HC: Handyman | Ch. 238 - Blessed Chest

Jack waited for someone—anyone—to say something about the village creation cube. Instead, the others just stared at it, then at each other, like they’d all forgotten how to speak.

It was legendary grade—so clearly important—but come on. Weren’t these people supposed to be the veterans? A little insight wouldn’t hurt.

“So? Is anyone going to tell me what this thing is? I’ve never heard about creating villages before. Is it a big deal?”

Amari took a few moments to respond. “I… don’t know.”

It was the first time Amari had ever said that when asked a question about the game.

“You don’t know? You’re Amari—the New Earth encyclopedia!”

“He doesn’t know because it’s the first time we’ve ever heard of something like this,” Marie said.

“Sure, there are guild-run castles and forts outside the city walls—places people fight over for resources and prestige. But building a village from scratch? That’s new,” Amari explained.

“The first ever?” Jack asked, the growing excitement finally starting to make sense.

“Perhaps. Anyway, this is very exciting. If we get as many benefits as guilds do for holding on to fortifications…”

“We’re going to be rich,” Rob grinned.

Amari let out a short laugh. “Honestly? We probably already are. My channel is going to explode! And once we add a series about starting a village? Oh man!”

Jack’s thoughts drifted—more royalties for Amari meant more for him, too.

“Guys! What’s wrong with everyone? We still have two legendary chests to open!” Rob said.

That snapped everyone out of their daze.

“Right, right,” Amari said, clapping his hands once. “Let’s do this, guys. We’ll talk more about this village token later. Hold on to it for now. OK, Jack?”

“Sure.”

“Let’s open them!” Horace said excitedly.

Jack took a steadying breath, his heart beating faster in his chest. He flexed his fingers once before opening his inventory and selecting the [Legendary Chest]—the unblessed one. He tapped it.

A thin column of golden light shot upward from the virtual chest, pulsed once, then burst outward in a quiet shimmer, like a firework unraveling in slow motion. When the glow faded, there were two new items in his inventory, outlined in amber: a recipe and a staff.

Recipe for: [Pinned Barrel]

Ingredients:

• [Fired Clay Cylinder]
• 60x [Pegs]
• [Axle Rod]
• [Crank Handle]
• [Mounting Bracket]

Instructions:

• Shape and fire a hollow clay cylinder.
• Shape 60 tin pegs using a hammer and basic tools.
• Mark and insert the pegs into the cylinder’s outer surface.
• Fit the axle rod and attach the crank handle.
• Mount the barrel so it spins freely.

Requirements:

• [Pottery], lvl. 10
• [Tinkering], lvl. 7

“A recipe?” Jack blinked, brow furrowing. “And it needs Tinkering?”

Not exactly the kind of loot he’d imagined coming from a legendary chest. Where were the enhanced weapons or flashy armor?

There has to be a reason it came from a legendary chest, Jack thought. It must be important… somehow. But what for? I don’t even know what a pinned barrel is.

He bit his lip. It looked kind of technical. Mechanical, even. Maybe it was a good excuse to call Holly. She was studying engineering—she might know what it was.

Besides, he’d just hit level 30. That meant unlocking two more minors. He hadn’t thought that far ahead, but now? He had to decide what the next two would be.

Tinkering could be fun, he told himself. And hey—it’d give me a reason to talk to Holly.

He nodded. But it’s practical. That’s the main reason, he added quickly, pretending that having an excuse to call Holly didn’t make this minor ten times more appealing.

He turned to the second item that had dropped from the chest.

Splitwood Rod (Legendary)

A rod fashioned from a piece of Scindere Acacia, a tree species that has gone extinct. It releases a vinegar-like scent that mysteriously influences bees. 

Durability: ∞

Effects:

Plant this rod near your bee hives; it can influence bees in a 10-meter radius;

Each nearby hive has a 5% chance of spontaneously splitting per day. Requires an empty hive;

Boosts [Royal Jelly] generation by 20%;

Boosts honey production and bee growth by 50%;

Bees live longer;

Greatly boosts the hives’ resistance against diseases.

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. His eyes skimmed the list again, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

This thing was ridiculous.

It wasn’t just the upgrades to honey or royal jelly production—or even the accelerated growth. The real prize was the 5% chance for spontaneous hive splitting.

Normally, he’d have to wait a full month before doing that manually. But now? His hives could raise queens on their own. All he had to do was stick the rod in the ground and let nature run wild.

Five percent per day... that’s one automatic split every twenty days. With two hives, that’s one every ten. And as I get more hives, it will get even faster.

The growth would be exponential. It was only a matter of time before he had a full-blown honey and royal jelly empire.

At this rate, he could retire from gaming entirely. Just sit back and let his bee empire handle the income stream.

“Oh man,” he breathed. “This is broken.”

Gasps and happy shouts echoed around him as the others opened their chests. Rob whooped aloud. Marie was humming to herself, bouncing slightly on her heels, her face lit with contentment. Even Horace looked speechless, blinking at something in his interface.

It was a moment of pure reward—everything they’d fought for, distilled into glowing items and quiet satisfaction.

And Jack still had one more chest to go.

He opened it.

This time, the glow lingered, as if the system itself were deliberating over what to give him. When it finally faded, only one new item appeared in his inventory.

Jack tilted his head. After pulling two items from the unblessed chest, he’d expected more from this one.

It was a ring.

Jack picked it up. It was too light to be gold—maybe brass? The surface was dull, worn with age, and in serious need of polishing. It didn’t look like a legendary item at all. He turned it over in his hand, squinting at the fine inscription etched inside the band.

Omnia tempus alit.

“What does that mean?” he murmured, tracing the letters.

He focused and inspected it properly.

Time Ring (Legendary)

Bound to: JackofDiamonds

A ring with an engraving on it: omnia tempus alit, ‘time nourishes all things.’

Effects:

+25 intelligence; 

+15% cooldown Reduction;

+50 stamina.

[Timelessness] - Passive. Nothing can prevent you from equipping this ring. It can’t be dropped.

[Time Field] - Effect: Creates a zone with a 5-meter radius where time flows differently for you. Inside the field, 1 minute passes as 30 seconds outside. Only one field can be active at any time.

[Time Freeze] - Effect: Freeze a single target in time for 2 seconds. The target is completely immobilized and immune to external effects during this window. Immune to resistances. 

Cooldown: 24 hours

“Oh my goodness,” he shouted. “This is insane!”

The attributes alone were outrageous. Just by equipping it, he’d gained the equivalent of 25 levels’ worth of intelligence. How on earth was that possible? On top of that, it gave cooldown reduction—the first item he’d seen with that stat.

But what really made it special were the skills.

For one, he could actually equip it—despite his class’s restriction to wear only what he crafted himself. Finally, something he could use that hadn’t come from his own workbench. And the system really had tailored this gift to him. He didn’t have any rings yet.

Then came the standout: [Time Field]. A personal acceleration zone. Inside the field, everything outside slowed to half-speed—for him, time doubled. A full day of crafting? It would feel like two. Twice the time to work, to prepare, to plan. It was like the ring handed him his own private time machine.

And [Time Freeze]? A clean, guaranteed two-second lock. Used at the right moment, it was a second chance. A clutch escape. A literal lifesaver.

This wasn’t just lucky—it felt handpicked. Made for him.

He slid the ring onto his finger, heart still racing.

He glanced at the others, curious to see what they'd pulled—and instantly noticed the difference. Every single one of them was kitted out in new gear.

Horace had changed hammers. His new one looked wild—its head shaped like the cylinder of a revolver. Jack had no idea what the holes were for, but from the way Horace was cradling it like a newborn and whispering to it under his breath, it had to be a monster of a weapon. The big man caught Jack looking and gave him a wink, then kissed the hammer again.

Amari had changed footwear. Instead of boots, a sleek pair of black tabis hugged his feet. Beneath them were dark socks with silver engravings, which seemed part of the equipment. The soles looked reinforced, flexible, almost like something a ninja would wear. He looked grounded. Poised. Like he could vanish between one breath and the next.

Rob had changed the most gear pieces. Jack recognized some of the pieces as gear he had worn before being ambushed by IronIre. Clearly, regaining some levels had unlocked access to them again. But the gloves were new. They were almost plain—save for the glass dome mounted on the back of each hand. Something inside shimmered faintly, hard to catch unless the light hit it right. Jack tilted his head, trying to guess at their function.

And then there was Marie.

Her change was the most obvious. She had a new ride—and it was adorable. Smaller than Pterry by at least a head, her new pterosaur was bright yellow, with large puppy eyes. Its wings twitched with nervous energy, and its eyes scanned the others with constant curiosity. Marie was giggling happily as she petted it. Jack smiled. It suited her.

She’d also picked up a new belt. It shimmered faintly with threads of silver, braided through soft gray leather.

Jack couldn’t help but smile. The belt was cool—but the dino was perfect. It was so her.

“Don’t we all look smarter in our new gear?” Jack said, half-smiling. “Sweet ride, Marie!”

“Thanks! You know that flying rides are extremely rare, right?” Marie grinned, clearly pleased. “Just wait till you see what she can do in the air.”

The little yellow pterosaur chirped and flapped her wings in response.

“Oh? Is it a she?”

“Yeah! Her name’s Sunny!”

Jack narrowed his eyes. That was really close to Snowy. Suspiciously close.

Was she trying to challenge him? Was this the start of a new rivalry—who had the cutest, coolest companion?

Jack exhaled through his nose. “Right. Sunny.”

Before he could press her on it, a system notification blinked across their vision:

You will be transported back to Embersgate in 60… 59… 58…

Amari turned sharply to the group, urgency cutting through his voice. “Listen up. Everything’s been moving fast—we haven’t even talked about the world announcement. The Slayer now knows we were in a Breach map, and he’s probably on his way to Embersgate. Someone may be waiting at the pyramid. OK? The moment we teleport, we run as fast as the wind. Scatter and we’ll meet by the Agropastoral Institute. Got it?”

“I know where that is,” Rob said.

“Oh! By the way,” Jack said, flicking through his inventory and sending the mastodon loot to Amari. “Good. If we do run into trouble, these might help.” He glanced over the gear and sorted it quickly. “Marie, you’re our best pick for the knockback skill. Horace, take the mastodon gear. We’ll figure out the passive later.”

No one hesitated—they were already shifting into battle readiness. After opening two legendary chests, the drops from the mastodon felt like peanuts.

Jack walked over to the Pot Hive. He threw his arms around it. Horace followed him, latching on to the other with a grin.

Jack lingered, turning for one last look at the fortress.

Over a hundred hours poured into this place—planning, exploring, crafting, defending.

Near the central courtyard, a handful of NPCs stood watching them go. Esther, Riku, and Christoff stood together, side by side, each raising a hand in farewell. Jack returned the gesture, his chest tightening.

Beside them, soldiers stood tall, saluting them. The One-Eyes pounded their fists on the earth, as if to celebrate victory. He swallowed hard, then nodded.

Thank you, all of you. We made it because of you. We’re leaving stronger than we ever were.

The countdown hit zero.

In a blinding flash and a sudden twist of gravity, the group landed hard in Embersgate, right beside the pyramid. They were thrust into the noise and bustle of the plaza. To the crowd, they were just another party back from a dungeon run. Just another group of friends, riding the high of a win.

No one had any idea that this was the group. The ones who had just triggered the World Announcement. The first to beat the Breach.

Jack summoned Snowy. The others followed, their rides materializing one after another. They moved quickly, ready to ride hard, vanish into the city, and hope they hadn’t drawn attention.

Then, a voice cut through the noise like a blade.

“Finally,” it said. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

Jack froze. He knew that voice. They all did.

The Slayer.

******

The End of Book 4.

Book 5 will be called The Tinkering Mason!

Ch. 237 - The Defending Heroes

INDEX