SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 55 - Apologetic Loot

Kai sat in Sunny’s workshop. Even though it was really his now, he couldn’t help but think of it as Sunny’s and organize it just as his friend had liked it. He had pondered going to the library to think about Seth’s question or to chat with Trudy and Sophie, but he already knew what the books said and the opinion of his elders. Instead, he chose to come here to think.

He sat, cleaning and polishing each tool as he thought about the question for the day. He had never considered the possibility of boycotting the exams.

“May I?”

He jolted, startled. Turning around, he saw Ariel with one foot in the door.

“Good grief. You scared me.”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s OK. It’s just that no one comes here but me. I wasn’t expecting anyone. That’s all.” He pulled his eyes away from her shiny ones and went back to polishing. “I thought we would only get together tonight after the bonfire.”

“I needed to discuss something with you, and I didn’t want to wait until later. Can we talk?”

“Sure,” he said while applying pressure to the cloth, trying to clean a stubborn smear off Sunny’s old wrench.

“Kai. Can you please look at me?”

The question annoyed Kai somewhat, but he put the tool and cloth down and looked up. Today, Ariel wore a green dress and had her curly hair tied into a neat ponytail, highlighting her eyes and beautiful cheekbones. That wasn’t why his heart was beating so hard, though. “What’s up?”

Ariel took a deep breath, and Kai could feel she was nervous. “I can feel you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad,” the sentence came out too abruptly.

“Tell that to your face. You’ve been avoiding me and don’t even look me in the eye anymore. I want to make things right with you, Kai. Talk to me!”

Even though Ariel had requested Kai to look her in the eye, he couldn’t help but grab the tools again and restart polishing them. “Ariel, you really hurt me. You blamed Alex leaving on me. Don’t you think that I felt terrible about it? I tried to help your brother. I really did. He was like a brother to me, too.”

She gulped, her fists clenched. “It wasn’t your fault, Kai.”

“You made me grovel,” he continued. Now that he had opened the dams holding his anger and frustration, he had to let it all out. “I lost Alex. I lost you. I lost Sunny, and then, to give you space, I went out in the mountains with Clara. I lost her, too. And when I returned, all I was worth was a half-hearted apology scribbled in a note?”

He set the old wrench down with a bang and looked up with fury, only to find Ariel crying.

“I treated you horribly. I’m sorry,” she said, through hiccups. “I was just grieving, and I took it out on you. I know it wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry.”

Kai could feel the frailty of this moment.  He watched as Ariel sobbed. All the metal and brick around him suddenly felt as brittle as porcelain. One abrupt move or thoughtless word could break the glass bridge connecting him to Ariel.

He had been hurt, but so had Ariel. He let out a deep sigh and coughed away a catch in his throat. He stood up from the stool where he’d been sitting and crossed the gap between him and Ariel. He gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace.

*

Kai organized his cards. He put all creature cards in one pile, healing cards in another, and cards with zero hp in a graveyard pile. He reached out for the card he was the most curious about crafting with in this round.

Funhouse Mirror (Rare)

A curved mirror that creates a twisted reflection.

Hp: 4

Vp: 3

The [Mirror] card he’d gotten in the quarry arena was perhaps the most powerful card he’d crafted with so far. Copying cards without any sort of limitation was incredible. This, however, wasn’t a normal mirror. It was a funhouse mirror. What kind of effect would that have on the cards he copied? What was a twisted reflection of a card? There was only one way to find out.

Kai grabbed one of his most precious cards. He turned it over, letting the card’s bright patterns highlight the beautiful illustration of a human-like android.

Mega Scrapdroid (Mythic)

A scrap droid that has fed on so much technology that it has transcended into the realm of sentience.

Hp: ∞

Vp: 40 (Max)

He didn’t know if he could copy it or what a twisted reflection would look like, but he wanted to know. He placed [Funhouse Mirror] over one of the crafting patterns engraved on the table, making the device hum to life. He placed the [Mega Scrapdroid] on the other one, and the table went dark.

“Uh?” he grabbed both cards. Nothing had happened. Their health points remained unaffected. He tried again, but he placed the mythic grade card first this time. The table failed to react to the card. Kai scratched his head. Was that what the “max” text meant? That the cards couldn’t be used in crafting anymore?

He guessed that having a [Mirror] card copying mythic cards left and right would break the exams, but he wasn’t ready to give up. He moved over to the photocopier and placed [Mega Scrapdroid] on the uppermost slot, bringing the machine to life. This meant that even though mythic cards couldn’t be used in crafting, they could still be copied, provided that he used two mythic cards as a tradeoff.

That made him wonder whether there wasn’t a worthwhile trade to do here.

Red Star (Mythic)

A powerful, nuclear ball of fire.

Hp: ∞

Vp: 0 (Max)

Raised City of Atlantis (Mythic)

The city that had been swallowed by the ocean has risen back above the waves.

Hp: ∞

Vp: 15

These two cards were mythic but offered fewer points than [Mega Scrapdroid] or [One-Horned Jaguar]. He had already unlocked their respective upgrades and assumed they would still stand even if he sacrificed these cards. Did he want to use these two mythic cards as fodder to create another [Mega Scrapdroid]?

Now that he thought about it, why did [Raised City of Antlantis] not have the ‘max’ text after its victory points? Did that mean that he could still use it in crafting? He removed [Funhouse Mirror] from the crafting table and placed [Raised City of Atlantis] in it. The table hummed to life. Interesting. That meant that only if a card was marked as (max) would it have reached its maximum value.

Making all these discoveries at the start of this round creamed Kai’s corn. Why hadn’t he discovered this sooner? He could have, well thought of it in the previous round! He felt like pulling his hair out when he thought about how he had almost lost the last round by one point. When he had just discovered a way to win 25 points using only the cards from the last round.

But what did he need to do to make Atlantis reach its ultimate form? There was one possibility.

Crabken (Legendary)

A mighty sea monster. Its pincers can shatter continents, and its shell deflect cannon blasts.

Hp: 0

Vp: 20

A legendary city in the ocean could use a guardian. Out of all his cards, this seemed like the best possible candidate. Additionally, he had plenty of healing cards now, and if he tried this combination, worst case scenario, Crabken would lose one health point, while [Raised City of Atlantis] would remain unaffected. It was time to test his theory.

[Corndog] + [Crabken]

[Corndog] | Hp: 4→0

[Crabken] | Hp: 0→3

Crafting failed!

Kai chuckled at the thought of a massive sea monster snacking on a corndog and feeling remotely satisfied. It was the equivalent of a man having a breadcrumb for dinner. He wasn’t going to be a stickler for detail, though. If it was good enough for Daisy, it was good enough for him. He was glad this small meal gave a mighty sea monster some health points. He tossed [Corndog] aside and picked up his mythic card.

[Raised City of Atlantis] + [Crabken]

[Raised City of Atlantis] | Hp: ∞→∞

[Crabken] | Hp: 3→0

[Raised City of Atlantis] has been upgraded to [Guarded City of Atlantis].

Guarded City of Atlantis (Mythic)

A legendary city that has been raised. It shall never sink again, for it is guarded by a legendary beast.

Hp: ∞

Vp: 40 (Max)

Despite all of Kai’s planning during the snapping stage, he still had started his crafting round with an improvised recipe. He had completely ignored the (max) text in mythic cards and only now understood what it meant. It looked like a mythic card could keep growing until Daisy marked it as having reached its maximum value. This was a valuable lesson. From now on, he would ensure he tried bringing cards to their maximum value. With a new powerful card that had given him 25 more victory points, he went back to figuring out what [Funhouse Mirror] did.

His plan to make copies of his mythic cards didn’t work. If he couldn’t copy his mythic grade cards, he should instead copy the next most valuable thing. He grabbed [Crabken] and healed it again.

[Candy Apple] + [Crabken]

[Candy Apple] | Hp: 3→0

[Crabken] | Hp: 0→2

Crafting failed!

He still had [Cotton Candy] in reserve if he needed to heal another card. Now that [Crabken] could be used in crafting again, he set it on the table beside the [Funhouse Mirror]. This time, the table came to life and shone brightly for a few seconds. Thankfully, a new card sat on the table once the machine stopped working.

[Funhouse Mirror] + [Crabken]

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 4→3

[Crabken] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Crabken Toy].

Crabken Toy (Rare)

A cute wooden toy version of a legendary sea monster.

Hp: 1

Vp: 5

Kai picked his new card up and studied the illustration on it. It was a child’s toy. The powerful, dreadful sea creature was now a cute figurine. What had just happened? Was this a twisted reflection of a legendary card? If so, what would happen if he tried to reverse it?

[Funhouse Mirror] + [Crabken Toy]

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 3→2

[Crabken Toy] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Crabken].

“Not bad!” Kai said, grinning from ear to ear. He was starting to understand how [Mirror Card] worked. To confirm his suspicions, he grabbed one of the cards he had been unsure how to use in crafting.

[Funhouse Mirror] + [Balloon Giraffe]

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 3→2

[Balloon Giraffe] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Giraffe].

Giraffe (Rare)

A tall, long-necked mammal with distinctive spotted patterns and ossicones on its head.

Hp: 5

Vp: 2

So that’s how it worked. While [Mirror] had made perfect copies of cards, [Funhouse Mirror] worked like a joker, a bridge between shadow puppets and sculptures into the real creatures they portrayed. Additionally, it went both ways. That meant he could spend two hp of a [Funhouse Mirror] to copy a legendary creature card. That answered most of his questions about this card, but there was only one question he had left. First, he made a copy of [Funhouse Mirror].

Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Balloon Giraffe] and [Spider Web] for [Funhouse Mirror].

He hadn’t found a purpose to [Spider Web], so he gladly traded the copy with no hp for a new [Funhouse Mirror]. Now that he had an unused [Funhouse Mirror] in the bank, he set out to discover the answer to his last remaining question about this card.

When he had merged both [Mirror] cards, he had obtained [Infinity]. What happened when he merged two [Funhouse Mirrors] then?

[Funhouse Mirror] + [Funhouse Mirror]

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 3→2

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Mirror].

Kai smiled radiantly. He hoped this was the result. He was still thrilled to hold a [Mirror] card again. Even though [Funhouse Mirror] could essentially copy a card by utilizing it twice, [Mirror] copied his most valuable cards much more efficiently.

All that was left was to decide what cards to copy. What were the most cards without a max text that he could obtain this round? He first had to finish exploring the potential of [Funhouse Mirror]. There were two other cards that he was hoping would synergize well with it. One was the [Wooden Unicorn].

Wooden Unicorn (Rare)

A playful representation of the mythological one-horned horse of legend.

Hp: 1

Vp: 8

It was remarkably similar to [Crabken Toy], and he already knew what he would obtain from merging it with [Funhouse Mirror].

[Wooden Unicorn] + [Funhouse Mirror]

[Wooden Unicorn] | Hp: 1→0

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Unicorn].

Just as he suspected. He had gotten his hands on yet another unicorn. He grabbed the last card he wanted to obtain a twisted reflection of. This was the one he was the least sure about, but, if he was right, could have very interesting results.

Pirate Ship Ride (Uncommon)

An amusement park ride that performs a pendular motion.

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

If he had a pirate card, it made sense for him to be able to obtain a real pirate ship, too, right? He was excited about trying this recipe.

[Pirate Ship Ride] + [Funhouse Mirror]

[Pirate Ship Ride] | Hp: 1→0

[Funhouse Mirror] | Hp: 3→2

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Pirate Ship].

Pirate Ship (Rare)

A sturdy vessel with black sails and a Jolly Roger flag, used for raiding and pillaging on the high seas.

Hp: 2

Vp: 5

It had worked! [Funhouse Mirror] transformed toys into the real thing. The pirate ship ride had become an actual pirate ship. Now that he had a pirate ship, all that was left was to man it. Thankfully, he had a crew member ready for it.

Pirate (Uncommon)

A criminal outlaw that raids ships.

Hp: 0

Vp: 4

Sadly, it didn’t have any hp, so he first had to heal it before using it in crafting. Kai had learned his lesson from the last round and left himself some resources to heal other cards if needed.

Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Corndog] and [Candy Apple] for [Cotton Candy].

It was an excellent trade. Both [Corndog] and [Candy Apple] had been used up already, and they offered few victory points anyway. With this, he didn’t lose much and secured a healing card in case it was needed again. He fed the pirate.

[Pirate] + [Cotton Candy]

[Pirate] | Hp: 0→3

[Cotton Candy] | Hp: 4→0

Crafting failed.

Now that [Pirate] had some hp, it could be placed together with [Pirate Ship].

[Pirate] + [Pirate Ship]

[Pirate] | Hp: 3→2

[Pirate Ship] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Loot].

Ch. 54 - Controversy Fomentation

INDEX

Ch. 56 - Fire & Fury