Already, several players were edging away, putting distance between themselves and Larry like he was cursed.
Larry noticed their reactions but didn't care. His focus was elsewhere, on the "gestation bar" slowly filling in his mind. It was nearly complete.
Meanwhile, the machine kept spewing out chips at a ridiculous pace, the pile growing until it resembled a miniature mountain of multicolored plastic.
Larry couldn't help but smile at the sight. It reminded him of his first big win in the world of Hunter x Hunter, back at Piers' casino, where he'd earned his first fortune. And now, he'd come full circle.
As the last chips fell, something else popped out from the machine, a card. [Rainbow Diamond], an A-rank card. The 79th limited card in the game.
You could only win this card by triggering the jackpot using the Risky Dice at a slot machine in Dorias. Since the dice had a 19-in-20 chance of landing on Great Fortune, it was considered one of the easier A-rank cards to collect.
The Rainbow Diamond lived up to its name, shimmering in seven brilliant colors. According to the card's description, if you used this gem in a marriage proposal, your success rate was 100%. Once gifted, the bond between the two would be unbreakable.
As Menchi read the card's effects, her cheeks tinted pink, and she lowered her gaze, lips twitching with a subtle smile. Larry caught the look and smirked.
"Gain," he muttered.
With that command, the card dissolved into light, and a real diamond materialized in his palm, a massive gem that gleamed in every shade of the rainbow. Under the casino lights, it looked absolutely mesmerizing.
Not quite as priceless as one of the seven legendary treasures, but easily among the most dazzling gems one could find.
Larry casually placed the Rainbow Diamond into Menchi's hand. "It's yours."
He didn't overthink it. Sure, the card's description sounded like marketing fluff, something cheesy like "Diamonds are forever", but the diamond was still beautiful. And Menchi? She deserved something that stunning.
There was no way he could've given this kind of thing to someone like Biscuit, anyway.
Menchi glanced at Larry, then back at the diamond resting in her hand, a quiet smile spreading across her lips as she gently turned the gem to catch the light.
As for why he could take the card out of the game despite the usual restrictions?
Well, Larry happened to know Ging. And when you knew Ging… rules had a funny way of bending.
Let's not talk about the rare SS-level cards or those with special abilities for now.
This A-rank card was just a diamond that looked fancy, nothing too special, so it wasn't a problem for Ging to hand it over.
Larry didn't dwell on it. He had other things in mind. After pocketing the card, he was already back to tossing his [Risky Dice] and playing the slot machine again. There was something he was itching to try.
What would actually happen… if he rolled "Great Misfortune"?
That curiosity was half the reason he came here in the first place.
"Pokémon successfully bred!"
As Larry kept playing around, the progress bar in his mind finally reached the end. Maybe it was thanks to all those "Great Fortune" rolls from the [Risky Dice], but Larry couldn't shake the feeling that things had been going surprisingly well lately.
What Larry didn't know was that while he was messing around with the slot machine, the twelve Zodiacs had already approved his promotion to a Triple-Star Hunter. He paused what he was doing and focused on the newly bred Pokémon forming in his mind.
The creature looked like a toy duck, except with a strange digital twist. Its whole body was made up of red and blue blocks. Its head floated slightly above its neck, not even properly connected, and its body looked upside down. Its yellow eyes had a target pattern, and it had stubby feet shaped like wings.
A blue patch ran across its chest, linking to its limbs like some sort of bizarre interface. With its balloon-like body, it looked more like a digital plushie than anything real.
This was Porygon-Z. Honestly, Larry had expected something like this.
Porygon was a virtual Pokémon, deeply connected to data and gaming. In a world like Greed Island, part real, part game, it made sense that Porygon-Z would be born here.
There was another Pokémon similar to it: Rotom. But Rotom was more about possessing electrical devices, like washing machines, phones, or even Pokédexes, and while it was more popular and better known, that wasn't entirely due to its battle power.
Porygon-Z had suffered from a bad rep, mostly because of a broadcast incident years ago. Since then, it had been quietly tucked away, almost forgotten by the world. It was a very unlucky Pokémon, and that made Larry like it even more.
More importantly, Porygon-Z filled a crucial gap in Larry's team.
His current Pokémon covered a wide range of roles: healing, main attacker, mounts, support. But Porygon-Z was different.
Not only was it strong in combat, it also had a massive advantage, access to the digital and networked world.
In Greed Island, where everything ran on some form of Nen-programmed logic, having a data-type Pokémon was like having a master key. With Porygon-Z, Larry could access any networked information he needed with just a thought. It was like plugging into the island itself.
Of course, its main role wasn't in the real world. In virtual systems, that was where Porygon-Z really shined.
***
Species: Porygon-Z
Type: Normal
Ability: Download
Strength Rank: A
Known Moves: Tri Attack, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse...
Description: Porygon-Z is a highly adaptable digital Pokémon, modified to excel in unpredictable environments. Utilizing rapid data analysis and anomalous behavior patterns, it unleashes devastating elemental attacks. Its unstable coding occasionally grants erratic boosts in power, making it both a dangerous asset and an unpredictable threat on the battlefield.
***
As a Normal-type Pokémon, Porygon-Z could learn a wide range of moves. It was a flexible attacker with a terrifying base Special Attack of 135, basically a walking turret. Whether used in battle or hacking into systems, it had incredible value.
Larry kept his emotions in check and gave a small smile before tossing the [Risky Dice] again. This was his sixth roll. The dice bounced a few times before finally landing, this time, not on the usual "Great Fortune."
"Bad Luck… Oh? Finally got it?"
Larry raised his brows, clearly intrigued.
After five consecutive Great Fortunes, this sixth throw finally landed on the one dreaded outcome. Statistically speaking, it was normal, but with this dice, that one bad roll was all it took.
According to the item's description, all the fortune he had built up would now reverse, and the total amount of danger would match the value of all five previous lucky outcomes combined.
Menchi, who had just finished putting away the [Rainbow Diamond], turned to watch with interest. She was just as curious about what would happen.
"Huh?"
Larry suddenly looked up toward the ceiling, his expression serious. His "En" detected faint disturbances above.