Winter of 345, A.D.
From Albert’s house, it took Kai only a few minutes to reach the museum. He hadn’t expected to find the lights on. Who else would be here this late? In a sector with a population small enough to be counted on two hands, running into someone at this hour felt like more than just a coincidence.
The front door was unlocked. He stepped inside.
The museum felt different at night—more alive, more mysterious. Maybe it was the contrast between the darkness outside and the glow of the display lights. Or maybe it was how the glass cases reflected the dim lighting, casting strange shadows on the walls.
“Hello?” he called out. No answer. The place seemed empty, yet someone had to be here.
A moment later, a figure emerged from one of the side rooms.
“Kai?”
“Ariel?”
His throat went dry, and his knees locked. Of all people, it had to be her. The only girl in the sector close to his age—the one everyone assumed he’d end up with. And the worst part? He actually liked her, which only made things worse. She, on the other hand, never seemed bothered by the idea. They never talked about it, which, to Kai, could only mean one thing: she didn’t feel the same way.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
A dozen thoughts tangled in his mind, but what came out was a garbled mess. “I—I… Albert gave me the keys, and I… like… I came to—”
“Never mind.” She smiled, waving off his fumbling words. “Come here. I could use a hand with some boxes.”
Kai hesitated but followed, every nerve on edge. How was she so relaxed? Did she really not care that they were alone together in an empty building? If she did, she didn’t show it.
She led him down a side corridor he hadn’t seen before and into a storeroom packed with crates and boxes. As she scanned the labels, she made small talk.
“So, Albert gave you the keys, huh?”
“Uh… yeah. He did.”
“Awesome. Do you like it here?”
“Sure. But I’ve never been in this room.”
“Yeah… most of the museum is about the exams. But there are some older artifacts, too.” She pointed. “That one. Can you bring it down for me?”
Finally, a chance to show some strength. Kai took a deep breath, puffed up his chest, and rolled up his sleeves. “Of course. Piece of cake.”
“Cool. Just be careful.”
He bent his knees, wrapped his arms around the crate, and—nothing. The thing wouldn’t budge.
“What’s in this? Rocks?”
“How’d you know?”
His laugh came out weak, panic settling in. No way was he asking for help. He tightened his grip, heaved—and barely shifted it.
“Here, let me help.” Ariel stepped beside him, and together, they managed to lower the box to the floor.
She lifted the lid, and Kai found himself distracted—not by the contents, but by the way she moved. There was an effortless grace to her, even in something as simple as opening a box or tucking her hair behind her ear.
Ariel caught him staring. “What?”
“Uh. Nothing. You have something in your teeth.”
She blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Just joking.”
She rolled her eyes. Kai clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to groan. Why did he always say dumb things around her?
Inside the crate, nestled in straw, sat a pile of jagged rocks.
“You weren’t kidding,” he said. “It’s literally a box of rocks.”
“Oh yeah!” Ariel’s voice rose with excitement, like a child unwrapping a gift.
Kai picked up one of the stones. Its edges were sharp and uneven. “What is this?”
“These are artifacts. Thousands of years old. Back when humans used to knap.”
“Nap? What, they used rocks as pillows?”
She giggled—a light, musical sound. “Knap, silly. K-n-a-p. Flint knapping.”
“Haven’t heard of it.”
“People used to shape flint into tools. Knives, arrowheads, scrapers… you name it.”
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“Really? From rocks?”
She nodded.
“And why are—” He paused as realization hit him. “Wait. You’re about to turn eighteen. Your first lesson is coming up.”
Ariel blushed. “Yeah… I thought I’d make my first sunrise fire about flint. What do you think? Is it a good idea?”
Kai smiled. “I think you’ll do great. I can’t wait to see it. Why don’t you tell me what you’re planning? Maybe I can help.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
He nodded.
“So, here’s my plan…”
*
353rd Daisy Trials, Round of 256.
Knowing the challenge’s rules in more detail only made Kai more nervous. There was a lot at stake. He stepped toward the crafting table, opened his inventory, and grabbed all the cards. The thirty cards in his hands were light, yet they carried weight—a mix of possibilities and pressure. His opponent had proven to be resourceful and decisive. There was no telling how far ahead they were.
Assuming they were lagging behind would be a mistake.
Pride comes before the fall.
Overconfidence wasn’t his ally. It was time to get to work.
Kai laid out every card, relieved that Daisy had designed the table to be big enough for them all. The last thing he needed was an accidental craft attempt draining two HP for nothing.
He studied the cards he had collected in the quarry:
Block of Granite ?? (Common) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 2
Shadow ? (Common) ×2
HP: 0 | VP: 3
Lichen ?? (Common) ×2
HP: 0 | VP: 3
Stonerock Succulent ???? (Common)
HP: 1 | VP: 2
Moss ?? (Common) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 2
Pond ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 2 | VP: 2
Water ?? (Uncommon) ×2
HP: 3 | VP: 1
Flintstone ???? (Uncommon) ×2
HP: 3 | VP: 1
Gaslamp ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 2 | VP: 2
Rusty Pickaxe ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 4 | VP: 0
Train Tracks ??? (Uncommon)
HP: 0 | VP: 4
Mirror ?? (Rare) ×2
HP: 4 | VP: 3
Mining Wagon ?? (Legendary)
HP: 1 | VP: 12
He set [Lichen], [Shadow], and [Train Tracks] aside. Zero HP. Useless for crafting. He had to work with cards that still had some durability left.
Then, he reviewed the ones from the first round:
Pine Tree ?? (Common)
HP: 0 | VP: 1
Dry Pine Needle ???? (Common)
HP: 2 | VP: 0
Pine Bark ????? (Common)
HP: 1 | VP: 1
Pine Trunk ???? (Common)
HP: 2 | VP: 0
Bear Bread ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 1 | VP: 2
Wound Dressing ???? (Uncommon)
HP: 5 | VP: 0
Yellow Honey Agaric ???? (Uncommon)
HP: 0 | VP: 2
Hallucinogen ???? (Rare) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 5
Light ? (Legendary)
HP: +∞ | VP: 2
[Pine Tree] and [Yellow Honey Agaric] joined the pile of discarded zero-HP cards. He took a deep breath.
Alright. Time to focus on what’s left.
Kai cracked his knuckles. There was no reason to hold back. More points meant better upgrades. Better upgrades meant strength.
He started organizing cards into potential combinations. After reviewing his options, he settled on his first recipe.
As the cards touched the engraving patterns, the table buzzed to life. Circuits flared with sparks and light.
Rusty Pickaxe ?? + Flintstone ????
Rusty Pickaxe ?? | HP: 4→3
Flintstone ???? | HP: 3→2
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Big Flint ????].
New recipe added to your recipe book.
Big Flint ???? (Uncommon)
HP: 4
VP: 0
Kai frowned. The merge had worked, his hunch had been correct, and he had secured another recipe. That should have been satisfying, yet something about the result bothered him. The new card had no victory points at all, despite its high HP. It felt like it was meant for crafting rather than keeping. Could he use a card obtained through crafting as an ingredient?
His fingers hovered over the table as he considered his next move.
A small smile formed as a memory surfaced—Ariel’s first time as a firekeeper. She had done so well. He could still hear her voice, clear and steady despite her nerves, explaining the art of flint knapping. It was hard to forget someone’s first time as firekeeper.
Flint, when struck at the right angle, could be worked into something new. It could be shaped into knives, scrapers and axes.
Kai picked up his next two cards and moved them toward the table’s crafting patterns.
Big Flint ???? + Flintstone ????
Big Flint ???? | HP: 4→3
Flintstone ???? | HP: 2→1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted 2x[Small Flint ????].
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Spark ???].
New recipes added to your recipe book.
Small Flint ???? (Common) x2
HP: 2
VP: 1
Spark ??? (Common)
HP: 1
VP: 2
Kai’s eyes widened. Three cards. From a single crafting attempt.
Unbelievable.
How had this happened? He needed to understand Daisy’s logic behind each recipe—this could be key to future rounds.
When he had merged [Rusty Pickaxe] with [Flintstone], a big chunk of flint had emerged. Now, striking [Big Flint] against [Flintstone] had broken them into even smaller fragments, producing two [Small Flint] cards. And since flint striking flint produced fire-starting sparks, he had also received a [Spark] card.
Kai scratched his head. If that was the case, why hadn’t he produced a [Spark] when he merged [Rusty Pickaxe] with [Flintstone]? Hitting flint against metal also created sparks.
He paused, lost in thought.
Kai decided to experiment. No matter what, he was still earning points, and now was the time to clear up his doubts.
He repeated the crafting process.
[Rusty Pickaxe ??]+[Flintstone ????]=[Big Flint ????].
Frowning, he set aside the [Flintstone] that had just been used up, adding it to the pile of zero-HP cards. Then, he grabbed his last [Flintstone], still at full HP, and tested his theory one final time.
[Rusty Pickaxe ??] + [Flintstone ????] = [Big Flint ????], [Spark ???]
So it wasn’t guaranteed. The first two times he had used [Rusty Pickaxe] on [Flintstone], he had only received [Big Flint]. But now, on the third attempt, a [Spark] had appeared as well.
That means some recipes don’t always yield the same result. Chance is a factor.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and traced the chain of events that had led to his first two [Small Flint] cards. When he had crafted them, a piece had flaked off both [Big Flint] and [Flintstone]. That meant some items had more than one recipe. If he ever needed a specific ingredient, there might be more than one way to craft it.
He set the [Rusty Pickaxe] to the side, frustrated that he hadn’t taken an extra snapshot of it. Having another one would have been useful. The synergy between [Rusty Pickaxe] and his flint cards was better than he had anticipated.
Maybe I could make my own tools.
Flint had been used for that before, hadn’t it? He tried to recall the process.
[Lurker ??] + [Chatter ??]
?? | HP: 2 → 2
?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Community ????].
Come hang out with fellow readers, share theories, meme about merges, or just lurk in peace.
Tap here to join the server.
