*Author's Note*
Bet you weren't expecting this.
Chapter 43 The Final Battle of Greed Island.
Razor said he'd leave the lighthouse for a few hours, and if they wanted to get the card, they'd have to return to the girl who gave them the quest at that time. If they delayed or tried to wait too long, the pirates would return to the warehouse anyways, and they'd have to do the quest all over again.
After using the Quiver of Frustration to cast Leave on all the extras, Rayleigh led the group over to the woman who asked them to get rid of Razor and his fourteen devils and told her that the pirates had been defeated and chased from the lighthouse.
Hearing this, the woman started walking to the lighthouse, presumably to check if their word was good. Upon seeing that the structure was empty, the woman entered anyway and found the stairs to the top of the lighthouse.
The woman explained, "It's always darkest under the lighthouse. The entrance to Poseidon's Cavern was right in front of them this whole time, in this very lighthouse."
Once they reached the top, they saw a view of the whole ocean and the coastline extending into the distance. The woman picked a window and bent half over the side to reach something on the outer wall. When Gon and the rest peeked over another window to see what she was doing, they noticed that she was pressing a hidden switch.
The bright ray of the lighthouse condensed into a line and pointed at a specific location off the coast.
The woman looked out the window and seemed rather nostalgic for a moment before she continued, "The beam of light makes a spot on the ocean floor where the underwater cave will be. But unlike the rumors, there was never any treasure. It's a Holy Cave and only a few select fishermen knew of its location. That legend about the treasure is nothing but an exaggerated myth."
The woman leaned against the window and shook her head with a sigh. "Of course, Razor's pirates didn't believe this. I always wanted to tell them the truth, but they'd just think I was lying. Not that I ever could. It's a holy place to us. Those of us who were born from the ocean cannot do anything that would defile it."
Gon looked melancholic about the situation, but Killua and Rayleigh rolled their eyes at his reaction since this was just a video game scenario and no one actually died.
The woman finished, "I can finally look out at the sea again. The sunrise, the ships docking, and the ocean surface reflecting a rainbow of colors. To me, this ocean view is better than any treasure."
And with that line, the woman vanished in a puff of smoke and turned into a card.
The card was quickly placed into Killua's Book Goreinu and Demon Hunter both used Clone with Killua as the target. Since his Imposed Slots were empty save the card, both copies of Clone turned into Plot of Beach.
As the card was taken from Killua and placed in Gon's book, Goreinu suggested, "Since you have the original copy, you can use Fake to transform it into another card. That way if someone checks the contents of your book, it will look like a different card and you can hide the fact that you have it."
That was only true for the original. If an original card was turned into something else using the spell card Fake, it would revert back if touched by someone wearing Paladin's Necklace. But if a card copied with Clone was touched by someone with Paladin's Necklace, it would be destroyed. So only this method of hiding cards could only be done with originals, not copies.
Rayleigh shook his head. "No need. Why collect the other Imposed Slot cards when the collectors can come to us? Now we have the perfect bait. You might wanna stick around for a bit before heading off Goreinu."
Goreinu paled a bit at the implication. Since his copy could not be hidden with Fake, he was an easy target the moment he was on his own.
Rayleigh then asked Demon Hunter, "Want to stick around for a bit and see the effects of Staff of Judgement?"
Demon Hunter laughed and answered, "You Jedi are really good with negotiation. Yeah, alright. Let's see what happens."
Killua asked, "You are really sure Genthru will show up to take our cards?"
Biscuit answered for him, "Why wouldn't he? We look like easy pickings, right?"
Gon gritted his teeth and said, "Genthru is mine."
The Players collectively rolled their eyes at the main character and Biscuit said, "You probably won't be able to take him on your own, so Rayleigh will be your backup."
Ray nodded and replied, "I'll use telekinesis to hold him in place when he tries to use Little Flower, so you can use that chance to hit him. Though I will cut him into bite-sized pieces if you let your guard down."
Rayleigh's Force Stasis could, for the moment, be negated through the use of a strong Ren over the whole body, but according to Biscuit, when Genthru used Little Flower, he had to concentrate a lot of aura into his hands to protect themselves from the impact of his own technique. This meant less aura over the rest of his body, making him more vulnerable to Force Stasis.
The group left the lighthouse and casually walked out of the port city. Everyone maintained battle readiness.
Right on time, a shot of energy descended from the sky carrying three players and landed before them, one of whom was the familiar glasses-wearing schemer.
The man poured out his killing intent and said, "Hello there kiddies. Why don't we make a deal? You give me Wild Luck Alexandrite and Plot of Beach, and I guarantee that you'll keep your lives."
Gon shouted, "There's no way we'd agree to that, you bastard!"
Rayleigh calmly replied, "How about this? We all take out our books and kick the crap out of each other. The winner gets all the cards in the loser's books."
Genthru and his comrades all shook at the suggestion. They couldn't help it. Each one started laughing. Not that Rayleigh could blame them. The only adults were Biscuit, someone skilled at looking defenseless, and Goreinu, who already looked like he would run at his first chance. The rest of their group consisted of six twelve-year-old children. They were about as intimating as a stuffed teddy bear.
Gon's patience wasn't high enough to wait for the villains to stop laughing and continue their threatening monologue. He directly jumped over to smash Genthru's face in.
The seasoned killer opened his palm and positioned it to grab Gon's face, but before Gon came into range, he felt as if both of his arms and torso were being held in place by multiple vice grips.
Gon had complete faith in Rayleigh's abilities and did not waver in his charge. Using the opening Ray provided, Gon avoided the outstretched hands and smashed his Kō covered fist into Genthru's face.
Genthru's comrades also had faith in their friend and didn't move to defend him. Neither expected the upset as their response to Gon's straightforward charge was to laugh harder, not put up their guard.
Killua and Biscuit attacked the pair and Ray kept pace with Gon's charge to cover his friend's back while the other trio of Players watched with amusement. Green Lantern had already gotten out a card that turned into a bag of popcorn.
Rayleigh had long since formed his eighth Will, but the ninth was proving very troublesome to form. He knew it was better not to rush though since forcing something without understanding the consequence was a recipe for disaster. Still, that meant in a fight he had eight separate minds to use simultaneously. He only needed one to move his body so the other seven could be used to stack multiple instances of Force Stasis or use other skills together.
Rayleigh had one use Clairvoyance to pay attention to the surroundings, one to use Battle Precognition to recognize any danger in advance, one to use Force Valor to make his body move fast enough to keep up with the fight, and three others to use Force Stasis on Genthru to prevent him from attacking or defending while Gon pummeled him.
Rayleigh also kept his Lightsaber in his hand to amplify his connection to the Force and to use it if needed.
It only took Genthru a moment to understand that someone was using a method of control to impede his movement, so he used a full-body Ren to break free of Ray's restrictions and dodge Gon's next blow, and prepare to counter. However, Rayleigh mixed up his Force Stasis with random bits of telekinesis to shift Genthru's balance, cause him to miss Gon, or cause him to fail to dodge. Gon had no problems making use of them and continued to pound his face in.
From an outside observer, it looked like Genthru was an amateur fighter getting his ass kicked by a twelve-year-old, but that wasn't true in the slightest. It was just a terrible matchup.
None of the Force Skills Rayleigh frequently used caused any damage. What they did was impede or hold the opponent while predicting their next action in advance. Such skills shone brightest when used in tangent with another fighter who was willing to inflict injuries on his opponent. I'll hold him, you punch. And since Genthru had no way to stop Rayleigh's interference, he could only try to outguess the choices of half a dozen independent minds creatively messing with him.
Of course, Rayleigh could allow Genthru to damage him three times. Then he could use a combination of Force Stasis and Telekinesis he came up with to twist the Bomber's joints into pieces without the Force caring. But Genthru wasn't the type of person you want to give even a single free shot to, much less three free shots and Gon wanted to smash Genthru's face in personally.
At this point, Genthru was actually panicking. He accepted that he had completely misread the situation and that these kids were a serious threat. Gon was someone he considered an amateur at moving his aura, but his own level was brought down to Gon's due to Rayleigh's interference, leaving him no way out. Like all successful killers, Genthru was a prudent man and didn't consider it cowardly to run away and ambush his target later.
Genthru got some distance and said, "Book!" causing his book to appear. He picked up a card from his free slots and tried to use the Return Spell, but no sound came out of his mouth. Rayleigh had just used Force Muffle on him.
Gon used the opening to smash Genthru's face into the ground. Gon immediately landed next to it and smashed his face in three more times.
Rayleigh shouted, "Gon, stop!"
Gon held his fist back when he realized that Genthru was knocked out. If he killed him, all his cards would vanish. Gon was still inexperienced at threat recognition and continued to beat Genthru down because he thought the man was still a danger to his life when he wasn't. It was something to work on.
Rayleigh continued, "Let's finish this quickly. Get out your book, we'll move all the cards from Genthru's into yours before he wakes up."
Gon had calmed down already and agreed. Biscuit and Killua were still fighting, but neither was trying to win. Delaying the opponent until the cards were transferred was the win condition.
One by one, Rayleigh flipped through each page of Genthru's Book and passed over every card that Gon didn't have in his own book.
Rayleigh smiled quite broadly when he saw the first page of Genthru's book. This really was a calamity for the Bomber. Two days ago, they learned that Genthru needed cards 002, 009, and 075. But now, on the first page of his book, number 009 was there. This meant that Genthru really did only need numbers 002 and 075. Unfortunately, all his hard work was now for nothing.
The final card, number 099, which Gon did not have was skipped for the moment. Rayleigh continued to turn Genthru's book and found some other good things, like two more copies of Angel's Breath.
[017 Angel's Breath SS-3
She cures one person of all wounds and ills, restoring them to perfect health. She will only appear once.]
Such things were nice to have.
After taking everything of value from Genthru's book, the last card was placed into Gon's Book.
At that moment, a ringing sound came from the books. Even those without their books out found that their books had suddenly appeared. From the book, a familiar woman's voice sounded out.
[Attention all players! As of today, there have finally appeared players who have collected 99 cards in their imposed slots. To commemorate this event, in ten minutes there will be a trivia game open to all players on Greed Island. There are 100 questions in total! All questions will be on the cards within the Imposed Slots. The player with the highest score will win a prize. The prize is card no. 000, Ruler's Blessing! Everyone please open your books and wait a few minutes.]
"Genthru!" Bomber's comrades got past Biscuit and Killua and ran toward Rayleigh and Gon once they realized they had been duped.
Rayleigh motioned for Gon to step out of the way as they found the brutalized Genthru and checked to make sure he was still alive.
They took a calm expression only for a moment when they found his pulse, but that calm turned into rage when they understood the state of their comrade.
"YOU BASTARDS!"
Rayleigh charged the pair and like Genthru, they were caught off guard by the momentary use of Force Stasis, preventing either from properly dodging the Lightsaber directed at them. In a single move, both of Genthru's comrades were screaming in pain, clutching the seared stump where one of their arms used to be.
At that moment, half a dozen flashes of light descended from the sky, and numerous groups that had met Gon before used Accompany to find him before the Quiz started. What they found when they arrived was the infamous Bomber on the ground and his comrades screaming in pain with their severed arms on the ground.
Killua and Biscuit came over, and the latter got some ropes from her Book and used them to tie up the Bomber's trio.
The beaten and dismembered state of the killer trio dissuaded some of the more adventurous players from trying anything hazardous to their health. Especially since Rayleigh kept his Lightsaber extended.
Demon Hunter didn't care about the threat. He walked up and politely asked, "Can I make a copy of Floating Stone and Recycling Room?"
Rayleigh answered, "Sure, but you owe me a favor for both." Rayleigh had always considered the possibility of Demon Hunter fighting them for the cards. Demon Hunter was well aware of this and used it to force a settlement in order to obtain what he desired. Jedi weren't the only ones capable of negotiation.
With Gon's permission, the card was moved from Gon's book into Rayleigh's and Clone used on it before the process was repeated with the other. Unfortunately, although they could make a copy of Recycling Room, they could not make a copy of Floating Stone. This implied that this card had reached its imposed slot limit.
Demon Hunter sighed and said, "Guess we'll be staying here a bit longer. See you later, Swordsman. And Gon, good luck finding your father."
It was a general rule of common sense to befriend the Main Character, and since they avoided a fight, they intended to leave a good impression with them.
Some of the surrounding players approached and said if they won the Quiz and got no. 000, they would sell it to Gon for 2 billion. For a chance at quick money, none of them left even though they had no chance of getting the cards from Gon's group.
Biscuit wanted to end the game, so she said it was a good idea to pool their knowledge, but Gon and Killua refused and wanted to compete with each other and see who would get a higher score on the quiz.
Unfortunately for them, they had no chance at victory. The team that correctly acquired the most cards on their own was Tsezguerra's group. If someone didn't intend to cheat, they certainly would have won first place. Rayleigh, however, fully intended to cheat. He decided the game would end today, so he briefly used Psychometry on every single card before he transferred it from Genthru's book to Gon's. His multiple minds were busy retaining the details of the cards since the Quiz for 000 was one of the things he knew was coming from the info he stole from Ging's Hunter License.
From their open books, the announcer started the quiz.
[The questioning will now begin! The first question! About Patch of Forest, what was the name of the old man with the vital information?
A. Hira
B. Hida
C. Hiso
D. Hiyu
E. Hima]
Although it was multiple choice and you could select the answer from the back of the book, it was designed so that guessing the correct answer without having gotten it yourself would be nearly impossible.
One by one, the questions continued. Those who got a copy of the card, traded for it, or stole it, had no reliable way to answer the questions other than a one-in-five random guess.
At some point, a fellow wearing a massive cloak approached the bound Genthru and touched his shoulder for a moment before walking away. Rayleigh smiled. He knew that guy was still alive.
After 100 questions, the final announcement was made.
[It's over! Now I'll announce the name of the person who got the highest score! The highest score was 100 points out of a total of 100!! The name of the player who achieved this is... player Swordsman!]
Gon and Killua showed expressions of joy and dismay. Joy at having the 100th card, and dismay at losing the quiz to Rayleigh.
The surrounding players lightly applauded. No one asked who Swordsman was when there was only a single person carrying a glowing sword among the gathered contestants.
A small bird flew from overhead carrying a little envelope. It dropped it above Rayleigh so he could catch it and open it to reveal a card.
[110 Ruler's Invitation SS-1
A letter which extends a warm invitation to visit the game's capital city, Limeiro. A visit to this city's castle is also included.]
Gon and Killua looked at the card and said, "Only one person can go."
Rayleigh handed the card to Gon and said, "I'll meet up with Battera and ask him what three cards he wants. You can go meet the game's creators and ask about your dad."
Gon argued, "But you won it; shouldn't you go?"
Ray shook his head and said, "Not interested. I only did the quiz to prevent Tsezguerra from winning the final card."
Killua looked at the card and said, "I've never been to Limeiro, though," and Gon added, "Neither have I."
Biscuit stated, "Rayleigh and I have. I'll take you both there and head for the arrival area to wait for Rayleigh when he returns."
Rayleigh transferred all the cards from his book to Biscuit's slots before using one of the two remaining arrows from the Quiver of Frustration on himself to cast Leave.
Casting Leave doesn't immediately send you out of the game, it sends you to the Way station, where you can select from a list of nodes to exit the game from. You did not have to specifically choose to exit from the same location you entered from. Still, Rayleigh chose to exit from the castle he entered from and appeared in front of the joy station he chose.
He didn't remove the Memory Card since he would be returning soon. Instead, he left the basement room and made his way up the stairs until he found a security guard.
"Hey, we just beat Greed Island, I need to speak with Battera."
The man got out a radio and spoke into it for a bit before stating, "Follow me."
Rayleigh was led by the security guard into the castle's living space and a vast guest hall with some comfy couches and a lot of tacky art and furniture.
It took a full hour of waiting until someone entered the room. It wasn't Battera. In fact, his outfit screamed Lawyer.
The man sat down opposite Rayleigh and asked, "First, please give me your name and when you entered Greed Island."
"Rayleigh Rush. September 10th of last year."
The man pulled out several sheets of paper and looked through them before locating the name.
"Ah. Here we are. And you say you have finished the game?"
"That's right. All 100 cards have been collected. I came to ask what three cards Battera wanted to take back."
The lawyer remained silent in response to the posed question. Instead, he brought out a few more stacks of paper and said, "That won't be necessary. You can sign here, here, and here."
Rather than take the offered pen, Rayleigh read over the contract that was still warm from the printer. In essence, it said that Mr. Battera was breaking the terms of the contract. However even if he broke the contract, he still had to pay 40 Billion of the offered 50 Billion reward.
Rayleigh asked, "Where is Mr. Battera? What happened?"
The lawyer looked down the hall for a moment before sighing. He answered, "The cards he wanted were not for him, but for another who had resided in the hospital for some time now. Two days ago, her lifeline ceased. Mr. Battera has no more use for the cards and will not take them, but even if he breaks the contract, he is still required to pay 40 Billion Zennies."
Rayleigh confirmed that the contract stated everything exactly as he said and signed it.
The lawyer confirmed the signature and said, "Once the game is confirmed to have been beaten by our third party, the total amount of 40 billion Jennies will be deposited into your accounts."
Rayleigh shook his head. "I was a part of a group of four under the name Swordsman. Please deposit 10 billion into each of the accounts for myself, Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck, and Biscuit Krueger. They all entered on the same day I did. In addition, if I may make a suggestion. If Mr. Battera wants nothing more to do with the games, please donate ownership of the consoles over to the Hunter Association."
The lawyer got out the paper from before and marked down the three other names. Each player provided a bank account for the winnings if they won, so they already had access to the banking information.
In the game, it was possible to determine which players were with others, so it wasn't like a random person could claim to be in Gon's group. Besides, no Player knew that Battera didn't want the cards before this point, so no one would have thought up the idea of pretending to be the winners. Even if they did get fooled, the lawyers had full confidence in getting the money back. To them, 40 Billion wasn't much.
Once everything was done, Rayleigh headed back down into the basement, found his Joystation, and used Ren over it to initiate the teleportation.
Again, he found himself in the starting zone, where he greeted the Game Master and headed down the stairs to meet Biscuit.
She asked, "What cards did he want?"
Rayleigh shook his head, "None of them. He changed his mind. We can keep the cards."
"What?! What about the money?!"
Rayleigh smiled, "He is still paying most of it, 40 Billion total. I already asked the lawyer to divide it equally, so once they confirm we have beaten the game, you'll have ten billion zennies transferred into your account."
Biscuit looked like she was going to cry. "Really? You're so nice! I'm glad I met you guys."
Ray smiled and said, "By the way. Some of those cards Genthru had every copy of to make sure others can't get one. If you wanted to use one, I swear I will never speak of it."
Biscuit knew what he was talking about right away.
[065 Witch's Rejuvenation Potion S-10
Each pill makes you physically younger by one year. You will retain all knowledge and memories. Beware, as you will die if you take more than your age. One vial contains 100 pills.]
Rayleigh even turned around so that Biscuit could take the card from her book without him seeing it. Genthru had nine in his Free Slots and one in his Imposed Slot to ensure no one else could get the card.
Rayleigh honestly had no idea if Biscuit took the pill bottle and some of the pills or not. That was her secret forever more. Due to her transformation technique, she could get away with taking as many as she wanted without anyone noticing. While she was making her decision, Rayleigh used the copy of Angel Breath on himself. Biscuit was surprised to see him do so and asked, "Why'd you use that?"
Rayleigh answered, "The card description says it cures all wounds and restores to perfect health. I have no idea if any of the crazy stuff I did when I was younger caused some permanent damage, so why not use it to be sure? I do feel lighter."
Biscuit considered it and decided to use the last copy for herself as well. If anyone had damage from a misspent youth, it was her.
The pair would keep this a secret between themselves and after settling up, they headed for Limeiro and met up with Killua outside the castle.
Gon returned after half an hour and said there would be a parade for them all. He also showed them the gold case they could put three cards into and take back to the real world.
That was when Rayleigh revealed to the group that Battera didn't want the cards anymore, but was only paying them 40 Billion instead of 50.
They all still had a lot of money from Heaven's Arena, so they didn't care too much about the money. The cards, on the other hand, were something they were interested in.
Gon asked, "So what cards do you want?"
Biscuit said, "Blue Planet! I want Blue Planet!"
Gon then asked Rayleigh, "What about you?"
Rayleigh looked thoughtful. That was the question. The only card he was really interested in was Paladin's Necklace for its ability to reflect curses. Since this was technology and not a virtual game, that meant that the necklace could even work on attack spells outside of Greed Island.
At first, he intended to just convert the necklace directly into an inventory item, but the cost of doing so was 5000 Mission Points. Even with all the Missions he'd done since coming to this world, he only amassed 3252 points at the moment. That meant if he wanted to get the necklace, he'd either have to stay here and collect more points, or take it off the island so he could have more time to collect Mission Points.
Rayleigh answered, "I really like Paladin's Necklace."
Gon then turned to Killua, who shook his head and said, "I'm not really interested in any cards. What about you?"
Gon smiled, "Well, actually..."
The parade was held that same day, and the group of four sat on a float that carried them through the capital city to the cheers of the various players and NPCs. At the end of the parade, a great feast was held in the castle, where there was drinking, karaoke, dancing, and merriment of every kind.
After the party ended and farewells were shared, the group of four headed for the waystation to leave the game.
Since they didn't need to see the lawyers or Battera, they left the game from a node near a town Biscuit was familiar with.
When Gon arrived, he looked around for a moment in a daze. He then lifted his ring and said, "Book."
Rather than the now very familiar book, a gold case appeared containing three cards.
[022 Toraemon A-22
A beast on the verge of extinction has a habit of stuffing things in its 4-D pocket. You never know what kind of treasures it could have picked up.]
[081 Blue Planet SS-5
A unique blue jewel. Its composition does not correspond to any known mineral, so it was given this name to mean "a gift from space."]
[084 Paladin's Necklace D-60
A player wearing this will reflect curses cast upon him, and be able to undo curses placed on cards he touches.]
Biscuit picked up Blue Planet and said aloud, "Gain," turning the card into a deep blue, sparkling, iridescent marble with an otherworldly shimmer and shine.
She squealed, "Oh! I'm in heaven! What should I name you? Star-chan? Blue-chan? Doesn't Blue-chan sound good? Yep, that's your name now."
Ignoring their crazy comrade, Rayleigh took out Paladin's Necklace and used Gain on it as well before wearing it.
He checked to see if the cost of conversion remained the same and found something very interesting. Now that he was out of the game, the cost of converting Paladin's Necklace into an Inventory Item he could take to other worlds was now 2500 Mission Points. Taking it out of the game cut the price in half. He swore never to reveal this to the other Players.
The trio then looked over the third and final card with a sigh.
Of course, they had the idea of filling Toraemon's pocket with items and turning it into a card to smuggle extra items out. They were directly told that a Toraemon that appeared when Gain was used would have an empty pocket, and everything placed in there would be lost.
So the card was useless, it was just there for fun. And something more.
Everyone looked expectantly at Rayleigh as he picked up the third card from the golden case. The moment he did, the card's appearance changed.
[1039 Accompany F-130
Fly the caster and all players within a 20-meter radius of the caster to the location of the target city (limited to cities previously visited) or target player (limited to players previously met inside the game).]
That's right, it was a duplicate made with Mimic.
[1010 Mimic A-20
Transform a card into a copy of a target card that the caster already owns (it fails if target card's transformation limits is already exceeded)]
They could only place an Imposed Slot card into the golden case, so they used the spell card Mimic to transform an Accompany Spell card into an Imposed Slot Card. When a card transformed with Fake or Mimic was held by a player wearing the Paladin's Necklace, it reverted back into the original card.
Gon came up with the idea. In the list of people Gon has met, the very first name on the list was Nigg, an anagram of Ging. Rayleigh already told Gon that Ging once took Gon into this game, so it wasn't surprising to see Ging in the list of people Gon met. What Gon wanted to try, was using the Spell card, Accompany outside the game to take them directly to Ging's location.
Of course, Gon could have done the same with Magnetic Force, but that card only takes a single player to the target. According to Gon, he wanted not only to meet Ging, but also to show off his best friends to him.
Hearing such a sweet thing, both Killua and Rayleigh cringed while inwardly smiling. Biscuit started crying at how beautiful their friendship was.
Gon asked, "Do you want to come with us to see Ging?"
After collecting herself, she replied, "No, I have other things to do. Besides, I have no interest in a man who already has a son. If I keep following you guys around, I'll start to feel like a mom."
Gon smiled back and said, "Alright, take care of yourself."
Rayleigh said, "Have fun with your hobbies."
After the final farewells, Gon took the spell card and said, "Accompany On, Nigg!" causing a field of energy to surround them and send them high, high into the sky. Far higher than the spell had ever done before.
Mountains, oceans, and continents passed below them before they landed on a grassy field in front of a lake. Sitting on the edge of the lake was a hooded man with a fishing line.
Gon asked, "Ging?"
The man turned around and removed his hood to reveal a skinny man with slender features and long hair. "Isn't that Gon? You've grown up huh? So what are you doing here?"
Gon shouted, "KITE?!"
The man named Kite took out the fish he had caught and cooked them over a campfire while Gon explained what happened.
Kite stated, "Ah, now I remember. Ging was using a fake name when I saw him in the game. I forgot what name he used."
Rayleigh said, "He called himself Nigg, but it looked like he pranked Gon. The spell card that should have sent us to him, instead, sent us to you."
Kite looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding and saying, "That sounds like Ging."
Gon steamed, "Ahhh, he tricked me... How mean."
Killua added, "And I thought we'd finally see him this time."
Kite asked, "So why don't you tell me about your adventures?"
Gon began to explain his adventures with Killua and Rayleigh adding bits and pieces here and there. As they chatted, Rayleigh considered his next step and remembered that it had been one year since his promise not to teach Nen to any other players. It was time to accumulate a few favors.
*Author's Note*
For those wondering if someone really could get the money from Battera without winning the game themselves, Tsezguerra did the exact same thing. The only thing he did for Gon was delay the Bomber for a few days and in exchange, he took 36 billion of the 40 billion Battera gave for winning, even though there was no physical evidence that Tsezguerra had anything to do with Gon winning the game except hearsay. Well screw that guy. While Tsezguerra delayed the Bomber, said Bomber went on a killing spree and massacred loads of players. All of their lives were the cost of that several day delay.
Oh, and Biscuit did want the Witch's Rejuvenation Potion in canon, but since she didn't have a copy, she couldn't use it herself before leaving the island. So yes, she did take a few pills. I don't know how many. I won't ask her because I don't want to die.
Rayleigh will be skipping the first part of the Chimera Ant Arc and show up during the second part. After a lot of drafts, I've found this is the best way to handle the canon without plot holes and get to the action.
Chapter 44 The Life of a Hunter
Kite was a chill, laid-back guy with a slender frame and long hair that made it hard to guess his gender if seen from the back. Despite this, It only took a few moments to understand that he was stronger than the three of them combined.
What gave away the difference in ability was Kite's skill in observation. The moment he saw them, Rayleigh felt that his entire existence had been accurately weighed, measured, and cataloged. He didn't know all of Ray's secrets, but he likely made a number of inferences that would have been relatively close to the truth.
It wasn't just Ray either. Killua, Gon, and everything around them were perfectly observed by this Hunter, and the threat status of each was recognized at all times.
This sounds simple, but it is not. Rayleigh doubted the man's physical senses were actually superior to their own, especially Gon's, but Kite's experience and comprehension allowed him to accurately use his observations to a far greater degree than even Rayleigh could use the Force. This was not a matter of ability, but skill, and Kite's was simply higher than their own. Not that it mattered. Kite was a friendly sort and would have taken well to them even if they had not been his mentor's son and that son's friends. But seeing as that was the case, he automatically treated them like close friends without visibly raising his guard.
According to Kite, they were in a forest in the country of Kakin, in the middle of the Asian continent. Kakin had been doing a large number of industrial expansions in the last few decades, and it had caused noticeable changes in the surrounding environment. Kite and a few others were being paid to discover any new species that had arisen due to these changes and study the behavior of the new species. The information gathered would be used to create a predictive model of the forest to determine possible future changes.
Rayleigh was the only one who understood the actual syntax of Kite's explanation, while Gon and Killua just understood that Kite was looking for new species.
Kite's team had already found more than the minimum number of required specimens and still had a month left on their contract. If they found just a few more species, then they would actually get paid double the original contract as the higher number of species would grant a far more accurate model.
When the team asked if the trio of kids wanted to look for new species with them, all three eagerly agreed.
Rayleigh used the chance to ask for pointers from Kite. Since they were working for free, they needed some compensation, right? Kite easily saw through this but had no problems with it and gave them a few lessons.
Rayleigh felt that the skill to process your senses and obtain accurate and detailed information was probably the cornerstone of being a Hunter, and Rayleigh wanted to learn everything he could from Ging's student before the end of the month. As for what to do after the end of the month, Rayleigh already had an idea.
Rayleigh always kept the Hunter Chat open and knew that several of his fellow Players were having trouble with Nen because they either didn't find a teacher or because the teacher was a jerk. It was time to speed things up a bit.
[Swordsman: In one month, I'll give a crash course in the Hunter Power System to anyone who is interested. As for the cost, you'll owe me a favor.]
[Lightning Lord: That sounds suspiciously like a trap.]
[Dragon Chef: I'll show. I'll also vouch for Swordsman.]
[Justice: Isn't Swordsman the first guy who told everyone about the Tutorial Mission?]
[The Invisible Man: I want to learn! But I have nowhere to stay! I'm broke!]
[Glitter: Aren't you just stealing food and sleeping in mansions you've snuck into?]
[Poison King: He should name himself Invisible Pervert.]
[Swordsman: I'll rent out a Hotel that serves breakfast and dinner and a bunch of rooms for a month for anyone who is coming.]
[Demon Hunter: You're really gonna teach them, huh?]
[The Invisible Man: Hey! Don't try to talk him out of it! I don't want to wait until next year to try that stupid Hunter Exam again just for a license.]
[Dragon Chef: As long as you don't make me bow to you and call you master. The last three guys I've found to teach me Nen all insisted that I call them master. I told them to f* off and the pansies refused to teach me.]
[Lightning Lord: The only guy I found keeps saying I'm not ready. That jack a* is a weak piece of s* and knows I'll be able to kick his a* once I learn the power system! If you really teach me, I promise I'll make it up to you.]
[Swordsman: Alright. It will start on May 7th and last until June 30th, so an eight-week course in the city of Yorknew. I'm telling the General Chat too.]
Rayleigh wondered why he didn't hear anything from Armory, White Knight, or Springheeled Jack. Were they not logged into the chat or were they no longer in the Hunter World?
[Swordsman has signed in.]
[Swordsman: Hey guys with the Hunter Class. I'm giving an 8-week course on the Hunter Power System from May 7th to June 30th. Everything you need to know about what it is and how to use it.]
[Lord of Madness: Yes! I'll be there!]
[Book worm: How much?]
[Pacifist: I'll see if I can get that time off from my Master.]
[Immortal Beauty: Are you serious?]
[Swordsman: The cost is a favor in the future. I'll be renting out a Hotel with breakfast and dinner served daily, so you won't even need to pay for an ID or money.]
[Dark Lord Skullcrusher: No matter how hard you train, you stand no chance against my invincible power.]
[The Spiffing Brit: Two can play at this game. I shall also freely divulge the great and powerful secret to becoming an overpowered warrior.]
[Kung Fu Panda: It's just back-to-back limit-breaking training.]
[Ninja Lord: Be careful. A favor owed is not a simple thing.]
[Immortal Beauty: Aren't you the guy offering everyone on your continent free lessons so that they will owe you a favor?]
[Miracle: Not anymore. He left the Ninjas and is in Wizard School with us now.]
[Ninja Lord: I still return every summer.]
[Immortal Beauty: You want every Ninja to owe you a favor but you are trying to stop every Hunter from owing Swordsman a favor?]
[Book worm: I remember that Ninja Lord was one of the first to try the Tutorial Mission but never told anyone about it, unlike Swordsman.]
[Lord of Madness: That's right! Who in their right mind would trust an untrustworthy ninja!?]
[Ninja Lord: Fine. Ignore my advice. Your funeral.]
Rayleigh honestly didn't care how many people showed up. He just needed a few to help him develop his Hatsu. He also wanted to spar with some of the players and bounce ideas off them. The fastest way to learn what you don't know about something is to try teaching it to someone else and letting them ask questions. Even if you can't think of a question you don't know the answer to, someone with a different perspective might be able to.
The reason he said to start in Yorknew on May 7th was that the group had already agreed to return there before May 5th. Everyone left their valuables in safe deposit boxes in Yorknew before going to Greed Island, so going back to retrieve things like their Hunter Licenses was a must. They technically should have gotten them before using the magic Accompany Card, but Gon was too excited and didn't want to wait. Besides, Killua had his new Hunter License with him, so he could take care of things if they got weird.
The other reason was that Gon's 13th birthday was May 5th and they wanted to celebrate in Yorknew as there were many places in the big city to have fun.
Ray, Gon, and Killua did their best to learn everything they could from Kite while putting their new skills to the test by searching for new species. The actual searching part was not that difficult. It was the research part that was complex. Anyone can take a picture of an unfamiliar species. Actually observing the species to determine their behaviors was something entirely different.
Kite explained, "The trick is not to obsess over every detail, but to figure out which details are important. The size and shape of the feet tell us the terrain the species usually travels through. The placement of the eyes shows if it hunts or is hunted. The length of the limbs shows dexterity and movement speed. Color determines the most common environment. But it's not just about the physical species itself. Pay attention to the debris on the species, such as dust, mud, foliage, pollen, fur, etc. Did you notice that the winged rabbit you saw earlier had bits of fur near its mouth that were not it's own? That fur matched a species of climbing rat in the area, so we can tell that the flying rabbit probably hunts and eats climbing rats."
His lessons were incredibly useful and precise. Even Gon and Ray who lived in a forest for years were learning new things every day. His lectures didn't just include animals. He gave precise lessons on plants and details on how to tell what food was edible and what was not. They were quite far from civilization, and every meal was plucked from the forest itself.
When Ray showed off his Force Cooking, Kite showed him multiple tricks on how to cook some of the more unfamiliar things. Although Force Cooking could direct him to the best flavor, that was only if he could reach it. Out in the wild, he could only boil or roast foods, but Kite taught him how to use some means to quickly dry foods, different ways of using rocks as makeshift pans or utensils, and how some raw foods mixed to produce memorable flavors.
Rayleigh's dishes became very popular, and the group asked on multiple occasions if he could just stay with them forever. He declined, of course. Cooking was just a hobby for him.
It was a very good month for the trio since, for the first time, they got to experience what it was to be a Hunter. To explore and discover. To use their talents and abilities to make their place in the world. Of course, it only took half a day for it to become a competition among the three. This was because the name of the species' they discovered would be recorded with the species, so every species they discovered would literally leave their mark on the world, something any child would be incredibly excited over.
Gon got ahead quickly, but Rayleigh's use of Force Enhance could be used to enhance his senses to match or even exceed Gon's own, so he quickly caught up. Killua was in last place, but he was very good at finding insects and small creatures that hid since his natural observation skills leaned more in that direction.
At the end of the month, Gon and Rayleigh both found seven new species, while Killua found six. Killua actually found three in the last week and looked like he would catch up, but time ran out. Gon had Protagonist Luck, so Rayleigh wasn't upset that he only tied, even though Rayleigh should technically be better than Gon at this kind of thing due to the Force.
They also learned about hundreds of different plants and animals, their environments and habits, and how everything worked together to form their ecosystems.
Overall, it really was a great month. The group eventually returned to civilization and drove to Kakin's National Environmental Agency to hand off the collected data and receive their payment.
The man who collected everything was ecstatic. "Great work! Really great work! This is worth more than what our agency has collected in the last two centuries! I only wish we could pay you more."
Kite amiably replied, "It doesn't matter. It was fun doing it."
"Hoho, but I can at least recommend you to the agencies of other countries that need similar projects done. I know for a fact that there are plenty of them who have not updated their own ecological records in decades."
He passed over the documents that were signed to confirm payment and completion of the job. Kite took the papers with a smile, but the man then added thoughtfully, "You know, I heard something you might be interested in. The Southern Peace Auction House recently announced they had a part of some amazing life forms. It seems to be from a creature no one has ever heard of before, and they are offering a reward to any Hunter who catches the specimen the piece originates from so they can sell it."
Kite hummed thoughtfully. "Well, we are on our way to Yorknew. Can you tell them we want a look at it?"
"Of course, no problem at all. And it's been a pleasure doing business with you."
The pair shook hands before everyone headed out.
Although the Asian continent was quite far from the continent Yorknew and the Southern Peace Auction House were located on, getting transportation from anywhere to just about anywhere was too easy for a licensed Hunter, and they arrived at Yorknew on May 3rd before entering the same site the trio had once entered to watch the sale of Greed Island.
Gon and the rest retrieved their belongings from their safe deposit boxes, including Ging's Hunter's License, which he apparently left with Kite many years ago. Kite had told Gon to just return it to Ging himself when he found the man, since Ging claimed he didn't even need it.
Since four members of their group had a Hunter's License and they had been recommended by a reputable government, the auction house had no qualms about showing off the acquired specimen. In fact, they hoped the experienced Hunters would tell them more about it.
The piece itself was contained within a sealed case and appeared to be the forearm of a creature that had an exoskeleton. It resembled a bug limb.
Due to weight and oxygen limitations on Earth, creatures with exoskeletons could never reach above a certain size unless submerged in water. But this was not Earth, and this forearm was longer than a human's, implying the creature it originated from should be larger as well.
As everyone made their observations, Kite asked, "Do you think you could give us a small part to analyze?"
The employee considered it for a moment before answering, "We aren't supposed to give it to strangers, but since you came so highly recommended, we can hardly refuse. Oh, and if you get your hands on an albino ponytail cat, please let us know."
Rayleigh spoke up, "I can read its past if you let me hold it."
Everyone turned to Rayleigh for a moment, clearly surprised that such a young kid had such a coveted ability.
Gon spoke up, "He can do it! He was able to tell us all kinds of things about Ging just from holding his Hunter's License."
Kite could tell they weren't lying, so he looked over to the man as if to ask if it was okay. The employee replied, "Very well, but only for a few minutes, and you must tell us what you discover."
Rayleigh nodded, and the man left for a moment to get a key to the arm's case to open it. Two finger-like segments were removed to be further analyzed, and the arm was handed to Rayleigh to use psychometry on.
Rayleigh held the arm for a few seconds and heavily frowned. To those watching, it was obvious he did not like what he was seeing.
After a few tense minutes, Rayleigh sighed and returned the arm to its place in the glass case before asking, "Give me two rolls of paper, two meters by three meters, an ink pot, and an ink brush. I'll draw exactly what this thing looks like for you."
The employee replied, "Oh? Wonderful. Please wait one moment."
For a place that sold the most unusual items in the world, some big pieces of paper and a brush were mundane things to ask for.
A large roll of paper was carried out by an employee with a massive physique, and a brush and an ink pot were set next to it. Rayleigh unrolled the paper until he had enough and started drawing. Considering his skill in calligraphy, making an ink portrait was an easy task.
After a few minutes, an imposing-looking insect was drawn onto the paper. He drew two images of it, one from the front, and one from the side. Unlike most insects that had three segments, one after the other, this insect's third segment jutted out from the back, creating a balance that seemed to allow the creature to walk upright. And unlike other insects, it had two arms and two legs in addition to the thorax jutting from the back.
Kite asked with audible concern, "Is this life-sized?"
Rayleigh answered, "Yep, one-to-one ratio. She was in the ocean for a while before she washed up on some coast, where her arm fell off. I don't know where, though, since the arm was taken back by the tide before it made its way to the coast off Yorknew. That was about four weeks ago."
No one recognized the creature's species, and Rayleigh didn't know what to call it either. It wasn't like the creature knew the name humans had assigned it or something.
Rayleigh asked, "Can I buy that arm for 350 Million? You can have the paintings to use as references, but I'd like the arm myself."
The employee looked over the ink painting with interest. It was actually very elegant and fearsome and seemed a lot more interesting than a severed bug arm. They were looking for the whole species anyway, they couldn't sell an arm. That was why they were offering a reward to Hunters who could find the rest of it.
The man countered, "350 million isn't enough."
Rayleigh upped the offer, "How about 950 million."
"No, we expect to get more than that if the arm were auctioned on its own."
Rayleigh shook his head and said, "The creature this fell from was heavily wounded. There is no guarantee that it hasn't already died and been eaten elsewhere. Anything you could do to preserve the arm would degrade its value, and without preservation, it will rot on its own anyway. 1.5 billion. Final offer."
The man was more than a little surprised at Ray's negotiation skill, but the offered price was far greater than they had already spent and if the artwork was left, they'd still have something to show those interested in searching for the specimen. Compared to the longshot chance of obtaining the creature, this was a far more reasonable deal. "Very well, I'll bring up the paperwork."
As the man left, Gon asked, "Why'd you want that thing? Is it that interesting?"
Rayleigh shook his head, "Not really. But it might be useful later."
Kite could tell there was something he wasn't sharing, but decided not to ask about it for the moment. Bringing up information that increased the item's value while still inside the auction house was not a wise move.
The arm was soon packed up, and the payment was received. Once the group was out of the Auction House, Killua directly stated, "So spill, what's with the arm?"
Rayleigh answered, "The arm itself has no value at all. What I'm interested in is where the arm came from."
Kite asked with interest, "Where did it come from?"
Rayleigh stopped, looked Kite dead in the eye, and answered with a single word. "Outside."
Kite's eyes visibly widened at that. As Ging's student, he knew more about the unknown than many others would.
Seeing that Kite knew what Rayleigh was talking about, Ray asked, "Are there any parties that should be notified?"
Kite answered, "The Hunter Association for a start."
Rayleigh replied, "I'll write up a report on the relevant details and give it to you later so you can escalate it."
Kite nodded seriously. This was a much larger matter than he initially thought.
Killua picked up on the verbal clues, but it was Gon who directly asked, "What are you talking about?"
Ray answered, "The bug came from what is essentially another world."
Kite added seriously, "And the presence of that world is not generally known to the public, so it's best to keep quiet about it."
Rayleigh nodded and had a sudden urge to just leave the Hunter World. How else could you feel when you discovered you essentially lived in a fishbowl? The bug came from outside that fishbowl and lived there for a long time before being tossed inside by the guys who took care of the fishbowl. Ray didn't know why. Before this, he didn't even know there was an outside world. He doubted anyone would tell him if he asked, so Rayleigh wanted this arm since his psychometry let him learn a lot about the outside world from it without needing to ask anyone.
The samples taken from the arm showed that the closest match was from something known as a Chimera Ant Queen. Though, apparently, a normal Chimera Ant Queen is about ten centimeters long and looks like a really big, really ugly termite. The problem is that Chimera Ants change greatly depending on their diets, so they usually look similar to the insects around them. The queen incorporates the traits of those she eats into the next generation, so Chimera Ants tend to be the strongest insect in any area after just one or two generations and are considered a Class One Dangerous life form to be quarantined or eliminated if discovered.
All of this information, including pictures taken of Ray's drawing of the Chimera Ant Queen, was escalated to the Hunter Association, which took the initiative to locate the specimen and make sure it didn't start eating humans.
On May 5th, they celebrated Gon's Birthday and Kite and the rest of the crew were invited to the party. Ray rented a room out of a fancy arcade with plenty of games that even Hunters would have fun playing, and they had a feast and cake. Presents weren't needed, they just had fun.
After taking a day off, they got back to work. According to the tide data, they guessed a few locations that the Chimera Ant Queen arm might have been washed up from and checked to see if there were any sightings of a giant bug in any of those locations. There were none, but one of the possible locations, a country called NGL, was a place where there was not the tiniest bit of technology, so they received no reports from there. What was worse was that said country claimed to live together with nature, so if there was a giant bug that was eating people, it would not have been a crime to report, since that was basically just another aspect of nature.
As the only location they could not get any reports from, and since there were no reports in any other area, a simple process of elimination deduction could be used to guess the Queen was there. Due to this, Kite and his crew elected to head to said country to investigate, and Gon and Killua volunteered to come along as well.
Rayleigh, on the other hand, said, "I have some stuff I need to do here for two months. I'll meet back up with you guys in July."
Gon complained, "What, no way."
Killua asked, "What kind of stuff?"
Rayleigh answered, "To be honest, a bunch of stuff I've been putting off for too long related to my sword. Plus, no tech is allowed there, right? I'd get in trouble if I brought out my Lightsaber, and I've been needing to modify it for a while using stuff I don't have on me."
Before Gon could complain anymore, Killua held him back and said, "Alright, you gotta do what you gotta do."
Rayleigh also looked back at Gon and said, "We'll spar when I get back, so if you slack off, I'll kick your butt."
Gon replied with a confident smile, "No way, I'll definitely beat you."
To that, Rayleigh turned to Killua and asked, "Please look after him and make sure he doesn't get any more head injuries, he's delirious enough as it is."
Killua laughed, and Gon shouted, "I'm not delirious!" which caused Ray to laugh.
Kite watched this scene from afar with a smile before their group headed out to the airport to fly to the country closest to the NGL.
Rayleigh made his way to a 5-Star Hotel, where he had already rented out three whole floors, each with ten rooms. Each room included a complimentary breakfast and dinner that could be ordered whenever and delivered to the room. They'd have to figure out lunch for themselves. He also rented out a large conference room they could all gather in so he could teach them together.
He was looking forward to meeting whoever showed up.
*Author's Note*
Sorry for the wait. To prevent plot holes, I had to make sure certain events naturally happen on certain dates so I needed to write a big timeline for my version. The Chimera Ant Arc relied on a lot of coincidences to make sure no one important died and throwing another variable without killing everyone is not easy, but I have it down now and will try to release more chapters faster.
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