"Don't equate Star rank with combat power. Stars only represent a Hunter's contributions and achievements. As long as you work diligently, you can grind your way to becoming a Single-Star Hunter just by putting in the time. Besides, you can tell just by looking at this uncle that he isn't a combat-oriented Hunter," Allen explained, shaking his head with a smile.
In fact, much like the classification of wanted criminals or biological threat levels, Hunter Star ranks were not based 100% on individual strength.
This meant that a No-Star Hunter wasn't necessarily inferior to a Single, Double, or Triple-Star Hunter; likewise, a B-rank fugitive or dangerous organism wasn't necessarily weaker than an A-rank one. Quite the opposite, a Star Hunter might simply have entered the profession earlier, completed more missions, or made larger institutional contributions.
Many B-rank fugitives and dangerous creatures were only ranked lower than A-rank because their aggressiveness or degree of harm toward human society as a whole was slightly lower.
This was why, during the Hunter Exam, most of the content focused heavily on how a person reacted to unknown risks, what Chairman Netero referred to as "impression value." Once you obtained a license and became a Hunter, you were destined to face dangers that transcended common sense and logic.
Baise nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I see. Sorry, Uncle, I guess I hit you a bit too hard. But moving on, will you be handing over your cards yourselves, or do I have to do it for you?"
As she spoke, she stepped up to Tsezguerra, leaning down to stare into the Single-Star Hunter's eyes. Just as he was about to speak, she suddenly, and without warning, gave him a passionate kiss.
Instant Lover activated!
Tsezguerra didn't stand a chance. He dropped to his knees on the spot, turning into a total "simp," his previous tough-guy persona completely shattered.
Without a hitch, he summoned his binder used for storing cards and casting spells, "voluntarily" donating every single card inside. Not just him, but the rest of his team members, who had woken up from their stupor after Allen's treatment, were similarly manipulated by Baise's Manipulation-type ability. They "voluntarily" surrendered the contents of their binders in a heap.
Looking at the Specified Slot Cards that had been transferred to his own book, Allen let out a satisfied smile. "Not bad! You've actually collected rare cards like Angel's Breath, Pregnancy Stone, Risky Dice, and Golden Scales. You truly live up to your reputation as the team closest to clearing the game."
"Hmm? A stone that can make anyone pregnant, regardless of gender? Does something that miraculous really exist in this world?" Baise leaned in, staring at Card No. 007 with a gasp.
"Yeah! It's certainly strange enough. Why, do you want to try it?"
Allen manifested the card into its physical form: a uniquely shaped stone weighing about three kilograms. Seeing its specific effect, he felt more certain than ever that Gon Freecss likely had no mother at all. It was highly probable that Ging had accidentally found this stone somewhere, carried it for over a month, and ended up pregnant himself.
"No! No! No! I am definitely not ready to be a mother. Maybe you can let Bodoro try it," Baise said, backing away several steps in fright.
"Me? Count me out! Bearing children is a woman's job; I have no intention of wasting precious time and energy on that," Bodoro replied. As a traditional, old-fashioned man, he rejected such a deviant method of reproduction without a second thought.
However, Allen clearly hadn't given up on his experimental plans. He summoned Lupos and fastened the stone to the wolf. He wanted to see if this male Alpha Wolf would actually give birth to a pup in a few months.
It had to be said that after entering Greed Island, Allen's latent "gamer" mindset had been reactivated. He began to crave more experimentation and exploration to satisfy his surging curiosity.
As the only female in the party, Baise noticed Lupos's resentful, "done-with-life" gaze. Her lips twitched uncontrollably before she asked, "Where to next?"
"I'm not sure. Since my knowledge of this game is limited, we'll take it one step at a time. We'll head to a densely populated area to gather intel and see if we can find clues regarding Doyen's Growth Pills. Of course, if we encounter anyone bold enough to attack us, or someone holding a card I'm interested in, we'll just have to blame their bad luck."
With that, Allen pulled another extremely rare card, Angel's Breath, from his specified slot and handed it to the massive Red Dragon that had manifested behind him.
Vaelstrasz didn't hesitate, opening his maw and swallowing the card whole. Before Baise or Bodoro could react, a staggering amount of Nen was released from within Vaelstrasz's belly. The terrifying aura and the amplification produced by the Vows and Restrictions made everyone present feel the immense power of that card.
After a minute or two, once the aura subsided, Allen asked with interest, "Well? Can you use the power of your Essence of Life to simulate this ability?"
"While I can't say it's 100% impossible, it has too many restrictions layered into it and utilizes multiple complex abilities. With your current level of mastery, it cannot be done," Vaelstrasz gave a blunt, negative answer.
"Alright, that's about what I expected. No matter; I didn't have high hopes anyway."
As Allen spoke, he returned the Red Dragon to its void state and led the way down the main road toward the nearest town. It was clear that the Greed Island development team was ten thousand times better at anti-cheat than most online games; they had not only plugged every loophole but ensured that almost no cards or items could be taken off this isolated island.
Just as he led his small team away from the starting point, the effect of Instant Lover finally expired. Tsezguerra and his three teammates, Barry, Rodriot, and Kess, quickly regained their senses and immediately summoned their binders to check their losses.
Seeing the empty card slots, one of them couldn't help but let out a despairing wail. "NO!!!! That damn kid stole every single card we worked so hard to collect! He didn't leave a single one!"
"Be thankful! At least he didn't kill us, and he even gave us basic medical treatment," another slightly chubby fellow muttered, trying to console himself with a bitter smile.
The last teammate nodded in agreement. "You're right. A loss is a loss; there's no use complaining. But it's truly unbelievable! They are rookies who only passed the exam this year, yet they possess such terrifying Nen. Whether it's the man in heavy armor or that woman who didn't look like much, they all have aura capacities far beyond ours. Just how do they train? To become that strong in such a short time!"
"Regarding that question, I think we need to head outside and do a proper investigation on this young man named Allen. Clearly, the information on the Hunter Website isn't comprehensive, it missed the most important parts."
Tsezguerra struggled to his feet, dusting off his clothes, a look of profound chagrin on his face. It was his error in judgment that had led the entire team to an unprecedented defeat. The only silver lining was that the opponent clearly had no intention of a massacre; he had merely taken all the cards as agreed.
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