne entered the room and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, friends. Lord is about to go into town to visit an old friend, so Lord will not be able to dine with you at noon today. However, Lord hopes that you can stay the night in the castle. Lord will dine with you this evening."

Liu Xing and the others nodded. This was good news. With the Castle Lord leaving the castle, it would be much easier to gather information inside, especially while exploring the second floor.

"Very well. I will come back shortly to invite you to lunch. For now, please rest in your rooms." After saying that, Old Wayne left the room.

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