September 6, 1999, in the afternoon. The Southernpiece Auction had officially begun. The event would last from September 6th to September 10th.
Under the guidance of an attendant, Cyr arrived at Auction Hall B. As soon as he stepped in, his gaze collided with two others. One of them was Feitan, whom he had met a few days ago. But instead of Franklin, another man stood beside him.
Huh? Why is the Phantom Troupe here? Logically, if they didn't need an Exorcist, there was no reason for them to bid on Greed Island.
"Someone you know?" Phinks followed Feitan's gaze and casually asked.
"A brat from District 12." Feitan looked away without interest.
"Oh?" Phinks' eyes glinted with amusement. "A kid from District 12? At that age, we might as well have raised him ourselves—" "Pfft—!" He couldn't help but laugh at his own joke.
As one of District 12's benefactors, the statement wasn't exactly wrong. Too bad only he found it funny. Feitan's expression remained completely blank.
Cyr's sharp hearing caught the conversation. He glanced at them, then continued down the red-carpeted staircase. As he passed by, he casually threw out a remark: "You only raised me for less than a year."
That was the truth. He had only stayed in Meteor City for less than a year. After that, he had been fending for himself. The Spiders had nothing to do with how he grew up.
"Cough—" Phinks simply chuckled. He didn't seem to mind.
Who would've thought that a kid from District 12 would be doing so well? After all, entering this Auction required an entry fee of 12 million Jenny. Yet this kid had made it in.
"Tch. Pampas must've hit another goldmine." Just thinking about that money-obsessed bastard made Phinks' head hurt. Every year, Pampas called him for money like clockwork. Even someone as laid-back as Phinks found it annoying.
Cyr's seat was near the front, right next to Battera. Today, Battera's 'Sleeping Beauty' was nowhere to be seen. However, Killua and Gon were with him—clearly just here for fun. Tsezguerra, of course, was present as a bodyguard.
As for Sora, he was stuck outside. The auction house had a strict no magical beasts policy. Not even extra money could change that rule.
Cyr casually flipped through the auction catalog. Each item listed its auction time and venue. After skimming through, he found nothing interesting. So, he closed the booklet and lazily watched the auctioneer on stage.
The first set of Greed Island was auctioned off. Battera won the bid at 35.8 billion Jenny. After verifying the product, he immediately handed it over to Cyr.
Maro took the game console case in his hands.
"Deal's done. Bye~" Cyr waved nonchalantly and left the auction hall.
Feitan and Phinks only glanced at him briefly. They didn't make a move. There were still six more sets left. They only needed one.
September 10, 1999. Battera successfully purchased the remaining sets of Greed Island. Each console was escorted by different people through different routes. One of them got stolen along the way.
Elsewhere— "Master, where are we going?" Maro asked.
"Somewhere safe to play." Cyr was deep in thought.
Once they entered the game, there were only two ways out:
1. Clear the game.
2. Obtain a specific item that allowed exit.
If they didn't get that item, they'd be trapped inside. Sure, the game console couldn't be destroyed, but it was still better to find a secure location.
Somewhere with guards, preferably.
10 days later.
Meteor City, District 12.
"So… this is why you came back?"
Syd, dressed in a priest's robe, crossed his arms and stared at the case in Maro's hands.
"You returned to Meteor City… just to play a game?"
"You've been gone for almost a year."
"Couldn't you have come up with a better excuse?"
"Like, I don't know—missing the environment of Meteor City?"
"Hah, forget it."
"You could've at least said you missed Meteor City and came back to visit."
"That would've been a way more acceptable reason."
"But no—you came back just so someone could keep an eye on your game console?"
Syd took a deep breath. He held back the urge to kick Cyr and his entire group out of Meteor City.
"Yep." The white-haired boy nodded without hesitation.
Syd gritted his teeth.
Whatever little unfamiliarity had built up over the past year was completely gone.
This kid—no matter how much he had grown taller, his personality was exactly the same.
Still just as infuriating.
"And who's this?" Syd's sharp gaze swept over the blonde young man.
Fine, whatever, Cyr could come back.
But why did he bring two walking stomachs with him?
A young man and a magical beast—neither of them looked like they ate small portions.
"You—Uh, um… It's an honor to meet you, sir! I am my master's servant!" Maro hesitated over how to address him, then quickly bowed politely.
He had heard this man had watched over his master when he was younger. He had to make a good impression!
"Servant?" Syd turned back to Cyr.
Oh, this kid's got some nerve.
He left for a bit and came back with a servant?
Then that magical beast must be a pet.
A servant and a pet magical beast? How very noble-like.
"Alright, alright. Go play your game." Syd waved them off, already too tired to care.
"We'll be playing at the church, then." Cyr casually motioned for Maro to set up the console right next to Syd's usual meditation spot.
Then, he powered on the game and put on the so-called game memory card—a ring.
After that, he activated his Nen.
"Link start." Cyr declared with full ceremony.
In Sword Art Online, players would say this phrase when logging in. It felt dramatic—perfect for someone with chuunibyou tendencies.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his body disappeared from the real world.
A cascade of blue data streams gathered, flickered, and then dispersed—eventually forming a blue-lit room.
"I hate data streams…" Cyr muttered, rubbing his nose. He paused, then frowned.
Oh. A nosebleed.
That meant this was real-body transmission.
So the Greed Island console's main function was actually teleportation?
No wonder dying in the game meant real death—because players entered with their actual bodies.
Which meant… Greed Island was a real place somewhere in the world.
That also explained why his cursed spirit had been transported with him.
Inside the enclosed room, a pink-haired woman, wearing a futuristic-looking helmet, sat in a floating capsule-like chair.
"Would you like to hear the game rules?"
"Go ahead." Cyr sighed impatiently.
"Understood. In this game, there are two main abilities: 'Book' and 'Gain'…"
Book allowed players to summon a book containing empty slots. The pages had two sections:
1. Numbered Slots (0–99): Only cards with matching numbers could be placed here.
2. Free Slots (45 total): Any card could be placed here.
If a player collected all the numbered cards, they would clear the game.
To obtain a card, players had to first acquire an item. Once obtained, the item transformed into a card.
Gain could revert a card back into its original item.
However, once an item had been converted back, it could not be changed into a card again.
There was also a limit on certain card types:
Some cards had a maximum quantity of over 100.
Some cards had only one copy in the game.
If all available copies had already been turned into cards, newly obtained items couldn't be converted.
Additionally, if a player did not place a newly converted card into the book within one minute, it automatically reverted to an item—and again, could never be turned into a card again.
Cyr's brows twitched in irritation.
So many scattered rules.
He hated listening to long-winded explanations, especially when he already had a headache.
But rules were important in games. He had no choice but to listen.
"And finally, the most important rule—"
"If a player dies in the game, their ring and book will be destroyed, and all collected cards will disappear."
Huh?
That's it?
Not even a mention of real-world death?
Guess it was already common knowledge.
"Now then—"
"The game begins."
°°°
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