"Okay, hidden rule number one," Liam muttered to himself. "The game zone of Greed Island actually covers the main landmass and the ocean within a five-kilometer radius. Once a player crosses that invisible line, they are forced right back to the nearest shore."
That made sense, he thought. If a player could just fill their binder with designated cards, build a wooden boat, and row back to the mainland, it would completely break the game. But if the player could not physically sneak away, what about a regular item?
Through Jaku's shared vision, Liam stared out at the vast, rolling ocean. The salty sea breeze ruffled the bird's gray feathers. After a moment, Jaku hopped around in the sand and looked down at the object Liam had left on the beach earlier. It was a silver chain holding a heavy pendant: Card Number 84, Paladin's Necklace. When equipped, it had the power to reflect and dispel spells.
It sounded incredibly powerful, but its acquisition difficulty was only ranked at D-60. The reason was simple. The concept of spells only existed within the boundaries of Greed Island, meaning this defensive item was entirely useless anywhere else. Take it to the outside world, and it was just a regular piece of jewelry.
Because of that, Liam was more than happy to use it as a test subject.
He guided Jaku to glide low over the shallow coastal waters. Soon, the bird spotted a thick sea fish, roughly the size of an adult's arm, swimming near the surface. Liam focused his energy. A Flying Star Bubble materialized in the water. The tiny aura sphere, glowing with a faint pentagram pattern, sank silently and struck the oblivious fish, leaving a distinct rose-gold star on its forehead.
Jaku swooped down, dropping the Paladin's Necklace right in front of the fish. The creature snatched the shiny object in its mouth and darted out toward the open ocean, crossing the invisible boundary line.
This fish is not a player, Liam thought, waiting patiently through Jaku's eyes.
A few moments later, there was a soft clatter on the wet sand. The necklace, dripping with seawater, appeared out of thin air and dropped onto the beach right beside Jaku.
Goddamn developers.
Even trying to exploit a bug was useless. Giving up on finding a loophole, Jaku clamped its beak around the necklace and took off, flying back toward the island's interior.
Meanwhile, on the dirt road leading out of the main starting city, the three Nen users were having a serious discussion.
"Both Conjuration and Emission frequently involve space-type abilities," Bisky explained, her hands tucked neatly behind her back. "Emission usually focuses on raw teleportation. That means instantly moving yourself, someone else, or even just a piece of an object from one location to another."
"That teleportation ability is what brought us into the game," Shizuku noted, her round eyes blinking thoughtfully.
Bisky nodded. "Exactly. On the other hand, the spatial abilities of a Conjurer usually involve creating a pocket dimension out of thin air, and then laying down absolute rules within that space. Generally speaking, if you are careless enough to fall into that kind of trap, you have no choice but to obey the rules. The raw strength of your aura does not matter."
Liam shoved his hands into his pockets. "It is just like Manipulation. The first strike wins. Rule-based abilities never play fair."
"Which is why you can never drop your guard against an unknown opponent," Bisky warned, her tone growing stern. "Especially if you figure out they are a Manipulator or a Conjurer. And Specialists require even more caution. If you get arrogant just because you have a lot of aura, you will end up dead. There are no do-overs."
Shizuku looked up at the bright, cloudless sky. "So, this entire island is a special space created by Conjuration?"
"The physical island itself might not be conjured. There is no real need to do that," Bisky replied. "But since your bird proved that you cannot fly away, it is obvious that the space covering this island is a specialized realm governed by strict rules."
"And one of those rules is that you can only leave using their specific methods," Shizuku realized. Among the cards Liam had forcefully taken from the starting players, there was a Leave card. That was clearly the legal exit.
Liam sighed. "Well, there goes my backup plan. I cannot just extort a Blue Planet card from someone, turn it into a physical gem, hop in a rowboat, and escape the island."
Bisky shook her head. "If only it were that easy. The people who designed this game are brilliant, and totally twisted."
High above them, Jaku's small gray figure circled back into view. Shizuku watched it glide. "The space covering this whole island is sustained by Nen, and there are so many monsters and magical items everywhere. It is honestly amazing."
Bisky frowned slightly, her steps slowing. "It is exactly what Gylian was talking about. The more you think about the mechanics of this place, the more chilling it gets. Think about the clear rewards. If you really can take three cards into the outside world..."
She trailed off, but Liam understood. Prophecies, immortality, endless wealth, resurrecting the dead, healing shattered bones, creating matter from nothing. The sheer scope of the cards on Greed Island was absurd.
Nen abilities usually followed a strict principle of equivalent exchange. The more miraculous the power, the heavier the restrictions or the steeper the price. Even Enhancers, who relied on straightforward physical boosts, paid the price through years of brutal, agonizing training.
So what kind of horrific price did the creators of Greed Island pay to sustain thousands of miracles across an entire landmass?
"Basically, we can only get the Blue Planet by playing their game," Liam concluded, looking forward.
Bisky smiled, her grim mood lifting. "Do not overthink it right now. Did you not come here just to find a good place to train?"
Shizuku looked at the blonde girl in surprise. "Bisky, you act so fierce all the time, but you are actually very gentle and considerate."
Without a word, Bisky casually threw a punch. Shizuku crossed her arms to block, but the sheer physical force of the strike sent her skidding backward, her shoes carving twin trenches in the dirt for over ten meters.
"Do not think I will go easy on you just because you have a pretty face, little girl," Bisky said, calmly blowing a speck of dust off her knuckles. "Am I still gentle and considerate?"
Liam laughed, the sound loud in the open air. "We train, we play the game, we beat Razor, and we get the Blue Planet. Simple."
Back inside the cold, sweeping hall of the city lord's castle, heavy footsteps echoed down the grand staircase.
"Are you really that surprised to see me?"
A man in a sharp business suit and polished leather shoes walked into the room. It was Alan.
Dwun was still sprawled on his side in front of a massive, glowing television screen surrounded by towers of empty snack boxes. He mashed the buttons on his controller rapidly, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. "Even though you are the A in Greed Island, you are a busy guy. I have not seen you once since we finished building this place. You show up out of nowhere today, so yeah, I think I am allowed to be a little surprised."
Alain paused halfway across the room. "The A? Oh, right. I almost forgot about that."
"You basically just admitted you never cared about this project," Dwun complained, leaning closer to the screen as he broke a new speed record. "You only got dragged into this because Ging needed to pad the numbers. You do not have the heart of a gamer at all."
The name of the game, GREED ISLAND, was an acronym made from the first initials of its eleven creators. Ging was the G, Alain was the A, Dwun was the D, and List was the L.
Alain adjusted his cuffs, his expression perfectly calm. "Regardless of my gaming habits, I still built a large portion of the Manipulation system."
"Please," Dwun scoffed. "Ging could have handled that whole section by himself. He just needed someone whose name started with an A to finish his stupid acronym. That obsessive, arrogant jerk."
"Does your visit have something to do with it?" List asked, stepping out from the shadows. Like Alan, he was not looking at the messy floor. He was staring straight up at the ceiling, right at the massive, black icosahedron floating silently above the chandelier. "Does it involve the core?"
Hearing that, even the chronically lazy Dwun paused his game and looked over.
Alain followed List's gaze up to the floating, many-sided shape. "A little while ago, Ging suddenly contacted me. He said someone interesting might be entering Greed Island soon. He told me that if they managed to see this thing, something very entertaining might happen."
Dwun let out a loud groan, dropping his controller onto the carpet. "Whenever that guy says something is interesting, it usually means a massive headache for the rest of us."
List frowned, his elegant face showing a trace of genuine confusion. "Wait. Do you mean the guy who just broke in here pretending to be Ging?"