HC: Handyman | Ch. 26 - Amari (Patreon)

The titanic collection of bones left Jack awestruck for a few moments. He could hardly imagine what it would be like if there were tendons and muscles over those bones. What would it be like to be stomped by such a creature or whipped by its large, powerful tail? What would it feel like to be swallowed whole by it?

When he first saw the game ads on the sides of buses and billboards, portraying players in shiny armor and swords attacking these giant creatures, it had all seemed so exciting. But now, Jack couldn't stop his knees shaking at the thought of fighting such a behemoth. 

After a few silent moments of sheer speechlessness, Jack regained his composure and took a better view of what was happening around him. Steps and chatter echoed around him as players and NPCs walked from one place to another. If not for the dinosaur skeleton, Jack would have thought this was a busy train station.

Instead of trains, however, everyone headed to one of the museum’s three sectors. Large corridors sprung from the entrance, marking the different departments of the Historical Society. The giant plaques over the archways at the start of the corridor read ‘Zoology,’ ‘Paleontology,’ and ‘Human History.’ 

Scratching his head, Jack reread the description of his quest. It only said that Professor Grant was in the building but didn’t specify which department. Since this quest was originally meant to retrieve ceramic shards, he reasoned that he was supposed to head toward the Human History Department. Chest puffed up, Jack marched in that direction. Just as he was about to enter the corridor, he halted.  

What had just happened? It wasn't like him to make himself think so hard. It was just that when he found himself at a crossroads, pondering what direction to take, he felt as if he were back in a maze. Spending so much time in the pyramid had conditioned his mind to find his way. 

Subconsciously, after comparing the hassle of asking a passerby to figure things out on his own, before he realized it, he had already deduced his next move and acted. The process felt strangely foreign.

Weirded out, he headed deeper into the Human History Department. The main corridor led to several exhibits. One was dedicated to the history of the wall, and another to the history of Embersgate. An exhibit dedicated to the pyramids caught Jack's eye, but since he wanted to hurry on this quest, he resisted the temptation to waste time visiting it.

There were also libraries, bathrooms, and a snack bar, for some reason, which he guessed were only used by the NPCs and included to give some more realism to the game. 

Now, where could he find Professor Grant? Hopefully, it wasn’t inside one of the bathrooms! “Congratulations! You’ve received a new quest: The Toilet Paper has Run Out,” he joked to himself.

Couldn't the Professor have bothered to explain where to find him in the quest description? Jack tried to summon the deductive powers that had helped him early, but he came up empty. Jack looked left and right, looking for someone to ask for information from. 

He approached the first player who walked past him. She wore heavy-rimmed glasses and a black tunic. “Excuse me. Do you know where I can meet Professor Grant?” 

“Sorry, I don't know any Professor Grant,” she replied curtly, without ever stopping. 

Jack sighed, disappointed. He tried the next person. It was a player clad in white chainmail armor and with a halberd strapped around his back.  “Excuse me. Do you-”

“Get lost, noob.”

Jack felt his face redden. That was rude. He reined in the impulse to scream insults at this bozo. People in the beginner town had been so much friendlier. Maybe it was because they were all in the same boat. Here in the gate city, higher-level players seemed tired of having noobs asking them for directions and information. 

Just as Jack was about to open the internet browser and look for information on this NPC, his eyes widened. He spotted someone he recognized. It was the tall, dark-skinned man with a buckler he’d traveled with! Since he last saw him, he had gotten a new leather suit of armor fastened with odd pieces of metal. 

“Hey!” Jack called as he ran to him. “You with the buckler! Hey.”

The man frowned, seeing Jack run to him, and squinted, trying to recognize him. “You're the pyramid guy.”

Even though it was an odd way to remember someone, Jack was excited that the man hadn't forgotten him. “Yeah, that's me. Look!” Jack said, holding up his buckler proudly. “Samesies!”

The man chuckled. “Right.” 

“You have cool new armor,” Jack commended. 

“Thanks, I just got it. You also seem to have gotten a few upgrades. Good job, greeny.”

Jack snorted. “Why are you calling me greeny? Aren’t we on the same level?”

“Nah, I've been playing it since the game came out. I just started a new account.” 

Hearing this, the gears in Jack’s head turned furiously. On the one hand, this man was a beginner. But at the same time, this was a veteran who knew what he was doing. Additionally, he’d been kind enough to give him directions to the pyramid earlier. Jack had to befriend this guy!

“You just getting started?” the man asked, seeing Jack wasn’t leaving.

“Yeah, this is my first account. I have no idea what I'm doing,” Jack joked. 

“Right. I've been there.”

“So what brings you to the historical society?” Jack asked, trying to be as friendly as possible.

“Well, I decided to major in archaeology and minor in paleontology this time.”

“What can you do with those professions?” Jack asked curiously. He hadn’t heard of either profession before.

“Paleontologists are a battle-oriented profession. The more and the older the bones you collect of a certain species, as you reach certain tiers, you can deal additional damage to them when hunting.” 

“Archaeologists, on the other hand, are a very popular major. It’s great to unlock quests, you receive bonuses when running dungeons, and you can sell relics to the Historical Society for good money,” the player explained. “Anyway, best of luck.”

Just as the veteran was about to walk away, Jack tried to think of a way to keep the conversation going. “Please, wait! I don't know if you can help me, but I'm seeking Professor Grant. Do you know who that is?”

“Professor Grant? No idea. There are hundreds of NPCs working in the historical society. How did you learn about him?”

“I got a quest from the bulletin board.” Jack shared the details with the man. 

“Oh, cool. Pottery and bushcraft, are those your professions?” the man asked. 

“Yeah. I know it’s an odd choice.”

“To each its own. There’s no such thing as a bad profession in New Earth. They all have their uses. Well, if your bulletin quest has to do with ceramic shards and the pyramids, you should probably go to the pyramid exhibit and ask someone there.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“No worries.” 

Seeing his golden goose walking away, Jack tried to think of a way to befriend this player. He had a lot to learn from him. He revisited the idea of running this quest alone. On the one hand, Jack hated to play with others and to be told what to do. On the other hand, he also hated having to think too hard about things. After quickly weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to attempt, he decided to go for it.

“Listen, why don’t you do this quest with me?”

The man hesitated. “Is this your first time running a quest for the historical society?” he asked after some thought.

“Y-yes,” he stammered, embarrassed.

“Then yes.” Jack couldn’t understand why that was the determining factor in his partner’s decision. Catching Jack’s uncomprehending look, the man explained. “There’s a good title you can get if you run ten quests with noobs who are working for the Historical Society for the first time.”

“I see.” It was a smart move on the part of the developers. That way, veterans were forced by the system to help noobs. “By the way, I'm JackofDiamonds. Just call me Jack.”

“AmariNinja. Just call me Amari,” he said, offering his hand, which Jack shook heartedly. “So, if we want to start the quest, we should find that NPC of yours. Come on.”

Jack followed after Amari, glad that someone else would do the heavy lifting for him. “How high is your level in your other account?”

“Was. I had to delete it. I was level 53.”

“You deleted it? Did you not like your class or something?”

“It’s a little frustrating. I ran paths with this crazy kid from IronIre. We got into a beef, which escalated into a full-out war. Long story short, whenever I logged in, he and his buddies would find me and kill me. I had no option but to restart my account.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“It's what it is. I already came to terms with it. At least I’ll get to try a new class. I was tired of playing as a ranger. Look, there's an NPC over there. Try her.” Amari prompted. 

Now that someone else was thinking for him, Jack couldn't be happier. The NPC Amari had singled out for him wore brown slacks, a vest with pockets, and a hard explorer's hat, which struggled to contain her unruly curls. 

Jack glanced at Amari, happy that his new partner had stayed a few steps behind. It would have been awkward to talk to the NPC while having him look over his shoulder. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Professor Grant.”

“Oh, Professor Grant, of course. Just go to the pottery exhibit, and you will find him in one of the offices at the very end.”

“Thanks!” Jack ran back to Amari, who waited stoically for his report. “He’s at the pottery exhibit. It’s that way.”

“Sweet. I still have some errands to do. I’ll let you go through the dialogues, and you can just message me when you’re done. Deal?”

Jack was a little saddened by the proposition. He thought that Amari would have taken him there. Jack managed to keep a smile, though. “Sure! Can I add you as a friend?”

AmariNinja has sent you a friend request.

Jack watched Amari's departing figure and grinned. Amari walked away with the confidence in his step that only those who knew where they were going had. 

This was the perfect person to befriend, and now was the best time to deepen their relationship. Amari knew the ropes of the game and had just started over. He was probably swimming in money from his old account. Furthermore, Amari’s former buddies were likely out of the picture. What respectable level 50 player would hang out with a noob starting over? If he could have someone like Amari play with him, he could learn the game and become richer faster. 

Following the NPC's directions, Jack found the pottery exhibit. Behind spotless cases of glass stood vases of all shapes and sizes. Some were as tall as a man, and others were fragments as small as a fingernail. Some ceramics were narrow and long, and others were oblong and irregular. Some were plain and simple, and others had exquisite paintings and colorful patterns that reflected light like gemstones. 

Since he was also a potter now, he found himself enjoying the exhibit. One case in particular drew his attention. A series of glossy amphorae with black drawings told a story. The first amphora had a man working an anvil with a hammer. The second one showed him holding a freshly forged sword. The third one seemed to show the smith climbing a mountain with the sword on his back. Finally, the blacksmith approached a statue and sheathed the sword in an empty scabbard. As he did, a bolt of lightning hit the statue. 

Were these exhibits a way of generating quest lines? Jack guessed that players needed the archaeologist profession to gain more from observing these relics. If so, it made sense that the archaeologist profession was popular among adventurers. They could come to the museums, obtain better quests, and then go into the wild to complete them. Jack passed by many other ceramics, but none of them caught his eye so much as the sequence of amphorae with the blacksmith, the sword, and the statue.

Jack finally reached the offices and found a door with the sign, ‘Professor Alan Grant, PhD.’

Ch. 25 - Bulletin Board

INDEX

Ch. 27 - Compy