Chapter 94: Illusory Light
"What's the use of money if you're dead? Buying an underwater villa in the underworld?"
"Enough!"
Nickes, the leader, stepped forward, his face streaked with tears.
"Jispa is on the verge of death."
Nickes looked at Mord and spoke in a near-pleading tone, "I can give you all the cards we've collected. But I need to use the Angel's Breath among them to save Jispa."
"It was my fault that my people offended you earlier."
As he spoke, Nickes knelt directly and kowtowed repeatedly.
"I beg you."
Mord looked at Nickes and finally nodded. "Agreed."
In truth, this so-called Nickes' Alliance was an extremely loose organization. Nickes, the so-called leader, had little real authority over his subordinates.
Everyone had gathered together for the reward.
Describing their relationship as partners was more accurate.
Thus, blaming him for the earlier actions of those fools would indeed be unjust.
Mord was not a bloodthirsty person by nature. As for the Angel's Breath card, while precious, Mord could simply use a copy card to duplicate it first.
So, it didn't really matter.
Then Mord watched as Nickes summoned the angel, pulling Gishpa back from the brink of death. Even Jispa's face, originally blown to disfigurement, was restored to its original state.
Witnessing this further confirmed a certain suspicion in Mord's mind.
...
After obtaining all the cards, Mord directly took Abengane and left.
"I will use Leave on you next, so you can return to the real world," Mord said, looking at Abengane.
"And of course, the 200 million I promised you won't be a single coin short."
"Thank you, Mr. Mord." Abengane bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
"After you return to the real world, find this person. Here is his contact information. I will contact you through him once I've finished my business in the game."
Mord wrote a person's contact details on a slip of paper and handed it to Abengane.
Abengane reached out and took it solemnly. "Then I wish you success in clearing the game soon, sir."
Mord summoned his collection book, pulled out a card, and declared, "Use Leave on Abengane!"
A stream of light descended and whisked Abengane away.
Watching Abengane disappear before him, Mord continued pulling cards from his collection book.
"Use Magnetic Force on Bisky!"
With the cards obtained from the Nickes' Alliance, Mord had now collected ninety-eight specified card types. It was time to find someone to tackle the final boss together.
...
"You people from the Shingen-ryu style, are you all so fond of playing the teacher?" Mord walked over and sat down beside Bisky, watching the three figures fighting below.
Bisky looked up at Mord, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "You know me?"
"Naturally, I'd want to learn more about a beautiful and lovely young lady like you," Mord replied with a laugh.
"Hehehe..." The originally somewhat serious atmosphere immediately dissipated upon hearing Mord's words, as Bisky's face broke into a radiant smile once more.
She pointed down toward Killua and Gon and said, "Those two have remarkable talent. Seeing such potential go undeveloped is simply a waste of natural gifts."
Bisky sat swinging her legs on the edge of the giant rocky cliff.
"Since you've already looked into my background, you should know I'm a Stone Hunter. To me, they're like uncut gemstones—with a little polishing, they'll shine brilliantly."
"I can't stand seeing such things go to waste."
Mord nodded, observing the scene below, and asked, "The sparring partner looks pretty badly injured. Did you do that?"
"Bounty hunter Binolt—he's also a wanted fugitive with a taste for human flesh, particularly young women around twenty years old," Bisky replied calmly.
"Though he's scum, his skills are decent. If he weren't injured, those two would be in real danger. As it is, the situation is just right."
"So, what brings you here?"
"I'd like you to join me on a quest—one that requires multiple people to trigger," Mord explained.
It wasn't that Mord hadn't considered bypassing the game's rules outright, but with Razor's strength being what it was, there was a risk of being expelled for breaking the rules, which would be counterproductive.
Besides, he wasn't the only player in Greed Island at the moment.
"Sure," Bisky agreed without hesitation. "But we'll have to wait until those two complete their initial training. I won't feel comfortable leaving them otherwise."
"No problem. I've contacted others as well—they'll need some time too."
Having come this far, Mord was in no rush. As the saying goes, haste makes waste.
He opened his Card Book and checked: out of the 100 specified cards, he had already collected 98.
The only ones missing were No. 000, "Ruler's Blessing," and No. 002, "Plot of Beach."
The quest for "Ruler's Blessing" would only trigger once a player had collected the other 99 specified cards.
At that point, a island-wide quiz competition would be held, and the winner would receive the card.
That meant Mord currently only lacked No. 002, "Plot of Beach"—arguably the hardest card to obtain in the entire game.
First, the quest trigger conditions were strict and difficult to discover.
But more importantly, the boss guarding it was Razor, one of the game's developers—the same man who had single-handedly confronted and expelled the Phantom Troupe.
Down below, Gon and Killua were improving rapidly.
Their progress was visible to the naked eye.
Earlier, they could barely defend themselves against Binolt, but now, in just a short time, they were already trading blows with him.
Though they benefited from Binolt's injuries, Mord observed that Killua and Gon executed their offensive and defensive moves skillfully.
Most importantly, the two of them seemed to have boundless stamina.
Since Mord's arrival, half a day had passed, and Gon and Killua had not stopped their attacks for a single moment.
They gave Binolt no chance to rest or catch his breath.
Indeed, only by directly facing death can one's potential be truly unleashed.
From initially having no concept of how to anticipate the enemy's moves, muscle utilization, or control of force intensity and rhythm, to gradually developing understanding and beginning to carve out their own unique path.
"We should be able to settle this today," Mord spoke up.
From needing to team up and use strategies to defeat their opponent at first, to later being able to defeat Binolt individually in single combat—the entire process had taken only a day.
"I can't beat you... Just kill me!" Binolt knelt on both knees, his voice filled with despair.
"Mr. Binolt, thank you! Because of you, we've improved a great deal." Gon's face radiated joy as he even bowed solemnly to Binolt in gratitude.
"Mr. Binolt, you may go," Gon said.
Binolt doubted his own ears, wondering if he had misheard. He lifted his head, his face full of astonishment.
After all, he was a notorious Class A murderer—how could they simply let him go like this?
Even though he had wanted to kill them earlier.
Even during this so-called training session, he had constantly harbored such thoughts.
When Binolt looked up, what met his eyes was an innocent, smiling face, pure as the Virgin Mary in a church. In that moment, he felt redeemed.
A smile appeared on Binolt's face.
But the next second.
The smile froze.
Bright crimson blood splattered out, and Binolt's vision began to turn completely red before gradually blurring.
He reached out his hand.
Trying to grasp at something.
"Mr. Binolt! Mr. Binolt!" Gon rushed over, shouting urgently.
The sounds in his ears grew distant, fading away.
Binolt finally understood what he was trying to grasp.
It was light!
His right hand fell limply, and Binolt closed his eyes completely, ceasing to breathe.
"Mr. Binolt!"
Just as Binolt collapsed, Gon finally reached him, supporting his falling body with both hands.
But it was already a cold corpse.
"Was it necessary to go this far?" Bisky looked down at Gon, who was immersed in grief, and spoke.
"Didn't he deserve to die?" Mord countered.
Of course he deserved to die—in fact, Bisky had originally intended to kill Binolt too, though she would have respected the children's decision.
Her role was merely that of a mentor; the choice of how to proceed was left to the students themselves.
Of course, Mord wasn't these two brats' teacher anyway.
[307 points of Specialization-type Nen energy.]
Mord glanced at the data on his status panel. The life energy provided wasn't what caught his attention—rather, it was that Binolt's Nen ability turned out to be Specialist type.
He had originally thought the guy was a Conjurer.
Nen ability: Sissor Hands.
By consuming hair cut with a favored pair of scissors, the user can comprehend the target's physical information. This includes fully grasping details about diseases, genetics, and physical strength.
The ability's development was still insufficient. If it could be developed to the point of gaining the target's abilities by consuming their hair, that would be more worthwhile.
"Why did you kill him!"
Gon looked up at Mord sitting on the high platform, shouting questions with eyes full of anger.
Bisky glanced at the man beside her and let out a soft sigh.
See, things have indeed come to this point...
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