Chapter 3 – Easy or Hard?

Gordan was stunned. In his hand was his trusty hammer. An identical hammer, which he had used to smash the pebble, sat on the workbench before him. He used the system to put his hammer into his inventory.

"Wow. Just wow. I can level up any of my skills like this. I'm going to be rich!" Gordan thought.

Now that his shift was over, and he had a lot to think about, he chose to go back to his house and up to his room to think about what to do next. On his way out, he locked up the shop. There were a few things he needed to do on a day-to-day basis. He had to lock the sliding panel to the front of the shop, the back door, the shop door, and the side door. Beyond this, he also needed to turn off the lights and ensure nothing was wasted. His mother taught him this lesson to ensure they paid only a little regarding utilities.

After closing the shop, he began walking home. It was a short walk, about 500 feet. He could see his home from the shop and the shop from his bedroom window facing the street. He was lost in thought. "Just what is this strange class. 'Jack of all trades,' huh? I could learn anything now. But what to learn—"

"Gordan! Gordan! Hey!" Lee, his best friend across the street, was running over in his boxers with a white T-shirt.

"Lee?! What are you out here for? Why are you dressed like that?" Gordan shouted.

Lee was a well-built guy, a tad stout. He had a buzz cut and a can-do attitude. It was a bit crazy at times, but that only added to his charms.

"Gordan! Did you see that light coming from your shop? I thought you were getting robbed so I came out. But I didn't know what to do. So I just sat there for a minute trying to think. But! I gathered up my courage and came out here to save you!" Lee exclaimed while lifting his arm and puffing out his chest. He had his thumb pointed to himself while looking a bit too smug about himself.

"Y'know, if you want to be an explorer you're going to have to be a bit braver than that! Not only that, how were you going to save me in your boxers?" Gordan laughed and wiped a tear from his eye from laughing too hard.

"Hey! I'm gonna do it, take a look at this!"

Lee then made his system visible to Gordan and showed him that his swordsmanship had reached level 2.

"Oh. Wow. I didn't expect you to get this far." Gordan muttered.

Lee stared at him with his eyes narrowed. "What a vote of confidence. Friend." He made sure to emphasize the word friend.

Gordan smiled a bit nervously. "Well, anyhow, you've done it. Congrats, only 3 more levels to go before your parents will let you explore the first level."

"Yup! And then I'm gonna be a real explorer…. Anyhow, about that light. Are you okay?"

Gordan looked down. "Should I tell him? I don't think it's a big secret. But it kind of feels like cheating."

"Uh, well. Ya'see… AH! This is too hard!" Gordan grabbed his head, trying to sort out his thoughts.

"Gordan. If something happened, you can tell me. We've known each other since we were kids! Wait… Are you in some kind of trouble?" Lee looked compassionate in these kinds of moments. All he wanted to do was protect his friends.

"No, no… Nothing like that. Actually, here you take a look for yourself." Gordan made his system visible to Lee.

*Class: Jack of All Trades*

*Description: A jack of all trades is a master of none. But oftentimes, it's better than one.*

*Class Skills:*

*Impart*

*Skill up*

"Huh, well that's a weird class. I haven't seen it before. How did you get it?" Lee asked.

"As much as I want to tell you, there's much more to it than just the class. I tried to use one of the skills, and I ended up in the desert, and all I have to show for it is this piece of junk! Oh. And my Bartering went up by a level. I feel like it's cheating." Gordan held up a hammer he pulled from his inventory, expressing dismay.

"Gordan, how did you get a hammer from the desert anyhow? Wait, how did you get to the desert in the first place!? And your bartering level went up!" Lee looked skeptical but engaged.

"I tried to use Skill up, and it said I had to overcome a challenge to get the Skill, and before I knew it I was put in the desert! The system told me to find a weapon, and here we are. Now this hammer is bonded to me and I'm not really sure what to do next." Gordan explained.

Lee looked him up and down and closed his eyes, trying to think of what to do. Gordan was a regular guy, a bit taller than average and maybe more handsome. He had short black hair and a demeanor akin to an exasperated mentor.

"I have a plan!" Lee exclaimed.

"How about you try to do another skill up. Maybe there's more to it than you think. Maybe there's no limit and you can make infinite money through Bartering!" Lee smiled to himself and marveled at his genius.

"There's no harm in trying. How about you go put some pants on and stay the night at my house, and we can experiment a bit?" Gordan smiled at his friend, pointing to his boxers.

"Ah. Yeah. Let's do it!" Lee's marveling was put to a stop and replaced with mild embarrassment.

The two went their separate ways for the moment. Lee went to his house, and Gordan went to his home. Upon entering, he gave his typical greeting.

"Mom, Dad! I'm home!" Gordan projected into the doorway.

"Hi honey!" His mom said from the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo, how was the shop?" His Dad was reading a book while sitting in the living room. His father wore glasses and was built like a true craftsman. Rippling forearms and a demeanor to match his well-built physique.

"Ah, well. I made a trade… But, I don't think you're going to like it." Gordan smiled nervously.

"You've been doing well recently. So as long as we didn't lose much, I won't punish you. Tell me what happened son." His father leaned forward and put down his book.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Gordan removed his boots in the doorway and sat in the living room with his father. Like Father soon, they both leaned forward with the same serious posture.

"It was only five dollars actually. But, I have worse news. It was an item I've never seen before. A class crystal." Gordan explained.

"A class crystal? Never heard of it. I've seen those skill crystals, those go for thousands. So, what's the problem? We could make a killing!" His father smiled proudly.

"I absorbed it." Gordan said plainly.

"Eh." His father's aura grew into a mild frustration. "You—"

His father was cut off by his mother entering the room holding a deep baking pan. "Dinners done, come join me at the table, you two. We can talk about this over dinner. I've been listening, and I can't help myself. I'm a bit interested, too." Gordan's mother was ordinarily sweet, but the way she sounded tipped him off. She was mad. Not just a little mad, but the vein in her forehead popping out was something Gordan had never seen before.

The family sat at the table, each grabbing their serving in tense silence. After each grabbed their food, Gordan's father broke the silence.

"Show me your stat screen." His father commanded.

Gordan was sweating buckets. It felt like he could leap out of his seat at any moment. He opened his system menu and made it available for his parents.

*Class: Jack of All Trades*

*Description: A jack of all trades is a master of none. But oftentimes, it's better than one.*

*Class Skills:*

*Impart*

*Skill up*

Both his parent's demeanors turned from frustration and anger to interest.

"I've never seen a class like that." His father said while crossing his arms and rubbing his chin. It made a scratchy noise against his goatee.

"Me either. Just what did our son buy…" Gordan's mother added.

"It was a little pebble at first. It was yellow, I think. I got a quest to smash it, so I did it. After that, I picked it up and the system automatically absorbed it. It was a mistake." Gordan was almost pleading, but he felt the truth was the best way to get his parent's forgiveness.

"It can't be helped. But what about these skills? They seem a bit over the top. You mean you can give other skills and increase your own? That's outrageous!" His father looked down for a moment, thinking about the potential consequences.

"I thought the same Dad. I actually already tried it. When I did the Skill up I was teleported to a desert and got this hammer. Oh, and I also leveled up bartering. I'm officially a level 5!" Gordan was excited, and he definitely couldn't hide it.

"Ah, well. Good job son. I don't know anything about this, but I'm proud of you for getting a level up. Maybe you can even take over the shop one day like this." His father added.

The bell to their house was rung at that moment. "Oh, I forget to tell you. Lee's going to come over to try and help me figure this out. He thought I was getting robbed or something earlier. So we talked before I came in."

"Okay son. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid. I have a good feeling about this and I don't want you to fuck it up!" His father exclaimed.

"Honey! He's going to do fine, he's always been a careful boy." His mother added

"I'm going to go up to my room. I don't have an appetite after today. I was just too nervous about how you two would react. I hope you understand Mom! The food smells great, like always." Gordan smiled, got up from the table, and answered the door. Lee stood there with a wooden sword on his back.

"You ready for this? I have an idea!"

Gordan invited him in and headed up the stairs to his room. Lee plopped down on a beanbag chair in the corner, smiling deviously.

"Alright mastermind, what's the plan?" Gordan chuckled.

"Hehe, well I thought we could party up!" Lee smiled.

"Will the system even accept that?" Gordan thought. "it's worth a shot." Gordan then sent a party request through his friend list over to Lee. Lee accepted.

"Alright, let's give it a go!" Gordan opened up his system, selecting Skill up.

*Please select a skill and difficulty*

"Oh. This is new." He made his system visible to Lee.

*Easy: 1 lvl*

*Moderate: 3 lvl*

*Difficult: 5 lvl*

Lee pondered for a moment. "Let's do difficult."

"What? I haven't even tried easy and you want me to go die in the desert? No chance." Gordan sighed.

"Hear me out. If you can get five more levels of Bartering, then won't your parents shop benefit?" Lee explained.

"Yes. That's true…" Gordan said. "But, I don't want to die. I don't even know if Lee can come with me… Ah, what the hell. What's the worst that could happen?"

Gordan selected difficult.

*Please choose a skill to Skill up*

"Bartering!" Gordan said confidently.

A bright light beamed from Gordan's body. It lit up all the windows in his room. Once his sight was restored, luckily, Lee was standing right next to him. Looking around, it was the same desert. In fact, the footprints from him walking the previous time were still visible.

"Huh, so I guess there's no wind here." Gordan pondered.

*A new quest has arrived*

*Quest: Slay the giant Rat.*

*Reward: Bonded Weapon Transformation*

Gordan's system was still visible to Lee, who was looking over his shoulder.

"Oh, that's pretty neat. I wonder what it'll turn into?" Lee muttered.

At that moment, a sound could be heard behind the two. It could be described as shifting sand under a heavy foot. The two got shivers down their spine and slowly turned around. Just behind them was a giant red-eyed rat with a white coat. It raised its front legs, letting out a uniquely high-pitched sound.

"SCREEEEE!!!"

"Why does this shit happen to me?" Gordan thought.

The two looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. "Run," they both said simultaneously. The two bolted in the same direction.

"I have a plan! But you're not gonna like it!" Lee yelled.

"Stop hinting! This is not the time," Gordan barked back.

"Run around the back and pull it's tail for me!" Lee smiled.

Gordan's expression fell into confusion and disappointment. "YOU PLAN TO FIGHT THIS THING?!" Gordan screamed. Lee smiled and stopped turning around and drawing his wooden sword.

"Guess so." Lee said confidently.

"Aw fuck." Gordan thought.

"Fine. But you'd better survive this." Gordan said in a commanding tone. He then ran around the back as the giant Rat posed to strike with its front claw.

Lee prepared to block and spotted Gordan just at its tail with a grim expression. They made eye contact for a brief moment, and Lee yelled, "NOW!" At that moment, Gordan pulled the beast's tail as hard as he could. The giant Rat let out a frighteningly loud screech. As the beast was distracted, Lee struck with his wooden sword.

Gordan was stunned. The beast was bleeding from the attack. "How the hell is that thing even sharp?" Gordan thought.

The beast was angry. It immediately went to scratch at Lee, who had just injured it. Lee sidestepped and started running. "DO IT AGAIN, YOU GODDAMN SCAREDY CAT!" Lee screamed as he bolted away from the beast.

Gordan sprinted to try and keep up with the two. After barely getting within range, he grabbed hold of the beast's tail with both hands and tried to post in the sand. Unfortunately, this was not enough to stop the creature. Now, Gordan was being dragged through the sand as the beast was chasing his friend Lee.

"OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT!" Lee screamed while running.

"LEE TURN AROUND. GOD, PLEASE JUST TURN AROUND," Gordan pleaded as his face was repeatedly pelted with sand.

Lee steeled himself momentarily and tried to face the beast without fear. "Come here, you overgrown rat!" he exclaimed.

Lee's legs were shaking. The beast stopped just before him and wasted no time taking another swipe. Lee was not lucky this time. He took a scratch directly to the chest. Blood all over his nice white shirt.

Gordan had never seen anything like this. He froze. "This is all my fault. We're gonna die!"

"No, no, no. I can't think like that." Gordon's expression hardened as he opened up his inventory and pulled out his trusty hammer.

"Over here you stinky rat!" Gordan yelled.

The giant Rat turned to face the new opponent, sizing him up to see if he was a threat. As the Rat turned, Lee let out another slash on the side of the creature's neck, once again drawing blood. The Rat quickly turned toward Lee. At that moment, Gordan lifted his hammer and smashed it down on the tail of the creature. The Rat let out another deathly squeal. Lee let out slash after slash, aiming for the creature's neck. The Rat was being flanked from both ends. A hammer to the tail and a sword to the neck.

Just a few moments later, the Rat lay there dead. The blood loss from the neck and the smashing of his tail confused the poor beast, allowing Gordan and Lee to defeat it.

Lee plopped down on the ground. A single tear dropped from his eye. Looking toward the ground, he mumbled, "We did it." He threw his hands in the air and screamed, "WE DID IT! I'M A REAL EXPLORER NOW!"

Gordan looked over at Lee and wanted to speak, but he was just too exhausted. The two lay there in the sand for a moment.

*Quest completion detected*

*Quest: Slay the Giant Rat - Completed*

*Reward: Bonded Weapon Transformation*

Gordan's hammer began to glow, a beaming white light becoming too hot to touch. He decided to throw it like a hot potato somewhere near in the desert.

"OUCH! Fuckin hell." Gordan exclaimed.

Lee went over to the hammer to take a look.

"Uh, bad news Gordan. It's still a hammer."

"Fucking system." Gordan thought.

Gordan went over to pick up his trusty hammer. The sun was getting to be a bit much at this point, and he looked over at Lee, who had sustained a light injury. "Lee, are you alright?"

"Oh, this? I'll be fine." He smiled, pointing to the scratches. "If I plan to be an explorer I can handle this." He added.

Gordan picked up his hammer. This time, a new system message appeared.

*Gordan's Trusty Hammer*

*Description: Gordan can transform this hammer into any mundane tool for crafting*

Gordan threw the hammer on the ground. He was mad.

"WE DID THIS FOR MUNDANE TOOLS! Fuck this system."

Soon after his exclamatory remarks, a white light took the two back to Gordan's room. Surprisingly, as they appeared, they neither had tans nor injuries from the fight.

"Oh, well, I suppose that isn't a bad feature. Sorry system, maybe you aren't so bad…" Gordan mumbled.

"Hey, check your skills! Did it work?" Lee pushed next to Gordan to see his system.

*Bartering: lvl 10*

*lvl 10 bonus: Those with lower bartering Skill will sell you wares for cheaper.*

"Maybe this is a bit more of a cheat than I thought." Gordan looked at the ground. Lee shook him by the shoulders.

"Gordan. Gordan please look." Lee looked over at Gordan with a tear in his eye.

*Swordsmanship: lvl 3*

"I'M GONNA BE AN EXPLORER!" Lee screamed.

Gordan looked over at Lee. "Yup, looks like. You up for another round?"