Genthru was not a rookie. When his two trusted companions suddenly turned and launched a synchronized, lethal attack against him, he knew instantly that something was horribly wrong. Someone's Nen ability had to be pulling the strings. Relying on pure combat instinct, he narrowly dodged their sneak attack. Without hesitating, he channeled his aura to his palms and used his explosive Nen ability, Little Flower, to violently blast both of his friends away with a ruthless backhand.
Before the smoke could even clear or he could process the betrayal, a calm voice drifted from the side.
"Why is your hand broken?" The voice paused briefly. "Is it possible you also tried to challenge Razor?"
Genthru's expression twisted into an ugly scowl. He whipped his head around, taking in his surroundings. Liam, Shizuku, and Bisky, who had been standing hundreds of yards away just a moment ago, had closed the distance in complete silence. They had split up, surrounding him from three different directions. He glanced back over his shoulder toward his only viable escape route, only to find the massive white tiger, Lumos, sitting squarely in the path, casually licking its massive paws.
Bisky ignored the tense standoff, her sharp eyes locked onto the two Bombers Liam had taken control of. One of them was nursing a badly broken arm. She could tell by the angle of the bone that it was a very recent injury, likely from Razor's dodgeball game. But as she watched, the mangled flesh and shattered bone began to slowly knit itself back together under the influence of Liam's Nen ability.
That is completely outrageous, Bisky thought.
The automatic self-healing property attached to Liam's Star Mark was actually capable of regrowing and repairing a destroyed limb. She finally fully understood why Liam had gone out of his way to develop a healing Nen ability focused in the Enhancement category.
The trio of infamous Bombers had tried to be the hunters, only to realize they were the prey all along. They could only curse their terrible luck. Genthru let out a long breath, raising his hands in a gesture of absolute surrender. He readily admitted that the three of them had indeed triggered the hidden mission a few days prior and challenged Razor. The result, looking at their battered state, was obvious. They had failed miserably.
"Razor is just too strong. We were absolutely no match for him," Genthru said, shaking his head bitterly. "I genuinely suspect that the developers never actually wanted any player to clear that level."
Liam nodded slowly, piecing the timeline together. The three Bombers must have stumbled across the Star Mark-controlled players Liam had left waiting around Soufrabi. From them, they managed to pry out the clues regarding the hidden mission. Thinking they had struck gold, they gathered their group, challenged Razor, got completely battered by his terrifying volleyballs, and retreated in despair.
Instead of leaving the area, they decided to lay in wait for Liam's group to make their attempt. When they received the shocking notification that Liam had actually succeeded, defeated the monster, and obtained Plot of Beach, Genthru thought he could use his veteran status to force a favorable deal. But he had completely miscalculated. The moment he tried to open negotiations, the other party had immediately stepped right on his face without an ounce of mercy.
Genthru really had no choice but to fold. How could he possibly know that Liam possessed a god-like perspective of the game's plot and was already intimately familiar with every dirty detail about the Bombers?
"Hand over all your cards," Liam said casually, extending an open palm.
Card Number 081, Blue Planet. Rarity: SS-5. Unique gem. The materials that make up this gem are composed of rare elements found only in the deepest parts of the universe.
The small game card featured a vibrant, charming illustration of a brilliant blue gem. It immediately caught Bisky's undivided attention.
Liam, Shizuku, and Bisky were currently sitting casually on the edge of a paved street just outside the bustling center of Soufrabi. After stripping the three Bombers clean of every single card and item they owned from head to toe, Liam realized he genuinely did not feel any deep, instinctual urge to kill them. To avoid triggering the deadly backlash of his rigid Nen vow, he simply kicked Genthru and his lackeys away, telling them to get lost. Then, the trio walked back into town.
As sheer luck would have it, the one specific item Bisky desperately wanted, the Blue Planet, had been sitting right inside Genthru's card binder.
Liam sat on the curb, staring down at the brief text printed on the card. Rare elements in the universe. He could not help but fall into deep thought. Since the Hunter world clearly possessed a concrete concept of the broader universe, and Nen users possessed the miraculous ability to turn their inner desires into physical reality, had any powerful Nen user ever actually broken free from the earth's atmosphere and flown into the dark depths of outer space to explore?
Around them, the local townsfolk went about their daily business, walking up and down the sunny street. Liam leaned back, looking up at the endless blue sky overhead, feeling a rare, profound sense of tranquility wash over him.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Bisky asked, breaking the comfortable silence. She leaned closer, her eyes glued to the card in his hand. "Have you thought of a way to actually get the physical gem out of this?"
Right now, the Blue Planet was nothing more than a designated game card bounded by the strict rules of Greed Island. It was not the tangible, rare gemstone that her true, older self desired to hold and admire.
"Gain," Liam said clearly.
With a soft pop, the card in his hand vanished into a small puff of white smoke. As the smoke cleared, a heavy, breathtaking blue crystal gemstone dropped perfectly into his palm. It was completely mesmerizing. The light catching the facets seemed to flow and shift, mimicking the beautiful, violent glare of a supernova exploding in the deepest reaches of the cosmos. It was indeed an incredibly beautiful gem.
Without another word, Liam stretched his empty hand out toward the open patch of cobblestone next to him. A massive ball of dense aura separated from his body and floated to the ground, instantly transforming into the familiar, jade-masked Taoist nun.
The Nen beast stood silently, her robes fluttering slightly in the coastal breeze. She raised her arm, the wide fabric falling back to reveal the Yin Nen Sword. The dark wood of the blade was glowing with flowing, divine characters. She leveled the tip of the sword, pointing it directly at the brilliant blue gem resting securely in Liam's hand.
Although there were plenty of people walking up and down the bustling streets of the seaside town, the vast majority of them were simply mindless NPC puppets operating on set routines. Even if a real player happened to walk by and spot Liam summoning his Nen beast in broad daylight, it really did not matter to him much anymore.
The tip of Jade sword at the Blue Planet. But as the divine characters on the blade flared with light, the world didn't react as it usually did.
Instead of a simple interaction, the air around the gem began to vibrate with a low, mechanical hum. The blue facets of the stone didn't just reflect light—they began to pulse in sync with something deep beneath the island's crust. Suddenly, the vibrant colors of Soufrabi began to bleed into a dull gray. The NPCs froze mid-stride, their faces turning into featureless wooden masks.
Above the town, the sky didn't just darken; it fractured like a broken mirror. A massive, icosahedral shape began to phase into existence through the clouds, spinning with a sound like grinding tectonic plates.
"Liam..." Bisky's voice was tight with a rare flicker of fear. "What did you just wake up?"
Before Liam could answer, the cobblestones vanished beneath his feet, and the sunny street was swallowed by a void of shimmering white.
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