Chapter 32: First Guidance—Genius Among Demons

Perhaps it was because Jin had given the GMs advance notice, but when Kurama entered the game, the first person he encountered in the initial space was not the cold and robotic Ida, but a vibrant, lively, and beautiful young woman with a radiant smile.

Given the era in which Greed Island was created and Jin’s age, the authenticity of this “young woman” was certainly questionable. Yet, Kurama’s temperament, coupled with the influence of his mother in this life, meant he would never say anything disrespectful to a woman.

So, when Jin followed Kurama into the game and entered the initial space, he was greeted with a dazzling scene: Kurama and Ida sitting opposite each other at a cream-colored table, chatting and laughing as they enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea.

The black-haired man couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth—completely unaware that his own usual behavior often elicited this very reaction from Kurama.

“Hey, hey, Ida, this isn’t right, is it? You have to do the proper entrance explanations for players joining the game. Look, the next player has already logged in!” Jin rolled his eyes and feigned a tone of admonishment.

However...

“The next player? Where?” Ida, whose face was lit up with laughter thanks to Kurama’s witty yet tactful conversation, raised an eyebrow in confusion at Jin’s “complaint.”

She glanced around and then looked back at Jin: “Jin, long time no see. Not only has your eyesight worsened, but it seems your intelligence has become hopeless too. I don’t see any new player here. But if you’re referring to yourself…”

She blinked, her beautiful face glowing with a beatific smile.

“Shall I remind you that the initiator of this game’s development project was none other than Mr. Freecss himself?”

Jin, dazzled by Ida’s radiant smile and left speechless by her words, could only slump over, frustrated and guilty, as he plopped himself down next to Kurama. He snatched the exquisite pastry in front of the fox spirit and began eating heartily, shoving Mokona into Kurama’s arms as he did so: “Here, your treasure.”

“…”

—What a terribly clumsy way to change the subject.

Kurama almost wanted to cover his face for Jin’s sake.

But since this was ultimately an issue between friends, he simply expressed his thanks and accepted Mokona into his arms—since he couldn’t use Nen, bringing the little one in and out of Greed Island was a real challenge.

Jin had promised at the start to personally bring Mokona into the game, and after that, he and his friends would urgently create a special spell card just for Mokona, so he could freely enter and exit the game with Kurama.

Kurama believed this card’s development was the real reason Jin accompanied him into Greed Island—otherwise, Jin would have thrown him in, given the GMs a couple of instructions, and then dashed off on his own!

In fact, Kurama found it quite entertaining that, wherever Jin went—be it his hometown Whale Island, the Greed Island he built with such effort, or the Hunter Association, which was the starting point for so many adventures and friendships—he was constantly pursued and berated by countless people for his habit of vanishing without warning and his utter lack of responsibility.

Watching Jin, who had just been gleefully snatching Kurama’s food, get dragged away by the ear by Ida—followed by the constant stream of complaints from the corner—Kurama and Mokona exchanged a mischievous look and shared a sly smile.

As for Jin… well, it served him right!

The two of them exchanged a high five in perfect harmony and gleefully set about demolishing the delicious afternoon tea Ida had prepared. Little did they expect a soft laugh to suddenly sound behind them...

Kurama turned to see a beautiful girl who looked almost identical to Ida, except her hair was pale blue and curly, not pink and straight. She stood not far behind, watching Kurama with a cheerful smile.

Seeing she had his attention, the young woman walked over and gracefully seated herself where Ida had been, introducing herself with a gentle smile: “Good afternoon. You must be Kurama, whom Jin mentioned? Welcome to Greed Island. I’m Elena, Ida’s twin sister.”

Unlike Ida’s lively exuberance, Elena’s beauty was gentle and intellectual—unassuming, yet deeply comforting.

Kurama instinctively felt they would get along well, and sure enough, not long after Jin returned, head hanging low after a scolding from Ida, he found Kurama and Elena deep in pleasant conversation...

Yusuke Mark II (hey!) almost wanted to kneel to his friend—what kind of monstrous charm was this! Both these companions, though female, hardly ever showed men the slightest warmth; to be treated so amiably by them was no easy feat.

Comparing his own treatment to Kurama’s, Jin felt a surge of imbalance. But even if he wanted to protest, he knew he had no grounds, so he just moved his lips a few times, then awkwardly fell silent.

Fortunately, both Elena and Ida had their own work to attend to, so their little chat and Jin’s reminiscence couldn’t last long. Their main purpose in meeting Kurama was to facilitate future monitoring of his progress during the “test” phase of the game.

Bidding farewell to the beautiful twins, Kurama and Jin left the initial cabin, descended the spiral staircase, and emerged into a vast, seemingly endless expanse of green prairie.

“This is where the game officially begins,” Jin said, puffing out his chest with pride as Kurama looked on in amazement and appreciation.

“Originally, this was meant to be a beginner’s trial—no items, just relying on your own strength to find the nearest towns. But now…”

But now, this grassland had become a hunting ground for veteran players to stalk and prey upon newcomers. Taking advantage of their confusion, they’d mark new arrivals with spell cards and monitor their movements, making robbery or worse all the easier.

Kurama noticed Jin’s mood had soured, but he offered no words of comfort—just patted Jin on the shoulder and let him vent. For someone like Jin, such feelings came and went quickly.

Sure enough, soon Jin had recovered his brilliant smile. “Even though you know what kind of place this is, you don’t have to rush into it today.”

With that, he summoned the card album from his ring and used the “Companion” card, taking Kurama directly from the cabin to their next destination—the coastal city of Sofurabi, where one of the GMs, Reiza, was located.

Jin had no intention of lingering; he simply brought Kurama here and asked Reiza to be his temporary Nen instructor—since Jin himself was utterly unqualified. To this day, Kurama hadn’t even performed the water divination test and had no idea what Nen type he possessed.

After dropping Kurama off, Jin hurried off to Rimel City to consult with List and Doon about creating a special spell card for Mokona.

Kurama and Reiza watched Jin leave with a hurried, “He’s all yours!”—then fly off without a backward glance. They exchanged a look, sharing the same awkwardness and apology.

That instantly shortened the distance between them, creating a buffer for their interactions to come.

Though Reiza had already heard from Jin how monstrous Kurama’s talent was, he doubted he’d make a good teacher. Still, with a talent even Jin praised, Kurama probably wouldn’t need much help... right?

—Well.

Soon enough, Reiza understood what Jin meant by “monstrous.”

Kurama’s training speed was astonishing. Reiza had never seen anyone for whom honing Nen became as ordinary as eating or drinking in less than a week.

The warden was dumbfounded by this youth whose progress seemed to leap ahead every single day.

Seeing Kurama nearly perfect his basic skills in record time, Reiza finally accepted reality and performed the water divination test with him one evening.

It was nothing complicated—just a glass, filled three-quarters with clear water, and a green leaf floating on the surface.

Kurama had suspected he was an Enhancer, and indeed, this was confirmed. However, due to the “Gift of the World,” he’d also been granted a Specialist attribute, whose use remained a mystery.

As for Reiza…

The warden turned away, resignedly accepting this sort of thing as his new normal.

A few days later, with Kurama having mastered all four basic skills, Jin’s continued absence meant he couldn’t truly begin the game, but only remain in the small city. To help Kurama develop practical control over Nen techniques, Reiza took him on coastal patrols.

—Don’t underestimate this seemingly boring job!

Reiza told Kurama it was actually one of the most interesting GM duties in all of Greed Island.

At first, Kurama didn’t understand, but that changed quickly. Though there was only one Phantom Troupe, there were plenty of daring and cunning opportunists with dreams of their own.

If the Troupe could uncover Greed Island’s secrets, other experts could too.

In fact, every year—no, every month—or even every few days, intruders would show up along the island’s rocky coastline.

Reiza’s way of dealing with them was simple: one word—fight!

Fight them off, scare them off, incapacitate them, or kill them—whichever worked, but always, upon seeing an intruder, you launch an attack.

Far from finding this brutish approach lacking in finesse, Kurama actually… loved it.

Thus, under the tutelage of his half-rogue master, the fox spirit began his wonderful life as a “coastal inspector” (or not!).

Though invaders didn’t arrive every day, every few days brought a fresh attempt. This frequency of powerful figures appearing in the Hunter world secretly startled Kurama—no wonder this was a world where Mokona could recharge its energy in just half a year! Truly high-risk indeed!

Through these daily battles, Kurama’s grasp over Nen and its applications grew ever more proficient. Even though that troublesome Specialist ability remained elusive, Kurama now seemed as much a native of the Hunter world as anyone—Nen was his birthright, and no one would doubt it.

So, as Kurama delighted in mastering Nen at a breathtaking pace and continued to wreak havoc with glee, more than two months flew by.

One morning, after yet another exhilarating night on patrol, Kurama and Reiza were heading back to their dorm to rest when Jin finally appeared before them again—

“The card is finished.”

Bathed in the brilliant morning light, the black-haired man announced this triumphantly, grinning from ear to ear.

Author’s Note: Alright, you win. I admit, when the Earl first appeared, he was indeed a candidate for CP. The reason I brought him in at the end of the Reborn arc was firstly to hand over the “Gift of the World” (since it’s a cheat item), and secondly to gauge everyone’s reaction. Though the hints weren’t obvious, the response to the Earl as a CP was rather lukewarm... Plus, the dynamic between him and Kurama as seme and uke was problematic, so I decided to move on and focus on the next world’s candidates.

But now you’re all at it again... Pinch your cheeks! You’re all such mischievous imps! So, to avoid spoilers, I’ll just say—the next world is FZ. As for CP candidates... well, there are only a few, but any would be more dominant than the Earl, I think... [covers face]

So, don’t argue over CP choices for now. No matter what, Kurama will go to FZ, and new candidates will appear. Who knows what chemistry will arise until we actually get there? Please be patient—these things will work out!

That concludes the explanation about CP. Next, here’s an illustration of the twin sisters—

There truly aren’t many images of the G.I. development team, and these two have even fewer. This one is a little blurry, likely a screenshot from the anime, but you can still see their general appearance. Jin’s friends are all monsters—just look at these youthful faces... You really can’t tell their age at all! [envy, jealousy, hatred]

Finally, the routine preview for the next chapter: Two Years x Breaking Through x Story Begins. With both the instructor and Mokona’s special card problems solved, it’s time for Kurama’s game-clear strategy! Will this process really take two years? And before the story begins in earnest, can he complete it? Please look forward to the next chapter, “Demon Fox Kurama: Two Years x Breaking Through x Story Begins!”

P.S. Thank you to Lianfei and Xiao Zhao for the grenades! Hugs and kisses =3= Rolling around, still begging for bookmarks =w= I’m very well-behaved and easy to look after~