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Chapter 138: Battera
Battera Image
Multi-billionaire Battera was well over sixty, yet the woman he loved was barely in her early twenties. Because of the age gap, people often assumed the young woman walking beside him was his granddaughter.
But Battera couldn't care less about public opinion. She was his true love. She liked him purely for who he was—she had zero interest in his fortune and cared even less about his age.
Tragically, fate was cruel. A car accident had left her in a vegetative state.
Battera scoured the globe for the finest doctors, but the absolute best prognosis they could offer was merely maintaining her current condition. They couldn't wake her, let alone heal her. In the depths of his despair, Battera heard rumors of two specific "Spells" existing within the game Greed Island.
One was the [Breath of Archangel], a spell capable of curing any illness or injury. The other was the [Witch's Rejuvenation Potion], a treasure that could restore a person's youth.
Battera was willing to sacrifice everything he owned to get his hands on them. So, he threw his entire fortune into purchasing copies of the game and hiring powerful individuals to clear it, all in hopes of bringing those two treasures out into the real world.
Over several years, Battera had amassed 22 copies of the game and sent hundreds of players inside. Yet, despite his efforts, not a single shred of hope for clearing it had ever materialized. For a game designed specifically for Hunters, clearing it was just too damn hard!
Battera had already bumped the clearance reward up to thirty billion Jenny, but the people answering the call continually failed to meet his expectations. Today, just like any other day, a group had arrived at his castle to audition for a slot in the game.
Battera was used to this. Most of the time, he didn't even need to show his face. Sabazushi, the captain of his armed guards, could handle the initial screening. But when Sabazushi actually contacted him, it meant the applicants possessed genuine, undeniable skill.
Kurapika had already pinpointed the exact location of Battera's castle back in Yorknew City. Upon leaving Glam Gas Land, the group made a beeline straight for it.
Upon entering the castle grounds, the armed troops, led by Sabazushi, tried to flex their authority to intimidate Ronin and the others. However, out of the five people in the group, not a single one could be considered weak. Even Abaki, their temporary addition, had power that couldn't be underestimated. After a brief test of strength, Sabazushi simply gave up and called his boss.
Sabazushi quite enjoyed his current, comfortable lifestyle. While the castle housed priceless artifacts, very few people dared to target it, making his job incredibly laid-back. Even when people showed up to audition, a cursory spar was all it took. After all, an ordinary man like Battera couldn't tell the difference between a real powerhouse and a flashy amateur anyway.
In fact, Sabazushi preferred the applicants with little real skill but a lot of street smarts. Dealing with a group like Ronin's was just a dry, unprofitable routine. Despite only exchanging a single glance with Sabazushi, Ronin instantly pegged exactly what kind of man he was. He had some skill, sure, but he was barely stronger than a rookie who had just scraped their way onto the 200th floor of Heaven's Arena.
When Battera arrived, he was flanked by other Nen users acting as bodyguards. However, none were faces Ronin recognized from his memories. Judging by the situation, Ronin guessed that Tsezguerra probably hadn't been hired by Battera yet.
Ronin didn't handle the negotiations; he left that entirely to Kurapika. The conversation was straightforward, but the outcome wasn't ideal. While Sabazushi vouched for their strength, and Battera seemed highly impressed by Kurapika's initiative, the reality remained: all of his consoles were currently in use. Freeing up five slots at once for Ronin's group was practically impossible.
"It's truly unfortunate. If the copies auctioned in Yorknew hadn't been stolen, getting you all in wouldn't be an issue," Battera sighed regretfully. "But as it stands, I only have two slots available. That means three of you will have to wait behind."
"If a player dies in the game, or gets booted out, does that free up a slot?" Ronin's very first comment instantly chilled the room. The implication heavily hinted at murdering players inside the game to open up space.
"Yes," Battera replied. Despite his slight nervousness, he silently agreed with Ronin's logic. It just wasn't something you said out loud.
From a ruthless businessman's perspective, the players occupying those slots were doing gods-knew-what inside the game, contributing absolutely nothing to clearing it. It would be better if they gave their slots to someone actually useful. Bluntly put, they were dead weight hoarding resources. By answering honestly, Battera made his true stance perfectly clear to Ronin's group.
Ronin, however, didn't harbor any murderous intent. Even though the Bomber was likely already setting traps inside the game right now, that was none of his business. As long as the Bomber didn't provoke him, Ronin wouldn't go out of his way to exterminate the guy.
His idea of "freeing up slots" was much simpler: enter the game, find the method to exit, and boot other players out. Through coordination between the inside and outside, they could easily secure enough slots for their entire squad.
"Then Neon and I will go in first." With Battera's green light, Ronin selected Neon to accompany him. To his mind, it was the most optimal pairing. Shizuku's combat power was second only to his own; pairing her with Kurapika would guarantee their safety in the real world. Furthermore, Kurapika's intellect meant he would know exactly what needed to be done on the outside.
"Works for me," Kurapika nodded, agreeing with Ronin's arrangement.
Battera was quite fond of Ronin's decisiveness. Truth be told, he thought 'sending players out' was far too tedious compared to just permanently silencing them in-game. Unfortunately, he didn't dare voice that opinion. If they misunderstood him and took offense, a normal human like him wouldn't survive the fallout.
More importantly, through their brief interaction, Battera astutely realized that Ronin's group likely didn't care about clearing the game, nor were they after his thirty-billion-Jenny bounty. They had an ulterior motive. They had power, they had a goal, and Battera knew his armed guards couldn't guarantee his absolute safety. Therefore, he couldn't risk rejecting them.
Battera was a man who understood the times and knew how to read a room. Accumulating such vast resources as an ordinary human was proof of his extraordinary vision and capability.
Sabazushi was starting to look dangerously unreliable. As Battera left the room, he was already mulling over a friend's recommendation to contact the Single-Star Hunter, Tsezguerra. The man was supposedly incredibly strong. If he could hire him with a massive commission, it might not only secure his own safety but also drastically increase the odds of clearing Greed Island. If thirty billion wasn't enough, what about raising the stakes to fifty billion?
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