SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 30 - Scrap Recycling (Patreon)

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Spring of 346, A.D.

Everyone watched from a distance as Ariel cried and screamed at her brother, her body caught in a struggle between the overwhelming rush of strength brought about by anger and the crippling weakness of sadness. They were too far from the pair to make out anything that they were saying, but close enough for Kai’s heart to ache and burn at the sight of the two people he loved the most like this.

They hugged, and Ariel stumbled away from Alex. At first, her steps were weak and uncertain, but as her eyes and Kai’s met, they became strong and determined. After a few steps, she was already running towards Kai.

Kai looked to either side, wondering if it was just his imagination or if it was him she was running to. Did she want a hug or something? She roared through clenched teeth as she approached him, “You…”

He felt her hand connect to his face and a jolt of electrifying pain.

“Ariel, what… why?”

“You knew! YOU KNEW!”

“I don’t understand. What are you…”

“The girl! You knew about the girl! You let my brother do this.” She then sobbed convulsively. Kai felt his throat go dry and his heart burn. Seeing Ariel hurt like this was more painful than any slap. He tried to reach out to her, to put his hand on her shoulder, but as soon as she noticed his intent, she slapped his hand away.

“He wants to see you.” She turned and stormed away.

Kai looked at the older men and women around him, and they stared at him gravely. He could see pity in their eyes but no disdain.

He fought the tears starting to form in his eyes and wiped them away. He took a deep breath and walked towards his friend.

*

353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 64.

[Bronze Sheet] + [Rusty Pipe]

[Bronze Sheet] | Hp: 3→2

[Rusty Pipe] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Bronze Frame].

Bronze Frame (Uncommon)

Shell that can be worked to fit different machines

Hp: 1

Vp: 3

All that was left was to create the power source. He grabbed the card featuring blue metal barrels with a painted radioactive sign.

Radioactive Waste (Uncommon)

Hazardous mixture of radioactive materials.

Hp: 2

Vp: 2

It wasn’t pure uranium, but it was still radioactive and had energy that could be squeezed. Hopefully, it would synergize with [Steam]. As he got the cards ready, he thanked the heavens that Daisy was a bit loose on the technical knowledge she required of participants.

Creating a nuclear reactor, working metal alloys, and fixing machinery wasn’t easy. There were multiple processes and tools required. But since Daisy was testing creativity and logic, she didn’t care much about these technicalities.

As the table came to life, a new shiny card appeared on it.

[Radioactive Waste] + [Steam]

[Radioactive Waste] | Hp: 2→1

[Steam] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Recycled Power Source].

Recycled Power Source (Uncommon)

The energy output isn’t as good, but it still works.

Hp: 2

Vp: 3

Kai let out an appreciative whistle. The stat line for this card, too, was above average. That meant that he wasn’t doing so bad for himself! He had been able to create suitable replacements for the recipes that Daisy had hidden on the blueprints.

He grabbed the four cards that he’d been able to make. There was [Bronze Frame], [Recycled Power Source], [Circuitry] and [Salvaged Gears]. Now the question was how should he put these together? He was fairly confident that he could use these four recipes to create something better. It was as he had done with the wolves in the previous round. By keeping on combining them, he could hopefully elevate them to a higher level.

He slid [Circuitry] and [Recycled Power Source] to one side of the table and [Bronze Frame] and [Salvaged Gears] to the other. On the one hand, this looked like a good combination. It matched the mechanical components on one side and the electrical and electronics on the other.

He then got [Circuitry] and [Bronze Frame] to one side and [Recycled Power Source] and [Salvaged Gears] to the other. This combination also made some sense. The generator powered the gears, whereas the circuitry would be mounted somewhere within the machine’s frame.

The last possible combination was [Recycled Power Source] and [Bronze Frame]. That didn’t look like it would work. He decided to go with his first impulse. Even if it didn’t work, he [Recycled Power Source] and [Circuitry] had more than one HP. He also had ingredients to make more of them if he needed them.

[Recycled Power Source] + [Circuitry]

[Recycled Power Source] | Hp: 2→0

[Circuitry] | Hp: 3→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Recycled Power Core].

Recycled Power Core (Rare)

Energy storage unit that has been repurposed for renewed functionality.

Hp: 4

Vp: 4

Kai stared at the now lackluster ingredient cards he had just used. This recipe consumed all of the card’s HP. What if he had failed? Would it also have depleted the whole HP, too? He had been so relaxed about it, but he could have easily destroyed all the results of his efforts. Whatever the case, it had worked out well. The combined stat line was an amalgamation of the stats of the ingredient cards. He had produced a very respectable rare card out of a bunch of scraps! That meant that the next combination would probably work, too!

Before Kai could see what the end result of this series of recipes was, he had to plan ahead. He had already determined that he had what it took to arrive at a good result, possibly a legendary card. He was already getting hints from Daisy that he couldn’t produce an indefinite number of them, though. These recipes seemed to suck all the hp left of their ingredients, leaving them unusable for a new crafting attempt.

He had enough ingredients to recreate a [Recycled Power Core], but the problem was that he had fully depleted [Rusty Pipe]. He could either wait until the next stage and consume rare cards to make a copy of whatever the combination of [Bronze Frame] and [Salvaged Gears] combination granted him, or he could copy [Bronze Frame] now by sacrificing two uncommon cards. That seemed like a more sensible option.

He grabbed [Bronze Frame] and let the engraving on the photocopier suck it. He then chose the two sacrificial cards. One was [Big Flint], and the other one was another [Acacia Leaf]. As he placed each uncommon card on the photocopier, the two sacrificial cards began crumpling into ash, and motes of light condensed in the form of a second [Bronze Frame].

Copy Successful! You’ve exchanged [Acacia Leaf] and [Big Flint] for [Bronze Frame].

Thankfully, [Bronze Frame] offered three victory points. He hadn’t come out of the exchange with a deficit despite losing the two victory points from the [Acacia Leaf] card. Now that he had enough ingredients for an overall second attempt, Kai joined the following two cards.

[Salvaged Gears] + [Bronze Frame]

[Salvaged Gears] | Hp: 1→0

[Bronze Frame] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Salvaged Bronze Chassis].

Salvaged Bronze Chassis (Rare)

Recovered bronze enclosure, with multiple gears and joints, showing signs of wear and tear but suitable for recycling.

Hp: 1

Vp: 5

The quality was not quite there compared to the power source, but it was still good enough. He grabbed both cards that he had gone to great lengths to acquire. Even if nothing came from merging them, he had already gotten several victory points from following the recipe. It had taken Kai a lot of work to get here. It was time to find out what that factory had manufactured.

[Salvaged Bronze Chassis] + [Recycled Power Source]

[Salvaged Bronze Chassis] | Hp: 1→0

[Recycled Power Source] | Hp: 4→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Scrapdroid].

Scrapdroid (Legendary)

A humanoid robot that has been assembled from scrap.

Hp: 2

Vp: 7

An android? That’s what this recipe was for? He gulped. He looked at the drawing on the shiny new legendary card. It had a slender, humanoid figure with articulated limbs, legs, and arms. Its casing was made from dull golden-brown plates. There were intricate wiring patterns and a glowing receptor in its head, resembling human eyes. It matched the drawings from history. This is what had made Phineas Cotton the wealthiest man in the world. Was Daisy paying homage to her creator? Or just mocking him?

He wasn’t complaining. This was a legendary card, offering a generous amount of points! It was still on the low side compared to [Unicorn]. He looked at all the ingredients and prepared to make a second copy. First, he made one more [Salvaged Gears].

[Rusty Gearwheel] + [Dried Drive Belt]

[Rusty Gearwheel] | Hp: 1→0

[Dried Drive Belt] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Salvaged Gears].

He then replayed all the steps that he’d followed to craft one more [Recycled Power Core]. He went for it.

[Broken Control Panel] + [Solder]

[Broken Control Panel] | Hp: 1→1

[Solder] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Salvaged Control Panel].

Kai wiped the sweat off his brow and went for the next recipe.

[Salvaged Control Panel] + [Copper Wire]

[Salvaged Control Panel] | Hp: 1→0

[Copper Wire] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Circuitry].

He wasn’t sure if there was a better way of making [Steam], but for now, he would stick with what he knew worked.

[Fire] + [Copper Wire]

[Fire] | Hp: 6→5

[Copper Wire] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Heated Copper].

Kai grabbed the card with the drawing of the red-incandescent metal and merged it with [Water].

[Heated Copper] + [Water]

[Heated Copper ] | Hp: 3→0

[Water] | Hp: 2→1

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Brittle Copper].

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Steam].

[Radioactive Waste] + [Steam]

[Radioactive Waste] | Hp: 1→0

[Steam] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Recycled Power Source].

He didn’t bother with softening the [Brittle Copper]. Right now, he just wanted to make another [Scrapdroid]. He picked up the [Bronze Frame] he had copied just for this purpose and completed the crafting process of yet another legendary card!

[Salvaged Gears] + [Bronze Frame]

[Salvaged Gears] | Hp: 1→0

[Bronze Frame] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Salvaged Bronze Chassis].

[Salvaged Bronze Chassis] + [Recycled Power Source]

[Salvaged Bronze Chassis] | Hp: 1→0

[Recycled Power Source] | Hp: 4→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Scrapdroid].

He looked at the scoreboard. He had 157 points. His opponent had 115. He had just gained forty points of an advantage over them. He felt terrible for whoever was on the other side of the scoreboard. The fact that he had gotten a hold of the blueprints was only possible because of stumbling upon those [Dimensional Gloves]. It was sheer luck! He shook his head. Luck counted. Wasn’t the location where they spawned also a game of chance?

He channeled his guilt toward crafting. He still had work to do. He didn’t want to leave loose ends, and the fact was that he could still make more bronze if he wished. He already had a [Heated Copper], so he might as well use it.

[Fire] + [Solder]

[Fire] | Hp: 5→4

[Solder] | Hp: 1→0

Crafting Successful! You've crafted [Heated Tin].

His [Fire] card had come down from a mighty flame worth nine victory points to a smaller one, only worth 4. He made one more [Bronze Sheet].

[Heated Copper] + [Heated Tin]

[Heated Copper] | Hp: 3→0

[Heated Tin] | Hp: 3→0

Bronze Sheet (Rare)

Hp: 3

Vp: 3

Kai scratched his chin and tightened his eyelids. There had to be another way of making use of this metal. Metal could either be melted and then poured into a cast or worked in the forge with a hammer. He lacked both resources.

He grabbed the [Bronze Sheet] cards and put them against every card on the table. The only good match he could think of was [Scrap Droid]. As an experiment, Kai decided to see what would happen if he fed these metals to a scrap droid.

[Scrapdroid] + [Bronze Sheet]

[Scrapdroid] | Hp: 2→4

[Bronze Sheet] | Hp: 3→0

Crafting failed!

Kai instantly recognized the mechanic. Wasn’t this the same thing that happened when he fed things into [Fire]? He picked up the [Scrap Droid] card and grinned. It wasn’t only the hit points that had gone up! Its vp count had improved, too.

Scrapdroid (Legendary)

A humanoid robot that has been assembled from scrap.

Hp: 4

Vp: 10

The [Scrapdroid] now had two extra hit points and three extra victory points. He fed it the other used [Bronze Sheet].

[Scrapdroid] + [Bronze Sheet]

[Scrapdroid] | Hp: 4→5

[Bronze Sheet] | Hp: 2→0

Crafting failed!

He then rechecked the point count.

Scrapdroid (Legendary)

A humanoid robot that has been assembled from scrap.

Hp: 5

Vp: 13

Although the mechanic of [Scrapdroid] was similar to [Fire], its victory points weren’t dependent on its hit points. Instead, it just absorbed the victory points from whatever scrap was fed to it. He decided to try something, which was a bit risky, but that might pay off.

[Scrapdroid] + [Scrapdroid]

[Scrapdroid] | Hp: 5→6

[Scrapdroid] | Hp: 2→0

Crafting failed!

The weaker [Scrapdroid] lost all its light, but the other [Scrapdroid] looked shinier than ever.

Super Scrapdroid (Legendary)

A mighty humanoid robot that has been assembled from scrap.

Hp: 6

Vp: 20

Its text had changed too! What was this? The previously slender figure of the android now looked beefed up with a thickened armor and a golden sheen to its previous dull-brown casing. Was this the result of breaking through some threshold? Or was it because he had fed one [Scrapdroid] to the other? He gulped. He had a crazy, crazy idea that might be very much worth it.

He picked up the [Super Scrapdroid] card and put it on the photocopy machine. He had originally thought of copying [Unicorn]. But he didn’t care about the one-horned horse anymore. All he wanted was to see his [Super Scrapdroid] grow!

He put the [Super Scrapdroid] card on the photocopier’s pattern. It might have been just his impression, but its light was shinier than when he put [Unicorn] in. As the brilliant rectangular patterns appeared on the machine’s top, he placed the two [Light Cards] in them.

The light, this time, was more brilliant than any he’d seen before. His whole vision was completely white for a few seconds. When it finally dimmed, he had not one, but two [Super Scrapdroid] cards. He gulped. It was time to see what happened now.

He put both [Super Scrapdroid] cards together on the table. The light that came out of the table made the previous burst feel like candlelight. The table was on it for a good half-minute. When it finally cooled down, a shiny white card sat on the table, and both [Super Scrapdroids] disappeared.

[Super Scrapdroid] + [Super Scrapdroid]

[Super Scrapdroid] | Hp: 6→0

[Super Scrapdroid] | Hp: 6→0

Perfect merge! Crafting successful!

You’ve crafted [Mega Scrapdroid].

Mega Scrapdroid (Mythic)

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

Hp: +∞

Vp: 40 (Max)

This card also works as an upgrade. You’ve unlocked [Scrapdroid Companion].

Kai just stared at the notifications in silence for a few moments. He couldn’t speak. Maybe it resulted from being exposed to so much light in such a short time. He had heard from other trial runners that Daisy had a flare for drama, and he was experiencing it firsthand. It was just that there was so much to think about here.

Perfect merge. What was that? Was it because he had merged two exact copies of [Legendary Cards]? Or was there a list of perfect merges? And there was a grade beyond legendary? Mythic? He gulped. There was no way his opponent would win.

He stared at the drawing on the card. The picture was moving! After becoming muscular and thicker, the android portrayed here was incredibly similar to a man. What before had been individual plates of metal were now blended seamlessly. There were also gears turning in his head and arms and elegant circuitry tattooed along its armor.

It looked like [Mega Scrapdroid] had reached its maximum potential. No matter how much scrap he fed it, it wouldn’t gain more victory points. Having it always in his inventory, though, was something else. He would start every round with a forty-point advantage over his opponent.

Mythic cards also automatically granted an upgrade. He had no idea what the upgrade was, but he was sure to find out soon. He looked at the clock. He still had 25 minutes to go.

Ch. 29 - Gambler’s Fallacy

INDEX

Ch. 31 - Frog in a Well