Chapter 199: Chapter 195 : Romantic Feelings??
In the "Magic City of Masadora," Germain and Shizuku could clearly feel that the number of "game players" had increased. It seemed that many people liked to gather there.
This made sense, as "Greed Island" was essentially a collectible card game.
And "Magic City of Masadora" was the main hub for card trading and exchanges.
They saw many "game players" materializing their "BOOK"—a magical tome—to display and use various "cards," whether for trading, threatening, or battling.
The atmosphere was quite lively.
Germain and Shizuku watched a few exciting and intense card battles from a distance and left when they lost interest.
After that, they arrived at "City of Love, Aiai."
This city was filled with an air of romance, where one could almost encounter romantic events at any time.
However, after walking around "City of Love, Aiai," they didn't trigger any romantic events.
"That's strange," Shizuku said, tilting her head. "I remember Ging mentioning that when you come here, different types of people will approach us..."
"It's probably because we're 'Game Masters,'" Germain guessed. "We can't be seen by 'NPCs' as valid targets for triggering events."
Shizuku raised her eyebrows, hit her palm with her fist, and said, "So that's why."
However, after thinking about it carefully, Germain found it odd.
In other cities, although rare, there were still "NPCs" who would approach them, trying to get them to complete main or side quests. So why wasn't that happening here?
Was there something wrong?
They didn't dwell on it and left "City of Love, Aiai," heading to their final destination of the afternoon—"Port City of Soufrabi."
Razor walked out of a tavern to greet them as they casually strolled through the market.
"How did you know we were coming?" Shizuku asked, surprised.
Razor smiled and said, "I can see records for every 'movement-type spell card' that's used, not to mention the monitoring by Eta and Elena."
"Come on, let's sit in the tavern."
Due to Razor's role as the "pirate leader" of the area and being known as a fierce and brutal criminal, the nearby "NPCs" reacted with fear and panic whenever he appeared.
"Your 'NPCs' react so realistically," Shizuku observed as she looked around.
"Thanks for the compliment," Razor replied, pushing open the tavern door and stepping aside to let Germain and Shizuku enter. "But for main story missions, we still need 'humans' to complete them."
"The 'NPCs' are quite intelligent, but there are limits to what they can understand about 'players' and their way of thinking, which makes it easy for players to exploit them. In certain special situations, only humans can handle things flexibly."
"All my subordinates are real humans, just like me. We're all death row inmates. We signed contracts binding us to this role for life to avoid execution."
Soon, Germain and Shizuku saw Razor's subordinates.
Most were men, with only one woman among them. They all wore black knit caps that resembled clown hats, paired with white shirts or T-shirts.
When the subordinates saw Razor bring in two people, they set down their bottles and looked a bit puzzled.
It was obvious that Germain and Shizuku were not "NPCs," but if they were "players," why would Razor personally escort them?
Razor was not known for acts of kindness, and his subordinates, being death row inmates, knew this well.
Razor quickly cleared up their confusion.
"To avoid any misunderstanding, I'll tell you now," Razor announced loudly. "A new group of 'Game Masters' will be joining the 'Greed Island management team,' and these two are among them."
The pirates understood. So, there was an incoming batch of new "Game Masters."
They only stared blankly, neither cheering nor applauding, as these new "Game Masters" wouldn't change their circumstances much.
They had avoided execution, but their treatment wasn't much better than before.
Razor didn't force his subordinates to welcome Germain and Shizuku; instead, he hosted the two himself.
During their conversation, Germain discovered that, surprisingly, Razor was quite talkative and bore no grudge over losing to Germain. He spoke and acted with a natural ease.
Perhaps this was why Ging had chosen him from among the death row inmates to be a "Greed Island management member."
Of course, Razor's combat strength was also an important reason.
As the sky darkened towards evening, the three, having enjoyed their conversation, finally parted ways.
"I'm not going back to 'Limeiro' tonight," Razor said, pointing over his shoulder at the noisy group of pirates behind him. Many were already drunk, shouting and provoking each other.
"I need to keep an eye on them. Last night, when I wasn't around, two tried to escape, and I had to execute them... Now we'll need to get more death row prisoners. They really don't learn."
"Alright, we'll talk another time," Germain said.
"Yeah, another time," Razor replied.
Germain and Shizuku left the tavern and used the "Game Master Exclusive Portable Cards" to fly to "Limeiro, the City Beneath the Castle."
Razor stayed behind, waving until their figures disappeared into the horizon.
During dinner that night, Ging, List, and Dwun asked Germain and Shizuku about their day. The two recounted their experiences in detail.
When they mentioned how they were "coldly received" in "The City of Love, Ai-Ai," Ging looked surprised at the other two "Game Masters."
"Did you change the settings of 'The City of Love, Ai-Ai' while I was gone these past few years?"
"No," Dwun said, spreading his hands in confusion and scratching his stubbled chin. "We only made a few minor adjustments, nothing major."
"Usually, unless you show the 'Game Master Ring' on purpose, the 'NPCs' should act according to their normal behavior."
"Germain and Shizuku's 'Game Master Rings' aren't ready yet. Today, we only gave them the 'Game Master Exclusive Cards.' The 'NPCs' should have acted in their standard mode."
"Players" had "Player Rings" that allowed them to manifest "Grimoires" and play the game.
"Game Masters" had "Game Master Rings," giving them authority above all "Players."
Once an "Game Master Ring" was worn, it disappeared, but their "Game Master Status" would be locked in.
"NPCs" had special reactions when interacting with "Game Masters," usually involving unique dialogue and actions related to main and side quests.
"Even if they did have the 'Game Master Rings,' this kind of reaction shouldn't happen," List said, frowning. "This is strange."
"NPCs can't ignore 'Game Masters' because their interactions provide important quest information for the 'Players'… Is this some kind of bug?"
Dwun shrugged and said, "I'll check with Eta and Elena later. It's no big deal. Bugs aren't new, and we can fix it as usual."
"Wait a minute." Ging looked up suddenly and asked, "The trigger mechanism for 'Love Incident' in City of Love, Aiai—it's still the same as before, right?"
"There have been some minor changes, but it's mostly the same," Dwun replied. Then his eyes widened as he looked at Ging. "Do you mean...?"
Ging raised one finger towards Dwun and List.
List also caught on, and the three of them exchanged glances before looking at Germain and Shizuku.
Shizuku looked at them, confused. "What's wrong? Why are you all looking at us like that?"
Germain frowned as well.
"Uh... well..." Ging thought for a moment. "Never mind. Let's just let things play out naturally. It's not my place to lecture you."
Ging then changed the topic to Razor and the group of death row convicts, and no one mentioned it again.
After the dinner, Germain approached Ging. "Do you have someone here who can make clothes?"
"Yeah," Ging said. "Are you looking to get a custom outfit made?"
Germain nodded. "Yes, I'll draw a sketch for you."
"You can draw?" Shizuku asked curiously from the side.
"A bit," Germain said as he found some blank paper, a pencil, and an eraser from List and began sketching.
Ging and Shizuku watched as the clothing design gradually took shape under Germain's pencil.
"You really can draw," Ging said, a bit surprised. "A hood, robe, gloves, and pants—all quite detailed. You must've been thinking about this for a while."
"It's someone else's design. I just copied it."
"Oh, I see. Does it have a name?"
"Yes, it's called the Tomb Raider Hunter's Black Robe."
"Tomb Raider Hunter's Black Robe…" Ging thought aloud. "A 'Tomb Raider' seeks out ancient tombs and ruins. You're planning for the Ancient Labyrinth City, aren't you?"
He agreed without hesitation. "No problem at all. I'll have someone make a custom set for you. It's just clothes, so it will be ready soon. It will definitely be done before your next 'expedition.'"
Ging left excitedly with the sketch in hand, while Shizuku stayed behind.
Pointing to the paper and pen in Germain's hand, she asked, "Can you draw a picture for me?"
Germain looked up at her and said, "I can, but my skills are limited. If you want a portrait, it might not be very accurate. You'd be better off finding a professional artist..."
"I just want a simple sketch," Shizuku said, moving a chair over and sitting by the window under the moonlight. "Go ahead."
So, Germain drew a picture for Shizuku and handed it to her afterward.
"Mm..." Shizuku tilted her head, pressing a finger to her chin as she looked at it for a while. "Not bad, I think. It's okay."
"As long as you think it's okay."
Adjusting her glasses, Shizuku accepted the drawing and slowly returned to her room.
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