SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 46 - Split Activation

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Kai grunted with effort as he limped up the ridge. He had been so excited to go on his first solo expedition. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Clara’s reaction when she saw him return after only two days with a broken leg to boot. In retrospect, climbing that tree to get a better look at the doe and her fawn hadn't been the brightest idea.

After he fell, Neil's training kicked in. Kai felt his leg and judged it broken. He then crawled around the tree and found two relatively straight pieces of wood. He fashioned one into a splint and tied it to his leg with the materials he had at hand—the other he used as a cane to help him move around. Ditching his backpack to reduce the strain on his broken leg, Kai had begun the painful trek back to the cabin. Fortunately, he hadn’t ventured too far from the cabin.

In a whole day of grueling march, he only had a ration bar to eat. His leg hurt immensely and had swollen to an unhealthy purple last he checked. He didn’t feel like checking what color it might be now.

Kai kept conjuring images of a steamy bath, a hot meal, and a warm bed to keep himself going. The last rays of sunlight bathed the mountains in red. Kai recognized a large boulder and was relieved that he would reach the cabin before nightfall. Knowing he was on the last stretch, he sped up his limp.

Near the edge of the clearing, he stared at a nearby tree, terrified at the black cross painted on its trunk. He hurried toward the clearing at the fastest speed his leg allowed him. He gasped when he found the wooden cabin where he'd spent the last couple of months with Clara.

“No. It can't be.” There was a black X painted on the door. Clara had caught the blight. He stood there frozen for a moment. The pain, hunger, thirst, and cold were all pushed out of his mind by the sight of the black X. Did this mean he had the blight, too? No, it couldn’t be. He had no symptoms.

How was this possible? There was no one else here. How had Clara caught the virus? He looked at his leg and grimaced. What about him? What could he do now? He looked at the cabin for a few moments and then turned back. He cried as he limped away.

Sorrow and grief hit him harder than the pain in his broken leg. Clara was gone. One more firekeeper lost to the blight. He had to move if he didn’t want to be one more casualty. He couldn’t help Clara anymore, and he had to make it back.

He couldn’t stop. If he stopped to rest, he didn’t think he could get back up and make the long trip back home. At least from here to the city, it was downhill. Hopefully, he still had enough strength to make it.

*

After Kai studied the mutated plants on the table for a few minutes, he found a pattern. [Green Daisy] had four hp, but [Brown Berry] and [White Fern] had only two. He took this as a sign from Daisy that [Green Daisy] would be the ingredient that Kai would need to use the most to make this recipe work.

If that wasn’t the right way, there was only one way to find out. He grabbed [Green Daisy] and [Brown Berry] and placed them on the engravings of the crafting table.

[Green Daisy] + [Brown Berry]

[Green Daisy] | Hp: 4→3

[Brown Berry] | Hp: 2→1

New recipe added to your recipe book.

Crafting successful! You've crafted [Black Reagent].

Black Reagent (Rare)

A black concoction made from mutated plants.

Hp: 1

Vp: 6

Sighing in relief, he then proceeded to try the other combination.

[Green Daisy] + [White Fern]

[Green Daisy] | Hp: 3→2

[White Fern] | Hp: 2→1

New recipe added to your recipe book.

Crafting successful! You've crafted [White Reagent].

White Reagent (Rare)

A white concoction made from mutated plants.

Hp: 1

Vp: 6

He grinned at the memory of him shouting the names of plants he saw and Maia keeping count. Not to sound immodest, that had been a genius move on his part. The results spoke for themselves. Both reagents granted a generous amount of points. By using these recipes entirely, even if they didn’t lead anywhere, Kai would make 48 points.

The next step was determining what would happen if he mixed [Black Reagent] and [White Reagent]. Kai grabbed both rare cards and placed them over the engravings on the table. The table hummed to life in a display of brilliant light, and once the light faded back down, both original cards had disappeared, and only one new shiny card remained.

[Black Reagent] + [White Reagent]

[Black Reagent] | Hp: 1→0

[White Reagent] | Hp: 1→0

New recipe added to your recipe book.

Perfect merge!

Crafting successful! You've crafted [Mutagen X].

Mutagen X (Legendary)

A powerful mutagen that can combine different genomes

Hp: 1

Vp: 10

“Perfect merge?” Kai hadn’t seen that since he fused the [Super Scrapdroid] cards. He wondered what the point was in saying that. He hadn’t won anything extra from achieving that type of merge.

The result was disappointing in terms of points. After all, had the ingredient cards remained available, he would have had twelve more points. Instead, he lost points in the exchange. He studied [Mutagen X]. What did it do? What could he mix it with?

Kai snapped his fingers as he recalled that he might be able to find some clues in the console. He crossed the room and activated the console, looking for whatever upgrade this new legendary card had granted him. Sure enough, there was a new listing.

Split Activation

Requirements: Fusion card.

Description: You only need to activate one of the fusion elements for the merge to be successful.

Cost: 100uc

Kai read through the text multiple times to make sense of the information. [Mutagen X] had to be what was referred to here as a fusion card. But wasn’t the whole Snap Craft competition built around merging things or fusing them? What was the purpose of a fusion card? The only thing he could think of was that this was some sort of card that forced things to go together.

His brow rose as he turned the [Mutagen X] card over in his hand. The text description of the card spoke of genomes. Only living things had genomes, so this upgrade and the fusion card had to refer to the fusion of living things, right?

He decided to run an experiment. First, he picked the [Shadow Sea Monster] card. Seeing his shadow puppet card, thoughts of Alex threatened to take over his mind, but he forced them away. He couldn’t lose focus. He had to keep it together for Ariel.

It was time to bring this monster to life.

[Shadow Sea Monster] + [Light]

[Shadow Sea Monster] | Hp: 1→0

[Light] | Hp: +∞→+∞

Crafting successful! You've crafted [Sea Monster].

Sea Monster (Rare)

An insidious creature that lurks in the depths of the ocean.

Hp: 1

Vp: 8

Even though the card hadn’t broken through to legendary rank, it was nearly there! Its stat line was superior to that of other rare cards. He studied the picture on the card of a creepy, tentacled being cloaked in darkness.

It was time to determine what the fusion card did. After Kai deposited both cards on the table, [Mutagen X] card sent light pulses toward [Sea Monster]. Once the crafting was processed, [Mutagen X] became dull while [Sea Monster] shone in a neon-green light. Kai sighed in relief, seeing that the [Mutagen X] hadn’t crumpled to dust. Those ten victory points were something he needed.

[Sea Monster] + [Mutagen X]

[Sea Monster] | Hp: 1→1

[Mutagen X] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting failed.

The neon-green glow was probably what the console called ‘activating’ a card. Since [Split Fusion] was an upgrade that claimed to eliminate the need to activate both cards, he reckoned that he had now to activate a second card and then fuse it with [Sea Monster]. He processed the mutated herbs to make one more [Mutagen X] card.

[Green Daisy] + [Brown Berry]

[Green Daisy] | Hp: 2→1

[Brown Berry] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful! You've crafted [Black Reagent].

[Green Daisy] + [White Fern]

[Green Daisy] | Hp: 1→0

[White Fern] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful! You've crafted [White Reagent].

[Black Reagent] + [White Reagent]

[Black Reagent] | Hp: 1→0

[White Reagent] | Hp: 1→0

Perfect merge!

Crafting successful! You've crafted [Mutagen X].

Now that he had a new fusion card, he activated another creature card. As this was an experiment, he decided to use [Crab].

[Crab] + [Mutagen X]

[Crab] | Hp: 2→1

[Mutagen X] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting failed.

Like before, the [Mutagen X] card dulled, and [Crab] shone in a sickly green. Everything had gone as expected except for the decrease in [Crab]’s hp. Why had [Sea Monster]’s hp stayed the same while [Crab]’s had decreased? He didn’t know for sure, but that wasn’t what he was the most curious about right now. He wanted to see what happened once he fused the two activated cards.

He placed the two cards shining in a toxic green on the table. The green light seemed to contaminate the usually pure white light of the crafting station and turned it into a vibrant jade. Once the green light faded, a new card was on the crafting table.

[Crab] + [Sea Monster]

[Crab] | Hp: 1→0

[Sea Monster] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [Krabken]

Krabken (Legendary)

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

Hp: 0

Vp: 20

Kai was beyond excited at this development! Not only were the victory points generous, but he couldn’t help but find it cool that he had just created a super mutant creature! Compared to the previous dark, mysterious monster on the [Sea Monster] card, the drawing on [Krabken]’s card portrayed a massive armored beast with solid armor and earth-shattering pincers.

Now that he understood how fusion cards worked, it was time to take it to the next level. He made two more [Mutagen X] cards and activated the following creature cards he wanted to merge.

[Unicorn] + [Mutagen X]

[Unicorn] | Hp: 1→1

[Mutagen X] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting failed.

[Jaguar] + [Mutagen X]

[Jaguar] | Hp: 3→1

[Mutagen X] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting failed.

After seeing [Jaguar]’s hp drop by two points, Kai suspected that [Mutagen X] brought a creature’s hp to one, regardless of what it was before. Interestingly, compared to the sickly green of the previous cards, they exuded a glorious, vibrant emerald. It was as if after he activated the legendary creatures, they brimmed with vitality.

He put them on the table, curious to see what he would get from this merge. The light shone with an intensity that surpassed the previous creatures’ fusion.

[Jaguar] + [Unicorn]

[Jaguar] | Hp: 1→0

[Unicorn] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful. You’ve crafted [One-Horned Jaguar].

One-Horned Jaguar (Mythic)

A phenomenal hunter that can pierce any shield with its horn and fool any eye with its camouflage.

Hp: +∞

Vp: 40 (Max)

This card also works as an upgrade. You’ve unlocked [Mythological Discount].

Kai smiled radiantly at the sight of a new mythic card. Its stat line was similar to that of [Mega Scrap-Droid]. Kai had never seen a creature like this before, a jaguar with a horn. He wondered if Daisy had stolen this idea from some ancient mythology or if she had come up with it. [One-Horned Jaguar] would be one more card that would guarantee he started each round ahead of his opponent.

More than that, however, he had gained an upgrade worth 500 upgrade coins for free. He had wanted to purchase [Mythological Discount] from the moment he saw it. However, for immediate gains, he had to put it off constantly. Now he could buy all future upgrades at a considerable discount, which would only make him stronger.

There was no way of knowing how well his opponent was doing, but Kai wasn’t too concerned this time. With 264 points, he felt he was doing quite well. He calmly reviewed each of the remaining cards, looking for recipes he might have missed.

He would have been chasing after the clock in other rounds, but having those extra fifteen minutes made all the difference in helping him run the trial at a more leisurely pace.

Sure enough, he discovered a few more recipes he wanted to try. First, he grabbed [Swiss Army Knife] and paired it with the only creature card left.

[Crab] + [Swiss Army Knife]

[Crab] | Hp: 2→1

[Swiss Army Knife] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Crab Meat].

You’ve crafted! [Crab Shell].

Crab Meat (Rare)

Hp: 1

Vp: 6

Crab Shell (Common)

Hp: 0

Vp: 3

No! That’s not what he wanted to happen! He was supposed to get a crab knife fighter or something like that, not kill the crab and get its meat! Shoulders slumped, and disappointed at the outcome, he went on to the following recipe he wanted to try.

[Oyster] + [Swiss Army Knife]

[Oyster] | Hp: 1→0

[Swiss Army Knife] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Pearl].

Pearl (Rare)

Hp: 0

Vp: 7

Not bad. Seven victory points was nothing to scoff at. With this, he exhausted all combinations he wanted to try. Now, it was time to use up a few tricks to increase his points a little more.

[Red Star] + [Pine Tree]

[Red Star] | Hp: +∞→+∞

[Pine Tree] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Ash].

[Red Star] + [Pine Tree]

[Red Star] | Hp: +∞→+∞

[Acacia Tree] | Hp: 3→0

Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Ash].

Even though [Red Star] didn’t absorb the victory points or the hit points of things it burned, Kai got some extra points from the [Ash] cards.

After this little trick, the only way to make more points left was to play a game of math and see if he could get more points by sacrificing two weaker cards in exchange for one of the same level. He had two uncommon cards that gave no victory points. He could trade them for whatever uncommon cards or common cards granted points.

He also figured he could gain one more victory point by making [Pearl] from the two spent [Green Daisies], which only offered three victory points each.

Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Green Daisy] and [Green Daisy] for [Pearl].

Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Floater] and [Floater] for [Crab Shell].

Now he was done. There wasn’t anything else he could do to get more points. He checked his final score for the round: 288 points. Hopefully, that would be enough. He had done everything he could at the crafting table. He organized all the cards in a neat deck and moved to the console.

Even though [Deadline Extension] had relieved him of having to rush through the recipes, in this particular instance where his opponent had a way of hiding their score, it was prolonging his anxiety. How he wished he knew if he had won or not.

Thankfully, he had a way to keep himself busy and take his mind off his anxiety. He could window-shop. Thanks to [Risen], he could already check the upgraded console. Kai browsed the listings, wishing the clock ticked faster.

Ch. 45 - Genetic Alteration

INDEX

Ch. 47 - Populated Tangibility