HC: Handyman | Ch. 164 - XP Rocket

Jack surveyed the battlefield, taking in the aftermath of the fight. The mountain pass was scattered with fallen romies.

He wouldn’t call this last wave easy, but it had been comfortable. Even though Marie couldn’t one-shot the mobs anymore, her explosive power still tore through the swarms.

With the two bears charging the rear of the wave, Christoff’s arrows striking true, and Jack’s melodies reinforcing their efforts, they had handled the romies without much trouble. Any straggler that slipped through met its end in one of Riku’s traps. They’d been effective before, but they had become devastating with the flag’s buffs.

Marie had already been fed and sent on her way. That meant it was time for his own experiment.

He wove through the battlefield, searching for a patch of ground mostly clear of romie bodies. Finding a suitable spot, he began pulling vases from his inventory, carefully arranging them on the ground.

There was no rush—the carcasses wouldn’t disappear for another 45 minutes, giving him plenty of time to test his theory. He wasn’t entirely sure how close he needed to be for the experiment to work, but he’d figure that out soon enough.

Jack counted the vases one last time.

Twenty. Good. More would have been better, but this will do for now.

He grabbed his ocarina, wiping his sweaty hands on his clothes. His pulse had quickened—not from exhaustion, but from anticipation.

Bringing the instrument to his lips, he began to play Clay Dome. The melody rippled through the battlefield, filling the stillness left behind by the fight. As the song built, the vases trembled ever so slightly, their surfaces catching faint echoes of the tune.

When the final note faded, a dim glow flickered around the vases—then vanished just as quickly.

Tsk. That was weak. 

He knew exactly why—his excitement was getting in the way.

Calm down. Focus.

He rolled his shoulders, then ran through a few scales and arpeggios to steady himself. The familiar exercises helped clear his mind.

Alright. Let’s try again.

This time, he pushed everything else aside—his anticipation, the lingering rush of battle. He focused only on the melody, letting the intent guide his fingers. The notes flowed smoother, richer, and as the vases vibrated in response, the resonance deepened.

A notification flashed.

You’ve played [Clay Dome].

Success rate: C

A translucent shield enveloped the vases, shimmering but stable. Jack watched it for a fraction of a second before his grin widened.

Now we’re talking. One minute on the clock.

He launched into a sprint, closing the distance to the nearest carcass in just a few strides. The moment his fingers brushed against the romie’s still form, it dissolved into motes of golden light.

A notification popped up:

You’ve harvested the corpse of a red Ischyromys.

You’ve picked up 32 coppers and 1x [Ischyromys Fat].

+5 XP in [Butchering]

+16 XP in [Butchering]

A thud rang out from behind him—sharp, solid, like steel striking stone.

Jack shot a quick glance at the vases. The shield was still intact, unfazed by the system interaction.

“Yes! Success!” He couldn’t help but shout aloud.

His heart pounded—not just from the sprint but from the potential of this discovery. He could chain Clay Dome with harvesting and power-level his skills at a ridiculous rate.

This was quadruple XP—with just twenty vases.

What if he placed thirty? Forty? Fifty?

No time to waste.

He threw himself into the task, moving from carcass to carcass. Each touch sent another burst of motes into the air, each successful harvest another rush of XP.

Halfway through, a notification flashed before him.

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 7 in [Butchering]!

[Meatpacker] has been upgraded.

Jack barely took the time to register it. He’d check the details later—right now, he had to maximize the buff window.

Thirty carcasses in, the shield around the vases flickered. Then, just like that, it faded.

Jack skidded to a stop, breathing hard, sweat sticking to the back of his neck. His XP bar had skyrocketed, and he was still reeling from the rush.

“Haha! So cool! I even gained a level.”

Grinning, he flicked open his skill menu, eager to see the details.

Meatpacker (Common)

Skill level: 2

Skill description: As a butcher, you know how to organize your wares efficiently, saving space in your pack.

Skill effects: Group related items in your pack and quadruple their stack size.

Jack nodded approvingly.

Not bad.

He wasn’t exactly struggling for inventory space—Snowy's mutation had solved that—but that didn’t mean this skill wasn’t useful. The waves were getting bigger, the romies swarming in greater numbers. He was harvesting more meat than he could process, and now he wouldn’t have to dump excess materials just to make room for loot.

More importantly he could power-level his professions. The feeling was dangerously addictive. Jack cracked his knuckles.

Let’s do this again.

First, he replenished his stamina with Sitting Wind. All this running around and playing a taxing intermediate melody had brought it down considerably. Once he was topped up, he brought the ocarina to his lips and started Clay Dome once more. This time, he focused on his breathing, on the flow of the notes rather than just playing mechanically.

A notification popped up.

You’ve played [Clay Dome].

Success rate: C+

Jack’s lips twitched into a grin. Nice. His practice was paying off. The resonance on the vases was a little stronger this time.

Great! More time to harvest!

He immediately got to work, collecting the nearest carcasses, making sure to keep an eye on the vases as he moved. His fingers brushed over each romie, their bodies dissolving into motes of light one after another.

Jack was in the zone—grab, collect, move.

But after a few steps, something felt… off.

He absorbed another romie, and this time, the XP notification wasn’t quite the same.

You’ve picked up 29 coppers and 2x[Ischyromys Quality Meat].

+5 XP in [Butchering]

+12 XP in [Butchering]

Jack blinked. Wait. That was lower than before.

He turned, glancing back at the vases. The shield was still up, shimmering softly, but… he was farther away than before.

That means I’m out of range of the farthest vases.

Jack mentally estimated the distance. About five meters.

Not bad, but not incredible either. He’d been hoping for more coverage, but realistically, expecting an XP boost to span an entire battlefield was a stretch.

Jack smirked. Still a win in my book.

After his second collection round, Jack paused to check his XP bar. He let out a low whistle.

The bar that would take him from level 7 to level 8 in [Butchering] had skyrocketed! Just from this second set of 30ish carcasses, he had gained as much XP as if he’d harvested 120 under normal conditions. He was one-third of the way there already.

But he wasn’t about to stop now.

The battlefield was massive, and he couldn’t afford to keep stepping out of range. He took a few minutes to relocate the vases, carefully spacing them out so he could work uninterrupted. Once they were set, he brought the ocarina to his lips and played Clay Dome again.

You’ve played [Clay Dome].

Success rate: B-

“My first B-!”

His mastery was improving. That meant a stronger, more stable shield. With the buff refreshed, he launched into another collection spree. Harvest, move, check the vases, repeat.

With each touch, carcasses dissolved into shimmering motes of light, a steady flow of XP rolling in. The XP bar climbed.

Halfway.

Two-thirds.

Almost there….

Jack swept through the last stretch of carcasses. As he reached the final few, a familiar glow enveloped him.

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 8 in [Butchering]!

[Skinning] has been upgraded.

Synergy detected between [Butchering] and [Bushcraft].

You’ve learned a new recipe: [Bone Broth].

Jack flicked open his skill menu, scanning through the upgraded skill. Skinning had leveled up to 3.

Skinning (Common)

Skill level: 3

Skill description: You can collect the bounty of carcasses.

Skill effects:

When harvesting a carcass, there’s a big chance of gaining feathers and scales;

There’s a small chance of gaining pelts;

There’s a chance of harvesting bones, horns, and teeth.

“Bones, horns, and teeth,” Jack read aloud. That was the difference in level 3 of the [Skinning] skill.

One of the recipes that he’d unlocked made use of one of these new materials.

Recipe for: [Tooth Pendant]

Ingredients:

1x[Tooth]

1x[Cord]

Instructions:

Fasten the tooth to the cord securely.

Tie the cord to form a loop and wear it around your neck.

Requirements:

[Skinning], lvl. 3

[Bushcrafting], lvl. 1

He looked over his character sheet. The section for rings, earrings, necklaces and a belt were all empty. He’d seen a few recipes for jewelry made of clay, but it was such a costly purchase in the XP store.

With this recipe, he could start filling these slots. The pendant was a straightforward craft. His gaze drifted to the carcasses littering the ground. The romies' large yellow incisors would work nicely with this recipe.

He then checked the recipe he’d unlocked thanks to the synergy between [Butchering] and [Bushcraft].

Recipe for: [Bone Broth]

Ingredients:

[Bone]

[Water]

Instructions:

Place the bones in a pot of water.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for several hours to extract nutrients.

Strain out any solid pieces.

Requirements:

[Survival Cooking], lvl. 1

[Skinning], lvl. 3

Jack bobbed his head to the side. "Boiling bones? Broth?"

Another way to improve his stews. First pickling, now this. He smirked. Amari is right. I'm starting to look like a proper chef.

The only downside was that this recipe needed to simmer for hours. First [Terracoat], now this—how many more fire-hungry skills would he unlock?

After checking his new recipes and synergies, Jack glanced at the vases. Gaining two levels in a single harvesting session was all thanks to this combo. The extra XP boost had really helped push his progress forward.

Still, there was more to do. His eyes drifted toward the remaining carcasses, his fingers already moving on instinct. He played [Clay Dome], feeling the familiar pulse of energy spread outward as the skill took hold.

Time to get back to work.

Hopefully, at least one of these would drop a tooth.

Ch. 163 - Vases

INDEX

Ch. 165 - Tempered