Raphael starts his quest to find the unknown artefacts.
Raphael surveyed the ancient ruins, a town long buried. His fingers grazed against the stones, sensing a faint trace of aura.
This town has some history…
Apparently, they used to be dragon worshippers in ancient times, right before they got ransacked by crusaders for worshipping false gods, as one does…
But after that it became grounds for a long-standing curse. The lands would rot every few months for years, making it unsustainable for a town to be rebuilt.
It's nothing but bricks and stones now…
But rumour has it, the dragon's hoard was never found. At least what the Dragon worshippers buried.
He made his way to the crumbled statue, wiping the weeds away.
In memory of Xenon…
He fumbled with the base, trying to prop the secret passageway, but there was nothing to be found.
"Hmph, I could've sworn it'd be here." He pulled away to search for any other statues. Nothing…
Gritting his teeth, he circled some of the other buildings before he found himself stopping in front of some rotten doors.
The teen kicked the door open, revealing the remains of what one may assume was the church. He stepped inside, making his way through the rotten floorboards.
A loud crack sent his foot through the ground. He pulled it free, hoping he'd find a hidden chamber, but there was nothing but stone underneath.
The teen continued further in, stopping at the crumbled statue. Like the one in town, it mentioned Xenon. He moved around the base, finding nothing.
That was until his eyes caught something else. Residual Nen. He traced the stone with his fingers, finding it gave way.
It couldn't be that easy…
But it didn't budge. Something was blocking it. It couldn't be pulled out, so maybe it ran from a different kind of mechanic.
He placed his hand against the stone, feeling the aura. Taking a deep breath, he circled the stone with aura, pushing against the object as he breathed out.
A click resonated, the statue behind him gave way. The floor opened up to reveal a deep passageway, the darkness hiding what lurked inside.
He took a card from his book, "Gain." With a torch at his disposal, he shined the light against the steps.
They led deep into the underground. Looks like this will be another long trek into the underworld of Greed Island. Maybe there will even be ultra-rare monsters.
He snorted at the idea. This town had long been abandoned. There would be nothing more than dust, mould and spiders.
Making his way down the steps, he found himself in a large chamber. He waved the torch around, lighting up the room as he searched for anything other than a stone wall.
He progressed through the room, eventually coming to a door. Jiggling the handle made him frown, "Locked? Or is it jammed stuck…" There was a dragon sigil on the door, so possibly the former.
He left the door alone to continue searching.
He found another door which led down a hallway. He crossed the room, finding another two doors. One door was collapsing outward, which meant that one was out of the question.
The other opened into a dining area that smelt of mould and rot. Raphael covered his nose, shining the light across the long tables.
Bones laid against the table, rags still covering them. They're probably some of the worshippers that got locked in, with zero chance of escape.
When the teen continued to shine the light across the room, something glinted back at him.
There, in an elaborate chair, was a nicely dressed skeleton, his robes similar to the dragon's scales.
But the closer he got, the more he realised they were stitches, not actual scales. He thought could've killed two birds with one stone.
Thinking it was only the robe, he was about to leave the room when he noticed the key around the skeleton's neck.
He reached out, stopping when he was inches away from grabbing the key. "If you jump scare me, I'mma slap you." Removing the key did nothing. He sighed in relief.
He left the room, making his way back to the door earlier.
The key slid into the lock, a clack resonating in the empty hallways when he twisted the key.
It was a treasury of sorts, coins scattered across the floor, a few garments and staffs too.
They're probably here for ceremonial reasons.
He flipped the chest open, several coins of different sizes filling the chest.
He grabbed one, rotating the coin in his fingertips.
Getting an ancient coin couldn't be this easy…
Twisting the coin between his fingertips, he picked up another coin, comparing the two.
There wasn't much of a difference between the coins, so either this is what he's looking for or…
He held up the coin, allowing them to transform.
Ancient Coin
6872 A - 30
A coin found in ancient ruins. It still resonates power from its Draconic heritage.
This must be the right coin then, or else there would be a hint saying otherwise…
But only up to thirty coins could be held. Whereas, the chest looked like it could hold way more than thirty pieces. It couldn't hurt to capture a few more, they might even sell for a few thousand Jennies.
He grabbed a few more, each resulting in the same card.
Standing up once more, he checked the other chests, grabbing them to turn into more cards.
Some of the equipment could also be sold for a lot.
When his hand touched the staff on the altar, he heard a rattle from nearby. He was no longer alone.
Eyes scanned the darkness, searching for any abnormal movements. There was nothing. But clearly the staff held some importance, considering touching it triggered something in the background.
Maybe he should leave it alone.
He pulled his hand away, slowly turning to face the door. He kind of expected it to happen. He already threatened one of the props earlier.
He came face-to-face with a skeleton priest, his body reacting on instinct, "Fucken hell…" He slapped the creature across the face, sending the skull skittering across the floor.
When the rest of the body fell limp on the floor, he straightened out his attire. Even though he suspected it was going to happen, he still got jump scared "Damn jump scare."
Then he heard it again, rattling coming from outside the room. Of course, there would be more waiting to attack. He called it the moment he was about to grab the key. Now he'll have to fight his way through some dragon skeleton worshippers.
He slipped through the door, catching sight of a couple of reanimated worshippers.
He bolted after the entrance, the skeletons fast on his heels. They were probably designed to chase and corner players.
So when one leapt towards him, he used his spear to knock it aside, the monster turning into a pile of bones and rags, before transforming into a card.
He didn't worry about collecting it, the skeletons probably wouldn't be worth much anyway.
He took out another skeleton, using his momentum to continue running.
He bolted up the steps, avoiding all the creatures as they came.
Only when he made it out of the ruins did they stop chasing him. He took a deep breath, checking his book for his new earnings.
He should've made a decent earning from this hoard. He just hopes that this coin was the right one.
"~"
Raphael found himself on the small island overlooking the shimmering sea. This was the fifth location he was currently searching. He had his scuba gear prepped and ready, an NPC guiding him out for a treasure hunt.
So when his book appeared, he was a little surprised, especially when it was Goreinu reaching out to him.
"What's up?"
"We have a problem…"
The teen sat up straight. What could've gone wrong? Has Tsezguerra's team been taken out early, "What's going on?"
"Genthru's team has switched tactics. They're currently camping outside the spell card store. And they're attacking every player who walks out with newly brought cards."
"So they're going for a stalemate, huh…"
"It's possible they already figured out someone else is helping Tsezguerra."
"It was bound to happen. This is why we needed to go at them hard. Actually put them in constant stressful situations to keep them too exhausted to think about the possibility."
"Well, there's nothing we can do about that now…" The teen let out a frustrated sigh, the man ignoring the sound to pose another question, "Is there another secret spell card store most players wouldn't know about?"
"Afraid not. That's the only one…" Raphael scratched at his chin, wondering what the next best option would be to draw them away, without resorting to cards?"
There wasn't much they could do, unless they taunted Genthru into a chase. But that would only work so many times.
Plus, the player that runs into the card shop will need to be quick and lucky with their pulls.
Genthru might also switch tactics so that his allies will continue to watch the card shop.
Goreinu repeated his question, "Do we have any other options?"
"There's nothing we can do in this situation." The teen mused over their predicament. If there's another spell card shop on Greed Island, nobody has found it… Even if they had, they would've kept it a secret, or died without anyone finding out about it at least, "Even if we come up with a plan, using the face stealing card, Mad Scientist's Plastic Surgery, they'll eventually catch on."
Goreinu could agree with that. It's way too risky to get cards for Tsezguerra's team, even with countermeasures in place, "Looks like they'll stay here in hopes of flushing me out…"
"I'd advise updating him if you haven't already. But this is bad for me, I still need two more cards. Right now, I'm checking another spot for a dragon's scale."
"Hmm, anything I can do. Since Genthru isn't going to be moving for a while?"
"Besides warning Asta of avoiding Masadora for the time being?"
"I already warned her just in case. She hasn't left Lumeiro, like you told her to. She's been keeping a low profile."
"Good. There's another thing. Head to Antokiba and ask the info brokers for a sightless eye. See if it triggers anything unusual."
"I can do that…" The man let out a sigh. Looks like he'd be doing boring tasks.
"I'll bounce over as soon as I find this shimmering scale."
"We're here…" The NPC spoke up.
"That's my cue to leave. Keep me posted, I'm going deep diving."
"~"
Raphael made his way through the ocean, peering across the rocks for anything unusual.
The coral surrounding the floors was beautiful to observe, the tropical school fish being just as wonderful to watch. They were like a school of shimmering colours.
He swam deeper, touching the rocks, anything that radiated aura.
From what he could tell, not all fish were native to the area, some were conjured creatures.
Thankfully, none were dangerous… so far.
He moved on from the area, finding his way into a wide open area. It looked like a gem glittering with life. He was about to leave when something caught his eye.
Creatures were circling a spot like vultures.
He moved closer, seeing what kind of creatures they were.
Piranhas… of course there would be monstrous fucken fish of some kind here of all places. But that wasn't the biggest issue. It was what they were circling now that he got a better look.
A scale, larger than the piranhas, and some kind of monster laying on top of it. This creature was as large as the scale, unmoving.
"Shit…" The piranha will be easy to take out, but that chonky fish protecting the scale, he had no idea what he was looking at.
It doesn't seem disturbed by what was circling it from above, but that could just mean they're working together.
Raphael formed aura in his hand, the creatures circling the beast now reacting to his presence. They gave chase, but he was already prepared.
Releasing his ability, they reacted to the light, unmoving as if blinded. One after another, he swats them down, taking the creatures with ease.
However, he felt a sense of unease.
The creature protecting the scale hadn't moved.
He got closer, the monster remaining unmoving. Only when he was close enough to touch it, he could see why. It was already dead, bitten to death by the piranhas…
A closer inspection revealed he was wrong. Those bite marks were much larger than what those creatures were capable of.
Then he saw it, the dark shadow eclipsing him.
He moved just in time to see something come to finish their earlier meal. A beast as large as a shark, but more ravenous than those beasts.
It chowed down on the monster, taking the scale along with it.
This was a miniboss…
A monster to represent a difficult trial ahead.
Raphael prepared for the next incoming attack.
The creature revealed itself, pale flesh, greenish-yellow pus oozing from its skin. It probably has a poison cloud area of effect, which means staying in its vicinity for too long would be dangerous.
When it opened their jaw, they revealed a series of multiple layers of teeth, covering all bases.
This definitely had to be a glass cannon style monster, a creature that dishes out a lot of damage, but can't take the same back
When their blank eyes met his, it charged towards him.
Raphael swung his fist, knocking the beast aside. But it didn't do anything, other than forcing it to redirect its trajectory.
It must have a thick hide protecting their body.
So if harming it physically wasn't an option, he'd have to outright kill it. Execute it where it swam.
When it got in close, he clamped his hands over its face, avoiding any direct attack. The mouth chomped at the water in front of him.
Grinning widely, he twisted his fingers, widening its face and jaw.
Fingers dug in deeper, twisting into the flesh. It trashed its body on impulse, desperate to get out of his grip. This tactic also sent flecks of pus in all directions. But even with its deterrent defences, it was too late.
Exerting his strength, Raphael ripped the jaw wide open. The moment the beast's jaw was forced open, shattering any chances of it biting him, he slammed the creature's face against the rock. Twice for good measure.
Following that, he shoved the spear into their chest, twisting the weapon in all directions, destroying any organs they had…
The beast thrashing wildly in his grip.
Only when it ceased to move, did he remove his weapon. He dug his hands into the stomach, removing the scale from the confines of its guts. Caked in blood and pus, he could make out the shimmering along the scale.
He should at least try to leave the ocean with as little of the pus and guts as possible. And he's probably in desperate need of a shower after this, at least as a precaution to whatever damage that pus may do to him.
With a small fist pump, he made his way back to the boat. That was the second card down. One more to go.
When he surfaced from the water, he covered his mouth and nose, gagging from the stench. It smelled of shit, vomit and rot.
He's definitely in need of a shower…
"~"
Raphael stayed at a different hotel, making sure the stench clung to nothing he owned. He even made sure the scale was cleaned wholly…
As he brushed his teeth, he looked at his documents of notes, searching for other valuable clues to the whereabouts of the gem of the sightless eye.
Antokiba was his best clue, but Goreinu may turn up with nothing.
In that case, he may have to see if there were any other mentions of it on Greed Island.
When his book popped up, he didn't even wait for confirmation. He accepted the call, "What did you find?"
"A couple of mentions here and there. The biggest clue I found was a hint to some old conclave, a monastery that was ransacked by mindless beasts."
"Where?"
"North of Rubicuta, somewhere in the mountains. I'm afraid there's no more information about that, the trail goes dead."
"On your end? Or coming from the NPCs?"
"The NPCs have no clue where, so from their end."
"That's better than nothing, I suppose…" Raphael thought about the mountains, trying to recall if he ever found something out of the unordinarily, a dilapidated monastery. It exists, there's no doubt about it, given the information Goreinu supplied.
But he doesn't remember coming across one, but there are plenty of locations he hadn't searched yet, "Thanks for the assistance. What about Genthru? Is he still camping?"
"Not exactly sure, but he probably hasn't moved, most likely. Tsezguerra told me to leave the area because they'll take over until they say otherwise."
"And if they stay…?"
"Well, we planned for that possibility too. Everything is still going according to Tsezguerra's plan."
Raphael frowned. His friends will be getting their three weeks, but wouldn't give them enough time to recover from their fight.
If they dragged out the time indefinitely, constantly hitting them at all hours of the day and night, they could've dragged this out a lot longer.
The problem was they relied too heavily on hit-and-run tactics.
Gon and Killua, mainly the latter, needed more time to recover…
Shit, if only he could've moved faster. Maybe he could've helped Tsezguerra wear that man down.
With what time he had remaining, he needed to protect Asta and her team, as well as try to block Genthru to at least give his friends some more time to recover "Alright…"
The teen grit his teeth. He definitely needs to do something to screw over Genthru.
The only question is what…
Maybe he'll put a pin in that thought for the moment. He still needs to protect Asta and her team.
"Keep me updated if things change, I've got one more card to go, then I'll try to assist you guys with Genthru."
A/N: Leave a review, it helps inspire me.