The scoundrel eyes were fixed on Akira, filled with obvious regret and fear. But Lucario grip on his throat was so tight that not even a whimper could escape.
The cards in the book required speech to activate, which was why Akira had Lucario do this. When a player dies, the cards in their book automatically disappear.
This is a common tactic used by many.
After the opponent calls out their book, you simply restrain them and wait until all the cards in their book are taken away... What awaits them is most likely death!
The man is now filled with deep regret, screaming internally about why he ever thought to rob these two.
As someone who only bullies newcomers, he lacks the courage for a desperate fight. Even if he had tried, it wouldn't have saved him from his inevitable fate.
"How pitiful. No wonder, he's just a small-time thug who survives by preying on newcomers."
Akira took out all the man cards and placed them into his and Menchi books. Cards cannot be left out for too long, if they exceed one minute, they materialize and can no longer be turned back into cards.
Most of the man cards were spell cards and other miscellaneous cards.
Only a handful of them were the important designated cards.
Each person book has limited slots—100 for designated cards and 45 free slots. These are usually used for spell cards and other miscellaneous cards.
Due to the nature of his "profession," the man cards were either basic movement types, such as [Magnetic force] or [Return], or cards used to spy on and steal others' cards, like [Peek] and [Pickpocket].
Most of them were Regular Spell cards.
Akira waved his hand and turned to leave. This was the last scene man would ever see.
A blur flashed by.
A gash suddenly appeared on the man neck and blood gushed out.
He felt his body growing colder and colder. Facing a weakling like him, Akira didn't even need to use any skills—a simple throat slash was enough.
"Thud!"
Until he completely lost consciousness, his body fell straight to the ground, crushing a patch of lush green grass.
The lush green meadow was stained with a layer of blood. Lucario figure flashed and disappeared from the spot, leaving behind a gradually cooling corpse.
Moments later, the man body also completely vanished from the scene.
If a player dies in the game, not only do their cards disappear, but their body is also teleported back to the login location.
Glancing at the vanished man, Akira summoned Arcanine.
Next, they would ride Arcanine to the nearest city.
[Return] can only move to places they have been to before. [Magnetic force] can only take them to players they have seen in the game.
It sounds like the Fly skill in Pokemon games, which can only take you to cities or towns you've visited.
He remembered that Gon and the others entered on September 10th and today was September 8th, meaning he had entered two days earlier than them. The scoundrel cards included a map, and with it, they could easily reach their destination by riding Arcanine.
It would just be a bit slower than using cards like [Return].
There was a [Drift] card that could take them to places they hadn't been to before, but the scoundrel didn't have it. Even if he did, there was no guarantee that Akira and Menchi would end up in the same place.
Before long, the two arrived at the nearest city—Prize City, Antokiba, riding on Arcanine.
*****
Finally seeing a different landscape, Akira shifted his attention away from the progress bar in his mind. The moment he entered Greed Island, a new progress bar had appeared.
Although it was called a city, Akira felt it was more appropriate to call it a town.
At a glance, it wasn't very large, mostly consisting of two or three-story buildings, with few high-rises.
Stepping into Antokiba, the architectural style became more apparent. It gave Akira a Western vibe, with taverns and bounty posters everywhere.
It truly lived up to its name as "Prize City."
Akira also saw flyers for the monthly tournament.
In the original story, Gon and the others participated in the tournament and obtained the [Sword of Truth]. But Akira and Menchi weren't interested in that.
They came to Greed Island more to sample its exotic foods.
The items in Greed Island were powerful and most people would covet them.
However, Akira wasn't one of them.
Those items were indeed interesting. But for someone like Akira, who stood at the pinnacle of strength and owned numerous Pokemon, their appeal was limited.
Akira felt that the truly useful items were the [Recycling Room], [Witch Rejuvenation Potion], [Golden Scales] ...
This trip to Greed Island was mainly to enjoy the food, travel with Menchi and perhaps nurtured some Pokemon.
Thus, their first stop was the famous restaurant in Antokiba—the Cat Restaurant (Caveau de Riquewihr).
They were currently running a promotion, if you could finish a giant plate of spaghetti within 30 minutes, you would win a prize.
"Boss, two giant plates of spaghetti, please."
"Coming right up."
The person in charge of the Cat Restaurant was literally a cat.
It was a chubby, round cat standing on two legs, wearing a chef uniform. Before long, two massive plates of spaghetti were served. The air was immediately filled with a rich aroma, whetting their appetites just by the smell.
The portions were enormous, but Akira and Menchi were no ordinary people, so they could easily handle it.
Even Akira ordered some iced drinks to quench his thirst.
"It's really amazing to be able to create such delicious food."
Even the picky Menchi couldn't find any flaws.
As a plate of pasta, it was exceptionally well-made.
"Huh? Did you finish it so quickly?"
The cat chef was startled by the speed at which Akira and Menchi devoured the food. After confirming that they had indeed finished, he took out two cards.
"These are your prizes."
[Galgaida], an F-level card.
One of the three great delicacies on the island.
Just by its appearance, one couldn't imagine the delicacy of its flavor. It's said that eating the eggs of the male fish can lead to a long life. Galgaida looks somewhat like a "cleaner fish" from Earth, making it hard to believe it's a delicacy.
"Mr. Cat, may I borrow your kitchen? I plan to cook the prize right here."
Menchi glanced at the description on the card and after a moment, spoke to the round-faced cat chef.
"That should be fine..."
The cat chef cute tail flicked and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
After working here for so long, this was the first time someone had asked to borrow the kitchen to cook.
So Menchi took the [Galgaida] she and Akira had won and headed into the kitchen. She wanted to test what was special about the ingredients from Greed Island.
At the same time, Gengar suddenly jumped out of Akira shadow, ready to hand over the seasonings to Menchi. Many of Menchi seasonings were stored in Gengar belly.
After a while, Menchi came out carrying two plates of cooked fish.
The [Galgaida] card had a note suggesting that boiling or grilling would bring out the best flavor. Following the advice, Menchi chose to boil it.
Menchi culinary skills + the inherent deliciousness of the ingredient + premium seasonings.
The combination resulted in an exquisite dish presented before Akira.
"This... this is truly incredible!"
The cat chef beside them looked as if he had seen a ghost, his squinty eyes, usually hidden by his chubby cheeks, now wide open.
Menchi cooking skills far surpassed his.
"This F-level card is decent, comparable to the C-level ingredients we usually encounter. I wonder what higher-level ingredients would be like?"
Menchi sat down next to Akira and shared her thoughts on [Galgaida]. Akira nodded slightly. That made sense.
After all, [Galgaida] was only an F-level card, so being on par with C-level ingredients was quite good.
"Besides, Galgaida is fundamentally different from ordinary ingredients." Menchi added, and this was the truly important part.
"The essence of Galgaida is actually Aura—it's an ingredient composed of Aura."
While processing the ingredient, the experienced Menchi clearly felt that it was different from normal ingredients.
"These cards are all formed through Nen, so the items within are naturally composed of Aura." Akira wasn't surprised by Menchi words.
With so many bizarre things around, it was unlikely they were real.
It made sense that they were all formed from Aura.
"Ingredients composed of Aura might be more beneficial for enhancing one strength when consumed."
Indeed, after Akira ate it, he felt it was clearly superior to C-level ingredients. While Menchi culinary skills and the seasonings played a role, both of them could still sense the extraordinary nature of the ingredient itself.
Ordinary high-grade ingredients undergo a transformation process within the body, converting from food into Aura, thereby enhancing the user Aura.
However, the ingredients within Greed Island are themselves Aura, eliminating the need for the conversion step, resulting in no loss.
This allows for minimal loss when providing Aura to others, But the level is still low since it can only replenish the consumed Aura and hardly increases the Aura capacity.
It seems that more advanced ingredients are needed.
After paying, the two left the cat restaurant, planning to stroll around the Prize City.
With the significant help from the scoundrel from before, they didn't have to wash dishes to pay off their debt like Gon and the others.
In Greed Island, only card-based money is valid, normal currency brought in cannot be used.
The NPCs here only recognize money in the form of cards. The highest denomination is a 10,000 Jenny card. Although the scoundrel doesn't have much money, it's enough for a few meals for the two.
If necessary, they can also use cards to pay off the debt.
"It seems we've attracted some attention" Menchi said to Akira.
Perhaps it was because they arrived on Arcanine that they caught the eye of some people with ulterior motives.
But they are more than just a rookies, not to mention Akira, even Menchi is far stronger than them.
According to Akira estimation, their strength is probably only at C-level and he doesn't know where they get the confidence to target them.
"It's fine. Not to mention whether they have the guts to make a move, the moment they do, it's their death" Akira said with a leisurely glance around, his tone full of mockery, not taking them seriously at all.
It's not that he's arrogant, even if it were Ging or Netero targeting them now, he wouldn't be afraid.
Let alone these scum.
When the two reached a corner, Akira showed a playful expression and suddenly spoke.
"Come out, we're old friends, no need to hide. Right, Bisky?"
After a moment, a little girl in a wine-red princess dress slowly walked out from the corner. The little girl had a spiral ponytail and large, delicate eyes that looked very cute.
The young girl tender face still wore a smile, and she waved to Akira.
"Long time no see, Akira!"
The one who appeared was Akira old friend—the "Muscle Girl" Bisky.
Bisky should be in Greed Island looking for the [Blue Planet].
Bisky also met Gon and the others for the first time in Antokiba.
But wasn't Bisky supposed to enter Greed Island with Gon and the others? Why is she already in Greed Island now?
With countless thoughts in his mind, Akira finally thought of one possibility. Because he had cleared out the Phantom Troupe earlier, Bisky entered Greed Island sooner.
"It has indeed been a while since we last met, back at the Heaven's Arena" Akira said with a hint of nostalgia.
It had been several months since they last saw each other.
Akira was doing fine, but Bisky truly hadn't expected to run into him here. This was the first time she had encountered an acquaintance in the game.
"Akira, do you know Bisky-senpai?"
From their conversation, Menchi seemed to sense that they had known each other before?
She had also heard of Bisky reputation—a seasoned hunter from the Hunter Association and a senior practitioner of the Shigen-ryu Style.
"Yes, I met Bisky when I was challenging the Heaven's Arena."
"You're Menchi, right? I've heard of you—the youngest one-star hunter in the Hunter Association."
Bisky recalled Menchi reputation and greeted her as well.
"It's just a title. I've admired you for a long time."
Menchi was slightly surprised that Bisky had even heard of her.
In fact, she had also wanted to meet Bisky, not just because of her reputation, but also because of her Nen.
It was said that Bisky Nen could preserve youth and beauty and her current appearance was maintained through her Nen.
Eternal youth—this was an immense temptation for any woman.
Seeing Akira explain things to Menchi, a look of understanding flashed in Bisky wine-red eyes.
The reason she hadn't appeared earlier was because she was worried about interrupting their interaction. Being wise with age, she could naturally tell that there was something special about their relationship.
If Akira hadn't spoken up, she might not have even shown herself.
Bisky suddenly remembered how her good friend Pyon had spoken highly of Akira during their conversation. Looking at the two of them being so close, Bisky couldn't help but smile slightly.
She subconsciously imagined a scenario where the two women were competing.
It seemed like there might be some drama to watch?
As a woman of the Transmutation type, gossiping was one of Bisky few interests besides handsome men and gemstones.
"Bisky, Bisky?"
Hearing Akira calling fdr her, Bisky snapped out of her reverie and quickly wiped the strange smile off her face.
"Ahem, what is it?"
Bisky coughed twice, her expression returning to normal, the exaggerated smile completely gone. Seeing Bisky suddenly return to her usual demeanor, Akira and Menchi were a bit confused about what she had been doing.
Even Gardevoir, who could read minds, only told Akira that Bisky seemed to be looking forward to some drama.
What drama? Whose drama?
This was what puzzled Akira.
Bisky expression just now was somewhat similar to when she had seen "Aqua Glass" though not as exaggerated.
"By the way, Akira, why did you come to Greed Island this time? To clear the game?"
Throwing her thoughts aside, Bisky suddenly realized a serious issue.
If Akira planned to clear the game and claim the rewards, what would be left for her?
Bisky was well aware of her own position—her strength was already at a very high level. But it all depended on who she was comparing herself to!
Akira was a monster—there was no comparison!
If that were the case, she might as well forget about the [Blue Planet] and just leave.
"No, Menchi and I are just here for a vacation, to enjoy some good food. We're not interested in clearing the game."
Akira smiled as he looked at Menchi beside him.
This reignited Bisky confidence in obtaining the [Blue Planet].
Without Akira in the way, she was determined to get her hands on the gemstone.
At the same time, Bisky also noticed another important point!
'Traveling with Menchi, huh...'
'Looks like things are progressing faster than I expected?'
Bisky brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed again.
After all, this was something her friend Pyon should worry about, not her.
As a middle-aged woman, Bisky was quite open-minded about relationships between men and women, without any prejudice.
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