Chapter 33, Beginning Card Fusion

Translator: Lizz

 

<Summon Card Fusion and Weapon Refining features are now unlocked.>

 

“Huh… wh-what?”

 

The day after the chat stream, I rush home, out of breath.

 

I went out for a walk and got stopped constantly. Maybe it’s because I showed my face during the stream, but feels like everyone knows me now.

 

I totally freak out from the surprise.

 

<Let’s start by explaining the Summon Card Fusion feature. You can select anywhere from two to ten summon cards you own and fuse them. As a bonus, you also get rare materials.>

 

“Whoa! You can do that too? Wait, is that part of the subscription perks?”

 

<Yes.>

 

No way. This is seriously starting to scare me.

 

“This service… it’s almost too good, it’s scary.”

 

<Don’t worry. It’s just that current explorers aren’t as fortunate, but these kinds of perks used to exist. Also, even with the fusion feature, it’s not easy to create strong cards. Depending on the combination, you might end up with a weak summon card.>

 

“What? Even if I use ten cards?”

 

<Yes. The card combination is key. Would you like to try it?>

 

My brain’s about to explode. Are they adding new features every day? Or am I just imagining it?

 

“I wonder… is it like feeding monsters to each other?”

 

<No. It simply means the cards used to temporarily summon them disappear. The summoned monsters originally live in another world and only gain temporary bodies on Earth.>

 

“Wait, seriously?”

 

Didn’t she just casually drop something huge? I thought the nature of summon card monsters wasn’t clearly understood yet.

 

<…Or so the rumor goes online.>

 

“Oh, just a rumor? That’s fake news.”

 

AI absorbs everything, so you really shouldn’t let it learn internet gossip.

 

<Would you like to try the fusion?>

 

Still, when something new starts, my bandwagon-loving self wants to give it a shot.

 

“Alright, I’ll try it out a little.”

 

<Understood. Please select the cards you want to fuse.>

 

Then, a window showing the list of summon cards pops up near the ceiling. I’m starting to get scared by how used to this I’ve become.

 

“Wow… looking at it like this, I’ve gathered a ton. Well, I’ll start with the weaker summon cards for now.”

 

Looks like I need to select at least two cards, but what should I pick? Maybe I’ll go with goblins and zombies to start.

 

<Confirming. You’ve selected five Goblin (Club) cards and two Zombie cards for fusion. Is that correct?>

 

“Yep.”

 

<Beginning card fusion.>

 

Then, something different starts. The cards suddenly float up and begin circling around one central card.

 

It’s not the usual cosmic-style scene, but it still feels flashy enough.

 

And then, all the cards suddenly overlap and emit a burst of intense light and sound!

 

“Whoa! That’s awesome.”

 

<The resulting card is…>

 

The single card spins around, and it looks like an S card.

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

High Big Turtle

 

Card Rank: S

 

Limit Break: ☆4

 

Card Use Effect: Halves damage received from all enemies

 

Card Possession Effect: In battle, increases the card holder’s HP by 15%

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

“Huh? I’m pretty sure this is my first time getting this card, but it already has a limit break!”

 

<Yes. Depending on the number of cards used, there’s a chance the limit break level increases.>

 

“No way.”

 

That’s a sweet deal. But wait a second…

 

“Come to think of it, you can’t tell what kind of card you’ll get before fusing, right?”

 

<Correct. You won’t know until after the fusion.>

 

“Then yeah, it’s probably best to only use spare cards for this. Alright, next time… I’ll try throwing in an S too.”

 

This time I want to fuse ten cards. I look over the window that opened again and start tapping away with my fingers.

 

“Alright! Let’s go with this.”

 

<The selected cards are: two Demon Trees, one Ogre, one Giant Crab, three Big Rats, one Heal Bird, and one Slime.>

 

“Yup! Let’s do this.”

 

<Executing.>

 

This time it’s ten cards. And there’s even an S card in the mix. That means I might get an SR I’ve never seen before!

 

Thinking that, I watch the swirling scene with excitement. I’m totally hyped as the cards merge into one.

 

But then, something unbelievable happens.

 

Just as the glowing card flips and reveals a muscular monster, black lightning suddenly shoots in from all directions and strikes the card.

 

“…Huh?”

 

<An unexpected event has occurred. These things can happen. The resulting card is…>

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

Shadow of the Reaper

 

Card Rank: SR

 

Limit Break: None

 

Card Use Effect: Allows reuse of summon cards previously used in a dungeon

 

Card Possession Effect: None

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

An unexpected event? Did something go wrong?

 

“Wait, that buff monster from earlier looked way stronger.”

 

<These kinds of cases do happen.>

 

“Whaaat…”

 

Can I even use this card? I’m starting to doubt it when-

 

<Shall we proceed with weapon refining next?>

 

The AI asks me, and I nod.

 

“May as well. Let’s do it.”

 

<Understood. But first, here are the rare materials obtained from the fusion.>

 

“Huh? Wh-whoaaaa!?”

 

The ceiling lights up, and a massive pile of gems comes raining down. I heard there’d be a bonus, but isn’t this way too much!?