Chapter 88: A Cruel World
"To buy spell cards, you must go to the Magic City. I... I don't have the strength to get there."
Faced with such a terrifying Mord, Kunkun didn't dare hide anything and honestly laid out all the details.
On the road to the Magic City, there are all kinds of bandits and monsters.
With his abilities, he simply couldn't make it to the Magic City.
Seven years ago, after arriving in this game, not only was he unable to leave, but he couldn't even get out of this beginner city, Antokiba.
Since Greed Island is essentially the real world, as a player, he didn't have any nutrient pod or hospital IV to sustain his life—because he had physically entered the game in his real body.
As a human, he needed to eat, and eating required money.
To survive, he had to take on work within the game. Later, he even got married. Originally, living like this peacefully wouldn't have been unacceptable.
But then his wife fell ill!
Treatment required a lot of money, and as a weakling, he couldn't come up with that much. That's why he took the risk and considered robbery.
It's just pitiful that his first target happened to be Mord.
"..."
After hearing Kunkun's story, Mord was momentarily at a loss for words. He rubbed his head. "Wait here for a bit."
With that, Mord vanished again right in front of Kunkun. Even though they were so close, Kunkun couldn't see how Mord disappeared.
Mord's speed, in his eyes, was no different from teleportation.
...
After dealing with all the trackers and taking all the cards from them, Mord returned to Kunkun.
"I have a question now. You mentioned earlier that you got married? Was it to a player or an NPC?" Mord asked.
"Alright, I understand."
Seeing the other's hesitant expression, Mord had already gotten the answer. Good grief, what a situation.
"It's not what you think!" Kunkun's face flushed bright red as he shouted.
"Many things aren't as you imagine..." Kunkun's voice grew softer as he spoke, his head drooping low.
"Take me to see your wife."
"You... you're willing to help me?!" Kunkun lifted his head, incredulous, especially since he had just tried to rob Mord earlier.
In truth, Mord wanted to verify some things.
Following Kunkun's lead, Mord arrived at his home—an ordinary three-bedroom house.
On the large bed in the master bedroom lay a woman, her breathing weak.
Mord reached out and touched her forehead—it was frighteningly hot.
Could an NPC, essentially a type of Nen beast, really be this realistic?
"My love!" Seeing his beloved wife, Kunkun immediately rushed to the bedside, grasping her hands with his own, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Kunkun turned to face Mord, then knelt directly before him, kowtowing repeatedly.
"I know in your eyes, Aiko is just an NPC like any other. Though she only repeats the same words and actions every day, her eyes tell me she's different."
"Please, save her."
"I beg you."
...
He continued kowtowing until his forehead was bleeding.
Quite the man.
"!"
Mord opened his card book, took out a one-million jenny card, crouched down and placed it before Kunkun...
Then turned and left.
He had gotten the answer he wanted.
This truly was a cruel world.
The corner of Mord's mouth lifted slightly—there could be no punishment more cruel than this.
What Kunkun didn't know was that saving his wife would be the greatest punishment of all.
...
Next destination: Magic City Masadora.
He needed to find some skilled veteran players to target, otherwise it would take forever to complete his card collection.
Shop.
The uncle selling maps began explaining when he learned Mord was heading to Magic City Masadora.
"Cross the mountain ahead from this city, head straight north about eighty kilometers, and you'll find a lake. Follow the lake northwest to reach Masadora."
"There are two small towns along the way where you can rest."
"That is, if you can survive the journey. There's a bandit stronghold in that mountain where travelers get all their possessions stolen. Even if you're lucky enough to avoid the bandits, you'll definitely encounter many monsters after crossing the mountain."
...
After listening to the NPC's programmed speech, Mord took the map and left the City of Prizes.
Eighty kilometers—he could make it in a day.
Heading straight north, Mord saw a mountain.
The mountain was densely forested, and among the trees, Mord encountered the bandits the shop uncle had mentioned.
But these bandits weren't there to rob him—they were begging for his help.
A child in their stronghold had contracted some unknown illness that started with low fever, gradually turned into high fever, and eventually killed the victim.
The whole process took about a month.
Mord saw the sick child in the stronghold.
Compared to Kunkun's wife, this child, including these bandits, seemed like soulless creations.
Kunkun's words had given Mord a clue—the eyes were indeed a way to distinguish real people from NPCs.
Mord remembered this stronghold was where you could obtain the important card [Wild Luck Alexandrite], but only if you had [Paladin's Necklace].
Because these bandits weren't actually sick—they were under some kind of curse.
After expressing his inability to help, Mord left the stronghold.
Emerging from the forest, he came to a rocky wasteland.
This was an area Ging specifically designed to train Nen users, though it was actually prepared for Gon.
If other players entering the game could settle down and train here progressively, their abilities would definitely improve by leaps and bounds.
This was where Killua and Gon underwent their second major transformation.
Watching the one-eyed giant charging out of the valley.
Mord broke off a tree branch, using it as a sword, and walked forward.
With Mord's current strength, these monsters posed no threat to him whatsoever. He could easily bulldoze through them without even bothering to seek out their weaknesses.
However, Mord intended to use this opportunity to temper his physical body.
He planned to traverse this monster-infested wasteland without using Nen abilities.
...
Yorknew City, Southernpiece Auction.
Four days had passed since Mord entered the Greed Island Game.
In the VIP lounge.
Everyone's gaze in the room was fixed on the game console on the table.
Battera remained silent for a moment before speaking, "If Mord hasn't come out by midnight, then you will be fully in charge of this screening session, Tsezguerra."
Tsezguerra nodded solemnly and said, "Even for Mord, adapting to the game and obtaining the item to return to the real world in just four days is certainly not easy."
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