Chapter 140: Entering the Game
Battera had placed all the JoyStation consoles in a secure vault room.
Ronin inserted his memory card into the slot and focused his aura, enveloping
the console in a shroud of Nen. In a sudden, silent rush of motion, he vanished
from the room.
The world around him warped instantly.
The machine room was gone. Ronin stood in a high-tech, futuristic chamber. A
door hissed open, and he walked through to find an NPC girl waiting for him.
She had large, unnaturally bright eyes and wore a specialized interface headset.
Surrounded by glowing holographic displays, she looked like an anime character
that had leaped into the third dimension.
Ronin recognized her as one of the game's Game Masters (GMs). There was an
identical twin sister elsewhere in the facility—one to greet players entering
the game, and one to process those departing.
The rules were explained with clinical efficiency: Every player possessed a
Binder.
To clear the game, a player had to fill all 100 Restricted Slots with the
corresponding designated cards.
Additionally, each Binder had 45 Free Slots. These could hold Spell Cards for
offense and defense, spare designated cards, or miscellaneous items collected
during the journey.
Virtually every object in the game world could be converted into a card for
storage. However, the conversion mechanics were governed by specific rules
regarding quantity and rarity. Ronin listened patiently to the briefing before
heading down the spiral staircase.
His descent marked his official entry into the game world.
Neon materialized shortly after, undergoing the same orientation.
As Ronin reached the bottom of the tower, he was greeted by a vast, rolling
prairie.
He didn't move. He sensed eyes on him the moment he stepped into the light.
Ronin leaned against the tower wall and waited.
A few minutes later, Neon descended. Ronin gave her a brief nod, then started
walking toward the source of the hidden gaze.
According to the manga, the nearest settlement was Antokiba, the City of Prizes.
However, that was only one of several possible directions from the starting
point. Antokiba was simply the route Gon and Killua had chosen after a game of
rock-paper-scissors.
As they walked, Neon summoned her Binder. She examined the empty slots with
wide-eyed fascination.
"I can't believe we're inside a game," she said. "Everything feels... real."
"That's because we are in reality," Ronin revealed.
"What?" Neon blinked, stoping in her tracks.
"Greed Island is a physical island located somewhere in the ocean," Ronin
explained. "Ging Freecss and his team developed it by using Nen to create a
closed-loop ecosystem. When we used the console, we weren't digitized; we were
simply teleported to a specific set of coordinates."
Ronin fingered the ring on his hand, noticing the complex Divine Script (Shingo)
engraved on its surface. He wondered if these mystic patterns played a role in
maintaining the game's infrastructure.
Neon was floored. "To create something this massive... to maintain a
multi-system Hatsu across an entire island for over a decade... the Nen capacity
required for that is beyond comprehension!"
The more she learned about Nen, the more Ronin's explanations felt like fairy
tales.
"It is," Ronin agreed.
By his count, fewer than a dozen people had built this world. Ten individuals,
creating a self-sustaining reality—it was a feat of divine-tier Nen mastery.
As they spoke, a streak of light enveloped in aura plummeted from the sky toward
them.
Thud.
A scruffy-looking teenager with bleached yellow hair landed a few meters away.
A Binder floated in front of him. Seeing Ronin summon his own Binder instantly,
the sneer on the boy's face faltered slightly.
He was at the starting point, scouting for "newbies," but Ronin's reaction time
didn't match that of a novice.
Regardless of his suspicions, the teenager moved first. He pulled a card from
his Binder.
[Peeping] (Peek): Allows the user to see the contents of a target player's Free
Slots. (Only works on players previously encountered).
The Binder flashed as two names were added to the boy's list: Ronin and Neon.
Seeing that his targets hadn't raised any defense, the boy's caution evaporated.
He looks like a veteran, but he has zero countermeasures. Must be a cautious
rookie who read the manual but lacks the experience to stay on guard.
"Hey. Are you one of the contractors hired by Battera?" Ronin asked.
He had two goals: verify the player's affiliation and ensure he didn't escape.
The boy didn't answer.
He checked the data from his card. Ronin's Free Slots were empty. Not a single
card.
Confirming his target was a fresh arrival, the boy pulled out a Spell Card.
Since they were "raw" recruits, he decided to play it safe.
[Trace] (Follow): Allows the user to track the location of a target player until
they leave the game.
He opened his mouth to shout the command.
But before he could utter a sound, his hand was empty.
Ronin stood right in front of him.
Ronin had anticipated the move. While a tracking mark was harmless to him, he
preferred the practical benefit of stealing the resource.
He looked at the card in his hand: [Trace]. A highly useful utility card.
He casually slid it into a Free Slot in his own Binder and turned his gaze back
to the boy.
The teenager froze, his eyes wide. He instinctively reached for another card.
"If you try to run," Ronin's voice dropped an octave, cold and lethal, "I'll
have your head off your shoulders before you can finish the incantation."
The boy's hand stopped. He stood paralyzed, sweating profusely.
Ronin offered a small, predatory smile.
"Now then. I ask. You answer."
Seeing no reaction from the terrified boy, Ronin's brow furrowed. "Did you hear
me?"
"Y-yes!" the boy stammered.
Ronin nodded, satisfied. "Good. First, hand over every card you have. Then, you can answer my questions."
☆☆☆
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