HC: Handyman | Ch. 42 - After the Flood (Patreon)

Swimming in augmented reality was an awkward experience. The physical sensations of drowning—the desperate, panicked gasps, the burning pain in the chest, or the blurring vision—didn't happen inside the game. That would have made drowning too traumatic. Without the biological alarm bells associated with asphyxiation, exploring the maze wasn't nearly as daunting as he assumed it would be. It felt unnaturally safe.

Jack turned right again and found a dead end. He reminded himself to check his oxygen and stamina bars and decided to swim back to the previous water pocket, fearing not having enough oxygen to reach the next one. The greatest hazard in the dungeon was stamina. He only had half of it left, and swimming consumed much more energy than walking.

Following the map back to where he knew he could take a breather, Jack was forced to do something he had never done before. To eat an apple while swimming. He kicked his legs and one of his arms as he munched on the red, crunchy fruit with the other. Now that he knew more about food in the game, he realized how amazing Ezekiel’s apples were. They never spoiled. It was too bad that Ezekiel had only gifted him five of them. 

Sadly, the nearby torch didn’t work while he was immersed. If the pyramid would stop providing him with ways to recover his stamina from now on, he would need to start bringing snacks to the pyramid. He didn't like it. The game kept coming up with ways to suck his hard-earned gold. How was he supposed to have enough money left to pay rent?

After seven pockets of air, Jack finally came up on a well with a stone platform. He hauled himself up, letting the water drain from his soaked clothes. The chest barely broke above the water’s surface. Jack felt as if he was walking on water. To make the end of the maze more glorious, Piri had added not one but two torches to the platform.

Jack clenched his teeth at how stingy Piri was. She was holding back on him. Did she know how much money he’d made from selling the torches in the last mazes? He bit his lip but still removed the two torches from their holders. He had to replenish his funds in whichever way he could. He turned to the chest sitting between and relaxed once the lid gave. Thankfully, it didn’t require a key.

Congratulations! You’ve completed Water Under the Bridge I!

+2000xp

You’ve received 1x[Rusty Pitchfork]. 

You’ve received one silver.

Rusty Pitchfork (Common)

Description: Maybe it used to be a trident. It won’t let you rule Atlantis, but if you put your back into it, you might become the king of a puddle. Oh, and it can help you farm.

Durability: 10

Attack: 5

Block: 2

Jack was transported out of the pyramid. Seeing that this weapon was better than the beginner’s staff he’d been using until now, he equipped it. The two metal prongs at the end made the staff slightly heavier, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. If he ran into an allosaurus now, he would at least be able to stick this fork into it before it ate him.

Jack checked the clock and his system messages. It had only taken him 30 minutes to run this maze, and Amari hadn’t said anything. Shrugging, he checked that he still had a couple of apples left and touched the pyramid again, entering ‘Water Under The Bridge II.’

This time, he wasn’t caught unprepared. He was transported again to a flooded room. He looked around and, spotting light, started swimming toward it. He frowned. There was something wrong. He was swimming too slowly. As he performed stroke after stroke, he felt that he was barely moving forward. Shoot! There’s a current in this maze! He kept furiously swimming, slowly progressing. He finally broke out of the surface into a well. He approached a wall, but it had no good holds. He had to hang on to the torch holder, sustaining the lone flame over the running water.

The presence of a strong current made things trickier. After this short swim, his stamina bar had decreased significantly. He doubted that he’d be able to progress much if he had to swim upstream all the time. There wasn’t much sense in overthinking. He would have to go with the flow. He ensured his oxygen bar was full again and let go of the torch.

The current took Jack. He didn’t even need to bother swimming. He just let the water do the hard work for him. After several moments of darkness and no light in sight, Jack worried that he would drown, but his oxygen bar hadn’t lowered as much as he had expected. Since he wasn’t pushing his muscles, he wasn’t using up so much oxygen. He’d last longer.

After the water took him left and right, making all the decisions for him, he finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel. The light was in a direction different from the current’s, though. Jack had no choice but to strain his muscles and use up the little oxygen he had left, fighting the water to get to the light.

Your oxygen has run out.

-1hp

-2hp

-3hp

-4hp

This was the first time that he ran out of oxygen. The corners of his vision were flashing red, and his hp was lowering every second. Every second, the damage increased by one. He had less than a minute before this would kill him.

-13hp

-14hp

Jack overestimated how much time he had left. He only had 100hp! His health bar was already in the red after only 15 seconds. He sucked at Math. Finally, he broke out of the water's surface, and his oxygen bar slowly recovered.

“What a rush,” he told himself as he held on to the torch illuminating this well. He had no choice but to eat an apple and use a healing salvo that Ezekiel had given him. As soon as he recovered, he let go again, letting the current take him to the next air pocket.

After nearly dying twice more and visiting eight air pockets, Jack finally reached the end of this maze. Piri maintained the same arrangement of one chest with two nearby torches. He scooped the torches up and opened the chest. Thankfully, this lid was unlocked, too. 

Congratulations! You’ve completed Water Under the Bridge II!

+2500xp

You’ve received 1x[Pigskin Swimming Cap]. 

You’ve received one silver.

Pigskin Swimming Cap (Common)

Description: A swimming cap made of pigskin that makes you more hydrodynamic.

Effects: +10% movement speed when in water.

Durability: 8

Defense: 3

The defense was subpar; it came with no bonuses to block, and as he put it on his head, he felt like he was wearing a football, but other than that, it filled a desperate need. Ten percent would make a big difference in fighting a strong current. Jack headed to the marketplace, stocked up on supplies, put the torches for sale, and returned to the pyramid. He touched it and was transported to the next dungeon: Water Under the Bridge III.

*

Stupid Piri. Stupid, stupid Piri. It was bad enough that she had added a key to this level, but he also had to look for it underwater, with barely any visibility, while fighting a current! Jack felt the floor of this dead-end and told himself that he would give up on this stupid dungeon if he didn’t find the key in the next three dead-ends.

Aha! Here you are! He pushed with his legs against the bottom of the dungeon to gain some speed and let his hydrodynamic cap cut through the current. He was Jack, the human torpedo. Jack, the underwater flying football! Jack, the key finder! He broke through the water and let his oxygen bar replenish as he stared adoringly at the rusty key. He looked into his inventory and grabbed a granola bar.

Granola Bar (Common)

Description: Cereals that have been pressed together and are glued with honey. A good snack to take with you on an adventure

Replenishes stamina.

Durability: 1

Each cost 30 silver. When he purchased them, they came with ten durability. After being in this dungeon for only one hour, they had nearly spoiled. He scarfed down the granola bar.

AmariNinja is calling you.

Jack choked on the snack, but thankfully, there was plenty of water around to wash it down. He quickly regained his composure and took the call. “Amari! It’s great to hear from you!”

“Hey, Jack. What’s up? I just saw your message. Sorry. I was doing a quest with someone else. What are you up to?”

“I’m nearly done with running a maze,” Jack said, trying to sound as cool as possible.

“Cool. I just took on a four-person quest. I was wondering if you want in. We need a bushcrafter!”

Hearing that there would be two other people in the party, Jack frowned. He didn’t like teamwork. What guarantee did he have that these two people knew what they were doing? He didn’t want to be paired up with a couple of noobs. He bit his lip. Noobs like you, Jack! He wasn’t any better, was he?

He had been trying to progress alone, but the pottery quest and these mazes’ rewards were pitiful compared to the generous rewards from the expedition he’d done with Amari. Besides, he knew what would happen if he went at it alone. He also knew that Amari was good at what he did. Having to cooperate with two strangers was a small price to pay compared with the potential rewards.

“Count me in. Where do we meet?”

“Let’s meet at the Historical Society. We need to get the buffs before we go. How much time do you need to finish that dungeon?”

Jack checked the map and ran the numbers. “Maybe 20 minutes. I can be at the Historical Society in 30. Maybe?”

“Sounds good. See you there.”

“Thank you, Amari!”

Jack dove into the water, heading toward the chest’s location. It ended up taking a little less time than he thought. He had reached the chest 15 minutes after talking to Amari. He grabbed the rusty copper key and inserted it into the lock. As he thought of how Rob would have been able to pick this lock, he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. No wonder that he had chosen that profession. Maybe he would also pick it up after turning in his rare quest.

“Wait…” Jack blinked a few times just as he was about to turn the key. His heart was racing, and there was a sinking feeling in his stomach. When he thought of forgetting bushcraft or pottery to learn lockpicking, he felt a deep sadness. The thought of parting with either of his current professions was surprisingly gutwrenching. A series of sensations hit him: the kiln's heat on his skin, the sound of a squeaky potter’s wheel, the bright sparks as flint hit against fire steel, and the mouthwatering smell of a mushroom stew. He hadn’t expected to become this attached to pottery and bushcraft. What was wrong with him? Did he actually like doing these things now?

He shook his head and turned the lock. This was no time for sentimentalism. Amari and the others were waiting for him.

Congratulations! You’ve completed Water Under the Bridge III!

+2500xp

You’ve received [Dash].

You’ve received 1 silver and 50 coppers.

Dash (Common)

Description: At the expense of stamping, you can perform short bursts of speed, creating a gap or closing one.

Effect:

+100% movement speed for 1 second.

Restrictions: Lvl. 5.

Jack had spent 90 silver in supplies to get those granola bars. He wasn’t sure if it was worth it. “Again, with such a short effect!” Jack complained as he read the effects of [Dash]. Just how much difference would it make to use this skill? 

Jack tried to calm himself down. [Blocking Stance] only lasted one second, but it saved his life while fighting compies. Maybe he wasn’t giving this skill enough credit. He took off, running toward the Historical Society, and decided to experiment with his new skill.

Dash!

For a second, his speed exploded, and everything around him seemed to blur. After one second had passed, he had crossed roughly 20 meters. “Woah! It’s better than I thought.” If timed well, it could make the difference between life and death. A little happier with his rewards, Jack sprinted toward the historical society. It was time to meet his crew for his next expedition.

Ch. 41 - Water Under the Bridge

INDEX

Ch. 43 - Kegman and Pigtail Girl