Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 7, HxH Greed Island
Jin: "That's about all that we learned from one of the flunkies of Latarza. It wasn't much, but it’s something. Neither one even had any Cards on them. They just took out their Binders before to intimidate us."
Shin: "I see... it's scary how you completed an interrogation in the time it took Kisara and I to come back. Also... why were the corpses set on fire and cremated? Everyone here also looks like they're about to vomit."
Hikari: "Don't... just don't ask."
Misaki: "They were too sad a sight, so I had to at least do this much by setting them ablaze."
Shin: "Jin... just what did you do?"
Jin: "Hahaha! Nothing as bad as they're making it out to be. We just had a little talk was all."
Shin: "..."
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When Shin and Kisara returned, the other Nen Users were defeated and better yet captured alive by Aqua and Connor. Then from the mystery interrogation Jin performed on the two sidekicks of Latarza we all learned a few things about Greed Island that we didn't know beforehand. Greed Island's social order had changed from what was originally seen in the Manga, OVA, and Anime.
1. Clans: With the new rule stating that players can kill another player and acquire their Cards it has been proven that it wasn't possible to survive in small groups. Small groups would be picked off by larger, or more powerful individuals, so large groups of players have been established. They protect one another one another and gather the Designated Pocket Cards for clearing the game.
2. The two largest and rivaling clans: Moderate Clan and Savage Clan.
• The Moderate Clan is the largest clan made up of those who play Greed Island, but don't particularly want to kill others if not necessary. They'll still kill you for a Designated Pocket Card, but they would first ask if you wanted to work for them for compensation.
• The Savage Clan is smaller than the Moderate Clan, but there ranks are filled up with those who wouldn't hesitate to kill just for Jenny (currency). They activity hunted down all the smaller clans and forcefully recruited new players of Greed Island to Farm (Jin's game term) Monsters for money that is used to buy spell cards.
Jin: "Latarza and his three men belonged to the Savage Clan. They wanted to kill off the useless ones in our group and take back those with potential to join their monster Farming operation. There would have been no chance to move up in the organization and we would have been worked to death as slave labor. Hahaha! It's actually ingenious when you get over the morality of it all. Also, I bet if Hunter X Hunter wasn't aimed at kids, teens, and young adults, they would want to torture the men for amusement and use the women... for other *Services*. I guess we're lucky, huh?"
Jin said those things like it was no big deal, but the Newbies weren't smiling and laughing at the possibility of such a world. They were only afraid of dying a horrible death, but only now did they realize there were worse fates for them. The term slave labor was foreign to the people of modern society and happened only in third world countries. The idea of being forced into hard labor, beaten, or worse for the women, they had never once considered that it could happen to them. Not even the veteran Shin knew what could possibly happen if they spawned into the worlds such as "God and Devil World" or "Rising of the Shield Hero", fictional worlds where law and order had come to an end, or slavery is more than possible and if not already legal.
Renji: "Come on everybody! Our side won in the end and we're just fine. We can rest and worry all we like later when we reach the next town, so don't look so scared."
Misaki: "You'll sound more impressive if your legs stopped shaking."
Renji: "Hahaha... Well, even great warriors are said to piss themselves in their first battle according to my grandma. Just this should be okay."
Kampa: "Still more convincing if you stopped."
I looked at Renji and felt that it couldn't be helped.
Like with the other Newbies, he had just went through a lot. The killing intent of a Nen User, the danger of death, watching Connor put a bullet through a man's skull, a battle to the death, torture(?), and lastly realizing that in this world there were fates worse than death. Kisara, who had the ability and willpower to fight was special, or was the oddity here and the other Newbies were normal. In Hikari, Misaki, and my first mission there was the possibility of being eaten by THEM and wander through all of eternity as a zombie. For the Newbies it was a fate as a slave if they didn't have the power to protect themselves.
I should praise Renji for just pretending to be okay with everything, but that bravado was fading away as we spoke. Of the two trial members of Team Japan I personally held a higher opinion of Kisara than Renji. So much so that I didn't believe it was wrong now to consider making her an official member due to her performance, but it wasn't okay to ignore developing another Newbie. Even if Renji was the type that could only grow stronger by the power of God's Exchange System, we shouldn't forget about him. Renji has shown signs of having the ability to adapt to the horrors of this dimension and such a talent, and it is a talent here, should be nurtured... but how?
Shin: "How should I... that's it! Renji!"
Renji: "Yes leader?"
Shin: "Take this. This is yours now."
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Renji: "Look, look! Prize City Antokiba is just up ahead!"
Aqua: "We get it already, so calm down."
Misaki: "Aqua's right. Remember last time how you were so up ahead of us when were last attacked and you were cut off from us?"
Renji: "The past is in the past, so stop worrying. There's no foe that we can't defeat... I'll go up ahead to check out the city."
Kampa: "He's... certainly spirited now."
Shin: "Too much so if you ask me. Maybe I shouldn't have given him a sword."
Renji reached the entrance to Prize City Antokiba and waved at us with his new sword.
That sword originally didn't belong to anyone from Team Japan. It once belonged to Latarza. It was the Chinese sword that he was armed with, but went unused before his death. Along with Latarza's cards, Shin brought along the Chinese sword that had fallen in the battle. It wasn't a Quest Item or magic weapon, but Shin found that it looked cool and dropped it in the Na Ring subspace.
Shin later took out the Chinese sword as he was thinking of giving it to Renji. Swords bestowed a feeling of courage and strengthen to the holder. It was a false strength in the hands of an amateur, yet the increased mental strength was real enough.
Renji when presented the sword and asked if he wanted it and he took it without hesitation and all too quickly fell in love with the sword straight out of a Wuxia Novel. Shin thought it was a just a normal nice looking sword as he was spoiled by his own Gravity Blade, yet that wasn't the case. According to an expert of swords, Kisara, the sword wasn't worthless at all and should be worth a small fortune to collectors.
Kisara knew more about Japanese swords than Chinese swords, yet she still claimed that the sword was a masterpiece like her own katana given to her by Shin. It was a weapon hard to come by in the modern age and regularly never touched the hands of those of average households. Hearing this, Renji grew more excited, yet Shin and the other veterans weren't moved in the slightest.
To the core members of Team Japan it was a normal and somewhat nice looking weapon with no powers. They've seen swords with gravity magic, guns that can wreak havoc on magic creatures, energy sci-fi guns from a Trigger, and just recently a damning performance from Kampa's Unicorn Beam Magnum. No matter how much Kisara or Renji claimed how great the sword to be, it had as much value as a wooden stick in their eyes.
Still, Renji valued the sword greatly. They were attacked by Nen Users two more times before reaching Prize City Antokiba and with his new sword and confidence Renji stood his ground... yet his sword never tasted blood. Renji had to leave the actual fighting to Shin and the others, but at the very least he didn't cower away and stood to protect the other Newbies from harm.
Hikari: "It's no magic sword like Gravity Blade, but he treats it like it a great treasure. It honestly has less value than a 100 point Desert Eagle. I can kill more people with a handgun than Renji can with his sword. Renji must know that only with enhancements and training can one use a sword in battle? He's going to get himself killed, Shin. You shouldn't have given it to him."
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Shin: "I still think it’s better than him cowering away. Also, I gave him a Handgun, SMG, and magic Body Armor with magic protection just in case. People like him, who don't get scared into submission, should be cultivated into official core members of Team Japan. We shouldn't always expect quality Newbies like Kisara, Connor, and Jin every mission."
Shin said this to Hikari, but the next second they all saw a confident Renji picking a fight with a small gang of Greed Island players. Kampa and Misaki went over to bail him out, yet the others could only sigh.
Shin: "Well... there should be hope for the future, right?"
Hikari: "Just keep telling yourself that."
Shin: "..."
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Prize City Antokiba
Antokiba, or better known as the "City of Prize", is a city on Greed Island and the closest to the center of the island. The walls in the city are pasted up with many reward posters which players can complete to gain Jenny for Cards, or Cards themselves.
On the 15th of every month, a major contest is held here in which the winner is rewarded with a Designated Pocket Card. Many players go straight to Antokiba when beginning the game Greed Island, so a lot of basic information about the game can be gathered in the city.
Gon and Killua first arrive in the city on September 11th. Several days later they win the rock-paper-scissors tournament held this month and obtain the card #83 "Sword of Truth" as a result. However, soon afterwards the Card is stolen by long-time players using tactics and variety of Spell Cards. After being trained by Biscuit in Nen for more than 2 months, they return to the city in January and win another specified pocket card, #84, the "Paladin's Necklace".
Jin: "Look there! Tomorrows the day for the monthly tournament. If we win a few games of Heads or Tail we'll acquire Designated Pocket Card #92 "Swap Ticket"! We can definitely win it."
Shuai: "I know you are a gamer, but don't get excited about something like this. Besides we can't partake in the tournament anyways. Collecting the Cards are not our main goal, and if we win the Card we'll become targets for other players."
Shin: "Shuai’s right... but maybe we should think about-"
Aqua: "Enough you two otaku and gamer freaks. Stay alert. You're the one who told us about his ability."
After entering Antokiba our group stayed on high alert. The reason was because of one individual. A character that we must be both heedful of and seek out at the same time. The antagonist of Hunter X Hunter - Greed Island arc, the Bomber.
Bomber, real name Genthru, is a mass murderer and dangerous Nen User. Different from those we've encountered thus far and he leads a group called Bomb Devils which includes his comrades and only friends Sub and Bara.
Genthru is tall and very thin. He has lanky arms. In the 1999 series, he has brownish red hair, while the 2011 series gives him blond hair. He has a pointed chin and angular glasses that give him an evil look complimenting his chin and cheekbones, giving him a generally pointed look.
Genthru has demonstrated that he is quite a formidable foe on numerous occasions. A ally of Gon and Killua on Greed Island, Tsezguerra had even surmised that he could only hold Genthru off for a limited amount of time before he reached Gon, further emphasizing the threat he posed to the group.
He has shown both considerable agility in reaction and Nen as well as the ability to manipulate even the most clever individuals as he managed to fool the entire group of Greed Island players comprising Nickes' group for over 5 years, all the while planting bombs on each one.
Genthru is a Conjurer with remarkable skills in Transmutation. He is a capable, experienced, and dangerous Nen User who is able to use all five Nen types, either in one of his Hatsu abilities or in combat. He makes ample use of Ryu in combat, both to strike and defend himself from his close range explosive Hatsu. The fact that this ability has no effect on him while it is often lethal to others, proves that he has a great amount of aura and is able to control it most efficiently.
However, his abilities have a few flaws that experienced or forewarned opponents may exploit to their advantage: for example, one can minimize the damage from Genthru's Little Flower by using Ryu (or similar techniques like Ko) on the part touched by him. Furthermore, since he uses Gyo in his hands in order to protect himself, the rest of his body is coated with little protective aura. When he uses Little Flower on both of his hands, any Nen-enhanced attack on the rest of his body would result in severe damage.
Shin: (Genthru has two Hatsu, or special moves he employs that we have to be on the lookout for.)
◆ Little Flower (A Handful of Gunpowder): Genthru gives his aura explosive properties, creating small yet deadly detonations in his palms. He employs this ability offensively by grabbing hold of an opponent and triggering the explosion. If used correctly, this move can easily kill a Nen user in one shot. He can only grasp things as large as a basketball. He protects his hands from the explosion with Nen technique "Ko". Because of this, the resulting explosion is significantly less powerful than Countdown, his more powerful Hatsu. Aside from combat, Genthru uses this ability as a deterrent to threaten other or discourage them from trying to touch him.
◆ Countdown (Sound of Life): Genthru can attach a bomb to a victim by touching them once and saying the word "bomber". Once this condition has been met, he then needs to explain both of his abilities in full (and in proper sequence) to his victim. The bomb is then conjured and its countdown timer starts at 6000. The timers are linked to his victims' pulses, counting down faster if their heart rates increase. Though Genthru is a Conjurer, he has some affinity for both Emission and Manipulation to make this ability possible. Genthru can detonate the bombs at any time when touching thumbs together with Sub and Bara, with all three saying the word "release". In order to nullify this ability, the victim needs to touch Genthru and say "I caught the bomber".
Shin: "I am keeping a look out, but everyone should be careful as well. Bomber is fast and can easily sneak away after touch/planting a Nen bomb on you. His hair color is different depending on which Anime you watch, but his body type is how I explained. Jin also figured out that towns are established safe areas for clans, but if it's just killing a few people in a short period of time the Game Masters won't interfere."
Hikari: "How about we just call it a day? We picked up a few more Jenny Cards, so we can get some food and pay for a room. The newbies are also tired from all the walking that we did. Tomorrow can start gathering funds and start collecting information about Bomber."
Shin: "Sounds like a plan. We'll still have eighty-nine days to either complete the Main Quest, or find Bomber. I know of a great place here where we can get so spaghetti and if we finish it within three minutes we can get a-"
- *EXPLOSION*!!!
Shin was about to say a "Garugaida" Card, but a sound like a bomb going off interrupted him from telling his team. Shin knew what was happening going on, told the others to stay put and on guard, and ran alone towards the source of the explosion.
Three blocks of running later Shin found a large crowd of NPCs and players surrounding in a circle the body, or what remained of the body of the victim. The victim was a well-built man in his early 20's with the lower half blown away. Shin knew this was the result of the Bombers Hatsu, Countdown. It was deadly explosive Nen attack that could be activated from a distance.
Shin: "I thought that maybe looking for his handiwork would help us locate him, but he can activate his ability from a distance. Who knows when he placed Countdown. Maybe his restrictions of telling his ability is gone as well. An eighteen man mission from God... it's definitely possible!"
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Proofread by Hoebagger