353rd Daisy Trials, Round of 256.
As soon as Oli landed, he took off runnin’.
Never stop. Never give ‘em a clear shot.
Cap’n’s words echoed in his head as he darted past the rock piles, keepin’ his feet light and his movements unpredictable. Even as he ran, his eyes took in the battlefield. Above him stretched an impossibly blue sky, clearer than anythin’ he’d ever seen. The sun shone majestic and unimpeded, makin’ everythin’ feel too sharp, too bright, too… real.
Was this what the sun really looked like?
Beyond the gray haze of his sector, he’d never imagined it so yellow. He pointed his camera up and snapped two quick shots.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 19 of 20
Sun ?? (Common)
1 of 4
HP: 0
VP: 3
Capture successful!
Tries left: 18 of 20
With that done, he studied the rock walls encasin’ him from all sides. They stretched high, steep, unclimbable. Even though the golden light bathed the stone, it still reminded him of the pit.
A sharp breath rattled through him as old wounds ached in response. Hunger. Cold. Strife. That pit was a hole where crews went in whole and crawled out in pieces. A nasty place, and a nasty reminder of what waited back home if he lost. Shudderin’, Oli pushed forward.
If this was like the perfumed forest from the last round, there’d be somethin’ special at the center. Weavin’ through the stony pillars, he kept an eye on the cliffs, wonderin’ if they might be an illusion. Maybe he could just walk through.
But then he heard Cap’n’s voice again.
Overthinkin’ is a waste of time.
Oli didn’t overthink. He just ran.
At first, he ducked and weaved through the rock columns, keepin’ himself unpredictable, but then he reminded himself—obstacles didn’t matter here. He could pass right through ‘em like wind through a grate. No need to be clever about it.
So he ran straight.
Sure enough, at the center of the map, he found a pond. The water was crystal clear, almost too clear. Oli froze, starin’ at it.
Ol’ Reggie had been right.
Back home, Reggie had told ‘em stories about a world with no soot, no grease, no stink. Water clear as mornin’ air. They’d laughed at him for it. Called him a daft old dreamer.
Oli owed ol’ Reggie an apology.
But even as he took in the pond, the blue sky, the perfect yellow sun, somethin’ about it all felt off. Too clean. Too scentless. Too perfect.
He liked seein’ a blue sky instead of gray, but the lack of smell—it unsettled him. Back home, smell meant knowledge. A whiff of rust, mold, rain, smoke—that was how ya saw the world without seein’ it.
Without it, he felt half-blind.
He pointed the camera at this location and shot a photo.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 17 of 20
Pond ?? (Uncommon)
1 of 3
HP: 2
VP: 2
Capture successful!
Tries left: 16 of 20
Oli took two pictures of the little pond and moved on.
In the Daisy World, just do what you would in a turf war. Cap’n always said that.
Had this been a turf war, the first thing he’d do would be to find something to defend himself with. No point finding water, food, or shelter if you couldn’t protect them. In a turf war, you secured the means to stand your ground, then found a ground to stand on.
Problem was, this place had nothing.
Back in Street Town, useful stuff was everywhere—old pipes, broken bottles, sharp bits of metal. The building blocks of survival. But here? Just rock. That’d have to do.
He scoured the ground, looking for a good throwing rock. Most of the stones here were huge, blocky, and useless, but after some digging, he found one that’d work. It was heavy enough to block a hit but light enough to throw. A thrown rock could do wonders.
His fingers traced the scar on his right temple. He knew from experience.
Oli pointed the magic box at the rock and took a photo.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 15 of 20
Stone ??? (Common)
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1 of 4
HP: 1
VP: 2
Capture successful!
Tries left: 14 of 20
Double-shot activated.
Capture successful!
Oli smirked, seeing the upgrade he’d bought last round in action. He’d learned in the last stage that he could only get two of each card. Soon as he found out, there was nothing to think about.
You take what you get in the streets, Cap’n always said. If you find food, eat till you’re full. Then keep eatin’ till you burst.
If Cap’n were here, he’d be taking two pictures of everything without blinking.
By the time the round ended, Oli had snagged a new upgrade without a second thought.
Double Shot (Camera Upgrade)
Requirement: Take nine or more double-shot captures in a round.
Effect: Whenever you capture two equal cards in a row, there’s a 30% chance of getting a third copy.
Cost: 50UC
He’d spent 50 coins on the thing, and it was already proving its worth.
With a stone, he had a clumsy tool. With the pond, he had water. Now, he needed food.
Oli kept running, eyes scanning for something edible. Back in Street Town, he’d be looking for cans to loot and stashes to ransack. But here, he had to adjust.
A pop of yellow stood out against the gray landscape. Oli ran straight for it and snapped a photo.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 13 of 20
Lichen ?? (Common)
1 of 4
HP: 0
VP: 3
Capture successful!
Tries left: 12 of 20
Double-shot activated.
He knew this stuff could be eaten. His gang had mapped out routes to patches of it for when there was a lack of better food.
The moss near the lichen, though? Nasty. Too bitter. He’d made the mistake of eatin’ it before and knew better now. As for the other plants with meaty leaves, he knew those were safe too. They didn’t need much water, and ol’ Reggie had ‘em in his herb garden back home.
Oli pointed the magic box at it and took two pictures.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 11 of 20
Stonerock Succulent ???? (Common)
1 of 4
HP: 1
VP: 2
Capture successful!
Tries left: 10 of 20
Sadly, [Double Shot] didn’t activate this time, but no worries. He had food, water, and a weapon.
A hidden lair trumps a strong one, Cap’n always said.
Where could he hide in a world where this yellow light showed everythin’?
Oli sprinted toward the cliff wall. The center was too exposed to be a proper shelter, so he aimed for the shade. Slightly reducin’ visibility was a start. If he could go through the rocks in the middle of the map, he could do the same with the cliff wall.
With one hand pressed against the rough stone, he ran along the base, feelin’ for any part where the rock jutted out enough to hide him from enemy eyes. Sure enough, after a careful search, he found one.
As his figure melted into the rock, he spotted a deep, dark tunnel. A lamp flickered inside.
Light could give away your position, but if used carefully, it could also be a valuable resource. He pointed his camera at it and took a photo.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 9 of 10
Gaslamp ?? (Uncommon)
2 of 3
HP: 2
VP: 2
Capture successful!
Tries left: 8 of 10
It wasn’t a good hideout after all. His opponent had already been here first, leavin’ stuff behind like an idiot. That was his mistake, and Oli would make sure he paid for it.
He scouted the tunnel for anything else of use and found a weapon lyin’ against the wall.
If ya swung this thing right, it’d do real damage.
As he reached for it, he bumped into the invisible shield—the edge of the arena. He sighed and took a photo instead.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 7 of 10
Rusty Pickaxe ?? (Uncommon)
1 of 3
HP: 4
VP: 0
Capture successful!
Tries left: 6 of 10
Double-shot activated.
Rusty Pickaxe ?? (Uncommon)
3 of 3
HP: 4
VP: 0
Funny. Looked like they had taken a picture of it at the same time.
Laughin’, Oli scanned the tunnel’s entrance. Maybe he could turn this place into a card too.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 5 of 10
Tunnel ???? (Uncommon)
1 of 3
HP: 0
VP: 4
Capture successful!
Tries left: 4 of 10
Double-shot activated.
Now that he’d grabbed everythin’ useful, it was time to move on. Maybe there was another shelter out there worth explorin’.
*
Oli’s figure returned to the white room. This was the space that disgusted him the most in the exams. Nothing to use as a weapon, nothing out of place, all painted in an unnatural white. It felt wrong, like heaven or something, and he hated it.
He approached the strange table and reached for the cards he wanted to mix. The first ones he grabbed were [Stone] and [Gaslamp].
[Stone ???] + [Gaslamp ??]
Stone ??? | HP: 1 → 0
Gaslamp ?? | HP: 2 → 1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Glass ??].
Glass ?? (Common)
HP: 2
VP: 1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Gas ??].
Gas ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 1
VP: 3
Oli smiled as he studied the card with beads of sharp glass. If he had to fight something later, this was better than a rock. That wasn’t all there was to it, though. He had wanted to get his hands on [Gas] for a reason.
Cap’n had once sent him to sneak into another crew’s hideout and blast their supplies. It was during a turf war between the Sixth Avenue and the Coal Street crews. He had used a similar lamp to make it happen. All he needed now was a spark, and thankfully, he had something that could help him with that.
[Rusty Pickaxe ??] + [Rusty Pickaxe ??]
Rusty Pickaxe ?? | HP: 4 → 3
Rusty Pickaxe ?? | HP: 4 → 3
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Spark ???].
Spark ??? (Common)
HP: 1
VP: 2
Oli grinned, his almost toothless smile stretching wide. He had seen sparks a lot, whether from sparring with metal pipes, fighting in turf wars, or worse, when they were sent down to the pit. Now, all that was left was making it bang.
[Spark ???] + [Gas ??]
Spark ??? | HP: 1 → 0
Gas ?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Explosion ??].
Explosion ?? (Rare)
HP: 0
VP: 7
Satisfied, he made one more [Explosion] card before moving on. He didn’t bother counting how many points he had. He wasn’t too good at counting anyway.
Next, he turned to food. The only things he had that could be eaten were [Lichen] and [Stonerock Succulent]. He tried putting [Lichen] on the table, but it didn’t light up. Shrugging, he grabbed two [Stonerock Succulents] instead.
[Stonerock Succulent ????] + [Stonerock Succulent ????]
Stonerock Succulent ???? | HP: 1 → 0
Stonerock Succulent ???? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Meaty Leaf Salad ?? ??].
Meaty Leaf Salad ?? ?? (Uncommon)
HP: 0
VP: 4
After that, he didn’t know what else to do with the cards, so he left them on the table and sat on the floor, waiting for time to pass.
Oli spat as the quiet of the room crept in. This place gave him a feeling he didn’t know how to name. It was thick like oil and clung to him like fog. There was no danger of an ambush, no turf to defend, no fights to be had.
Oli once asked his cap’n why the streets had to fight turf wars against each other. Cuz our sector’s all in on street smarts, he had said, and only street rats have street smarts.
Leaning back against the wall, he took a deep breath, out of habit keeping his back to a solid surface. One less side an enemy could attack.
Hopefully, he could bring more food, medicine, and kids to the sector. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to spend the rest of the week in the pit.
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