Gon, Bisky, Lynn, and I sat on a log while the guy sat down on the ground against a tree, explaining about the Bomber, who turned out to be the tall guy with the blond hair, called Genthru.

"So he was the Bomber?" Bisky asked, shocked from hearing everything about him.

"The others are back in our hideout, waiting for him to disarm the bombs. They believe the terms he gave them, but I'm not as convinced. I'm betting that he's bluffing." The guy explained.

"Now what? What can we do?" Gon asked, turning to Bisky.

"We know who the Bomber is now, but we can't let him go around placing bombs on several players. Something needs to be done." Lynn stated firmly.

"I don't know. If they are prepared to accept casualties—" Bisky started, but the guy cut her off.

"That won't happen." We focused our attention back to the guy as he explained more. "The very first ones to jump him will be the ones to be sacrificed first. Who would ever volunteer for that role?"

"Good point." Lynn muttered.

"Out of all of us, Jispa was the most proficient in combat, and he was defeated instantly. We were already doomed at that point. And allowing Genthru to leave the game was a fatal mistake. We foolishly began to celebrate before we could verify each member's cards and assign roles. And that was when he caught us off guard. I hate to say it, but...I was so distracted that I didn't even notice him using Leave until it was already too late."

"You were probably focused on understanding his explanation. Perhaps that's why." Bisky pointed out.

"Yeah. We were thrust into that situation without any warning at all. We were all too stunned to take any action." He stated.

"I see. But may I ask why you're telling us this?"

"Out of everyone I met on this island, I believe you're the ones I can rely on the most. And if you run into other players, I beg you to tell them all about the Bomber. If they know how his ability works, they should be able to protect themselves. And if you can, I want you to avenge us! At the very least, do not let him clear the game!"

The Bomber sounds like a dangerous enemy. We have to be aware of his actions and stop him from beating the game. I can't let more players lose their lives to that so-called bastard!

I nodded in agreement along with Gon.

"Understood." Bisky agreed.

"We will do what it takes to help you keep the Bomber from clearing the game." Lynn stared at the dark-toned guy with determination in her eyes.

"Thank you." He stood up and bowed down to us. "I'll use what time I have left to tell as many as I can about the Bomber. Book." He summoned his book and took out a card. "Return on! Bunzen!"

A light took him away from here and disappeared into the sky. I carefully thought about everything he explained to us and how we were supposed to deal with the Bomber.

What could we do?

The four of us were walking through a forest in complete silence, pondering about the rest of the alliance members.

"Bisky." Gon spoke up, and the blonde stopped to look at him.

"I think...we should drop by their hideout real fast." His voice shook.

"They probably ran out of time." Lynn inferred, and Gon let out a low, quick gasp.

"She could be right. Besides, he didn't even tell us exactly where it is. And even if we know, we still need a spell card that could take us there, and we don't have one." Bisky added.

"I know." The boy looked down, feeling worried about everyone else in the alliance. "But...some of them could have survived the explosion."

"I doubt it. If the Bomber's powerful enough to place bombs on his targets without anyone noticing, he'd never be that careless." She shook her head, being skeptical of the Bomber's plans. I placed a hand on Gon's shoulder to cheer him up.

"However, if we continue to play the game, then we're bound to run into the Bomber at some point, and sooner or later, we may need to visit their hideout."

"She's right. Who knows when the Bomber will encounter us, or when we'll encounter him first? We might need all the information we can get about him so that we can stop him from causing so many casualties among players. I know we won't be able to help them, but we can grow powerful enough to put a stop to his killing spree." I stared into his hazel orbs filled with sadness and regret. His face turned from despair to one that shows delight.

"We still need spell cards. Let's head to Masadora to sell our monster cards and buy some." Bisky stated and started moving.

"Okay!" He giggled and followed her along with Lynn and I.

"Hey Bisky." Gon spoke up, and the blonde turned to look at him.

"How long do you think it will take me to master my signature move?" He asked.

"Well, you're just starting to develop your Nen. It's hard to say when your power and speed will peak." She stated.

"Oh."

"But it shouldn't take you very long before you get the form down."

"Really? How long?"

"Let's see. Hmm...you'll have it ready by the time Killua gets back."

Gon's face brightened up. "All right! I can't wait to see the look on his face when I show him!"

"Me too! I think your technique really took my breath away." I complimented him, and he smiled so brightly.

"Really? Yours thrilled me, Lizzy! And it absolutely surprised Killua!" He exclaimed, and I made a bashful face and looked down, slightly smiling to myself.

Bisky looked back to see me and thought about something that was clearly obvious between me and Gon. She saw me taking his hand and intertwining his fingers with mine. She looked like she was about to squeal with delight from the cuteness as I enjoyed holding his warm hand, never wanting to let go of it.

It was nighttime, and we were in the Spell Card Shop in Masadora, buying different spell cards to defend ourselves from other players with the intention to steal our cards.

"You four are very lucky! We have just received a huge shipment of different spell cards." The lady clapped her hands together, smiling at us.

These must be the cards that the alliance members were hoarding.

We bought the spell cards and summoned our books to take a look a them.

"We bought sixty between us, so there are lots of different types here!" Gon stated.

"Most of them are below rank A, so I doubt that we will get any special rank cards." Lynn pointed out.

There were several Peek, Return, Magnetic Force, Contact, and Accompany cards and a few Trace, Mug, List, and Leave cards in each of our binders.

"Hey guys. Look." Bisky gestured to her binder, pointing at a certain card. We widened our eyes in surprise.

"An S-rank? There are only ten in the whole game!" Gon exclaimed.

"'Fortress: Permanently protects one page of restricted slot cards against theft or destruction until removed.'" Lynn read aloud.

"What should we do? Save it, or use it right now?" Bisky turned to the male.

"Don't look at me! I don't know what to do!" He yelled, and the blonde covered his mouth.

"Be quiet! People will get suspicious!" She whispered.

I flipped the page and saw a card that had me in awe. An A-rank card, numbered 1026.

"Umm, guys? What's this?" I asked, pointing at the card.

Lynn, Gon, and Bisky gaped at it in wonder.

"'Holy Water: Protects the player ten times from attack spells from other players. Immune to steal and destruction spells.'" Bisky read.

"Is that a special card?" Gon asked.

"It's an A-rank. You should probably save that for later, in case anyone tries to take any cards from you or cast an inspection spell like Trace on you." Lynn suggested.

I stared at the card, feeling lucky that I had such a useful card. Other players would probably target me for my cards, so this would be my solution to defend myself.

I watched as Gon trained in his ability, completely mesmerized by his steady movements.

"You're making steady progress." Bisky told him, and he smiled at her. "You're on track to have your special technique ready."

"Yeah, it's good to practice here because with this view, we can be able to spot anyone before they're close enough to use attack spells. I can sense people watching from Masadora, just like I sensed people watching us at the start point. But this time, we have plenty of attack and defensive spells now." He explained.

"Well, just to be safe, I have already used Blackout Curtain." Bisky stated, and he nodded.

"Blackout Curtain? What does that do?" I asked, confused.

"It protects you against the effects of Peek and Fluoroscopy." She answered.

"Oh..."

"But there's really no point in worrying about spell cards. Just focus on training hard until you can master your special ability."

"Osu!" Gon agreed.

The boy formed a sphere with his aura and held it for a minute. Then, he flung it with his finger, and after moving for about two meters, it disappeared into thin air.

"Aww, man. It didn't reach far enough." He frowned.

"It's okay. You're definitely in far better shape than a Transmuter would be. Just be patient, and focus on maintaining the shape of your aura. If you can do it in a period of time, you're all good to go!" Bisky explained.

"Osu!"

"The longer you can maintain that sphere, the stronger your Ten. Once you've trained long enough, you'll be able to maintain an aura sphere for two or three days! You should be able to reach that rock before the end of the day."

Gon flung his aura sphere again, and we all watched it float towards the rock until it hit it, shocking us.

"You're right. I got it!" He exclaimed.

"What? That's awesome!" I replied, sharing the same look as him.

"How impressive." Lynn said.

"You sure are growing stronger every day." I smiled gently, and he giggled.

"Alright! Let's go back to practicing the basics!" Bisky announced.

"Osu!" We shouted.

"Great job, girls. You've certainly improved your Ken by a full ten minutes." Bisky said as I was getting tired from maintaining my Ken for forty minutes straight.

"That...was so...tiring..." I panted, trying to recover my breath.

"Now, you'll need to work on improving your abilities. Lizzy, a word with you." She locked her gaze on me, wanting to discuss something with me alone.

Lynn nodded before walking away to start training. Bisky began to speak, and I focused my attention to her.

"About your ability, I assume you are a Manipulator, correct?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Does your ability let you control anything, or just plain, inanimate objects?"

"I can only control one thing at a time, and that condition strengthens the individual item being manipulated." I stated.

"Can you control people as well?"

"Not with this ability. I cannot control living things. It feels wrong to be doing something evil with my ability, especially if I'm a Manipulator. Most users would be focused on one thing, and that is manipulating others to get what they wanted. That was not what my ability would do. So instead, I chose to focus on simple objects that I can control and deform to use against the enemy." I explained.

The blonde nodded in understanding. "Well, let me tell you one thing. You know how a Vow works, right? You can develop another ability that lets you control people while imposing a restriction for it. And then you swear to respect that restriction, creating a contract with conditions."

"Wait, I thought only Conjurers can create a contract with conditions." I pointed out.

"The three categories—Conjurer, Manipulator, and Specialist—rely on conditions the most. Anyone belonging in those three categories can also create a contract with conditions for their abilities. So, you're a Manipulator, and that means you're free to set any restrictions you want." Bisky stated.

"Hmm...so if I create an ability that allows me to control people, does that mean I can set my restriction to however I see applicable to use it?" I asked.

"Exactly. As long as it fits your standards." She replied.

"Okay. For my restriction, I will never use this ability against my friends or my sister!" I declared.

"Oh, that's a good one." The blonde commented.

"And if I break this restriction for any reason, I will no longer be able to use Nen." I added, and she let out a low gasp.

"A-Are you sure about that?" She asked, concerned about my restriction.

"Yes, I am." I firmly replied.

The blonde was lost in thought for a moment, and then spoke up again.

"Okay, now that you have settled on your restriction, let's decide your activation requirements." She proposed.

"Activation requirements?" I asked.

"You can control your target after fulfilling certain conditions. You can think of anything that suits yourself when activating your ability." She stated.

"So, can I just get them to look at me before I control them?" I asked, sounding straightforward. "To put it more specifically, they can look into my eyes for a second before being manipulated."

"Oh, really?" Bisky said, surprised by my quick thinking. "What will you do as soon as they're manipulated?"

"I will give up to three conditions, and the target will comply no matter what. They will be completely under my control until all of my conditions are met." I stated.

"What kind of conditions?" She asked.

"Whatever I can think of."

"Hmm...your new ability will be so powerful! I will try my best to help you in any way I can." The blonde smiled innocently, excited to see my second ability.

"Really? How long will it take me to master it?" I asked, my tone sounding curious.

"Let me see...Maybe you'll be done before Killua returns! Learning a simple ability like that should be as easy as pie!"

"Alright!" I cheered.

She and I walked over to Lynn and Gon, who were busy training in their abilities.

"Okay, you guys! I will be working with Lizzy now, so you just continue training while I train her. If you need anything, just use the Contact card to reach me. There should be one in your binders." Bisky announced.

"What will you train her in?" Lynn asked.

"A new ability! She should be done by the time Killua gets back here. Book." She summoned her binder and took out a card. I moved with her about 20 meters away from them before she cast it.

"Accompany on! Masadora!" She cast the spell, the light taking us away from here and into the City of Magic. There were lots of people there, and I was confused of why we came here. Were we getting more spell cards or what?

"Um, Bisky? Why are we in Masadora?" I asked.

"Alright! Let's train in your developing Nen ability! Show me what you can do!" The blonde woman exclaimed.

I looked around the crowded area for anyone to test my ability on. Suddenly, I saw someone skipping down the street like a little kid. My eyes laid on him as he gazed at a card with great satisfaction.

"See him over there? That's your first target. Get him to let you steal that card he has, okay? Now, go for it!" Bisky gave me a light push, urging me to move to the guy wearing red.

I took a deep breath and went to him, preparing my innocent act. I tapped his shoulder, and he turned to look at me.

"Excuse me? What do you have here?" I asked, pointing at the card he was holding.

The guy panicked and hid it behind his back. "Uh—nothing, nothing!"

I put on my puppy eyes, trying to activate my ability. He seemed creeped out by the way I was looking at him. This was it. He was looking straight into my green eyes full of fake innocence.

Bisky observed me from a distance, smiling to herself as the guy was starting to fall into my trap. I kept my eyes open to focus my Nen into manipulating him. Then, a shroud of hot pink aura surrounded him and my eyes, meaning that I fully had him under my control. I grinned at my success.

"Hi, sir!" I chirped, and the manipulated guy clapped his hands together to show respect.

"What would you like me to do, miss?" He asked, acting naive.

"First, tell me your name." I demanded, holding up a finger.

"Oh, uh, my name is Karian!" He answered, still under my control.

"Okay, Karian. Why don't you let me see that card you have earlier?"

"Yes ma'am!" The brown-haired guy showed me his card. I analyzed it and found out that it was one of the specified slot cards needed to complete the game.

"Well, in that case, Book." I summoned my binder and searched for a spell card that allowed me to steal his card. I found it and took it out.

"Mug on! Attack Karian!" I cast the spell, and a light struck him. My binder beeped, and I flipped to the end to see text that read, 'Please select the card you wish to take.'

I read all the cards he had, and found the one he was holding right now. I selected my choice, and the card immediately disappeared from his hand. It reappeared in my binder, and I took it out to take a glance at it.

'Number 49. Rank A-23, Miniature Mermaid. As the name suggests, a mermaid about the size of a hand and can fit on your palm. It will be in a good mood when placed in a comfortable environment, and will sing with a very beautiful voice.'

I flipped back a couple of pages and put it in its designated slot before dispelling it.

"Thank you, and have a good day!" I giggled and started walking away, the effect on Karian wearing off. He realized that the card he had was gone, and stared at me awkwardly in surprise.

"I got it, Bisky!" I cheered, showing the blonde the card in my binder.

"Wow! That was clever of you to act like you're cute and innocent to get what you wanted. I can pretty much relate to you." Bisky remarked.

"Really? You were that deceitful? You have got to be joking..." I replied, being sarcastic.

"Always has been for 50 years." She placed her hands on her hips, smirking arrogantly. I frowned.

"Now, come on. Let's keep training and collecting cards. I'm sure your ability will help us out a lot!" She brightened up, clasping her hands together.

I nodded and smiled. Being a Manipulator, I could be able to control both non-living things and living things with my Nen. I had to impose conditions and restrictions to keep myself from using my ability against my friends with ill intent.

I continued training in Manipulation skills to collect a variety of cards and items needed to clear the game. Thanks to Bisky's training, I had grown stronger in physical strength and in Nen. I bet my parents would be proud of me after all that I'd been through.

And maybe one day, Gon and I would be able to meet Ging and impress him with our powers, telling him everything we had done to become stronger. Trust me, he would be as impressed as ever.