Hearing the crowd's eager voices, Luya explained:
"The [Naturia] Deck in Ganyu's hands is a brand-new product of the shop! It was obtained through the [Random Theme Deck]!"
Ganyu held up [Naturia Barkion]. Luya reached out and borrowed it for a moment. In his hand was the very same dragon of wooden scales that had appeared hovering earlier when Ganyu opened her pack.
[Naturia Barkion], its body covered in wood-like scales and a rocky head, was long and slender. Though a dragon, it looked more adorable than imposing. Luya held up [Naturia Barkion] for everyone to see.
Although it was a Monster Card, it looked different from ordinary ones—its frame was entirely silver-gray.
At that moment, Keqing arrived at the shop. She immediately saw Ganyu—right there in Luya's shop.
By the contract Ganyu had made with Morax, she was supposed to be working diligently in the Yuehai Pavilion atop Yujing Terrace, fulfilling her duty as secretary to the Liyue Qixing. For thousands of years, Ganyu had always honored that contract.
Yet now... she was here, helping Luya sell card packs!?
"This is... what's going on!?" Keqing couldn't help asking Ganyu.
Before Ganyu could even think of a proper, simple explanation, Luya answered for her:
"Miss Ganyu's contract with the Emperor has been revised. Her duty assisting the Qixing at Yuehai Pavilion has been changed—she now works here, at my shop."
Keqing's eyes widened in shock, and she involuntarily stepped back two paces.
"The Emperor... actually... To think he would make such a decision! How unexpected! But that only proves—Shopkeeper, even the Emperor must see your card shop as the future of Liyue, hahaha!"
Keqing smiled and praised Luya's store.
Luya nodded. "Indeed! I'm confident that I can bring many new industries to the future of Liyue. Miss Keqing, please look forward to it~"
Hearing Luya's confident declaration, Keqing applauded—though her black gloves made no sound.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Keep it up! Eh? Shopkeeper, that silver-gray card in your hand—what is it? I've never seen one like it before!"
As Keqing asked, the others also noticed. The card in Luya's hand was clearly different from normal Monster Cards—its color was completely silver-white, though its Level, ATK, and effect text were normally displayed.
"Wow!"
"What kind of card is that?!"
"I've never seen one before!"
"Is that from the [Random Theme Deck] the shopkeeper mentioned?"
"You can get cards like that from it?! It looks amazing~"
Seeing the customers' curiosity, Luya began explaining:
"This gray-colored [Naturia Barkion] is a Synchro Monster."
The moment he said that, Keqing blinked in confusion. "What's... a Synchro Monster?"
Luya thought for a moment, then explained:
"You all know how Fusion works, right? You use the Spell Card [Polymerization], or another card with a Fusion effect, to Special Summon a Monster from your Extra Deck..."
The crowd nodded.
"Yes, we know Fusion! As long as you have the Fusion Materials ready, plus [Polymerization], you can summon it! Fusion Monsters are purple."
"Right, right! You can use monsters from the field or hand—it's convenient when it doesn't brick."
"Fusion decks brick all the time though... no miracle draw, no summon!"
"You either can't find your materials, or you can't draw [Polymerization]!"
"So how is a Synchro Monster different? Does it also use [Polymerization]?"
Hearing the confusion, Luya continued:
"To summon a Synchro Monster, you use a method called Synchro Summon. And for that, you need a Tuner Monster. When there's a Tuner on the field, you can pair it with one or more non-Tuner monsters to 'tune' their Levels. As long as their total Levels match the Level of the Synchro Monster, you can Special Summon it from your Extra Deck! That's what we call... a Synchro Summon!"
Luya's explanation left the audience momentarily dazed. Seeing their confusion, he demonstrated using [Naturia Barkion].
[Naturia Barkion] Level 6│EARTH│Dragon│2500 ATK / 1800 DEF
Materials: 1 EARTH Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner EARTH Monsters
"Take this [Naturia Barkion] for example," Luya said. "It's a Level 6 Synchro Monster. To summon it, you need 1 EARTH Tuner and 1 or more non-Tuner EARTH monsters. In other words... as long as you have those monsters on the field, and their combined Levels equal 6—you can Special Summon [Naturia Barkion] from your Extra Deck!"
As Luya spoke, both Keqing and Ganyu began to understand how Synchro Summoning worked. The other customers soon wore expressions of sudden realization.
"Ohh, I get it now!"
"So that's how it works~"
"As long as the Levels add up, you can summon it!"
"I'd love to see it in action!"
"Same here... I want to see a Synchro Monster appear!"
Seeing the crowd's enthusiasm rise, Luya took another [Random Theme Deck] from his system inventory. It looked identical to the one Ganyu had opened before—a deck box with a question mark on the cover.
Keqing and the nearby customers watched in curiosity.
"So that's the same kind of deck Ganyu opened?! It has a question mark!"
"What could be inside?! Obviously something powerful!"
"Unlike card packs, you don't have to build the deck yourself. Once you open it, you get a full themed Deck!"
"Wow, that's incredible!"
"So you could open something amazing with it~"
"How much is it?!"
Luya chuckled and announced:
"This [Random Theme Deck]—today, there's only one, and it'll be sold by auction. Starting price: 30 million Mora!"
As soon as he said that, the crowd gasped in astonishment.
Ganyu now realized the employee gift she had received was worth thirty million!
"That... that expensive!?"
"What!?"
"Looks like I'm out of the running... I can only watch."
Luya knew full well that the item's cost price was already high, and only a few people could afford it. Still, someone surely could.
Just then, Hu Tao, Xingqiu, and Chongyun entered the shop together. Hu Tao cheerfully called out as soon as she stepped in.
"Wow! Shopkeeper, you opened up early today!"
Xingqiu looked equally curious. "Did the boss suddenly feel like making money? Opening this early!"
Seeing the wealthy crowd grow by two more, Luya was even happier.
"Welcome, welcome~ hahaha! Yes, I'm indeed short on funds lately..."
He wasn't lying—he truly was short on Mora. Everything he wanted to do required money!
...
Then Luya resumed the auction.
"Alright, the [Random Theme Deck] auction begins now! Starting at thirty million Mora! Each bid must increase by no less than one million!"
Xingqiu perked up. A Deck worth that much must be something special! He hadn't bought any packs recently, so this was the perfect chance to spend big.
"I bid thirty-five million Mora!"
Though Hu Tao wasn't particularly interested in the deck, hearing that Luya was short on money made her decide to join the bidding.
"Sixty million Mora!"
"Ah! As expected of Master Hu... She's really rich!"
"Incredible!"
Hearing the crowd's murmurs, Hu Tao was unfazed—she was used to it.
Then Keqing sighed softly. "I'll bid one hundred million Mora!"
...
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