You’ve assembled a [Jack-in-a-Box]
+4 XP in Tinkering
+44 XP in Tinkering
The progress bar climbed in satisfying chunks, thanks to the vases’ boost. He didn’t have to wait long until he leveled.
Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 8 in Tinkering.
You’ve unlocked a new recipe: [Tin Pot].
He flicked open the recipe.
Hammer a sheet of tin into a cooking pot. That was it.
Jack winced. Turning a flat sheet into a functional pot sounded like a time sink. If hammering a tiny tin peg into shape took already so long, how long would it take him to make a tin pot? Worse, he doubted tin pots would last more than a few uses.
“Clay’s better anyway,” he said aloud, dismissing the recipe.
He kept going. The Jack-in-the-Boxes were starting to yield a bit less XP, but the gains were still worth it.
You’ve assembled a [Jack-in-a-Box]
+3 XP in Tinkering
+33 XP in Tinkering
His hands kept working—tape, tuck, twist, repeat. Two hundred boxes later, another prompt blinked into view.
Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 9 in Tinkering.
You’ve learned a new skill: [Crank Mastery].
Bard, Pottery, and Tinkering synergize.
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Music Box].
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Musical Jack-in-the-Box].
Jack paused, tilting his head. “Oh? [Crank Mastery]? Is this what I think it is?”
Crank Mastery (Common)
Skill Level: 1
Description: You’ve learned to twist the crank just a little tighter, allowing your contraptions to run longer.
Effect: Increases duration of cranked items by 10%.
He smirked. “Called it.”
Back when he and Holly had discussed pot bot runtime, he’d predicted a crank-related skill would show up eventually.
It did. But truth be told, ten percent wasn’t much. Holly was right—springs could only hold so much energy. You couldn’t cheat physics forever.
Still, it wasn’t useless. Other tools and gadgets might benefit from longer runtime, even if the bots didn’t.
He moved on to the real prize.
Recipe for [Music Box].
Ingredients:
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[Pinned Barrel]
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[Tin Pegs]
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[Metal Comb]
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[Gearbox]
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[Empty Box]
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[Shaft]
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[Crank]
Instructions:
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Run a shaft through the pinned barrel.
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Insert it into the box.
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Connect the shaft to a gearbox with an external crank.
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Add tin pegs according to the melody you want played.
Requirements:
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Tinkering, level 9
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Bard, level 6
“Cool! A music box!”
He grinned as a memory of a school trip floated up—rows of delicate music boxes on display in a quiet museum. Some had tiny dancers that spun. Others had carved woodland scenes, shifting in time with the music.
I wonder how powerful this is. Can it play the same songs I play? With the same effects?
If he could load a Clay Dome melody into one of these and set it to loop, that would free him up to craft while the buff kept running. Better yet, if he couldn’t consistently pull off a song in the middle of a chaotic fight, a pre-cranked box might save the day.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
And the market potential…
Every guild wanted a bard, but there were few. Even some of the strongest guilds in the game had to do without.
But if I can mass-produce music boxes…
He licked his lip, already imagining the gold pouring in. Buff-on-demand, no Bard required.
If these music boxes worked the way he hoped, they’d send ripples through the game.
Next up was an upgraded version of the toy he’d been making.
Recipe for: [Musical Jack-in-the-Box].
Ingredients:
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Lidded Box
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Large Spring
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Clown Head
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Latch
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Crank Handle
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Pinned Barrel
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Metal Comb
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Gearbox
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Shaft
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Crank
Instructions:
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Attach the spring inside the box.
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Mount the clown head.
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Install a latch to hold it shut.
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Build the music mechanism—pinned barrel, shaft, gearbox, crank.
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Fit the comb for sound.
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Link the latch to trigger after a set number of cranks.
Requirements:
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Tinkering, level 9
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Bard, level 6
He let out a low chuckle. Rather than just springing open with a button, this version played a song while it was cranked, and then the clown would jump.
“Hmmm… Will this enhance the toy’s fear debuff?”
If it did, it might sell well.
Without wasting time, Jack stood and stepped out of the time field.
The world snapped back into full speed. The fire, which had been in slow motion, now crackled with sharp, chaotic pops—like a whisper suddenly shouting in his ear.
The difference was a little jarring, but he quickly got used to it.
He’d handle supplies first. He had a lot to build, and even more to test.
Stepping out, he spotted his friends gathered around the map hologram, their heads bent low in concentration.
“Hey, Jack!” Rob waved him over. “Perfect timing. Come here!”
Jack jogged over, brushing dust from his hands. “What’s up?”
“We’ve narrowed the location of the village down to three possibilities,” Amari said, tapping the map.
A glowing display blinked into existence, hovering in the air in front of Jack. Earlier, the map had been crowded with pins. Now, just three remained.
Two were deep in the Sand Sea. The third in the White Crown. It looked like they had already discarded the Scorchlands.
“As promised,” Amari said, “we’ve been trimming options. So, first—the White Crown.”
He zoomed in, revealing a mountainous region. “This range separates the White Crown into two and is notoriously difficult to cross. There are steep cliffs, sheer drops, and very few routes through. But that’s the strength of it, if we set up a village here, anyone crossing the mountains would have to pass through our territory.”
“That could mean serious traffic,” Rob added.
“And it pairs well with the cold resistance bonuses we picked up in the Breach,” Horace said.
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Alright. What’s the catch?”
“The place is crawling with level 80 beasts. Just getting there will cost us a few deaths.”
Jack scrunched his nose. “Lovely. Okay, next?”
“The other two are in the Sand Sea,” Amari said, shifting the map’s view. “First up, there’s this spot in the Dune Hills.”
He pointed to a golden expanse dotted with dark splotches. “This area is known for rare ore nodes and a huge range of hunting grounds. There are no major fortresses or big guild claims nearby. It’s a popular spot for free players and small groups.”
Jack tilted his head. “Sounds promising.”
Marie cut in, arms crossed. “It’s promising… until you remember there’s no water.”
“Little wood either,” Horace added, with a dramatic sigh.
“Same for herbs, and flowers,” Marie counted off.
“It's not all bad, though," Amari said. "There are some flat areas between the dunes and travel’s safer than in the White Crown. You can avoid fights if you’re careful.”
Jack rubbed his chin. A deadly mountain pass versus a desolate sandbox.
“Last option,” Amari said, zooming in on a jagged cluster of cliffs. “One of the wadis in the Sand Sea.”
“Wadi?” Jack repeated.
“It’s a riverbed,” Rob explained. “They're usually dry, but this one actually has a permanent stream running through it.”
“And that’s huge,” Amari said. “Especially with the way the Sand Sea works. During the day, you need heat resistance and regular water. If you don’t drink every hour, you start stacking debuffs.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Wait, really?”
“Yep,” Rob said. “And when the sun goes down, it flips. Temperature drops fast. You’ll freeze without cold resistance.”
Jack blinked. “In a desert?”
“Exactly,” Horace said. “It’s less extreme than the Scorchlands or White Crown, but the catch is—you have to prep for both situations.”
“That’s why the wadi matters,” Amari added. “You can find water and fuel. Enough to manage both debuffs.”
Marie crossed her arms. “Which also means competition. We wouldn’t be the only ones eyeing the place.”
Jack crossed his arms and looked back at the map. Three pins. Three brutal options.
He tried to weigh the pros and cons, but after a moment, he sighed and shook his head. “Alright, forget survival for a second. What’s going to make us the most gold?”
Amari blinked, caught off guard. “Uh… probably this one,” he said, pointing to the Dune Hills.
“The rare ore veins there are top-tier,” Horace said. “Easily one of the top three locations in the game for miners.”
“It’s not just ore,” Amari added. “There are ruins buried in the sand. Tons of ancient relics. The place is a paradise for archaeologists and paleontologists, like myself.”
Jack shrugged. “All three locations sound deadly. If one’s more profitable than the others, I say we go where we can earn the most.”
There was a beat of silence. Then Horace grinned. “I’m with Jackie! If we die, we die rich!”
Rob and Marie nodded in agreement. Even Amari smiled, chuckling under his breath.
“Alright then,” he said. “Looks like we’ve found the site of our future village.”
“So what’s next?” Jack asked, still studying the glowing map.
“Now, we scout it,” Amari said. “Rob and I will go. As rogues, we’ve got the best chance of surviving a trip into the Hinterlands at level thirty. We’ll gather whatever intel we can.”
It made sense. Their stealth and movement speed made them the perfect scouts.
“What about us?” Horace asked, jerking his thumb between himself and Marie. “What do we do?”
“Start compiling a list of supplies we’ll need,” Amari said. “Research the guilds currently active in Dune Hill. Check streams, forums—anything with recent data on the terrain and monsters.”
Marie was already pulling out her interface. “Got it. I’ll ping my contacts too. See if they can share anything useful that isn’t public knowledge.”
“Good,” Amari said. “There’s still a lot of fog of war around that region. Anything you find, no matter how small, helps.”
Jack glanced around the group. “And me?”
Amari gave him a lopsided grin. “You? Just keep doing what you do.”
Jack grinned. “Aye, aye.”
The team split up quickly. Amari and Rob left after the conversation. Marie and Horace stayed behind, operating their game menus while chatting.
As for Jack, he turned and headed to the marketplace.
The marketplace was just around the corner from their base—something that Horace had also considered when choosing this place as their base of operations. Jack was gone and back in five minutes, inventory loaded with clay, cranks, shafts, and whatever else he needed to keep working.
Inside the workshop, he checked the kiln's fuel. It was still more than half full. There was no need to stoke it yet.
With everything in place, he stepped back into the time field.
The fire returned to its soft, rhythmic crackling, the comforting soundtrack in his bubble of productivity.
Jack set his materials down on the worktable, rolling his shoulders.
“OK! Pinned barrels.”
He grabbed a lump of clay and started rolling it into shape. He’d need dozens—maybe hundreds—if he was going to mass-produce music boxes.
His hands worked with a steady rhythm as his thoughts wandered. Would he be able to add any song he liked to the music box? Would it really work just as effectively as if he were the one playing it?
He set the first barrel to dry, already reaching for the next lump.
There was a lot to do.