Spring of 346, A.D.

  Kai stared at the fire, searching for answers to his problem. Alex was head over heels for Cassie. She seemed nice enough, but they weren’t supposed to talk to people from other sectors. There were rules. Reasons. And what were those two going to do about the Wall, anyway? No one got through.

  Should he tell on him? Help him?

  “Kai!” Sunny’s voice snapped through the air. He looked up and found her glaring at him.

  “Uh? What?”

  Ariel giggled off to the side. Kai felt his cheeks warm.

  “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “I’m sorry. I was distracted.”

  “At least you’re honest.” She folded her arms. “Root cause analysis. We’re discussing RCA, Kai.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you know why we’re talking about this?”

  “Uh… no. Sorry.”

  “Sometimes, we come across a problem. A difficult problem.”

  Kai gulped.

  “When we do, we need to dig deep. Strip it to its bare bones. Find the root. Understand the cause.”

  As she held his gaze, Kai felt a cold bloom in his chest. Did she know he was thinking about Alex and Cassie? Had she seen them leave the city? Followed them?

  “Back to the story,” she continued. “When the Mars mission failed they had to perform RCA. After some digging, they traced it back to a simple mistake. Two teams were using different units. The engineers used metric; navigation used imperial.”

  Kai let out a slow breath. It was just one of her classic engineering tales. She didn’t know.

  “As the spacecraft neared Mars, that unit mismatch caused a massive error. The thrusters, meant to slow the orbiter for insertion, fired with too much force. It came in too close and burned up in the Martian atmosphere.”

  Sunny raised a finger. “Lesson: the real cause isn’t always obvious. That applies to engineering. To real life. And to the Daisy Trials.”

  She walked over to the table and tapped a neat stack of folders. “I’ve prepared disaster case files. Everyone takes one. You’ll run your own RCA and share your findings at sunset. Dig deep, folks.”

  Kai picked up a folder marked Titanic in big block letters. He glanced at Alex. Sighed. He had some digging of his own to do.

  *

  353rd Daisy Trials, Round of 64.

  After crossing plastic wall after plastic wall, Kai finally found a relatively intact area. There were no skylights here, no windows. Without his gaslamp, he would’ve missed it entirely.

  A metal door stood hidden in the shadows—still in decent condition. He stepped forward and tried to phase through it, but the attempt failed. Kai checked his location against the map and saw why: the door coincided with the edge of the arena. There was nothing beyond it.

  Next to the door, an axe sat inside a glass case. The metal frame around it was rusted, and the glass was cracked, but the red-and-gray axe inside looked solid. A sharp edge. Good condition.

  Kai framed it and snapped a photo.

  Capture successful!

  Tries left: 13 of 20.

  Fire Axe ?? (Uncommon)

  Cutting tool designed for emergencies.

  1 of 3

  HP: 4

  VP: 0

  Capture successful!

  Tries left: 12 of 20.

  It was a fantastic tool—far sturdier than the [Flint Axe]. He wondered what kind of result he’d get from combining it with the [Arabian Oryx].

  Kai spared another glance at the metal door and scratched his chin. The metal looked stable, but was it even worth photographing? Could he use a door in crafting? Probably not. He stopped himself before wasting a shot. Just in case, he made a mental note of the location. If nothing better showed up, he’d check back later.

  After combing through office after office, Kai returned to the docking bay where he’d first spawned. He had just finished a full lap around the map. He’d been looking forward to getting back here. There could be treasures hidden beneath these trash piles, and now that he had the dimensional gloves, he wanted to dig through them to see what might turn up.

  He was just about to put on the gloves when red blinking lights appeared on the ground—footprints.

  [Hunter’s Eyes]! I’d almost forgotten about it!

  He’d found his opponent.

  Kai rushed toward the trail and followed the glowing prints. They moved steadily—not too fast, not too slow—circling the trash piles. Eventually, the trail reached the arena’s edge.

  He stopped and compared the direction the prints had come from with the map. It looked like his opponent had finished exploring the center and was now checking the perimeter.

  Kai placed his boot beside one of the prints. The size difference was obvious. Whoever he was tracking had much smaller feet.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Probably a woman.

  Not exactly useful, but it gave him a pronoun. She.

  He followed her trail for a few more minutes. Her pace was steady—no erratic turns, no sudden halts.

  It seems she doesn’t know I’m following her.

  If Kai had [Hunter’s Eyes], she could have it too. Still, the way she kept walking—completely natural, unbothered, unhurried—suggested she didn’t. Of course, she could just be faking it.

  Kai glanced down at his dimensional gloves and hesitated.

  So far, trial runners had only been able to observe the world, not interact with it directly. But what if that changed the moment he started rummaging? What if she saw trash being shuffled by unseen hands?

  Logic told him it shouldn’t happen. None of his interactive upgrades had been visible to opponents. He’d never seen anyone else’s lamps, flashes, or shadows. It was only after acquiring [Hunter’s Eyes] that he’d been able to track anyone at all.

  Still… hadn’t his opponent’s bombs caused effects on him? Maybe the gloves belonged to the same category.

  He hesitated a moment longer, then finally put them away.

  Now wasn’t the time to go digging through trash piles. Worst-case scenario, he unearthed something valuable and gave away its location—only for her to swoop in and capture it first.

  No. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Let her comb through the outskirts.

  For now, he’d focus on the central zone. He’d return here later, once he was sure she was gone.

  Kai glanced at the clock. Only thirty minutes had passed since the trial began. He had already captured one mystery box, one legendary card, two rares, and four uncommons. A solid haul so far. If needed, he still had the factory rooftop to explore—and his shadow puppets to gather extra points.

  Even if she’d been thorough, it wouldn’t hurt to sweep the central zone. In the quarry, he’d found plenty of opportunities his opponent had missed. That was the risk of playing aggressively—trial runners in a rush often skipped over good cards.

  He phased through the wall and stepped into the warehouse. Beyond the cluttered main floor, deeper inside the building, he found what he guessed was a laboratory.

  There were no vials of colorful liquid or white lab coats lying around. It was the cold, austere tiles on the walls and the rusty metal furniture that gave the space away.

  Here, closer to the factory’s heart, the elements had been kinder to the interior. He could still make out the remnants of old screens and dials, though every one of them was shattered.

  If he hadn’t seen the factory’s exterior, it might’ve all looked like meaningless scrap. But now that he knew this place had once produced engines, some of the shapes made sense. A broken bench vise. What looked like the shaft of a lathe.

  This might’ve been where the research and development department once worked.

  He went through each machine, inspecting them carefully—but found nothing salvageable. He clicked his tongue. Knowing what the machines were used for didn’t help if none of them worked.

  Then he spotted something instantly familiar: a toolbox.

  Tools—pickaxes, knives, axes—had proven their worth over and over in previous rounds. He took out the gloves and put them on. With them, he opened the box.

  Empty.

  Daisy wasn’t going to make things easy, huh?

  He considered snapping a photo of the toolbox, but changed his mind. He didn’t need a container—he needed tools.

  Once he was confident he hadn’t missed anything, he took off the gloves and passed through the next wall.

  Another lab.

  And this one was the real treasure trove.

  At its center stood a shiny, almost brand-new engine encased in glass. After so much rusted junk and decay, the sight of something untouched was jarring—almost surreal.

  The engine gleamed under his gaslamp, its chrome finish reflecting the light. Every nut, bolt, and gear looked pristine. The pistons were frozen mid-operation, the crankshaft poised to spin again with a single touch. If Kai wasn’t mistaken, this was a combustion engine, not an electric one.

  He didn’t even bother taking a photo.

  It was obvious this was a rare—or maybe even higher—card. And it had already been claimed. His opponent had gotten here first.

  It stung, even though he’d mentally prepared for it. He reminded himself of the cards he had captured—the ones she hadn’t. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the lab, hoping there was still something left behind.

  Maybe because this lab was at the very core of the factory, it had been spared the worst of the deterioration. Close to the engine, there was a console of some kind. It was broken, but still recognizable as a computer. Kai ignored it, drawn instead to something yellow tucked away in the corner of the lab.

  He found metal barrels. Near the rim, a crusted film of sickly brown residue clung to the edges—long dried, but unmistakably chemical. A faded radioactive symbol was still visible on the side.

  Was this radioactive waste?

  Several things weren’t adding up. This didn’t feel right. Why would the outside of the factory have massive electrical engines, but this room housed a combustion one? And what was the purpose of radioactive materials in a motor factory to begin with? He scratched his head.

  What exactly was Daisy trying to say with all this?

  And why would she put something so new and eye-catching in a place this rundown? It felt deliberately out of place.

  Whatever the reason, Kai figured the barrels were striking enough to have value, but corroded enough to fall under uncommon or below. He decided to take a shot.

  Capture successful!

  Tries left: 11 of 20

  Radioactive Waste ??

  (Uncommon)

  Hazardous mixture of radioactive materials.

  3 of 3

  HP: 2

  VP: 2

  He smiled. His guess had been right—and he’d gotten the very last [Radioactive Waste] card. Not bad. He was getting better at gauging item rarity before capturing. The VP score wasn’t huge, but it looked like the kind of card useful in crafting.

  He wasn’t sure what it would pair with, but he’d see what else he could scavenge from the arena. There had to be something that synergized with it.

  The rest of the lab was similar to what he’d seen in the previous room. He gave the area a final sweep, found a third lab—also empty—and that was it. Nothing more. He hadn’t gained much from exploring the map’s center. Hopefully, he could turn things around on the rooftop.

  Kai ran back toward the upper edge of the arena, passing the warehouse and assembly line wreckage until he was back outside.

  The first thing he noticed was the red footprints blinking on the ground—his opponent’s trail.

  She was standing in front of the spider web.

  Kai almost felt bad for her. She was about to run into a very disappointing surprise.

  He grabbed the gloves from his inventory. Then he looked at the ladder… and back at the footprints.

  This was the perfect chance to test whether his actions could interfere with her perception. Even if she could see him—or see what he was doing—there was no way she’d be able to follow him up to the rooftop.

  He put on the gloves, activated them, and walked toward his opponent. She stood still, facing the spider web.

  Kai waved his hands in front of her line of sight. Nothing. No reaction.

  She could very well be screaming in surprise at the sight of floating ghostly gloves, but there was no way for him to tell. Her feet hadn’t moved. If she’d been startled, she should’ve at least taken a step back.

  He tried something else. He looked around, found a pebble, and tossed it in her direction. Still no reaction.

  For a final test, he walked up to the spider web and pulled the spider off it. Nothing.

  So he had been worried for nothing.

  His opponent seemed completely unaware of what he was doing. It looked like they existed in entirely separate spaces. Whatever Kai did in his version of the arena didn’t affect hers.

  Good to know.

  For example, if he tried to pick up a rare item and stash it out of sight, it would still be in its original position in her world. The reverse was likely true, too.

  Feeling more confident in how the gloves worked, Kai climbed the ladder again.

  The sky had brightened to a soft blue. No clouds today. The morning sun cast a gentle light over the arena, and it lifted his mood.

  Time to see what Daisy has hidden up here.

  Kai crossed the rooftop like a soldier sweeping a minefield. There were holes everywhere, and through them, he could glimpse the factory floor below. Thanks to the open air and sunlight, he had a broad view of his surroundings—but after ten minutes of careful searching, he still hadn’t found anything noteworthy.

  Everything was too deteriorated. Nothing looked valuable. Nothing worth capturing.

  I’m missing something.

  Why would Daisy lock the rooftop behind a specialized upgrade if there was nothing of interest up here? Was the photo of [Neglect] the only reward? No—it couldn’t be. A similar shot could’ve been taken from below.

  Then what was it? What was he missing?

  Kai tapped his foot against the concrete and frowned.

  Then a thought occurred to him.

  What if the holes in the roof were the answer?

  Hey guys! Funny story—

  triple drop! ??????

  Rising Stars on Saturday. I was still on the list this morning when I scheduled these chapters... and then got bumped off. Argh. ??

  time to get back on the horse. ??

  To climb back up, what Card Crawler needs most right now are ratings (we’re at 18!) and reviews (still just one!).

  ?? 200 followers

  ?? 20 ratings

  ?? 5 reviews