Chapter Text
“'You have to be with other people', he thought. 'In order to live at all. I mean before they came here I could stand it... But now it has changed. You can't go back,' he thought. 'You can't go from people to nonpeople.'" - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
DATA FILE: 4051a
GAME MASTER: GING
RE: RAZOR
In response to SOMEONE’S suggestion about game difficulty, I put in an A.I. that helps guide the players - I’ll refer to him as NPC 405 in all following data files for you, List. Since it was his idea in the first place, I’ll leave the balancing to Razor.
I still don’t get the point. The whole fun of the game is the difficulty. Any good Hunter will be fiiiiine.
DATA FILE: 4051b
GAME MASTER: GING
RE:RE: RAZOR
So apparently the NPC is boring? What is it supposed to be - the most interesting man in the world? It’s a ******* NPC, it doesn’t have to have a whole *** personality. We can’t even make Masadora feel like a real town and you are worried about some random NPC the players probably won’t even find??? Hopefully??? Isn’t a guide supposed to be hidden away and only expert players can find it??? Whatever.
Anyway, I’ll work on it and try and make him look like a real person so he stands out from the others. Don’t know how I’m going to do that yet, of course.
DATA FILE 4051c
GAME MASTER: GING
LIST
I just noticed you made the system censor “profanity”? Did you make this just for me? List?
DATA FILE 4055
GAME MASTER: GING
GING’S OPTIMAL NAVIGATOR DEVELOPMENT
Progress on A.I. 405 is steady. I decided to use my genetic make-up as a baseline code for the A.I.’s appearance and personality. It was starting to get freaky though as if I was making a clone of myself, so I aged it down and that helped a LOT. Maybe it’s because now I’m looking at something closer to my past self and not who I am now if that makes any sense. You know - distancing myself from it.
Anyway, 405 has a much better character to it now.
Objectively, of course.
DATA FILE 4056
GAME MASTER: RAZOR
RE: DEVELOPMENT
Ging. Fix it. Now.
DATA FILE 4056a
GAME MASTER: GING
RE:RE: DEVELOPMENT
So APPARENTLY 405 has TOO much personality now, whatever that means. Jeez, everyone’s a critic.
405 will now stay in its spawn location, without roaming around, despite my personal objections to this idea. 405’s “flaws” in its code regarding its “stubbornness” have also been fixed and will now help ALL players if asked for further information on quest locations, as per SOMEONE’S suggestions.
Happy?
DATA FILE 40512
GAME MASTER: LIST
RE: ATTUNEMENT
Due to Ging’s…lack of enthusiasm regarding Razor’s improvements to A.I. 405, I have decided to take over his development!
Bug Fixes:
405 can now access CARD_DATABASE.EXL database flawlessly - lag is currently at 12 ping.
Fixed an issue where 405 would repeat his opening dialogue upon conversing with a player he has already met before.
Fixed an issue where 405 would lead player towards SHISO_TREE upon asking for CARD_105_QUEST_LOCATION.FIL
I have also fixed numerous amounts of coding issues of 405’s if/then statements leftover from his initial creation. I find that if these statements were left as is, even if turned off, a minor glitch from any number of our player’s Nen auras would render 405’s skills and knowledge null and void (See example 2230324). There are still many other instances where 405’s code could be altered, perhaps with users aware of our Nen’s nature and intentional exploitation of Greed Island’s base code. I feel that we will be able to solve these issues as we further fortify Greed Island’s integrity and install fail-safes, as suggested by Wdwun. This is still under construction, however, so I recommend avoiding using strong Nen aura’s around 405 for the time being.
In the meantime, I have disabled 405’s ability to be seen by test players until this issue is resolved.
DATA FILE 40518
GAME MASTER: RAZOR
CONFUSION
405 has appeared along the shores of SOUFRABI. I thought we had turned off the ADVENTURE_INITIATIVE? How did he manage to even get here? List, take a second glance at that for me? I’ll go ahead and file this in our incident reports.
DATA FILE 40522
GAME MASTER: LIST
EXPONENTIAL POTENTIAL
Perhaps due to using Ging’s DNA as his blueprint, 405 has seen rapid growth in his parameters in the last few weeks of development. He’s begun to show sense of wants and desires outside of his programming. I believe this is the reasoning behind incident 1-212. I’d fathom a guess that somehow bits and pieces of Ging’s childhood were passed along to 405 by way of something similar to nen muscle memory and he is seeking out places that remind him of Ging’s hometown of Whale Island.
While I’d like to see where these compulsions could take 405 to in the future, I recognize such individuality would also be detrimental to his role as a guiding A.I. It is with a heavy heart that I will place inhibitors to quell 405’s impulses while doing my best to keep his personality intact.
A shame.
DATA FILE 40542
GAME MASTER: GING
G.O.N.
405 just called me Dad.
…
Anyway, his name is G.O.N. from now on. Make a memo of that.
DATA FILE 40571
GAME MASTER: RAZOR
FINALLY
After 15 weeks of development, I’m confident in saying that G.O.N. is now fully functional and ready to be put into the game permanently. So far, there have been zero reported glitches by Ickshonpe in the past 4 days, an all-time record.
I’m worried about G.O.N.’s current spawn location though. Most players will be very perceptive and realize that MASADONA is a great hub to stay in, considering how many shops are around, so placing G.O.N. there would be counterintuitive. I’m sure G.O.N. would appreciate SOUFRABI himself, but, by that point, I feel most players wouldn’t need any help finding cards. Hm. Maybe a town that’s sort of out of the way?
Any suggestions?
DATA FILE 40571b
GAME MASTER: ETA
RE: FINALLY
How about AIAI town since he’s an A.I.? :)
DATA FILE 40582
GAME MASTER: GING
HE NEEDS A FAMILY
I’m not going to leave G.O.N. all alone in this world so I made some basic copies of my family from my memories so he has some familiar faces to stay with. Maybe we can tie a few quests to them since I remember SOMEONE said the players will have a hard time finding him. And before you start, no, I am not getting attached I sEE YOU GIVING ME THAT LOOK, DUWAN- [error: text file ended abruptly]
DATA FILE 40599
GAME MASTER: GING
FAREWELL
Well, everyone, our work here is done. G.O.N. is working perfectly, with not a single incident in over a month. That’s my boy. The last batch of cards is also finally implemented without a hitch in programming according to Razor. Between this and LIMEIRO’s completion, I’m proud to say Greed Island is ready to share with our fellow Hunters! I’ll leave you all the option to leave copies of yourselves in the games for posterity, but I won’t be doing it. G.O.N. and the game itself are proof enough that I was here. Razor, I entrust the hardest test in the game to you.
Farewell, team. Farewell, G.O.N. And hello to you, future player who dug up these log files with their Nen looking for cheats but found this instead. Yes - we ARE smarter than you and no - there are no cheats.
Alluka closes her eyes and listens to the synthetic sounds of the rain drip down the side of the restaurant awning, the gentle 'tap tap tap' falling ever so perfectly onto the pavement beneath her feet. As the water hits the ground, it breaks apart into tiny, brilliant little particles that glimmer and then evaporate into thin air.
Hmm. Sad.
Try as this world might, it seemed that the real world's rain could never be as perfectly recreated into a virtual wonder. It's surprising she even thought that something fabricated could compare to the real thing in the first place.
Oh well. It was still amazing.
"So apparently the card we are looking for is a B-rank, whatever that means," a voice sounds from Alluka's left. Her brother walks out of the restaurant's doors holding a paper bag filled with what she had no doubt were a variety of sweets and treats, most likely strawberry or chocolate in flavor. He levels a look at her carefree smile currently plastered on her face before taking a seat next to her on the bench. "What're you smiling about?"
She sticks her hand out from underneath the awning, palm upward, and feels the cool pixels brush against her skin. Well, at least they got the feeling of rain down pat. "Just...feeling the rain. It's been years since I've been out of that basement after all. I haven't felt rain or sun, even fake like this, in years, you know, Big Brother? It feels nice." Alluka clutches the water droplets in her palm, giggling a bit as the water squirts out from the gaps her fingers created.
Killua frowns a bit at the statement - the fact that it took him so long to get Alluka away from there still fresh and bitter in his mind - but quickly hides it with an easy smile when he catches his sister looking back at him. "Sucks that the first time you've felt rain in 5 years is in a lame-ass video game," he says, pulling out one of the pastries he purchased, then handing it to her. "Next time it'll be the real deal."
Alluka lights up, nodding her head in agreement. It was a promise. Killua always kept his promises.
She takes a bite of the sweet, the tartness of the strawberry filling causing her taste buds to dance. Yep, she called it: strawberry flavored. Her big brother was so predictable sometimes. Swallowing the jelly, Alluka asks him to continue with his previous comment on the card they were looking for. He takes a bite of his own chocolate pudding before answering.
The Connection Severing Scissors: a card that allowed you to literally cut a person out of your life. A card that could cut their family out of their lives. It was the only practical way Killua would be able to ensure he could keep Alluka safe. Getting her out of that prison called a house was one thing but being able to make sure they never found them and tried to take her back was another. He was only one kid - a strong kid, but a kid nonetheless - and they had way more resources, skills, and experience than he did. If his mom, dad, Illumi - hell, probably even Milluki - wanted to find them, they most definitely could. It was only a matter of time.
Like hell he was going to let that happen.
Enter the Connection Severing Scissors - the only surefire solution he could find through the Hunter database. A mythical but very real item created by some Hunters that, when used, made sure that a person or group of people cut out of a photo could never find you. It was perfect. The catch?
" What do you mean it's not real? It says right here that-"
"Cards are nen items designed and created by the makers of Greed Island," Kurapika read off matter-of-factly before raising his voice for the rest of the quote, "FOR THE GAME. That means it only exists in the game, Killua." He turned the screen around, tapping and highlighting the excerpt. " They're not real."
"Made by Hunters using nen though, that's got to count for something," Killua argued, squinting at the quote.
'For a game', huh? That couldn't just be the end of it. Why the hell would anyone with nen strong enough to be able to create a whole world, even if only virtual, use his powers only for something so useless. An item like that and it only works in a fabricated world? What was even the point? If you were going to make items for a game to only be used in said game, go crazy with it and make it fun. Like summon a unicorn or freaking have you sprout wings or a tail. Creating an item that lets you cut out people you know in real life from your actual life but only make it in a game? He called bullshit.
Killua remembers grabbing the tablet from Kurapika and searching deeper through the hunter website. There had to be more info on this game and how it worked somewhere in the database.
"Perhaps there's a nen user who specializes in memories or similar who could just alter your family's memories about you and Allu-" Kurapika began, offering Killua what the pragmatic Blacklist Hunter probably considered a better and more constructive alternative instead of a possibly fictional miracle item in a video game before having his mouth covered by his friend's hand.
"No need, check this out," Killua said, a new confidence in his voice as he read off the line of text before him. "'As a reward for completing Greed Island, the player chooses a card to bring to use in the real world.' THAT'S why they made this game. I called it!"
"Even if that is the case, I can't imagine the game being easy to conquer if the prizes are so overwhelming like this-" Kurapika pulled Killua's hand from his mouth only to have the palm forced onto his face once again. He wrenched it away with a grunt. "Stop. Doing. That."
"Sorry, Pika, but seriously - I don't want to hear it. I don't care how hard this game is, if there's even a chance that it can be beaten I know I can do it. I have to - for Alluka."
Kurapika sighed in what Killua assumed was resignation, taking back the tablet. "Fine. I understand. Let's find out where you can obtain a copy of it."
Killua remembered grinning wildly at the blonde before dialing his sister's number to tell her the good news.
Alluka wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin. With a stretch she quickly rose to her feet and turned to meet her brother's gaze. "So, where do we find it? Book." Alluka wove her hand into the air with a flourish, a magical book appearing with a poof. "We're still missing a bunch of other cards too. Nanika made finding most of them really easy but-"
"But the rarer ones can't just be found or obtained by beating enemies. They only appear during in-game events. The scissors are only a B rank, thank god, but the other ones..." Killua hummed his agreement.
His sis had a point. He had told Nanika to make the location of all obtainable cards appear on their map, making finding most a walk in the park. Sadly though, it couldn't reveal where all event and hidden cards in the game were. Especially some of these items like a freaking golden muffin? Where the HECK did you even start looking for something like that?
"Are you youngins looking for something?" an old man with a cane hobbling by asks.
Killua mentally sweatdrops. Well, that was a lucky coincidence. "Uh, yeah. We are doing a…scavenger hunt," he lies. Alluka nods, not looking the gift horse in the mouth and going along with the plan.
"We are looking for some scissors, a pretty necklace with a green stone, and a muffin that looks like gold!"
The old man scratches his beard. "Hohoho, you kids and your games. What an odd gaggle of items, hohoho. I don't know much about those first two but I might know where to find a muffin as one of a kind as that!"
Killua and Alluka exchange giddy grins.
"We're all ears."
AiAi town is-
“Hello, my Princess,” a blonde teen with overly perfect teeth and dressed in a lilac suit waves at Alluka.
Interesting.
Killua forces down his rising blood pressure, unclenching a fist that would have no doubt collided with this stranger’s princely features. That was if he was a real person trying to hit on his little sis. But, considering where they were and how bold this guy was, chances are they were looking at one of the many NPCs that inhabited the game. Lucky for him. If he was even 2% more real, Killua would have ripped his eyes out by now.
“Um, hello!” Alluka blushes, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears. “You wouldn’t happen to know if this town has a bakery, would you?”
Before Romeo over there could open up his mouth with more flattery, Killua elaborates. “We're looking for a special muffin with cranberries and gold flakes in it. Someone over in Rubicuta said it’s sold here.” He clears his throat with a warning, making sure the NPC directs his eyes at something else but his sister.
Still working within the confines of his programming it seemed, the blonde smiles at him gallantly and answers the question with a well-rehearsed speech. “Of course, Sir. I only know of one such bakery that could produce such exquisite delicacies as that. You must be looking for Mito’s Bakery.” The NPC moves closer before bowing before the siblings with grace. “It’d be my pleasure to escort you as well if you’d like?”
Killua feels his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. “Just directions would be great, thanks,” he grits out the last word.
It takes more time to escape from the prince’s flirtations than it does finding the bakery, all things considered. Along the way, an endless amount of cliches pop up, delaying them even further - a dilemma that frustrates Killua while amusing his sister to no end. It’s by the third time that a girl who is “late to school” bumps into him that Killua declares he will win this game, not for the scissors but simply to hunt down and kill the creators of this shoujo manga hellhole.
After narrowly dodging another twin-ponytailed girl begging Killua to be her fake boyfriend, the two finally arrive at the aforementioned Mito’s bakery, eliciting a sigh of relief from the older of the pair.
Thank god.
Alluka peers into the window display, eyeing the many elaborate sweets straight out of a food magazine photoshoot. An elated squeal squeaks from her mouth.
“They look so pretty~!”
Killua feels his mouth water at a particular chocolate donut. Before his willpower can weaken though, he grabs his sister’s hand and pulls her away with a little fuss. “We can buy some after we get the Golden Muffin. Come on.”
When he opens the door to the bakery, however, all that willpower vanishes on sight. Well, on smell.
Alluka awes, a sound of pure bliss from somewhere beside him.
He can hardly blame her, Killua himself suddenly finds it extremely difficult to think of anything but “wow”, “yum”, and “holy shit I want to eat every cupcake in here”. Killua can practically feel his spirit ascend, the very thought of tasting even a handful of the desserts around him killing him on the spot with anticipation. Before walking in, the idea that a muffin that shined like gold wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb in a shop was kinda crazy, but now Killua understood. Among the rows and rows of such fancy feasts lining the wall behind the countertop, a golden muffin would be right at home. Suddenly the card’s B rank level made perfect sense.
“Hi there, sweetie. What can I get you two?” a voice pulls Killua’s spirit back to the mortal plane. A young woman, still probably at least 10 years older than Killua though, with a kind face smiles down at him, her light amber hair catching the light just so. Killua’s cheeks warm at the affectionate tone the NPC greets them with.
Ah.
She must have been made with the loving mother fantasy in mind - finally, an archetype he can see the appeal of, even if not in the romantic sense. She feels much more real than anything else in this game so far too. Killua can’t help but smile back at her, even if her words are nothing more than a scripted event.
“Hi, I wanted to treat my little sis to something special and I hear you make muffins that sparkle around here.” Killua tries to recall the exact phrasing from the NPC before.
On cue, the shopkeeper laughs and gives him a knowing wink. “You must have met one of my grandmother's friends. I swear, she brags about our shop to any soul who comes within 50 feet of her. Well, I promise we won't disappoint - I have just the thing in mind.” The woman heads to a specific section of the desserts behind the counter, carefully plucking out one from the herd. “Our cranberry muffin recipe is my greatest pride and joy as a baker.” The woman wraps two muffins gingerly, then holds them over the counter for the pair to grab.
Alluka excitedly skips over, taking the treat with barely contained glee. “It really does sparkle!”
Although Killua can tell his sister desperately wants to give their find a bite, he watches as she transforms the muffin into its card counterpart, placing it into her book. He should do the same, after all, it was best to always carry a spare, but -
Killua peels away at the paper liner around the base of his muffin then hands it to Alluka with the napkin. The sight that greets him makes the decision completely worth it, his sister all smiles as she takes a hefty mouthful. He laughs.
He can’t help but adore his little sis, crumbs and all.
Killua turns back to the shopkeep, asking how much he owes her along with the price for one of the chocolate donuts he saw before, but, as the exchange happens, another idea pops into Killua’s head.
Not all NPCs were connected or shared the same questline, but it was always worth a shot to check if she had any info; Especially considering Killua would rather eat his own shoe before he went and asked one of the dozen romcom cliches waiting outside the shop walls of this sanctuary. “By the way, do you know anyone around town that’s hiring or needs help?”
The woman hums, resting a finger on her chin. “I’m sorry, I really would have to call around and ask - oh!” She opens her eyes in an epiphany, “Wait, I know,” she turns to yell to the backroom, “Gon?!”
Killua scoots to peer at the doorway.
Huh, so this was weird. In his experience with the game so far, an NPC was only tied to a single scripted event meaning this shop really was a big anomaly, even for Aiai town. The shopkeep would only have basic knowledge of other quests, such as which other NPC to visit next. She wouldn’t be programmed to call upon another NPC for help unless it was in response to another quest being triggered, right?
Oh well, two birds with one stone, Killua reasoned. If the game designers wanted to make it easier on them and put two quests tied to the same location, that was fine by him.
“Yes, Aunt Mito?”
Killua blinks.
Well then.
The NPC appears from the entrance, a small smile on his face as he approaches the shopkeep. The teen is dressed remarkably out of touch with the cozy and warm colors of the bakery - sharp greens for his shorts and jacket, with blindingly bright red trim on the latter. Killua would find it tacky on most people if he was honest, but there was something… there, underneath it, maybe the character’s speckled nose and honest eyes, that made it work. Even his smile with the teeth a little crooked and dimples deep in his cheeks was endearing. To say that Killua is a little smitten would be stating the obvious.
Looks like the developers finally got to him. He’s never wanted someone to bump into him with a piece of toast in their mouth more than this kid. The teen meets Killua’s eyes, smile widening even further.
Killua almost chokes on his spit.
“Oh! We have customers!”
The shopkeeper (which was this other NPC’s aunt, apparently?) nods.
“Yes, this young man was wondering if we knew of any jobs open right now and I instantly thought of you. You have a knack for keeping up with everyone’s whereabouts, after all.”
Killua feels himself stand straighter at the teen’s look, the NPC giving him a once-over appraisal. Then, with a look of understanding, the teen’s smile returns. He hops over the counter eliciting a scolding from the shopkeep. “What type of quest are you looking for?”
Killua freezes. Wha-
“Ha?” he fumbles.
Was this normal behavior? Did NPCs know they were NPCs? I mean, straight up asking about a quest was a little too meta, right? From behind him, Killua feels Alluka’s confusion as well. She walks forward, a slight taut to her brow. “You know about quests?”
The NPC raises an eyebrow but keeps his smile in place. “Of course? That’s exactly what I was designed for - I’m Ging’s Optimal Navigator, but you can call me G.O.N. for short.” G.O.N. returns his gaze to Killua. “So, what type of quests are you looking for? Maybe I can help, Player…?”
Holy crap. No way were they this lucky!
Alluka gives her brother a bit of a nudge at his silence.
Oh, right. G.O.N. was asking him , not Alluka. He gives his voice a small cough to rid any remnant of disbelief, then calmly gives his name. “Killua. And this is Alluka, my sister. We’re missing about half of the cards, but the main ones we are looking for are Blue Planet and the Severing Scissors. I wouldn’t even begin to know where to start searching for them.”
“Killua…” G.O.N. repeats, as if testing the player’s name on his tongue. He moves closer, extending a hand with his palm up. “You can find Blue Planet in Dorius. You’ll probably want to use the Loaded Dice card at the casino there to get enough money to buy it though. Map, please?”
Killua hands over their hologram of the world, a bit of surprise overtaking him when the teenage guide doesn’t just take the map but opens it up beside him for Killua to observe his instructions. Although he knows it’s artificial, the warmth from the NPC’s body still radiates to Killua’s shoulder, causing a wave of goosebumps to form on his arm closest to the teen.
Personal space must not have been installed in this guy’s programming.
“Oh yeah, Alluka and I got the Loaded Dice a while back, but it blew up in our faces. Is there any workaround for that?”
G.O.N.’s previously bright eyes turn blank, his voice undertaking an eerie robotic octave - words rehearsed and phrased like a passage from a manual. “I’m sorry, that information is restricted to players. Please ask me about a different topic.”
“O-oh. Uh, okay.” Killua blinks.
Okay… so that was weird. He must have asked something outside of this guy’s purview.
Certain topics must be off-limits.
Killua searches his brain for another question, a little lightbulb flashing when it comes to him. He pulls out Book and the Paladin’s Necklace card. “In the card description, it says it makes the wearer constantly have the Reflect spell on them, but that also means that any spells like Accompany will bounce back too, right?”
“I’m sorry, that information is restricted to players. Please-”
“Alright, Alright. Got it, never mind.”
Killua sighs.
Of course. It’d be too easy, way too overpowered, for someone like G.O.N. to exist and give players step-by-step workarounds to beat the game. He probably was coded to allow only general questions about quest locations - not how to game the system or find ways to abuse cards and bypass their restrictions.
Bummer.
“Do you know where we can find the quest for the Severing Scissors card?” he asks, instead.
Oh well. Even if they couldn’t get anything more in-depth than a roadmap to each card’s trigger event or location, it was better than nothing.
G.O.N. reverts back to his bubbly demeanor as if the last two inquiries had never occurred. “Of course! The Severing Scissors-” G.O.N. starts again, but Killua finds his attention immediately diverted when a new force enters their vicinity - the goosebumps from before forming for an entirely different reason now.
There was a threat nearby.
Before he even registers what he’s doing, Killua’s already moving with electric quickness. He pushes G.O.N. away from danger, sending the artificial teen into the bakery counter with an ‘oof’, and in the knick of time as well. Not even a millisecond after, a dark aura followed by a quick arrow-like projectile hurls towards him, just barely missing Killua’s ear by a hair and sailing past him to stick into the display cabinet. Killua narrows his eyes, focusing his nen into sharp pupils for better clarity and into his eardrums for greater listening capabilities.
“Damn, I missed,” the enemy says sourly.
The figure focuses from its formally vague blob to reveal a young man with a pinkish purple headwrap on, crouched behind a tree. Killua scoffs.
Coward.
“Sis,” Killua charges up his Nen, the familiar embrace of electricity encircling him, “protect these two while I go deal with this moron, ‘kay?”
Alluka gives a mock salute, already taking her place in front of G.O.N. with a supportive hand on the NPC’s shoulder. She dodges a stray current, giving Killua a pout. “Hey, watch it, Big Brother. You almost hit us.”
Killua gives a crooked grin. “My bad.”
He glances at G.O.N., checking for any signs that the arrow had hit him. Despite a little bit of soot on his shoulder, no doubt a byproduct of Killua’s quick thinking but destructive lightning, he seems untouched. Well, if all he has to show for coming in contact with GodSpeed is a hole in his jacket, he was lucky. Any way you slice it, the NPC was fine and Alluka would definitely keep him that way.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take this outside.” Killua shoots him a reassuring wink.
G.O.N. looks at him with wide (and awestruck even, maybe?) eyes. He nods. “Thanks, Player Killua-”
Killua propels himself out of the store before G.O.N. can get another word out, leaving both his sister, the NPC called Mito and her nephew, G.O.N. in his dust, safe and sound.
On the flip side, the capped hunter wouldn’t be getting off so easy.
“ Shit -”
Killua makes out the curse just before colliding a jolt-filled kneecap soundly in their ambusher's abdomen, flinging the capped hunter into a nearby shop window. The crash startles a few NPCs closer to the building, shoujo girls and boys fleeing with sparkles in their trails in all directions and matching cries.
He clicks his tongue.
Even if Aiai wasn’t on his favorite town list, hurting its inhabitants was a different story. Hopefully, no one was caught in the crossfire. Finishing off the hat-clad hunter was the fastest and most effective way to prevent future casualties. With this in mind, Killua readies his next attack, directing the current into his fists for a swift chop to end his opponent. The guy didn't seem too strong, he practically crumbled like paper with that last attack. He could probably finish it with-
“-Brother?! Look out!”
Was that Alluka? What happened? Was something wrong?
He's about to turn, to call out his sister's name-
And then, he feels it.
Lightning.
Killua screams out in agony at the sheer pain of it all. Milluki’s whips, his father’s poison training, Illumi’s needles - they are nothing compared to the visceral torment pulsating through his bones down to his very core.
It hurts.
It hurts so much he can barely take it.
It’s-
It’s over as soon as it starts, leaving one lasting impression in Killua’s mind before he passes out:
What. The hell.
“-other. Big Brother!”
Killua opens his eyes in a panic.
Breath shallow and hands clammy, he rights himself up, gasping for breath. On instinct, he scans quickly for danger, the tension finally ebbing away from his muscles when everything seems normal. He swallows a chunk of air.
“The Hunter?”
Alluka shakes her head. “He’s gone. Nanika and I went to check where you sent him and he was in no shape to put up a fight. So we told him you were letting him off with a warning in exchange for his spell cards,” she ends.
He glances up at his sister, her watery eyes glistening from peeks of sunlight cutting through the shade of the tree they were currently taking refuge under. Considering the pain still throbbing in his head, whatever That was must have done a real number on him. Thankfully he still had a pair of amazing sisters like Alluka and Nanika looking out for him - it couldn’t have been easy for them to pull off a bluff like that.
One said amazing sister wraps her arms around him, a relieved smile on her cheeks. “Nanika and I were so worried!”
Before she can get out another word, the familiar dark but kind smile of his other little sister takes shape on Alluka’s features. “Killua okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Killua sighs. He gives Nanika a pat on the head, sweetly. So...it was bad. He must have fallen unconscious. But- “How long was I out?”
“Hour,” Nanika states, blinking her eyes once before handing consciousness back over to Alluka.
An hour?!
“Wha-?”
Killua’s mind races. How the hell had he passed out for so long? If this journey had proven anything to him, it was that his parent’s stupid torture training had more than prepared him for anything life could throw his way. A little electricity wouldn’t do shit to him - his nen could vouch for that - so whatever had hit him was something else entirely.
This game was full of surprises.
And if he hadn’t bounced back from that - Killua feels his blood run cold.
“Alluka, what about you, are you okay? Did you avoid it?”
Alluka cocks her head to the side, eyes closed in thought. “Not really. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like the lightning itself was focused on you. Isn’t that weird? Nanika and I both are a little lost if I’m honest. It wasn’t a spell, right?”
Killua shakes his head. “No, it felt completely different. At first, I thought maybe it was from that Hunter, maybe their nen, but why wouldn’t they finish the job? Just knocking me out defeats the purpose and, if this was any decent Hunter, you know not to leave a witness behind too.”
So, if it wasn’t nen and it wasn’t a spell, there was only one other option that even came to mind. But that in and of itself was even more concerning.
“So…the game did it?” Alluka asks, obviously coming to the same conclusion. “Why?”
“No clue.”
The default explanation would be that it’s just part of the game’s coding - a response to some sort of trigger or action a player made, but that made even less sense, all things considered. After all, it’s not like Killua was doing anything against the rules, the worst thing he had done was steal a bunch of cards from some ass who tried attacking Alluka behind his back like a week ago. There were jerks out there flat out killing other players and stealing was totally fair, practically encouraged, so it couldn’t be that. On top of that, if that was the reason the game shocked him, why the delay? No matter how Killua looked at it, he’s done jackshit to warrant a 9 billion watt jolt to the face.
So what gives…?
Alluka stands up, dusting off her skirt and offering out a hand which Killua happily accepts. He’s ready to move past this whole ordeal - guessing endlessly about the cause behind the lightning was a pointless endeavor - but Alluka seems to have other plans. His sister instead makes a humming noise, losing herself in her thoughts once again. Then, as if an idea struck her similar to the lightning strike that hit Killua only an hour ago, Alluka jolts - a sparkle of pride in her eyes. “Oh, I know!”
Alluka summons her book with a flick of her index, then pulls out a card, handing it to her brother. “We were asking that NPC about quests when the Hunter came out of nowhere. When Nanika and I were talking to him, he said he was trying to get the Paladin’s Necklace from you, since you were holding it out of Book for the NPC to see. Maybe he hit the card when he attacked and the game didn’t like that?” Alluka presents her last piece of evidence with slightly less conviction. “Maybe there’s a rule that you can’t use Nen on cards?”
Killua furrows his brow. No, that wouldn’t fit. He’s used Nen around the cards before, and other players have too, and this had never happened. Although -
“Maybe it’s not the card but I think you're onto something, sis.”
Retracing his steps, Killua leads Alluka back to the pretty green dessert shop. There’s not a single doubt in his mind that his Nen was the cause of all of this, considering it happened right after he had defeated Hat Guy. Nen was the only thing that could have prompted it -
Now to just figure out why.
The shop appears undamaged, barely a chip on the paint to show for it and no broken doors or windows. Even the flowerbeds look no worse for wear, beaming back at him their lovely pale pink hue. So, his Nen hadn’t touched the building. At least they could scratch off “Nen property damage” as a cause for the lightning revenge. And even if the window of the shop across the street was still busted, his Nen hadn’t remotely touched it - that was all on Hat Guy and the laws of physics. Maybe this particular city had a No Nen rule at all inside the walls of the town?
Alluka surveys the area, once again proving her adept mind-reading skills when she gives a frustrated hum and says, “It doesn’t say we can’t use Nen around here. There isn’t even a sign banning fights…”
Okay, so both of those reasons were crossed off too. Ugh, what the hell?!
He’s just about to give up, fabricating something to get his stubborn sis’s attention away from the mystery and continue on their merry way when the familiar NPC from before catches his eye. Still just as bright and green as ever, G.O.N. stands outside of Mito's bakery, as if he were waiting for their return. The artificial teen somehow brightens upon seeing him, jogging over to greet the two of them.
“Killua! Welcome back! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I-” He’s going to laugh off his bad luck, joke about how janky this guy's programmers had made the game, when his train of thought derails completely, the taunting black hole in G.O.N.’s jacket staring back at him.
And, suddenly, the answer is clear as crystal.
“It was you.”
G.O.N. cocks his head. “Killua?”
‘Killua’. Not ‘ Player Killua’ like before. Just Killua. He-
“Is there any way to make sure the Loaded Dice doesn’t explode on us?” Killua repeats his question from before.
This will prove it once and for all.
Alluka makes a frustrated noise beside him. “Big brother, we already tried asking him-”
“Of course! First, you should use the Golden Scales and ask if you should roll the dice or not. The Golden Scales card is designed to tell you which path leads to better fortune. So, if the scales say yes, roll the dice. You are going to get a good side. If it says you shouldn’t, then you’ll get the skull side. Just check it every time and you’ll make sure you only get a good roll from it !”
G.O.N.’s words are night and day compared to last time. Although way more eloquently than any normal person had any business being, each was nowhere close to the level of cold, robotic rejections he had responded with before. Aside from the tone, the answer in and of itself was evidence enough.
“I did that to you, didn’t I?” Killua asks. It’s more rhetorical than anything - he already knows he’s right on the money. “I broke you.”
The NPC twists his mouth. “You didn’t break me, just the chains of code around me-”
“I broke you, ” Killua doubles down. “That’s why the game tried to shock me to death, right? When I zapped you, the game was alerted to someone messing with your code and thought I was hacking, so it sent down that lightning. It’s supposed to be an insta-delete for a player. I only survived because I have a high tolerance for electrocution.” Killua laughs at the irony. He only entered this game to rid himself of his family, yet they were the only reason he didn’t die back there.
G.O.N. doesn’t deny the game’s intention of attempted murder but remains undeterred. “Well, I don’t think you broke me, so there!”
Killua shoves down the evergrowing impulse to smack him. He takes it back - all of it. This guy wasn’t cute in the slightest and he definitely wasn't his type.
He was infuriating.
Alluka, in all her grand wisdom and hatred for her dear brother, laughs at the NPC's words instead. Traitor.
“I mean, he is the one who makes the rules on that, big brother. He is the game and he is the only one who can tell if he's broken or not.”
Reigning in his roaring headache, Killua takes a deep breathe. The much-needed oxygen somehow fuels his next thought and, before his conscious can tell him the idea is a bad one, no really it was horrible, absolutely the worst- “Fine. If I freed you, then you owe us one and I’m collecting that favor right now. You say you’re a navigator? Then you’re gonna give us a guide for the whole game.”
Alluka snaps her mouth shut, probably in shock at her brother’s comeback.
Okay, so he could have asked, not commanded, but the NPC had made his own bed the minute he decided to try and argue with him.
“Gladly.”
And well, that wasn't the answer Killua was expecting. He wasn't expecting it that fast, nor was he expecting a yes and h e certainly wasn't expecting the gulp he had to force down at the sight in front of him.
G.O.N. grins at him confidently, a glint of challenge that, if it was a programmed feature, was impressively one of a kind.
“So, where to first, Killua?”