HC: Handyman | Ch. 31 - Outdoor Cooking (Patreon)

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“Should I pick those berries?” Jack asked, pointing at a bush with yellow, grape-sized fruit.

“No. Those are poisonous. Poison masters can use them, though. Here, try those instead.” Amari said, pointing Jack toward a fallen log. “You can collect those mushrooms.”

Jack grabbed his bush knife and carefully began cutting the stalks of the white funghi. The knife easily cut through it.

White Mushroom (Common)

Description: A widespread fungi that grows off dead wood. It’s edible.

Effects: +10hp

Durability: 8

“How do you know so much about bushcrafting?” Jack asked as he harvested the mushrooms.

“I used to be a bushcrafter. It’s a pretty popular minor, especially early on in the game. Eventually, I gave it up for more interesting minors. Uuh! Check it out. The roots of that plant are edible. Do you have a shovel?”

“N-no. I didn’t realize I needed one.”

“It’s OK. Don’t worry. You can also use a bush knife, but you’ll wreck its durability. We’ll find something else. In the meantime, try collecting twigs like those. They are great for fires.”

Amari went on to point Jack toward a few other consumables that would go nicely into a [Survival Stew]. Jack could almost see the title of the video that Amari would make out of all his advice. ‘Teaching a noob how to forage’, or, ‘Bushcrafting 101.’ After as little as 10 minutes of walking and foraging, their stamina and health were running dangerously low. Jack had to get a fire going. 

He grabbed the tinderbox and the thin wooden shavings, setting them carefully under a pile of sticks they had collected along the way. He then grabbed the firesteel and flint and hit them together. After a few tries, he still hadn’t made any sparks. 

“Sorry, I'll try again.” Jack glanced nervously at Amari, who watched stoically. 

“Don't worry. I know how it is. Take your time, man.”

Jack hit the firesteel and flint a few more times and got sparks on the seventh try. On the tenth try, he successfully ignited the shavings before he lost more than four durability into a rudimentary tinder box. The sticks soon were set aflame. 

Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Low-Temperature Fire].

+20xp in [Bushcraft]

Low Temperature Fire (Common)

Durability: 42

A cozy fire that will keep you warm and safe.

Aura effects:

Cancels hp and stamina loss from debuffs;

Keeps weaker animals at bay.

“Sticks are much better than dry grass for fuel. This fireplace has 40 durability!”

As the fire picked up, Amari’s stiff posture relaxed. “We should be safe. Fire keeps beasts away so we won't be attacked.”

Jack nodded. The fire had essentially created a safe zone. It was time to start cooking. He placed a pot over the fire and dumped a water bottle into it. As it started boiling, he added the mushrooms and vegetables he had foraged a while ago. Their durability had already depleted considerably. Had he waited a few more minutes, some of it would have spoiled so he just dumped it all into the water.

A sweet aroma emerged from the pot as the water bubbled violently. After three minutes, the cooking was complete.

Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Survival Stew].

+150xp in [Bushcraft]

Survival Stew (Common)

Crafting grade: C

Item description: A nutritious meal made from ingredients you’ve crafted in a while.

Item effects:

+1 stamina per second for five minutes. 

+1 hp per second for five minutes.

Durability: 3

“The xp is better than I was expecting,” Roth said happily as he poured the stew into clay bowls.

“It’s because you added so many ingredients into it. Now you can see what I was talking about. These meals only help you recover health and stamina. They don’t give you buffs.”

The stew didn’t taste anything special, but it was still a warm, invigorating meal. After they were done, just as they were about to depart, Amari pointed to the tree line. “Look, Jack!”

From behind the bushes, a tiny creature observed them. It was the size of a large chicken, gray with blue stripes. Even though the eyes of the taxidermied specimen in the museum were glassy and lifeless, the eyes of this creature were full of curiosity and mischief. It was a compy!

Amari was stunned. His fear was almost palpable. The little compy looked small and fragile. Why did Amari feel so threatened by it? Given how unaffected he was by the earlier allosaurus’ roar, the whole scene looked crazy to Jack. 

Once the small dinosaur realized that Jack and Amari were staring, it chirped a few times and left. Amari let out a breath he'd been holding. “We were lucky. We ran into it after we started a fire. There was no need to use our squirt guns or the bomb.”

“Are those things really dangerous?”

“Oh yes, they live in packs of hundreds. Even if you take ten down with you, the others will bite you to death. They are an aggravating animal, especially if you specialize in dealing damage to only one creature at a time.”

“Alright,” Jack said doubtfully.

“Grenadiers love them because they are an excellent way to level up. They just gather them up and throw bombs at them, leveling up like crazy. But we don't even have a class yet, so they would just bite us to death. At the same time, since this quest requires us to deal with them, it probably means that the rewards will be very generous for our level. 

If the quest required us to hunt, I don't know, a hundred compies, we would not be able to finish it as we are.”

“It’s probably gone. Should we go? Or what?” Jack tried moving things along. He wanted to finish this quest before the sun rose in the real world.

Amari threw a squirt gun at Jack. “Catch.” 

“What do I do with it?”

“Keep it at hand.” Amari went on to grab a dung bomb in one hand and a squirt gun in the other. “Follow me.”

They left their first campsite and treaded through the bush. The mosquitos quickly began attacking them again, but they marched in silence. After a few minutes with no compy sightings, Amari relaxed and was back to his usual chatty self. “So, you mentioned you played other games,” Amari asked as they made their way through the bush. 

“Mostly on my phone.”

“What kind of games?”

“You know. Platform. Idle clickers. Racing games. That sort of thing.”

“Oh, okay. Solo games, then. No wonder you're so clueless about gaming manners.”

Jack felt a little annoyed at the insult but let it slide. After all, he was on camera. “What about you? Is this the first time streaming for a living?”

“I used to play Asteroid Fielder, a popular sci-fi base-building game. But the game kind of went cold, and since New Earth was becoming so popular, I decided to give it a go.”

It’s his second game. That probably means he’s got experience as a streamer, thought Jack. “Have you decided which class you're going to get this time around?” Jack asked, thinking of their earlier conversation about how difficult it was to hunt compies if one focused on single-target damage. After all, Amari mentioned that he used to be a ranger. From what Rob had explained to him, they were terrible at dealing with AoE damage.

“Every time I fight swashbucklers, I get beaten up. I'm considering trying it this time around. What about you? Have you decided on a class?”

“I think I need to see them in action first. I find the idea that the healers use grenades interesting. Knights also seem pretty dope.”

“I have a video explaining each class. I can send you the link if you want.”

“Sure,” Jack accepted promptly. He would definitely check it later. He wanted to see how popular channels about New Earth were, and Amari’s channel was a good place to start. Besides, he was interested in learning more about Amari’s feud with the guy from IronIre. He was curious as to why that guy would chase Amari so relentlessly.

Suddenly, a compy jumped out of a bush and into the trail. It approached them curiously. Amari decisively pulled the trigger on the spray bottle, and a foul smell filled the air. The dinosaur shook his head, disgusted with the scent. Seeing that it wasn't moving, Amari sprayed it again. Finally, the compy disappeared into the bush. 

“That was close. Good thing it was only one. The more of them they are, the bolder they become.” 

“Yeah.” Jack let out a breath he’d been holding. Amari’s dread for compies was starting to rub off on him.

Jack found that his stamina bar was only half-full. “I’d better start collecting ingredients again. We’ll need to stop soon.”

Amari gave him a thumbs-up. “Good job keeping an eye on that.”

Perhaps because they were farther from a gate, and fewer players were adventuring out here, the jungle seemed filled with resources. It wasn’t difficult to locate mushrooms, berries, and fruit.

“Is this mushroom OK?”

“If they’re red, it’s usually best not to use them,” Amari recommended. “When in doubt, just check this link I’ve sent you. It lists edible stuff you can forage in the jungle.”

When only one-fifth of their stamina bars were left, they decided to stop. Jack removed the twigs from his inventory and started the fire. This time, he lucked out and got it going on his second try. It looked like buying cheap wasn't always worth it. By buying a slightly better tinder box, he started fires more quickly. Or maybe he was just getting the hang of it. 

Jack made yet another survival stew and served it in a bowl to Amari. This time, he was able to make the stew using only mushrooms. Compared to the first stew he had made, he felt some improvements. Maybe mushrooms just went well together. 

“Next time you are in the marketplace, try getting some salt and pepper,” suggested Amri as he slurped on his steamy stew.

“Does it make any difference in the bonuses?”

“Not really, but it makes it tastier.”

Jack laughed. “Well, if it's coming out of my pocket, I don't think I'm going to fork the money just to please my fellow party members.”

“So be it,” Amari accepted it easily.  

*

Jack and Amari had just finished their third [Survival Stew]. The combination of herbs and fruits that Jack had foraged from the nearby area wasn't enough to surpass his mushroom stew. 

After double-checking that their health and stamina were full and studying the map, they went back to the trail, marching toward the compy-infested ruins. A few moments after they left the vicinity of the fire, the nearby vegetation rustled, and two compies jumped out simultaneously: one at the front, closer to Amari, and another at the rear, nearer Jack. 

Seeing both dinosaurs together, Jack froze, waiting for Amari to instruct him. Amari also stood frozen for a moment like a deer caught in headlights. 

“What we do, Amari?” Jack whispered.

“Trying to decide whether I should use the spray or a bomb,” Amari whispered back. 

The dinosaurs didn't seem aggressive. They only sniffed the air and studied them curiously. Jack felt the spray in his hand. The compy closest to Amari took a step forward, and Amari decisively squirted him with the gun. The creature took a few steps back but didn't leave. Both compies began growling. It was oddly similar to the sound of an angry, hissing cat. 

“Use the squirt gun, Jack.” Amari hushed. Jack obeyed and squirted the gun at the compy closest to him. Seeing that only one spray hadn't done the trick for Amari, Jack did it twice in a row. The small dinosaur, emboldened by the presence of a companion, took a few steps back but also refused to leave. 

Just as Jack was about to ask if he should keep spraying his compy, a third one appeared from the flank. The compies' hesitation disappeared, and their aggressiveness spiked. The one closest to Jack lunged toward him with drawn claws and a gaping maw.

Ch. 30 - Toll

INDEX

Ch. 32 - Block