HC: Handyman | Ch. 3 - Too Dusty (Patreon)

The town’s buildings were built of dark stone, covered with crimson roofs and smoking chimneys. Jack could see something big at the town’s center from the crest of the hill, but it was too far to make out any details. He guessed it was a fountain because it shimmered under the sunlight. Six roads radiated from the statue, like spokes on a wagon wheel.

Jack hurried down the hill and entered the town’s dirt roads. Sniffing the air, Jack’s eyes widened. Smoke. He could smell it now. He closed his eyes, focused on his skin, and felt a breeze caress his cheeks. The developers had gone out of their way to create a realistic experience.

Now, inside the town, he could see how the buildings were only one storey-high. It wasn't a large town, but big enough to accommodate the many beginners starting their journey on New Earth. Buildings lined both sides of the roads. He saw a few shops with large windows that allowed a view into different wares. Players chatted with NPCs while pursuing their different quests.

The players wore more varied equipment compared to the hills. Although many still wore the same gray drabs and simple wooden swords and quarterstaves he’d seen earlier, some already had leather helmets, wooden shields, rusty daggers, and ragged capes. From the start of the road to the fountain at its center, there were at most ten buildings.

Now that he was closer, he could better appreciate the fountain. A sculpted couple stood back to back. The man wielded a hammer, and the woman a drawn bow. The fountain's edge was shaped like the battlements of the great wall he had seen from the crest of Ezekiel’s hill. He wondered what the statues meant. Maybe the woman represented players focused on fighting, and the man represented those focused on crafting. But what was on the other side of the wall? What were they trying to keep out?

Shrugging, Jack turned left at the fountain, looking for the location marked on the map. The building was unremarkable except for a big sign with an anvil and flashy letters cast in bronze saying ‘Blacksmith.’ Looking up, he found smoke coming out of the chimney.

The door gave promptly as Jack pushed it. After stepping inside, his first impression was the sweltering heat from the forges. A middle-aged bald man in a thick apron and cumbersome gloves inspected the work of several beginners dressed similarly to him. They struck red-hot metal with hammers under his watchful eye. Jack’s eyes widened, seeing how sweaty they looked.

The master smith barked a few suggestions to one of his apprentices and, catching sight of Jack, approached. “Look at what we have here. Could it be that you are a smith in the making?” he greeted in a hoarse, wheezy voice.

“Well, I-” hesitated Jack while he glanced over at a nearby player who wore thick gloves and an apron and groaned with the effort of holding an incandescent piece of metal with a pair of long tongs. Jack focused on the beads of sweat on the player’s reddened skin. Just how hot was he?

“Are you here to tame fire, to shape metal, and to bend steel?” the blacksmith challenged.

Jack bit his lip and, feeling the sweat start to form on his brow, came to his decision. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Uh? But didn’t Ezekiel send you here to try smithing?” the man complained. He looked disappointed that Jack had shown no reaction to his epic speech.

“Yeah… it’s not for me. It’s too hot in here. No, thanks. Bye.”

Jack walked out of the blacksmith’s building. He had never imagined that the developers would emulate the discomfort of working near a forge so well. Seeing how much effort went into it, he decided this wasn’t for him.

He headed back and climbed the hill closest to town, trying to approach the tutor sitting there. His clothes were of a slightly different color from Ezekiel’s, and instead of a bushy beard, he only had a long mustache. Jack checked his name and tried asking for information on the next major.

“Excuse me, Tutor Joel! Do you think that you can give me some information about crafting?”

The man studied Jack from top to bottom and shook his head. “Didn’t I see you a little earlier coming from the direction of Ezekiel’s hill?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“I’d suggest you keep talking to him then.”

Looking back and forth between the hill and the town, Jack pouted. “But it’s much closer to come here.”

Tutor Joel frowned and stood up, assessing the difference in distances. “Isn’t it just a small walk?” he asked, bewildered.

“Fine, whatever,” Jack answered, waving the NPC off and rushing toward Ezekiel’s hill. It had been worth the try. He could have saved himself a couple of minutes if he could have talked to tutor Joel instead.

He could swear that none of the faces he’d seen near Ezekiel 30 minutes earlier were the same. The game had been out for several months now. Was there such a big number of beginners still joining New Earth? He guessed that was good for him. The more players there were, the more potential clients would buy items he auctioned.

“Hi, Ezekiel.”

“Uh? Back so soon?” Ezekiel said, instantly recognizing him. “Did you have any problems finding the local smith?”

“Yeah… about that. I found it, but I concluded it wasn’t for me. It’s far too hot in there.”

“Hot?!” Ezekiel laughed. “Of course, it’s hot. You can’t work metal while it's cold!”

“Anyway, I think I’ll go for another major instead. What else do you have for me?”

“I suppose there are other options if you don’t like heat. There’s carpentry, leatherworking, tailoring-”

“Carpentry. Carpentry is fine,” Jack cut the man off mid sentence. These NPCs blabbered too much, and he didn’t have time to humor the man. He didn’t care about what major he got as long as he could start making some money.

“Good! I like that decisiveness!” Ezekiel praised. “In that case, you’ll want to go see Master Sawyer. Here is her address.”

Seeing the new directions, Jack raced back to the small town. Instead of lingering, hesitating, or sightseeing this time, he just traveled the familiar route, thus shaving some minutes off the trip.

As he reached the fountain, he turned right and ran past a few houses and shops until he found the workshop Ezekiel had pinned on the map for him. The workshop’s architecture was incredibly similar to the smith’s forge. The only exceptions were that there was no smoke from the chimney here, and the sign reading ‘Woodworking Workshop’ was made of wood.

Entering, he could instantly feel an improvement over the forge. There was no sweltering heat or smoke here, just the fragrance of wood and varnish. He didn’t mind these smells. Maybe this would be his major after all.

A woman with an athletic build and callused hands came to meet him at once. She wore a dirty mask and dusty goggles that couldn’t hide her pretty green eyes. “Greetings adventurer, Master Sawyer at your service. Are you here to join the ranks of the Carpenters?” she said as she patted her hands on her apron, causing puffs of sawdust to burst out of her clothes.

“Nice to meet you. Cough! Cough! Is it always this dusty here?” Jack asked as he covered his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Well, we make a lot of sawdust as we work.”

“Sawdust?”

“Yes. When we sand or saw wood, inevitably, we make dust. We have to sweep the workshop a couple of times each day.”

“And do you always wear goggles and masks?”

“Of course. It’s so we don’t breathe the dust in.”

“Would I have to wear those?”

“Yeah. Sure!”

Jack looked around and studied the nearby players. Two took turns pushing and pulling a long saw through a log. He noticed how both wore masks and goggles. A girl also wearing safety equipment used a plane to shave off a piece of lumber.

“Well… This isn’t for me. Thank you.”

“But don't you want to try it at least? I haven’t even given you a tour of our workshop.” she offered kindly.

“Thank you, ma’am, but no can do.”

Jack was already running back to Ezekiel. He had once worked in a place that required him to wear a helmet. He had never gotten used to it. Something told him that the mask and goggles would be just as bad. Also, he hadn’t enjoyed seeing how dusty and dirty it looked in the workshop.

Having taken less time to complete the roundtrip this time, he recognized a few faces on the way. If he had taken a little longer, they would probably have moved from the hills with bunnies and come to town, too. He wiggled through the crowd surrounding Ezekiel and talked to him again.

“Hey there!”

“You're back so soon again! What’s wrong? Did you not enjoy meeting Master Sawyer? Let me tell you, she's one of the finest carpenters in the land.”

“Carpentry is not for me. Can you guide me to something that is not so dusty? I don’t like wearing safety goggles or masks.”

“Well… I suppose that leatherworking isn’t hot or dusty. Maybe that would work?”

“Sweet. Where is it?”

A new pin appeared on his map.

“Thank you! I'll give that a go.”

“Okay, I hope this will be your calling, my friend. Don't forget to give it a try first. Who knows, maybe only after you feel the touch of the leather and experience the joy of creating your first piece of equipment, the craftsman in you will awaken and-”

“Thank you, bye.”

Jack left a slack-jawed Ezekiel behind him and ran back toward the city. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but whenever he stopped for a single second, memories of Lydia and his father’s earlier sermon crept in. He couldn’t think; he had to stay on the move.

*

“Did you like leatherworking?” Ezekiel asked, seeing Jack was back.

“Urgh. The place smells!”

“Oh, yes. Curing hides and working leather does involve using strong chemicals. However, it isn’t hot nor dusty,” he explained.

“Let’s try the next one. What else do you have?”

“Well, I suppose you could try tailoring.”

“Awesome. Please show me where to go.”

*

Ezekiel didn’t look surprised this time around, seeing Jack was back so soon. “What was it this time?”

“I have needle phobia. I forgot how tailoring could trigger it.”

“I see,” Ezekiel said drily.

“Is there anything else?” Jack was starting to despair.

Ezekiel sighed. “There’s only one more major they teach in town. Let’s hope this is the right one for you.”

“What is it?”

“Chemistry.”

A new set of coordinates appeared on Jack’s map, and he set off back toward town.

This time, the road he had to take required him to move straight ahead after the fountain.

Jack entered the chemist’s building. There were glass vials of different shapes and sizes filled with liquids of all colors. Many plants and flowers in vases and pots were scattered throughout the workshop. Even though some chemicals were kept boiling over a small flame, the temperature in the shop was pleasant. The place was clean, and there were no needles in sight. Best of all, the master chemist was a beautiful young lady.

“Hi,” she squeaked in a high pitch. “My name is Cassandra, and I’m the chief chemist. Are you here to learn the craft?”

“Maybe,” Jack answered, unsure. He looked around and found nothing that threw him off. It looked like he would become a chemist after all.

Just as he was about to ask Cassandra to learn more, Cassandra caught sight of an apprentice making a mistake and rushed toward her. “No, dear. You don’t want the spleen of the frog. You want its liver. That’s what can help you with the recipe I taught you earlier.”

Jack stretched his neck, stood on his tippy toes, and saw a girl dissecting a red frog.

“Urgh. That’s gross.”

“Excuse me?” Cassandra asked. “You mean the frog? You get used to it, dear. But some of the ingredients we use are harvested from beasts. I’m sure you can appreciate how doing this work can save lives.”

“Nope. Sorry!”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m out. I don’t want to become a chemist. Thank you for your time, lady.”

Jack left the chemist disappointed. He had been almost sure this was it. It looked like the major meant for him couldn’t be learned in this small town. Or, perhaps crafting just wasn’t for him. Sighing, he decided to return to Ezekiel and complete the rest of the tutorial. He’d been rushing to start making money, but maybe it had been wishful thinking. Despite hating to study, he would have to spend some time reading up on the game to find out what he would do.

For the fifth time today, he approached Ezekiel.

“Hi, Ezekiel.”

“JackOfDiamonds! Chemistry didn’t work for you either?!” he asked, exasperated.

“I’m sorry. Dissecting things is too much for my stomach.”

“I was chatting with the masters I referred you to,” he said, leaving Jack confused. How had he talked to them? Had Ezekiel left the hill and come to town while he wasn’t looking? “They tell me you didn’t even try crafting anything. You gave up before they could tell you anything about the majors. Is this true?”

“Yes.”

“My, my. This is not good, my friend. Crafting requires patience; you’re the most impatient adventurer I’ve ever seen.”

What a day. Even the game’s NPCs were criticizing him. Ezekiel continued.

“However, this might indicate that you’re meant for a different path. Maybe it just means you’re supposed to become a jack of all trades and a master of none,” he said thoughtfully. “There’s one last place you could try.”

You’ve received a new quest: [Jack of All Trades].

Ch. 2 - Tutor Ezekiel

INDEX

Ch. 4 - Master or Mister?