Germain was pulled over by Dwun to have a chat with the hacker hunter, Ickshonpe.
They exchanged a lot of thoughts about Greed Island Z.
It was a pretty pleasant conversation—after all, they had a lot in common.
When the curved widescreen monitor went dark, it meant that Ickshonpe had logged off.
But in truth, he hadn't gone far—he was still somewhere inside the Greed Island network.
These days, it's hard to define what Ickshonpe even is. His location, his actions… everything is vague.
Because he's already "ascended."
Thinking of him as an extremely advanced A.I. rather than a human might make things easier to understand.
Ickshonpe is a full-fledged resident of the digital world. He gave up his physical body and now wanders the virtual space.
That's how he is today, and how he'll always be in the future.
Maybe worried that Germain would feel uneasy, Dwun took it upon himself to explain a few things.
"He and Ging argue all the time, but their relationship has always been in this weird, delicate balance. Even after they went their separate ways, they'd still get together to play games now and then."
"Also, Ickshonpe's got solid professional ethics. Since he lives in the network, he's even more aware of the importance of online privacy. He knows where the line is."
"He's never attacked Greed Island's network. Unless someone pisses him off or it's part of a mission, he'd never break into someone else's 'home.'"
Honestly, Dwun didn't even need to explain that much. From their interaction earlier, Germain could already tell Ickshonpe wasn't some morally bankrupt villain.
And besides—how bad could someone be if they once worked alongside Ging?
If he really was the type to steal private data and leak it just to show off his skills, there's no way he would've gotten so many votes in the Election arc of the original story.
On the contrary, someone like that would be hated and shunned by everyone.
These things, directly or indirectly, outlined who Ickshonpe really was.
As Dwun and Germain walked along the corridor bridge between the two towers of the Limeiro Castle, they began talking about another topic.
"Your student, Kurapika, along with Gon, Ging's son, and Killua from the Zoldyck family — they all entered Greed Island in mid-last month."
"They fulfilled your agreement, gained approval from Wing, and then went to Whale Island to rest for about a month. After that, they came here."
"Kurapika used a new player account and plans to guide Gon and Killua through the rough newbie phase..."
"The forums say the same thing. Seems like I need to have a word with Ickshonpe about how to improve the beginner experience."
Dwun nearly went off-topic while talking, but Germain reminded him, and he returned to the topic of Kurapika and the others.
Rubbing his admin ring, Dwun showed Germain the current progress of the young trio.
"They've already moved from the 'Apprentice Zone' to the 'Hero Zone'. At this point, they're basically capable of using 'Grimoires' in combat."
Right now, the four major neutral cities in Greed Island are: the City of Prizes, Antokiba, the magic city Masadora, the gambling city Dorias, and the love city Ai-ai.
Outside these cities, regions are divided by danger level: 'Apprentice', 'Hero', and 'Elite'.
The main quest completion areas — the Port City of Soufrabi and the hidden Limeiro Castle — are, of course, located deep within the 'Elite Zone'.
However, players don't need to fight their way through the entire 'Elite Zone' to beat the game.
As long as certain conditions are met, they can use cards to teleport directly to the two key cities.
In fact, players don't even need to reach the 'Elite' level. 'Hero' level is already enough — after all, Greed Island is still, at its core, a card collection game.
Still, even though these areas are connected, players sometimes wander into zones they're not ready for.
Thankfully, the game doesn't punish players too harshly for accidentally entering late-game areas.
"Kurapika met Elena once, Killua saw her four times, and Gon met her five times. But they also sent a lot of players to go meet Elena."
"Meeting Elena" is a term that's become popular on the Greed Island forums. It basically means getting defeated or "dying" in the game.
Players use it jokingly all the time—it's even become a kind of greeting now.
Dwun, who always lurks silently on the forums, picked up on this slang quickly and started using it all the time—especially around Elena.
Elena could only sigh at that. She was helpless about it.
But the twins had their own ways of messing around. They'd often swap places just to see if any player could tell the difference.
They looked way too similar. With matching contacts and helmets, they were nearly impossible to tell apart.
Up to now, only Gon had sensed something was off and called out their little prank—just by instinct.
"Is Kurapika still in the 'Hero-level Area'?" Germain asked curiously. "It's been over a month now. Killua and Gon should be past the newbie stage, right?"
"Yeah," Dwun nodded. "Killua and Gon definitely know their way around Greed Island by now. Kurapika's still with them because..."
"Because of me."
Just then, a thin figure stepped out from the corner at the end of the corridor. He wore a sharp black suit, but his face had a sickly look.
A soft hat covered his bald head, and behind his glasses, his eyes still carried a sharp, intelligent gleam.
"Knov."
Germain had already noticed someone at the end of the corridor, but he didn't expect him to show up like this and join the conversation.
Knov adjusted his glasses and said calmly:
"I still owe the Republic of East Gorteau. When I learned how important those kids are to you, I volunteered to go into the game and approach them."
"I showed up in a side quest that Gon and Killua accidentally triggered—as a traveler NPC. But Kurapika recognized me right away."
"So, I had him cooperate with me to deceive Killua and Gon. We used the format of a series of missions to begin teaching them advanced Nen techniques."
"The reason I didn't show my true face or reveal my real purpose was because I wanted Killua and Gon to feel a sense of tension during the missions. That kind of pressure helps them grow faster."
"Kurapika's cooperation saved me a lot of trouble. It also allowed Killua and Gon to become more deeply immersed in the Greed Island game."
"Germain, if you have time, you should go see them. Their progress has been amazing—so fast, even I was surprised."
"Thank you for guiding them," Germain said sincerely. Knov was more than qualified to teach Killua and Gon as they advanced in their Nen abilities.
Kurapika also had a few issues lately, and Knov could help shed light on them too. After all, his past combat experience was extensive.
"No need to thank me," Knov adjusted his glasses again. "Like I said from the start, I'm doing this to repay a debt."
"That said, all three of them are truly gifted and insightful. Guiding them has been a learning experience for me as well."
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