Raphael returns to the game, trying to find and obtain #086.
Once more Raphael felt the gentle breeze of Greed Island, with a new goal in mind. He needed to track down #086, Quiver of Frustration.
There were two ways to do that:
One, he could steal it off another player. Given that he just got back in the game… that wasn't happening anytime soon. He'll first have to find out who has it, which means he's going to need to obtain the card List or if he's really lucky… Eye of God. That's the only way he's going to find out how many players have the card and who has it.
Another problem was he needed spell cards like Thief to steal the card.
Second, other than stealing it, he could go through the main route. Use the card tracking spell Guidepost, then perform the quest to obtain the card. After that, he'll just need a fuck ton of Mimic cards if he was going to start evicting players.
When it comes to the task of hunting down the players stuck in this game, which is honestly going to be a tedious task. He needed to ensure that he did something to land Gon and Killua in a better position. If that means hunting down and evicting weak players or those refusing to continue playing the game, he's about ready to try anything at this point.
While he wanted to help the younger boys actually reach their goal, he was determined to find out whatever information was on that memory card. There's pretty much no chance of any cards being on it… but it was something left behind by Ging for Gon to find. It'll be interesting to see if there's anything unique in the boy's Book.
But until then, he needed to work on his main goal. That means he'll need to farm for monster cards. Purchase spell cards, and hope he just gets lucky the first time.
If not, it'll be a constant cycle of farming and repurchasing spell card packs until decks out his book with reasonable cards, sacrificing those he finds useless along the way.
Things like Trace, Fake, Mug, or their counterparts, except for Thief. Others to include would be things like Drift, Magnetic Force, or attack cards designed to destroy what's in their book like Bullet. Neither of those is important for him right now.
Taking all his possibilities into consideration, he'll try the card questline first. If that wasn't an option, Raphael would try to find out if any players have obtained the card.
Since Tsezgerra didn't say that he had one, that meant he wasn't likely going to be on the list of potential players.
If players did have one, but they had other cards as well, stealing it wasn't going to be feasible… Even if he had his Book decked out with just Thief card spells unless he checks every card he steals, the chances of him getting that specific card were pretty low.
Another thing that would stop him from going the stealing route, is that he needs some specific cards.
Origin, a card to get back to the starting point.
A way to observe the starting point. There were a few ways, with some cards being better options than others. His best bet is to use the Sightless Eye, which is a floating eye minion that acts like a portable drone. He can see the coordinates to observe the starting point.
Although, a skilled player would notice it and could easily take it out…
The other option was a Detection Rat. It's a camouflaged rat that detects movement in an area. It doesn't know who is entering, nor does its detection count toward him being within the distance of the player, adding their name to the list of potential players he has come across.
Although Origin would circumvent that issue.
The moment the rat detects movement within the area the day after the auction, presumable when a mass of new players should be entering, he'll need to bust out his Origin card.
If neither Gon nor Killua shows up, it'll be on him to try to get them in as a player.
But if one of them does show up, he'll reveal himself.
He'll help them get situated, show them around, introduce and explain the mechanics a little better than the introduction, and maybe even show them a few hidden cheats.
From then, they can either play the game on their own or he could propose to have them join and assist him in working towards his own goal, and he'll help them complete the game.
Raphael found himself smiling at the prospects ahead of him, almost grinning from ear to ear. He had an ideal situation ahead of him and a goal in mind to help him build towards that prospect.
Until then, he'll focus on trying to find the one card to help his cause.
Once he gets that, he'll use the other players on Tsezgerra's team to assist him in freeing up some slots for Gon and Killua.
Raphael moved towards his goal, the crunching of grass beneath his feet being the only indicator of his existence. He headed towards Antokiba, aiming for the wastelands between that town and Masadora. He's going to need some spell cards to help him on his quest.
He'd been fine for a time, that was until he heard whistling. He stopped in his tracks, crossing his arms. A player was coming towards him when he was the least prepared. Out of habit, he summoned his tome, "Book."
The bright flash of light slamming into the ground parted, dissipating to reveal three players. Asta and her team. Now he was just annoyed. It was fun the first few times, but now seeing the player grinning smugly towards him, she was prepared to go for the lowest of blows, targeting a player who had no defensive spell cards.
"Asta…" Raphael confirmed the woman's presence.
"I've been waiting for you…"
The teen's eyes rolled at the situation, "Seriously, I know I'm annoying to deal with… but when I have no spell cards, that's low, for even you. And here I thought you were better than Mikheil."
"DO NOT, ever compare him to me. I'm just evening out the playing field. You've stolen card, after card-"
"Which may I remind you, is after you and several groups ganged up on me. It's not my fault you're terrible players." He flashed a smirk, taking note of the way Asta twitched. He struck two nerves just now, a third would easily earn not only her ire but a barrage of spell attacks to rob him blind.
He should be careful, lest she fire off that barrage too quickly.
Still… he knew he could take on her team. They may be good players, but he knows for a fact, they're not strong fighters like he was. The fact that Asta was unable to see him flicking Shu-coated stones like bullets already proved that fact.
The three of them would be easy to take on, but taking on several groups at the same time, especially if they were to surround him from a distance would make even him hesitant to take all of them on.
Actually, he kind of wondered why she didn't show up with more than one team.
Maybe they didn't like the idea of stealing from an unprotected player, but he really doubted that was the case.
What was likely the case was they knew he was stronger than he looked. An even more likely possibility was that Asta was only doing this out of petty revenge. She'd lost so many times, she's willing to do anything for a single win at this point.
The teen decided to switch tactics, "Alright, let's humour the situation…" Flashing the woman and her team a smirk, he pointed out the absurdity of the idea to rob him, "You couldn't see my attack earlier… you also think I made the flash of light through a different method. What makes you think, I'm going to let you take my cards from me?"
Drawing up the hand with the ring, he reached to flip a page.
Asta froze for a second, momentarily confused. Why would the kid even attempt to look for a spell to try to block off her attack, even though she knew for a fact he had zero protective cards, unless… "I won't let you. Mug, on. Raphael."
Raphael jumped back, creating as much distance between himself and the spell. He didn't want to do this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. There were cards he couldn't afford to lose. He held up the card to Asta's face as if holding the card would do the job for him.
"Paladin's Necklace, on!" As the card was summoned, Mug hit him, the spell card dispersing before it could even activate. Asta swore, now forced into a position where she'll need to use a Levy instead.
She didn't have enough to take all his cards; given their last fight, as much as it frustrated her. She highly doubted she could use the Levy before he could knock it out of her hands.
She was going to lose another fight…
"No!" Asta grits her teeth, bringing her hand up to snatch Levy out of her binder. She called the card, hoping that she was faster than the kid could pick up a stone and shoot it out of her fingertips.
"Levy-"
Raphael moved, snatching the card right out of her fingertips.
Her eyes widened, head slightly turning in the direction she thought she saw the kid go. He was behind her in an instant, Raphael way faster than she anticipated. She won't even bother targeting him, not after what she witnessed.
It was going to be a lost cause, another failed attempt all thanks to her… all because she couldn't beat a damn kid who was unexpectedly faster and stronger than them. Even if he's stronger than them, he was still missing something as a player if the fact he was still unable to obtain a decent chunk of cards in the time he's been playing Greed Island was anything to go by.
She was determined to beat him at any cost, to win in the end.
Asta was prepared for the kid to use the card against her, to steal even more cards from her. But with a flick of his wrist, he placed the card in his binder, his hand now being held up, "Book."
The woman blinked. Rather than stealing three cards given his distance, he instead stole one.
"I've gotten bored of this game…" Raphael sighed.
"Greed Island, seriously?"
"No, of being chased by you." Crossing his arms, he turned slightly in their direction, levelling a glare at Asta "I have more important things to do. The next time you come after me, make sure you bring a whole army…" With that, the boy left, running away.
Asta hated how far the boy had gotten in such a short time. He was both stronger, and faster than most players she knew. As much as it wanted to kill her drive to continue playing this game, instead it only made her more determined.
If she can't beat him in a fight, she'll just have to complete the game before the kid can.
"~"
Raphael made his way towards the wasteland before Masadora. As much as he wanted to immediately start helping Gon and Killua, he needed a few things… cards. Without Jenny, he's not going to be getting them.
Raphael made his way towards the wasteland before Masadora. As much as he wanted to start helping Gon and Killua, he needed a few things, mostly… cards. Without Jenny, he's not going to be getting them.
So, his best option is to plan a route to obtain monster cards to sell. He'll go back and forth until he gets the right selection. Until then, he figured it was an opportunity to try his new weapon. He always wondered if outside forces would work inside the game, it should. There was virtually no difference between his spear and his fist. As long as he aims for the Nen creature's weak points, they should still register as a hit.
He'll deck out his free slots with monster cards, sell them off then start buying spell packs. He needed to get a Guidepost first. Raphael needed to find out where #086 spawns. He drifted through the wastelands and ran into a small force of Giant Cyclops. He targeted the closest one, casting aside the cloth that covered his weapon. Running the spear through the creature's eye.
It screamed and disappeared into a puff of smoke.
He didn't have time to grab the card, not when one of the creatures was swinging their club at him. Grasping the spear tightly in his hand, he used the momentum of their swing to lodge the spear tip into the top side of the weapon expecting it to splinter from the impact but instead it sunk into the wooden club like a knife through butter. To give credit where it's due, Mikkel certainly knew how to sharpen a blade to finer detail. The teen twisted his body, landing safely onto the club. Pulling out his spear, he spun it, pointing the tip at the creature's eye "Bring it!"
The cyclops swung the club, trying to force Raphael off its weapon. He dug the spear into the club and used it as a brace, dragging it along the wooden club as he ran towards it. He lunged at the last second, the spear aimed towards its weak point. Having pierced the creature's eye, it exploded into a cloud of smoke, what was once a Nen creature generated by the game, was now a card to be obtained and sold.
He needed a lot of Jenny, so hunting was the only thing he was going to be doing for a while now.
Spinning the spear so the blade was pointed at the sky, he looked towards the other monsters surrounding him "Who's next?"
A few roared, chasing him down. He was already prepared, heading straight towards them.
Different parts of Greed Island offered unique mechanics to overcome when it came to monsters. While a decent chunk of them had weak points, some still focused heavily on how much HP the monster had. He didn't know the exact equation but the general gist was that his average output of aura was calculated as damage against the creature's defence.
Technically, hitting a creature with Ko would count as an instant one-shot kill, while Ren or Ryu would be considered critical hits.
Monsters who had weak points didn't react to any damage until they were hit in that sweet spot.
But even so, the monsters weren't going to be a problem, he continued to fight, grabbing a card whenever he could along the way.
"~"
He had spent around an hour or two filling his book to the brim. He did kinda lose track at one point, resulting in him having to exchange some cards which were worth more than others.
He sighed in relief, deciding to rest out in the wastelands, with the weapon laying on the floor at his side. He was grateful for Mikkel's craftsmanship, the spear surpassing his intended goals. When he was fighting he made sure to use the full length of the shaft; testing a variety of ranges to see if he could still swing or lunge the spear in any direction.
Whether it was right at the edge or towards the blade, he found no problems handling the added weapon to his arsenal. A part of him wondered how he could implement its use with Blash Bang, since as he needed to keep a hand free to use that ability. Raphael supposed he could charge the ability and slap the shaft right before attacking since it just needed an impact to activate. When it came to his other ability, he already knew how he could utilise the weapon, it was just a matter of learning to time his attacks.
Grabbing the weapon, he shoved it into the harness clasp, and began heading straight for Masadora, he'll sell his cards and hopefully rebuild his spell card supply on the first attempt. There were a lot he was banking on trying to get at least on the first go.
Namely, #1030 Guidepost… that's the one card he has to obtain for his plan to be achievable, though #1038 List was also an important card. If it turns out the way to get the card was too difficult, he's going to have to see who has it.
Raphael supposed that #1036 Eye of God would be the best card for this job, but honestly, a List would also get the job done. If he gets a couple of stealing spells, that would be handy… but he ideally needs a non-confrontational method to obtain it. He's had enough of having to tango with other players to keep his cards while having to steal theirs.
"~"
Opening the last of the packets, he sighed… while he was lucky enough to get Guidepost, the amount of Fluoroscopy and Peek cards he obtained was honestly a huge waste of space.
At least he can try to search for the card…
The teen held up the card, uttering the magic words with a deep-seated sigh "Guidepost, on. #086." A flash billowed before his eyes, his book flipping to a different page. All the information he needed was registered, the only problem was… the town it spawns in was Antokiba, the City of Prizes…
It's going to be one of those cards he thought to himself before pulling out his Accompany, "Accompany, on. Antokiba."
"~"
He was right. Standing before the board, a list of prizes to obtain through the monthly events was #086. It wasn't going to drop for a few months, during January's events to be exact. It had to be some sort of cruel joke… a way to force people to only have one time a year to obtain the one thing that many people would desperately want… an endless supply of Leave cards.
If you can't get lucky at the spell shop… this is the one card, that everyone would desperately want so that they could finally leave the game.
"Someone must have obtained it by now… there's no way someone would let something so rare slip through their fingertips," Raphael muttered to himself, once more forced to farm monster cards.
"~"
It took a couple of rounds of going to and fro, but eventually, he got the second card he needed. Wasting no time, he searched for all the players who had the card he was desperate for.
Blank.
There was nobody… no one had tried to collect this card until now. There must be a reason. Was it the trial needed to obtain the card? Maybe something about how the card is obtained is messed up.
Or was it that every time it was obtained, it was used immediately… Raphael gritted his teeth in annoyance, he couldn't leave to inform Gon and Killua that he failed on his side. There's no way he could try to bargain with Tsezgerra for a different avenue.
He'd rather have multiple fail-safes, but it wasn't an option. He couldn't think of another way to help the boys, at least, not without breaching his contract in one form or another. He'll have to trust Killua and Gon's raw skill and their tenacity to not give up in this scenario.
As much as he despises giving up, he'd just ran out of luck. Now all he can do is hope that when that day comes, Gon and Killua will be there to greet him on that day.
"I guess it's time I find the stupid rat and plant it there just in case…"
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.