"In that case, there are only three people on the island who actually have any free time: me, Elena, and this guy over here, who looks polished on the outside but has actually turned this castle into a total disaster and has unbelievably terrible living habits."
As he spoke, Dwun shot List a sidelong glance.
The corner of List's mouth twitched. After living together with Dwun for more than ten years, he knew his temperament all too well.
In a situation like this, Dwun was obviously trying to save face by dumping all the blame onto him.
So List expressionlessly coughed once. He'd settle accounts with Dwun later.
"And this guy normally doesn't even read manga. He's responsible for Greed Island's day-to-day operation, so in the end, only Elena and I got to see your manga, Roy-sensei."
As he spoke, Dwun's tone gradually became excited.
"I still remember it now. It was one afternoon last year. I happened to see a report about you on TV, and it made me curious about Dragon Ball. The moment I bought it and started reading, I was completely drawn in and couldn't pull myself out!"
As Dwun spoke, his hands started waving around on their own.
During those dull, tedious years, it was Roy and his manga that had kept Dwun company… and Elena too.
The appearance of Dragon Ball had been like a ray of light, saving Dwun's spirit when it had nearly sunk into complete stagnation.
After all, time was the sharpest weapon for wearing down a person's will.
Time really was merciless. Years wore people down. Especially after Roy saw the photograph tucked away in the corner, showing Dwun back in his bright, energetic days, the contrast with how he looked now really hit home.
Only after Dwun finally finished his emotional speech did Roy smile and say, "I'm truly grateful for your support."
"Oh my, Roy-sensei, what are you saying? If anyone should be thanking someone, Elena and I should be thanking you for drawing so many classic manga and helping us get through all those dull, boring days."
"Oh, right, speaking of which, Elena absolutely loves your work Sailor Moon! She's been saying forever that she wants to meet you in person!"
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot to ask what it was you came here to see us for."
List kept giving him looks from the side, and only then did Dwun finally snap to his senses and ask the question.
Roy nodded. "It's like this. I just wanted to ask about Greed Island and how this game works."
"I've already gathered a bit of information on my own, and based on my own analysis, I think Greed Island should actually be a real island in the real world."
"Yes, that's correct. It is real," Dwun nodded.
"In that case, since it's real, I'm very interested in the functions of some of the game cards here, the living creatures and NPCs on the island, and also the way this island operates."
"I see…" Dwun's expression turned slightly thoughtful, and that made List quietly let out a small sigh of relief.
Dwun might usually be unreliable, but when it really mattered, he still knew where the line was…
"I don't mean anything else by it. I mainly just want to understand the basics and maybe use them as inspiration for my manga. Who knows? Maybe I'll even draw Greed Island into one of my works."
A sharp glint flashed through Roy's eyes as he spoke.
"Draw… draw it into your manga?" Dwun swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.
For a fanatical manga fan, that was practically the ultimate temptation!!
Not good. A bad feeling instantly rose in List's heart.
"Yes. If circumstances allow, I could even use Dwun-san's name for an important character, maybe even the male lead.
"Just imagine it. A genius young game prodigy named Dwun stumbles by chance into a mysterious virtual reality game. Inside the game, he faces all kinds of powerful enemies and incredible opportunities. In the end, he overcomes countless difficulties and stages, wins the beauty's heart, and gains wealth and fame. A manga like that would definitely have a market, wouldn't it?"
"Then who would you want as the heroine?"
"Eta…"
Dwun had long since been dazzled senseless by the beautiful fantasy Roy had painted for him, and the answer slipped out before he could stop himself.
Beside him, List's forehead darkened with black lines.
"This guy only stayed on Greed Island in the first place because he was chasing after Eta. He's been after her for more than ten years. Eta already rejected him clearly a long time ago, but who would've thought he still hasn't given up even now."
"Eta?" Roy froze for a moment, then looked at Dwun and List's expressions, and a strange look appeared on his face.
Looks like there were stories among this group after all.
But Roy wisely chose not to ask further and instead continued the previous topic.
"So then, Dwun-san, are you willing to tell me more about Greed Island?"
"Of course, no problem! You couldn't have asked a better person!" Dwun thumped his chest loudly.
At the side, List covered his face with one hand and shook his head with a helpless, aggrieved expression.
Forget it. Let him do whatever he wants. In the end, it wasn't really anything that couldn't be told. Greed Island could be considered a secret in some ways, but at the end of the day, it was still just a game.
…
Judging from how difficult the game was to obtain, its difficulty rating was G.
As long as you had money, you could get your hands on it.
"The original concept for Greed Island was proposed by Ging. You could say he was the first core creator of the game," Dwun began explaining things to Roy.
"There were ten people involved in making this game altogether, and each one was responsible for a different part of the work. For example, me—I designed the bounty quests in the game, as well as the storylines for the specified slot cards!" Dwun said proudly.
"As for this guy List, he's mainly responsible for Greed Island's normal operation and dealing with any bugs that might appear in the game. Right now, you could say he's the public-facing manager of Greed Island."
Dwun pointed at List, and List gave a polite bow with a wry smile.
"When you entered the game, the young woman in the starting hut who explained the game to you—you noticed it too, didn't you? Haha, her name is Eta, and she's also one of the ten creators. After clearing the game, there's another creator waiting there as well. She's Eta's twin younger sister, the vice president of the Greed Island fan club, Elena."
"Other than the four of us, there's one more person on the island named Eji. He's responsible for the island's security and defense, for sending back to the mainland any castaways who didn't come through the game console and just happened to drift onto the island, and he also handles the scenario quests for three specified slot cards."
(End of Chapter)
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