“Here you go, sir. 300 coconuts!” Deckard said as he handed over the fruit he’d collected.
Old Jones’ eyes widened. “Eh, but I only asked ya for 200! Ya went ‘bove an’ beyond, foreigner!”
Deckard shrugged, smiling. After getting tired of throwing cards as he did in his apartment, he’d kicked things up a notch and started slinging cards while staying on the move. He’d been so caught up in it that he hadn’t even noticed that he’d exceeded the number required for the quest. “It's OK. Just take it.”
You've completed [Coconut Oil Crisis].
Completion rate: A-
Quest rewards: 70 coppers.
Bonus rewards: 1 silver 30 coppers; [Coconut Jacket].
Deckard studied the rewards for the quest with a frown.
The good thing was that he had achieved a superb completion rate.
Did I get such an A- because I gave more coconuts than the quest required?
If so, maybe he should look for more opportunities to go ‘bove an’ beyond in other quests.
On the other hand, instead of receiving XP, he was only given some pocket money.
I don’t level up anymore. My strength is solely based on my card collection. I thought they might make up for it in some other ways… It would have been great if the game developers had converted XP into cash or cards, but it turned out that they wouldn’t make things that easy for him.
Did this mean that quests weren’t worth it anymore for him? No. They had to be. Wasn’t that how he got his hidden class to begin with? Maybe he just had to ensure good completion rates when doing quests.
Had he not achieved such a high completion rate, he might not even have received an item he could wear. He doubted that everyone who finished this quest received this piece of gear. He hadn’t seen any other player around the village wearing coconut jackets.
So, going above and beyond could be the key, even if it didn’t give XP. If he approached quests creatively, he could snag unique rewards like the [Coconut Jacket] or even rare cards. A quest-based path wasn’t ideal without XP, but it might be his best shot at unlocking rare items or resources. Maybe there would be even quests that were tailored to his special class, too. It was too soon to give up on questing altogether.
In return for all the coconuts in the inventory, Deckard received a new piece of equipment. Thankfully, it came with no level restrictions, and it boosted something other than stats. It alleviated some of his disappointment at how merciless the game developers made it for card slingers.
Coconut Jacket (Common)
Description: Coconut fibers are incredibly versatile and have been woven together in an outfit that not only looks nice but smells nice, too.
Effects:
+2% damage reduction;
+5HP.
He equipped it at once, smirking at the sight of the two coconut halves serving as shoulder pauldrons on the vest of woven straw-like fibers. Deckard sighed. Even the rewards for the quests issued by this man had to do with coconuts. He supposed it was commendable. He had no idea it was possible to show this kind of devotion to a fruit.
“Ha! These coconuts be keepin' us goin' a while, but the big problem still remains. Long as I can’t be headin’ out to gather 'em myself, we always are runnin' low.”
The old man looked down and then shot Deckard a sly glance as if an idea had just dawned on him. “Maybe ya could lend a hand!”
“What can I help you with, sir?” Deckard asked.
“There’s a seagull lurkin' ‘round the treeline—crazy for coconuts. Can ya hunt it down? It chases off any villager tryin' to help with the gatherin'.”
So that’s the quest everyone’s been trying to complete, Deckard thought. He’d seen the chaos that broke out around the seagull’s spawn area. Fights over the elite creature got intense quickly, with players practically turning rabid over a chance at the reward.
“Sure. I can do that.”
Chain quest triggered: [The Coconut Guardian].
Coconut Guardian (Uncommon)
Description: A seagull with a taste for coconuts has been terrorizing everyone who dares come near his coconut trees. It’s put the stock of coconuts in Stiltwave Village at risk.
Quest objectives:
Defeat the [Coconut Seagull] elite;
Bring its hat as proof of your victory and show it to Old Jones.
It’s uncommon. No wonder it’s so popular.
Even though quests were only partially worth it for him, he did want to complete this one. Besides, he already had the drawing of the [Coconut Seagull] in his repository. However, in the time he'd spent over at the spawn location for the Coconut Seagull, he'd seen just how messy disputes over elites could get. He was in no shape to contest the elite with other bloodthirsty players. Not yet.
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Deckard looked at the jungle beyond the beach, where the Coconut Seagull spawned but headed in the opposite direction. It was time to move on to the next part of his planned training and research regime.
He'd practiced as much as he could on still targets. However, he could only do so much practicing while throwing cards at coconuts. He would turn to the next item on the list. It was time to dig deeper into the capture mechanics.
He jumped off the pier into the shallow, crystal-clear water and started looking for starfish. He had already had experience finding them, and it wasn't long before he spotted the one he wanted.
Beneath the shallow, transparent waters, a starfish rested on a patch of sand, its plump, rounded arms splayed in all directions. The creature’s pale, sandy color blended with the seafloor, but its signature knobby, chocolate-brown “chips” stood out like dark stones.
He pulled out the repository. After watching a chocolate chip starfish in Ronan’s aquarium, its card had been faintly drafted in his portfolio, though the creature had resisted capture at the time.
“First experiment,” Deckard muttered, “Is capturing a creature a matter of odds? Or do I need a certain threshold of understanding first?”
Since studying the chocolate chip starfish through the aquarium glass, he hadn't done anything else to further his understanding of it. Therefore, if he kept trying to capture this card and the starfish kept resisting it, that meant that the game system required him to deepen his understanding to a certain degree before he could capture it.
Deckard grabbed an empty card and extended it toward the creature.
Subdimensionalize!
The card glowed, and a spatial vortex began pulling the starfish toward it. Deckard watched, knee-deep in the water, as the starfish squirmed against the pull before finally giving in and disappearing into the card.
Capture successful!
“It is a matter of odds,” he noted to himself. The first time that he’d tried capturing the starfish at Ronan’s store, it had resisted. Now, with the exact same level of understanding, it had succumbed.
A flip of the coin.
He wondered what the odds might be. Could he capture a powerful creature, like a dragon, on his first attempt by sheer luck? Or would the game gatekeep that level of capture?
He examined the new addition to his collection.
It was nearly identical to the [Common Starfish] in stats. He set it aside and moved on to the next experiment.
The underwater world was strangely peaceful compared to the diseased-seagull-ridden chaos onshore. Small fish darted past him in flashes of silver, and sunlight filtered through the water in beams that danced across the sandy floor. Seaweed and driftwood drifted in the currents like forgotten vessels.
After a few minutes of looking around, Deckard’s gaze fell on a brilliant blue creature tucked against a rock.
Its skin gleamed like polished sapphire, catching the sun's rays as if it had been dipped in precious stones. Unlike the chocolate chip starfish, this one was smooth and regal, with long, tapered arms that fanned out gracefully around it. Thin streaks of deep indigo lined each arm. Its tiny suction cups held it delicately in place, giving it an air of dignified repose.
A royal starfish, another of the creatures Deckard had captured for Ronan. Deckard tore his gaze away before the starfish’s elegance could sink in. He just pushed his skill right away, with zero understanding of it.
Subdimensionalize!
The card barely lit before going dark; the starfish had completely resisted the capture.
Ronan mentioned creatures gain resistance after a failed capture, he thought. Better to find another subject to keep the test clean.
He left the starfish alone and searched for another royal starfish, finally finding one nearby. He tried capturing it again. No luck. He repeated the process seven times over the next hour before something finally changed.
You've watched the royal starfish resist subdimensionalization.
Your understanding of it grows.
You've captured royal starfish.
Deckard tapped his foot underwater. Capturing a creature with zero understanding seemed nearly impossible. After trying repeatedly, he’d eventually learned enough to capture it, but it would’ve been faster to study it first.
No sense in trying captures without understanding the creature. Waste of effort.
So far, he'd come to two conclusions: At least some understanding was required before a successful capture. The less understanding he had, the lower the chances of a successful capture, even though they didn’t seem zero.
“Now, next experiment.”
He waded along the ocean floor until he found his target.
It was a starfish positioned like a miniature fortress on the sandy floor. This one had a thick, rugged appearance, with wide, chunky arms covered in raised, granulated spots, giving it an almost coral-like texture. Its pale pink body was mottled with brownish-orange patches.
He had seen one of these a little earlier when looking for more royal starfish. Deckard had never fished it since Ronan hadn’t asked for it. It looked quite resilient, making it the perfect subject for his next experiment.
Deckard tried capturing the starfish.
Subdimensionalize!
The card glowed briefly before the sound of shattering glass signaled a failed attempt.
Capture failed.
As expected, it failed miserably.
Deckard nodded. It was all within expectations. Now, it was time to discover whether any other factors could increase his chances of a capture. Deckard grabbed his staff and poked the starfish.
A tiny hp bar appeared over the starfish. This wasn’t considered a monster. No one came to hunt starfish in the shallow waters. They didn’t put up any fight. Deckard looked away from the starfish. His understanding of it would probably go if he watched it take damage. He didn’t want that to happen. He made sure that his staff was well-placed and, while looking away, poked the starfish twice.
As he looked down again, he noticed that the HP bar had come down by a third. Deckard tried his skill again.
Subdimensionalize!
Capture failed.
This time, the starfish resisted less fiercely. Lower HP, higher chances, he noted. Even though the creature had easily resisted capture and theoretically developed some resistance to it, it had still put up less of a fight. Excited with the results, Deckard repeated the process until the starfish’s HP was in the red. He used the card a third time, and the creature disappeared from the ocean floor and into the card.
As I suspected. The lower the HP, the higher the chances of capture.
In Nova Cardia, nothing like this had mattered—there was no need to weaken or understand a creature. All he had to do was to earn in-game currency and open packs, hoping for good cards to come out. Here, though, everything was based on a layered strategy. It wasn’t just numbers; it was almost like a dance between player and creature. It was all new and exciting.
Deckard watched the three new cards in his inventory and smiled. His card collection had just gotten a lot more interesting.
He opened the repository and let the book-shaped machine take in the cards.
Collection updated.
+0.3 HP regeneration.
He had learned enough for now. Lowering HP and increasing understanding was straightforward enough, but there would probably be more tricks to learn if he kept experimenting.
He trudged deeper, eyes scanning for more starfish.
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