LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 20: The Journey to Zoldyck Mountain
*Author's Note*
Don't worry about burning out. I don't burn out, I get writer's block. But during that three-month timeout, I wrote a relatively detailed outline for the future chapters so I shouldn't get into any writer's blocks before the Clone Wars when the MC is 19~22.
Chapter 20 The Journey to Zoldyck Mountain
With the Hunter Exam over, Killua left the hotel under Illumi's watchful eye, not even able to say a word to Rayleigh or anyone else as he left. Ray was tempted to run after him, but he was already pushing his luck with Illumi and didn't want the older assassin out of his sight before Gon woke up.
The Hunter Licenses would be printed that night and given to the winners the next day, so everyone was given the key to a room to spend the night in and relax.
Rayleigh intended to just meditate in Gon's room, but Satotsu, the first trial's examiner, said he'd watch over Gon until he woke up. When it was printed, he would also be the one to give Gon his license.
Rayleigh politely thanked him. It was obvious that this Hunter was also protecting Gon, and Rayleigh didn't feel that this man was on a lower level than Hisoka and Illumi.
Rayleigh found the Hotel's kitchen and made a nice feast for everyone as a celebration. This included all the passing participants and staff members, and though perhaps not as good as the One-Star Gourmet Hunter's cuisine, it was still delicious, and he personally handed over a plate to Satotsu who remained with Gon during the feast. All the Jurors, including Netero, and the participants, including Hisoka and Illumi, were invited.
During the meal, Hisoka did walk up and ask, "I thought you said you only cooked for your friends?"
He wasn't asking about himself, he was asking about Illumi.
Rayleigh smiled and said, "There's a line from a good book I read a long time ago that has always stuck with me. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Rayleigh wondered if the Hunter World had its own Sun Tzu.
Hisoka gave an appreciative chuckle before returning to his meal.
That night, Rayleigh mentally entered the Tavern. It had been over a week since his last Mission, but he had been focusing on the Exam. Rayleigh's connection to the Force and his overall abilities had massively improved since the creation of his new Code, and he wanted to try a harder Mission, jumping from a 45 Point Mission directly to a 50 Point Mission.
Rayleigh found a seemingly simple one on the Mission Board and placed his hand on it.
[Trailblazer!
Find a path to the mountain.
Reward: 50 Mission Points
Do you want to Start?
Yes | No.]
Rayleigh answered Yes, and a moment later, all the sheets on the wall turned blank, indicating he had used up his once-a-week chance to do a Mission. The fact that he didn't receive any memories meant he failed.
"Hey brat, come down to the bar."
Rayleigh heard the familiar voice of a red-bearded lumberjack, though the man was not next to him.
He walked back down to the lower part of the Tavern over to where Red was minding the Bar and took a seat.
Red handed Rayleigh a glass of Beer and said, "Everyone who has tried a 50 Point Mission so far has failed, so we decided to give you some details before you make another attempt. There is a big difference in difficulty between the Missions below 50 points in value and those 50 and above. We give less than 50 points for what are essentially kiddie Pocket Dimensions games that are simple and low in value. Missions valued at 50 Points and above are the real deal. In addition to the fact that they have their own ecosystems, they have wandering Field Bosses. None of you have a chance at killing one, so you can only complete a 50 Point Mission if you are able to run or hide from the Field Boss. Every Class can do this one way or another, but only when you're strong enough. Since you failed, that means you're probably not."
Rayleigh had finished his Beer during that explanation and was actually excited. What kind of Battle Junkie doesn't love a Field Boss? Of course, that was almost certainly why he died during the mission, so he'd have to restrain himself for the time being.
Rayleigh returned the empty mug and said, "Alright, I'll leave those Missions alone until I have the basics of Nen down."
Red nodded, "Good luck with that. If any other Player tried what you did during the Exam, Illumi definitely would have killed them."
Rayleigh smiled. There was a reason he picked the Jedi Class as his main. The Force was the only available power system with built-in Plot Armor. That was metaknowledge, so he didn't know it outside the Tavern, but he didn't need to know it to use it, so it didn't matter.
Rayleigh still had over an hour before he had to return, so he looked around the Tavern and spotted Book_worm speaking with another woman.
Rayleigh sat at their table and said, "Hello Book worm."
She nodded back to him, "Swordsman. Did you try the Hunter Exam?"
"Yep. I just passed."
The girl next to Book worm rolled her eyes, "I didn't hear about anyone passing."
Rayleigh gave her a questioning look before Book worm introduced her, "This is Immortal Beauty."
Rayleigh chuckled, "The girl who intends to woo Straw-hat Luffy?"
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell of a woman who certainly deserved her nickname gave an adorable blush at her own shenanigans. Outside of the Tavern with her Metaknowledge sealed, she confidently declared in the General Chat and Pirate Chat that she would nab the Pirate MC and become the Queen of the Pirates. She could certainly contend with Boa Hancock for beauty, but Luffy was practically asexual and didn't seem to feel attraction to anything that wasn't cooked meat.
Book worm herself had auburn hair and hazel eyes and was a cool, collected beauty. None of the Players had ugly characters, though there was always something to complain about.
Book worm changed the subject by asking, "Did you really pass the Exam?"
Rayleigh nodded, "Yeah, the ship's captain told me the path to meet a guide, and I followed it. From what I can tell, none of the Pirate Players followed a path and met a guide."
Immortal Beauty jumped back into the conversation, saying, "No way, why didn't you help anyone else?"
Rayleigh answered, "No one asked me specifically for help."
Book worm asked, "Any changes in the canon?"
"Gon still got Hisoka's badge, but the 4th Trial was different for most of the other targets. I took the place of old Martial Artist guy and the Bow using guy didn't make it. Killua didn't kill anyone, but gave up his final two matches and didn't get the License. Gon and Hanzo played out the exact same way."
Book worm asked to confirm, "The Bow guy didn't get in? If he doesn't learn Nen, doesn't that mean the Chimera Ants won't learn Nen?"
Rayleigh actually hadn't considered that, but she was right. Hunters were not that common, and the Chimera Ants finding a weak one who knew about Nen and could teach them was a coincidence of its own.
Immortal Beauty added, "They'll still have Nen, they just won't know the categories or the leaf test. It's not like they'll be that much weaker."
Book worm nodded, "That's right. Especially that cat-faced dude. His Nen ability was whatever he wanted at the time. Not knowing how to use it won't stop it from just creating the abilities he wants."
Ray nodded with a smirk. It would be a bit disappointing if the main antagonist suddenly became weaker. He turned to Immortal Beauty and asked, "What kind of Devil Fruit are you aiming for, or do you already have one?"
She huffed a bit and answered, "I have the Slip Slip Fruit. With it, I'll never need to use make-up, I'll never get a single wrinkle, and I'll never get fat." A majority of the information shared in the Tavern was sealed outside, so there was no great harm in sharing details over a glass of Beer.
Book worm stated with a sigh, "I'm jealous." She always spoke with a straight-laced tone that no one could tell if she was being sarcastic or not.
Immortal Beauty glared at her, "Aren't you the daughter of a Billionaire in the MCU?"
Ray nodded since she had a point. It obviously wasn't Tony Stark or anything, but those who knew her were aware that Book worm was born into an Uber Rich family, whose name she hadn't told anyone yet. One advantage of choosing the MCU as your starting world before getting a Class was that you could get a really high-spec identity. One Player who started in the MCU was even born in Wakanda and intended to work with the other Players to take it over.
You could get just about any normal identity when transferring to the MCU for free, but a super high-spec identity like that cost a lot of points, so even though MCU starters would be delayed in training their Classes, they had their own advantages.
Book worm asked about the Hunter Exam and Rayleigh answered each question. Immortal Beauty eventually realized that Rayleigh was telling the truth and asked if he could teach them Nen later. Rayleigh said he would if they encountered each other in the future. Book worm hoped to take him up on that so she could just quickly visit the Hunter World to unlock her Aura Nodes and return to the MCU to train at her own pace.
The girls had to leave soon after, and Rayleigh hadn't seen anyone else he wanted to talk to in the Tavern, so he returned as well.
The next morning, Menchi opened Rayleigh's door without knocking and threw a card at him. It was no bigger than an ID card and made of ordinary paper, like an ID, without lamination, but had a blue background, two Xs on the front, and included a vast amount of security emblems. The only real difference between it and a playing card was that it was about four times thicker.
Rayleigh caught the card, and the one-star gourmet Hunter asked, "Are you sure you don't want to be a Gourmet Hunter? I heard you wanted to become a Hunter to get stronger. I could teach you a thing or two."
Rayleigh shook his head, "Learning from you just to get stronger wouldn't be sincere. I'll cook for whomever and whenever I want. As for getting stronger, I'll find my own path."
Menchi sighed and said, "That's a shame. Gourmets are a stubborn bunch of people, so I know you'd make a good one. Just look for me in the Hunter Association if you ever change your mind." With that and a shrug, she turned around and left.
Rayleigh didn't feel any regret about turning down the teachings of a one-star Hunter. Following the Main Character was always the best way to get stronger, so he had no intention to leave his friend's side.
Rayleigh found Gon's room and saw Satotsu passing Gon's Hunter License to him. The newly awakened Hunter spotted Rayleigh and shouted, "Ray! What happened? Who didn't pass?"
Ray and Satotsu shared a look before mentally agreeing that Rayleigh would explain what happened. Ray got a chair and sat down.
A few minutes later, Gon asked with some anger, "Why didn't you stop Killua when he was leaving?!"
Rayleigh answered honestly, "I'm not the type to try and change someone's mind after they've made a decision. Killua was the one who decided to return."
Gon argued, "But he ran away! He didn't want to go back!"
"Maybe not before. But then he made two friends that didn't have any parents, and maybe he changed his mind on a few things."
That caught Gon off guard. Killua did have parents. He had a mother, a father, and siblings. Neither Gon nor Rayleigh had any of those, so it wasn't their place to assume they understood how Killua felt about his family.
Gon said, "I want to see Killua."
Rayleigh wasn't going to question where the MC wanted to go, so he nodded and said, "You can ask his brother then. We're all supposed to go to a lecture about the License and stuff like that."
Gon nodded and got out of bed. He was still wearing a cast from his broken arm, but it was a clean break and, according to the doctors, would heal in two months. Rayleigh wouldn't offer to heal it because Gon broke it by being an idiot.
The pair made their way to the lecture hall, where Netero stood in front of a board and every new Hunter sat evenly spaced among the various desks.
Gon quickly spotted Illumi, and though this was the first time he saw him without his needle-induced disguise, Ray's description of him matched, and Gon walked right up to him.
Gon asked, "You're the one who said Killua didn't have any friends? You should apologize."
Illumi gave him a very, 'does not compute' look and asked, "Apologize? For what?"
Gon elaborated, "You don't have the qualifications to be an older brother."
Illumi asked with clear confusion, "You need qualifications for this?"
Gon continued, "Let's go find Killua. I don't care if you want to apologize to him or not, just tell me where he is. That will be enough."
"And what will you do after you find him?"
"I'll bring him back."
"You make me sound like a kidnapper. He left on his own."
"I don't care. Killua is my friend. I'll find him whatever the cost."
"And the three behind you, do they have the same opinion?"
Gon hadn't noticed, but Rayleigh, Kurapika, and Leorio were already standing behind him.
Leorio answered, "Obviously!"
Illumi stated, "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you since you'll never reach him. He went back home to Kukuroo Mountain. Our family residence is on top of it."
Netero stated, "Well then, with everyone's arrival, I declare the start of the session of information."
The small man with the bean-shaped head emerged, holding a Hunter License. He stated, "This is a Hunter License. Contrary to what you might think, it's just an ordinary card, except for the fact that it's impossible to fake thanks to new techniques, but it's an ordinary object in all other respects. That being said, it grants its holder many fantastic effects."
The little bean dude began listing all the benefits having a Hunter Card gave its holder. Things like being able to travel to most countries that refuse foreigners and most places declared forbidden. You could attend just about any event for free, and it worked as an unlimited travel visa.
The introduction also included warnings, such as the fact that there were people who hunted new Hunters just to steal their Hunter Licenses. Selling one could get you several lifetimes' worth of money. A duplicate would not be given if the card was lost, sold, or stolen.
The next hour included a lecture on what it meant to be a Hunter and how being one differed from being a normal person. Things like how Hunters could avoid responsibility for killing in most cases and had access to a completely different world than others.
At the end of the lecture, the beam man summarized, "Everything else depends on you. Train a lot, believe in your abilities, follow your dreams, and progress in life. The seven people here are now registered as Hunters!"
Netero then stated, "When you exit this building, you'll all be a Hunter the same as I. We'll be rivals, friends, and enemies. I hope everything goes well until our next meeting. On that note, I'm off."
Netero left through the door, and though the next person left shortly after, Netero himself was nowhere to be seen in the hallway.
Leorio, Gon, Kurapika, and Rayleigh took the same direction and started discussing their plans. Leorio directly pointed out, "Kukuroo Mountain? I've never heard of it. How about you?"
Rayleigh shook his head. He had a full education, but that didn't mean he knew the name of every mountain on every continent.
Kurapika also shook his head and said, "No, but we should be able to find it on the internet."
The building did have a computer room that had a dozen or so empty computers to use, and the group made their way over there, but Gon spotted Satotsu and said, "I'll meet you there," before running off to chat with Satotsu for a bit.
Kurapika took a seat at an available computer and turned it on while Rayleigh and Leorio watched from the side.
High-end computers in this world all had an attachment one could swipe a card through. This was specifically for a Hunter License as many sites contained restricted information only Hunters could use.
Hunters could actually get one for free if they had a permanent address and get free internet for their computers and home. It was complimentary with the License and paid for by the Hunter Association.
Kurapika swiped his card on the computer and said, "Let's start with Kukuroo Mountain."
The internet pulled up a map that showed the various out-of-place continents and had a dot where they were and where Kukuroo Mountain was located. They were on the South American-shaped continent, and Kukuroo Mountain was on the Africa-shaped continent. Oddly enough, the two were practically adjacent.
Gon had returned and together with the rest, they read about the mountain and how to get there. According to the website, Kukuroo Mountain was located in a location even tourists could travel to, and from their current location, they could reach it in three days.
Everyone unanimously agreed to leave that day, but there was a problem. If they used their Hunter License to enter, they could stay as long as they wanted. Without using their License, they could only apply for a Tourist Visa which meant they could only stay there for two months.
Why was this a problem?
Gon stated, "I'd rather not use my License right now."
Leorio sighed and stated, "You are being really stubborn."
Rayleigh said, "It's fine. There are people who track down newbie Hunters right? Might be a good idea not to draw their attention until we're stronger."
Kurapika nodded, "That's a good point. Okay, I'll apply for four Tourist Visas and the tickets."
Once the trip was planned and tickets printed, Gon asked, "Hey, can you look for a Hunter named Ging?"
"Sure. What's his family name?"
"Freecss."
"Okay. Alright, found him. Let's see. What?"
The page he clicked on that was supposed to load Ging Freecss' information only loaded a single line of text.
[Person in Absolute Secret.]
Leorio asked, "What does that mean?"
Kurapika answered, "It means all information on him has been removed from the internet and classified as Top Secret. That's only possible for someone with as much power as the President of the Hunter Association and incredible wealth."
Rayleigh chuckled, "Gon, it looks like finding your dad isn't going to be easy."
Gon's expression was a mix of apprehension and excitement. Rayleigh understood. A challenge like that was something to look forward to.
Everyone left the Hotel and grabbed a cab to the airport where another Blimp-copter took them to an airport on the adjacent continent. From there, they took a train to the region where Kukuroo Mountain was located and got off at the station, and had their Visas stamped. The massive mountain could be clearly seen in the distance and created a somber mood.
Once they found the town at the base of the mountain, Gon directly asked a nearby produce vendor how to get to the Mountain.
Surprisingly, the woman answered, "Kukuroo Mountain? To visit the Zoldyck family? There's a regular bus that tours around the mountain every day and comes with a guide. You're crazy if you want to go to their residence, but if you're really up for it, just take that bus."
Rayleigh purchased a few of the local fruits from her before they found the Tour Station and paid for a ticket for the next tour. Apparently, their tour was called Terror Buses.
The tour actually had a dozen normal-looking tourists with cameras and big smiles. There were also some thug-type characters who likely weren't there for selfies.
The tour guide did include a lot of interesting information. She stated that the Zoldyck family had a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a head of the house, his wife, and their five children.
The tour bus drove directly up the mountain to what appeared to be a giant gate. The gate seemed to have multiple sets of doors within doors, seven total, each numbered.
What was funny was that the tour guide allowed everyone to get off the bus and start taking pictures. For the front entrance of a nefarious family of world-renown assassins, they were apparently quite chill.
The gate was actually quite a distance from the mountain's highest peak, and according to the guide, the wall the gate was part of circled the entire thing and was the private property of the Zoldyck family.
That was more square mileage than any city Rayleigh had ever heard of, and that was basically just their yard.
Gon directly asked the Guide, "How do you get inside?"
Thinking it was just some naïve brat, she answered, "Tell me, kid, were you not listening to what I just explained? If you go in there, you won't come out alive. That gate is known as the Door of the Underworld, as no one who enters it returns alive."
One of the thug-looking brutes stated, "That's just a bluff. They're just a family of murderers no one has ever seen."
A sword-carrying thug next to him continued, "I heard there's a bounty of a hundred million for anyone who takes a picture of their faces."
Leorio heard that and suddenly looked regretful as if he really wished he had taken a picture earlier.
The thugs confidently walked up to a little security guard post next to the door and said, "I'm sure it's just a rumor that got exaggerated into a legend."
The man then ripped the door off the security guard post, lifted the old man into the air, and demanded that he open the door.
The man refused but didn't struggle when a key was taken from his coat pocket and fitted into a small door that looked quite out of place on the side of the seven big doors.
The thugs unlocked the door with the key, and the guard started grumbling something about being overfed.
A few seconds later, a brief set of screams was heard, along with some crunching, chewing, and slurping sounds.
The door opened from the other side and a massive paw pushed out two corpses that had their flesh ripped off and the blood drained dry.
No one questioned who they once were, but the normies among the tourists certainly screamed.
The guard shouted to the one beyond the door, "The master forbid you to eat between meals! Don't blame me if you get fat!"
The tour guide looked pleased and stated, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I suppose you have all now seen what happens to those who enter."
The tourists shouted, "Let's get out of here!" and ran back into the bus.
The guide spotted Rayleigh's group not returning to the bus and called out, "Hey! Hurry and get back on the bus!"
Gon answered, "That's okay, just leave. We're gonna stay here."
To which the guide, the guard, and every tourist returned a completely dumbfounded expression.
After a bit of back and forth, the guide and other tourists left while Gon began to explain their presence to the guard.
The guard then invited them for tea and took a smoke break.
"So you guys are little Killua's friends? It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been working here for twenty whole years, and you are the very first visitors to come in peace."
He took a long drag of his cigarette before continuing, "You know, as an employee, I probably shouldn't say this, but this really is a sad place. No one ever comes to visit. There's an endless stream of ruffians of course, but.. Well, I suppose that's normal for this kind of family. In any case, I can't let you enter. That paw you saw belongs to Mike. He only listens to the Master and will kill all intruders. I can't let you go in because he'll definitely kill you."
Kurapika asked, "If that's the case, how come you are unharmed? You can enter, right"
The guard took a sip from his tea and remarked, "Good catch. But you are only half right." He pulled out the key to the door the thugs used and said, "This is a special key for intruders only. When an intruder can't open the door, they try to destroy it. To stop that from happening, they made a fake entrance specifically for intruders to use. They come, threaten me, and I don't resist; they take the key and are killed by Mike. I'm not really a guard. I'm a janitor responsible for cleaning up Mike's messes.
Kurapika put the unsaid pieces together and stated, "But in reality, the door has no lock!"
The old man nodded, "That's right."
Leorio walked out of the guard station and over to the entrance to the main set of doors and started pushing. After a few moments of huffing and dragging his shoes along the stone, he said, "It won't open!"
The old man said, "That's because you're weak."
"What?! I gave it my all!"
"Look, this is called the Door of Verification. If you can't open this door, you don't qualify to enter the Zoldyck Domain."
The old man took off his coat and pressed against the door. His muscles started bulging to reveal a highly trained physique.
With a solid breath, he leaned forward and pressed open the lowest set of doors, before leaning back and allowing them to close.
He turned back to address them, "As you can see, the doors close right away. Once you open it, you have to enter without pausing. It gets harder to open every year for me. When I can't open it, I get fired, so I have to keep in shape. Mike won't attack anyone who enters through the door of verification. Each side of the first door weighs two tons."
Leorio asked, "First door?"
The guard pointed up, "Yeah, there are seven doors total. The weight of each door doubles as the size changes, and it opens if the level of strength reaches the requirement to open the door. When Killua returned, he opened the third one."
If they doubled, that meant each side of the third door weighed eight tons, so opening them both meant Killua could press more than sixteen tons, but less than thirty-two tons.
The guard spoke up, "You should understand now. To enter this domain, you need some ability. Their world is completely different from-"
The guard dropped his cigarette when Rayleigh opened the third set of doors.
Rayleigh didn't know what his limit was, but according to the doors, it was below 32 tons and above 16. He could work with that. His strength might be lower than Killua's but it would not have been that much lower.
Rayleigh said, "It's not that hard to keep open, come on in."
Everyone ran through the opening Rayleigh made and the Guard hesitantly followed them inside.
Almost instantly, they spotted a massive creature that Rayleigh felt looked more like a werewolf than a dog. It's eyes were completely lifeless, and Rayleigh knew he would have no success connecting to this creature using the Force.
Gon regarded it with trepidation. He'd gotten a better sense for determining if someone was completely unbeatable to him since getting his ass kicked by Hanzo, and this dog was not something he could survive facing.
Rayleigh asked, "Can we see Killua?"
The guard looked thoughtful before answering, "I don't know. Let me try something."
He returned through the door of verification where everyone followed back to the guard post.
There he picked up a phone and began dialing.
Kurapika asked, "Are you calling the residence?"
"No, their attendants."
Rayleigh asked, "Can I speak with them?"
"Um, sure."
The phone picked up, and Rayleigh put it on speaker.
[Zoldyck attendant speaking.]
"Hello, I'm Ray, here with Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. Is Killua available? We're his friends."
[Killua has no friends.]
The man then hung up.
Rayleigh pressed the redial button.
[Zoldyck attendant speaking.]
"Answer honestly; when Killua returned, did he specifically say he had no friends? If not, please don't make assumptions."
[Even if Killua had friends, how can you prove you are really them?]
Rayleigh realized what the man meant and responded, "Hmm, I suppose that is a problem."
Gon shouted, "What? Killua will recognize us!"
Rayleigh replied to Gon, "Isn't that exactly what someone pretending to be us would say?"
[Correct. There are no limits to what a person would be willing to do to kill someone such as Killua. Anything you could use to prove your identity could be imitated. It is our job to protect our masters from any form of attack.]
Rayleigh nodded. "Understood. Any risk is not acceptable. But Illumi was the one who told us where to go, he was aware all four of us were coming. We'll be here for two months. If you won't allow Killua to see us without a thorough vetting, what if we go to you instead?"
[If you can pass the Door of Verification, we can discuss it.]
And with that, he hung up.
Rayleigh looked back at the others. None of them could open the door yet.
Gon said, "We'll definitely do it!"
The guard nodded and said, "You're young. I think you'll definitely be able to open the first door on your own in two months. Come with me, I'll show you where you can train."
He approached the door again, but Rayleigh said, "Wait, I want to try something."
Rayleigh sat cross-legged in front of the Door of Verification and placed his hand forward.
Theoretically, there was no limit to how much a Jedi could lift or push using telekinesis. In practice, it depends on how strong the mind is. Rayleigh's will power had been trained for years, but he never put in dedicated practice towards telekinesis, just physical speed, so he didn't know his limit.
Rayleigh focused everything on the door to the point that everything else didn't exist. In the entire world, there was just him and that door. He then pushed it open. There was no 'if' he could push it. There was no doubt. It was a fact in his mind that he could open the door. He willed every bit of the Force he could muster to press against the door.
To the disbelief of the assembled group, both sides of the fifth set of doors opened, meaning he had just pushed forward 64 tons of weight.
Ray did not appear affected and said, "Go on in, I'll follow you in a moment."
The others cautiously nodded and walked inside. Rayleigh kept the door open as he got up and entered. Technically, he should have been able to push both sides of all seven sets, but his mind was not strong enough. That was fine with him. He had lots of room to grow.