Time until [Gardening Earthenware Pot] dries: 28m32s
Seeing how the pot would still take almost half an hour to dry, Jack’s shoulders sank. “Half an hour? That’s quite long.”
“Oh yes. Letting your ceramics dry is a big part of creating a good quality product. If you don’t dry it, it can explode when you fire it, making all your hard work go to waste.”
“So, what are we supposed to do while we wait?”
“We’ll use the time so that I can teach you more about the profession. Let me show you a pot that has been dried already.” She stood up and went to the kitchen counter, returning with a pot similar to the one she had just made. This one had gone from red-brown to a dull beige.
“See how the color is lighter? It’s because it has dried. This one is in the bone-dry stage. Check it out. Be careful. It’s extremely fragile.”
Jack ran his hands over the surface of the bone-dry pot. From being yucky and moist, it was now dry and solid. “Didn’t you say there was another stage between plastic and bone? And what about that first one you mentioned? The slip stage? Aren’t we skipping steps?"
“Good job remembering that. That’s right. We’re just sticking to essentials to make it easier for you. In the slip stage, you mix clay and water to form a paste. The other stage we skipped is called leather-dry. That’s when the clay isn’t fully dry, and you can carve patterns on it. You’ll get to explore more of these stages as you become more familiar with pottery. But let’s leave them aside for now. Now, we’re going to fire the pot.”
“Fire it?”
“Yes. You grab the pot like this and put it over a flame. It can be a bonfire. In my case, I’ll put it on the hearth over there.” She gave Jack a pair of thick mittens “Carefully place the pot on the hearth. The fire will do the rest.”
You’ve temporarily learned [Pot Firing].
Pot Firing, lvl. 1
Skill description: You can harden the pot and finish it by bringing it to a high temperature.
Skill effects:
You can single-fire pots;
You can use low-temperature fires.
Jack approached the hearth, swiftly placed the pot to avoid getting burned, and stepped back. A progress bar appeared over the pot.
Progress in firing [Earthenware Gardening Pot]: 5%...23%...36%...
A progress bar appeared over the pot. Thankfully, it was much faster than letting it dry in his inventory. It only took one minute to fill.
You’ve single-fired [Earthenware Gardening Pot].
+5xp in [Pottery]
Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Earthenware Gardening Pot].
+10xp in [Pottery]
Earthenware Gardening Pot (Common)
Crafting Grade: A
Durability: 10
A simple pot that can hold some soil and a plant.
Effects:
You can keep level 1 plants in it.
Grade A bonus:
Plants grow 20% faster.
“Don’t let it sit on the fire for longer than needed. That can deform the pot.” Before Jack could pick the pot up, Jenny had already taken it from the fire and placed it on the hearth’s mantle. “Hopefully, that will sell nicely,” she said, removing any hopes that it was a gift for Jack.
“Thank you for the lesson,” Jack said sincerely. Although he had first felt a little thrown off by how dirty pottery looked, it wasn’t so bad. He kept his eyes on the simple pot he had helped Jenny complete. From a worthless lump of dirt, she had created something useful. There was something powerful about the transformation that he couldn’t quite explain. All he knew was that he felt a small measure of peace for the first time since Lydia had dumped him. He wondered what one thing had to do with the other, but he couldn’t help but want to try making a new pot.
“You should still have a few minutes before your pot dries, right?” Jenny said, pulling him from his daze.
“Right, right.”
“Since I’ve given you some of my clay, do you mind getting me more? I’m running a little low.”
Jack's ears perked up. This was a great opportunity to find out how to gather clay. “Sure. Where do you usually get it?” Jack asked, trying to hide the slight eagerness in his voice.
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“If you leave my house and turn right, you’ll see a small hill at the end of the road. Look around it for reddish-brown dirt that clumps together. Maybe you should also keep some for yourself. A competent potter always keeps some clay in case inspiration strikes!”
You’ve temporarily learned [Clay Gathering].
Clay Gathering, Lvl. 1
Skill description: You can identify some types of clay in the wild and collect it.
Skill effects:
You can collect [Earthenware Clay].
Jack left Jenny to work on another pot, and followed her directions. Sure enough, he found a small grassy hill. On one of the sides of the hill, near its foot, there was a rocky protrusion scarring the perfect green carpet that covered the hill. It harbored stones and soil.
He found three other players completing gathering quests similar to his. They all stood a few meters away from each other, sifting through the dirt, looking for stones. None were picking clay. Jack squatted on the ground and felt some goosebumps at the thought of getting his hands dirty.
“Uh?” he grunted as he looked at his hands. His hands were still all muddy from working the clay. He’d forgotten about it. He stared at them for some time and then shrugged. His hands were already dirty anyway; he might as well get some free clay.
He dug his hands into the dirt and picked up a small crumbling reddish-brown cluster of what he hoped was clay.
You’ve collected 1x[Earthenware Clay].
+1 XP in [Pottery]
Sweet! I get a little XP for harvesting it too. Jack opened his inventory and studied the new item sitting next to the drying pot.
Earthenware Clay (Common)
A type of ceramic material characterized by its low firing temperature, porous nature, and typically reddish-brown color after firing.
Emboldened by his success and seeing the piles of clay around him, Jack kept harvesting the clay.
You’ve collected 2x[Earthenware Clay].
+2 XP in [Pottery]
You’ve collected 1x[Earthenware Clay].
+1 XP in [Pottery]
He noticed that clay stacked in his inventory, forming little piles of 10. That meant he could fit at most 240 clay pieces in his inventory. He kept harvesting it, and in minutes, he had twenty stacks of [Earthenware Clay].
Since he was the only one gathering, there was much more to be collected. He would come back and get more if he needed it later on. Meanwhile, the timer on his drying pot had been mostly depleted, and he ran back to Jenny’s to fire it.
Opening the door, he was received with Jenny’s welcoming smile. “Back already? Did you find some good clay?”
“Yeah, I grabbed some extra,” he said, cringing inwardly at how excited he sounded.
You’ve given 10x[Earthenware Clay] to Jenny.
Jack sat facing Jenny, waiting for the pot in his inventory to finish drying. He took the time to study the different pots around the house. Whereas the [Gardenware Pot] they had made together had a rough, rudimentary look, there were smoother and shinier pots with different shapes and add-ons that Jenny hadn’t taught Jack how to make.
He got a notification as he tried to wrap his head around how such pretty ceramics were made.
[Gardening Earthenware Pot] has dried.
“It finally finished drying,” said Jack.
“Good! You know what to do next,” she said, handing him the pair of thick mittens.
Jack approached the hearth while putting on the mittens and gently placed his wonky pot in an empty spot that Jenny had already prepared, a little valley surrounded by a wall of burning embers.
Progress in firing [Earthenware Gardening Pot]: 6%...19%...34%...
You’ve fired [Earthenware Gardening Pot].
+5xp in [Pottery]
Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Earthenware Gardening Pot].
+10xp in [Pottery]
Earthenware Gardening Pot (Common)
Crafting Grade: E
Durability: 2
A simple pot that can hold some soil and a plant.
Effects:
You can keep level 1 plants in it.
Grade E penalty:
Plants grow 5% slower.
He had mixed feelings about his first crafting attempt. On the one hand, he felt like he had achieved something. Crude as this pot was, he couldn’t help but feel a little pride on having made it.
On the other hand, there was disappointment at being given such a low grade. Instead of a bonus, this item received a penalty! It slowed down the growth process of plants. Its durability was also much lower than the pot that Jenny made. Was this a sign he wasn’t cut out for pottery? Or was it just the learning curve? As he looked at the pots around Jenny’s house, he couldn’t help but feel that his looked like a sorry failure.
“That’s great! Excellent job for your first attempt!” commended Jenny, taking the pot off his hands and analyzing it.
“R-really?”
“Oh yes! It’s only your first try, adventurer. Next time, you can make the pot's base a bit thinner. See also how the edges could have been evened out a little. That’s it! You’ve made your first pot. This means that you are officially a potter!”
Congratulations! You’ve become a [Novice Potter].
You’ve learned [Clay Gathering].
You’ve learned [Molding].
You’ve learned [Clay Drying].
You’ve learned [Pot Firing].
You’ve learned a new pottery recipe: [Gardening Pot].
“Thank you for teaching me, Jenny.”
“No problem! Feel free to come back whenever you want to compare notes on pottery.”
Despite Jenny’s encouragement and the flurry of positive notifications, Jack still felt crafting wasn't for him. Who could have known that it was this complex and difficult? Maybe he should just complete this quest and look for something else to do after getting whatever reward Mr. Kevin had for him. Maybe he should just make a living as a regular hunter. He stored his wonky pot in his inventory and walked out of Jenny’s house, heading toward Mr. Kevin’s.
Knowing how deceptively sturdy the construct was, Jack knocked fearlessly on the door. “Mr. Kevin?”
There was the sound of glass breaking, a beast roaring, and then a kettle whistling, followed by an increasingly loud, droning complaint. Just what was this man doing inside his house?! And how big could it be?
“You again?” the man said in a grumpy tone from the other side of the door.
“That’s right, sir. I’ve become a potter, just as you asked. I’m ready for you to show me the right path.”
“Good. And that’s the only minor you know. Yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Very well. Come back once you learn [Bushcraft].”
[Jack of All Trades] has been updated.
Jack of All Trades (Rare)
Mr. Kevin has shown himself willing to guide you and show you a path that might suit you. Satisfied to see you’ve become a potter, he now recommends you learn the [Bushcraft] minor.
Visit Mr. Kevin {completed}
- Learn [Pottery] {completed}
- Learn [Bushcraft] {ongoing}
“But I’ve just learned [Pottery]. Why do I need to learn how to craft bushes?!”
The mumbled complaints became fainter until Jack stopped hearing Mr. Kevin altogether. What on earth did this mean?
He thought he had already completed this quest, but this NPC seemed to have a never-ending list of tasks for him to go through.
Jack kicked a nearby rock, aiming it at the NPC’s shack. What should he do? He had thought that he could just turn in this quest and be done. But it looked like this would still take a while.
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