Chapter 98: Dracula's Popularity Is Indeed a Little Higher
In that moment, Ross came to a realization. His true identity in this world might be some kind of world-altering calamity.
Yu Yu Hakusho being forcibly patched into the Hunter x Hunter world, he understood now, had just been the beginning.
As long as he kept collecting cartridges. As long as he kept clearing games. As long as he kept earning the highest Creator Authority over Secret Realm stages. As long as he wanted to keep using protagonist templates permanently. The Hunter world would inevitably have patch after patch applied to it, without end.
Protagonists, BOSSes, and parts of entire worldviews would all become part of the Hunter world. It didn't require much thought to understand that this would create unimaginable chain reactions and effects rippling outward across everything.
YYH and HxH shared certain spiritual similarities, so their combination could at least find some common ground. But if more games kept getting integrated, the future would start looking genuinely like a full-scale crossover chaos world.
If only the game protagonists crossed over, it would still be manageable. Most of them were on the side of justice and wouldn't have an enormous impact on the broader world.
But the villain BOSSes were a different matter entirely. As a group they generally possessed stronger willpower than the heroes, wealth rivaling nations, an absolute refusal to accept defeat, and a full suite of other admirable qualities, all deployed in the service of being purely, uncomplicatedly evil. The moment entities like that started appearing in this world, that was when things would get genuinely entertaining.
So the question.
Would Ross stop, out of concern for the world spiraling into some uncontrollable future?
The corners of his mouth answered for him.
Nen users were a wilful breed. Even when their choices caused collateral damage to those around them, they simply did not care.
Ross was not stopping. As long as there was a single uncollected game cartridge somewhere in this world, he was not stopping.
In the domain of electronic games, his desire would always burn hotter than Hisoka's, and it would never be satisfied.
Which brought the question back around. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse or Ghouls 'n Ghosts?
Ross thought it over.
Looking at it from the protagonist ability angle: Castlevania III's initial selectable character was only Trevor C. Belmont, but you could later rescue Grant DaNasty the Pirate, Sypha Belnades the Magician, and Alucard the Vampire, covering three distinct ability systems: wall-climbing, spellcasting, and bat transformation.
Ghouls 'n Ghosts' Arthur had stronger baseline performance than the Famicom version. Not only could he equip more special armor and throw a wider variety of special weapons, he could also release exclusive charged knight magic.
Looking at it from the BOSS release angle: Castlevania III's BOSS was, naturally, Count Dracula once again. The old landlord who died and came back and came back and died, forever entangled with the Belmont family. From a storyline perspective, though, Castlevania III was actually the origin point of everything, the first time Dracula had truly appeared and been defeated in the Castlevania timeline.
Ghouls 'n Ghosts would most likely add a large independent faction to the Makai side, under a well-armed faction leader: the Demon King Lucifer.
Ross didn't deliberate long. He chose Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
If he had to name a reason: old Dracula from Castlevania was simply more charismatic and more challenging. And Arthur from Ghouls 'n Ghosts, honestly, was a bit underwhelming on the ability front.
As for Lucifer... who? Never heard of him. No presence whatsoever.
If Ross had to choose one figure to drop into Makai and cause problems, it would always be old Dracula.
With the choice made, the Navigation Arrow began printing directly into Ross's palm. Before long, a cartridge whose cover art looked slightly rough even by the standards of its era had finished materializing.
[You have successfully acquired a complete game cartridge: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, NES version.]
[Your game cartridge collection +1, your spare cartridge slot +1, current collection status: 4/4.]
[Because you have already obtained Creator Authority for Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, you may immediately and permanently map the corresponding game protagonist without running the cartridge, receiving permanent ability buffs.]
[Your current permanently mappable game protagonist: Trevor C. Belmont.
You have permanently obtained the following abilities:
Manipulation Affinity (Grade A), Chain Whip Mastery (Grade C), Sub-weapon Throw (Grade C).]
[You can unlock subsequent selectable characters by completing the Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Secret Realm stages. You can change the current permanent mapping target by switching selectable characters.]
[Detected: you have made your final choice.]
[Trevor C. Belmont and Dracula Vlad Tepes will both formally arrive in the current world through appropriate means.]
At the same time, somewhere in the wilds of the Hunter world.
A man sat by a riverside blowing smoke rings. He could feel his disciple's eyes on the back of his head, and after a moment spoke in an unhurried voice.
"No one can create a chain that absolutely cannot be broken. That is a fundamental rule of this world, just as you can never create a blade that cuts through everything. But I do know someone who is extraordinarily skilled with chains. If it were him, he could probably help you develop yours further."
"Really, Master!? Who is it? When can we meet? Tell me right now!"
Kurapika, who had looked pale and tired until a moment ago, was suddenly electric with energy.
"Do you have to be so transactional about everything? You only call me Master when you want something!"
Izunavi's face tightened with visible frustration. This disciple of his, weighed down by hatred and under steadily worsening psychological pressure, was a source of genuine helpless anger.
Through internal Hunter Association channels, he was fully aware of Kurapika's background as a surviving member of the Kurta Clan, and of the Phantom Troupe wiping out his entire people. Even in a world that operated on raw survival of the fittest, that origin earned the word tragic without any exaggeration.
And two months of teaching had given Izunavi a thorough understanding of what lay beneath that seemingly fragile pale face: obsession and stubbornness that ran deeper than anything he had expected.
Nen was, in essence, the most direct channel through which a person's fundamental nature could be amplified. There was nothing that compared.
And to put it plainly: Kurapika's entire existence had been bound by revenge. As long as he himself couldn't loosen that knot, the weight of that obsession would grow heavier with every improvement in his Nen, until he either completed his revenge or was completely crushed by the pressure before he could.
As a teacher, Izunavi couldn't simply watch Kurapika push himself in this near-self-destructive way and do nothing. So the words "vow and restriction" that had risen to his lips were swallowed back down.
He was afraid. No, he was certain: the moment Kurapika learned about vows and restrictions, he would set conditions on himself that amounted to self-harm.
But conventional methods for getting someone to catch up to the long-established Phantom Troupe in such a short training window were genuinely wishful thinking. After considerable deliberation, he had decided to bring in an outside specialist, someone extraordinarily skilled with chains, to see if they could offer Kurapika technical guidance and reduce the degree of his internal damage.
"Master!"
Kurapika pressed again.
"Fine, fine. I really do owe you."
Izunavi stubbed out the cigarette and said the name.
"Trevor. Trevor Belmont. The vampire hunter who strikes terror into the hearts of demons."
***
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