The plot of the breakthrough in the year 33 commences.

Kurama took several deep breaths and wiped the sweat from his brow. At this moment, he could hardly be described as elegant—or rather, not even tidy. His long red hair was almost entirely soaked with sweat, and his signature martial arts uniform, designed to accentuate his figure and allow for agile movement, was now torn and tattered, with crimson stains marking places where blood had seeped through. His complexion appeared normal enough, but the beads of sweat dotting his forehead and the small scratches on his cheeks betrayed the ordeal he had just endured.

He sighed deeply once more and stepped forward, crossing to the other side of the net. "How are you, 'Master'? Still able to stand?" Kurama asked, a hint of teasing in his voice as he extended his hand toward the man opposite him—a man with a shock of upright, spiky hair and a physique like a small mountain, yet whose ever-smiling face gave him an unexpectedly warm and approachable air.

Lei Zha, sprawled amid a pile of bricks and rubble, looked up weakly, his expression a mixture of helplessness and pride. "With that cocky tone... are you sure you see me as your 'master'?" he grumbled, but nonetheless reached out, grasped Kurama’s offered arm, and with the youth’s assistance, pulled himself upright. Brushing off the dust clinging to his clothes—ignoring the mischievous, gleeful grins from his subordinates—Lei Zha gave Kurama's shoulder a hearty slap. "Well then—congratulations on your final victory in the match. And, by the way... congratulations on soon completing your collection of cards."

Indeed, Kurama’s bout with Lei Zha was not merely a friendly duel between mentor and pupil. He was challenging Lei Zha and his group of prisoners in pursuit of the 002 card, “A Yard of Coastline.” By now, more than a year had passed since Kurama had been brought into G.I. by Jin. After finishing his training with Lei Zha and obtaining Mokona’s special spell card from Jin, Kurama had settled into a leisurely routine—continuing his training in “Nen” while methodically progressing through the game. Despite his slow pace, savoring both the game and his advancement, a year was more than enough to collect all the cards—save for “A Yard of Coastline.”

Lei Zha seemed casual, but none could fathom the shock he felt inside. A year ago, Kurama had left Sufurabi with prodigious talent, already seasoned by countless battles and well-versed in the applications of “Nen.” Yet, he was still only a novice in the discipline. Now, after a year apart, Kurama had grown at an astonishing rate. Despite his current bedraggled appearance, Lei Zha knew that during the fierce dodgeball match, Kurama had emerged virtually unscathed. Compared to Lei Zha himself—ribs broken, Nen exhausted—Kurama was practically untouched.

A monster! Truly, a monster!

Inwardly, Lei Zha banged his head against a wall. As expected, neither Jin nor the brat he brought could be considered human. He fervently wished that Jin’s son would never set foot in G.I.!

Clutching his injured ribs, the warden—who could already foresee being shocked anew in the future—wished he could punch that bastard Jin Freecss into oblivion. Kurama, oblivious to his master’s inner turmoil, bid Lei Zha farewell at the stadium entrance, heading to the other side of the city to collect his last missing card.

Yet, long after that, the game’s system announcement for a clear completion never came. Lei Zha, however, knew Kurama had finished his task. But, Kurama was brought in by Jin to test the game; he would never compete for the glory of being the first to clear it. Most likely, after securing “A Yard of Coastline,” he contacted Elena and was immediately teleported to Rimel City.

Lei Zha stroked his chin, realizing Kurama had left “A Yard of Coastline” for last, perhaps just to say goodbye to him. He chuckled, despite the pain in his ribs, unable to suppress the pride and joy swelling within him—the youth was his pupil, after all!

“Idiots! We’re throwing a celebration tonight! Drink your fill—no need to hold back!” Lei Zha announced amid whistles and cheers.

***

Just as Lei Zha guessed, Kurama contacted Elena as soon as he completed his card collection. Kurama, as a tester, enjoyed the privilege of contacting any GM freely within G.I.

Per his agreement with Jin, Elena teleported Kurama to Rimel City, where he was greeted by Liszt and Don. Don was the quintessential tech geek—he came out to say hello, then immediately retreated to his room to continue his research. Liszt, with his handsome boyish looks and bright, cheerful demeanor, took charge of Kurama’s welcome.

But “welcome” merely meant chatting with Kurama while he used “Communicate” to inform Jin that he had cleared the game, passing the time until Jin arrived, and helping Kurama explore some deeper functionalities of the cards. Jin had promised Kurama G.I. items as thanks. Though Kurama knew his own collection inside out after a year of gameplay, hearing explanations from the developer revealed small secrets he had not yet discovered.

Kurama was happy to chat with Liszt. He spent nearly half a month in Rimel City waiting for Jin, enjoying pleasant conversations with Liszt. After that time, Jin finally arrived, looking none the worse for wear compared to a year ago—still in his signature survivalist outfit, even the patches on his cloak seemingly unchanged. Kurama wondered if Jin’s character design was a bit lazy.

Suppressing inappropriate thoughts, Kurama faced Jin, who smilingly opened his arms to embrace him—only to receive a sharp elbow jab.

Jin’s laughter turned to a yelp. “Ouch! Kurama! What was that for—”

“For what?” Kurama interrupted, grinning brilliantly. “A guy who disappeared for over a year has no right to complain, don’t you think?” He patted Jin’s now hunched shoulder, continuing with a bright, teasing smile. “Now do you know how it felt—when I wanted to join the Hunter Exam, tried to contact you for an address, but never got a reply? That stomach-ache of frustration?”

Jin stared speechlessly, realizing the analogy was perfect. He truly, completely understood!

Turning away, the man who could do nothing with Kurama wiped away invisible tears.

Mokona, in Kurama’s arms, patted Jin’s cheek. “There, there~ Don’t do that again next time.”

Jin, moved, grabbed Mokona and cuddled him fiercely. “Mokona is the cutest! Where did you come from? I want a Mokona too!”

Mokona, delighted both by the praise and the cuddles, replied with a smile, “No way! There’s only one Mokona—I can’t give you one!”

Jin, frustrated, squeezed him. “But Kurama is so fierce! Wouldn’t it be better to stick with me?”

Mokona immediately kicked him with tiny feet, “Let go, let go! Mokona wants Kurama!”

Jin watched mournfully as Mokona wriggled free and dove back into Kurama’s embrace, looking up only to meet the fox’s half-smiling, half-smirking face. Realizing what he had just said, Jin broke out in a cold sweat.

“So... you cleared the game, right?” he laughed awkwardly, trying to change the subject.

Kurama didn’t bother exposing him. He simply summoned his card book and tossed it in front of Jin.

Jin didn’t really check—the fact Kurama wouldn’t lie to him, and that only someone who had collected all the cards could be teleported to Rimel City, sufficed.

“How did it feel? Was the game... fun?” Jin asked expectantly.

Kurama glanced at him. “It was excellent,” he said, giving a thumbs up as Jin watched with a little concern.

Cities of romance, gambling, magic; countless monsters of every level; novel side quests and imaginative card acquisition methods. Kurama had to admit Jin and his friends were truly geniuses—they had created a remarkable and exceptionally enjoyable game.

“He’ll like it,” Kurama added, curling his lips.

Jin visibly relaxed. “Having your approval puts my mind at ease.” He turned to the blonde, smiling Liszt, who had been quietly observing: “Liszt.”

Liszt responded and left the room, returning with Don, both carrying armfuls of items—some materialized, some still in card form.

“These are the items we promised you,” Jin said as they piled the gear in front of Kurama. “I can’t guarantee every item in the card book—some things lose their function outside the game, some can’t be taken out at all—but I think this is pretty substantial, right?”

Just the “Breath of the Great Angel” cards—three of them—were rare enough that even for the developers, creating them was a long and difficult process.

Kurama was clearly satisfied. “This is perfect, thank you, Jin.”

Jin waved a hand. “We agreed from the start it would be a fair exchange—no thanks needed.”

“If anything, we should thank you—you gave every GM a reason to believe this game still matters.”

Clearly, the game’s dramatic changes had not only shaken players like Gon, but also the staff who felt their original intentions had been distorted.

Kurama thought this as he opened the Void Grass space and packed everything away—there was no longer any need to hide this from Jin.

Packing complete, the fox turned to Jin once more. “Now that I’ve cleared the game, it’s about time I leave.”

Though reluctant to part with his new friends, Kurama’s goal was always clear—to collect treasures from every world.

Jin, aware Kurama had some reason to keep gathering treasures, didn’t try to persuade him to stay. Instead, he took out an envelope, handing it to Kurama. “Here’s the entry point and method for this year’s Hunter Exam. Good luck.”

Kurama raised an eyebrow and accepted the envelope—so Jin had kept an eye on this for him all along, even though he hadn’t answered Kurama’s message last time.

“Thanks,” Kurama said, bumping fists with Jin before opening the envelope. The coded time and place inside revived memories of the plot, buried deep beneath the busy, fulfilling days in G.I.

“Sabba City, huh...”

The 287th Hunter Exam awaits.

Author's Note: And so, clearing the game, the Hunter plot begins =w= Kurama spent over a year finishing the game, which shouldn’t be considered fast... In the original, Gon and his friends took about the same amount of time, with Killua even stepping out to breeze through the Hunter Exam (Killua’s performance in that exam was simply too cool!). Next comes the Hunter arc—but probably not the whole thing; the Chimera Ant arc is just too depressing... [covers face]

This chapter's illustration: G.I. developer group portrait—this is the new character design. Lei Zha hasn’t changed much, but Jin... You look so much like Yusuke, are you really becoming Yusuke No. 2? And then Ida and Elena—their hair styles and colors aside, at least they were two beautiful girls in the old anime, but now they’ve become lolis—what’s the logic behind that? == What is the new character design thinking, orz

Usual preview of the next chapter: Departure x Exam x Reunion. Having cleared G.I., Kurama takes Mokona to the venue of the Hunter Exam in Sabba City. What encounters await them on the journey, and who is the “reunion” referring to? Please look forward to the next chapter of “Kurama the Fox Spirit”: Departure x Exam x Reunion!

PS: Thank you to dear Xiaowu and dear Lost Cat (x2) for the landmines! Pounce, mwah! =3= And I’ll keep rolling for more collections =w= I’m very obedient and easy to take care of →