Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 15: Multiple Verifications

Under the guidance of Old Wayne, Liu Xing and the others arrived at the main building of the Castle, and unsurprisingly, a huge Elder Sign was etched on the walls of the main building.

"Mr. Butler, what exactly does this symbol represent? Why do I see it everywhere in the Castle?" Bai Hecheng stepped forward with a face full of curiosity stirring trouble, yet this question was also on Liu Xing's mind.

Old Wayne remained unflappable, calmly explaining, "This symbol is the lord's family crest, passed down through several generations. According to legend, in ancient times, the lord's ancestors repelled a demonic invasion using this crest. That's why the lord has had so many of these symbols engraved throughout the Castle."

Liu Xing nodded, but in his mind, he communicated with kp004, "kp, I want to make a psychology check."

Psychology, 22/70, success.

After a successful assessment, kp004 provided Liu Xing with intelligence, "You can sense that Old Wayne is not lying."

Liu Xing looked thoughtfully at Old Wayne's retreating figure, concluding that Old Wayne likely did not know the function and origin of the Elder Sign and was probably just an ordinary NPC.

Upon entering the living room, Liu Xing received a message from kp004, "The interior of the main building has a typical two-story layout. The first floor consists of the living room and guest rooms, along with one locked door, while the second floor contains the lord's family rooms and a study. The two floors are separated by a finely crafted wooden door, which looks like it could be forcibly dismantled if necessary."

Old Wayne led everyone to the guest rooms, "Here we have three guest rooms, one large and two small. Friends, please allocate them amongst yourselves. I will go and meet the lord now; please wait here for a moment."

Having said that, Old Wayne left for the second floor.

Liu Xing and the rest entered the same room, as if by an unspoken agreement, "kp, we need to open the Private Room."

kp004 chuckled, "Alright, the Private Room is now opening, please hurry and discuss among yourselves."

As kp004's voice faded, Liu Xing felt an odd sensation of weightlessness, as if the room had been severed from the world.

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"Who just made the anthropology roll?" Chen Ling was the first to speak up.

Bai Hecheng immediately raised his hand, exclaiming with excitement, "That was me!"

Wang Siyi frowned and asked in a low voice, "So, what information did you get?"

kp told me that this Old Wayne should be a normal human being," Bai Hecheng said with a smile.

Liu Xing nodded, "I just made a psychology roll and found out Old Wayne wasn't lying, so I think Old Wayne is probably just an ordinary NPC, unaware of the true identity of the Castle's lord."

Everyone agreed with Liu Xing's deduction.

"So, what should we do next? Should we try to go upstairs or explore the first floor?" Wang Qi asked the group.

Bai Hecheng immediately showed the propensity for stirring things up that a mischievous boy should have, "Of course, we go upstairs and confront that Castle lord directly."

"Shut up!" Everyone said to Bai Hecheng in unison.

"I think we don't need to rush to the second floor for now because to get there, we need to pass through that wooden door. Unless we get the key to this door, our only other entry would be to break in by force," Wang Siyi pondered for a moment, reluctantly concluding.

Liu Xing nodded in agreement, "Sister Wang is right; unless we have a falling out with the lord of Castle, we can't just destroy that wooden door. Hence, we have no way to enter the second floor..."

Suddenly, Liu Xing remembered that he seemed to have acquired a jumping ability...

Liu Xing recalled the shortest distance between the first and second floor, which seemed to be only about two meters, with a wooden railing nearly half a meter high.

With this in mind, Liu Xing immediately communicated inwardly with kp004, "kp, can I make a jump check to leap directly onto the second floor?"

After a moment of silence, kp004 replied, "Merely passing a jump skill check is insufficient. However, you can attempt a multiple check involving jumping, climbing, and luck. The jump check determines if you can reach the second floor, the climb check if you can grasp onto the railing, and luck to see if the railing will break under the strain."

A multiple check is required when the action a player intends to perform is too complex, necessitating several skill checks. Failure in any one of these skill checks would result in the failure of the entire action.

Liu Xing had a jump rating of 70 and luck of 80, which seemed simple enough to pass the checks, but he hadn't acquired any climbing skills, leaving him with a base level of only 20.

Liu Xing shared his conversation with kp004 with everyone. Bai Hecheng immediately responded, "Don't be a coward, just do it."

Everyone once again ignored Bai Hecheng's presence.

Wang Qi said helplessly, "All the other skill checks are fine, but your climbing skill is too low, Liu Xing. A one in five success rate is a bit too risky."

Chen Ling also nodded, agreeing with Wang Qi's view.

However, Wang Siyi had a different opinion, "It really depends on the situation. If the climbing check fails, you'd just fall. Falling from the second floor shouldn't cause much harm, and as long as Old Wayne or anyone else from Castle doesn't see it, there shouldn't be any problem."

Liu Xing actually agreed more with Wang Siyi's perspective, "I think so too. Just wait for the right opportunity, and I'll give it a try. After all, the second floor is where the lord's family rooms are, including a study, which I believe should contain quite a bit of information."

At this point, Bai Hecheng couldn't stand being left out, "I said we should just go straight up."

Liu Xing was now seriously considering giving Bai Hecheng a psychoanalysis, convinced that there must be something amiss with Bai Hecheng's mental state!

After dismissing Bai Hecheng's comment, Liu Xing and the others decided to first gather intelligence on the first floor and then wait for an opportunity for Liu Xing to explore the second floor.

"The private room session is over. Please be mindful of your speech and behavior," kp004 announced.

No sooner had kp004 finished speaking than a knock was heard from outside, "My friends, may I come in now?"

It was Old Wayne.

"Please come in." Once again, Bai Hecheng was the first to respond.

Old Wayne entered the room, apologizing slightly, "I am sorry, my friends, the lord is about to meet an old friend in town and won't be able to join you for lunch today. However, the lord hopes you will stay the night at Castle and have dinner with him this evening."

Liu Xing and the others nodded, realizing this was good news. With the Castle lord away from Castle, it would be much more convenient to gather intelligence, especially for exploring the second floor.

"That's settled then. I'll come to disturb you again shortly to join you for lunch. For now, you may rest in your rooms," said Old Wayne, and after that, he left the room.