There were only four potters working in the communal workshop. Jack wondered if just watching another potter crafting counted as work, but given the effort he was putting in, he decided he would count himself among them. Yes. Not three, but four industrious potters.
Felix proceeded to make bowl after bowl after bowl. Watching the old potter gave him an eerie sense of dejá vú. Each crafting attempt looked like the exact copy of the last. Felix looked like an NPC stuck in a loop. Just as Jack was getting fidgety and glancing over his workstation, the old man left the wheel and went to the table.
He grabbed one of the bowls he had left drying there. “You can see it better from over here,” Felix invited without looking back.
Jack hurriedly grabbed his stool and went around the table. Felix was inspecting each of the dried bowls, but there was something off about them that Jack couldn’t quite explain. The color felt off for some reason.
“What level are you in [Pottery]?” Felix asked.
“Seven,” Jack answered simply.
“Hmmm… You can only carve from eight. But it’s good for you to watch.”
“What about you, Mr. Felix? What level are you?”
“I am at max level,” the old man explained.
The old man grabbed the same horn he had been using to trim the base of the ceramics and detach them from the wheel. Up close, Jack could see more details. Its whole surface had been carefully carved. Figures of people, animals, and dinosaurs were all impossibly squeezed into the ivory surface.
Jack went online. Even though he couldn’t find the exact item, he found the raw material used to make it. He gulped. It cost 1000 gold.
Triceratops Serratus Horn (Epic)
Description: A pointy, sharp horn harvested from a triceratops serratus. Its uses are limited only by a craftsman’s imagination.
1k?! This old man has to be rich!
Felix ran the horn through the bowl's surface, producing an elegant waving pattern. Now he realized what felt off about the bowls. They were dry but not dry enough. The horn easily flaked off the surface clay as if it were wax. It didn’t gouge it, though.
“This is the leather-dry stage. You’ll unlock it at level 8, too,” Felix explained. “The first lines when carving are like the trunk of a tree. They provide the basis of your design. From then on, you just have to add the branches and the leaves.”
Jack had held back asking questions for fear of disturbing the old man’s work, but since Felix took the initiative to talk while carving, Jack decided to satisfy his curiosity. “Why are you helping me?”
The old man looked up and shrugged. “I like helping people.”
Jack frowned. Was the old man only helping him out of the goodness of his heart? “That’s it? You don’t have a channel or something?”
“That’s it.” After a few moments, the old man chuckled. “And I also dislike seeing others butchering the craft I love. Maybe that, too.”
Jack laughed uncomfortably, but given how he had already been scolded for having a short fuse, he didn't say anything. Thinking about how expensive the old man’s carving tool was, Jack asked his next question. “You obviously have the money. Why are you working here in the communal workshop? Why not rent a private workshop?”
“Not good for a craftsman. If you work behind closed doors, no one can see your mistakes and point them out to you. You don’t get to see others work either. Nah. I prefer to be here. I make new friends that way, too.”
Jack didn’t necessarily agree with the idea of teaching others for free, but at the same time, if the old man hadn’t done this, Jack wouldn’t have this free lesson in pottery. “You’re max level in pottery, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t you get bored?”
“What do you mean?” Felix asked as he added more whirling lines into the bowl.
“I mean… You don’t have to grind for levels anymore. You are maxed out.”
“I don’t have to. I want to.”
“But why?” Jack insisted.
The old man laughed. “Because it’s fun!”
Before Jack could think about his next question, it had already come out. “Why?”
“Why is it fun? Now, that’s an excellent question.” Felix put the bowl down, giving Jack his full attention. “When I was your age, I couldn’t wait for the workday to end. I just wanted to go home and relax. I got older, and eventually, I retired. I spent the first few weeks of retirement twiddling my thumbs. There I was… finally having all the time in the world to rest—all I ever wanted. However, once I was stuck doing nothing, all I wanted to do was to move! To do something with myself! I actually missed working! Ha! The irony,” the old man laughed. “Do you want to experience true boredom? Try retirement!
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“I tried to shake things up, but my old bones didn’t let me do much. Then I heard about this new technology. Here I’m young again!” He hopped a little to illustrate. “I feel no pain, I need no glasses, no cane, and I don’t even need to go to the bathroom all the time. The capsule does all the peeing for me. It’s even better than diapers!” The old man laughed.
Jack fidgeted uncomfortably. Maybe it was elderly humor, but he didn’t understand what was so funny about diapers. “But, why don’t you go hunting dinosaurs?” Jack pressed. “Isn’t that much more fun?”
The old man grabbed another bowl. “Destroying is easy. Creating… now that’s where the true challenge lies. I’ve tried hunting, of course. Didn’t care for it. It felt… barbaric.”
The waves slowly evolved into an intricate, whirly pattern. Each curve was precise. Jack gulped as he tried to imagine just how much practice it took to perform this technique so masterfully. “Do you have any other professions?”
“Not for the moment. I still haven’t had enough of pottery.”
“But you’re maxed out.”
“Am I really?” the old man challenged. “I don’t think so. I find out something new about pottery every single day. The more I get into it, the more interesting it gets.”
“But what is your endgame? Don’t you have a goal? A quest?”
“Hmmm… I do have a goal: perfection.”
“Uh? What do you mean?”
“I heard someone say that one artisan in the game unlocked a grade beyond S+: perfection. I want to get to that level, too. I want to see what perfect ceramics look like.”
Old Felix whistled as he got lost in the infinite maze of curves and lines he carved, while Jack got lost in thought.
*
Jack kicked the wheel a few more times since it was losing speed. One thing he had picked up from old Felix was that to let the wheel do the work for him, he had to keep it spinning quickly.
You have molded a [Stoneware Bowl].
+100XP in [Pottery].
Jack proceeded to wedge the next lump of clay. Even though his hands were busy spreading the moisture evenly, looking for any dry spots or squishy bits, Jack’s mind was elsewhere. He was still thinking about his conversation with Felix.
The old man looked so happy. Was helping others that much fun? Could he also learn to take that much joy from something as mundane as pottery? Even though he experienced some thrill and joy when crafting, he couldn’t keep his energy up like Felix.
Jack envied the old man. He wished he felt that way about work, too. Maybe that would solve most of his problems. Just like a young Felix, whenever Jack worked, he couldn’t wait to be done. If he ever retired, would he also miss working? Was that possible?
The only feeling that Jack could remotely compare to what old Felix had described was how, back when he was a student, he spent the last few weeks of school counting the days until the summer holiday started. Then, as summer passed, after he got tired of playing games and watching TV, he started missing school. Perhaps that was a little bit of what the old man had felt after retiring.
What troubled Jack in this comparison was that he distinctly recalled how quickly his desire to be in school wore off. All he needed was one class, one hour with teachers, and he was ready for another holiday. How could he reach Felix’s stage and be happy all the time? Was he really? Or was it all just for the show? One thing was certain: Felix knew his stuff. Jack had learned a lot from watching him.
Jack clicked his tongue. He had gotten distracted, pushed the clay too hard, and gotten it off-center. He had to start over.
*
Jack admired the fruits of his labor. While lacking in finesse, all the pieces of ceramics sitting on Jack's counter had a uniform shape, pleasing curves, and a smooth look. It was an incredible upgrade compared to the first bowl he made. The first bowl was crooked as if the clay had fought him, trying to break free from the shape he had imprisoned it in. The new bowls looked as if the clay had willingly accepted its new shape and was happy with it.
They were all bone-dry and ready to be bisque-fired. Hopefully, these would be enough to unlock a new level in pottery and make the rest of the dinnerware for the restaurant easier. Jack grabbed the ten bowls and headed for the kilns.
While the brick kilns were roughly similar, the dials in them revealed a major difference. One was set to 1000ºC (1800ºF), and the other was at 1250ºC (2200ºF). A girl in an apron and thick gloves was removing stoneware vases from the hotter kiln. They had a design that introduced two handles, something Jack had no idea how to make, and they all were coated in a glassy, jade finish. She had just finished glaze-firing them.
Jack approached the kiln with the lower temperature. He pulled a tray and carefully placed all his dried bowls on it. He then pushed it in, and ten loading bars appeared simultaneously. Jack kept his mittened hand close to the tray, eagerly waiting to pull.
You’ve bisque-fired [Stoneware Bowl].
+30XP in [Pottery]
You’ve bisque-fired [Stoneware Bowl].
+30XP in [Pottery]
You’ve bisque-fired [Stoneware Bowl].
+30XP in [Pottery]
…
Jack pulled the tray. The gray bowls had become a light pink and slightly shrunk. After molding all ten bowls and bisque-firing them, his experience bar had only filled by about 20%.
It was time to get down to the last bit of the process. Jack grabbed his pestle and mortar. He had used it a little to make medicine when out in the jungle with Amari, but it still had plenty of durability. He also grabbed all the ingredients he had picked up from the marketplace.
Ash (Common)
Description: The carbonized remains of a fire.
Durability: 3
Turmeric Powder (Common)
Description: Bright yellow spice derived from the curcuma longa plant, prized for its earthy flavor, vibrant color, and potential health benefits.
Durability: 4
Thankfully, spices held up their durability much longer than fresh food, and since he’d purchased it a few hours ago, their durability had only dropped by one. He followed the recipe he’d received as a reward for [The Vase Shards] quest.
He added the ash and the turmeric powder and mixed it all together. There was something strangely satisfying about the sound of smooth stone grinding. The yellow pigment of the turmeric overpowered the black ash, and as a result, it became a vivid, darker yellow. Then, Jack put a little stoneware clay into it, water, and mixed it with the mortar and pestle until it was a milky mustard mixture.
You’ve crafted [Yellow Glaze].
+10XP to [Pottery].
Jack grabbed a brush from the counter and dipped it into the mix. Stroke by stroke, he began coating the pink bowls, painting them a sunny yellow.