Milo's eyes sparkled as a beautiful white light washed over his face.
The light slowly faded, replaced by a livelier shade of green.
"Did it work?" the young man asked, itching to grab the card.
But Milo held himself back so he wouldn't interfere with the process.
When the green glow finally disappeared, a new card gradually revealed itself.
Unable to wait any longer, Milo hurriedly snatched it up.
A status window appeared before him.
Crab Meat Card
Type: Item
Rank: F
Quality: Green (Uncommon)
Description: Fresh crab meat, edible. Fullness +2.
Seeing the description, Milo felt a surge of joy.
But when he noticed that the Rank hadn't changed, he froze.
"So fusion only raises the quality… I thought the Rank would go up too," he muttered, calmer this time.
Though slightly disappointed, Milo's curiosity only deepened.
"I wonder if I can still fuse this card. Is there a limit?"
Milo proceeded to fuse again until he ended up with two green-quality Crab Meat Cards.
Once he had them, he stared at both cards with anticipation.
He commanded them to fuse.
And just like before, the same phenomenon occurred.
As the green light dimmed, Milo frowned.
But before he could think further, a burst of blue light—clear as a summer sky—exploded outward, enveloping both cards.
Moments later, the light faded and a new card appeared.
Milo grabbed it and checked its details at once.
Crab Meat Card
Type: Item
Rank: F
Quality: Blue (Rare)
Description: Fresh crab meat, edible. Fullness +5. Muscle +1.
Staring at the description, Milo was stunned. He examined every detail and found several interesting points.
Fullness +1 was equal to a single meal that kept you full for about three hours.
With Fullness +5, that meant fifteen hours.
As for Muscle +1, it meant that eating the crab meat temporarily boosted strength by one point.
"This… is an absolute treasure," Milo whispered in disbelief, his heart pounding.
He also remembered that card quality generally came in six tiers:
White (Common) → Green (Uncommon) → Blue (Rare) → Purple (Epic) → Gold (Legendary) → Black (Myth)
White and Green were considered lower quality.
Blue and Purple were treated as one Rank higher than the item's actual Rank.
Gold and Black were equivalent to two Ranks higher.
So a Rank F card with Blue quality was effectively a Rank E card.
A Rank F card with Gold quality would be equivalent to Rank D.
"Even if my fusion skill can't raise the Rank, raising the quality alone is already a huge advantage!" Milo said happily.
He then tried fusing other cards, such as the Empty Card, to see the difference.
Empty Card
Type: Item
Rank: F
Quality: Green (Uncommon)
Description: Can store one item up to 2 kg.
"Hehehe… nice! Looks like any item card can be fused. I wonder if other cards, like character cards, can be fused too?"
Excited by the thought of how his character card might change, Milo felt his enthusiasm flare.
He remembered the six crab character cards his brother had.
He really wanted to see what would happen when he fused them someday.
But Milo didn't rush. Now that he had something that could upgrade items like a game-breaking bug, a new idea crossed his mind.
After fighting the rats and crabs, he realized he still hadn't come across a weapon-type item card. So he decided to make one himself.
In this chaotic world, he had to be ready. Having a weapon was crucial for survival.
Every sound outside felt louder than usual. Milo knew he couldn't go out unprepared. In a world like this, even a few careless seconds could be fatal.
He rushed to the kitchen and living room, taking apart a broomstick.
He carved a notch at one end of the pole, removed a knife handle, and fitted the blade into the slot.
He hammered in several small nails to secure the blade, making sure it wouldn't wobble.
After that, he wrapped it with cloth and melted plastic to seal it.
After all that effort, he finally made a crude-looking spear.
It looked terrible, but Milo wasn't discouraged in the slightest—he was actually proud of it.
Then he made a second spear using the same method.
Now that he understood the process, he finished it quickly.
Two rough but similar spears lay before him.
He activated his ability, and a soft white light enveloped them.
Soon after, the light vanished, replaced by the familiar green glow.
Milo's eyes widened.
"Handmade items can have quality too?" he murmured in amazement.
When the green light faded, the spear that appeared looked like the work of a master craftsman.
Milo picked it up in awe. Every flaw was gone—the uneven joint was now smooth, the blade perfectly aligned, and the weapon felt sturdier in his hands.
The wood, once rough, was now polished as if sanded by a professional. A faint energy vibrated along the shaft, sending chills down Milo's spine.
Fusion had turned trash into a valuable weapon.
Milo tried pulling up the item's status window, but nothing happened.
"Huh… so items that aren't cards can't be inspected?" he muttered.
He remembered the same thing had happened when he fused the knife earlier.
He thought crafting it himself might change something, but it didn't.
The only way to inspect an item was by turning it into a card.
That gave the Empty Card a new role—not only storing items, but also allowing him to check their status.
Milo accepted the limitation quickly. He then tried out his new spear in the living room.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Milo swung the spear. His movements were stiff, but his muscle memory slowly returned.
After a while, he stopped.
"Phew… I'm so rusty! It's been ages since I practiced spear fighting…"
After years of peace, Milo had stopped training, so his skills needed sharpening.
But suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"The good news is, this spear I made would fetch a high price on the market!"
"To make something like this before, you'd need a real artisan!"
He shook his head in disbelief.
"This world makes no sense… something that used to require expert craftsmanship, I can now do with a strange talent."
His excitement soon turned into concern.
"If I can do all this… how many people out there have even crazier talents?"
"There's always someone stronger out there."
He pushed down his satisfaction, and the urge to brag faded.
He kept a humble mindset—but firm when necessary.
Once the spear was done, Milo headed to the kitchen.
He grabbed a wooden cutting board as big as a pan, carved it into a shield shape, then attached a hose handle secured with nails.
A simple shield was formed.
He repeated the same process and fused it.
It turned into a proper small shield.
Next, Milo snapped off one handle from a rolling pin. He covered the barrel with nails and added cloth to the grip.
After making a duplicate, he fused them into a spiked club that looked nothing like the original rolling pin.
"Wow, this looks legit! If I didn't make it myself, I wouldn't believe this blade, this spiked club, and this small shield came from kitchen supplies!"
Satisfied, Milo packed everything up.
He scanned the outside using fish-eye, and only after ensuring there was no danger did he head out.
It was still morning, and most people probably hadn't realized the world had changed yet—the neighborhood seemed peaceful.
But if they did know, that calm might turn into chaos.
Or perhaps they already knew but stayed silent like Milo—afraid of drawing attention.
Milo couldn't be sure. All he knew was that he needed to be careful.
When he arrived at his brother's door, it instantly opened—an all-too-familiar face appearing.
They must have been on alert, listening for footsteps.
Once inside, Milo took out the weapons he made.
"Sister, Brother-in-law pick your weapons."
Hearing that, they looked confused. Only then did they notice what Milo had brought.
"Where… did you get these, Milo?" Anya asked, eyes wide.
She never imagined he would acquire things like this so soon.
"Has this kid been hiding dangerous weapons?" she wondered.
"Uh… no, Sis. I made them myself," Milo replied.
"You made them? Since when do you have skills like this, Milo?" Clayton asked, intrigued.
As a man, who didn't like weapons? He picked one up and tested it.
"I don't have good craftsmanship. It's just that my enchant talent can polish anything I make!"
Milo explained everything clearly—except for the Fusion ability.
"Wow, amazing! This will make surviving so much easier!"
"Yeah, Bro. If you need something, just make it first. Then I'll enchant it! And if you make more than one, the chances of success go up!" Milo added.
Anya nodded, her eyes sparkling at the limitless possibilities.
Meanwhile, Clayton—a former civil engineer—was already lost in plans.
"Yes! With this method, we could rebuild civilization! Thick paper armor, slow-sand water filters, fire starters, plastic tents, and so much more!"
Milo's eyes shone as well. Countless ideas filled his mind.
He couldn't help but admire his brother-in-law.
"This guy must really love outdoor survival…" he thought.
A delicate silence filled the apartment, fragile enough to shatter with the slightest sound.
The three were still immersed in grand plans when suddenly—
A LOUD BANG
—echoed from the front door.
They jolted, exchanging wary looks.
"Who could that be?" Anya whispered.
"I don't know… let me and big bro check," Milo said.
Clayton nodded, while Anya waited nervously at the dining table.
Milo and Clayton walked toward the door cautiously, gripping their weapons tightly.
The tension thickened.
They had no idea what was waiting behind that door.