Kai tapped his pencil against his knee, staring at the nearly blank page in front of him. He was supposed to be listing reasons why their culture was worth preserving. The problem was, his list was looking thin. And Alex wasn’t helping.
Kai cleared his throat. “I like that it encourages all of us to be both teachers and students.”
Alex barely reacted. “W-what?”
Kai shot him a glare. “What’s wrong with you, Alex? It’s like you’re not even here. You haven’t suggested a single thing we can present to the others.”
“Just get off my case, Kai!”
The sudden outburst made Kai shrink back. Alex never snapped like that. But just as quickly as the anger came, it faded.
“Sorry,” Alex muttered, rubbing his face. “I didn’t mean to yell. I just… I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Kai studied his friend. “What’s going on, man?”
Alex turned away. “I don’t think you’d understand.”
“Try me.”
A heavy silence stretched between them. Then, finally, Alex exhaled.
“The reason I’m not helping with this list…” He hesitated.
Kai groaned. “Are you Albert now? Just spit it out, dude!”
“I don’t believe in any of it, okay?”
Kai blinked. “What?”
Alex clenched his jaw. “Kai, our culture is stupid.”
Kai reeled. “Alex, what are you saying? Everyone here is nice. Every day is interesting, fun, and—”
“Our culture is dying, Kai! Most of us are old, stubborn fools clinging to something that isn’t working. The numbers don’t lie. We can’t keep going like this. We can’t!”
Kai swallowed hard. He respected Alex—looked up to him, even. If anyone in the sector had a shot at winning the exams one day, it was him.
“What are you talking about?”
Alex let out a bitter laugh. “Listen, Kai, we’re following the dream of a man who’s been dead for two hundred years. And worse? That man worshipped ancestors who barely knew how to use rocks. We’re too stuck in the past. The answer isn’t back there—it’s in the future. No wonder we can’t get a decent score in the exams. We’re failing the point miserably.”
Kai forced a weak smile. “You and your sister really are different, huh? She can’t stop studying the past, and now you’re ranting about the future.”
Alex huffed. “Yeah, we don’t exactly see eye to eye on this.”
An uneasy silence settled between them. Kai shifted in place, trying to think of something—anything—to say.
“Should I be worried, Alex?” he finally asked. “You sound really mad at Balin. Come on. You have to admit something good came from what he started.”
Alex shook his head. “Forget it. You don’t get it.”
He stood up.
“Wait—where are you going?”
Alex turned, eyes flashing. “Kai, there are only three young people left in our sector. You, my sister, and me. And we all know how it’s gonna turn out between you two. But what about me?” His voice cracked. “Don’t I deserve to be happy too?”
Kai opened his mouth but hesitated. So that was what this was really about.
“Listen,” he said carefully. “There’s still hope. If we get a good enough score, we can—”
“Forget it.” Alex cut him off, already turning away. “I’m going for a walk.”
Kai sat there, watching as Alex left the museum. Slowly, he looked down at the half-filled page in front of him. His fingers tightened around the pencil.
*
353rd Daisy Trials, Round of 256.
Kai looked at the table and studied the new card between the engraved patterns. It was a perfect copy of [Light]. Now he had two.
His hands trembled as he held [Mirror]. This card was overpowered. It could duplicate other cards.
He ran a hand over his head. This was the breakthrough he needed, his saving grace. The only question was—what should he copy?
[Light] had infinite HP. If he kept making copies of [Light] nonstop, he would always have an 18-point advantage over his opponent in every single round. It might not sound like much, but if the matches were as close as they felt, this could make all the difference.
There was another possibility.
Mining Wagon ?? (Legendary)
HP: 1
VP: 12
He could mass-produce [Mining Wagon] instead, instantly stacking huge amounts of victory points.
Kai placed [Mining Wagon] on the pattern, activating the table’s circuitry. He reached for [Mirror], but just as he was about to place it on the engraving slot, he stopped.
Wait a minute… If I copy [Mining Wagon], both [Mirror] and [Mining Wagon] will lose one HP.
Would that mean the newly created [Mining Wagon] would have zero HP?
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
He pulled [Mining Wagon] from the crafting slot and bit his fingernail.
A new idea formed in his mind. It was crazy—but it might work.
He weighed the pros and cons for five full minutes before making his decision.
He grabbed both [Mirror] cards, placed them on the table, and waited.
[Mirror ??] + [Mirror ??]
Mirror ?? | HP: 4→3
Mirror ?? | HP: 3→2
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Infinity ??].
New recipe added to your recipe book.
Infinity ?? (Legendary)
HP: 0
VP: 11
Kai grinned ear to ear.
Yes! Yes!
His first legendary crafting discovery! Well… technically, he had crafted [Light] earlier, but that hadn’t felt like it counted. This time, he had followed Daisy’s logic, outplayed the system, and unlocked a high-value legendary card.
If he had copied [Mining Wagon], the card would have lost one HP in the process, making it impossible to keep duplicating. But by merging two [Mirror] cards together, he had found a better way to rack up victory points—and discovered a new legendary card to boot.
He went for it again.
[Mirror ??] + [Mirror ??] = [Infinity ??]
[Mirror ??] + [Mirror ??] = [Infinity ??]
Sadly, he couldn’t keep making [Infinity] cards. However, he could still use the last hit point left to gain an advantage in the later rounds. Taking a deep breath, he went for one final use of [Mirror].
[Light ?] + [Mirror ??]
Light ? | HP: +∞
Mirror ?? | HP: 1→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Light].
New recipe added to your recipe book.
With this, he had secured 33 extra points from the three [Infinity] cards. On top of that, his three [Light] cards would carry through every stage, giving him a six-point boost per round—a steady edge over the competition.
He tossed the two spent [Mirror] cards onto the graveyard pile.
I was so lucky to find these!
Without [Mirror], he never would have scored so many points in one go. He felt more confident now. He had scooped up the only two [Mirror] cards in the arena, meaning his opponent had no chance of replicating [Infinity]. Even if they could duplicate valuable cards, there was no way they could recreate a legendary like this.
Kai’s gaze lingered on the three [Light] cards on the table. The success of merging two [Mirror] cards had sparked an idea. Since [Light] had infinite HP, there was nothing to lose by fusing them. Should he try it?
The worst-case scenario was a failed crafting attempt, but that wouldn’t affect their stats, right?
[Light ?] + [Light ?]
Light ? | HP: +∞
Light ? | HP: +∞
Crafting failed!
Kai sighed in disappointment. He supposed that was fair. If there was a working recipe for fusing [Light], it would allow endless duplication, breaking the game. At least now he knew it wasn’t possible.
Scanning the remaining cards, he struggled to see any obvious combinations. The only viable merges left involved [Water].
Water ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 3
VP: 1
He was certain something would happen if he combined [Fire] with [Water], but he wasn’t willing to risk losing [Fire].
The other possibility was merging [Water] with one of the plants.
Stonerock Succulent ???? (Common)
HP: 1
HP: 2
He wasn’t sure what effect the combination would have, but he tried the recipe anyway.
[Water ??] + [Stonerock Succulent ????]
Stonerock Succulent ???? | HP: 1→0
Water ?? | HP: 3→2
Crafting failed!
Kai bit his lip. It hadn’t worked.
He had assumed the recipe was foolproof—in his mind, it was as if he were watering a plant. Apparently, he had been mistaken. If this had failed, it was likely that merging [Water] with [Moss] or one of the mushrooms would fail too.
He sighed. What else?
What was he missing?
As the minutes ticked away, Kai moved the cards around, waiting for inspiration to strike. His eyes settled on [Ash]. Hadn’t Albert talked about how people used to use it? A foggy memory from a history lesson surfaced, sparking an idea.
He grabbed [Water] and placed it on the table alongside [Ash].
[Water ??] + [Ash ?????]
Ash ????? | HP: 1→0
Water ?? | HP: 2→1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Lye].
Lye ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 4
VP: 0
New recipe added to your recipe book.
That’s it! That was the name of the solution he had been struggling to remember. Lye could be used to make soap, clean rust off metal, and—most importantly—it was a fertilizer.
He reached for [Stonerock Succulent] but hesitated. Instead, in a moment of inspiration, he picked a card from the graveyard pile.
Kai thought about how [Fire] worked. It absorbed HP from other cards. If he could incinerate cards, why couldn’t he heal them too? If [Fire] could grow stronger with fuel, why couldn’t plants be revived with fertilizer?
He grabbed [Yellow Honey Agaric]. Right now, it was useless, sitting at zero HP. Nothing happened when he placed it on the table. Usually, when he placed cards with some HP, the engraved patterns lit up immediately. But this time, the table remained dark.
Good.
If he was wrong, he wouldn’t lose anything by testing [Lye].
He placed the [Lye] card onto the second engraving slot. The table sucked the card from his hand, and pulses of light flickered across the surface. A glow spread from [Lye] and into [Yellow Honey Agaric], triggering a notification.
[Lye ??] + [Yellow Honey Agaric ????]
Yellow Honey Agaric ???? | HP: 0→4
Lye ?? | HP: 4→0
Crafting failed!
Yes! He had healed [Yellow Honey Agaric].
This changes everything.
The graveyard pile wasn’t permanent. With the right healing agent, he could bring cards back from the dead.
Kai reviewed the notification. He hadn’t created any new cards, but he had successfully transferred HP from [Lye] to the mushroom.
He could heal cards.
He still had one more [Ash] card. Without hesitation, he crafted another [Lye].
[Water ??] + [Ash ?????] = [Lye ??]
It was time for his next experiment.
From his history lessons, he recalled that lye could also be used to treat corroded metal. There was one card Kai really wanted to craft with.
Train Tracks ??? (Uncommon)
HP: 0
VP: 4
The problem was that [Train Tracks] had no HP, making it useless for crafting. That was frustrating, especially since it seemed like the perfect match for [Mining Wagon].
“Let’s hope this works.”
He grabbed [Lye]. The best thing about this card was that experimentation came at no cost. If something couldn’t be healed with [Lye], the table would simply remain dark. But if it could, the HP would instantly transfer from one card to another.
[Lye ??] + [Train Tracks ???]
Lye ?? | HP: 4→0
Train Tracks ??? | HP: 0→2
Crafting failed!
“It worked! Thank you, Albert! Thank you for your boring history lessons.”
Even though [Lye] was more effective on vegetation cards, it had still managed to grant [Train Tracks] a couple of HP points. That was enough for him to use it in crafting.
He wasted no time. It was time to try the combination he was sure would work.
[Mining Wagon ??] + [Train Tracks ???]
Mining Wagon ?? | HP: 1 → 0
Train Tracks ??? | HP: 2 → 1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Mystery Box ??].
New recipe added to your recipe book.
Kai wanted to dance with joy. It had been stressful dealing with the snap arena, but now, everything was falling into place. He couldn’t imagine how his opponent would outscore him now.
He quickly checked the stats of his new card.
Mystery Box ?? (Rare)
HP:??
VP:??
What? What in the world does this mean?
“Daisy?” he called out, looking around the room. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
Of course, no response came from the AI.
He studied the artwork—a wooden crate covered in red question marks. That was it. No explanation.
After the rush of figuring out this recipe passed, he regretted not using his first [Lye] card on the pickaxe or [Mining Wagon]. That would have been far more useful than wasting HP on a stupid mushroom.
Frustrated, he decided to burn off his anger—literally.
[Fire ??] + [Stonerock Succulent ????] = ???? + [Ash ?????]
[Fire ??] + [Yellow Honey Agaric ????] = ???? + [Ash ?????]
All the evidence of his failed experiments had been consumed. Partially. It would only be destroyed at the end of the round.
His [Fire] was growing bigger and bigger, and he had just secured two more [Ash] cards.
There was no stopping him now.
[Reader ??] + [Rating ?]
?? | HP: ∞ → ∞
? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Author Motivation Boost ???].
Don’t forget to for this novel!
