"Lord Razor... I don't believe he holds any real malice," Eta interjected quickly, her voice trembling slightly over the admin channel. "If he truly wanted to hurt me, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now."
Eta's words instantly silenced the panicked chatter among the Game Masters.
She was right. If the player who had just shattered Ging's absolute defense barrier truly possessed killing intent, Eta would be a headless corpse right now.
"List, what's your analysis? How did this happen?" Razor's avatar blinked on the screen, his tone grave.
"...It's incredibly difficult to accept, but there is a 90% probability that this player's current total aura output simply exceeds Ging's," replied a young, boyish voice.
This was List, one of the core programmers and Game Masters of Greed Island.
His conclusion sent a shockwave of profound silence through the chat.
To these people, Ging Freecss was a living legend. Besides Chairman Netero, they believed Ging was the absolute pinnacle of human strength. When Ging finalized the game's code, he confidently stated that unless Netero himself came to smash the consoles, the game's rules would remain perfectly stable for at least thirty years.
To hear that a random player named Ryker possessed a Nen density greater than their founder was mind-bending.
It was essentially a server overload. The game's rules (the server) couldn't contain Ryker's stats (the data packet), leading to a physical breach.
"There's always a 10% chance of an alternative bug, but pure stat overwhelming is the most logical conclusion," List added calmly.
"So... what do we do? Do we send Razor and the other combat NPCs to execute him?" Elena, Eta's twin sister, asked anxiously.
Razor was the ultimate enforcer of Greed Island. His combat power was second only to Ging's, and he possessed an exclusive Admin Spell Card capable of forcefully evicting any player from the island. He was the server's anti-virus software.
"No. As Eta pointed out, he hasn't caused any real damage. Furthermore..." List paused. "Given his aura density, our automated penalty system shouldn't have been able to teleport him to the confinement zone. Yet, he willingly chose to submit to the punishment. He allowed himself to be jailed."
"If he's willingly following the rules, we have no justification to attack or evict him. And honestly... if we declare war on him, our chances of winning are extremely low."
Another voice chimed in. "I agree with List. If he's playing by the rules, we should treat him like any other player. As long as he doesn't break anything else, we tolerate his presence."
This was Dwun, the other core developer of the game. He and List managed the backend code and maintenance, while the twins handled logistics and Razor handled security.
"Are you saying we just let a walking nuke roam the island?" Razor sounded disappointed. He had been looking forward to a good fight.
"For now, yes. There's no need to provoke an unstable anomaly. Eta, do you need any medical supplies for your forehead?" Dwun asked.
"W-Waaaah... no, I'll be fine. I just need to rest. I really think he's a good person!" Eta sniffled.
"Fine. We'll leave him be. But List, keep a close eye on him," Razor commanded.
"Understood. Dwun and I will monitor his progress closely."
The Game World. The Confinement Zone (Penalty Box).
"Let me out!"
"Damn you, admins! When I get out of here, I'm going to kill all of you!"
"Waaah! I'm sorry! Please, I've been in here for five days! I won't steal from NPCs again!"
"Someone save me!"
The Confinement Zone was a massive, infinite white void filled with floating, transparent jail cells. There was no scenery, no interaction, and no escape. Each player had a holographic countdown timer hovering in their vision.
Minor infractions (like Ryker's) resulted in a 24-hour ban. Major infractions (like serial PK-ing in safe zones) could result in months of isolation.
The system actively prevented prisoners from communicating with each other. However, with Ryker's newly acquired [Global Map Surveillance] admin trait, he could have easily bypassed the communication block. He just didn't care enough to talk to the crying mercenaries.
Instead, he sat cross-legged in his cell, casually flipping through his newly acquired Binder.
To play Greed Island, players used two base spells: 'Book' and 'Gain'.
The goal of the game was to collect 100 Specified Slot Cards and place them in the numbered slots (000-099) of the Binder. There were also 45 Free Slots for storing utility or duplicate cards. Any item found in the world could be turned into a card.
Using 'Gain' turned a card back into a physical item, but doing so permanently destroyed its ability to become a card again. This mechanic meant players constantly needed to hunt for duplicates.
Furthermore, every card had a strict global transformation limit. For example, if a card had a limit of 3, and three players already had it in their Binders, the item would never drop as a card again until one of those players died or used it. This forced late-game players to inevitably hunt and kill each other to complete their Binders.
If a player died, their Binder, Ring, and all their collected cards vanished entirely.
Because Ryker had plundered Eta's [Photographic Memory], he already knew every single rule, card effect, and limit in the game. He didn't need to read the tutorial.
It's a very well-designed game, Ryker mused, tapping the cover of his Binder. It's just a shame I'm stuck in timeout for the next day. My head hurts.
Meanwhile. The Starting Prairie.
Gon and Killua materialized in a vast, lush green field. The breeze was warm, and the scent of fresh grass filled the air.
"Killua! You made it!" Gon cheered, running over to his friend.
The two boys waited near the spiral staircase of the login tower, expecting Ryker to appear at any moment.
"Why isn't Brother Ryker here yet? Eta sent him right after me," Killua said, looking around confused.
"Maybe the spawn points are randomized?" Gon suggested.
"Yeah, but Mr. Tsezguerra said people logging in at the same time usually spawn near each other. Plus, with Brother Ryker's speed, he should have caught up to us by now," Killua frowned.
The realism of the world was staggering. The sunlight, the wind, the dirt beneath their shoes—it didn't feel like a virtual reality MMO. It felt like a completely real, secondary world.
"Let's just wait here," Gon decided, sitting down on the grass.
BEEP! BEEP!
Suddenly, both boys heard a chime from their system interfaces.
"Huh? What's this?" Gon blinked, opening his system menu.
"It's a message from Brother Ryker!" Killua gasped.
"I ran into a minor issue at the login desk. I'm going to be delayed for about 24 hours. You two go ahead and explore the safe zones, but don't wander too far. I'll catch up."
Inside his cell, Ryker used his stolen Admin privileges to perfectly bypass the prison's communication block. His [Global Map Surveillance] showed him exactly where Gon and Killua had spawned.
Since his actions had massively disrupted the Yorknew arc, he wasn't sure if the canon events of Greed Island would play out the same way. He wanted to make sure the boys didn't accidentally walk into a high-level PK zone without him.
"Ah? A 24-hour delay? Did he get into a fight with the Game Master?" Killua sweatdropped, fully aware of Ryker's personality.
"Well, if he says he's fine, we should trust him! We'll practice our Nen while we wait!" Gon smiled brightly.
The Confinement Zone.
A bizarre, pitch-black door suddenly materialized in the infinite white void, hovering directly in front of Ryker's cell.
The other prisoners went wild.
"A door! It's a Game Master!"
"Let me out! I swear I'll be good!"
"Please! I can't take this white room anymore!"
A young boy with short blonde hair, wearing a sharp suit and tie, stepped out of the black door. With every step he took, a glowing golden staircase materialized beneath his feet.
He completely ignored the screaming prisoners and walked directly up to Ryker's cell.
Ryker lazily opened one eye, looking at the boy.
"Hello. My name is List," the boy said politely, introducing himself.
"Oh?"
Ryker's eyes instantly lit up.
List felt a sudden, terrifying chill run down his spine.
He finally understood why Eta had cried. The way this player was looking at him... it wasn't the look of a gamer looking at an admin. It was the look of a starving predator looking at a perfectly roasted steak.
List instantly regretted volunteering to come here. If Ryker could break the starting room's barrier, he could definitely shatter a prison cell.
"Relax. I've already used my daily quota. I'm not going to attack you today," Ryker smiled warmly.
"Your... daily quota?" List blinked in confusion.
He didn't understand the reference (Ryker was talking about his [Continuous Lucky Star]cooldown), but he noticed the predatory gleam in Ryker's eyes fade back into a calm, relaxed state.
List possessed a [Game Master] trait and a top-tier [Master Programmer] trait. They were incredibly juicy targets, but Ryker decided to hold off.
There was no need to completely declare war on the admin team just yet. Greed Island was an incredibly fun, high-value farming zone. If he killed all the devs, the server might crash permanently. He wanted to enjoy the game first.
"So, what brings a Game Master to my humble cell?" Ryker asked, leaning back against the invisible wall.
List took a deep breath, trying to project an aura of calm professionalism despite his twitching cheek.
"Ryker. The youngest Two-Star Hunter in the history of the Association. Rumored disciple of Isaac Netero. Floor Master of the Heavens Arena. And the man who currently has a 100 Billion Jenny bounty on the Dark Web for massacring the Mafia..."
List rattled off the terrifying resume he had pulled from the Hunter Association's database. When the admins saw this file, their collective jaws had hit the floor.
"Oh? Since you've already done my background check, I suppose we can skip the introductions," Ryker chuckled.
"Mr. Ryker," List said, his tone turning serious. "During your login, you assaulted Game Master Eta. However, she has forgiven you, and the founding team holds no ill will toward you. We came here today to release you early."
List extended a hand through the cell bars, a polite but strained smile on his face.
"Furthermore... on behalf of the Greed Island Founding Team, I would like to formally invite you to join us. If you accept, we are willing to grant you partial Administrative Privileges."
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