It was good to find the target so quickly, but considering the condition of the team, it was better not to rush things.
Bisky said:
"I used 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie' a few hours ago. If I use it again now, its stress-relief effects won't be as strong. I think we should wait until morning to specifically treat Shizuku and Menchi for their stress."
It was normal for Bisky to be cautious.
Germain was also worried that Shizuku and Menchi's accumulated stress might affect their mental state.
If their stress levels exceeded 100 points, they wouldn't benefit from the "Virtue" boost. Instead, they'd develop something like "Torment," which could spiral into a state of "mental exhaustion and death."
Given the harsh conditions of this wasteland, there was even a possibility they could become undead spirits, cursed to linger forever.
No one in the group wanted to see that happen.
If Germain was under too much stress, there was at least a chance it could lead to something positive. But for the others, excessive stress would undoubtedly lead to a terrible outcome.
What was worse, while enduring "Torment," they might act irrationally or mumble incoherently, which could affect Germain, Ging, and Bisky.
Germain could handle it—he was used to such situations.
But Ging and Bisky hadn't experienced sudden "stress surges" or the effects of "Torment" before.
If things spiraled out of control, it could be like dominoes falling—eventually, all four of them might be trapped by "Torment."
At that point, Germain wouldn't get any helpful feedback from his teammates—or worse, the feedback might be negative. That would be a big problem.
"Let's rest for now," Germain decided. "We know the target's general direction, and it probably won't move too quickly."
So, the group stayed in the cave, while massive beasts outside silently moved forward.
Occasionally, wandering spirits floated by in a hurry, as if they were pressed for time.
Deep inside the cave, under the dim yellow light, five "Sleeping Girls" remained curled up in their sleeping bags. They slept soundly, completely unaware of the strange happenings outside.
Germain took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. The time had long passed midnight—it was now October 9th, 2:13 a.m.
Menchi unlocked a few cards and took out some small cakes and macarons that Granny Linne had baked with her. She handed them out to everyone as a midnight snack.
The desserts melted in their mouths, soft and sweet. The delicious treats eased some of their stress and lifted their spirits.
Bisky then unlocked the "Fragrant Hair Maiden" card. As long as the card was active, anyone nearby who smelled her hair fragrance would gradually feel their stress fade away.
However, the "Fragrant Hair Maiden" could only stay active for a limited time before disappearing. When that happened, Bisky had to unlock another card to reactivate her.
Unfortunately, "Fragrant Hair Maiden" was an A-class card, so there weren't many of them. It didn't take long before Bisky ran out.
Shizuku opened the silver suitcase full of cards and began flipping through them one by one, reading the descriptions to see if there was another card like "Sleeping Girls" or "Fragrant Hair Maiden" that could help them now.
Suddenly, she paused, her large eyes blinking curiously, and pulled out a card.
"Take a look at this one. What do you think?"
Everyone turned to her. She held up an A-class card labeled "Doyen's Virility Pills."
"It says, 'This can make a part of the body reach peak activity, with increased frequency and endurance…'"
Bisky quickly waved her hand to stop Shizuku from finishing.
"No, no, no, Shizuku. This thing isn't useful here. And as beautiful girls, if we keep talking about it, we'll ruin our image."
"I don't understand what you mean." Shizuku tilted her head, looking a bit stubborn. "If it can make 'a part of the body reach peak activity,' isn't that a good thing? It could boost us, right?"
The cave fell into an awkward silence.
Bisky glanced at the others. Menchi's face was red, while Germain and Ging—the two men—were utterly useless in this situation.
She sighed. It seemed she had to handle this herself.
Standing up, Bisky leaned in close to Shizuku and whispered an explanation in her ear about what "a part of the body" really meant in this context.
After a moment, Shizuku looked puzzled. "If that's the case, why not just say it boosts 'the pen—'"
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Bisky interrupted her again, flustered by Shizuku's bluntness. "There's no need to say it out loud. We all know what it means."
Ging coughed lightly and explained, "This is one of the subtle hints we left when designing the game back then. Since there were female members in the team, we didn't feel comfortable making it too explicit."
"Dwun really went overboard. Why did he include this card in the suitcase?"
Germain replied, "Dwun said it's best to throw all kinds of cards in there. You never know what kind of situation we might face. Maybe a card like this will come in handy."
"How could this possibly be useful…" Ging laughed awkwardly, half-amused, half-frustrated.
Bisky chimed in, "It's all because you guys had way too much bad taste back then. If only you'd made cards that were more normal and powerful, it would've been better."
Germain said, "Actually, Dwun and List are already working on designing new cards. If necessary, even our Nen abilities might be included in the cards."
"Oh… I heard about that! They asked for my suggestions!" Bisky crossed her arms proudly. "My card, 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie's Piano Massage,' is definitely SS-tier rare without a doubt!"
"What about you guys? If you could design a card, what kind of card would you make?"
Currently, in Greed Island, there are only five SS-tier rare cards: 'Ruler's Blessing,' 'Plot of Beach,' 'Plot of Forest,' 'Archangel's Breath,' and 'Blue Planet.'
The first three are deeply tied to the main storyline.
'Archangel's Breath' is SS-tier because of its powerful healing ability, combined with the limitation that it can only be used on the same person once due to its Vows and Limitations.
'Blue Planet' earned its SS-tier rarity purely for its unmatched beauty.
Currently, the original 'Blue Planet' is in Bisky's possession. Future replicas, while similar, won't have the same rarity or value, naturally dropping to S-tier.
Shizuku adjusted her glasses and joined the conversation. "Hmm… If it's me, my card would be 'Blinky's Storage.'"
"Feels like an S-tier card!" Bisky joked, as if playing the comedic sidekick.
"Mine would be 'Masterful Knife Work!'" Menchi exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"Pfft! Pfft!" Bisky stuck out her tongue and gave Menchi a thumbs-down, clearly unimpressed. "That sounds like a card below C-tier. So weak!"
"What?! Are you looking down on my knife skills?! Bisky, do you want to challenge me in a cooking contest?"
"As if I'd compete with you in something I'm not good at!"
"What?!"
Bisky and Menchi started arguing, their voices getting louder and louder until they suddenly burst out laughing, like two crazy women.
Thanks to their antics, the tense atmosphere in the cave noticeably improved.
Shizuku turned to Germain and asked, "If you could design a card, what would it be?"
"Hmm, probably 'Cleaver and Firearm.'" Germain replied, "It would let players manifest weapons for combat."
"That's so basic…" Bisky, having ended her quarrel with Menchi, rolled her eyes when she overheard Germain's idea.
"Sometimes basic is good." Germain shrugged. "It could be an initial weapon for players, giving them some combat ability right from the start."
Ging chimed in, "The rarity and power of those cards will ultimately depend on how Dwun and List design them. They have to keep the game balanced, after all."
"What about you?" Germain asked Ging. "If you were designing a card, what would you create?"
"I've already done that," Ging said calmly. "Don't forget, I was one of the original members of Greed Island."
"Which card did you design?" Bisky perked up, ready to nitpick and mock whatever answer Ging gave.
"It's not exactly my design," Ging admitted. "I just provided the concept." He seemed lost in thought for a moment, reminiscing, before snapping back to the present.
"You've all used it before—the 'Breath of Archangel.'"
"That card was based on your idea?" Bisky was surprised, then nodded as if everything made sense. "No wonder it's so powerful."
Ging explained, "'Breath of Archangel' was modeled after an actual Nen ability."
"It took us a long time to figure out how to replicate it. Because it was so challenging, the card's quantity is very limited, and restocking it is incredibly difficult."
"Prototype?" Bisky asked curiously.
"It's based on my wife's Nen ability," Ging said calmly. "However, her ability wasn't as powerful as Breath of the Archangel. After giving birth to Gon, she passed away."
"That's why I left instructions with Razor. If Gon ever came to Greed Island, he wasn't to hold back. He should go all out against him."
"If Gon could withstand Razor's trial, he'd earn the right to come find me. If not, Razor was to use his mother's Nen ability to heal him and send him back home."
The cave fell silent once more.
Germain pulled out Breath of the Archangel from his card deck. He stared at the image of the holy woman with golden hair flowing, realizing this must have been modeled after Gon's mother.
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