The Fells family's island lies just off the eastern coast of the Republic of Batokia. Though it's only a few hours away by boat, the entire surrounding waters have become the family's private territory, strictly off-limits to outsiders.
From above, two islands, one large and one small, dot the blue sea. Both are under massive construction, their landscapes meticulously sculpted to mirror League of Legends game maps. Every detail of the MOBA battleground is being recreated: the high grounds, resurrection wells for both teams, defensive walls and towers, monster habitats, dragon pits large and small, red and blue buff locations, the three-wolf camp, the raptor camp, the toad camp, and the winding river that divides the map. The basic structure is already taking shape.
While the physical structures can be built conventionally, the dynamic elements and content of the game would require new skills. This includes equipment, items, skills, and the rune interface system.
Oboro's private plane landed in an open area on the larger island, where a group of newly trained Nen users recruited by the Fells family awaited their arrival. When Oboro and Mondel disembarked, they were greeted by these practitioners, all civilians rather than mafia members, hired at great expense to serve the family.
Mondel introduced Oboro to each member of the group. They were mostly young, with even the oldest under forty. Oboro carefully assessed their Nen abilities before moving them into his temporary residence on the island with minimal ceremony.
His schedule was packed. In addition to reshaping his own Nen abilities, he focused on physical recovery, strength training, and deepening his knowledge of traditional Chinese martial arts. In particular, he studied techniques related to pressure points and pulse manipulation, leaving little time for rest each day.
To help novice Nen users build a strong foundation, Oboro offered his guidance to anyone who encountered obstacles in their training. He shared techniques for developing Nen abilities, including important concepts about limitations and conditions. While he could teach the basic concepts of ability development, whether their powers would be properly aligned with their roles remained uncertain.
Recreating the game map in reality required perfection in every aspect; any flaw could cause a chain reaction. As for the development of Nen's abilities, Oboro could only provide suggestions and direction, as the final outcome depended on the nature of each individual.
Originally, Oboro had planned to manifest the playing field alone. Now, these newcomers would share that burden. For example, one group would focus on the materialization of equipment and its effects, while another would handle the manifestation of soldiers and monsters. The transformation system users would manage the evolution of game elements during matches, such as the dragon buff's speed boost effects on soldiers and teams, or the elemental dragons' terrain changes.
The Enhancement System users would serve as the island's security force, maintaining order among the players. The Specialization Department would oversee the "rules," using their skills to integrate all the elements. Another crucial aspect was the digitization of certain spaces and objects within the island.
The operating system would act as the main controller, similar to the driver of a car. After becoming familiar with all the game elements and rules, they would act as the behind-the-scenes GM, managing all the connected components and making sure they ran according to plan, much like Elena in Greed Island, but with distinct differences given the contrasting nature of the two games.
Each team had different responsibilities, with the role of the "Agent" being particularly crucial. These Agents would oversee the manifestation, traits, changes, operations, and emission system, and ensure proper coordination between the teams. Their Nen abilities had to be of the "delegation" type, capable of sharing, integrating, transferring, or reading memories.
Oboro's job was to guide the newcomers in developing appropriate Nen abilities in all aspects. Each person had a specific role, and all components had to work together seamlessly.
Compared to Greed Island, this project had certain advantages: it required fewer elements and NPCs, and the map was more compact. During gameplay, merchants would be the only NPCs. However, it required a larger team behind the scenes, mainly because their basic skills couldn't match the expertise of powerhouses like Liza, Elena, and Eeta.
Oboro had to admire Ging's achievement in assembling such talented individuals. Even with the resources of a major crime family, his own options were limited.
Once everything was in place, Oboro's final task would be to modify his own Nen ability, the "Endless Fantasy Game Treasury". Though still game-related, it would work differently than before.
As time passed, Oboro's days remained full and purposeful. The physical construction of the islands progressed rapidly, funded by the family's vast resources. He helped the newcomers, or 'NPCs', develop their Nen abilities. While some failed and were removed from the project, the dozens who remained were enough to begin shaping the game world.
They started with equipment, then monsters, followed by cards containing various hero abilities. Some adjustments were necessary to make the game work. Due to the limited strength of the NPCs, players wouldn't become heroes right away. Instead, they would select character cards and transform through the dataflow after battles began.
In addition, even with their developed abilities, the NPCs couldn't manifest some of the more powerful game elements, such as Elder Dragons and Ancient Dragons. This challenge led to the implementation of rules that required players to sign agreements before participating.
The system would feed some of the players' "thoughts" back into the game. Oboro planned to maintain the game world through player participation, incentivizing them with the chance to win their opponents' initial resources, including money, Nen training methods, and information. Like a ranking system, winners could claim these stakes.
Whether victorious or defeated, players would be required to contribute a portion of their "life energy" to the game before leaving the island. Over time, this would make the game world more stable, complete, and resilient.
This principle of exploiting human nature and greed to sustain the game reminded Oboro of familiar concepts from his former life. However, the rules of the "Player Agreement" needed to be enforced by powerful Nen users, as the newcomers couldn't handle the more sophisticated effects on players. Outside help would be needed for those aspects, though it wasn't immediately urgent while the game was still in development.
Oboro found satisfaction in watching the island environment gradually transform into the familiar game world. As for his new ability, though it had the same name as before, he had decided how to develop it differently. The game's dimensional world would no longer require his direct creation, greatly reducing the limitations and conditions of his ability.
His task was now easier: to break through his own limitations. The advantage lay in endless improvement without bottlenecks, requiring minimal mental effort while growing stronger.