Jack adjusted his position, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest. This was going to be his first time seeing Amari and the others in real life—and the first time they'd see him, too.
It wasn’t like his appearance was wildly different from his avatar. If anything, they were nearly identical. Maybe what he was feeling wasn’t nervousness at all—maybe it was anticipation. Excitement. He was finally going to see Amari’s, Horace’s, and Marie’s real faces—not stylized avatars or filtered images, but them.
Were they different people when they were outside the game? Would they treat him differently? Did this mean that they were good friends now? What was next? A barbecue party?
He was eager to find out. He was so eager, in fact, that he did something unprecedented: he arrived early, a full twenty minutes ahead of time.
He logged into the chat room, headset resting nearby.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Jack,” came a voice from the hallway.
He turned toward the door. “Hey, Mom. Come on in.”
She cracked the door open and peeked inside. “I just woke up. Wanted to check in on you.”
Jack stood up and walked over to the door, greeting her with two kisses on the cheek. “How was work last night?”
“It was good. Just the usual,” she said. Then, her eyes settled on the helmet beside his chair. “What about your work?” she added. “How’s the helmet your father and I got you? Still working okay?”
Jack chuckled. “It’s perfect, Mom. Seriously. It’s way more comfortable than the one I used to rent. I can finally get out of bed without my neck feeling like it’s been through a wringer.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear,” she said. “Anyway... I was just wondering if you’d like to come down and have a coffee with me.”
Jack glanced at the clock on his bedroom wall, then back at her. His lips pressed together. “Sorry, Mom. I’ve got a video call coming up—with some work colleagues.”
Her brow lifted. “Colleagues?”
“Yeah. I mean..." He fumbled with the phrasing, trying to translate his virtual plans into something that would make sense to her. "I have some... associates in the game, and we’re about to have a... work meeting.”
“Oh my,” she said with a giggle. “Well then, by all means, go ahead. We’ll catch up later.” She lingered a moment at the door, then added, “We can all have dinner together instead.”
“That sounds good,” Jack said, smiling. “Looking forward to it.”
His mother gave a gentle nod and pulled back, stepping away as though one second more might disrupt whatever important digital business he had going on. Jack closed the door behind her.
He’d been so focused on the Breach that he hadn’t been logging out much. He had hardly seen his parents the day before.
I should really pay attention to my work-life balance, he told himself.
Amari had warned him plenty about the importance of maintaining a good exercise routine and taking frequent breaks from the game. Ironically, Amari had spent just as much time in the Breach with him.
Jack walked back to his computer and, to pass the time, opened up his avatar’s profile.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: JackofDiamonds
Level: 20
Fame: 24
Class: Handyman
Mount: Snowy, the Ground Sloth
Minors:
[Bushcraft], lvl. 10
[Pottery], lvl. 10
[Journeyman Bard], lvl. 1
[Journeyman Beekeeper], lvl. 1
[Butcher], lvl. 10
[Brewer], lvl. 8
Titles: [Consistent Quality], [Embersgate Civil Servant], [Epic Craftsman], [Innovating Pioneer], [Junior Craftsman]; [Museum Donor], [Named Artist], [Novice Explorer], [Novice Firekeeper], [Overreacher], [S-Grade Adventurer], [Slayer of Monsters], [Uniqueness]
ATTRIBUTES
Hit points: 182/182
Stamina points: 153/153
Movement speed: 133%
Jump: 7
Attack: 1
Strength: 8
Constitution: 20
Agility: 33
Intellect: 9
Stealth: 0
Luck: 5
RESISTANCES:
Defense: 44
Block: 18
Cutting: 1
Fire: 5
Cold: 5
Water: 3
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
EQUIPMENT
Right-Hand: [Empty]
Off-Hand: [Empty]
Head: [Tempered Bulrush Rope Hat]
Torso: [Bulrush Rope Overall]
Pants: [Bulrush Rope Overall]
Gloves: [Empty]
Shoes: [Bulrush Rope Sandals]
Cape: [Cobalt Ischychromys Pelt]
SKILLS:
Class: [Minor Synergy], [Unbound Knowledge]
Fighting: [Battle Charisma], [Blocking Stance], [Dash], [Gear Grinder], [Heavy Strike], [Retreat]
Bard: [Angry Void], [Clay Dome], [Dance of the Turtles], [Jolly Good Fellow], [Lily Lullaby], [March of the Embers], [Morning of Spring], [Ocarina Mastery], [Self-Taught], [Sitting Wind], [Sonic Valley], [Soulful Performer], [Swing Step], [Tenderizing Repercussions]
Beekeeping: [Brood Breeding], [Candle Making], [Friendly Scent], [Honey Harvesting], [Hive Ownership], [Nectar Harvesting], [Queen Breeding], [Sturdy Sting], [Wax Factory].
Brewing: [Brew], [Brewmaster’s Insight], [Cellar Management], [Enduring Flavor], Vinegar Making], [Spirits Aging]
Bushcraft: [Bush Immunity], [Camping], [Fat Coating], [First Aid], [Forage], [Kindle], [Rope Waxing], [Rope Weaving], [Sautéeing], [Sticksmithing], [Survival Cooking], [Survival Pickling], [Water Sniffing]
Butcher: [Bone Carving], [Fat Preservation], [Lipid Extraction], [Luck of the Hunter], [Meat Carving], [Meat Salting], [Meatpacker], [Pelt Mantle], [Skinning]
Pottery: [Clay Drying], [Clay Gathering], [Clay Molding], [Tempering], [Pot Firing], [Pottery Etching], [Pottery Glazing], [Touch of the Potter], [Wax Resist]
The screen was filled with familiar stats, titles, and rows of skills. He scrolled through them idly.
As he reached the section with his minors, his gaze lingered on the three that were maxed out at novice level 10: pottery, bushcraft, and butchering. Behind each number were long hours of work.
If he was being honest with himself, butchering had been easy to level up. However, given how it was linked to all the work he’d done in the Breach, it still filled him with a pleasant nostalgia.
He couldn’t help but feel proud of how far he’d come.
I should go and visit the XP stores for these three as soon as I get the chance, he told himself.
He had hundreds of thousands of XP ready to invest in upgrades for pottery and bushcraft, and he was ready to spend it. Butchering had only hit the cap a few hours ago, yet he was already curious about what upgrades it offered.
The rest of his professions still had a long way to go. Bard was a three-tier minor, which meant that he was still 19 levels away from maxing out. Beekeeping and brewing were both two-tiered. However, there was still so much untapped potential in those remaining levels, not to speak of the XP stores. He’d barely scratched the surface.
No biggie. Now that I have the Clay Dome and Vases combo, I should be able to level up these faster.
Jack turned to the Equipment section next—and winced. This was his Achilles’ heel. There was so much wasted potential. His cape was the only slot he was fully satisfied with.
The tempered bulrush hat had been a solid upgrade after he’d reinforced it, but he couldn’t help thinking it might’ve turned out better if the original craft had gone smoother. The same went for the bulrush overalls and sandals.
It’s only level 20 equipment, anyway. I’m going to outgrow it soon. I’ll just temper the rest of the bulrush gear and take it from there.
The most depressing part was the rest of his equipment. No gloves. No accessories. He was missing out on valuable stats.
It was a no-brainer that, regardless of how bad or weak a piece of equipment was, the first thing a gamer should do was to ensure every single slot was filled. A slight boost to the stats was better than nothing.
Not to speak of how much cooler he would look if he were fully clad in gear.
I need to find a solution to this.
All the more reason to visit the XP stores again. Maybe if he kept investing in [Rope Weaving] at the bushcraft XP store by Red Lake, he’d unlock a glove recipe. As for accessories, he probably had enough now to purchase the clay jewelry recipes. Or maybe [Bone Carving] was the answer—he’d already unlocked the recipe for [Tooth Pendant]. There were probably many more bone-carving recipes out there.
He then went through the skill section. First came the bard skills. He counted the number of ocarina melodies he now knew: ten. He could potentially play for several minutes, stacking buffs and debuffs before repeating a song.
That meant more work.
I haven’t even listened to Lilly Lullaby yet. Sonic Valley still needs perfecting. Same for Dance of the Turtles.
This was one area where his XP rocket combo wouldn’t help. He needed actual practice—more time honing his ocarina skills.
Beekeeping was next. Honey was priceless for brewing mead.
I should get the [Pot Hives] I left behind. I can probably increase the number of hives now that I’ve leveled up and increased the honey yield.
After reaching the journeyman tier, progress in the beekeeping profession had slowed down considerably. But if he added just one more hive, he'd double his honey production. Double the honey meant double the mead. And that meant faster leveling in both brewing and beekeeping—just from a single hive expansion.
There’s also candlemaking to think about. I haven’t made a single candle yet.
Scented candles were supposed to buff his allies and even his bees. He had to devote some time to it as soon as he had the chance.
Moving on to butchering, it was mostly just looting. The only skill he could invest time in was bone carving, and several new recipes were waiting to be tested. He’d get to them soon—once he had the proper tools. There was no point rushing it until he was ready to carve bone properly.
I should look up what people use to carve bone.
He figured it was probably something sharp and made of metal. Maybe his bush knife would work. Or maybe the [Carving Horn] would be better suited. He thought back to when he’d tried using the cobalt romie’s tooth on a regular romie’s tooth—the harder one had cut into the softer without much effort. Maybe he’d need bone to carve bone.
Finally, there was pottery. The One-Eyes' etching recipe and the way it synergized with the mud hut... it had once again solidified pottery’s position in Jack’s heart. Pottery was still his favorite minor.
And now, with his XP bank full and his agility stat finally in the 30s, he was probably ready to start working with the very last kind of clay available: porcelain.
Jack put his hands on his head, fingers digging into his hair. There was so much he hadn’t even touched yet. So many things to do. That was the thing about being a handyman: too many tools, not enough hands.
Just as he was about to start scanning through the recipes section, the chat room pinged.
Someone else had joined.
Marie’s video feed popped up—and for a moment, Jack had to recalibrate. Her face looked familiar yet different. Her eyes were bigger than in-game, and instead of her usual twin pigtails, her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail. The change suited her. Like her avatar, her expression hovered somewhere between a smirk and a scowl, as if she was perpetually on the edge of saying something snarky.
She leaned toward the camera. “Hey, Jack,” she greeted casually, then raised an eyebrow as she studied him. “Oh—you don’t have blue eyes. They’re brown. You’re quite good-looking.”
Jack blinked, not sure how to respond.
“Are you single?” she asked.
He coughed. “Wait—what?”
Marie rolled her eyes. “Relax. It’s not for me. I’ve got a niece about your age. I could introduce you two if you want.”
That… made more sense. Still, it caught him off guard. He wasn’t expecting to be asked that—definitely not by Marie.
He lifted a hand, giving a small, dismissive wave. “Thanks, but I just got out of a relationship. I don’t think I’m ready for anything new.”
“Oh?” she said, tilting her head slightly. “What happened?”
Jack hesitated. Marie wasn’t usually one to make small talk. She was typically straight to the point. But now, her curiosity flickered like a flame catching on something dry. She had the same expression she wore when Jack was about to loot a carcass, and she was dying to find out what the drop would be.
“She broke up with me,” he said, scratching the side of his head. “Said I wasn’t mature enough. Or something along those lines.” He looked down. “Anyway. That’s that.”
Jack waited for her to follow it up with a jab—or maybe agree with his ex—but she didn’t. She just nodded, content to let the moment pass without twisting the knife.
“What sector are you in?” she asked after a pause, signaling the shift in subject.
“Sector Five.”
“Oh? Same.”
Jack’s eyebrows lifted. “No kidding. We’re not far from each other, then.”
“That’s right! You’re close to my niece, too,” she said with a playful smile. “Where exactly do you—”
She didn’t get to finish.
Two more connection chimes rang out as the rest of the team logged in.
