Chapter 84: The Weight of the Words "One-Star Hunter"
In the end, Greed Island was sold for an astronomical price of 30.5 billion jenny to the wealthy Battera. The reclusive, figurine-obsessed young man who never worked ultimately fell short.
Mord had come here specifically to find this Battera. For him, gaining access to Greed Island was all that mattered—the game console itself was unimportant.
...
Southernpiece Auction, lounge.
Mord approached him directly.
"Is Mr. Battera here? I can help you clear Greed Island." Pushing open the door to the VIP lounge, Mord got straight to the point.
"Hey, kid!"
"Mr. Battera is very busy. He has no time for jokes."
Several burly bodyguards stepped forward, ready to escort Mord away. They would never allow someone dressed so casually to approach the world-renowned billionaire Battera.
"Let him in!"
An aged yet authoritative voice came from inside the room.
Hearing their employer's command, the bodyguards had no choice but to comply.
Under their guidance, Mord finally met Battera—a white-haired elderly man.
"Being able to enter this venue proves you're no ordinary individual, but I have important matters to attend to next, so I don't have much time for you," Battera began.
"I am a professional Hunter, and this is my Hunter License," Mord declared, revealing his identity.
"I do intend to hire Hunters to help me clear the game, but we are currently in the recruitment phase and must be very selective. Due to the limited number of players, unfortunately, I cannot hire you immediately..."
"Are you Mord?"
Before Battera could finish speaking, a hesitant voice came from behind him.
Mord looked up and saw a tall, burly middle-aged man with a rather authoritative and reliable appearance. His solid, muscular build seemed on the verge of bursting through his black formal suit.
From the aura he exuded and his audacity to interrupt Battera's speech, Mord could easily guess this middle-aged man's identity.
One-Star Jackpot Hunter, Tsezguerra.
But he shouldn't have met him before.
"Do you know me?" Mord asked.
Battera also looked toward Tsezguerra, waiting for his response.
Tsezguerra pointed at the Hunter License in Mord's hand and said, "I haven't met you in person, but your name rings a bell. If I recall correctly, you were recently awarded the title of One-Star Hunter."
So that was it.
Mord nodded and put away his license.
"He is absolutely qualified to be our partner," Tsezguerra gave Battera a definitive reply.
The title of One-Star Hunter said it all.
"Welcome aboard," Battera smiled and extended his right hand.
Just then, another commotion erupted outside.
"Mr. Battera, we're both Hunters too. We want to help you crack Greed Island."
"What are you kids messing around for? You claim to be Hunters—do you even have Hunter Licenses?"
Gon was about to say yes when he suddenly remembered his license was still at the pawnshop.
"See? I knew it! You brats are just frauds!"
"We're not lying!"...
...
"Let's go take a look. Perhaps they're experts like Mr. Mord," Battera said as he headed straight for the entrance.
Mord and Tsezguerra followed behind.
"Mr. Battera," the bodyguards immediately bowed upon seeing their boss and briefly explained the situation. "These two kids insist they're professional Hunters, but they can't produce their Hunter Licenses."
"I can vouch for them on that point. The black-haired kid really is a professional Hunter," Mord suddenly spoke up with a laugh.
"Mord, you're here too!" Gon greeted him happily upon seeing Mord.
Mord smiled and nodded.
Tsezguerra glanced at Mord and said, "In that case, we'll give you a chance. You both should know how to use Nen, right? Show me your Ren!"
"Sure, no problem!"
Gon and Killua exchanged a look and answered in unison.
Their response was loud and confident.
After assuming their stances, aura began to surge from their bodies.
"Too weak. It took them so long to muster such a pitiful amount of Ren," Mord shook his head inwardly.
Sure enough, Tsezguerra delivered the verdict outright.
"Not good enough."
"With your current strength, you'd just die in there."
Gon and Killua were naturally furious at Tsezguerra's words and retorted, "How would you know without even giving us a try!"
"Kid, by the time you find out inside, it'll be too late," Tsezguerra glanced at Mord before explaining further. "Dying immediately after entering the game would be a mercy—lingering on inside is the real problem."
"As long as a player is still alive during the game, not only can it not be reset, but the memory card can't be removed either. In other words, if the previous player hasn't died, new players can't insert their memory cards."
In plain terms: slots were limited, and they couldn't let trash waste these hard-won opportunities.
Battera had already suffered greatly on this point before.
Including the one he bid on today, he now owned thirty-two sets of the Greed Island Game.
Currently, one hundred professional players he hired were playing the game, but half or even more of them had already given up.
This group of people not only gave up on clearing the game but also abandoned returning to the real world, choosing to live forever within the "game world" of Greed Island.
As a result, their personal data on the game screen remained unchanged no matter how much time passed. These "quitters" prevented others from participating in the game challenges.
This was a situation Battera and his team were desperate to avoid.
Their current selection criteria required participating players to at least possess the ability to obtain the "Leave" item.
After some explanation, the two kids still weren't convinced.
"Then why do you say we can't do it? How would you know?" Gon spoke up.
"Yeah, yeah, why did you let Mord pass but not us?" Killua added fuel to the fire.
They were the very picture of two bratty kids.
"Because both Tsezguerra and I are professional Hunters," Mord took a step forward and continued. "How about this—if you can withstand three moves from me, I'll give you my spot."
Since he'd been called out, it wouldn't be right if he didn't show something.
Bratty kids indeed needed someone to teach them a lesson.
Battera looked at Tsezguerra, waiting for his opinion. Seeing Tsezguerra nod, he said: "We'll handle things according to Mr. Mord's suggestion. If you pass the test, I can provide two additional spots. Of course, this won't affect Mr. Mord—he can still continue participating in our operation."
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