Everyone, hello. I'm Gon Freecss, and I've literally been coughing up blood every single day. Ever since we got permission to come back late as long as we're working on designated cards, we've been filling them up one after another.
Biscuit's training was truly fierce to the extreme.
Even Killua, who focused on mental training, and Leorio, who was assigned studying, coughed up blood day after day.
At the start of training, it was relatively light—things like training to hold a rope connected to a rock overhead even while sleeping to strengthen the unconscious.
That is, until Biscuit's restraints came off after discovering Gon's group was trained far beyond expectations and improved at an absurd rate.
Goreinu's body modification proceeded at breakneck speed. Later, he would recount with a pale face that it felt like everything beneath his skin had been torn out and stuffed with new flesh.
Leorio vomited daily while completing his training, experiencing hell as Biscuit destroyed various parts of his body under the guise of understanding human anatomy, forcing him to heal himself.
During meditation, Killua was always forced to smell emotionally destabilizing aromas from Biscuit's Hatsu "Cookie-chan," enduring trauma-level mental attacks day after day.
Kurapika had to deflect Biscuit's attacks while Leorio stood behind him, forced to watch through bloody tears as Leorio got "pampered" whenever he couldn't move.
As for Gon, he was forbidden from going on game raids. Wearing Biscuit's special muscle-training weights with his Muscle Control turned off, he repeated forms over and over—if he deviated even a centimeter, Biscuit would pound him with perfect form.
What made this training density—which would make even Netero recoil—possible was the presence of Leorio for surgical treatment and Biscuit for internal medicine, plus Kurapika's ability to absorb and transfer aura.
Regarding aura, Gon was forbidden from using his abilities and had spare capacity with his near-glitching total aura amount. By extracting and distributing it to everyone, they barely managed to sustain the regimen.
Biscuit, whose eyes had been dazzled by Gon's group growing brighter each day, finally returned to her senses in mid-December, just before Christmas, when they'd surpassed fifty designated cards.
"Sorry about that! I got a bit too excited. Well, if you think about how we compressed what should've taken years into three months, it was worth it!"
"Like hell it was worth it?! Killua's heart died and we had to bring him back, and Kurapika got messed up bad too! Do you have any idea how much Goreinu and I struggled for three months?!"
"I spent most of the latter half on game raids, so I didn't struggle as much as Leorio."
"Dude, you're way too nice?!"
Leorio's fury was justified. Mental troubles had occurred one after another—Killua temporarily lost his emotions as a defense mechanism against the daily mental attacks, and Kurapika, unable to bear the days of failing to protect Leorio from Biscuit, even locked him in Chain Jail at one point.
During that time, it was essentially Goreinu alone progressing through the game while Biscuit spent every day sparring with Gon.
"Sorry, sorry. But you all understand, right? I guarantee results that exceeded your struggles."
Indeed, just as the confident Biscuit declared, Gon's group's abilities had skyrocketed in just three months.
Thanks to body modification, Goreinu had obtained physical abilities and total aura incomparable to before. With simultaneous affinity training, his Hatsu's performance had also improved.
Leorio's deepened understanding of human anatomy similarly improved his Hatsu's performance, speeding up treatment and showing aptitude for mental care as well.
Kurapika's improved multitasking talent allowed him to successfully balance Chain Jail attacks with bodyguard techniques, refining his combat versatility.
Though Killua kept his cheeky attitude, his mental instability disappeared, and his outstanding combat sense in mind games now showed cunning maturity.
Gin, who rarely wandered back, was noticeably dirty but extremely lively, surprising everyone by bringing back information on several designated cards.
And Gon, who'd undergone the most mundane training of anyone for three months and gotten beaten by Biscuit more than anyone, showed minimal visible results due to the lingering aftereffects of his borrowing-muscle hell, but seemed completely satisfied.
The death march, where each had overcome weaknesses and strengthened advantages, came to a temporary end as they faced Killua's Hunter Exam and full-scale game completion.
After taking a solid break to refresh, Gon's group decided to base themselves in the magic city of Masadora, where they could easily obtain spell cards crucial for clearing the game.
Masadora, which held an important position for measuring player skill, could also be called a danger zone where designated card theft via spell cards frequently occurred.
However, having survived the death march, Gon's group felt no fear or hesitation. Random players who uttered "Book" to summon their card binders were instantly restrained and physically robbed of their cards.
"Thank you! Thank you! Now I can return to reality!!"
"Yeah, we got some cards we needed too. Don't come back here again."
Against attacking players, Gon's group stripped malicious ones bare and threw them out, while negotiating with players who wanted to return to reality or were legitimately trying to clear the game, increasing their card collection.
"Really, what were you trying to do to my Leorio? Should I slit your filthy throat so you can't speak spells?"
"Please forgive me, it was just a moment of weakness! I'll give you everything, just spare my life?!"
Having already surpassed fifty cards and passed the halfway point, by the time rumors spread and players stopped bothering them, they'd successfully collected over seventy designated cards.
Having gathered all they could except for cards no one had obtained yet, the highest difficulty cards, and monopolized cards, Gon's group made their name known as a top-five group among all players.
"I still can't accept this! Kurapika! Why is your aura intensity stronger after revenge than before?! You weren't this strong in Hatsu-less sparring!"
Though the death march had ended, training continued.
Gon's group kept up sparring and affinity training at a reasonable level. During Hatsu-less sparring, Killua suffered an upset loss to Kurapika and vented his frustration.
There were reasons for Killua's complaints—a regression from his newfound mental stability. One was, as stated, complete defeat in aura quality. The other, which he didn't voice, was Kurapika's appearance.
After achieving revenge, Kurapika had stopped pretending to be male and became strongly conscious of being female. With hormonal balance normalized, her appearance had changed to where she could no longer be mistaken for male.
Her hair, grown over three months, now reached slightly below her shoulders. Her body had become more rounded overall, with walls evolving into hills thanks especially to Cookie-chan's bust-up massages.
Though her speech remained somewhat stiff, Kurapika-chan, a maiden in love with Leorio, had transformed into a stunning beauty.
"I didn't know until Biscuit told me, but apparently women generally have better aura quality. I'd abandoned being female until hunting the spiders, so now that I'm conscious of being a woman, it seems more accurate to say I've returned to my natural aura."
Aura is life energy, and with things like lifespan and carrying children in the womb, women generally have stronger life force.
This was precisely why women, despite being physically inferior, could fight men without issue. It was also a major factor why Biscuit, the rare exception who wasn't even physically inferior, occupied one of the strongest positions.
"I see. So aside from exceptions like Bis—uh, Biscuit, it's basically balanced that way. Damn, does that mean it'll be tough until I grow up?"
"But Gon aside, you're pretty exceptional yourself. At your age, training your body that far without breaking is clearly abnormal."
"I just trained normally though. Can't anyone reach this level once they awaken to Nen?"
"Let me be clear about Gon—your only two options would be getting crushed by your own muscles or bursting from being unable to withstand them."
While everyone fell silent at being reminded of the young group's abnormality, the topic shifted to Killua's approaching Hunter Exam.
Gon introduced the Magical Beast Kiriko as navigators, while Biscuit advised him to crush other participants with full force unless the exam content was particularly weird.
"Depending on the situation, you might pass in record time, so listen carefully to the examiners. At your current level, you can easily cause trouble within the rules."
"Doesn't sound like something a Double-Star would say. Still, I want to finish quickly, so I'll do as you say."
Afterward, while discussing how to proceed with clearing the game, a player used a spell card to land on the hotel balcony where they were staying.
As Gon's group instantly took suppression positions, the player raised both hands with something distorted attached to his shoulder, requesting negotiations.
"I apologize for the sudden visit. As you can see, it's an emergency. I'd appreciate it if you'd at least hear me out."
Standing there was a dark-skinned man who'd entered the game simultaneously with Gon's group and accepted recruitment by the Bomb Devils' team.
Abengane, possessing the rare Hatsu ability to exorcise Nen, had appeared before Gon's group.
The emergency Abengane briefly explained about the Bomb Devils' team was shocking—executive Genthru had betrayed them and was actually the infamous player killer known as the Bomber.
Moreover, Genthru had easily handled Jispa, the team's strongest fighter, planted a bomb called Countdown on everyone gathered, then fled outside the game.
"The downside of having too many people is showing itself blatantly. We can't reach consensus, and we lack strong individuals who could handle this. One player said he'd eliminate the Bomber if we gave him all the cards, but naturally that was rejected."
As Abengane shrugged and shook his head, something like resignation radiated from him—or perhaps another hidden intention—but no one pointed this out.
"Even though we can't agree, ultimately our only choice is to hand over cards to the Bomber and cling to a sliver of hope. I can't stomach the Bomber clearing the game, so I'm going around giving information to promising groups like this."
The Bomber said he'd release them if they handed over the cards, but Abengane suspected it would actually be a simultaneous detonation.
"Your group has the most momentum right now. Please avenge our regret."
Having said that much, Abengane left with a spell card to share information with other groups. The remaining members of Gon's group exchanged glances and immediately began discussion.
The landmine lurking in Greed Island had finally moved into action, and the game accelerated toward its finale.
Would the bomber seize glory, or the first Single-Star Hunters, or perhaps the still-recovering muscles?
If there was one thing certain, the perverted key holder would continue lurking in the shadows from here on out.
***
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