Raphael returns to Greed Island to continue his quest.
Raphael stood silently in Mr Battera's mansion, checking the time on his phone. He already had a hunch and an answer, but he wanted to test a theory while he could. It was around the Early evening, late night.
When he gets in the game, it should be around the early morning, if he can actually perfectly time everything.
When entered the game with ease, back at the starting area once more. The dark, early morning gentle breeze swept through his hair; the open lush meadow was just as inviting as he first remembered. But after having played this game for a few months, he knew better than to trust the starting area.
The moment he encountered his first player, he was tagged with a Trace spell.
Looking back on that situation, such tactics were considered distasteful in his eyes. Picking on a noobie and hoping that they'd be dumb enough to grab a restricted or a useful spell card which would be later stolen, without them catching onto the fact that you were always there to steal that rare card right as they got it.
After the first few times, you tend to catch on pretty quickly that someone is keeping tabs on your binder.
Checking his cards, he saw all his restricted slots were still there. And as per usual, he lost his spell cards.
Next, he pulled out his phone to conform something. The time on his phone still displayed it was night, even though it was clearly the early morning.
Ideally, he should be heading to Masadora to buy a few spell packs, hoping that he'll get something decent he can either trade back for more Jenny or trade with other players.
But given that he felt eyes on him as soon as he reached the starting point, means that there are already players with eyes on the entrance into the game to see what he'd do.
To make matters worse, it's always the same two towns. Rubicuta and Antokiba.
If they're weak players, he could lure them into a trap and steal their cards as soon as they open their 'book'. But for difficult players, as long as they don't have Accompany, Magnetic, or Return cards, he should be fine to make a run for it.
Picking a different location from the two main towns, he instead headed far to the South-East. He's going to need to spend some time farming. There were a few good spots, not one for noobies, but a skilled player who knows their way around elusive creatures would certainly know how to make an easy buck here.
It was one of the few larger cluster farming locations, sure, it was a pain to farm at, but it had many rare cards that sold for a decent amount, as long as you knew what you were looking for. The monster spawn's trade-off was worth it, in terms of difficulty level.
He found an entry point into the Enchanted Forest, keeping an eye out for any of the Blue-Ring Chameleons. If he lands one or two of those suckers, it's instant easy, Jenny. Otherwise, he'd need to hunt pixies and Glow Bats.
If worse comes to worst, there are always Toadstools, Mini Drakes, and the biggest pain in the ass, slimes. Specifically, the metallic kind. The metal slimes are a bullshit mechanic. They sell for a small fortune, but they're a combination of elusive as fuck, and low spawn rates. Out of the twenty times he has gotten them to spawn, he's only managed to take one out.
That was a Metal Slime.
Two of the spawns out of the total spawns he managed to trigger, were of the gold variant. But like the others, the moment he spotted them, they bolted.
The teen continued to weave through the forest, finding a small meadow where a pixie ring sometimes spawns. If he's lucky, he'll be able to catch a few before they knew what hit them. Hiding in the bushes, he saw several of the pixies dancing around the ring, singing their little melody.
He'd have to be careful as the songs they sang were dependent on their spawn. There's no direct way to figure out the song without listening to the lyrics. Some cause sleep or paralysis. The worst of them was paralysis. Unless someone spooks them, you could be stuck until they de-spawn. But if they stumble across you, a few steals later and you'll be walking back to town with nothing.
But here's the kicker, each card was worth 10,000 Jenny. Plus, a direct hit was an instant knockout for them.
Taking a moment to pause, he listened to the tune. A speed de-buff… doable.
The teen leapt into action, taking out the first pixie. Due to the pixie's immunity to control and light-based Nen abilities, they were programmed to ignore those forms of attacks. He already attempted it once, ultimately making it impossible to catch a single one of them at the time.
As he managed to take out a second one, the group started to scatter like petals in the wind. The teen lunged for the third one, grasping onto its small petit body. Unfortunately by then, the others disappeared out of his line of sight.
Frustrated, he snatched up the ones he caught. Usually, he manages to catch four to five of the pixies on a speed debuff, slotting them into his book.
It wouldn't be enough. He needs a decent amount of Jenny to buy a bunch of spell card packets. The randomness of the pull should help him create a variety of spells for him to strategise his next plan of attack or escape.
He continued on his journey, lucky enough to find at least one Blue-Ring Chameleon. An easy 30,000 Jenny right there. The reason they were worth so much, was due to their ability to hide in shrubbery. To the naked eye, they looked like leaves in a tree, but to someone dumb enough to run their fingers across the tree leaves without touching the sap, knew their worth.
Touching the sap tends to end in uncontrollable vomiting. He learnt that the hard way.
However, if he caught one and used 'Gain' they acted like pets for about thirty minutes. They allow you to hide as though you were using a combination of camouflage and Zetsu, something useful if he needed to get away without leaving behind an ounce of his existence.
Then again, if someone already has Trace active on them, it's pretty much a waste of a card.
He also got a metal slime to spawn, but like the others… they bolted before he had a chance to grab it. But if he were able to capture one of them. The Metal Slimes was worth 100,000 Jenny. The Gold Slimes were worth 250,000 Jenny.
One of those could pay for several packs. It's just that, it's genuinely hard for him to catch one off the cuff, without proper advanced preparation. He honestly needs to be aware of when or where the next one will spawn so he can immediately target it.
Other than those two slimes, he could always farm the Crystalline Slimes. They were worth 20,000 Jenny. Plus, they were much easier to catch and defeat, when compared to the other two slime variants.
Right now, he should have enough Jenny for at least six packets of cards.
He spent the next few hours farming monster cards, trying to gather a few extras to get a decent number of packets.
Unfortunately for him, it seems there were other players in the same area. He managed to snag one Mini Drake though, a creature that sometimes roams the forest. It's considered to be on the tougher side, having a tougher caprice when compared to most of the other monsters in the game, but a well-placed strike can stun it once you know its weak points.
Thinking that was going to be his last chance, he managed to snag two extra Crystalline Slimes on the way out. With those cards, he should have enough Jenny to get fifteen packs of spell cards.
However, it would overfill his free slots if he spends all his Jenny on card spell packs. So, he'd rather go for a sweet spot, eleven packs, making it thirty-three spell cards in total with leftover Jenny to spend on other things.
Since he didn't want to risk the chance of accidentally running into another player without Spell Cards at his disposal, he stored those cards before making his way back to Masadora, where he'd promptly stack on some, hopefully, useful spell cards.
"~"
Opening the last of the packs, the boy sighed in defeat. Either people had a decent number of cards of their own, or he had abysmal luck today.
Out of the cards he had slotted in his free card slots, he now had:
Four, Mimic. The ability to transform one card into a copy of a card he already owns.
Two, Clone. The card changes into one of the target's random dedicated slot, cards.
Two, Pickpocket. Steal a random card from the target player's free slot.
Three, Peek. View the free slot cards of a previously met target.
Four, Fluoroscopy. The same effect as Peek, just for the restricted slot cards instead.
One, Return. Fly to a previously visited target.
Three, Relegate. Make the target player fly somewhere else on Greed Island.
One, Leave. Make the target player leave the island.
Three, Accompany. Fly the caster and all players within a twenty-meter radius to the target location.
Three, Rock Toss. Destroy one random card in free slots.
One, Bullet. The same as Rock Toss, just for Restricted slots.
One, Levy. Take a random card from each player within a twenty-meter radius.
Five, Defensive Wall. Protect against an attack spell once.
"So, I have a few Pickpocket… some Rock Toss and Bullet, three Accompany cards, though I would've preferred more of the Return cards, over them. I also got a Leave, which I'll be saving. Uh… a few Defensive Wall. Two Clone and… one Return."
He would have loved to at least get one Holy Water, instead of five Defensive Wall, seeing as it protects against ten spells, instead of one… but luck wasn't on his side. Besides the Levy, most were pretty terrible cards, plus his range of spells doesn't do much for his defences, nor does it help if he needs to be on the offence.
Raiding a player or two was out of the question.
But at least he got a few decent cards.
At least he'd be able to protect his current restricted slot cards.
#075 Wild Luck Alexandrite, #081 Blue Planet, #084 Paladin's Necklace, #094 Bandit's Blade and #099 Panda Maid.
He'd have to stick to natural card hunting. There should be a few quests cycling through different card spawns, ones he's hoping Tsezgerra will be willing to trade for a decent amount of Jenny upon completion of the game.
He has already gotten a few cards for them, meaning he should get some kickback once Tsezgerra completes the game. Although, considering the man has been playing this game for a lot longer, he highly doubts there are any cards in quests like this he has obtained already.
Still… there could be something useful he could ultimately use.
"~"
Shifting through the two bulletin boards, he looked for useful cards or ones that may assist with furthering his goals to help complete Tsezgerra's collection. There were a few cards up, but their abilities weren't that good.
Each week the quest board seems to cycle through a random number of cards. Most of them tend to be between the rank of A and D. While most quests tend to be like the special events in Antokiba, the board he was looking at randomly has the more elusive cards, the ones that are useful to keep, rather than trade.
As he looked through the mission board, his mind started to linger, returning to the conversation he had with Killua, Gon and Zephile. Maybe he should check to see if there was any kind of remnant of Ging's presence in the game.
He highly doubts he'd be able to find anything, given that he's been in the game and found no signs of him, yet…
But then again, he didn't know Ging was somehow involved in this game.
However, if wastes too much time looking at a dead end, he might have enough time to spend on investing in the game to get restricted card slots for Tsezgerra. That, or maybe he should save them for Gon and Killua if he helps secure them a position within the game.
"What to do…?" Raphael utters to himself, eyes idly reading through the list of quest logs.
If he's going to spend time assisting the boys in playing the game, maybe he should save a few of the restricted cards to assist them. It'll be beneficial for them, especially since he has a rare card like #075 Wild Luck Alexandrite in his book.
Thinking it was a bad week, he was about to leave the board behind, that was until he noticed a rare card. #095 Secret Cape.
"You're kidding me…" He plied the page from the board, smiling widely at the mission, "Beat the Zoltan at his game of prediction, and you get to keep his cape." With a card like that, I can permanently avoid all Peek and Fluoroscopy spells being cast on me, since it's an infinite version of Blackout Curtain. A card like this will be super handy to someone like Tsezgerra and Gon.
Looking at the coordinates, the boy left for the quest starting area.
"~"
Raphael found the NPC at a table, a few players already lined up ready to play the game and win the prize. One after another they lost. The quest seems to act like an infinite gambling station as long as you have sufficient Jenny to buy in, you can keep trying.
Currently, the buy-in was at 10,000 Jenny per round. He had enough spare Jenny to attempt it four times. If he can't figure out if the game is beatable during the second round, he might give up early.
The person in front of the boy grumbled, complaining about how unfair the game mechanics were. There seems to be some cheating involved… I might have to give up on this quest, but let's see how it goes…
Sitting down, the boy waited for the NPC to explain the rules.
The NPC came to life like a robot, a hand now gesturing to the thirteen cards on the table, "My name is Zoltan. Here I have thirteen cards, two to ten, a Jack, Queen, King, and the Ace. Ace is worth one point, Jack is eleven, Queen is twelve and the King is worth the most, thirteen. However, if one draws the Ace and the other draws the King during the same round, the one who drew the Ace wins that round. The objective is to win three rounds. A buy-in is 10,000 Jenny. Would you like to play?"
Zoltan holds out their hand, expecting money.
Raphael hands the NPC a 10,000 Jenny card. Having received the card, it seemly vanishing in Zoltan's palm. The character returns their hand to the table, running it across the cards, sweeping them up into a neat little pile before fanning them back out.
The cards must have been shuffled, because there's no way they were in the same order as the last game.
Aura flowed around each card, and the NPC's eyes zeroed in on the table, "Player goes first."
Raphael ran his fingers through the air, picking up a single card to flip it over. The card was a Jack, the NPC now announcing the draw "A Jack, eleven points."
Zoltan ran its hand over the cards before stopping at one. Rather than picking it up, it moved to another card, drawing that one instead, "A Queen, twelve points, I win." The teen crossed his arms, now frowning. It seems either the NPC cheated having known which cards are where, or there's a mechanic involved that required the player to see through his methods.
It's a rather difficult game to beat on somebody's first try without prior knowledge of the game's method of cheating.
Zoltan spoke again, gesturing to the table "I go first this time."
Is this where he needs to figure out the method? The NPC's hand ran through the cards, stopping at the same card in the last round. Like that round, it instead moves to another card, flipping it over "A nine."
The teen looked at the cards, before deciding to flip it over. It was an Ace, "One point, I win again. It's your turn." Will it do it again next game… I wonder.
Raphael flipped a Card, finding an eight.
"You have eight points." Zoltan ran their fingers over the cards, this time stopping at the card it intends to pick up "King, thirteen points. I win a third time. Would you like to play again?"
Raphael sat back in his seat, wondering how it picked its cards. There doesn't seem to be any difference in the shades of colour or design on the back of the cards, nor did the pressure of aura change between cards. Yet, they somehow always knew which card was the highest to pull.
So, there must be a little trick, definitely a little bit of cheating involved.
It may have to do with the Secret Cape's card ability. Since the cape blocks the spell card Peek and Fluoroscopy, Peek being the most advantageous in this situation, Zoltan must already know the order of the cards.
They must be trying to stop the player from accessing that information…
Since the NPC is wearing the Secret Cape, he highly doubts his current idea would work, but he still intends to test his theory. On his next round, he might try to use Peek, to see if he can also see the cards, or if it triggers some kind of rule against cheating.
So, the teen hands another 10,000 Jenny over.
The NPC repeats the process, reshuffling the cards once more, "You first."
"Book" Zoltan doesn't react when the teen pulls out a Peek card. Holding up the card in a way they can't see which one he's about to use, he calls out its effect, "Peek On… Zoltan." The card shoots out, hitting the NPC with ease. The cape hadn't stopped the spell card, meaning the cape was probably for more aesthetic purposes than its intended use.
None of that mattered once he looked at the cards.
He could see the suits and numbers without issue. Before he could even grab one, Zoltan reshuffled the cards, "It is unwise to cheat with magic. It won't be a warning next time."
The NPC is allowed to cheat… but I'm not. Sneaky, sneaky. The teen found himself smiling because now he knew there was a mechanic involved. If he can't use magic… maybe he can use Nen instead to circumvent the game.
Reaching out, he touched a card. Forcing his aura out, he wrapped a card in Shu. His aura continued to linger around the card, never once triggering the cheating system in place.
Blash Bang might work in his favour…
But then another idea hit him, he could also use Gyo. Like Peek, maybe he can use it to see which card is which. Raphael channelled aura through his eyes, focusing on the cards before him. He was hoping to see something, but the cards continued to remain impervious to this form of cheating.
The fact Zoltan continued to ignore any tests of Nen, means he has a chance to use Blash Bang to still at least to attempt to blind them.
Grabbing a card, he flipped it over. A ten, a pretty high number on his first go.
"A ten…"
Raphael charged his ability, watching the NPC move to see if he does the same thing as the last game. It stopped at a card, but before picking up the card it moved to another, reaching down to flip it.
Raphael hit the table, a bright flash of light making Zoltan pause. The boy flipped a random card to see the NPC's reaction. Once its dazed reaction was gone, it looked at the table, gesturing to the card, "A two… you win. My turn next."
Could he achieve the same thing without Blash Bang? Could he flip a card before the NPC can. It may count as cheating though. Otherwise, he may have to continue using his current method, so he charged his ability once more.
The NPC moved its hand across the table, reaching out to grab a card. Before it could attempt to pick up the card, the boy hit the table again. He flipped another card "An eight…" The NPC recognised Raphael's choice.
The teen instead flipped over the card Zoltan was going to originally pick.
"A queen… you win again. Your turn."
Raphael needed only one more win so he recharged his ability, getting it ready before the NPC can pick a card of their own. He flipped over a card.
"Nine, my turn." Before the teen even had a chance to activate his ability and pick a card for them, the NPC flip a card with a snap of their wrist. His tactic won't work anymore.
"Jack, I win. I get to go again." Before he could stop Zoltan, it flipped the King, the highest card. The boy's eye twitched because there was no way it would choose that without a reason especially, seeing he knows where the Ace is. They must know he could win this round without resistance.
He reached over, about to flip the card when he noticed the unusual flow of aura and the way the Zoltan's eyes zeroed in on his hand movement. He moved his hand to a different card.
The flow remained static with the other cards, no different than they were seconds ago.
They were planning on switching the Ace with another card, if he attempts to grab it. Next round, it'll probably make him pull the Ace so it's an instant win for them.
He had only one chance to win now… The question was, would Blash Bang work, or will it be able to look past the blinding light? He raised both hands, one attempting to grab another card, while the other hovered over the Ace.
The Ace once more glowed with unusual aura, while the eyes on the NPC were split between the two cards he was now hovering over. So, he'll need to pretend to lose without showing signs of going for the winning hand.
He has only one chance to win now… and that's to fake a loss. If he's going to pull this off, he's going to need to go for the card furthest from the Ace, perform Blash Bang and hope he's fast enough to flip the Ace, before Zoltan can change it to another card.
The teen swung his hand down, slapping the table hard enough to shake the table. A blinding force of light sprung forth; the Zoltan was still focused on the same spot as he moved his hand to quickly flip the Ace.
Just as he touched the card, the NPC's eyes snapped towards his hand.
The card was flipped hard enough to splinter the table, kicking up some rubble in the process.
Eventually, the character spoke, "Ace, you win."
Raphael cheered loudly from the win, grateful to see Zoltan remove his cape, handing it off to the boy.
With a puff of smoke, it switched to its card format.
Secret Cape
095 A - 20
You will be under the effect of the 'Blackout Curtain' while wearing this cape.
It will be a great addition to his current cards. With his Mimic, he could effectively sacrifice one of the Fluoroscopy and Peek for an extra Secret Cape and Paladin's Necklace. With those two, he'd be impossible to rob… especially if they don't know he is wearing that necklace.
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.
