Summer of 343, A.D.
“Haha. I should have holographed you, Kai. Your face when you were tased was priceless.”
“That’s just too funny, Alex.”
After another exhausting day of studying, Kai and Alex were walking home. Today had been yet another nightmarish, practical lesson taught by Neil.
“And weren’t you happy that Ariel was reading poetry to you?” Alex grinned.
“Shut up!”
Alex laughed.
Kai hated to admit it, but in a way, he was grateful for Neil’s challenge. It had been the perfect excuse to admire Ariel without making it awkward. It wasn’t just because she was the only girl in his sector around his age. He was convinced that even if there had been thousands of girls, he still would have been drawn to her.
Her hair fell perfectly over her shoulders. Her smile brightened everything around her. Her jade-green eyes almost seemed to glow. After a few shocks, he had even started to enjoy the poem itself—though, if he was being honest, what he had enjoyed most was hearing Ariel read to him.
“Well, I’m off now,” Alex announced.
“What? I thought we were going to play a board game or something.”
“Nah. I’ve got plans.”
Kai narrowed his eyes. “What kind of plans?”
“It’s a secret. But I’ll see you later.”
Alex took off before Kai could press further. He had been disappearing more often lately, and when Kai asked, he always gave vague answers. Could he be visiting old Seth in Rebeltown? If so, why hadn’t he invited him?
Before he could think too much about it, the sound of a cough pulled him from his thoughts. He turned toward the noise, hearing slow footsteps and the rhythmic tap of a wooden cane.
In an empty city, all sounds felt louder. Neil was walking down the street, carrying a bag of rations. He must have been coming from the delivery center.
“Hey, Neil. Wait up. I’ll help you out.”
“Kai? Thank you, boy.”
Kai took the bag and slowed his pace to match the old man’s.
“Weren’t you with Alexander?” Neil asked.
“You just missed him. He’s off to do something on his own.”
“I see. And what brings you to this part of town? Weren’t you living close to the park?”
“I heard Sunny say this was the best street in town, so I decided to give it a go.”
“Oh, yes. I tend to agree with her,” Neil said with a small smile. “Although you have to walk uphill to get to the nearest delivery center, the trip back is easier with the help of gravity. And you’re close to the square, the library, and the park.”
“That’s what she said.”
“She’s further up the road. I live over there.”
They walked for a while in comfortable silence before Neil spoke again. “You’ve been doing well, Kai.”
“Thanks.” After a moment’s hesitation, Kai asked the question that had been bothering him. “Neil, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you focus so much on survival skills?”
Neil was quiet for a moment. “Do you know how many trials I have been summoned to?”
Kai had heard the number before, but he had never really thought about it. “Over ten.”
Neil nodded gravely. “Eleven, to be precise.”
Kai blinked. Eleven. He had always known Neil had been through a lot, but hearing the number out loud made it feel real.
“Thanks to the survival skills I learned, I always brought back enough for everyone,” Neil continued. “Remember, Kai, the trials are, above all else, about survival. If you can learn to survive, you can deal with whatever Daisy throws at you. Forget it if she says it’s all about math, appreciation, or generosity. It’s all about survival.”
*
Present, 353rd Daisy Trials.
Kai’s footsteps crunched over the pine needles, the only sound accompanying him besides the occasional rustling of leaves. The eerie silence weighed on him. No birds. No insects. Just trees, pine needles, and the wind. The terrain was slightly hilly, making it difficult to see far, and the dense tree cover blocked any long-range visibility.
He followed the downward incline, his boots sinking slightly into the forest floor. Then, something caught his eye.
At first glance, it looked like any other pine tree. But something about it set his instincts on edge. He had passed hundreds of nearly identical trees, yet this one felt… wrong.
Most of the trunks he had seen were dark, occasionally patched with green moss or yellow lichen. But this one was covered in lichen—so much that the bark underneath was barely visible. As he stepped closer, he noticed clusters of mushrooms sprouting from the roots.
He leaned in, studying them. Their sulfur-yellow caps, five or six centimeters wide, looked almost waxy. He had never seen these before. He was certain they were poisonous but couldn’t recall their name.
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He lined up the shot, heart steady, finger poised.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 3 of 20.
Yellow Honey Agaric ???? (Uncommon)
4 of 4
HP: 2
VP: 2
He had gotten the very last one.
At least two other trial runners had already found this mushroom, but for some reason, one of them had only taken a single shot instead of two. Either they had used up all their attempts, or they had discovered the mushroom at the exact same time. The first option was far more likely, but the second possibility put him on edge. He wasn’t the only one chasing these points.
His attention returned to the tree. Fly agarics and bear bread mushrooms clung to its base and trunk, just like he had seen elsewhere. But this tree was different. Unlike the others, it looked overwhelmed, almost as if its own environment was suffocating it. Compared to the healthy, vibrant pines that filled the arena, this one seemed like it was barely clinging to life.
That had to mean something.
Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe the tree was just dying—nothing more. But if he didn’t take the shot and it mattered, he’d regret it. Time was running out. He couldn’t afford to play it safe.
He lined up the frame and clicked.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 2 of 20.
Dead Tree ???? (Rare)
3 of 3
HP: 4
VP: 3
Kai sighed in relief. He’d made the right call. This tree really was different from the others. No wonder it was overwhelmed with fungi—it was already dead.
And it’s a rare card! Sweet!
This was his first rare card in the trial. The pool of rare cards was limited—only three in total. Another player must have taken the first two captures, leaving him with the very last one. That was frustrating, but the card’s stats quickly shifted his focus.
The total points between HP and VP for [Dead Tree] was seven.
Common cards have three. Uncommon cards, four. But from uncommon to rare, the jump is all the way to seven!
The lesson was clear—card values didn’t increase linearly. They spiked with rarity. In a challenge where the number of captures was limited, a single rare card could make all the difference. If even higher rarity tiers existed, those could be game-changers.
His scowl deepened as he checked the number of remaining captures. Someone else had been here first. The thought that some lucky trial runner had stumbled onto this place and scooped up these cards without effort annoyed him. Maybe they had even spawned right next to it. But even if another player had found this by chance, at least Kai had earned his knowledge. Like Neil always said, any discovery about the game’s rules could be the edge between victory and defeat.
He circled the dead tree again, taking in its significance. This wasn’t just a rare card—this tree had everything. Every mushroom he’d found scattered across the map was growing here, all in one place. A card treasure trove. If he had started here, he could have gathered nearly every card he owned without wandering aimlessly for two hours.
Is this the only place like this in the arena? Or are there more?
The arena was big enough for multiple hidden hotspots, and with the landscape looking so similar everywhere, it was easy to get disoriented. He could have easily walked right past another location just like this.
And what about the rest of the exam? Would future arenas have similar treasure troves? If so, the best strategy going forward might be to find them as quickly as possible and capture multiple cards in one go.
He glanced at the system clock—ten minutes left. Turning south, he moved toward the part of the arena he had explored the least. Maybe another treasure trove was waiting for him there. But with only two shots left, he had to be careful.
The clock kept ticking, but nothing noteworthy appeared. At this rate, he was going to finish the trial with pictures left untaken.
I wonder what happens if I don’t use all my shots. Will they carry over to the next round? Could I take 21 pictures in round two if I only take 19 now?
There was no way to know. For all he knew, there wasn’t a next round. But if there was, this information could be valuable.
No matter what, I’ll leave at least one shot untaken. If the number of tries carries over, it could be the advantage I need.
His thoughts shifted.
How well am I doing?
He wanted to believe he had done well, but with no leaderboard, there was no way to tell how many points his competitors had racked up. The uncertainty gnawed at him.
The clock showed five minutes remaining.
Should I keep looking for cards until the very end? Or should I take a breather?
Who knew what Daisy had prepared for the next stage? Would he even have time to rest?
He thought back to the lessons on the electric chair, listening to poetry, and Neil’s voice echoed in his mind. Find enjoyment, even in difficulty.
Kai exhaled slowly.
For once, he didn’t try to break things down into numbers and strategy. He just let himself exist. He kept walking, but this time, he wasn’t meticulously scanning the terrain for something to capture. The trees weren’t obstacles in a game anymore—they were just trees. Tall. Still. Indifferent to his worries.
Tilting his head upward, he caught glimpses of the sky through the gaps in the branches. Small patches of blue shone like gemstones in a vast green tapestry. He followed the movement of the leaves as they swayed in the wind. Then, he saw the sunlight.
Radiant beams cut through the latticework of branches and leaves, piercing the woodland floor. Each golden ray looked like a fragment of the sun itself, breaking through the digital sky to reach him. It was beautiful. Maybe he’d seen a scene like this earlier, but he hadn’t taken the time to appreciate it.
His gaze flicked down to the camera strapped around his neck. Then back to the beams of light.
Shrugging, he raised the camera.
Capture successful!
A soft chime rang out—softer, purer. Different from the others. Something about this capture felt different. He glanced down at the camera screen, and his breath caught in his throat.
Light ? (Legendary)
Tries left: 1 of 20
1 of 1
HP: +∞
VP: 2
His breath caught as the notification blurred in his vision.
Legendary. One of one. The only one of its kind.
He had captured light itself. Not a tree, not a mushroom, not something solid—light.
His pulse quickened. If legendary cards were truly one of a kind, that meant no one else in the trial had this.
Oh my goodness! It has infinite HP!
He still had no idea what HP was for, but a card that couldn’t be destroyed had to be an advantage. And what else was out there? If there were five commons, four uncommons, and three rares, was there a tier between rare and legendary? Was light the only legendary, or were others hidden throughout the arena? Had someone else found something just as powerful?
The biggest realization wasn’t even the rarity. It was the fact that he had captured something intangible. He had spent the entire trial focused on tangible objects—trees, mushrooms, bark. But now… the rules had changed. What were the limits? Could he photograph emotions? Concepts? A rush of euphoria surged through him. The possibilities were endless.
Before he could explore them further, the clock hit zero. The second it did, the world shattered. Sound collapsed. The rustling leaves, the scent of pine needles, the earthy crunch beneath his feet—all gone in an instant. In its place was silence. Blinding white.
The abrupt shift left him lightheaded. He blinked, adjusting to the emptiness of the white room. Everything looked exactly as it had before—except for one new addition. At the center of the room stood a table, dark and solid, a stain against the stark white. Without thinking, he stepped forward. His fingers ran along its surface—almost perfectly smooth, except for the center, where shallow engravings broke the texture. Not random patterns. Rectangles.
These are the same shape as the cards.
“Inventory.”
The floating system window appeared, displaying everything he had gathered. He stretched his hand forward, grabbing the cards, and found himself physically holding them—fourteen in total. With careful precision, he laid them down. First, the commons. Then the uncommons. The single rare. And at last… the legendary.
This was the next stage of the trial. Everything he had done in the woodland arena had led to this moment.
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?? | HP: 1 → 0
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