She really is my lucky star, Ryker thought, looking down at the newly transformed loli.
What possible reason did he have to reject her? Not only was she an absolute powerhouse, but her traits were incredibly valuable. And since the System's Plunder cooldown would eventually reset, keeping her close meant he could farm her for more traits in the future. It was a win-win situation.
More importantly, Ryker genuinely needed a tutor for Gon and Killua.
Following the original canon timeline, Biscuit Krueger was undoubtedly the best Nen teacher the boys could ask for.
"Of course you can join. Our team always welcomes the strong!" Ryker smiled warmly. "However, I do have one small request."
"Anything! Just name it, Mr. Ryker!" Biscuit's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Her initial motivation for joining had been purely mischievous, but after experiencing the terrifying reality of Ryker's power, her mindset had completely shifted. She genuinely wanted to stay close to him to understand how a teenager had reached such an absurd level of strength. Defeating Isaac Netero, the undisputed World's Strongest, was a feat that completely defied logic.
She had even subconsciously started using honorifics when addressing him.
"Biscuit, your mastery over aura and Shingen-Ryu is exceptional," Ryker said seriously. "Therefore, I would like you to act as a mentor for Gon and Killua. I want you to teach them the advanced applications of Nen. Would you be willing to do that?"
"Huh?!"
Biscuit blinked, genuinely taken aback.
Given how ridiculously powerful Ryker was, she had assumed he would be the one teaching them. Why would a god need a mortal to tutor his subordinates?
"You see, I'm not very good at teaching," Ryker explained smoothly, reading her confusion. "When it comes to pure Nen development and foundational training, you are far more qualified than I am."
Because training kids is exhausting, and I want to lie down, Ryker thought to himself.
Besides, Biscuit was a phenomenal teacher. In the original timeline, her brutal training regimen was the primary reason Gon and Killua managed to develop their unique Hatsu abilities so quickly. She was an indispensable driving force in their growth.
"I see... well, if you insist, Mr. Ryker, I would be honored!" Biscuit nodded solemnly, accepting the responsibility. "I will oversee their training from now on! However, I must warn you both: I am an incredibly strict teacher. If you can't handle my regimen, you are free to quit at any time."
She turned to look at Gon and Killua, her aura briefly flaring to emphasize her point.
The two boys immediately ran over, their faces beaming with excitement. Having witnessed her terrifying power firsthand, they were completely sold on her capabilities.
Even Killua, who was notoriously hard to impress, acknowledged her strength. He suspected that if she fought his father (Silva) or grandfather (Zeno), the odds would be a dead-even 50/50 split. Finding a teacher of her caliber was practically impossible.
"Of course! We'll do whatever you say, Master Bisky!" Gon cheered.
"Don't worry, no matter how tough it gets, we won't quit!" Killua grinned.
"Master Bisky, can you teach me that move you used earlier?! The one where you fell from the sky like a meteor! That was so cool!" Gon asked, his eyes practically turning into stars. The image of the crater she had created was permanently burned into his memory.
"Yeah! I'm an assassin, but I wouldn't mind learning a super-destructive move like that!" Killua chimed in.
Biscuit's eye twitched. She felt a migraine coming on.
She cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. "I can teach you the move eventually, but you two have a very long way to go before you're ready for it! That is an ultimate technique. You haven't even mastered the absolute basics of Nen yet! We are starting from the bottom!"
She then turned away from the boys, her expression instantly softening as she looked at Ryker.
"Mr. Ryker, you must be exhausted from our spar. Please, allow me to assist you!"
[Activated: {Magical Esthetician} (Cookie-chan)]
With a soft hum of aura, a beautiful, ethereal woman in a massage therapist's uniform materialized beside Biscuit. This was her signature Nen beast, Cookie.
"Cookie, please give Mr. Ryker a full-body recovery massage," Biscuit instructed.
Cookie smiled gracefully, walking over to Ryker. She gently placed her delicate, perfectly manicured hands on his shoulders.
Wow... these hands are incredible, Ryker thought, genuinely impressed.
If Cookie existed in Ryker's original world, she would be a top-tier hand model. Her touch was like warm jade. As a Nen construct designed purely for esthetics and recovery, she was flawless—though Ryker noted that if he had conjured her, he definitely would have given her at least D-cup proportions.
A soothing, tingling sensation radiated from Cookie's fingertips, flowing into Ryker's muscles. He could instantly feel his fatigue melting away. The lactic acid buildup in his arms vanished, and his aura reserves began to replenish at a highly accelerated rate.
Bisky's support abilities really are top-tier, Ryker mused, relaxing his shoulders.
Although, if she knew I just permanently fused this massage ability with her ugly muscle form to create a Super Saiyan transformation, she'd probably cry.
After fully restoring Ryker, Cookie moved over to Biscuit, massaging her creator to heal the lingering soreness from the Meteor strike.
Gon and Killua watched the entire process with sheer confusion. They were too young to appreciate the profound luxury of a magical Nen massage.
A short while later...
"Ah! I feel completely refreshed!" Biscuit stretched her arms high above her head, looking energized and cheerful. Cookie dissolved back into aura.
The laws of thermodynamics clearly didn't apply to Nen. Using aura to conjure a massage therapist who then massages you to restore your aura and stamina was basically a perpetual motion machine. Hunter x Hunter physics at its finest.
"We should head to Masadora!" Biscuit suggested, pointing into the distance. "If you want to clear the game, acquiring Spell Cards from the Magic City is absolutely mandatory. And the journey there will serve as the perfect training ground for these two."
"Sounds good," Ryker agreed instantly.
He was more than happy to let Biscuit take the reins. He could just lie back and enjoy the ride while she did all the heavy lifting with the kids.
Thanks to his Game Master privileges, Ryker had a perfect mental map of the island, so getting lost was impossible. And since Biscuit was a Double-Star Hunter who had already purchased a physical map from Antokiba, they set off toward the rocky badlands of Masadora without issue.
Several Hours Later. The Crater.
Long after Ryker's group had vanished over the horizon, several figures quietly emerged from the tree line.
They stood at the edge of the massive, 300-meter-wide blackened crater, staring down at the molten rock in absolute silence.
If Ryker had been there, he would have instantly recognized one of the figures. It was the tall, menacing man with the teardrop and star painted on his face—the one-armed magician, Hisoka.
The other men standing next to Hisoka appeared to be completely ordinary players. However, if one looked closely, a faint, glowing cross-shaped mark was stamped onto their foreheads.
It was the [Order Stamp]—a stolen Nen ability belonging to the leader of the Phantom Troupe, Chrollo Lucilfer.
"Is there any Spell Card in this game capable of causing this level of localized destruction?" Hisoka muttered, his golden eyes narrowing as he crushed a piece of still-hot slag between his fingers.
"No. I've already checked the complete card index. There is no offensive Spell Card capable of producing a crater this size," one of the ordinary-looking men replied. His voice was completely flat, devoid of any emotion.
It wasn't the man speaking; it was Chrollo, projecting his voice through the puppet.
"Well then, it seems we just need to rewind time a bit," Chrollo's puppet continued.
Without a hint of hesitation or pain, the puppet drew a knife and deeply slashed its own forearm. Blood poured from the wound, spilling onto the scorched earth.
"What an envious ability... being able to control bodies from afar without risking your own life," Hisoka smirked, glancing at the bleeding puppet. "But you really are a paranoid bastard, Chrollo. Making your puppet do the dirty work while you hide."
The puppets were players Chrollo had successfully dominated using [Order Stamp]. Because he had stolen the hardware (the JoyStations) to trap Ryker's physical body in the real world, Chrollo hadn't actually logged into the game himself. He was operating entirely through remote-controlled proxies.
"We can't put all our eggs in one basket, Hisoka. We are in the same boat now. If one of us survives, we can save the other. Isn't that right?" the puppet smiled coldly.
The blood pooling on the ground suddenly began to move, defying gravity. It crept upward, forming a thin, crimson screen in the air.
This was [Retrospective Mirror], another Nen ability Chrollo had recently stolen. It wasn't a combat ability, but it allowed the user to view the past events of a specific location using blood as a medium.
The blood screen flickered to life.
Hisoka and Chrollo watched in silence as the recording played. They watched Biscuit transform into a towering behemoth. They watched her launch herself into the sky.
And then, they watched Ryker unleash an apocalyptic pillar of lightning and aura to meet her head-on.
"..."
When the recording ended, both Hisoka and Chrollo were dead silent.
Is that even human?
The sheer scale of the clash vastly exceeded their worst expectations. The destructive yield was comfortably at the absolute apex of the known world.
"The power of that strike... it rivals, or perhaps even exceeds, Feitan's Rising Sun," Chrollo's puppet murmured, a hint of genuine awe in his voice. If Feitan were still alive, he would undoubtedly agree.
"And if an attack like that hits us, we definitely won't survive," Hisoka grinned, his bloodlust beginning to spike. "But the real problem is what happened after the clash. Did you see it, Chrollo? His arm was completely destroyed, and he healed it in less than ten seconds. That's why your Troupe couldn't scratch him. Unless you instantly decapitate him, he will just regenerate."
Chrollo's puppet remained silent, his expression darkening.
He finally understood why his elite Spiders had been systematically slaughtered. Ryker wasn't just a physical monster; his restorative capabilities broke the fundamental rules of attrition. Ryker had completely transcended the limits of humanity.
But as Chrollo stared at the bloody screen, a dangerous, intoxicating thought began to ripple through his mind.
If... if I can somehow defeat him... and steal his abilities...
If Chrollo could steal Ryker's regeneration, his monstrous strength, and his lightning, he would become a literal god. He would stand unchallenged at the absolute pinnacle of the world. No one—not Netero, not the Zodiacs, no one—could ever threaten him again.
Chrollo's heart began to beat faster.
His original goal for entering Greed Island had been to find the Nen Exorcist to remove Kurapika's Judgment Chain, and to ensure the survival of his remaining crew against Ryker's hunt.
But now? Now, it wasn't just about survival. It was about greed. It was about absolute power. He wanted Ryker's abilities more than he had ever wanted anything in his entire life.
"So... are we giving up?" Chrollo asked Hisoka. "Even if we team up, our chances of killing him are practically zero."
"Give up?" Hisoka threw his head back and laughed, a twisted, maniacal sound echoing through the crater. "How could I ever give up on such a beautifully ripe fruit?! Even if I die by his hands, it would be a glorious end to my life!"
"You truly are a sick pervert, Hisoka," Chrollo's puppet stated calmly, staring off in the direction Ryker had vanished. "But fine. Let us prepare our trap. No matter how strong the prey is... it can never escape a perfectly woven net."
Meanwhile. The Badlands.
ACHOO!
Ryker suddenly sneezed violently, rubbing his nose as he walked down the dusty trail.
Someone is definitely plotting against me, Ryker thought, a faint smirk playing on his lips. Though, plotting against me is usually a fatal mistake.
"Brother Ryker! Look over there!"
Gon and Killua, who were scouting ahead, suddenly shouted, pointing toward a rocky outcropping in the distance.
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