The shop owner gives off a rather confident vibe.
Furina smirks, feeling a hint of disdain in her heart.
What a shame, what a shame. You have one fatal flaw!
Furina had already noticed the promotional sign at the shop's entrance.
It actually claimed that drawing cards could grant supernatural powers!
How could such a thing exist in this world?!
In her five hundred years of life, she had never heard of such absurdity!
This was clearly a scam targeting fools!
With something interesting finally happening, Furina wasn't in a hurry. She spoke up, "Go on, introduce it to me."
Upon hearing this, Lu Heng's smile deepened slightly.
"As you can see, Lady Furina, this shop sells Card Equipment Devices, priced at 10,000 Mora each."
"As the name suggests, the Card Equipment Device is used to equip cards and harness their powers."
"Obtaining cards is also very simple. For now, the shop only offers the Standard Card Pool, with the highest rarity being five-star. The pool contains countless cards to draw from, at 10,000 Mora per draw."
As he explained, Lu Heng handed an aluminum Card Equipment Device to Furina for inspection.
Furina turned it over in her hands—it was just a belt with an unusual design. Nothing remarkable.
The real focus had to be the cards.
"10,000 Mora?"
"That expensive?"
Furina frowned slightly.
The average salary of an ordinary citizen in the Court of Fontaine was around 10,000 Mora, and incomes outside the Court were even lower.
First, you had to spend 10,000 Mora to buy an equipment device, and then you could draw cards?
Hah!
No doubt, this shop owner had set a clever trap!
Furina sneered inwardly.
He must be planning to trick a bunch of people into buying the equipment devices and then just disappear, right?!
As for those who chose to draw cards—without the equipment device, the cards would be useless anyway.
And if someone actually spent 20,000 Mora…
Furina hadn't even considered that possibility yet.
"Expensive?"
Lu Heng's smile remained unchanged. "Lady Furina, if this were based on the premise that the cards could truly grant supernatural powers, would you still consider it expensive?"
Furina was taken aback and instinctively shook her head.
If it were real… then 10,000 Mora wouldn't be expensive at all. In fact, it would practically be charity!
But… was that even possible?!
She could confidently say that nothing like this had ever happened in Teyvat's history!
There were very few ways for people to obtain supernatural powers—one was by gaining a Vision, another was through the Fatui's Delusions, and then there were some unconventional methods.
Aside from legitimately obtaining a Vision, most other methods came at a severe cost to one's well-being!
So, this little card shop was essentially challenging common sense!
"Truth and falsehood can often be determined with a single test," Lu Heng said.
"Fair point."
Furina nodded slightly and turned to Clorinde. "Give it a try."
"Mm."
Clorinde waved her hand.
Visions had storage capabilities, though the space was limited—enough to hold some Mora, at least.
"110,000 Mora?"
Lu Heng asked, "One equipment device and a ten-draw—would you like to do the ten-draw all at once, or one by one?"
"Ten-draw," Clorinde replied succinctly.
"Alright."
Lu Heng tapped on the glass countertop.
Instantly, a gacha interface appeared on the glass surface.
Furina was surprised.
She hadn't noticed earlier—this counter's glass surface could display other things too?
"This is for a single draw, and this is for a ten-draw."
Before he could finish, Clorinde tapped the ten-draw option.
On the glass surface, a scene similar to Genshin Impact's gacha appeared.
Lu Heng, having seen it many times, remained unfazed.
Furina and the others found it utterly novel.
"A meteor?"
"What does this purple light mean?"
"It seems this lady's luck is quite good. Purple corresponds to four-star, which is excellent in terms of rarity. Its practical value depends on its effect," Lu Heng explained.
"Oh."
Furina nodded.
Ten cards suddenly materialized on the counter, arranged side by side, their edges glowing in varying hues.
The first card had a purple glow, while the rest were either gray or white.
"What now?" Clorinde asked.
"Purple and higher-rarity cards require appraisal. The rest can be processed at the self-service machine—you can choose to dismantle them into equipment device experience. Of course, if the purple card's effect isn't ideal, it can also be dismantled."
"Would you like me to appraise it for you?"
"Yes." Clorinde nodded.
Though the idea of drawing cards to gain supernatural powers sounded absurd, the sudden appearance of ten cards on the counter… Clorinde felt this shop might have something to it.
She was somewhat curious—what would the purple card be?
Lu Heng picked up the purple card and flipped it over.
Furina leaned in for a closer look.
As the card turned, the glow faded, revealing an image of a blurry silhouette—a person, seemingly frozen mid-motion from executing a lightning-fast strike.
"?"
Furina couldn't quite make sense of it.
Lu Heng ran his fingers over the card, and its information instantly appeared on the surface.
[Unrivaled Speed]
[Rarity]: 4-star · Purple
[Type]: [Skill Card]
[Trait]: [Sustained]
[Description]: When this card is equipped, all your actions will be accelerated as long as you will it.
"I assume no further explanation is needed?" Lu Heng glanced at Clorinde.
As a seasoned fighter, Clorinde understood the description immediately. She asked, "How do I use it?"
"First, bind it to the equipment device."
Soon, Clorinde had bound the device.
"Note: At this level, the equipment device can only hold one card. To equip multiple cards or switch between them, you'll need to dismantle cards for experience to upgrade the device."
"Understood."
Clorinde equipped [Unrivaled Speed].
In the next instant, her expression shifted to one of astonishment.
"Well?"
Furina couldn't wait. "Does it work?"
Clorinde took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
It actually works?!
Furina had no reason to doubt Clorinde's judgment—after all, Clorinde was one of the most skilled fighters in the Court of Fontaine!
A moment later.
Clorinde suddenly drew her pistol.
Her movements were blindingly fast—in the blink of an eye, she loaded the gun, chambered a round, and holstered it again.
Her voice carried suppressed shock. "That sequence was over five times faster than usual…"
Many of her techniques already relied on speed, and now the card's acceleration had further enhanced her execution. The boost to her overall combat effectiveness was undeniable!
The other Fontaine citizens, who had been watching as bystanders, gasped in amazement.
"It's actually real?!"
"Huh?! Even seeing it with my own eyes, it's hard to believe… This is incredible!"
"How can something like this exist in the world?!"
Furina's eyes slowly widened.
Drawing cards really can grant power!
Clorinde had only spent 110,000 Mora!
For ordinary people, that was a significant sum, but Furina was the Hydro Archon!
Suddenly, she was filled with regret.
Why have I been so reckless with my Mora all this time?!
If she had saved even a fraction of it, how much power could she have amassed by now?!
With that kind of strength, would she still need to tread so carefully?
If only this shop had opened sooner!
But… it wasn't too late now!
"How fascinating!"
Furina smiled approvingly. "Excellent! My people now have another way to gain strength and protect themselves. Very good!"
"Lady Furina, we're a bit short on funds…"
The Fontaine citizens looked embarrassed.
The gacha system clearly relied heavily on luck. With bad luck, you could lose everything.
Just look at Clorinde dismantling her other cards—nine of them were duds!
But on second thought, this was a chance to obtain supernatural powers. It just depended on how fat your wallet was!
"Would anyone else like to try?" Lu Heng asked.
Someone immediately turned to Furina. "Lady Furina, why don't you give it a shot?"
"Me?"
Though tempted, Furina maintained her composure. "I am the Hydro Archon! Such power is beneath me!"
But then she pivoted.
"Though I suppose you all didn't get enough of Clorinde's ten-draw earlier, did you?"
"Fine, fine~ Since you're all my beloved people, I'll help you test the waters and see what pitfalls lie ahead!"
Lu Heng smiled silently.
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T/N:
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