HC: Handyman | Ch. 15 - Coach (Patreon)

Ding Dong!

Roberto answered the door, towel over his shoulders, hair still wet, and a knowing grin on his lips. “I had a feeling you’d show up,” he teased.

“You know me well, Rob.” He waited for his cousin to invite him in, not wanting to be too forward.

“Come on in. I want to hear about your first day on New Earth,” he prompted.

Jack was happy his cousin had taken the initiative to discuss the game. As a noob, Jack was in a somewhat embarrassing position and wasn’t sure how much Rob would mind him pestering him with questions.

“How was work?” Jack asked politely.

“Hard. But we got a lot done,” Rob answered proudly.

Even though his cousin was visibly tired, he had a confident smile. He admired Rob for coming home after a tough work day and looking this satisfied. Admired might not be the best word to describe his emotions. He was jealous. He wished he could do such dull, hard work and look this happy. He put the thought aside.

“Thanks again for telling me about New Earth and letting me use that referral code.”

“No problem. Do you like the game so far?”

Jack hadn’t considered this. Did he like it? He was stuck doing tough, hard work. Before he could think it through, he had already answered. “Yes.” 

Jack surprised himself with his answer. Did he? He was braiding ropes and crafting pots. It was hard and sometimes tedious. Even so, he had to admit that he was into the game. Why else had he spent the whole day playing and, as soon as he logged out, walked here to talk more about it? As Jack tried to make sense of his emotions, Rob interrupted his thoughts.

“Good. So, I guess you have lots of questions?”

“I do. However, I know you must have better things to do than entertaining a noob like me. I don’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense. We’re family. If I weren’t willing to guide you, I would never have given you the referral code in the first place. Let’s hear it. What questions do you have?”

Reassured by his cousin, Jack tried. “As I told you, I’m working on my rare quest. I need to get pottery and bushcraft to level 10.”

“Go on.”

“Here’s the thing. I just realized that some profession skills also require a character level.”

His cousin blinked a few times. “And why is that a problem? Oh, wait. I see it now. You’re what? Level two?”

“One,” admitted Jack, embarrassed. “I just unlocked a bushcraft skill that requires level five in my character level. I’ve already checked online and found that other skills later on have even more stringent requirements.”

“I see. I’d forgotten you were only pursuing crafting to do this quest, but yes, professions also come with character-level requirements.”

“Which brings me to my question. What’s the fastest way to level up in the game?” 

From the short survey he had done online, there were countless theories and guides to help players level up faster so they could unlock their class. He had hoped that by coming here and posing the problem to his cousin, he would either volunteer to carry him or tell him the quickest way to level. He had his fingers crossed for the first option. He wouldn't decline the generous offer if his veteran cousin were willing to take him hunting t-rexes and letting him jump several levels in one go.

“Uh… let me think about it. Last I checked, running party dungeons was the best way to get from level 1 to 10.”

“A party dungeon? What is that? I need to go dancing or celebrating in a cavern or something?” Jack joked, trying to hide his disappointment at his cousin for not offering to carry him.

“No, no. That’s not it. The game has different types of dungeons: solo, party, competitive, infested, non-infested, limitless, shackled, etc…”

Jack blinked uncomprehendingly at the list of unfamiliar terms. “And which one should I do?”

“Well, party dungeons require different players to cooperate. The rewards are very generous, but the party has to play ball. You have to cooperate with your allies and communicate well. Some people do it with friends, but you can also go there cold turkey and ask the system to pair you up with a random party. Party quests offer the most XP, provided you get good colleagues.”

Jack frowned. He didn’t like the idea of cooperating with others to run the dungeon. So far, the thing he’d been enjoying the most about the game was doing his own thing without having anyone breathing down his neck and telling him what to do. And now, he would put himself in a situation where he was at the mercy of other players’ whims?

“You mentioned solo dungeons,” Jack tried.

“Oh, yes. The rewards you gain from them aren’t as good as party dungeons, but they’re still quite good.”

“And what was all that other mambo-jambo about infested and shackled?”

“If a dungeon is infested, it has monsters. If it isn’t, it means that all you have to worry about are the puzzles and boobytraps. Limitless means you go in with your character as is, and shackled means everyone who runs the dungeon has access to the same skills and attributes. It levels the playing field so that all that matters is your skill.”

Jack tried to absorb all the information. He was a total noob. Probably, he wanted to run dungeons that didn’t have monsters in them. As for shackled or limitless dungeons, it looked like shackled was best for a weak character such as himself.

“So, question. Imagine that I, a level 1 player, run a shackled dungeon. And now another player who’s level 50 runs the same dungeon. Do we get the same rewards?”

Rob grinned. “Good question. Yes. But these shackled dungeons are hardcore. Only the best gamers complete them. I’ve only managed to complete two of them so far.”

“Two?”

“The two easiest ones, yes. It wasn’t for a lack of trying.”

That sounded hard.

“The rewards are awesome, and both a level 1 and level 50 player would enjoy them; however, I didn’t mention them because they’re difficult. I suggest doing the dungeon tutorial and moving on to an uninfested, limitless level 1 dungeon.”

Jack nodded. “And where is the tutorial for dungeons?”

“Any gate town.”

“I don’t want to leave my beginner town. If I do that, I won’t be able to turn in my quest!”

“The coach ticket only costs one silver. Nothing prevents you from going back whenever you want.”

“Really?” Jack had several silvers to his name, so traveling to a gate town and running dungeons there to come back later didn’t seem like a bad idea. He'd go for it if that were the quickest way to level. That settled it. “Any hints for running dungeons?” asked Jack hopefully.

Rob nodded approvingly at the pertinence of Jack’s question. Even though they were practically the same age, Rob seemed older today for some reason. Maybe it was because he was teaching him. 

“Don’t get too caught up on reading guides. Every time you run a dungeon, the system changes it slightly, so getting walkthroughs will only help you so much. You need to develop a sense for dungeons. There’s no better way to get good at dungeoning than practice.”

It wasn’t the advice Jack wanted to hear. He had hoped for a secret, winning formula, but Rob was making it sound like it involved a lot of work. He was expecting dungeoning to be easier than crafting, but it looked like this dungeon business was complicated.

After some moments, Rob continued. “Also, remember that it isn’t only your class that has a bearing on how you tackle a dungeon. Some professions can help. For example, my [Locksmith] profession allows me to pick locks and open treasure chests, which allows me to bypass certain puzzles in dungeons. [Trappers] can see through booby traps more easily. In your case, [Bushcraft] will probably come in handy to recover stamina and stuff. Make the most out of the tools you have.”

Jack soaked in all the information. “Cool. Next question. What can you tell me about classes?”

“OK. Let’s start with warriors…”

*

Jack arrived home after chatting with his cousin for a couple of hours. Even though Rob did not once seem bored or annoyed by his presence, Jack didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He already had learned everything he needed to tackle the game. Also, after walking around for a few hours and stretching his muscles, he felt ready to play it again. 

Jack entered his house and heard a noise in the kitchen. That had to be his mom. His father would still be out for an hour. Their argument yesterday was very recent, and Jack didn’t feel like crossing paths with his old man.

“Hi, Mom!” he greeted as he entered the kitchen.

She approached, letting him kiss her twice, once on each cheek, as it was done in Portuguese culture. “Hi, honey. How are you today?”

“I’m OK, thanks.”

His mother held his chin, turned his head to one side and then the other, looking him in the eye. “Last time we talked, you were a mess, but now you look calm and collected. Has anything good happened?” she asked, hopeful.

Seeing his mother’s eager look, he couldn’t help but feel his heart burn a little. “No, mom. Nothing’s changed. Lydia and I haven’t talked since yesterday.”

“I see. Anyway, you look better. That’s great!” she said, quickly overcoming her disappointment.

“R-really? How come?”

“I don’t know how to explain it. You look like a man on a mission.”

Jack pursed his lip. Did he? He didn’t feel much different. Was it because of New Earth? He was eager to return to his bedroom and play. He had learned a lot from his cousin and was looking forward to putting his lessons into practice. “Is that a good thing?”

“Yes, honey. So, would you like some dinner?”

“I’m coming from Roberto’s. His kitchen robot prepared us a meal, and I had dinner there. I hope that’s OK.”

“No problem. In that case, I’ll keep it in Tupperware. You can have tonight’s dinner for lunch tomorrow.”

“Thanks, mom. I have to go to my room. I have stuff to do.”

“Of course, honey. I’ll talk to you later.”

Jack ran up the stairs, changed clothes, used the bathroom, and brushed his teeth. He entered his room and shut the door. Mission accomplished. He had been able to avoid running into his dad all day. He made himself comfortable and turned off the lights. He had eaten well at his cousin's and planned to play until the next morning.

Applying one of the many lessons he had just picked up from his cousin, he activated an option in the game that woke him up if he logged out. This way, he would avoid the earlier episode where he wasted two hours of gameplay because he logged out but hadn’t woken up yet.

Jack turned on the helmet and returned to the world of New Earth. Jack’s figure materialized inside the marketplace. Even as he found his bearings, he could see other players logging out or into the game. It looked like many had the habit of dumping all the stuff collected after a day of gameplay and logging out, just like he had.

Everything he had listed had been sold already. He looked at his 34 silver with a bittersweet smile. Before he checked the conversion rate of in-game currency to real-world credits, he had believed this was such a large amount, but now he knew that this was peanuts. Even so, it was more than enough to pay for the coach ticket. 

Jack followed Rob’s directions. The stage station was very easy to find. It had large horse-pulled carriages parked in front of it. Jack noted how most players hanging out by the state station wore something other than the gray drabs and the wooden swords and quarterstaffs the village trainers offered them. Even he, he realized, had a bush knife in his hand. They were players that had graduated from being total noobs and were ready to move to a gate town.

The lining wagons reminded Jack of a taxi stop. The carriage in front of the line wasn’t fancy by any means. It was open, and three players were already sitting on it, waiting for the transport to be filled so they could get going. Jack approached the coach driver. It was a man in his 50s wearing a coconut hat and fingerless gloves.

Inspecting him, Jack found that the NPC’s name was Reggie.

“Excuse me, sir. Where are you headed?”

“Embersgate,” the man answered in a hoarse, uninterested tone.

Jack clicked his tongue. That’s not where his cousin was based. It was too bad. Spawn locations for beginners were random, and he had started the game far from where his cousin played. That would have been the best if he could have been closer to his cousin. As it stood, he would have to wait until he was done with this quest to meet his cousin. From what his cousin told him, though, the coach between gate towns was much more expensive than this shorter ride. 

It didn’t matter though. To level up, he needed to run dungeons on his own.

“One ticket, please,” Jack said.

A silver coin appeared from thin air on the driver’s hand. He bit into the coin and failed to bend it with his golden teeth. “Come aboard. We’ll leave once we get two more passengers.”

Jack went around the back and climbed aboard the carriage. A couple sat together, discussing in hushed tones. From the lovey-dovey way they talked and how the girl giggled at all of the boy’s jokes, he guessed that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Seeing a couple happy like this made his mood sour. He missed Lydia.

The other passenger was a man with dark skin and braided hair tied into a neat ponytail. The only piece of equipment that he had other than what they all started with was a small wooden buckler.

“Morning,” Jack greeted politely. The couple ignored him, but the man with the shield grunted a greeting back.

Jack sat and opened an internet browser while he waited. On his way to Embersgate, he would read more about dungeons. 

Ch. 14 - Consistent Quality

INDEX

Ch. 16 - Embersgate