Jack stood in his workshop in a daze. His head was still reeling from the call with his father.

  All his life, his dad had told him to stop wasting time in games. And now he had called to say he wanted to play one with him?

  Jack didn’t know what to think.

  Was it because he missed him? With Jack cooped up in the capsule, they weren’t going to see much of each other in the coming months. Maybe this was his dad’s way of reaching out—of spending time together while they still could.

  But again, it hadn’t been even 2 days! How could he miss him already?

  Or maybe it wasn’t about spending time together at all. Maybe it was about doing something—anything—instead of sitting idle while others fought to save his life. To take fate into his own hands. Yes. That sounded more like his father.

  Either way, it left Jack with a problem.

  Should he let him join the team?

  What if he became a distraction? He was hardworking and could do virtually anything in real life, sure—but in-game, he was a total newbie. Not only a New Earth newbie, but a video game newbie. He stayed away from even the small gaming apps on his phone as if they were radioactive.

  And what they were trying to pull off wasn’t going to be casual fun. They were going off into the desert, to an arid zone with beasts 30 levels above them, to build something out of nothing. It would take serious work. The last thing they needed was someone who didn’t know the difference between an active and a passive skill.

  And then there was the question of authority. His dad had always been the one giving orders, not taking them. But in New Earth, that would have to flip. Jack would be the one leading. The one giving commands. The one making the calls.

  Would his father resist? Would he even listen?

  He couldn’t just hope that everything would miraculously work out.

  But what was the alternative? Tell his dying father no?

  Get out of my way, Dad. Play over there, because I have important stuff to do that’s going to save your life.

  That didn’t sound like an option either.

  He brought his hands to his hair. Part of him hated himself for even hesitating. His dad had called, made himself available, and he was proud of him.

  Shouldn’t that count for something?

  Jack rubbed his eyes, the weight of everything pressing on his chest. Hope, fear, guilt, all tangled together. He really needed the time to decide how to go about this.

  Not knowing what to do made him think of Holly. She was so good at helping him sort through things. She’d been really helpful with figuring out the best way to talk to his team.

  He operated his menu, and her name hovered before him, with the symbol of a green phone. He stared at her name on the screen for a long second.

  Then, finally, he tapped it.

  Holly’s avatar popped into her virtual room, hoodie on, and a small grin playing on her lips. “Look who finally decided to show up.”

  “Hi, Holly!”

  “Hi, Jack.”

  “How was your day?” Jack asked.

  “Good.”

  She waited, and Jack took the hint. “I’m sorry I missed your messages and call. Sometimes when I’m crafting, I lose track of time. I didn’t even see them until just now.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Crafting, uh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you didn’t ghost me?”

  “No! O-of course not, I—”

  “I’m not just some disposable engineer to you? A consultant you can use and toss aside?”

  Jack’s eyes widened. He’d been afraid she might be upset, but this felt like it had escalated way too fast. “No. No, Holly—goodness, no. I swear, I was just—”

  Holly held up a finger, interrupting him.

  “Wait. I just realized something.”

  Jack froze. “Uh… what?”

  She leaned in slightly. “This has all been part of your plan, hasn’t it? Since the train. You saw me, realized I was an engineering genius, and thought: I’ll cozy up to her. Slowly earn her trust.”

  “Holly…”

  “Even that day in my dorm! Showing up there was just a little too convenient. And your heartfelt dad story? That was the final move. The sob story to seal the deal. You’ve been playing the long game, Jack. You’re using me!”

  Jack opened his mouth. Closed it. He couldn’t tell if she was joking anymore. His heart thudded a little faster.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I—okay, no. That’s not—Look, that’s not it.”

  “Then what is it, Jack?”

  “True, you’re helpful, but I also like spending time with you. Besides, you-”

  Holly burst into laughter.

  Jack froze, then flushed a deep red as she nearly doubled over.

  “Your face, Jack! You’re so easy to mess with.”

  He clutched his chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

  She tilted her head, her grin softening just a little. “I know. I just wanted to see if you’d squirm.”

  “I definitely squirmed.”

  “Good.” A small pause. “So… what’s going on?”

  Jack hesitated. Her voice was back to normal now, bubbly and curious, but he still felt that the room was spinning around him. What was it with her? This girl brought him from heaven to hell and back in the span of a single conversation.

  He swallowed. “Want to come to the game and meet me?” he blurted.

  As soon as the words were out, he winced. It sounded way too much like a date invitation. Didn’t it?

  Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “I wish I could. But I really need to finish a few things.”

  “Oh… That’s too bad.”

  “Was there anything new you wanted to show me?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I just unlocked a new recipe. It’s for something called a capacitor.”

  Holly immediately perked up. “Wait—really?”

  “Yeah. And something called a capacitor sensor. I have no idea what either one is.”

  “A capacitor is kind of like a battery. It stores an electrical charge, but instead of holding it long-term, it builds up and releases it all at once.”

  Jack frowned. “But… my pot bots don’t run on electricity. What can a capacitor even do for me here?”

  “Well, even without a full electric system, this opens up a lot of new possibilities. Can you send me the recipe for the sensor?”

  He did, and she started skimming through it aloud: “Mount a metal plate … wrap copper wire around an iron rod… latch and return spring…”

  Jack waited, doing his best not to stare. There was something about her focus—brows furrowed, lips moving silently—that made his heart beat a little faster.

  She nodded to herself. “Okay, I see what this is. This is really good.”

  “Is it?” he asked, a flicker of hope rising.

  “It’s a proximity sensor. The metal plate reacts when something gets near—it shifts the capacitor's charge, which triggers the coil. That moves a switch, or a latch.”

  “But don’t we have to add a battery or something to power it?”

  “Not necessarily.” She shook her head. “The capacitor’s pretty big. As it approaches an electric field, the current it generates is enough to trip the mechanism.”

  “So it works similarly to that whisker sensor you mentioned before…”

  She laughed. “It’s not called that, but I’m kind of tempted to use it now. Capacitor sensors are a little better. We can fine-tune what they respond to. Like, say you want a bot to only harvest iron. You could set the sensor to spike when iron’s present and trigger a command.”

  Jack’s eyes widened. “Then they wouldn’t be blind anymore! They’d know what to look for!”

  “They’d still be blind,” Holly said. “But now they’d have something like a nose. A very picky, metal-sniffing nose.”

  Jack laughed. “That’s amazing. Regardless.”

  “Yeah! It is!” She sighed. “It’s good to see you progressing. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to dig into steam-tech or join in the game,” she said with a sigh. “But between work and studying...”

  “Please, don’t apologize. You’ve already helped me so much! And you’re like the hardest-working person I know.”

  She smiled at him—genuine, warm.

  “And besides, this just proves Amari was right,” Jack added. “I need to keep leveling Tinkering. Who knows what else is coming?”

  She nodded. “Amari usually is right about New Earth stuff.”

  He’d thought of bringing up the call with his dad, but held back. It didn’t feel like the right time. She’d just said she was overwhelmed, and honestly, calling Holly before figuring out how he felt about it might have been too impulsive. He needed time to sit with it.

  “Well…” Holly said, stretching, “Time to go hit those books. I can’t bomb my exam. I don’t want to end up working at Cheap Mart.”

  Jack froze. “Cheap Mart… wait—how do you…?”

  “See you soon,” she said with a smirk, and disconnected.

  And just like that, she was gone again, leaving behind a storm in his chest. Jack stared at the space where her avatar had been.

  She knew. About his old channel. About the rage-quit video from his days as a cashier at Cheap Mart. That meant... she’d probably seen all the other things too. The worst ones.

  The song covers. The dances. The over-the-top quitting videos. The whole mess of things he’d uploaded back when he thought going viral was his ticket to success.

  How had she even found it?

  And more importantly, what did she think of it? What if she thought he was an idiot after watching those old videos?

  “How did she have the time to find those if she’s so busy, anyway?” he muttered.

  He took a few deep breaths, but it didn’t help. His heart was still pounding. He needed air.

  When he stepped outside, he spotted Horace and Marie on the patio. Two tables were set up. Marie mixed poisons at one, while Horace assembled a shield at the other. They chatted as they worked. He couldn’t help but chuckle. This was a first: seeing them crafting together peacefully.

  “Look who it is!” Horace called, grinning.

  “Hi, Jack!” Marie said, swirling a vial up against he light.

  “Hey, guys. How is it going?”

  “All good so far,” Marie said.

  “How did your crafting go?” Horace asked.

  “Good. I made about fifty of those music boxes. Did you get the chance to see the details?”

  “I did.”

  “How much do you think they’ll fetch?”

  “How many uses does each box have?” Horace set the plank aside.

  “Each use takes one durability point. More or less.”

  Horace nodded. “So let’s do the math. You sent me the one for March of the Embers, yes? That grants a ten percent attack team buff. A Mead III barrel with that same buff goes for three gold—and it’s one-and-done. But your box can be used multiple times. Let’s say twenty uses… that’s sixty gold already. And since it doesn’t have alcohol’s twelve-hour cooldown? Double it. Add the novelty, plus the fact it’s reusable… I’d say about one-thirty each?”

  “130 gold, huh?” That was thirty credits more than a Pot Hive. And unlike hives, anyone could want one of these. Jack ran the numbers. 6500 credits for about 20 hours of non-stop crafting. He smiled. “Not bad. Wait. If I just make music boxes for six months… That’s like a million credits!”

  Horace laughed. “This item is going to sell well, but I wouldn’t count on you selling 50 boxes a day, man. You’ll saturate the market.”

  “Right…” he said, some of his enthusiasm fading. “Can I give them to you to auction at the marketplace, Horace?”

  “Of course, bro. Oh—speaking of which.”

  Horace has transferred you 1600 gold.

  Jack blinked. “What’s this?”

  “Your cut from all the junk from the Breach. Plus the Slayer’s pelt. I sold everything already.”

  Jack let out a weak chuckle. A week ago, that would’ve felt like a fortune. Now that he knew what he actually needed to earn, it sounded like a drop in a bucket.

  “And how are our preparations for the Sand Sea?” Jack asked. “Any news on Rob and Amari?”

  “Nope. Still waiting,” Marie said as she pestled herbs into a paste.

  “One thing is certain. We’re going to need a ton of supplies,” Horace said.

  “Oh yeah? More than the Breach?”

  “More,” Marie said flatly.

  “We’re looking into hiring a caravan,” Horace added.

  “Caravan?” Jack asked.

  “We pay NPCs to bring supplies out to the Dune Hills. Costs a lot.”

  Horace sighed. “I wouldn’t convert that gold into credits yet, Jackie. We might all have to pitch in.”

  “We’re all thinking of switching mounts, too,” Marie said. “Something closer to your sloth. More carry slots.”

  Jack pictured the five of them riding giant sloths across the desert. It sounded strangely epic.

  He then glanced at how focused Horace and Marie looked. Was this why they were crafting so earnestly? Because they were thinking of the upcoming expenses of buying a giant sloth and hiring a caravan?

  He turned and walked back into his workshop. He still needed to push Tinkering up, and if they were going to need money, he should do his part.