The Mechanical Crafter - Book 2 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series)

by R. A. Mejia

  The mechanical spider walked up to the place I pointed at and just looked at it then back up to me. His two front legs raised up off the ground in a gesture that almost seemed to say to me, “I don’t know what you want me to do here, buddy.”

  It was too much to expect him to know how to make traps. Instead, I showed him several types of traps including a deadfall trap, a spiked pit trap, and a simple snare trap. I didn’t think Parker would be able to set up anything more complex--at least not yet. It was pretty easy to fabricate the parts I needed since I had schematics for each, and I used the meat from the dead Scaledon as bait to attract other monsters.

  I used my deconstruction tool to dig a hole in the ground and fabricated sharpened stakes that I placed inside the pit. I carefully placed thin strips of wood over the hole and then the bait on top of that. Ideally, the target’s weight would break the cover as it tried to get at the bait, and whatever creature tried to snatch the bait would fall into the pit.

  The deadfall trap was made with a wide heavy flat rock being propped up by a wooden stake and trigger. The trigger was attached to a string, and the string was attached to bait that, when pulled, would cause the trigger to pull the support stake, dropping the heavy rock onto the target.

  The snare was the easiest to set up as it was nothing more than a string formed into a loop that was set between sticks holding it up. When the target went through the loop, they got caught on it and it tightened around them.

  Parker was able to replicate the traps after I gave him the needed parts, but the mechanical spider could not make the traps from scratch since he did not have the skills to craft the components. It wasn’t a big deal as I could fabricate as many parts as he would need from the stone and wood around us.

  Together, we set up a dozen pit traps on the west side of the field and another dozen deadfall traps on the east side. After that, it was only a matter of waiting for monsters to trigger the traps for the XP to flow in. Parker soon gained the 300 XP he needed to gain level two. In addition to increasing his HP to 14 and his Mana to 6, he also gained another companion point, which I immediately spent on the ability Web.

  Web - Ranged Weapon Attack. Reach 30/60 ft., one creature. The target is restrained by webbing. The restrained target can make a strength check, bursting the webbing on a success. The webbing can also be attacked and destroyed.

  I tested out the new ability on the next Squirrel Scout we came across. When I commanded Parker to use the ability, he twisted the bottom section of his body toward the target, and a white fluid sprayed out. Where the fluid touched, it solidified into a sticky web. The scout was covered in the webbing and wasn’t strong enough to break it. Instead, his struggles only trapped him further, allowing Parker the time to jump on him and bite him to death. Unfortunately, Parker was not immune to the effects of his own webbing, and he had to slowly pull himself away from the sticky trappings. It made getting the ability Spider Climb a must have when he leveled up next.

  We were clearing some of the traps on the west side of the field and looting a Scaledon that had died in a pit trap when three others appeared, likely looking to eat the meat from the kill. On his own, Parker would have been torn to pieces, but I decided to use the chance to test out just how well he took commands.

  “Parker, web one of the Scaledons and then attack another.”

  Unfortunately, Parker didn’t seem to understand the vague instructions, and the Scaledon’s didn’t wait for him to figure it out. All three descended on Parker, their sharp teeth biting him and snapping his legs and their claws scratching his wooden plating. The mechanical spider just stood there, trying to pick a target. I swung my Blacksmith Hammer and killed two of the Scaledons almost immediately. I didn’t get any XP from the kills, but it cleared up Parker’s indecision, and he immediately webbed and then attacked the remaining Scaledon. The Scaledon was strong enough to break the webbing and would have freed himself given enough time. Even though Parker was missing several limbs, he still managed to bite the creature to death before it could escape.

  The mechanical spider limped over to me on six legs and looked up at me expectantly. I scratched the top of his head and told him, “Good try, buddy. I’ll make my commands a bit clearer next time.” Then I repaired and rebuilt the poor spider’s legs.

  Once he was back up to full strength, I tested out the limits of what Parker could do. I didn’t want him to get into another tight spot when faced with multiple opponents. I used the meat from the defeated Scaledon’s to attract more monsters. When two more Scaledon’s appeared, I commanded Parker to attack. Once again, he froze without a specific target. So, I pointed and commanded, “Attack that Scaledon.” With a clear target designated, Parker went directly to the monster and attacked. The second one bit him from behind, but the mechanical spider ignored the damage and focused on attacking the Scaledon that I’d told him to fight. I killed the second monster, and Parker quickly defeated his target. I repeated the experiment with different commands, and it seemed that Parker was able to follow any command I gave as long as I gave a clear command that differentiated a target. Saying, “Attack the bigger monster” or “web the closest monster” worked because Parker had some variable to differentiate targets by. But a string of commands would be needed if I wanted Parker to do multiple things. I had to clearly tell him to web and then attack the same target. Otherwise, he’d just do the first.

  I checked the documentation in You and Your Mechanical Companion which described the ability of a mechanical companion to take orders.

  The ability of a mechanical companion to follow orders is determined by two factors: 1) Stat scores, 2) Special Abilities

  The first is the innate intelligence and wisdom of the companion. A stat score of less than 7 in either makes understanding and processing orders challenging. If the intelligence score is under 7, then the mechanical companion will have difficulty processing ambiguous or complex instructions. Simple commands with clear action and targets work best. For companions with a wisdom score of less than 7, it will be hard for them to work out the best way to complete a command, and it may make unnecessary steps or take commands so literally that they do not avoid danger from other obstacles.

  The second determining factor for a mechanical companion’s ability to follow orders are special abilities. There are several special abilities that can be added that allow for more complex commands to be understood or for intention to be better processed. For example, the Silent Command ability allows for a telepathic connection to the mechanical companion and for thoughts to be sent. This innately conveys more about the intent of the command than a verbal command. Another example would be the ability Advanced Targeting, which automatically allows a companion to designate multiple targets with unique tags and follow if - then commands.

  The information was enlightening but not useful at the moments since everything that I upgraded on Parker was determined by the number of Companion Points he had. Still, it was information that I could take into account when I planned on upgrading Parker’s stats or getting him a new ability.

  Instead, Parker and I focused on leveling him up enough onto other levels of the dungeon. We continued to reset the traps we’d laid and rake in the passive XP. Though every trap didn’t catch a monster, enough did that Parker gained a steady flow of XP through the night. We eventually moved into the deeper portion of the 1st level.

  It was in this back section of the dungeon, where the flowers changed colors from white to red, that I found the plant I’d been looking for. The Conium Rubrum plant that was used to make the Weak Poison I’d scanned from the trap vendor. Once I had the plant it was only a small matter to collect some water from a small stream that ran through the east side of this area and I was able to fabricate the poison and store it in some empty glass vials I had in my backpack. When I presented the poison to Parker, his outer shell opened and I was able to pour the poison into the glass receptacle that had been created when he got the Poison upgrade. It was i
nteresting to consider that Parker could use any poison that I gave him for his ability and even potentially any liquid I poured. My mind spun out possible uses for such an ability. I wondered if Parker could be given healing potions that he could inject, or perhaps a paralytic that would make a boss monster freeze. It would all depend on my ability to fabricate more potions. Which likely meant more money to spend on samples and base components.

  I shook my head as I tried to recall the exact location of the event trigger point for this field. Greebo said it was somewhere near the center, so I estimated the place and built a defendable base for us to fight from. Unlike my first time in the area, I was not worried about my ability to survive the fight, only that Parker did most of the work so that he would get credit for all the kills and get the majority of the XP.

  We faced off against the Squirrel Horde, who fell into the trenches and impaled themselves on the wooden stakes at the bottom like lemmings. The Squirrel Knights on their Scaledon mounts were caught in Parker's sticky webs or knocked down into the spiked pits. Either scenario let Parker bite them and inject Weak Poison that drained their HP till they were dead. Unfortunately, the Squirrel King and Bishop were just too cunning to fall for the traps. The Bishop’s ranged spell nearly killed Parker in a single attack, and I ended up killing both the King and the Bishop with my Flintlock Rifle. Parker didn’t get any XP from the kills, but we did get a few low-level monster cores.

  By the time Parker had reached level three, we’d been in the dungeon for more than ten hours. I applied his free point, and he gained the ability Spider Climb, which would let him climb any surface. More importantly, the skill ensured that Parker wouldn’t get caught up in his own sticky webs. It was well into the next morning when we exited the dungeon, and I had to hurry to sell the low-level monster drops and purchase materials before meeting up with Greebo and the other goblins.

  Chapter 36 - Pet Upgrades

  There was already a steady stream of adventurers entering the dungeon as Parker and I left, and my mechanical companion got more than a few glances from the adventures going to and from the dungeon. After the incident with the elf earlier, I’d honestly hoped that he’d stand out less since it was not uncommon to see a variety of battle pets, mechanical pack mules, or golems trailing behind their masters who headed into the dungeon. With his new ability, Parker climbed right up my legs and back and rested comfortably on my shoulder’s where he bobbed up and down excitedly.

  I eventually made my way through the crowd and found Greebo, our goblin fighter and miners, and the Divas waiting for me at the fountain near the entrance to the dungeon.

  “There he is,” Frak said, the first to spot me as everyone else was looking in the opposite direction.

  At his statement, the others all turned and I could see frowns on most of their faces. “Where have you been? We’ve been waiting for an hour for you to show up,” Dannie Diva said. “We have got mining to do, and every hour we waste is lost profit.” There was a pause as she studied Parker. “And what in the blazes is that thing on your shoulder?”

  The quizzical expressions on the miners’ faces showed their shared confusion and curiosity.

  “Sorry, everyone. I guess I lost track of time trying to level up this guy.” I grabbed the Mechanical Spider on my shoulder and held him out for everyone to see. “This is Parker. He’s my mechanical companion, a pet my class let me build. It took a long time to save up the money for all his components, but I built him last night, and I’ve been leveling him up ever since. We just left the dungeon.”

  Everyone gathered around and peered at Parker. Dannie seemed fascinated by the mechanical wonder, and she poked and prodded the spider until he wiggled out from my grasp and landed on the ground at her feet. Parker walked straight to Dannie and started poking her back with his two front legs, imitating the poking motion she had just made. She laughed at the mimicry, bent over and softly rapped the spider with the back of her knuckle, and said to him, “Ah, you aren’t one of those dumb constructs, are you? You got a bit of brains like your maker.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, those brains were the most expensive part of him. He has a couple of abilities and skills that I think will be useful to us, especially as he levels up and I’m able to upgrade him more.”

  At my words, both Devena and Dannie both looked up at me. But it was Dannie who asked, “Your spider has skills? Do they increase or is a set skill level?”

  “Uh, well, it’s really just the one skill for now, but it increases just like mine. Why?”

  The dwarven cousins looked at each other. “It’s just unusual for any animal construct to have skills that increase,” Devena said. "Abilities, sure. Everyone has some kind of ability. But I’ve never heard of any animal construct that does.”

  “I’d keep that bit of information to yourself," Dannie added, "or you might find people trying to steal your mechanical pet.”

  The goblins listened to the exchange with curiosity. Greebo chuckled and slapped my back. “Well, that’s Repair for you. Always full of surprises. But let's get down into the dungeon so that we can start to make some money today, yeah?”

  The reminder that daylight was burning was all that the group needed to get moving, although I had to make them wait a little bit longer while I sold off the low-level monster drops and bought supplies for the dungeon. It only took a little bit, but I felt guilty holding the group up even longer since I was the one arriving late.

  After I finished, we all went down to the sixth level of the dungeon and spent the day mining and fighting just like we had for the past few weeks. This time, however, we had Parker with us, and he proved to be quite a valuable asset. The longest and most tedious part of every dungeon dive was the time we spent preparing to fight the waves of monsters that appeared. Everyone dug trenches and laid wooden stakes, and we used the dirt and rock to fill the portable walls so that they would be sturdy enough not to knock over. Even with my ability to fabricate and break down materials directly to build the portable walls, it all just took up time that could have been spent actually mining and making us money. But Parker was a skilled machine that worked tirelessly to dig pit traps, line them with stakes, and camouflage them. He wasn’t as good at digging as the miners, but he was twice as fast as any of the fighters, and his help drastically decreased the time it took to get set up.

  Even after our defenses were in place, Parker continued being useful.

  I placed him on the same portable wall that I manned and had him web any of the large monsters that attacked. The mechanical spider would shoot off his sticky white webbing, causing the monsters to trip and stumble in the dirt, and a large number of them never even reached the walls since they made perfectly static targets while they lay struggling in the dirt. With the new infused ammunition, my rifle shots blew large chunks of flesh from the confined monsters, and even the toughest Razorback Badger died quickly once it was webbed. Any remaining Razorbacks would rush the walls, but there were never enough of them to pose a threat to our defenses at that point. Though the fight was still dangerous, between the ranged support from the top of walls and the devastating blows from our melee fighters below, we easily cut them down.

  The only monsters that had the strength to quickly break through Parker’s webbing were the elk-like Quartz Wapiti, and even then Parker proved to be a tremendous help. Once, when one of the monsters leapt over the pit traps and charged our walls, Parker leapt onto its hindquarters. The creature obviously didn’t like the mechanical spider’s extra weight, and it began bucking around, trying to get Parker off rather than assaulting the walls. Parker’s Spider Climb ability let him cling to the failing creature like a professional bull rider, and the spider even bit the monster, adding a small amount of poison. Once he learned what he was doing, Parker was able to repeat the process. He weakened as many monsters as he could, making it easier for our fighters to take down the massive beasts. Although he took damage during his bold attacks, he had 21 HP at level 3, and he was bet
ter able to take a few hits--at least enough that I could repair him between waves of attacks.

  Parker was such an assistance that by the end of the day, I’d earned 2,521 XP and with the XP from that night's crafting, my daily total rose to 3,261 XP. It was the single biggest jump in XP that I’d yet gained, and it gave me hope that I’d reach my goal in time. More, I’d decided just where to spend the class skill point I’d earned while training at the Fighter’s Guild a few days prior.

  The next day, with my gnome handlers watching so I could knock off a few more gold from my debt, I spent the point on an ability I’d been eyeing since I made Parker.

  Integrated Items - Allows for created items to be integrated into a frame. Requires Fabrication III. Requires 1 class skill point.

  I read the ability’s description to the gnomes, who copied it into their notes. I knew that Parker’s ability to upgrade would be limited if I just stuck to using his companion points, and I wanted to make him more useful.

  “Command: Use Integrated Items.”

  Please highlight the target you wish to integrate.

  My left forearm split open, and the cylindrical tool hidden there extended. A blue glow surrounded the tip and then extended out, like it was seeking a target. I pointed it at Gnomerad, whose eyes widened as he gave a high pitched scream and dove under a lab table as the light turned red.