“I needed this soup, Rob. Thanks.”

“The droid cooked it. Not me.”

After having pasta for lunch and given how many hours he’d spent without eating, the bowl of vegetable soup soothed Jack’s empty stomach. He added some croutons to his bowl and offered his cousin the rest of them.

“I tell you, I need to get a capsule soon. Playing this game is killing me."

"You're not taking enough breaks," his cousin quickly responded in a fatherly tone.

“I get too caught up in the game. I don’t know. Having a capsule just seems more practical.”

"Do you have any idea how much a capsule costs?"

"Not really, no."

"I thought so. A brand-new capsule goes for two thousand. If you want the anti-atrophy add-ons, that's at least another five hundred. Not to mention the nutrient solutions. Those things are expensive. It’s ten times as expensive as having a regular meal. Why do you think I still play with a helmet?" Rob said between spoonfuls of soup.

"That does sound expensive," Jack said, scratching his head and quickly dropping any ideas of buying a capsule. "I’ll start taking more breaks, as you're saying."

"Good for you.”

“So, how did the guild raid go?" Jack asked his cousin.

"It was good. A bigger guild hired us to join a castle raid, and we managed to breach the walls. It was good fun. The guild paid us good gold for it, and I got to do some PvPing."

The concept of storming a castle beside allied troops and fighting against other players did sound epic. However, this kind of event was far beyond what Jack could manage for now.

"What about you? What were you up to?" Rob asked.

"Well, I already got my two new minor professions," Jack said with a wolfish grin.

“Oh yeah? Which ones did you get?”

"I'm a level 5 bard."

Rob’s spoon fell, splashing a little soup on the white table. He immediately grabbed a cloth and cleaned up his mess, standing up to get himself a clean spoon. "I'm sorry, Jack. I think I misheard you. For a moment, I thought you had said that you had become a bard. Nonsense. You must have meant, ‘I'm a devil fried lard.’”

Jack laughed. "I did say I became a bard. I’m level 5 already.”

"Dude, are you serious?"

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

His cousin sighed, massaging his temples. "Man, you’re so frustrating! You're the luckiest duck I've ever met. Do you have any idea how much demand there is for bards?! There's no guild in the game that won't want you."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. You can ask for whatever you want from most guilds."

"Real money offers?" Jack tried.

"I wouldn’t go that far. Only top guilds pay salaries. But joining a 2nd tier or 3rd tier guild is still a sweet deal. They take you to raids and help you get your hands on better loot that you can then sell for real money."

Jack considered joining a guild. There was something about the notion that repelled him. Being ordered around by a guild leader had to suck all the fun out of playing the game. He then thought of his three new friends. They were already beyond his level and knew their business. "For now, I think I'm good. I kind of made some friends, and they've been helping me out a lot."

"Okay, but if you ever want to join my guild, just let me know. I can talk to our guild leader."

"Fair enough. I'll let you know.”

“Now, do tell me. How in the world did you get the bard profession?"

"The NPC who gave me my hidden class was playing some music. He asked me to join him. I sang along as he played; before I knew it, I’d become a bard. I can now make clay ocarinas, too."

“Have you learned any songs?”

“I know two. One boosts stamina, and the other damage.”

"That's great. I can't wait to go hunting with you. I'm so excited."

Jack couldn't help but sit up straighter and puff his chest. There had been a change in how Rob looked at him. For the first time, Jack could feel that his cousin addressed him not as a noob but as a fully-fledged player standing on equal ground with him. It was a good feeling.

"What about your other profession?" Rob asked.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Beekeeper. I just unlocked it."

"Really? How did you get a queen bee? Last I heard, they were expensive."

"My friends helped me capture one."

“For free?” Rob asked.

Jack nodded.

"Wow. Generous guys. Maybe you’ll be OK if you stick with them."

Jack thought so, too. “Anyway, I've already discovered one of the synergies beekeeping has with my other minors. You know how beekeepers usually have to rent a lot of land and keep their beehives within the vicinity?"

“Yes. So?”

"Well, I can carry my beehive around."

“What?! How?"

"I'm still not sure. I’ve learned a recipe for a portable beehive, though. I still have to build it."

"That's awesome," Rob praised generously. "It seems like you've got everything figured out."

Jack scraped the bottom of the bowl for the last bit of soup. He tore a piece of freshly baked bread and used it to scoop up the rest. "I still haven’t fixed my issue with finding good equipment. I’m stuck with a moss suit. But I'll worry about that when I get to level 20."

"That won't take long, especially if you have a good team of friends supporting you. I have to say, Jack, you seem to have a real knack for gaming.”

Jack shrugged. "I was lucky to get this quest. Without it, I wouldn’t have gotten my class or the bard profession."

"That’s not what I meant. I think that gaming suits you."

"I’m not sure I follow."

"I don't know how to put it. You seem more collected. Calmer. You've even made some new friends."

"You speak of me as if I usually live under a rock or something," Jack complained.

"No, it's not that. It's just that since you left college, you've been kind of lost. Your music didn’t work out. And from then on, you became sort of bitter.”

Jack felt the tips of his ears burn up. Was his cousin having "the talk" with him? Jack waited for the wave of anger that followed these remarks, but the only thing he felt was shame. Surprisingly, having his cousin mention his current state of affairs didn't sting as much as hearing it from his parents or Lydia.

“Since you've started playing the game, you seem more focused and driven. It's good. I'm happy for you, man."

"Thanks, I guess," Jack said, scratching his head. They ate in silence for a few moments. The kitchen droid was slicing vegetables on a chopping board with steady, rhythmic precision, preparing the next course in their meal.

"Rob?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you think that's why Lydia left me? Because I was bitter or lost."

His cousin remained silent for a long time and finally let out a deep breath. "Maybe, Jack.”

Jack bit his lip. The soup that had felt so well a few moments ago now stirred in his uneasy stomach.

“It’s OK, Jack. Life gave you some lemons, man. You're learning how to make lemonade out of them. This first week in the game was good for you. Let’s focus on that, alright?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now, what's your plan once you get back?"

The droid brought two plates of hot food and took away their bowls. Jack and Rob ate their tasty meals as they discussed their plans after logging into the game again later.

*

Jack logged back into the game after an invigorating dinner, a nice chat with Rob, and an enjoyable evening walk.

The first thing he did was to leave the city’s zoo and head toward the nearest marketplace. He, too, had collected several drops. His inventory was half-full of [Midnight Teeth] and other random drops. He dumped all the loot and set it on sale at market price. The market estimated his haul to be worth about three gold.

He checked whether the Bugkeeper Set gloves and boots had sold already. Sadly, no one had bought them. On a positive note, according to the auction website, the price of the Junior Bugkeeper Gloves had risen by over 15% in the last 12 hours. Jack needed the money. After some thought, he updated the listing and reduced the asking price of each item by ten credits.

As he checked his inventory, Jack realized that much of his stockpile of bushcraft supplies had remained untouched after his last outing. His bushcraft profession seemed to be losing some of its appeal. Playing tunes recovered his stamina, and his party members hardly lost any HP when fighting. Additionally, if there was a melody that helped him recover stamina, there probably would be another one down the road that would recover HP.

He had only had to start a fire twice throughout their whole hunt, and his tinderboxes and cooking pots still had high durability. He still couldn’t depend exclusively on music to recover himself and his friends, and the only equipment he could wear was equipment that came from bush crafting, but if things kept going like this, this minor would soon be rendered moot.

After selling everything in his inventory, Jack looked at the fortune sitting in his inventory. He had 29 gold. Most of it was money he’d made when hosting a camp while he waited for Amari and the others. The rest was money he’d collected in this last outing. 29 gold was worth about 19 credits. It was pitifully low, but it was already some improvement over when he’d first started playing.

After tidying up his inventory, Jack headed toward the city gate. He stored the ocarina in his inventory before he got in line to leave the city. Last time, the interaction with the guards had been too eye-catching. He could do without nosy players bothering him. Because of his precautions or because of the stealth bonus granted by his moss suit, this time, Jack went unnoticed by the guards.

The crowd of players outside the gate consisted mainly of adventurers arriving at the city. Players leaving the town usually rushed to their objectives, trying to make the most of their buffs. They ignored Jack, and he ignored them back as he set out to do what had brought him here.

There was tall grass and sticks everywhere around the clearing. Jack plucked grass, leaving it to dry under the sunlight. The morning sun heated the green fibers, turning them into a darker brown. Meanwhile, Jack kept searching for sticks that were as straight as possible. Once he had six stacks of dry grass and six stacks of basic sticks, he returned to the city and ran toward the pottery association, eager to experiment with his new recipe.

Jack headed toward the NPC at the counter of the pottery association, and his eyes widened. If there was a pottery association, there had to be an equivalent for bushcraft! There had to be a place where he could exchange bushcraft XP for new recipes. The question was: where was it? Jack made a mental note to check this out after he was done with making a [Pot Hive].

The communal workshop was emptier than usual, even though it was Sunday. Felix was offline, so there were no other potters working. It made him think of the quiet streets and the empty food market. The city was a little emptier than usual. He had assumed that Sunday would be when the game was at its busiest, but he stood corrected.

Jack cracked his neck, loosened his shoulders, and rolled up his sleeves. It was time to get crafting. Jack selected a random workstation, picked all the dry grass he’d collected, and weaved it into cords. By now, Jack was so used to twisting fibers that he could do the process with his eyes closed. He kept crafting until he got two A-grade grass ropes.

Then, Jack placed all the sticks he’d collected on the table, sorting them neatly by size. Finally, Jack grabbed stoneware clay and started wedging it and rolling clay cylinders. A vase big enough to host a bee colony would be huge, so he had no choice but to go with the coiling technique.

It was time to make a home for his bee colony.