HC: Handyman | Ch. 172 - Metallic Sheen

Amari and Horace had each managed to pin down an elite scaler, but the remaining two raced onward, undeterred.

“Christoff! Aim for the one on the right! Hurry!” Amari shouted desperately.

Christoff fired off a quick shot, but the scaler twisted midair, evading it easily. Just as it did so, however, it sailed straight into Riku’s hidden rope snare. Its limbs tangled midair, abruptly halting its momentum. With a frantic shriek, the creature plummeted downward, triggering a cascade of traps—sharp stakes splintering, snares tightening, bear traps snapping shut on it.

Snap—clang—thud!

The romie flailed into the ground, its muffled cry swallowed by the chaos. That was one less threat—for now.

But the last scaler was already past the second ditch, racing toward the fortress. At this rate, it would reach Riku and Esther before anyone could stop it.

“It’s going to make it to the fortress! What do we do!?” Horace shouted.

“Argh! I’m thinking! I’m thinking!” Amari snapped.

Jack clenched his jaw, heart pounding. An image flashed through his mind—Riku’s wide-eyed terror, Esther trembling before him as she tried to shield her son from the beast.

No. I promised them that I’d keep them safe.

Jack closed his eyes and blew out the first note of Sonic Valley. It rang through the air, sharp and powerful, cutting above the chaos of battle.

This melody had once halted an enraged allosaurus mother. It had to be enough here.

Jack knew the risk. To affect an elite monster from this distance, he couldn't hold back. He had to get an A-grade and trigger [Soulful Performer]. He had to commit everything to the song, ignoring the battlefield and the boss.

If that boss decides to hurl another stone at me, I'm finished.

But there was no other option. He pushed away the fear, blocked out every distraction, and poured himself into the melody.

As the melody built, the dissonant harmony surged outward, rippling visibly through the air as if reality itself were distorting under its power.

His mind flashed briefly to the bat cave, remembering how he’d played relentlessly, confusing the bats to protect Horace. He needed to do the same to the roomies. It was Riku and Esther’s only chance.

The melody flowed—raw, dissonant, yet hauntingly beautiful—and Jack lost himself within it.

As the final note faded, Jack slowly opened his eyes, his breath hitching.

You’ve played [Sonic Valley]

+1000XP in [Bard]

Audience Bonus: +3150XP in [Bard]

Performance Rating: A+

Effects: All creatures are confused.

[Soulful Performer] Bonus: All creatures see hallucinations.

For a single heartbeat, everything froze. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.

Then chaos erupted.

The boss, mid-motion to hurl a massive boulder straight at Jack, suddenly hesitated. Jack felt a cold shiver race down his spine as he met its eyes. Had he played even a second slower, he’d have been flattened like a pancake. Instead, the boss’s grip slackened, and rather than throwing the rock at its intended target, it rolled it wildly across the battlefield.

Like a massive bowling ball crashing through pins, the boulder barreled through the romie army. It carved a brutal, empty corridor of scattered fur. The massive stone finally thundered into the first ditch.

The elites, once charging with single-minded determination, lost it. One elite sprinted madly toward the fortress, only to skid to a halt, whirl around, and run screaming in the opposite direction, eyes wild with panic.

Another scaled a boulder, shrieking in terror at empty space before leaping wildly into thin air, tumbling painfully across the rocky ground.

The elite trapped among the snares thrashed violently, clawing and snapping at invisible enemies, locked in a desperate battle with nightmare illusions.

But the common romies had it the worse. The horde had descended into utter madness. Some ran in frantic circles, colliding with allies or tumbling helplessly into the ditches. Others turned viciously against their comrades.

Jack stared, breathless. He knew Sonic Valley could cause confusion—but this was beyond his expectations. The battlefield had devolved into complete and utter madness.

“Good job, Jack! This is our window—don't waste it!” Amari snapped. “Christoff, concentrate your firepower on the elite stuck in the traps. Marie, handle my scaler—I’ll chase down the other!”

“What about the normal ones!?” Marie shouted back, glancing nervously at the regular roomies. Some were already shaking off the confusion.

“Fall back to the first ditch if we must—but scalers first! Move it, now!”

Everyone scrambled into action.

Marie swiftly switched from her large-radius explosives to bombs tailored for single-target damage. A rapid series of explosions echoed through the cliffs, forcing the elite Amari had engaged to lose its footing and tumble down, shrieking furiously. Marie pressed her advantage, sending blast after precise blast at the flailing elite.

Meanwhile, Amari chased after another scaler while Christoff expertly unleashed arrows into the elite trapped among Riku’s snares. Horace, nimble despite his heavy armor, danced around another elite, expertly pinning it down and absorbing its desperate attacks.

Seeing each elite effectively pinned down, Jack lifted the ocarina to his lips again. Hoping to replicate his earlier success, he swiftly played the notes of Sonic Valley.

You’ve played [Sonic Valley]

Performance rate: B

The air rippled again—but the chaos this time was weaker, diluted. Jack’s eyes widened. Only the weaker romies stumbled and collided with each other for a moment before resuming their charge, while the elites and the boss seemed completely unaffected.

Jack’s breath hitched as he narrowly evaded a boulder hurtling toward him with a frantic [Dash]. The boss’s gaze burned into him with clear fury.

Did they build up a resistance already? Jack clicked his tongue.

Despite the setback, Jack caught a reassuring sight: the elite Amari had pursued collapsed lifelessly to the ground, already defeated. Amari wasted no time, turning immediately back to aid Marie.

Jack grinned, his confidence restored as realization dawned on him. The flag buffs were paying off: with trap damage enhanced by fifty percent and his food and mead stacking powerful boosts onto his allies, the elites had fallen faster than expected.

Inspired, Jack raced ahead toward the second ditch, seamlessly transitioning from Sitting Wind into March of the Embers. The melodies carried clearly through the chaos, reinforcing his team’s momentum.

As he reached the ridge at the second ditch alongside Marie and Christoff, he saw Amari had already finished off his second elite and was rushing to assist Horace. Marie and Christoff turned their attention again to the now-recovering ranks of the regular romies.

Jack allowed himself a brief surge of triumph. The boss stood snarling, frustration evident in every tense muscle. Its carefully orchestrated attack had completely unraveled—at least for now.

Yet, this battle was far from finished.

The Short-Faced bears, having eaten their fill, lumbered leisurely back toward their dens, releasing a flood of romies previously occupied with fighting for survival. The boss’s frustration boiled over; it pounded its chest violently, letting loose an earth-shattering roar that echoed ominously through the mountain pass.

Then, with the force of a tidal wave, it surged forward, leading the charging horde behind it. The ground trembled beneath countless paws.

The boss had finally decided to join the frontlines.

“Marie, keep thinning out their numbers. Horace on me.”

The number of romies had noticeably dwindled. Between the bears’ feast, the devastating traps, and Marie’s relentless barrage, the swarm had been reduced to a fraction of its original size. The wave was now something more manageable—almost normal, in fact.

But there was nothing normal about the charging boss.

“Here it comes!” Amari said. Horace and Amari cracked their necks and rolled their shoulders, bracing themselves as the boss raced toward them. 

Instead of climbing down into the ditch, it launched itself skyward with terrifying agility, claws outstretched toward Marie, like a tiger pouncing on prey.

“Haha! Oh no, you don’t!” Horace shouted.

Heroic Charge!

Horace threw himself fearlessly from the ridge, shield held high, intercepting the creature midair. They collided violently, crashing into the ditch below. Horace roared with wild laughter while the boss snarled furiously beneath him.

Amari sighed, shaking his head at his friend’s reckless heroics, before leaping down to join him.

Jack watched anxiously as Horace and Amari danced around the boss, weapons flashing. Jack wanted desperately to help, but aside from playing March of the Embers and Sitting Wind, he wasn’t sure what else to do. Then, his gaze caught sight of the blinking icon in his friends’ status windows.

The mead buff! There’s only a minute left!

Jack quickly switched melodies, grabbing one of his yellow ocarinas. Without hesitation, he began playing the cheerful drinking song. Its bright, playful notes echoed absurdly on the ditch and off the cliff walls.

When he finished, a notification flashed before him:

You have played [Jolly Good Fellow].

Performance Rating: B

Effect: Brewing buff extended by 10 (+1) minutes.

Jack exhaled in relief. The extra 20% damage and continuous recovery of HP and stamina after every hit were invaluable. 

Despite Amari’s expert dodging, the boss’s claw suddenly raked across his side, slicing deeply into his armor. Amari’s health bar dropped—but then, just as quickly, Amari’s HP began steadily ticking upward, the brewing buff swiftly working its magic. 

Jack observed the fight, frowning. Something still felt off about this boss—something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Its blows appeared brutal, yet Horace and Amari weren’t losing nearly as much health as he’d expected. Was it simply because of how buffed they were?

Nearby, Christoff took advantage of the thinning horde to fire a carefully aimed arrow at the boss’s exposed flank.

Clang!

Jack’s eyes widened as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the creature’s fur, ringing sharply, as if striking solid metal.

“What?! It bounced?” Jack exclaimed. He’d never seen that happen before.

Jack narrowed his eyes, dread pooling in his stomach. 

The sound. That’s what’s wrong! 

He listened intently as Amari unleashed another rapid flurry of attacks.

Triple Slash!

-23

-18

-13

Each strike rang out harshly—brittle, metallic, wrong. 

The boss whirled around furiously, jaws snapping toward Amari’s head, but Horace intervened just in time.

Shield Bash!

Horace deflected the strike, but his shield let out a sharp, brittle crack. Spiderweb fractures spread rapidly across the surface.

“Argh! Such rotten luck!” Marie shouted from the side, throwing another bomb toward the thinning romie swarm. “It’s a gear-grinder!”

Jack turned anxiously. “Gear-grinder?”

“Yeah. The most annoying type of boss. Killing us is secondary—it wants to destroy our equipment. And this Breach run was going so well, too!”

Jack’s stomach twisted into knots. His imagination immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario: Horace and Amari’s weapons shattering, armor breaking apart, and their entire gear loadout wiped out in a single encounter.

Before Jack could fully process the implications, another crack echoed from below. Horace’s shield burst apart, scattering shards of black shell and splintered wood across the battlefield. Horace cursed, swiftly pulling a replacement from his inventory. Amari quickly swapped out his dulled claws for fresh ones as well.

Jack’s heart sank as he glanced at the boss’s health bar. It still had far too much health left. At this rate, their gear—even the backups—wouldn't survive the fight.

Is there nothing I can do to help?

Jack rapidly scanned his repertoire, searching frantically through each melody he’d learned. Then he paused. There was one song—just one—that might turn things around. He hadn’t practiced it much, but he had no choice now.

Jack lifted his ocarina and began playing a deep, resonant ballad. The gentle, steady notes softened the relentless metallic ringing that echoed across the battlefield, briefly calming his nerves.

You’ve played [Dance of the Turtles].

Success rate: C

+300 XP in [Bard]

You’ve listened to [Dance of the Turtles].

+5 defense for 1 minute.

Jack quickly glanced back at the fight, hoping for some visible improvement—but his heart sank further. The melody hadn’t helped at all. 

Of course, it didn’t help. Defense isn’t durability.

Their health bars might have remained steady, but their gear continued deteriorating rapidly with each clang and strike.

“We’ve got no choice—we have to rely more on the traps!” Amari shouted sharply. “Everyone, move! Back to the carriage! Marie, cover us!”

Marie swiftly pulled a potent stun bomb from her satchel. With precise aim, she hurled it directly at the boss’s feet. The bomb detonated with a deafening blast, briefly locking the creature in place as smoke filled the air.

Seizing their narrow window, the team scrambled backward, hearts pounding.

As Jack ran, Marie’s bitter words echoed in his mind, louder than ever:

“And this Breach run was going so well, too.”

Ch. 171 - The Boss' Tune

INDEX

Ch. 173 - Cobalt Ischychromys