SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 28 - Infinite Loop (Patreon)

Spring of 346, A.D.

“Alex, you’ll get stuck in an infinite loop there.”

Alex threw the pen away, frustrated. “I hate programming. Why do we need to learn this rubbish anyway? It’s not like we have access to anything that we can program. Daisy keeps all her babies to herself.”

“If you understand how Daisy thinks, you can anticipate her moves. Gosh. Weren’t you listening to Sunny?”

Alex shrugged. “Not really, no.”

Kai’s nostrils flared, and the pen in his hand almost snapped into two. “I don’t know why I bother with you. You think you know it better than everyone else.”

“Well, not wanting to sound immodest…”

“Shut it. Your arrogance is going to be your downfall in the exams someday.”

“Relax, Kai. Cassie told me that in her sector, they don’t do any of this programming nonsense. And look at them! They are turning out just fine! Better than us.”

Kai gritted his teeth. Things made much more sense since he discovered where Alex sneaked off. He had run root cause analysis and decision trees to study the Cassilex Conundrum. He had narrowed it down to what he called ‘impossible love across the wall, bitter defiance syndrome.’ In his free time, he tried to make it fit into an acronym that worked but hadn’t been able to.

“How do you know she isn’t lying? There are stories, Alex. People misguiding their opponents and playing mind games across the wall. There’s a reason why we don’t talk to the other sectors!”

Alex’s hands were on his collars before he could react. “Don’t you dare call Cassie a liar, Kai!” The fury in his friend’s eyes spooked him.

“Alright, alright. Let me go, Alex!”

Alex let go and turned his back to him. Kai had often rehearsed what he wanted to say, and he knew this wasn’t the right timing. But the words came out on their own. He couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Alex, listen to me. You’re like a brother to me. I understand that you feel lonely and that you like this girl. But, think this through. You can’t be in a relationship with someone across a wall. And neither you nor her will ever cross that wall.”

“You don’t know that.” Alex had gone from furious to depressed. He sounded like a hurt dog licking its wounds.

“Listen, you don’t know what tomorrow holds. What if we get a good score in the exams in the future and earn the right to host some exiles? Maybe among them, there’ll be a girl your age who’s right for you.”

Alex shot Kai a warning glare that made him gulp. He knew his words would hurt his friend, but he had to get it off his chest anyway. Alex’s face softened.

“Maybe you’re right, Kai.”

“Uh?”

“Maybe you’re right.”

*

353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 64.

Kai was back at the offices, looking for the fire axe and door he’d seen earlier. As he located it, he ran, camera in hand, and grabbed the last piece of the puzzle he needed.

Rusty Steel Door (Uncommon)

A door made of steel that has fallen into a deplorable condition.

Tries left: 1 of 20

3 of 3

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

Kai stretched his neck and shoulders. He was confident in his victory after getting all the ingredients to reproduce the recipes he’d seen in the blueprints at the manager’s office. He had secured several rare cards, a mystery box, and even one legendary card.

Was there anything else that he should try to capture before he started crafting? There was nothing he could think of. With only one shot left, Kai decided to save it in case inspiration struck him. He still had 20 minutes on the clock, and he decided to stop worrying about snapping and ready his mind for what was coming. For now, he wanted to plan his strategy for the crafting table.

Kai kept his inventory open and reviewed each recipe he wanted to try. He simulated the combinations and the order in which he would try them to achieve the best possible point count.

Unfortunately, he was done after just a few minutes. The truth was that he didn’t have many ingredients to play around with this round. When he panicked and burned many of his cards away to maximize the point count last round, he also burned many bridges he could cross now. He was ready to go after berating himself a few times and getting his thoughts back on track. He felt prepared to stand before the crafting table. He still had 10 minutes.

Kai thought about the lessons he had learned in this stage. [Dimensional Gloves] had opened up a whole new map section to him. He tried to think back to what he could have done if he had the gloves in the previous arenas. He could have climbed the pine trees or the cliff walls in the quarry or found something hidden beneath the sands of the night desert. Getting that mystery box had been, by far, the biggest uptake of this stage.

The biggest disappointment had been [Hunter's Eyes]. Knowing where the opponent was hadn’t been much of an advantage. He should have thought it through more before he got it. The problem with [Hunter's Eyes] was that it made him run the trial one step behind his opponent. Even if he learned something from the other trial runner's stops, he was still not making any points out of it. At least, it had been useful in ruling out his worries about whether the dimensional gloves affected their opponent's arena.

He wondered what kind of upgrades he would unlock in the console next. Upgrades might seem like small decisions, but in Kai’s opinion, they were the key to doing well in the exams. Had it not been for the gaslamp or his shadow, he wouldn’t have made it to this round. That got him thinking: Was he being too passive about the upgrades?

Kai was flying blind in this arena, like everyone else. He learned he could unlock the console's upgrades by gaining legendary cards. The more legendary cards he got his hands on, the more upgrades he had to choose from. There were also some random cards that unlocked other cheaper upgrades on the console. But, perhaps, there was a more active role he could take in this.

As a thought experiment, Kai made himself forget all the upgrades currently up for grabs in the console of the white room and tried to think of his biggest needs. What did he wish that he had that wasn’t there? Flying would have been cool. He waved the idea off and tried to think smaller. The memory of the lone flower on the cliffs of the quarry and the massive engine on the outside of the factory came to him. They looked like targets dripping with potential but were too far to capture. If only he had an upgrade that allowed him to amplify the view of his camera.

With this result in mind, he considered possible cards to unlock this upgrade. He only had one shot left, but there was an idea that he wanted to try. Kai took off, running toward the cargo bay. He looked for the rusty pipe he had captured and found it near one of the trash piles. He then located the metal beams that had once supported giant cranes that allowed the heavy engines to be transported within this space.

With the camera in one hand and the pipe in the other, he positioned the pipe very close to the lens. He got it so close that it occupied half of the shot in the viewfinder. He then tried to make sure he got one of the beams in the distance and drew the pipe away and closer to the camera until they both seemed to have the same width. Once he was confident enough, he pressed the button.

Capture successful!

Perspective (Rare)

Tries left: 0 of 20.

An object's depth and scale can alter depending on an observer's position and point of view.

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

Kai smiled. He hoped this would get him the upgrade he needed.

Soon after, the bell rang, and he was transported back to the white room. There was a new addition to the room. Next to the table, there was a machine. It was the photocopier upgrade! He couldn’t wait to experiment with it, but for now, he grabbed all of his cards and laid them on the table. First, he grabbed all the cards he had gotten in the factory arena.

Dried Drive Belt (Common)

A mechanical component showing signs of corrosion.

Hp: 2

Vp: 0

Rusty Gear (Common)

A mechanical component showing signs of corrosion.

Hp: 2

Vp: 0

Rusty Pipe (Common)

A mechanical component showing signs of corrosion.

Hp: 2

Vp: 0

Broken Console (Uncommon)

An industrial computer that has stopped working.

Hp: 2

Vp: 1

2x Copper Wire (Uncommon)

A malleable metal conductor made from copper with excellent conductivity properties.

Hp: 2

Vp: 2

2x Fire Axe (Uncommon)

Cutting tool designed for emergencies.

Hp: 4

Vp: 0

Radioactive Waste (Uncommon)

Hazardous mixture of radioactive materials.

Hp: 2

Vp: 2

Rusty Steel Door (Uncommon)

A door made of steel that has fallen into a deplorable condition.

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

2x Solder (Uncommon)

Used for joining or bonding components in electronics, plumbing, and metalwork through soldering.

Hp: 2

Vp: 2

2x Spider (Uncommon)

An arachnid characterized by its eight legs and ability to spin silk threads for building webs and capturing prey.

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

Water (Uncommon)

Transparent, tasteless, and odorless substance essential for life.

Hp: 3

Vp: 1

Perspective (Rare)

An object's depth and scale can alter depending on an observer's position and point of view.

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

2x Spider Web (Rare)

Delicate, intricate structure woven by spiders using silk threads to serve as a trap for catching prey or as a shelter.

1 of 2

Hp: 3

Vp: 4

Neglect (Legendary)

After neglecting the world, humanity itself ended up neglected.

Hp: 0

Vp: 10

The assortment of cards he got was similar to that of previous rounds. He was doing quite well with the ratio of uncommon to common cards. He had also found three rare cards and one legendary one. Altogether, it was worth 42 points.

He then grabbed the cards that were left over from the previous rounds.

2x Ash (Common)

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

Sand (Common)

Rock that has been worn down until it becomes small particles.

Hp: 1

Vp: 1

Small Flint (Common)

Compact flint pieces suitable for many things.

Hp: 0

Vp: 1

Thorn (Common)

A sharp-pointing defensive adaptation that keeps enemies away.

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

3x Acacia Leaf (Uncommon)

Leaves that look like little green feathers.

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

Big Flint (Uncommon)

Large, durable flint suitable for many things.

Hp: 0

Vp: 0

2x Flint Arrow (Uncommon)

A rudimentary missile made with flint. It can fly almost straight but isn’t durable.

Hp: 0

Vp: 3

Flintstone (Uncommon)

Hard rock, suitable for various applications.

Hp: 1

Vp: 1

Gaslamp (Uncommon)

A source of illumination used by miners.

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

Granite Shed (Uncommon)

A simple refuge made from granite bricks.

Hp: 0

Vp: 0

Pond (Uncommon)

A serene body of crystal clear water.

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

Arabian Oryx (Rare)

A creature known as the desert’s unicorn.

Hp: 5

Vp: 2

Arabian Oryx (Rare)

A creature known as the desert’s unicorn.

Hp: 4

Vp: 2

Fire (Rare)

Useful for creating and destroying.

Hp: 9

Vp: 9

3x Light (Legendary)

A form of electromagnetic radiation that stimulates the sense of vision

Hp: +∞

Vp: 2

Unicorn (Legendary)

The mythical one-horned horse. Legend has it that its horn can pierce through anything.

Hp: 4

Vp: 15

He checked his scoreboard. He had 101 points, while his opponent had 82. He was ahead by 19 points. But that didn’t mean that this game was in the bag. Who knew what kind of upgrades his opponent had? Also, hadn’t he overcome a similar point difference in the previous round and come out victorious? He cracked his knuckles and neck.

Before merging any cards, figuring out how the photocopier upgrade worked was essential. It looked just like the crafting table, but it was white. It was perfectly leveled with the table and had a pattern similar to where he deposited the cards whenever he wanted to craft. He ran his fingers through the top and felt the pattern shaped like one of his cards.

He grabbed his most valuable card.

Unicorn (Legendary)

The mythical one-horned horse. Legend has it that its horn can pierce through anything.

Hp: 4

Vp: 15

He would win this round easily if he could find a way to copy this card. He laid it on the pattern of the photocopier table. Like when crafting, the pattern sucked the card right in.

As the [Unicorn] card made contact with the table, lines of light sprung from the card. They formed two more patterns on the table. They were two rectangles made of light, inviting to deposit two more cards. Kai had guessed that copying a card would require paying a price. It looked like all that he had to do was sacrifice two cards to produce a copy.

“Easy-peasy.” He reached for two worthless cards that he could do very well without.

Big Flint (Uncommon)

Large, durable flint suitable for many things.

Hp: 0

Vp: 0

Granite Shed (Uncommon)

A simple refuge made from granite bricks.

Hp: 0

Vp: 0

These were two perfect candidates. They offered no victory points, and Kai had already squeezed every drop of potential out of them. He grabbed [Big Flint] and placed it on the first empty slot. The photocopier table started humming but suddenly went dark, like a car with an engine problem.

He twitched his nose. It wasn't going to be that easy, uh? He reached out for one [Light] card. These were a constant supply of points and his first legendary card. He removed [Unicorn] from the first engraving, waited for a few seconds, and placed it again. The table came to life again. Kai put the [Light] card on one of the empty rectangles that formed on the table. It again buzzed to life.

Finally, he grabbed [Big Flint] and put it into the second slot. The whole process stopped, and the table's light faded. He nodded. If he was looking at this right, he would have to sacrifice two cards of an equivalent grade to the photocopier to copy a card. To confirm his theory, he grabbed one of the cards he had captured in this arena. It was [Water]. This was a very versatile card that Kai didn't mind having a copy of.

Water (Uncommon)

Transparent, tasteless, and odorless substance essential for life.

Hp: 3

Vp: 1

He put it on the engraved pattern on the photocopier table, activating the machine. The same pattern of light formed, inviting him to place two more cards on it. He then grabbed [Granite Shed], also an uncommon card, and finally, he grabbed one [Acacia Leaf].

Acacia Leaf (Uncommon)

Leaves that look like little green feathers.

Hp: 0

Vp: 2

As he placed the last three cards on the machine, it hummed, and there was a flash. As Kai regained his vision, he found a second copy of [Water] on the table. The two other cards had disappeared.

Copy Successful! You’ve exchanged [Acacia Leaf] and [Granite Shed] for [Water].

Ch. 27 - Cassilex Conundrum

INDEX

Ch. 29 - Gambler’s Falacy