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SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 23 - Love Blindness
🕑 Added 2023-11-01 13:02:46 +0000 UTCSummer of 346, A.D.
Kai gulped at the sight of the wall. He had only heard the accounts, and he could now appreciate how truthful they were. Although the name ‘the wall’ hinted at some megalithic construction like that of the famed Great Wall of China, it was an invisible forcefield maintained by Daisy between sectors.
It was a full moon, perhaps the reason for Alex to choose tonight to bring Kai along, and even the pale moonlight was enough to show the shimmering energy field that guaranteed nothing could cross from one sector to the next.
“Wow. It’s incredible. It’s just like the stories.”
“Yes. The biggest prison in history.”
“Or the biggest lifeboat!”
Alex spat on the ground, signaling his disagreement. Kai looked for a pebble on the ground and threw it onto the forcefield. The rock just disappeared.
“What do you think happens to the stuff that goes through the field? Do you think it’s teleported into space? Or into a maximum security prison?”
“I don’t know, Kai. Probably, it’s just disintegrated.” Alex checked his wristwatch. “Come. I can’t be late.”
Kai followed after Alex, still fascinated by the energy barrier.
“We’re here.” Kai paused, and seeing his friend smile tenderly, he frowned. As he followed his eyesight, he finally spotted what had gotten his friend into such a strange mood for so long. On the other side of the field was a girl.
*
353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 128.
Kai gulped. The amount of cards that he’d been able to generate was no joke. He had just used up almost 60 cards to reach this score. He wondered how many cards the other players lost.
[Fire]’s hp has been halved.
[Fire]’s hp has been halved.
Fire (Rare)
Useful for creating and destroying.
Hp: 19→9
Vp: 19→9
All other cards lose 1hp.
3x Acacia Leaf (Uncommon)
Leaves that look like little green feathers.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 2
Arabian Oryx (Rare)
A creature known as the desert’s unicorn.
Hp: 5→5
Vp: 2
Arabian Oryx (Rare)
A creature known as the desert’s unicorn.
Hp: 4→4
Vp: 2
2x Ash
Hp:1→0
Vp:2
Big Flint (Uncommon)
Large, durable flint suitable for many things.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 0
2x Flint Arrow (Uncommon)
A rudimentary missile made with flint. It can fly almost straight but isn’t durable.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 3
Flintstone (Uncommon)
Hard rock, suitable for various applications.
Hp: 2→1
Vp: 1
Gaslamp (Uncommon)
A source of illumination used by miners.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 2
Granite Shed (Uncommon)
A simple refuge made from granite bricks.
Hp: 4→0
Vp: 0
3x Light (Legendary)
A form of electromagnetic radiation that stimulates the sense of vision
Hp: +∞
Vp: 2
Pond (Uncommon)
A serene body of crystal clear water.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 2
Sand (Common)
Rock that has been worn down until it becomes small particles.
Hp: 2→1
Vp: 1
Small Flint (Common)
Compact flint pieces suitable for many things.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 1
Thorn (Common)
A sharp-pointing defensive adaptation that keeps enemies away.
Hp: 1→0
Vp: 2
Unicorn (Legendary)
The mythological one-horned horse. Legend has it that its horn can pierce through anything.
Hp: 4→4
Vp: 15
At least, even if the scoreboard put a lot of pressure on him throughout the exam, he didn’t have to suffer, wondering whether he had won or lost. He already knew the final result.
Congratulations! You’re among the 128 tokens who passed through to the next round.
You have 3 hours and 37 minutes to select your upgrades and rest.
Kai allowed himself a smile. This was already the best score that any of his people had achieved in a very long time. When was the last time that anyone from his sector had come up in the top 25%? This had to be enough to get hormones.
Tears rolled down his cheeks. He and Ariel could now have children. But what good did it do if they weren’t around to raise them? Sad memories rushed through him: the smell of his parents’ burning pyre, the sound of Ariel crying when it was her parents’ turn to die from the blight. He didn’t want his children to grow as orphans like he, Ariel, and Alex had.
But it was more than that. Unlike Alex, he believed in their way of life. If he and Ariel died, so would their culture. They were all that was left of Trudy, Neil, Albert, Clara, Sunny, and all the others before them. If they died, all of them would die again. Getting the allcure was the only way he and Ariel could ensure their culture would survive. Kai wouldn’t break his promise. Kai couldn’t stop here. He needed to make it farther.
Kai was grateful for the added time he had to rest. He had so much to think about. The whole trial had been hectic, especially in the crafting arena. Starting the round with a point disadvantage had put tremendous pressure on him, and he had to use everything he had to match his opponent.
The console emerged from the ground, but with almost 4 hours to rest, he had time to get to it later. For now, it was more important to review his performance, looking for any errors in judgment and learning from what had happened.
Mistake number one was not considering that it was possible to disrupt opponents’ exams. Rarely was that kind of option not in an exam. Even though Daisy preached peace, her exams were rife with conflict. There were many theories he had heard around the fire over the years, but he had his own opinion on the matter.
Kai’s take on the subject was that humans had bred Daisy. Regardless of how hard they tried not to taint Daisy with their imperfect thinking, something perfect couldn't come out of something imperfect. The result was that some traits that Daisy was supposed to purge from humanity were an integral part of her.
He had to start thinking of what other nasty surprises Daisy had hidden in that console. The best way to do so was to unlock them so that he could see what they did. What kind of cards would afford options such as the [Stun Bomb] to a trial runner? He tried to think of possibilities but just gave up. He would go to the console in a moment and figure it out.
The second mistake in his performance concerned the treasure trove. It seemed that it wasn’t a big secret that at the center of the map was a valuable location filled with resources. The most common strategy so far was to rush for it and get its resources before the opponent.
The problem was that Kai wasn’t doing exactly that. He was indeed trying to get to the center of the map as fast as he could. But once he got there, he was taking his time assessing the locale. It was an incoherent approach. He was sabotaging his strategy. He had to settle with a fast gameplan where he ran for the map’s treasure trove and started photographing everything he could land his eyes on, or go for a different, slower gameplan.
He took a deep breath. Playing it slow was going well for him so far. It allowed him to fully explore the map and find hidden opportunities. He should consider skipping the rush to the map’s center next round.
After much thinking, these were the only two mistakes he could identify in his performance in the snapping round. As soon as he started thinking about the crafting round, he felt his throat go dry and a sick feeling in his stomach. The more he thought about it, the more mistakes he could recall.
For example, if he had been able to elevate the wolves and the oryxes, why in the world hadn’t he tried doing so with the unicorn, too? The point count could have been massive there.
Additionally, this arena had been a stark reminder of the power of healing cards. The fact that he still had [Unicorn] in his inventory and had managed to produce [Wolf Warrior Companies] was only possible because of [Dressing Wound]. Why hadn’t he tried making more medicine from the desert plants he collected? He couldn’t remember the specifics, but he knew several desert plants had medicinal properties. He could have possibly brought over with him the [Wolf] card!
There were other recipes that, now that the pressure was off were coming to his mind. Could he have gotten a glass card from merging [Fire] with [Sand], for example? And why hadn’t he thought of mixing [Blade Knife] and [Acacia Branch]? If he could make a [Flint Axe], he probably could have made a [Flint Spear] too! How hadn’t he thought of it earlier?
Panic. The greatest enemy of a trial runner. In a rush to not lag, he had just burned away several possibilities that could make or break the next round. All he could hope for was for his opponent to have made mistakes, too.
One hour in the crafting arena had felt like so much at first, but now, it felt very little. Kai stood up and headed toward the console. Now that he knew his shortcomings, he could choose upgrades that made up for his weaknesses.
He activated the console and checked the upgrades available.
Purchased Upgrades: [Map]; [Flash]; [Gaslamp]; [Scoreboard]; [Text Description].
Compass
Requirements: Reaching the northernmost point in the arena.
Description: A simple compass that points north.
Cost: 10vp
Failed Recipes (Recipe Book Upgrade)
Requirements: To have one failed crafting attempt.
Description: Your recipe book can now maintain a record of all failures in crafting.
Cost: 20vp
Log (Recipe Book Upgrade)
Requirements: Destroy 30 cards in one round.
Description: Your recipe book records all the cards you’ve already owned.
Cost: 30vp
Thorough Log (Recipe Book Upgrade)
Requirements: Destroy 50 cards in one round.
Description: Your recipe book records all the cards you’ve already owned, successful recipes, and failed recipes.
Cost: 40vp
Flint Mine
Requirements: Craft three flint-based tools.
Description: Grants you a [Flintstone] card each round.
Cost: 50vp
Hunter Eyes
Requirements: [Wolf]; [Footprint];
Description: Allows you to see your opponents’ tracks.
Cost: 70vp
Card Fridge
Requirements: Shed card.
Description: Cards saved in the fridge won’t lose hp between rounds
Cost: 80vp
Gaslamp II (Gaslamp Upgrade)
Requirements: [Gaslamp]; [Light]
Description: An even more powerful gas-fueled lamp.
Cost: 90vp
Photocopy Machine
Requirements: [Mirror].
Description: You can make copies of cards you already have.
Cost: 100vp
Regeneration Chamber
Requirements: To have healed a card.
Description: When inside the chamber, a card can regain one hp between rounds.
Cost: 200vp
Scouting Drone
Requirements: Fully explore a map.
Description: Airborne device that aids in map exploration.
Cost: 200vp
Slow Shutter
Requirement: [Light].
Description: Lets more light into the camera.
Cost: 200vp
Mythological Discount
Requirements: mythological creature card.
Description: All other upgrades cost 25% less.
Cost: 200vp
Shield Phase
Requirements: [Infinity].
Description: Let’s you move past shields.
Cost: 500vp
Mystery Box Fiesta
Requirements: [Mystery Box].
Description: From now on, every map has a hidden mystery box.
Cost: 500vp
Kai gasped at all the new upgrades inside the console. The first thing that stood out to him was the card that [Unicorn] had unlocked. This was only one more piece of evidence that showed that legendary cards were guaranteed to unlock an upgrade. This was a very enticing one! He ran some quick numbers.
If he bought [Mythological Discount], 500vp upgrades would cost 375. It was a very significant discount. 200vps cards would cost 150vps. 100 victory point cards would cost 75 victory points. This card would pay for itself in a couple of rounds. Now that Kai had reached his main objective, which was to bring fertility hormones back into his sector, his next goal was to make it to the top 4 and get allcure.
This upgrade was exciting. At the same time, it did nothing for him right now. After he bought it, he would have to wait until the next round to get anything out of it. Perhaps, if he invested in resources that generated more value, he would make more points than [mythologicalal Discount] would allow him to save.
There was also a new upgrade entitled [Thorough Log]. It was a combination of [Failed Recipes] and [Log] but at a lower combined price. He still didn’t feel like he needed the memory aid, so he discarded all these upgrades right away.
The next upgrade that caught his eye was the [Flint Mine]. Flint tools had been his saving grace in the previous rounds. Were it not for it, he wouldn’t have been able to thoroughly glean the benefits from [Acacia Tree] or [Wolf]. The fact that he would have one [Flintstone] per round until the end of the exam was enticing. If Daisy kept the current knock-out format, he was talking about seven additional rounds, including the finals. That was seven flintstones. He scratched his chin as he thought of how many tools he’d be able to get out of it.
The next upgrade was also very catchy. To be able to track his opponent was incredible! Not only would he be able to follow them and learn from how they did their exams, but he would also be able to check if he was being followed. If one trial runner had this upgrade and the other hadn’t, it could make a big difference.
[Card Fridge] was the cheaper version of [Regeneration Chamber]. What caught his eye was that the requirement for this upgrade had been the [Granite Shed] card he had secured. He took it out from the inventory and frowned as he looked at its hp. Why had it gone from four hp to zero? What was going on here?
Kai looked back through all the notifications that he had received. There was a small window at the bottom of his vision that allowed him to read through the messages that Daisy had sent him before. As he went through what happened at the end of the round and compared it to the upgrade’s effects, he realized what was happening. Shed cards absorbed the impact of other cards! It was some sort of preemptive healing! In his case, the cards that had been spared a hit point loss were his animate cards, namely [Unicorn] and his two [Arabian Oryxes].
To be able to keep hp between rounds was a powerful effect. It allowed trial runners to have more options during the crafting stage. Crafting was proving to be more effective than snapping. For instance, he had quadrupled his points in this last crafting round.
After going through every upgrade available, Kai made his decision.
Are you sure you want to purchase [Hunter Eyes]? [Y/N]
Are you sure you want to purchase [Photocopy Machine]? [Y/N]
He got [Hunter Eyes] and [Photocopy Machine]. The reason why he chose these two was to up his game in both stages. It’s true that snapping didn’t give as many points as crafting, but it would be a mistake to invest all his resources in just crafting. Capturing cards was the bedrock of good results in the exam.
This way, he had two powerful effects, and he could start saving points for the next round at the same time. He wanted to invest in a more powerful upgrade next round, and this way, he was keeping a three-pronged approach and keeping his options open.
Now that he had made his decision, Kai went to the corner of the room and closed his eyes. First, a dark vision of Ariel coughing blood at night came to him. He forced the thought away and replaced it with something more positive. What would they name their first son? What if it were a daughter? The darkness faded, and Kai started recharging his mind as he basked in happy daydreams.
