HC: Handyman | Ch. 56 - A Blessing or a Curse? (Patreon)

Thank you all for participating in my most recent poll. Book 2 of HC: Handyman will be called 'The Beekeeping Bard.'

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“So…” Jack asked, hopefully. 

“I'm thinking,” Rob said. “Give me some time, man.”

“Right. Right. Sorry. Take your time.”

Jack paced back and forth, running his hand through his hair. He threw nervous glances at Rob, who meticulously studied all the windows on the TV screen as if he were a surgeon looking at CAT scans and X-rays, deciding whether to give his patient good or devasting news. What was taking him so long? Was it that hard to evaluate whether he had landed a good class?

Jack's avatar, attributes, skills, recipes, and titles were all thoroughly discriminated on the large screen. Had Jack tried to go through this information on his phone, he would have had to scroll through multiple tabs and down a never-ending series of windows until he could sort through all this information. But Rob's TV was that big. Everything fit. It was possible to take all the progress that Jack had made over the past few days in one look.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: JackofDiamonds

Level: 10

Fame: 6

Class: Handyman

Minors: 

[Bushcraft], lvl. 10

[Pottery], lvl. 10

Titles: [Consistent Quality], [Junior Craftsman]; [Museum Donor], [Novice Explorer]; [Novice Firekeeper]; [Uniqueness]

ATTRIBUTES

Hit points: 100/120

Stamina points: 87/125

Movement Speed: 101%

Attack: 0

Strength: 5

Constitution: 5

Agility: 16

Intellect: 6

Luck: 5

RESISTANCES:

Defense: 0

Block: 0

Fire: 2

EQUIPMENT

Right-Hand: [Empty]

Off-Hand:  [Empty]

Head:  [Empty]

Torso: [Simple Shirt]

Pants: [Beginner Slacks]

Gloves:  [Empty]

Shoes: [Empty]

Cape: [Empty]

SKILLS:

Fighting: [Blocking Stance], [Dash], [Heavy Strike], [Minor Synergy], [Unbound Knowledge]

Bushcraft: [Bush Immunity], [Camping], [First Aid], [Forage], [Kindle], [Rope Weaving], [Survival Cooking]

Pottery: [Clay Drying], [Clay Gathering], [Clay Molding], [Clay Tempering]; [Pot Firing], [Pottery Glazing]; [Touch of the Potter]

It was humbling to see how all those hours of grinding translated to a few words and numbers on the screen. Seeing the projection of his avatar in drabs, his cheeks flushed. He hadn’t expected to feel so embarrassed about wearing no equipment. But what could he do? Once he accepted the handyman class, all his gear automatically came out. 

Zooming out from his character information, Jack again appreciated the screen's size. He couldn’t help but feel bitter at not owning a TV like this. He had hoped that completing the [Jack of All Trades] quest would have been his ticket to getting one, but he could see he was way off the mark.

“All right. I think I’m ready to share my opinion. Are you sure you're the first to get this class?”

“Yeah! Check this title out.” Jack crossed the room in a few steps and zoomed in on the details of his legendary title. 

“Oh wow. Legendary?! I missed that. You are the first one.” Rob scratched his chin, staring intently at the screen, measuring his words. “Okay, I think I have bad news and good news for you, Jack.”

Heart racing and palms sweaty, Jack gulped. “What is the bad news?”

“The first part of the bad news is that I want to hit you.”

“What?!”

“You have only been playing the game for a few days and already have more fame than me! You have a legendary title! You unlocked a hidden class! You’re the very first one in the game to get it!” The words were positive, but his cousin’s tone was accusatory. “And from what you told me, the story of how you got it is downright shady. You were rewarded for being lazy? Come on! Of course, I want to hit you.” 

Jack looked away, embarrassed. “I wouldn't say I was rewarded. Have you taken a look at the restrictions that my class has?”

Rob chuckled. “Yeah, true. I've never seen a class or a profession with so many.” Rob brought up the details of his class at the center of the screen.

Handyman (Hidden Class)

Description: You are a jack of all trades but a master of none. You can change the world with some glue, hammer, and nails!

Class restrictions:

• You can’t deal any damage;

• You can’t use any equipment or items you have not made yourself;

• You can’t learn majors.

“Not being able to deal damage will severely limit your progress in the game. Well, you can still gain XP through quests, mazes, and dungeons. But the best way to level up in the game is to go on hunts! This is terrible, Jack.” 

Hearing his cousin’s prophecy of doom, Jack’s mouth felt dry. “I know.”

“Unless you find a way to make yourself valuable to a party without dealing any damage, you’re kind of screwed. Even healers have some DPS, and I see no healing skills that came with the class.” 

Jack clenched his fists. “That’s why I told you. This class isn’t exactly a blessing.”

Rob continued without pulling his punches. “Not being able to do any damage is not even the worst part. The worst part is that you can only wear things you have made. And you cannot even learn a major!” Rob said, baffled. “What’s up with that? How are you going to find equipment?”

On the one hand, Jack felt happy to see someone else other than him freaking out over the details of his class. On the other, seeing his cousin so frustrated over his class didn't bode well for him.

“I mean, what are you going to wear? No plate armor, no leather armor, no cloth armor,” he said, counting in his fingers. “That all requires majors. From what I can see in the list of recipes, all you can wear is a few pieces of moss tied together. Well, not that you could hunt anyway, so I guess it makes no difference, eh? What do you need stats for if you can’t deal damage regardless?”

“Thank you for the pep talk, Rob.” 

“Calm down; it's not all lost,” Rob said reassuringly. Rob stood up and approached the screen, pointing at the list of unique recipes he had unlocked after obtaining this class. “This is worth something, Jack.” 

Jack perked up upon hearing some good news.

“So far, no one has discovered any synergies with pottery, right? You're the very first player to do so. That means that only you can make this stuff in the entire game.” 

“I know. I still don't know how much these skills will affect the value of items I make, but I think there's some potential here,” Jack agreed. 

“This isn’t all. You can also learn more minors in the future. The sky's the limit as far as this class’ potential goes. If you can find the right combinations of minors, you can make up for your class's deficiencies. I mean, for the restrictions to be this severe, there's some broken potential here, and the game developers had to limit your growth somehow.” 

Jack took in Rob’s words. He had figured out as much, but it was good to hear someone else reach the same conclusions. “Do you think I should keep investing in this character then? Or should I just reset?”

This was the question that was plaguing Jack’s thoughts. On the one hand, this class seemed to offer unique benefits. On the other hand, he was blazing a new trail. He’d have to put in a lot of work and count on some luck to make it work. If he reset his account now, he might still have enough time to create a new avatar and find another class. Or maybe he should just give up on his gaming career entirely.

Rob stared at the screen for a while and ended up shrugging. “I think it would be dumb to give up at this point without at least trying to see where it goes. I mean, at the very least, see what synergies you unlock with the two new minor slots you've unlocked. Have you thought about what minors to get next?” 

“I don't know. On the one hand, I need to find a minor that allows me to make equipment. It would also be awesome if I could find a minor that makes me useful in a hunting party,” Jack reasoned.

“That sounds like a solid plan, cousin. There are not many minors that allow you to craft equipment. And there are few which can be used in combat. That should narrow your search down.”

“Any suggestions?” 

“Oh no. You choose, Jack. If I choose the wrong minor for you and you don't like it, I know how you are. You're going to come here tomorrow, crying and complaining.” 

Jack punched playfully his cousin in the shoulder, eliciting a chuckle out of him. “Fair enough. I’ll find a way to make this work,” Jack said. 

“Have you made any money in the game yet?” Rob asked curiously. 

“I was hoping this rare quest would help. But instead of giving me something I can sell, it just gave me this infuriating class.”

“I don't think you're giving the class enough credit. You've also only been playing for a few days. You have to give yourself some time. You'll only start to see real profit toward the end of the month.”

“Right. There’s something else I need to talk to you about. I kind of did something I really shouldn't have,” Jack said, reddening. 

“What?”

“I kind of lied to Mom and Dad today.”

“What do you mean? How can someone kind of lie?”

“I told you of how my dad gave me an ultimatum, asking me to come up with rent.” 

“Go on.”

“Well, today at breakfast, he asked me about what I’ve been doing, and before I knew it, I told him that I had found a job as a handyman.”

Rob's eyes widened. “A handyman?!” Rob threw a glance at the screen and burst out laughing. “Why didn't you just tell your Dad the truth?” 

“Come on, Rob. After giving me such a hard time demanding I find a serious job, I don't think my parents will take it well if I tell them I’m trying my luck at gaming. It's not exactly a traditional job, is it?”

“It's better than lying. You're just digging your own grave. They will find out soon.” 

“It's not entirely a lie,” Jack said in his defense. “If I can make this class work, in a sense, I'll be a handyman. Which brings me to a favor I want to ask you.”

“What?” Rob asked suspiciously. “I'm not going to lie to Anty and Uncle. Not even for you, Jacky.”

“I know, I know.  That's not what I have in mind. I was hoping you'd let me come here on weekdays so my parents can see that I'm doing something out of the house, and they'll give me an easy time.”

His cousin’s frow creased in hard lines, and he took a step back, crossing his arms. “I don’t know. Why don’t you just talk to your mom and dad?” 

“It’s just… I don't want to disappoint them. You should have seen them at breakfast today, Rob. They were so happy when I told them I had found a job. I just can’t break their hearts,” Jack said, massaging his samples. Hearing no response from his cousin, he turned toward him to find him staring. “What?”

“No, it's just that you…” he didn’t finish the sentence, but his frown broke into a grin. “Okay. You can come here during the week.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah. But you have to promise me that you will tell your parents the truth as soon as possible.”

“Deal. As soon as I get the first rent to pay my dad, I will tell them that this gig is online and explain it to them.”

Rob nodded. “Okay, then. Just wait a minute.” He disappeared into his room and returned after a short while. He threw Jack a key. “Here's the spare key. When you come, you can just play over there on the couch.” 

“Thanks, Rob. It means a lot.” 

Rob waved Jack’s thanks off. “Just make sure you do your research this time. The whole way you got started in the game was too impulsive. You have to keep your head on your shoulders if you want to make this class work.” 

“I know. You're right. I'm working on being more patient.”

Hearing his cousin going silent again, Jack caught him staring again. He had a dropped jaw and wide eyes as if he was looking at the Big Foot or a unicorn. “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Nothing. It's just that you're a little different.” 

“Different? What do you mean?”

“Never mind. So, it's the weekend,” Rob said, rubbing his hands. “That means that we have more time to play. I promised my guild I would do a quest with them, and they're waiting for me. But maybe I can come over to Embersgate and meet you later.”

Jack opened the duffel bag he had set on the couch, revealing his pink helmet. “I already told my parents I would spend the weekend with you.”

“Awesome. I'm going to go to my room and play there. You can just lay here on the couch. See you soon in the game.”

Ch. 55 - Pancake Day

INDEX

Ch. 57 - Reel