SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 9 - Value of Perspective
Added 2023-10-11 15:45:17 +0000 UTCAutumn of 345, A.D.
Albert mumbled a few complaints barely audible over the crackling of the wood and the chat of the people in the sector. His voice was primarily directed at Trudy, who ignored him. It was probably the same complaint that he always made. ‘Why can’t we just start at the library or the museum right away?’
“Very well, boys and girls, gather around. Welcome to my 2006th sunrise bonfire,” Kai looked at Alex, who rolled his eyes at the number. Albert was the only one who counted how many bonfires he had hosted, one of his many quirks.
Albert’s hair was of distinguished silver. He kept it combed back neatly, but a few strands stubbornly escaped, giving a splash of youth to his weathered face. Alex had put it better than Kai ever could. It was like history had run over Albert with a bus. The statement had made Kai laugh then, but the more time passed, the truer the statement felt to him.
Albert spent so many waking hours reading that his eyes couldn’t keep up with his brain. He wore round, wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his tiny nose. Even though the lenses were thick, they couldn’t hide the curious brown eyes that stared through them.
“Today, we’ll talk about the value of perspective. Depending on how you look at something, its value can dramatically change. For example, a thirsty man in the desert will prefer water over gold. Someone living near a river will feel differently.
“Sometimes, our perspective itself can influence the value of something. Let's look at a real example. In 103 B.D., there was a scientist named Dr. Spencer Silver. He attempted to develop a strong adhesive but ended up with a weak one that didn't stick well. He considered his efforts a failure. From a certain perspective, they were.
However, one of his colleagues thought differently. He saw potential in his colleague’s failure.” The last word was said as Albert drew air quotes in the air. “He used the weak adhesive to create sticky bookmarks. This weak adhesive allowed him to remove the bookmarks without damaging the paper he stuck it to.
“Recognizing the practicality of this concept, Dr. Spencer’s Silver’s company developed a valuable office product called, at the time, ‘Post-it Notes.’ It became an organizational tool, a worldwide success! It revolutionized how people took notes and left reminders. So, from a certain perspective, Dr. Spencer Silver was a failure. But from another, he was successful.”
Kai had never heard the story. It was amusing that the man hadn’t seen the value in his invention and how rebranding it had given it a whole new level of value. As usual, Albert got lost in his thoughts. He was starting to trail off more often these days.
Sunny coughed, trying to prompt Albert to get to his point without violating the decorum of the sunrise bonfire. Kai didn’t know why she bothered. Everyone knew what Albert would say next. Reminded by Sunny, Albert snapped out of his daze and continued, “Right, right. So, what we’re going to do is that we'll all go to the museum. I want you all to go through the accounts of the past exams and try to find instances in which, by shifting their perspective, trial runners were able to overcome challenges or get a better score. Let’s go for it!”
*
353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 256.
Kai wasn’t the first to arrive in the middle of the map. Beads of sweat formed on Kai’s forehead. He had run here as fast as he could. He had even invested fifty victory points in buying a map to have a better chance of quickly finding the center of the arena. How could his opponent have beaten him to the punch?
He gulped nervously. What should he do now? He tried to get himself together. There were many explanations for how his opponent had gotten this card first. They could have the good fortune of just spawning near it. There could also be other ponds scattered around the arena.
But even if his competitor had gotten to the middle of the map first, that didn’t mean the situation was hopeless. This spot couldn’t be compared to the dead tree he’d found in the first round, and the points [Pond] offered weren't many. Compared to the dead tree of the first round, this treasure trove was pitiful. After all, when he’d spotted the dead tree, there were mushrooms and many other objects worth capturing everywhere. But here, there was only rock. His opponent hadn't scooped up as many cards as they would have in the first round. As he considered this, he jolted upright.
Treasure trove. Treasure trove. This pond didn't look much like a treasure trove, did it? Assuming his hunch was correct and there was a treasure trove at the center of every map, there had to be other things here he could photograph. It didn’t make sense for there to be only one uncommon card. There had to be something more. Maybe Daisy had hidden other opportunities here.
Kai circled the lake and found nothing remarkable. He had half-expected to find a precious stone or an exotic flower but found only rock and debris. Maybe the opportunities weren’t hidden around the pond but in the pond itself. He tried looking into the lake's still water and couldn’t see his reflection. The water was completely still and was crystal clear. Even from afar, he could see the bottom.
He closed his eyes and hoped the water would not be too cold, but his foot went right through the transparent surface without getting wet. The water didn’t even ripple. The water was a hologram, too. It was as if Kai and the pond were in entirely different dimensions. The pond wasn’t deep by any means. At its deepest point, it only reached Kai’s waist. He wondered how cold the water would have been if he could touch it.
He held the camera over the water and took a shot.
Capture failed.
Tries left: 17 of 20.
No way. The picture had failed. He stared uncomprehendingly at the pond and scratched his head. He was sure that he would be able to get a [Water] card or something similar. But the water was so clean and transparent that one could see through the bottom. He tried to disturb the water again, but his hand just went through it. How was he supposed to photograph water if he couldn’t frame it? Was there a way of making something invisible look visible? If only he could touch the water.
Maybe he just had to adjust his perspective instead. Kai kneeled and then lay down at the bottom of the pond. He took a deep breath and felt goosebumps. It was uncanny how his whole body was immersed in the water but could still breathe and be dry and warm.
Now, with his back on the bottom of the pond, looking up, the bigger viscosity of the water made it more visible. Kai looked for the right angle, trying to get as much water as possible between the lens and the surface, and took a shot.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 16 of 20
Water (Uncommon)
1 of 3
Hp: 3
Vp: 1
Bingo. So, taking this photograph depended on shifting his perspective. Daisy had made it more difficult for trial runners to get a good picture of the water. The pond was so perfectly still, and the water was so shallow that it almost looked transparent. He got the [Pond] card by viewing the whole pond. But to get [Water], one had to dive and take a photo from inside the water. It looked like a card more geared toward crafting from its high hp. He couldn’t wait to experiment with it at the crafting table. He took a second picture of it before his opponent learned about this.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 15 of 20
Water (Uncommon)
2 of 3
Hp: 3
Vp: 1
It was as he thought. This was a treasure trove, too. He just had to look at things from different angles, and by doing that, he could find the added value. He was learning that Daisy often put more than one reward along one line of reasoning. For example, by using Gestalt theory and focusing on the parts, he got the [Pine Bark] and [Pine Trunk] in the last stage.
Before leaving to explore more of the map, he decided to see if there were any other surprises that Daisy had left for trial runners here. Still unnerved by how unnatural this illusion was, he left the pond. As he observed the pond again from the outside, he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. There was something that he wanted to try.
He took steps toward and away from the pond, trying to find the right angle for what he was trying to do. Once he was a few steps away, he caught a glimpse of what he wanted, and he came to his knees and experimented with different heights. Eventually, he found himself lying on the floor with his camera slightly up. He kept looking through the viewfinder and eventually managed to frame the picture he wanted.
The light hit the pond at the right angle, working like a mirror. Kai was able to get a perfect reflection of the monoliths beyond and the sky above. After several minor adjustments, he made it seem like the sky and the piles of rocks blended seamlessly into the pond's water. Hoping for the best, he took another shot.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 14 of 20
Mirror (Rare)
1 of 2
Hp: 4
Vp: 3
Yes! Kai quickly took another one before he lost the position he had found after much effort.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 13 of 20
Mirror (Rare)
2 of 2
Hp: 4
Vp: 3
Kai sighed in relief. Evidently, his opponent had found the pond, photographed it, and moved on. Because Kai lingered, he had time to think of different shots he could make and ended up with two uncommon cards and two rare cards. It was too late even if the enemy trial runner came here now. He had already secured two [Water] and [Mirror] cards. At most, his opponent would only get the last [Water] card. Just like that, Kai had already spent a third of the tries for this round of the snap arena.
He had gotten [Pile of Granite], [Pond], [Water], and [Mirror]. In total, he had gotten 12 victory points. Most of the cards so far were proving to be craft-oriented. They had high hp and low vp. Hopefully, that would work in his favor. Crafting had the potential to increase victory points dramatically.
Kai was still upset for being the second to the pond. The fact that he had gotten here before Kai scared him. That showed either extraordinary luck or very decisive action. He didn’t know which one it was. If only he could know how many points his opponent had right now and what cards he had captured already. Not knowing how well his opponent was doing killed him. As far as he knew, they could be doing much better than him right now.
Regardless of his competitor’s talent, Kai had to stick to his game plan. Once Kai was satisfied with how thorough he’d been in the area around the pond, he decided it was time to explore the arena further. His most significant advantage was having the map. It was an upgrade that didn’t come cheap! With it, he could ensure that no single map piece was unexplored. He had to make the most of the map to overtake his opponent.
Kai turned west. He settled with a brisk pace that would allow him to observe his surroundings but was still fast enough to go through the whole arena with time to spare.
The piles of rock around him looked all the same. He could find no discernible difference between the veining and coloring of the rock. This quarry seemed only to have granite. Daisy seemed to follow the same logic she had in the pine woodland. There had only been one kind of tree, and here, there was only one kind of rock. Nevertheless, Kai methodically filled in the blanks of the map while looking for anything out of the ordinary.
He still had 13 tries on his camera. Even if he took another photo of the piles of granite, two photos of the succulents, moss, and lichens he had seen growing on the cliff wall, he still had to find out where to spend the five remaining shots. Too bad that he couldn’t frame that red flower he had seen growing on the cliff earlier. That looked like a juicy card to capture.
After 10 minutes, Kai finally came across something new. Unlike the neatly cut blocks of light grey, white-veined granite that littered the quarry, there was a rough-looking boulder the size of a basketball lying on the floor. It had a deep, glossy black color.
Throughout the rock, there were smooth, curved surfaces that resembled the shape of a shell. It was almost like someone had used an ice cream scooper to carve it. These cuts were round and irregular, with a glass-like quality that made them shiny. This was something worth capturing. He took the camera out and framed the rock.
