Led by Old Wayne, Liu Xing and the others arrived at the castle's main building. Unsurprisingly, a massive ancient seal was also carved into its walls.
"Mr. Butler, what does this symbol represent? Why do I see it everywhere in the castle?" Baihecheng stood up again, curious, stirring up trouble. This was also the question Liu Xing wanted to ask.
Old Wayne remained calm and composed, saying, "This symbol is the lord's family crest. It has been passed down through the ages. Legend has it that in ancient times, the lord's ancestors relied on this crest to repel demonic invasions. That's why the lord had so many of these symbols carved into the castle."
Liu Xing nodded, but mentally communicated with KP004, "KP, I need to take a Psychology test."
Psychology, 22/70, passed.
After the judgment was successful, kp004 gave Liu Xing a piece of information, "You can tell that Old Wayne wasn't lying."
Liu Xing glanced thoughtfully at Old Wayne's back, figuring he probably didn't know the Old Seal's purpose or origins, and was most likely an ordinary NPC.
As Liu Xing and his group entered the living room, they received a message from kp004: "The main building has a typical two-story layout. The first floor houses the living room and guest rooms, which also have a locked door. The second floor houses the lord's family's rooms and a study. The first and second floors are separated by an exquisitely crafted wooden door, which appears to be easily dismantled by brute force."
Old Wayne led everyone to the guest room door. "There are three guest rooms here: one large and two small. Please choose yourselves. I'll go see the lord first. Please wait a moment."
With that, Old Wayne left and went upstairs.
Liu Xin and the others simultaneously entered the same room. "KP, we need to open the secret room."
kp004 chuckled, "Okay, we'll open the secret room now. Everyone, please hurry up and discuss."
As soon as kp004 finished speaking, Liu Xing felt a strange sense of weightlessness, as if the room had been detached from this world.
"Who voted for Anthropology just now?" Chen Ling spoke first.
Bai Hecheng immediately raised his hand and said excitedly, "It was me!"
Wang Siyi frowned and whispered, "So, what information did you get?"
"KP told me that this old Wayne is probably a normal human," Bai Hecheng said with a smile.
Liu Xing nodded. "I just voted for Psychology and found that Old Wayne wasn't lying. So I think he's probably just an ordinary NPC, unaware of the castle lord's true identity."
Everyone agreed with Liu Xing's idea.
"So, what should we do next? Should we try to get to the second floor, or explore the first?" Wang Qi asked.
Bai Hecheng immediately displayed all the qualities of a troublemaker. "Of course, we should go to the second floor. Let's confront that castle lord directly."
"Shut up!" everyone said to Bai Hecheng in unison.
"I don't think we need to go to the second floor just yet. To get there, we need to go through that wooden door. Unless we obtain the key, we'll have to resort to brute force to get in," Wang Siyi pondered for a moment and said helplessly.
Liu Xing nodded in agreement. "Sister Wang is right. Unless we confront the castle lord directly, we can't directly destroy that wooden door. So, we have no way to get to the second floor..."
Suddenly, Liu Xing remembered that he seemed to have activated a jump skill...
Liu Xing recalled the lowest point between the second and first floors. It seemed only about two meters, but there was a wooden guardrail nearly half a meter high.
Thinking of this, Liu Xing immediately mentally said to kp004, "KP, can I pass the Jump check and jump directly to the second floor?"
kp004 was silent for a moment before speaking, "Simply passing the Jump skill isn't enough. Instead, you can perform multiple checks: Jump, Climb, and Luck. The Jump check determines whether you can reach the second floor, the Climb check determines whether you can cling to the guardrail, and the Luck check determines whether the guardrail will break due to excessive force."
Multiple checks are required when the player is about to perform an action that is too complex. Multiple skill checks are required. Failing any one skill check results in failure of the entire action.
Liu Xing's Jump skill is 70 and his Luck skill is 80, so passing the check is relatively easy. However, Liu Xing hasn't selected the Climb skill, so his initial Climb skill value is only 20.
Liu Xing told everyone about his conversation with kp004, and Baihecheng immediately nodded. "Don't be timid, just do it."
Everyone once again ignored Baihecheng's presence.
Wang Qi said helplessly, "The other skill checks are fine, but Liu Xing, your climbing skills are too low. A one-in-five success rate is still a bit too risky."
Chen Ling also nodded, agreeing with Wang Qi's idea.
However, Wang Siyi offered a different opinion. "It depends on the situation. If you fail the Climb check, it's just a fall. Falling from the second floor shouldn't hurt much. And as long as Old Wayne or anyone else in the castle doesn't see you, there shouldn't be any problems."
Liu Xing agreed more with Wang Siyi's idea. "I think so too. As long as I wait for the right opportunity, I'll give it a try. After all, the second floor houses the lord's family's quarters and a study. I think we should be able to get a lot of information."
Baihe Cheng couldn't stand the loneliness any longer. "I said we should just go straight up."
Liu Xing almost wanted to give Baihe Cheng a mental analysis, because he felt that Baihe Cheng was definitely mentally ill!
After ruling Baihe Cheng out, Liu Xing and the others decided to gather intelligence on the first floor, then wait for an opportunity for Liu Xing to explore the second floor.
"The secret room is over. Please behave yourself."
Kp004 had barely finished speaking when a knock on the door sounded. "Friends, may I come in now?"
It was Old Wayne.
"Come in," Baihecheng spoke again.
Old Wayne entered the room and said apologetically, "Excuse me, friends. The Lord will be meeting an old friend in town soon. I won't be able to dine with you today. However, the Lord hopes you will stay overnight in the castle. The Lord will dine with you tonight."
Liu Xing and the others nodded. This was good news. With the Lord of the Castle gone, gathering intelligence within the castle would be much easier, especially exploring the second floor.
"That's good. I'll come back to see you later and take you to lunch. Now you can relax in your rooms," Old Wayne said, then left the room.
PS: Continue to ask for recommendations and collections.