Gon finally captures the postcard, with that, the team moves onto gathering the other cards.
It had been a while for Gon, that weird musky scent still lingering in the air. The smell seemed to get more prominent the closer he got. Even the voices seemed to amplify, even become distorted.
Gon had a feeling he knew which one he needed to follow…
But the voices of the deterrents, the ones that were trying to lead him away from his goal… those were still too loud.
He felt as if the voices weren't attuned properly. When he was listening to the forests back home on whale island, it was easy to tune out everything except what he was tracking.
Here… it's impossible. He can hear everything at all times, like he was stuck in a busy marketplace trying to pinpoint Mito amongst the rest of the voices.
Gon blew out a frustrated sigh. Covering his ears, he silenced the voices, using his nose to discern the air.
That smell was lightly drifting by. The boy shut his eyes, desperately focusing on only that one smell. He shut everything else out.
The wet leaves, the mildew on the tombstones… the musk of the fog. The aroma was familiar. He's smelt this before, back on Whale Island. Then it clicked.
The boy's eyes snapped wide open. He recognised that scent. It was a type of fungus that grew on whale island.
There was a reason it grew.
Usually, it was found around bodies that hadn't been buried properly. It propagated around corpses, specifically around the bones of skeletons.
If the wildlife could still track the corpses, this fungus would grow.
But why would it grow here? Did the postcards want to be found?
Raphael said the correct voice led you to your destination. However, he never mentioned anything about smells. Maybe this wasn't something the teen knew about?
This could be another method to help find the postcard. Raphael did mention there were sometimes multiple methods to beat the same quest.
Maybe this was just one way the ghosts could reach out? The smell of a barely buried corpse drifting through the air, beckoning players to find them.
The idea of the corpse speaking to the living through this method sent a shiver down Gon's spine. But this was just a game, a game with mechanics that followed certain rules.
There was no way the Dead could speak with the living… right?
Gon sniffed at the air like a dog, focusing his attention on that smell only. His head drifted to his left, smiling in glee, "I found you!"
The boy left in a hurry, going after the fungus.
"~"
He found a dead end, thinking he made the wrong somewhere along the way. But he was sure he followed the scent correctly.
His eyes landed on a sole tombstone. Gon cautiously stepped towards the tombstone, half expecting something to grab him from under the dirt to pull him into the ground.
But nothing ever did.
Leaning down to the floor, he noticed that the dirt in front of the grave had been dug up recently. Using his hands, he moved around the dirt. Gon had barely dug into the soft, wet soil before his hand came into contact with something hard. There was a skull barely buried underneath the dirt.
He was shocked at first, stepping back from his discovery. He was half expecting for something to happen, the skeleton to come to life to thank him or something like that. But it continued to remain still.
It was only there for decoration. So, the boy moved closer once more, returning to dig his way around the body.
When Gon reached the ribs, he found a book located on the skeleton's chest. He dug around the spot, freeing the book from the confines of its grave.
Moving the dirt back, he offered a small apology to the skeleton before opening the book to a random page. There was a single postcard, with an empty name and spot to write a message.
This was what he was looking for. He flipped through the pages, every page was the same as the last. It wasn't so much as a single postcard, but a book filled with hundreds of similar postcards.
As soon as he closed the book, it turned into its respective card.
Double Postcard to the Dead
031 S - 13
If you leave a message and send a postcard to a dead person, a reply is written on the card the next day. 1000 pieces.
Gon smiled in glee. He had managed to acquire another card towards their goal. Sure, they've managed to gain not many of them. But he was certain they'd start amassing more cards the faster they collect them. They just needed to keep clearing these quests as quickly as possible.
The boy began his long trek home, walking back through the mist that was acting a little stranger now on a closer inspection. It looked like it was starting to thin out. Not only that, he thought he was able to hear a few voices in the wind. For a brief moment, he was sure Raphael and Killua talking could be heard.
He followed the direction, now able to clearly hear the two talking. They were just making casual conversation. Considering he could hear them so clearly, he must not be that far from the exit.
"~"
"So, how long do you think before he comes out?"
Killua did the mental maths. It had been twenty-five minutes so far. That left him around five minutes for him to claim his reward. He doesn't know how long it'll take his friend, but he was hoping he'll miss the deadline by a couple of seconds, "He's still got five minutes."
"Which card would you prefer to go for?"
The boy thought of the options, wondering which of the two sounds better, "Mystery Pond. Sounds cooler…"
"Sure, what would you do if Gon picked the same one?"
"Be disappointed."
"The only one who should be disappointed is me. You're wasting precious time arguing over which card you want to get, when you should be practising your conjuration training."
Killua juggled the Nen object in his palm up into the air, "I've been done for the last two minutes. If anyone is wasting time, it's you…"
Bisky found herself grinning. The boy was being a little sassy with her. She'd slap that attitude out of him when she points out the flaws in his handy work, "Let me-"
"I'm back."
Killua failed to grab the knife, the blade dissipating when it hit the floor. He never expected Gon to clear the time with three minutes to spare.
"You failed."
"No, arrgh." Killua dragged his fingers through his hair, scrunching a few strands between his fingers. He failed Bisky's training, even though he was practically done, and Gon beat the thirty-minute timer "Double dammit. Gon you win."
"Which card do you want, the pond or tree?"
"The tree." Gon brightened up, "I think hunting for the tree would be more fun. And, I got the postcards." He opened his book, showing his friends their latest collection.
"Perfect. We should move on." Raphael pointed towards their next card, directing the group to the next quest.
As they walked, the teen questioned his friend, "So how did you like the postcards? Was it easy to follow the voices?"
Gon shook his head.
Raphael stopped, now staring at Gon blankly. What did he mean by that? He did get the card… didn't he? So how could he have struggled to follow the voices, if he still got the postcards?
Raphael tilted his head slightly, now staring at the boy in confusion, "So, the voices weren't easy to follow? But you got the card… how?"
"The voices were too loud. It was a little bit difficult telling the difference between the voices. So I followed the smell."
"The…" The teen raised an eyebrow. What did Gon mean by smell? There was no unique smell to follow mentioned in the guide, "What do you mean by smell?"
"It smelt like Fetid Bone-Lichen Mushrooms. It usually grows around bodies."
"Backup. I have so many questions. What do you mean, you found the postcard by sniffing for a type of mushroom that grows around decomposing bodies?"
He feels like Gon just hit him with a ball out of left field.
"Yeah. Back on Whale island, it's a type of fungus that grows when bodies aren't buried properly. I live on a pretty small Island, so it tends to happen a lot."
"Right… But you followed the smell?"
"Yup, it smells not quite rotten, like…" Gon hummed to himself, trying to think of the best way to explain it. Since Raphael didn't know about the smell, if he did smell it at one point, he probably would've only smelt the rotten aspect. There is more to it than that, "It's a mix of wet mildew, with a sweet but off smell. Hmm… something like cotton candy and expired milk."
"And you just followed that smell… like it was nothing new."
"Yes."
Raphael scratched his head, still confused about how Gon was able to pick up on distinct smells. The teen was unable to believe what he was hearing. Was Gon seriously arguing that his sense of smell was strong enough to detect an unmarked grave holding the post cards?
Sure, his feat with the Zoltan was on an equal level to Gon's, at least in terms of beating a quest through unorthodox methods…
But Gon is talking about his nose… about smelling something from who knows how far away.
"If it makes you feel better…" Killua casually pointed a thumb at his best friend, "He has an insane sense of smell. He followed a man's cologne from, at least, two kilometres away. That's how we reached the second Phase of the Hunter's Exam. He's weird like that."
"It's not weird." Gon puffed out his cheeks in a comical manner.
"Think of him like a dog, and it'll make total sense."
"But I'm not a dog…"
"You're right." Killua offered a sly smirk, grinned from ear to ear as he muttered quietly, "You just smell like one."
"Rude."
Raphael burst into laughter. He truly made some weird friends along the way, ones that have some rather unique quirks.
Even knowing that, they were still fun to be around.
He'd just have to remember to keep clean, because now he knows Gon has an extremely sensitive sense of smell, the boy could probably tell when smells like shit.
Raphael took a deep breath, gesturing to the two, "Shall we continue before I learn of any other weird abilities you two may have?"
"Yeah! What's next?" Gon beamed at the news.
"Dungeon crawling. Eternal Hammer. No quests, but a guardian does protect the card, and it's not a cakewalk."
"Gon got the last card, so it's my turn."
"~"
Killua held a torch in his hand, the flames lighting his way through the dark cavern. The area felt massive.
One step at a time, he descended into its depths.
When he reached a flat surface, Killua could feel something watching his every movement. He lit a small crevice, the flames rapidly filling the room.
There was a large forge in the middle of the room, a golden hammer laying on top of the stone surface.
Killua moved forward, expecting to reach the hammer. The cavern rumbled, a giant construct dropping in front of the Forge.
Multiple gears turned inside their body, the creature twisting what was assumed to be their head to look down at Killua. Bringing its hands up, it slammed its fists into the ground, setting off the forge in the process.
The surface surrounding the forge was filled with molten lava, multiple pipes feeding the liquid through different systems.
Killua took a step back when the construct walked through the lava, unaffected by the fiery liquid, at least from a glance.
The figure brought its fist down on where Killua once stood, cracking the surface. Killua tested the construct, slamming his foot against the side of its face.
Metal twisted into a small dent, the figure ignored the damage. It flung its arm into the boy's side.
Killua landed on his feet and hands, immediately gripping his side. His fingers trembled. The monster hits as hard as its defences were.
It had to be a high rank monster, a B, possibly A-Rank. But from a second glance, the creature wasn't attacking with Nen. It wasn't designed to be like that. It was merely hard and when it threw its weight around, it just used its defences as an offence.
The creature slammed its weight into the ground, Killua ricocheting off the walls like a startled cat. He gripped the platform surrounding the forge, clinging onto the ground that hadn't been drowned in molten metal.
This led to the construct back into the lava, the sounds of creaking and twisting metal reaching the boy's ears.
This was how he was going to win.
The lava was warping the construct, weakening the material. As long as he keeps it moving inside the lava, its body will disintegrate on its own. Or at least weaken the creature to the point a well-placed hit would snap it in twine.
The boy led the creature around the forge, hitting it whenever he had an opportunity.
The damage was showing, the construct moving clunky due to several of the gears getting jammed.
When the creature swung its arm one more, Killua flipped onto the monster's arm, running straight for their head. He gripped the helmet, nails digging into the metallic skull. Using his strength, he yanked hard.
The boy groaned as he felt the head slowly begin to give way, the sounds of twisting metal warping in his fingertips.
Before it could grab him, Killua managed to yank the head free from the body, jumping back onto a platform, away from any immediate danger.
Silence filled the room when the construct stilled. The battle was over, and he was now free to claim his prize.
But first…
The boy made his way back to the body once all the molten lava was drained away.
He touched the body first, laying claim to his first reward.
Guardian of the Forge
8659 A - 15
An adamantite Golem, built to protect the forge of the Eternal Hammer. It lays waste to any intruders daring to steal its owner's treasure.
Killua grinned at his reward, moving to grab the hammer next. With a puff of smoke, he accepted his second reward.
Eternal Hammer
088 A - 15
Anyone hit with this hammer will be afflicted with one random attack spell, and cannot defend him or herself with a defensive spell. However, it will not work on someone using "Fortress" or Paladin's Necklace.
He twirled the Eternal Hammer card on his fingertip, "Two A Rank cards for the price of one. I wonder what's next?"
He couldn't wait to see the difficulty difference for the next card. So far, from experience, the difficulty between two cards of the same rank weren't equal.
Gold Dust Girl was way easier than this one.
As he ascended the stairs, he tapped his chin while deep in thought. If the spike difficulty between two A Rank cards were different, what would an S Rank card be like?
Well, he knows Angel Breath requires all forty spell cards to be traded for a voucher. That can be difficult depending on the group size. A single player would have only five free slots remaining.
But that was all based on luck and RNG, an S-Rank that doesn't require a collection of spell cards… What would the difficulty be like for that?
He could always just wait, seeing as they would be going for the Tree of Plenty later.
"~"
When he returned to his friends, he was met with Raphael gushing over him, "Wait, you got the guardian too? That's so cool! Let me see!" He didn't think to assume that card was obtainable when he last tried to get the hammer.
Since he avoided the construct and went straight for the hammer, the guardian dissipated, considering there was nothing for it to protect.
Killua rolled his eyes. But he only relented because Gon wanted to see it too.
Raphael read the description, wondering if the card could technically be used to protect a player. Maybe if he was holding the hammer, that would work.
Still…
He was impressed that Killua would go that far to get both cards. He didn't even think to go straight for the hammer first, he took out the guardian first.
Killua was left awkwardly blushing as Raphael continued to praise his abilities.
"~"
As the group made their way to the next card, Raphael decided to bring up a little interesting thing he knew about the forge, "Did you notice the symbolism on the forge by chance?"
"Who wouldn't? Killua easily dismissed the teen. After his last gushing session, he doesn't want to talk to Raphael for a month.
"Too bad. The forge has hints of gods plastered around the base, including, Hephaestus, the Greek God of Blacksmiths. It's a fun little detail they added to pay homage to ancient myths. It's also why there was an adamantite construct protecting the hammer. He was known for his meticulous unique weapon crafting and mechanical golem constructs."
"Wow!" Gon grew excited. To think the creators, including Ging, would put this much detail into a game. It's truly sad that not many players would look out for these kinds of things.
They were too busy trying to steal from each other, rather than search for these tiny details.
He was glad someone like Raphael was actually playing this game as it was intended.
"~"
The group continued to gather cards one after another, only stopping once they tried to get a Night Jade.
Raphael frowned when the stone failed to turn into a card. Was something wrong, or had they just grabbed a dud.
He grabbed the stone, holding it in his palm. Nope, it was a real Night Jade. Considering it wasn't turning into a card, someone or multiple people had already obtained this specific card "Shit… Someone must have maxed the card limit. Or too many people have one…" He threw the stone up in the air, catching it in his palm once more, "I'll hold onto this. Let's try to get the Roaming Ruby next."
Genthru may have already maxed out the card limit to stop others from collecting every card.
He probably has others like this. That didn't bode too well for other players, who may get desperate.
They should be wary for now.
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.