"Relax, Razor. This guy is no different from a massive whale who paid to win," List chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "If he doesn't have any opponents, he'll just get bored and leave."
"It's easy for you to say! I'm the one who has to face him in the final stage!" Razor snapped, his face dark. "If I actually can't beat him, you guys better come save me!"
As a Game Master, Razor had naturally watched the playback of the annihilated Soufrabi Plains.
While Greed Island was technically a "game," the island itself physically existed in the real world. If Ryker could unleash that level of apocalyptic destruction inside the game zone without using a single Spell Card, he could do the exact same thing to the actual, physical island.
Compared to the other Game Masters who safely coded behind desks, Razor was the island's firewall. He had the most dangerous job.
"Don't worry! You just have to put on a good show!" List emphasized. "Under no circumstances can Ryker figure out that we are deliberately letting him clear the game and handing him the reward! We have to give Mr. Ryker the ultimate, most satisfying gaming experience possible!"
Razor's mouth twitched violently.
What List was essentially saying was: Throw the match, but make it look so convincing that neither the audience nor the opponent realizes you're throwing it.
He was being asked to act like a professional punching bag so Ryker could feel a sense of achievement.
Are you f**ing kidding me?!* Razor screamed internally. Did you guys not see the nuclear crater he just made?!Did you guys not see the nuclear crater he just made?!
Razor considered himself a top-tier powerhouse. In the original timeline, he was confident enough to confront and expel the entire Phantom Troupe by himself. But now? He was being asked to step into a cage with a monster whose aura capacity likely exceeded the structural limits of the entire game server. It was like putting a lion in a cage made of toothpicks—whether the lion broke out was entirely dependent on its mood.
"Razor... please," Elena pleaded. "Whether Ging's game survives this depends entirely on you."
"Yeah, Razor, we're all counting on you!" Dwun added.
"Don't worry, bro, we've got your back!" List gave a thumbs-up.
Razor sighed heavily. Among all the Game Masters, he was the only one with actual top-tier combat experience. If he didn't do it, they would be exposed instantly.
He never thought his career as an elite Hunter and Game Master would end with him being forced to play the role of a fake boss for an overpowered VIP player.
When you're standing under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head, Razor thought bitterly.
Soufrabi. The Final Destination of Greed Island.
Because Ryker had activated the golden card, the coordinates for the final trial had been broadcasted globally.
Players who were already in Soufrabi rejoiced, while hundreds of others scrambled desperately across the island, burning all their movement Spell Cards to reach the coastal town.
The promise of the 50 billion Jenny bounty—and the rumor that clearing the game allowed players to take real, magical cards back into the real world—drove everyone into a frenzy.
"So Soufrabi was the final destination all along! But we still need to find the trigger for the final quest."
"We should thank that Ryker guy! If he hadn't triggered the global announcement, we never would have known!"
"Quick, before he gets here, we need to find the critical information and clear the game first!"
"Agreed!"
The normally quiet, sleepy coastal town was suddenly flooded with hundreds of high-level Nen users.
"Wow! There are so many people here! It's so lively!" Gon cheered as their group stepped off the golden road and into the town square.
"Activating that card exposed the final location. We're going to have a lot of competition," Killua noted, though his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"The problem now is finding the critical intelligence to trigger the final event," Biscuit said, her veteran eyes scanning the crowds. "The system announcement said this was the final stage, but it didn't give us the specific objective."
"Should we start knocking on doors?" Killua suggested. "In some RPGs, you have to talk to specific NPCs multiple times before they give you the quest. It might take weeks to figure out. We need to be prepared for a grind."
Killua was right. It felt exactly like a classic MMORPG questline.
"Are you players also here searching for the [Patch of Forest]?" a hunched, weary-looking NPC old man suddenly approached them. "I advise you to leave. No matter how many lives you have, it won't be enough."
"Old man! Do you know where the final trial is?!" Gon asked excitedly.
Ryker raised an eyebrow. The final stage was designed like an old-school puzzle-combat hybrid.
"I don't know the exact details," the old NPC wheezed. "But if you want intelligence, you should speak to Miza, the owner of the fish market. She might know something. But I warn you... many players have tried to find that card, and they all died."
"Thank you, sir! We'll be careful!" Gon bowed. "Brother Ryker, I have the map! The fish market is this way!"
The group quickly navigated through the crowded streets until they reached the fish market.
A large crowd of angry players had already gathered around a small stall.
"Damn it! Just tell us where the [Patch of Forest] is, or I'll smash your stall to pieces!" a frustrated player screamed at the female NPC running the shop.
They had identified Miza as the key NPC, but her lips were sealed tight. No matter how much fish they bought or how much they threatened her, she only responded with generic NPC dialogue: "Thank you for your patronage!"
"Stop it, you idiot," another player hissed, grabbing the angry man's arm. "If you attack an NPC in a safe zone, you violate the game rules. You could get forcefully ejected or banned! We're this close to the 50 billion Jenny, don't blow it!"
"Ms. Miza," a calm, powerful-looking player stepped forward. "If you keep dragging this out, more and more players are going to arrive. Is your goal to force us to compete against each other? Well, the town is full now. Tell us the requirements."
Miza placed a hand on her cheek, her eyes scanning the massive crowd of players.
The player was right. The town was at maximum capacity. The 'competition' could officially begin.
A flash of cunning crossed Miza's eyes before she suddenly put on a deeply sorrowful expression.
"Since you all insist... I will tell you," Miza sighed dramatically. "Rumor has it that somewhere in this ocean, there is a submarine cave called the Sea God's Sanctuary. The entrance to that cave is the [Patch of Forest]. A few years ago, a group of fifteen pirates heard the legend and came to this town."
The crowd fell dead silent, hanging onto her every word.
"The pirate captain, Razor, and his fourteen devils... they tortured every fisherman who knew the location of the [Patch of Forest] to death. My father and brother were among them," Miza sniffled. "If you can drive those pirates away, I will tell you where it is. Before my brother died, he whispered the location to me..."
Miza suddenly stopped speaking, looking away tearfully.
The players practically ripped their hair out in frustration.
"Damn it! Keep talking! Where are they?!"
"Tell us the coordinates! We'll go kill those fourteen devils right now!"
"Yeah! There's hundreds of us! We can easily wipe out fifteen pirates!"
"I'm sorry," Miza interrupted, turning back to the crowd. "I swore I would never reveal the location to anyone... unless they can beat me in a fish-filleting contest. And you cannot use Nen."
"..."
The collective mental whiplash nearly snapped the players' necks.
"I'll do it! Screw it! It's just cutting fish!" a massive, muscular player roared, stepping up to the cutting board.
"The rules are simple," Miza explained calmly. "You must perfectly fillet the meat and extract the entire spine of the fish intact. Whoever completes the task the fastest, wins."
The muscular player scoffed. He was a master martial artist, but his knife skills were atrocious.
While Miza elegantly and flawlessly filleted a massive tuna in under a minute, the muscular player hacked his fish into an unrecognizable, mangled pile of gore.
"Challenge failed," Miza announced. "The penalty for failure is a 24-hour ban from re-challenging."
To the absolute shock of the crowd, a glowing red "BANNED" symbol appeared floating above the muscular player's head.
The players who had been eager to rush the cutting board instantly froze.
If they failed, they were locked out for a full day. By the time their ban lifted, someone else would have already cleared the game and claimed the 50 billion Jenny!
It wasn't just the fish market. All across Soufrabi, bizarre, mundane challenges had suddenly appeared. The Game Masters had designed these bottlenecks to filter the massive influx of players, ensuring only a select few made it to the final event.
"A fish-cutting contest?! Brother Ryker, you're the best cook ever! You can totally win this!" Gon cheered, dragging Ryker to the front of the crowd.
"Oh? Are you sure?" Miza looked at Ryker, repeating her NPC dialogue. "If you fail, you will be banned for 24 hours. Are you prepared to take the risk?"
"Let's begin," Ryker sighed, pulling a professional chef's knife from his spatial storage.
Miza blinked, visibly startled by the sudden appearance of the high-end culinary tool.
The contest began, and the result was an absolute massacre. Ryker's knife skills were so flawless he practically atomized the fish, leaving behind a perfectly intact skeleton and immaculate sashimi in seconds. Miza was utterly crushed.
"You win," Miza said, her tone slightly defeated. "The portal is in the back room of my shop. Only those who pass the test may enter. Anyone who attempts to force their way in will be instantly banned from the game."
"Wow! Brother Ryker is amazing! Let's go!" Gon cheered.
Biscuit frowned slightly, sensing something artificial about the rapid pacing of the quest, but kept her thoughts to herself.
Ryker gave Miza a knowing smirk before stepping through the curtain.
The other players watched with burning jealousy. Desperate not to be left behind, they immediately began frantically practicing their knife skills on empty tables.
Meanwhile, inside the Game Master Group Chat.
"Phew... I was so nervous! I almost broke character! Mr. Ryker's eyes are terrifying! I think he knows!" Eta, who was currently operating the 'Miza' NPC avatar, gasped, clutching her chest.
Because NPCs were just programmed avatars, the Game Masters could directly possess them to interact with players.
"You did great, Eta!" List praised her over the comms. "Listen up, everyone! We need to lower the difficulty thresholds for the other players! Let a good chunk of elite players pass through to the final stage!"
"Why?!" Dwun asked.
"To maximize Mr. Ryker's gaming experience!" List explained passionately. "If it's just his group in the finale, it's boring! But if we let a bunch of 'competitors' into the final arena, he gets to flex his superiority over them! It's classic game design!"
Razor, listening to the chat, felt his blood pressure spike.
I'm supposed to be the final boss, but you're treating me like a paid actor...
Life was truly unpredictable.
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