Apocalypse Descends: I Win Effortlessly by Turning Trash into Treasure

”Wow, a Divine Beast Egg! You actually managed to get one of these. Looks like you went to one hell of a game instance this time.”

Amber Sheridan’s voice suddenly sounded from behind Perry Yates, making her jump.

Perry spun around, mercilessly pounding on the person behind her. ”You know you can scare someone to death like that!” she said angrily.

Amber Sheridan held up his hands in surrender. ”Sorry, sorry! Don’t be mad.”

Just then, Evan Fuller also came down from the second floor. He looked at Perry and said in a low voice, ”We have something to ask you.”

「The three of them went to a private room on the second floor.」

As soon as they entered, Evan Fuller asked without beating around the bush, ”You can make game instances Concrete.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

Perry Yates nodded. She never expected to be able to hide this from Evan Fuller and the others anyway. After all, they were regulars at The Card Tavern now and would often drop by.

Compared to their original world, they felt much freer in The Card Tavern. Players could let their true natures run wild without having to worry or be so cautious.

”We want to know how you did it,” Amber Sheridan asked.

”To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself. After I cleared the instance with the Giant Creatures, the system’s voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears. It announced that my Cerulea was officially entering the survival game era, that the number of players would no longer increase, and that the Croupier would have the ability to make experienced game instances Concrete.”

After hearing Perry Yates’s explanation, Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan fell silent. ’As expected, it must be related to performance within the game. No, that’s not all of it. The system’s criteria must be more complex than just that.’

Cerulea, number 68656, was a special case among all the parallel Ceruleas. The survival game hadn’t been around the longest, but its progress was the fastest. It took only one year for the first Croupier to emerge, catching up to the other planets.

Now, it was far ahead of the curve. And it was all because of the person standing before them.

”What are the conditions for making an instance Concrete?” Evan Fuller continued to ask.

Perry Yates didn’t hide anything. ”Cards,” she said.

”Ten thousand White Cards, eight thousand one-star cards, five thousand two-star cards, one thousand three-star cards, one hundred four-star cards, or... ten Five-Star cards.”

”So expensive...”

Amber Sheridan couldn’t help but exclaim upon hearing the astonishing numbers.

”Is there a difference between them?” Amber Sheridan asked.

”Of course there is! The difference is huge. Different cards result in different levels of stability after the instance is made Concrete. Stability refers to the instance’s impact on reality—the higher the stability, the smaller the impact.

The stability levels range from one to six stars:

One star: Very dangerous. Explorers receive no protection upon entering, and creatures from inside the instance might escape into the real world.

Two stars: Dangerous. Explorers receive no protection, but the monsters inside the instance will be less hostile toward intruders.

Three stars: Relatively safe. Explorers will receive some protection, and most creatures inside the instance will be favorably disposed toward intruders.

Four stars: Safe. Explorers will encounter almost no danger after entering the instance.

Five Stars: Absolutely safe. All dangers within the instance will be cleared with a single click, leaving no threats whatsoever.

Six stars: On top of being absolutely safe, the controller can also modify the instance to a certain extent, making its interior change according to your will. For example, if you need minerals, many ore veins will appear inside.

What do you think? Sounds a lot like being a creator god, doesn’t it?

Also, Concretized instances don’t produce cards.”

Perry Yates explained everything she knew.

”Okay. Thank you.”

After thanking Perry Yates, Evan Fuller turned and left.

Evan Fuller may have left, but Amber Sheridan didn’t.

He leaned in with a cheeky grin and said, ”Perry, you know, we’ve run into each other in so many games... you could say we’ve been through life and death together, right?”

”Just say what you want. Don’t try to butter me up,” Perry said bluntly.

”Alright, I’ll get straight to it then. That Divine Beast Egg of yours... is it for sale?”

Hearing Amber Sheridan say this, Perry Yates instantly understood his intentions. ”Of course it is,” she said. ”Everything on display is for sale, as long as you can afford the price.”

”Is it more expensive than making an instance Concrete?” Amber Sheridan asked.

Perry Yates shook her head. ”Not quite, but it’s close.”

”Then forget it. I can’t afford it, I really can’t afford it.” Amber Sheridan deflated like a popped balloon.

He walked out of the private room, went down to the first floor, and quickly squeezed into the crowd of frantic shoppers.

Meanwhile, many others who had heard the news were on their way.

However, these people were destined for disappointment, because the Pet Eggs were already sold out.

Perry Yates had brought back quite a few Pet Eggs from the game, so of course, they weren’t really sold out. She just wanted to release them little by little.

Putting out too many at once would make the Pet Eggs less valuable.

’So it’s better to take it slow.’

Besides, once all the Pet Eggs were sold, the ”Highway Survival” instance should be almost done with its modifications. Perry decided to open it to the public, requiring everyone who entered to hand over half of what they obtained as a fee.

In addition to players, ordinary people could also enter the instance.

Just look at the officials. It hadn’t been long since they gained control over the two instances, The Warped Jungle and Frostfell, and they were already raking it in.

「Back on the fifth floor,」 Perry Yates pulled a red card from her collection.

She had lost a Five-Star card in the game before, so Perry decided to make up for it.

The card’s name was Absolute Cutting. Just as the name suggested, as long as the Fuser firmly believed they could cut something, they could cut through anything.

The only drawback was that this card could only be used once a day.

’A four-star card with a skill cooling time... this is a first.’

Perry Yates infused the card with energy.

Ever since the cards inside her body had all been upgraded to Five Stars, she was now able to directly perform Ascension to create Five-Star cards.

One day later, Perry Yates looked at the golden card in her hand. Its description had changed. The skill cooling time was gone, replaced by an energy storage function.

After being absorbed, the card would slowly accumulate energy when not in use, building up charges.

For example, if it accumulated three charges, Perry could unleash Absolute Cutting three times in a row during a fight. After using all three charges, the card would be useless until it stored more energy.

’Oh well. It’s not like I get into a lot of fights anyway.’