Yugioh Card Summoner

CH.352 Unika questioning the Evolution

As I was just hanging in my office, working on some items with the item developer, someone came to see me and I let them inside.

“... Brian. May I ask something?” Unika asked after she came inside.

“... you know that is already a question, but go for it.” I gave permission. I wonder how many times I’ll get to use that line. I mean, you are already asking a question to ask a question. Well, I suppose it is more like asking for permission, but still.

“... don’t you think it is strange that Einar is evolving now?” Unika asked.

“Not really. Why?”

“Usually you would evolve the next day after killing monsters.” Unika said. “But it took three days for Einar to evolve. Isn’t that strange?”

“No. He leveled up again after the hunt.” I told Unika.

“... but how? I know training can level you up, but it's only really effective when you are under level 10. It would take many months of practice to level up once at the levels where evolution is possible.”

“... Unika. Do you know who I am?”

“... Brian? My employer? An A-rank adventurer? I don’t see how that relates to this.” She commented.

“No. I’m a cheater. Well, I personally think calling me a Pack Opener is more appropriate, but I feel like a lot of people would say cheater. And you want to know the best part about cheaters? Well, some of them at least. In non competitive games, they help the other people who need help.”

“... I’m not sure I understand what you mean.” Unika admitted.

“I really didn’t expect you to.” I told her as I stood up from my desk. “Give me your hand. I’ll explain it to both you and Cailie.”

Unika carefully took a hold of my hand, and basically as soon as she did, I teleported both of us to floor 8 of the dungeon part of HomeBase.

“... where?” 

“We are still on HomeBase, if that is what you are wondering.” I answered Unika. “This is floor 8, also known as the CropFarm.”

“I … I didn’t know about this.”

“Not many do. It is a really new addition, so basically just me, Alice, Lua, Agunan and Ria know about it. As well as Cailie, as I gave her the job of watching over it.” I told Unika. “Come on. Cailie is this way.” I said, as I began walking ahead, and after a second of catching the surroundings, Unika took a few quick steps to catch up to me, before she began walking just a bit behind me and to the left.

“... so, is this where the food we eat comes from?” Unika asked.

“At the moment, no. We haven’t gotten the first harvest yet, so for now I’m buying all the food. Well, the meat comes from a different source, but all the grains we eat are bought.”

“... Isn’t that expensive?”

“A bit, but we do need food, so it is a necessary expense. And grains aren’t as expensive as meat, so it isn’t that bad.”

“Where do you get the meat, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“From here as well. I don’t know if you realized, but HomeBase is a dungeon.” I told Unika as I raised my left arm to remind her that I had my terminal right there. “While this floor has no monsters, the floors above and below this one do. Alice, Ria, Agunan and I all sometimes come here and hunt a few monsters, and then we use that monster's meat as our meal. And I also still have quite a bit of monsters left from when the five of us cleared this place before I founded HomeBase.”

“... you cleared a dungeon with just five people?”

“Yeah. I mean, Agunan is a dragon and I can summon powerful monsters, so just the two of us could probably do it.” I admitted.

“... Yes. You probably could.” Unika agreed. “But isn’t monster meat from dungeons dangerous if not purified by a priest? Is it really safe for us to eat? I don’t think there is a priest on HomeBase. Or can one of your summoned monsters purify miasma?”

“A few of them can, yes.” I confirmed for her. Truthfully, a lot of my Fiend-type monsters, especially the Archfiends, can control miasma. Sure they cannot purify it in the same way as Holy Magic users do, but they can remove the miasma from the meat, having effectively the same result. “But I don’t actually have them purify the meat, as I have a different way of doing that.” I told Unika. My level 10 Storage can purify monster materials of the miasma, so it is no problem.

“... I see.” Unika responded and seemingly thought about something.

“... but if this place is a part of HomeBase, why don’t we know about it?” Unika then asked.

“Just a safety measure.” I told her. “The monsters in here are quite dangerous. On the early floors, they are mostly C-rank with some B-ranks as well. And there are also suicide bomber monsters like long beak birds and creeper plants, so it can be quite dangerous. Because of that, I sealed the entrance so that you cannot get here from the Citadel. Well, there is one way, but that is for Cailie and the Aromages to use.”

“... How did you clear this place? Even with a dragon by your side, how didn’t you die to those monsters?”

“Skill, I guess? Or perhaps just our levels. We were all around LV.90 when we cleared this place. Except Agunan, as he doesn’t have a System level, but considering how much HP he has, he is something like LV.400 or maybe even higher.” 

“How? You are all no older than I am. Just how many monsters have you hunted to get to that sort of level?” Unika asked.

“That is what I’m saying. When you are a cheater like I am, there are other ways to level up than just killing monsters.”

“... is that..? No. You can’t mean? Your monsters… one of them can… make EXP potions?” Unika questioned.

“I probably could make some if I looked into it, but no. That isn’t what I mean. I have a different, arguably better way.”

“Better way? Is that even possible?”

“You’ll hear about it in just a second.” I told Unika.

As we approached the area where Cailie was, we began to hear some singing. I don’t really know why, but Cailie did in fact sing to the plants. I’m not sure if it helped, but I was glad that she did. Whenever I was working on something difficult, pulling up recordings of her singing would calm me down and would help me work more efficiently. I did ask Cailie if it was fine, and with a slight blush on her face, she agreed.

And because of how cute she looked when she gave me the permission, I began to work on a new microphone tool for her. The current prototype she used would just amplify her voice, as well as her Charming Voice skill. When I made it, I wasn’t sure if it could carry the skill, but after a test, we figured out that it could. The improved version I now wanted to work on should when finished be able to also play some generic music to go with Cailie’s singing. And if that works, I’ll make a version that will allow Cailie to make her own music and input it into the device.

I should really just make some instruments to begin with. HomeBase only has one grand piano, a harp, as well as a guitar, but no one really uses them as they don’t know how to. Maybe I should also have music lessons, not just combat lessons.

I stopped walking some ways away from Cailie, and since Unika was following me, she also stopped. That was because I didn’t want to interrupt Cailie’s song. It was also a good way to test if Unika could resist Cailie’s Charming Voice, as Cailie did use it when she sang songs. It does make her singing voice more soothing, so I did appreciate it, even if the skill itself really didn’t have an effect on me. Level difference and all of that.

So while we listened to Cailie’s song, I kept an eye on Unika, and I swear I could almost see hearts in her eyes. I guess that confirms that Cailie’s skill does work on Unika.

“Don’t get too entranced.” I warned Unika to hopefully snap her out of the charm. As powerful as Cailie’s skill can be, it was also simple to counter. It is only charming, not mind controlling. Well, in a way it does control the mind, but you are still the one in control.

“... I …” Unika struggled a bit to string a sentence together, as she scrubbed her face with her hand. “... what is that?”

“It is Cailie’s skill. It can be a bit much for people with a lower level. Though it does make her singing so nice to listen to. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“... yes. … but it is also a bit frustrating.” Unika said.

“Why so?”

“Because it feels like everyone here has some rare skill. Except me.”

“You do have Tamer's Paradise.” I pointed out.

“... It isn't really the same.”

“Well, Ria doesn’t really have one either. Sure she has Vampiric Body Modification, but that is just a racial skill in the end. She doesn’t actually have any other extra skills than Card Summoner.”

“... Card Summoner. I know you mentioned it before, but what exactly is that skill? I’ve heard that Alice and Lucia also have it.”

“A skill that let’s people use my cards.” I told her. “They can be used even without it, but without the skill, they are super limited.”

“... Could I try one?”

“If you want. But let’s wait until Cailie’s song ends. I’ll let both of you use one.” 

After Cailie’s song came to an end, I applauded her. That was because her song was good, but also to get her attention.

She turned to face us and quickly turned away again. Then after doing something to probably gather herself, she turned back to us and floated to us. … that sounded like Cailie can fly. She isn’t there yet. She just has a levitating wheelchair. … I don’t know why I call it a wheelchair, when it literally has no wheels.

“Brian. And … Unika was it? What are you doing here?” Cailie asked.

“I just had something I wanted to tell both you and Unika. And I needed a private place for it, so I came here.” I told her. “And I wanted to see how the crops were doing. And they seem to be growing fine.”

“Unnaturally quickly.” Cailie said. “I know you said the fertilizer is special, but there should be no way for crops to grow this fast without some sort of growth boost magic tool. I think we’ll be able to harvest them after another week or so.”

“I am also guiding some of the excess mana here, so that might have an effect. Maybe I should summon a nature spirit to help me make some nature magic stones? Those might accelerate the growth even more.” I pondered aloud. “I could even make some growth boosting magic devices.”

“... Excess mana?” Unika questioned.

“Oh right. You two don’t know about that. The flowers outside. They produce mana. I use it to fuel all the floating magic circles of HomeBase, but those magic circles don’t use all of it, so some of it will have to be dispersed. So instead of letting it all disperse, I guided some down here.”

“... flowers that make mana?” Unika questioned.

“Yeah. They are kind of custom made. And they don’t technically make mana, but Spell Counters. But Spell Counters can be converted into mana, so it is effectively the same.”

“... are you sure it is a good idea to tell us that?” Unika asked.

“No clue. But go ahead. Tell someone about HomeBase and see if they’ll believe it.”

“... they probably wouldn’t.” Unika admitted.

“Maybe if I told them while using my skill?” Cailie pondered.

“That might work, but I don’t think you’d do something like that.” I said. I mean, that is a quick way to get the bad ending in the ‘let’s try to make Brian love me’ game that Cailie started when she confessed to me. “But that isn’t why we are here, so how about I get to that.” I reminded the two. 

I brought a table out of Storage, set out some chairs for Unika and I, and then brought out some sweets and drinks so that we could have some tea. Tea in the middle of big crop fields just seems like a good idea. Especially when there are no insects on HomeBase. … well there are, but not on this floor. 

I then began to explain things to the duo. Mainly about Level Up!, but Unika also wanted to know more about Card Summoner. 

This led me to explain a bit about my cards, though not how I ‘make’ them. Mainly how you can use them, what difference does it make to have Card Summoner versus not having it and so on. I even let both of them try it, with Unika summoning Fox Fire and Cailie calling out Mermaid Knight. I of course also explained to both of them the one way I knew you could get Card Summoner. Unika was quite interested and asked if I’d take her to TinaWood Dungeon at some point, and I agreed to it, but Cailie seemed just a bit scared about having to fight monsters for the skill.

Spoiler

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Then we got to the interesting part. The Level Ups. Well, interesting for me, because that meant that I got to see the two’s status. I didn’t demand it, because I could level them up as long as I knew at least one of their skills, but after Cailie quickly agreed, Unika also agreed to show hers. 

Both of them were impressive in their own ways. Cailie had a lot of low level skills, including Hiding and Sneak Attack. Gardening, Singing and Performance must be from her time at the Hero’s country. And Swift Swimming as her racial skill makes perfect sense. Not so sure about her titles though. Especially that last one. Sure it is crossed out now, but the fact that Cailie has it is alarming in of itself. 

Unika on the other hand. I think she is the first one I’ve ever seen to have higher strength than HP. And even her mana is just 50 points above her strength, so her strength seems super high. She also has quite the frail defenses, despite having the Defense Boost skill. And she has multiple bow related skills, Quick Shot, Hidden Shot and even Embedded Shot. 

All around, both are impressive in their own rights. I think Cailie is the more impressive, considering that she said that she was banished due to being ‘useless’, but looking at her status, she seems quite useful. Yes I understand that at least 4, if not 5 of her skills were obtained after she was banished, but even with just Hiding, Sneak Attack and Knife Technique she could be quite strong.

Unika was impressive in different ways, mainly just the sheer number of bow related skills and her super high strength. But even outside of that, once she learns some more magic skills to support her bow, she will be a real powerhouse. I also wonder. She might not have a magic attribute like Alice, so I might be able to get a reward for that one mission if I give her one. I feel like both her and her brother could use the Fire attribute to go with their Foxfire racial skill.

Well, that can come later. For now, let’s level the duo up and see where we’ll go from there. For Unika, let’s go with Foxfire so that she can practice it with Fox Fire, and for Cailie, I think Gardening will be the best. It is kind of her job, so it should help. Maybe she will even get a Farming skill at some point.

I hope the two of them will keep growing more powerful and will master new skills. And I’ll of course help in any way I can.