Biscuit's brows lifted slightly.
"You want to meet him now?"
"No. Better to wait until they've reached the standard you've set, Biscuit-senpai." Ron shook his head.
Half a month later, Ron's research into Greed Island was more or less complete. He had obtained a Levitation Stone. As for the Plastic King, that was a Nen ability and couldn't be acquired. The Sleeping Girl turned out to be the result of a special drug—one that caused side effects with repeated use.
The Divine Characters, the game's design philosophy, all gave Ron valuable insight. The source of Greed Island's aura supply was also an important element, though not particularly meaningful for him.
Ron had his suspicions. Likely, a portion came from players, another portion from GMs, and the rest from underground power source.
"It's very possible there's a Nen beast beneath the island, drawing in energy," he thought. "Just like the Shrine."
He glanced at the crystal sphere in front of him. The progress had reached over thirty percent.
"Looks like it'll still take a while."
"In that case, I'll continue modifying the Ark in the meantime."
As he absorbed Greed Island's traits, he devoted his focus to upgrading the Ark.
Nina and the others had contacted him but weren't traveling together—they were playing the game on their own. To them, Greed Island was full of novelty. Morena had briefly entered the game but left soon after, saying she was busy with something important. Ron guessed it was tied to the Black Whale and the expedition to the Dark Continent.
Outside the game, Ponzu, Shizuku, and Angel were training hard.
Ron kept himself far behind Gon and Killua, watching from a distance.
The Phantom Troupe had replenished its ranks, bringing in four people from Meteor Street to replace those lost, including Machi. Yet the veterans felt something was off. The Troupe didn't feel the same as before—there was a sharp, unshakable sense of unfamiliarity, though this was exactly the strategy they had agreed on from the beginning.
At the same time, a shadow was cast over the Hunter Association. Few knew it, but powerful undercurrents were stirring.
Ron drew out a white card.
"Communicate."
"Magnet."
"Companion."
"Return."
These were the functions his white cards already held. Now, thanks to the Divine Character Fū, they had gained a new feature: Storage.
It functioned like an inventory system. Six slots in total. Identical items could stack in the same slot, within certain volume limits. However, items had to be placed in or removed from a slot all at once—no partial withdrawals. If a slot already contained something, even of the same kind, it had to be cleared before adding more.
The white card could also now display the holder's information, along with images of the items stored inside.
With this foundation, Ron poured more of his focus into creating the Twelve Zodiac Cards.
The Ark's Nen beast remained preserved. The challenge was binding the Zodiac abilities into the white cards while granting them higher authority.
These cards were meant for his team.
"Two problems to solve.
First: how to ensure the Zodiac abilities work outside the Ark.
Second: aura consumption."
For the white cards, he had shifted the cost onto the holder. But for the Zodiac cards, he wanted more than just giving his allies tools—he wanted to raise their overall strength.
"But the Ark's aura is limited. It can't supply heavy, constant consumption. Small amounts, yes—the Nen beast will recover over time. But I need a continuous external source."
Unlike Greed Island, Ron couldn't draw from players. The Ark wasn't a public game—it was his personal domain.
"The prison library and forest beasts aren't enough.
Death Aura won't work either. I need something that can supply aura endlessly."
He looked down at the ground.
"Greed Island likely has something like that underground. Without it, player and GM aura alone couldn't sustain its functions."
He considered exploring Greed Island's depths.
Then another thought struck him—the Incubation Chamber.
Aura was simply life energy, divided into physical and spiritual forms. The latter was harder to harvest, but the former was manageable.
The chambers could endlessly breed living creatures. Many incubation vats held mutated beasts brimming with vitality. Plants too carried life energy.
The only challenge was conversion.
"The chambers require electricity to run. That, I can handle. All I need is oil. With money, I can buy as much as I want in the outside world. Oil into power, power into incubation, incubation into life…"
He touched the Rotten Life Blade at his side.
"…and then convert that life into aura."
The blade had once given him a huge edge, devouring an opponent's aura during battles of attrition. But against foes like Oster, its effect had diminished. Now, though, for the Ark, it might be perfect.