Chapter 105: Biscuit's Concern
"Only three abilities were deleted… As expected, five was too much. As a 'player,' I didn't even dare to buy gear to erase them all…"
"But luckily, the summoner spells remain. The three abilities are Senna's passive Absolution, Thresh's active Infernal Curse, and Ekko's Temporal Rupture… That's enough!"
As Haze stood still, he immediately felt a drastic shift in his aura his telekinesis had changed.
It rippled outward…
A thick, dark green mist suddenly rose around him, within which countless ghostly silhouettes floated, howling in agony. This was the manifestation of Infernal Curse.
The ability itself caused no direct damage it merely allowed Haze to make the soul of a slain target linger, so that he could collect and absorb it.
Another skill, Temporal Rupture, returned a person to their previous state and position seconds earlier, causing a distant temporal explosion that inflicted damage equal to the force of his telekinesis.
As for his Nen abilities the materialized "face button" served as the key link between him and the game world. Haze needed to use The Game Treasure of the Eternal Dreamer to transform into the three Nen abilities he now possessed. The button itself had no power; its only role was to replace his player data, pulling him out of the game and returning him to the real world.
A trade of three for one!
A simple materialization technique could never achieve that.
However, Haze had exploited his understanding of Nen's developmental rules to create abilities similar to those of a Specialist.
The most terrifying part was that he had found a loophole that allowed two of his new abilities to infinitely increase his stats and power.
A truly perverse situation.
Days later, when Haze left the Island of Heroes and met Biscuit, he revealed his new Nen abilities. The beautiful blonde was stunned completely speechless.
It wasn't development it was acquisition.
In her entire life, Biscuit Krueger had never seen such an extraordinary way of thinking. He had conceived concepts so outlandish that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream them and he had made them real!
Back in Heavens Arena, when she had first witnessed Haze's Nen ability, Biscuit felt as if she'd learned something as though that boy had taught her a lesson.
Now, that same feeling returned…
But this time, the impact was even greater.
She had an overwhelming urge to crack open Haze's skull just to see what was inside!
"I see. Your previous abilities, with all their effects and consequences, were your responsibility. But now, that's no longer the case. Your so-called 'training mode' is a separate server within the program. Since it's a special mode that allows greater freedom, it doesn't need to strictly follow the game's rules and won't affect other servers or the game as a whole…"
Inside the room, Biscuit frowned deeply, feeling a headache coming on.
"That's right," Haze nodded.
"Before, you were just a server an isolated entity. Even if you exploited bugs, you had to fix them yourself and bear the consequences. Now, you don't. Thanks to player agreements, the game world stabilizes automatically. Even if data corruption occurs, it recovers on its own. You use your manifested Nen to overwrite your 'player' data, return to the real world… and gain three new abilities."
"Normally," he continued, "game elements can't leave their environment or exist in the real world…"
"So this is a separation," Biscuit murmured. "Even though these hero abilities exist within the game, the heroes they were grafted onto can't be used by players."
"Oh my god…" Biscuit covered her mouth, collapsing into a chair. She could vaguely comprehend what had happened but Haze had achieved something far beyond her understanding.
The level of complexity involved… not even the Chairman could imagine it.
"But those summoner spells you mentioned they're abilities too, aren't they? And once you exit the game, there must be side effects. The basic rules of Nen won't change," Biscuit reminded him.
"Exactly," Haze replied. "To simplify the extraction process, I only chose the original summoner spells and runes I didn't even equip any items. Of the five skills, only three remain, and the talent runes weren't extracted correctly. The new restrictions mean that summoner abilities can't be modified anymore; they're fixed."
"No!" Biscuit shouted, shaking her head, her pigtails whipping around. Her face turned serious.
"If I understand correctly, you can no longer return to the Island of Heroes as a player and enter the game. And once extracted, the game's rules no longer apply meaning you can't use its power the same way. The effects of your abilities will differ from their in-game versions."
"Also, the training mode must remain active it can't be deactivated."
"One last thing: the Island of Heroes cannot be attacked or destroyed. Even if it's dismantled or replaced, your new abilities will still be tied to that game body."
"Oh, really?" Haze raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Perfect!"
"What do you mean, perfect!? Do you take me for some clueless old hag who doesn't understand games or can't think straight!?"
Although his words were a compliment, something about Haze's expression irritated Biscuit deeply.
Hands on her hips, she shouted angrily, then crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.
"I've lived twice as long as you, brat!"
"No, no you're older, so it's natural you figured it out. I really admire that," Haze said with a teasing grin.
Biscuit was right.
Originally, Absolution increased attack range by collecting the dark mist from slain enemies every 20 souls made a noticeable difference, as did the critical rate.
But now… the stacks were gone.
He might need to defeat far more enemies to reach the same effect perhaps 100, maybe 200. He'd need to test it himself.
The stats from Infernal Curse remained unchanged: each kill granted +1 armor and +1 ability power.
But he wasn't sure what a single point of armor or magic power meant now, given his current strength.
To protect the Island of Heroes from destruction and external attacks, one of his summoner spells was Teleport.
The other Flash.
Luckily, he had retained his summoner abilities.
"In just over a year, you created a game from scratch… and now, alongside your new Nen abilities, your power has grown significantly," Biscuit muttered, eyeing Haze suspiciously.
"Want to test it? It's the perfect time to try out my three new abilities," Haze said with a smile.
"Idiot! My time's valuable, darling. Why would I waste it on you?" Biscuit scoffed. "Did you summon me just to show off?"
"No," Haze replied, turning and pulling a treasure chest from his inventory.
Biscuit's eyes lit up. She bounced with excitement and opened it.
Inside were three shimmering crystals, each glowing with a different hue and texture.
"Wow!" she gasped, pressing her cheek against them, overjoyed.
Haze had promised her a gem.
It was Biscuit, after all, who had brought Morel to rescue him during the Bozwa mission out of concern for his safety.
Haze was grateful.
Meeting Biscuit and Wing had been entirely unexpected.
He never imagined he'd bond with such a character. Despite her grumpy and quarrelsome demeanor, the "old woman" was, deep down, truly kind.
"Well, since you still have some sense left, I'll accept it," Biscuit said, her tone softening as she carefully closed the box.
Then she turned and hurried away.
"Leaving already?" Haze called out.
"I'm going to check out that game of yours!" she shouted back without turning around.
And with that, she left the room.
…
When she reached her hotel, the joy on Biscuit's face slowly faded.
She didn't know exactly what the three new abilities Haze had obtained were, but judging from his demeanor, they had to be extremely dangerous and perfectly aligned with his thirst for power.
"His aura is completely different now…" she muttered.
"His blood flows stronger, his muscles and bones perfectly unified. I suppose over the past year he's not only been building that game… but training as well."
"Even I can feel a trace of fear. His advantage is growing… Chairman, how much longer can you keep him in check?"
Biscuit's mind swirled with unease.
To build an entire game world from reality in such a short time few could achieve that.
And Haze's limitations weren't just what he'd said aloud. They should've been far greater, but he had mitigated them by exploiting the "player agreement," along with the server, NPCs, and the game system itself.
This wasn't simple Nen development it was indirect acquisition through intricate means.
It required imagination, execution, data manipulation, and deep psychological insight.
The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she became.
It wouldn't surprise her if someone like him would do anything to achieve his goals someday.
What worried Biscuit even more was that there were others like him within the Hunter Association.
"I should probably warn the Chairman…" she thought, taking out her phone.
She dialed Netero's number.
Three months after the old man had begun personally training Haze, he seemed to lose interest in him becoming an entirely different person.
She had no idea what had happened between them.
The old man wouldn't tell her.
It was all shrouded in mystery…
But she could sense it.
There was something more that night.
(End of Chapter)