Chapter 12 A New Identity 

Chapter 12 A New Identity

Rayleigh took a step inside the Tavern and reflexively sighed with relief. When he entered the Tavern, what he wore would be replaced by a Jedi robe. This meant he'd lose the itchy robes he wore, and the sudden vanishment of the feeling of that unspeakable itchiness granted a soul-healing sense of relief, each and every time. When he then remembered that he probably wouldn't be going back, he almost cried that the itchy nightmare was finally over! Two Years! F-You Iron Will Plan!!! He would often curse the day he discovered those itchy robes and his own stubbornness.

Besides the strengthening of his willpower, Rayleigh's overall increase in strength over the last few years was shown in the fact that he could reliably finish 45 Point Missions now. His max speed was at least three times as fast as it was when he left the Jedi, and he could handle 400 kilograms of weight and move at 50% of his max speed.

Now that he was back in the Tavern, his Metaknowledge returned and he was very satisfied with his progress. The reason he wanted to stay on Tython was that the Je'daii trained using both the Dark Side and Light Side, thus forming a balance. That Balance of the Force perk would weaken him if he strayed too far from balanced, but that was Metaknowledge and his Character didn't know that since the description of the perk only said it amplified Force powers while in balance, not that it reduced them when out of balance.

He hoped his Character would become a Je'daii Ranger, but he instead went a completely different route, abandoning the entire philosophy of the past and taking his own path. However, he wouldn't complain. What could be more balanced than True Neutral, the resolve to either help no side or affect everyone together?

Even better, he was able to figure out the end-game plot of Star Wars with plenty of time to avoid it.

In any case, this was a great time to head to the Hunter World and take the Hunter Exam. Gon and Killua bonded over the fact that they were the same age, but every Player was also the same age, so any Player taking the Hunter Exam at the same time would be able to make friends with them.

Not that doing so deliberately was easy. Those starting in the Hunter World would have Hunter parents and backdoor ways to get a Hunter Licence. Kite didn't take the Hunter Exam, he was taught by Ging Freecss and his final task was to find him. Considering the danger of the Exam and how much the Hunter Players begged over the last seven years, the Players in the Hunter World have already either gotten a License through parental tutoring or are still being trained. They didn't need to take the Exam and without the Metaknowledge of knowing when the MC would arrive, they had no intention of waiting. After all, every Player considered the MC their rival. Why wait to start training until he has when they can get as massive a head-start as possible?

Then there were the Jedi Players. With only a few exceptions like Rayleigh, most of the Jedi Players had a Master and were on the accelerated track of strengthening their connection to the Force and mastering powerful skills. Even if they wanted to take the Hunter Exam, they'd have to come to the Tavern physically, which could only be done if unobserved. Many of the Jedi Players were peeved when they found out that their Masters could feel their presence when on the same planet, which counted as observation. This meant that none of the Players with Masters could physically enter the Tavern unless their Master died or they cut the Master-Apprentice Force-Bond between them.

The Jedi Players who didn't have a Master had other plans, but they were far weaker and needed more time before they were ready for the Hunter Exam.

The Pirate Players were in an interesting situation. You could only enter the Tavern Physically if you were not in an enclosed space, but apparently ships counted as enclosed spaces. If a Player wanted to physically enter the Tavern while at sea, they had to jump into the ocean and have no one look at them. When they returned, they would be in the same spot in the sea.

There were, however, a lot of Pirate Players on islands doing private training similar to how Rayleigh spent his last few years. Plenty of them also came to the Tavern physically each day for their meals, meaning they could choose to come to the Hunter Exam whenever they wanted. Those who have already got a Devil Fruit would definitely choose to go to this Exam.

Rayleigh walked up to the counter and found a Bartender. Coincidence or not, the one at the Bar today was actually Red.

The red-bearded lumberjack smiled as Ray approached and called out, "Hey, monkey-boy, you gonna order some food?"

"No, thank you. I would like to purchase a transfer to the Hunter World."

Red nodded and motioned for Rayleigh to take a seat. The Tavern had some interesting properties that prevented conversations between the Players and staff from being heard by other Players, so there were no concerns about eavesdroppers.

"Let me guess, you want to take part in this year's Hunter Exam?"

"Of course."

"Haha. Well then, let's see." Red started looking at some invisible screen in front of him. The staff had their own menus and were used for administrative stuff, it seemed.

"Ah, here we go. So got anything specific in mind?"

"Can I show up at Whale Island on the boat to take the Exam with Gon?" It was known that the Tavern pretty much allowed anything as long as you had enough points. If you had a few million points to spend, you could start off in the MCU as the President of the United States or Leader of Hydra.

"Sure, but that will cost about 65,000 points."

Rayleigh gave him a deadpan stare before asking, "Why?"

Red snorted, "Two reasons. First, only adults can take the Hunter Exam. Since you are underage, your Character needs to include some form of legal adulthood built into the identity, which is a lot more expensive than a normal identity."

Rayleigh argued, "But what about Killua and Gon?"

Red shook his head, "Don't try to substitute Metaknowledge for common sense. Catching that big fish was Gon's Guardian's task to grant Gon adulthood and let him take the Exam, and Killua's parents had to legally declare him an adult to grant him access to climb Heaven's Arena. Zushi is the same. You are not."

After giving Rayleigh a moment to digest that, he continued, "Reason number two. Anything to do with the MC is extremely expensive. You think you're the only one to ask for early access to him? If it was cheap, every Player would be on that boat. More than that, Leorio practically got a free ride to the Hunter Exam which has a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting there successfully by following Gon. Such a convenient bus is appropriately expensive."

"Ah, nevermind then. What about just the identity and permission to take the Exam from the start on my own like everyone else?"

Red nodded, "That's cheaper. A normal identity for an eleven-year-old eligible to enroll in this year's Hunter Exam ends up at..... 5,000 points. In case you were wondering, it would only be 1,500 if you took it next year and 500 if you took it seven years from now as a legal adult with the cheapest and most ordinary background."

Rayleigh still felt that five thousand was an enormous sum, but at least it was not out of his reach. Even with a meal every day, Rayleigh had saved over nine thousand points in the last few years.

Red seemed to know what Rayleigh was thinking and continued, "Now about the background. How much education, money, and influence do you want?"

"Umm, is it a problem if I just get a bank account with five thousand Zenny and no influence or education?"

"Sure, but there will be consequences. If you don't remember, let me remind you that when Gon returned to Whale Island and lost his Nen two years after leaving, his aunt had four semesters of school work for Gon to complete. If you get an identity lacking a full education, you will be required by law to complete a full course of school materials as well."

Seeing where this was going, Rayleigh sighed and answered, "Fine. Anything else?"

"Of course. Though you want to start at the beginning of the Hunter Exam, some areas were just unlucky and died before reaching their destination. You don't want one of those, right?"

Red's grin was painful to look at. How could a man who looked so much like a lumberjack talk like a used car salesman?

Defeated, Rayleigh muttered, "Please, just tell me the cost of what I need?"

"Hahaha. Well, you'll need a background that includes full adult status despite your age. If you show off too much strength without any background, people will get interested, and you'll quickly go missing. Your background will also need to include a completed education. You also need money in the bank. Who will believe you have a good background if you don't have any money?"

After listing off a series of 'reasonable' things to include, the price came out to 9,041 points. Was that a coincidence since he only had a savings of 9140 points, barely enough to pay for it all? Rayleigh doubted it. If he had made more, the list of 'reasonable' things to include would have been longer.

Noticing Rayleigh's accusing stare, Red responded, "Hey, don't complain. You're already getting a good deal. Tython's empty and the Jedi think you're dead, so you don't need to pay a single point to keep your identity over there intact."

That was true. Plenty of the Pirate Players with ambitions of becoming King of the Pirates already had an identity and were starting to form a crew. Unless they wanted to abandon it all, they had to pay extra to ensure they had something to return to if they wanted to go back.

Red seemed to be looking over an invisible menu for a while before a see-through window appeared in front of Rayleigh

[Hunter Identity

Rayleigh Rush

The sole survivor of a reclusive island tribe that was destroyed by a monster.

He survived because the monster chose not to kill him.

He was found by a Hunter at the age of 8, known to possess the unusual abilities of the tribe.

Declared an adult due to lack of parents and given private tutors. Genius intellect, recently completed studies. Inherited wealth of the tribe, 5 million Zenny.

Intends to take the Hunter Exam this year.

Will start off in a location that won't fail the Hunter Exam by default and bad luck.

Includes Unlocking of Nen Talent.

Cost: 9,041

Purchase

Yes | No]

Rayleigh went over the window more than once. He wasn't thinking earlier, but now he could see the problems that could occur if he used the Force and didn't have a good explanation for it. He doubted the Devil Fruit Users would have as easy a time explaining their own unique abilities unless they also paid for this kind of thing. But if they didn't have enough points, would it even be offered?

Rayleigh asked, "Is there anything else I probably need that I'm too poor to afford? And why only 5 million? Can't a Hunter pawn their License for 100 million?"

Red chuckled, "5 million is a lot for someone who isn't a Hunter. The collective wealth of Whale Island doesn't add up to 100 million, and it's a trade island. The total assets of a small island tribe holding a value to 5 million is normal. As for what else you could get if you had more points? This already covers most of it, but if you paid more points you'd have more leeway to use the Force. There is a limit to everything. Even this background won't protect you if you draw too much attention before you gain any proficiency with Nen. Though, if you were willing to give up the chance to take this year's Hunter Exam, you could afford an identity that wouldn't raise eyebrows if you went all out with the Force."

"Naw, I'm good." He did have the idea of not paying for emancipation, then using the Force to show he was qualified as an adult, but not anymore. If he attracted the wrong attention, he'd probably end up in a laboratory.

He looked over it again and pointed out, "This doesn't say I'm registered for the Hunter Exam."

"We can register you, but you can also just register yourself and not pay us for the service of doing so."

Rayleigh realized that if he had a few more Points, he probably would have been registered without knowing that he could have just done it himself. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

As if seeing his thoughts, Red smiled and stated, "Well then, happy hunting." He then set a glass of Beer on the bar table and left to check on the other patrons.

With that, Rayleigh hit the Yes button and heard the electronic sound of a cashier's drawer opening. It was painful to spend that much, but at least he had some security. Rayleigh downed his Beer and headed for the Tavern's Exit. Now that the transfer was complete, once he stepped out of the Tavern, he'd begin his new life.

After the familiar feeling of whiting out and regaining his senses, Rayleigh found himself in an apartment in the small coastal town of Briesgport. He'd been living here for a few years since he was dropped off by the weird guy who found him on Onnillo. It was one of the thousands of random islands scattered throughout the world, and this one's only point of interest to outsiders was that the tribe that lived there seemed to have a special ability.

According to his memory, his tribe had been doing something stupid, which apparently provoked a monster that lived on the island. It was a 100-meter long crocodile that had been living on the island since their ancestors came. Looking back, he guessed they were trying to enslave it or something. It killed the chief, all the elders, and then came to the village and destroyed every building. Even those who ran were hunted down by scent and killed.

When it came to Rayleigh, their eyes met for a moment. He didn't know why, but he wasn't afraid of it. The crocodile monster then ignored him and continued killing the rest of the tribe.

Some weird dude showed up an hour later and took him off the island. Someone in the tribe called when the monster attacked, but they showed up a bit too late. The treasures of his ancestors were going to be placed in storage, but Rayleigh had apparently told them to sell it. They weren't very valuable except for their cultural significance, but he got enough to live comfortably. After that, the Hunter Association arranged for him to receive some tutors, and his last lesson was completed only a week ago.

Oh, and he had memories of another life.

Rayleigh was glad that he didn't have a headache this time. Might have been because he just finished a Beer. Similar to how it had been when he was a Jedi, there was a walled off room inside his head filled with the memories and knowledge of his first life, while the rest of his head contained everything from this life. The room now included everything from his Jedi experiences as well. If he chose to ignore the room in his head, it would be as if he had no awareness of his past lives or other world knowledge.

His physical body was identical to how it was on Tython, even some of the scars he'd obtained were there. The Tavern even included memories of how he got them in this life. The only difference was that the items he carried like that damnably itchy robe and Dyanameez's Lightsaber were gone. He wouldn't see either again unless he returned to Tython.

Rayleigh left the apartment and entered the town. The country he lived in was called Jappon, and it shared the same shape and culture as Japan. It was the closest country to the island where he used to live. However, even with the relatively close distance, Rayleigh's appearance did not match the ethnicity of the locals. He had no idea why his tribe apparently all looked like white dudes when the closest country was filled with Japanese.

Since he always looked like a foreigner, he was eager to leave and had been preparing himself for the upcoming Hunter Examination. Knowing the way by heart, Rayleigh walked to a government office to register for the Hunter Exam. Having lived there for a few years already, his identity was in the system, which included the fact that he was an emancipated minor, thus allowing him to register for a small fee.

The woman at the office confirmed the contents of his registration form and smiled, "Alright, there is a ship coming by tomorrow that can take you to the continent where the 287th Hunter Exam will take place. Please be at the port's 27th dock no later than 8:30 AM tomorrow, okay? The ship will reach the continent by noon, and the Hunter Exam starts at 7 AM sharp the next day, so don't be late."

Rayleigh nodded politely and replied, "Yes, thank you very much."

After receiving a ticket to board the ship, Rayleigh headed for a store and bought some essentials. He bought a large backpack, some sturdy changes of clothes, a dozen airtight plastic containers, every form of camping supplies he could think of, and a lot of groceries.

Rayleigh had wanted to try the Force Cooking he learned at the Temple of the Arts, but never had any good ingredients since everything he picked up on Tython was mostly inedible. The stuff he picked up in the overgrown herb gardens had become tasteless over the last 30,000 years.

Now that he had good ingredients and a decent kitchen, he would spend the rest of the day and night cooking up everything he could think of and practicing Force Cooking. The good stuff would go into the containers to be saved for later. Now that he had access to grocery stores, he didn't want to spend any more Mission Points on Tavern food.

The Hunter Exam took place on the South American-looking continent, which was relatively close to the Jappon, meaning the ship wouldn't need to travel too far. The only problem was that he didn't know where the Hunter Exam would take place on the continent, and he didn't know where the ship would drop them off. What made it more frustrating was that it was difficult to obtain maps of one country while in another.

If he knew exactly where the Hunter Exam would take place, he could pay for a Zipplin ride to the closest Skyport and then just take a taxi or bus the rest of the way. He found it odd that instead of giving him the location of the Hunter Exam, the receptionist just gave him a ticket to get on a ship.

His Metaknowledge sense was telling him that getting to the Hunter Exam was not going to be as simple as leaving point A and arriving at point B.

Rayleigh was tempted to try and meditate for the answer. He could use Force Precognition to find clues from the future, but for some reason, he felt that doing so would be cheating.

It didn't matter too much. He could still use it if the need arose. His Force Abilities did not change from the unlocking of his Hunter Power System, but he had no idea what that system was at the moment. At least he confirmed something he learned in the Tavern. All the crazy stuff he did to his body carried over to this world. Even without the Force, he was multiple times stronger and faster than a eleven-year-old had any right to be.

While he continued his journey into the world of cooking, Rayleigh opened the Hunter Chat.

[Swordsman has signed in.]

[Demon_Hunter: Ah, another for the Exam. Welcome to my world.]

[Puppeteer: Oh, your world, is it?]

[Crow: He always says that.]

[Green_Lantern: Are you not dead yet?]

[Swordsman: Hi everyone. Do any of you have your Hunter License yet?]

[Green_Lantern: I can take you under my wing. How many Zennies do you have?]

[Swordsman: How much for a lesson?]

[Poison_King: He's going to rob you.]

[Armory: The Chat gets so noisy during the Exam. Don't ask if anyone has a license. Those who have it will claim they don't, and those who don't will claim they have it. I have one, by the way.]

[Dyna_Might: This is BS. Why do I have to go to the Exam on a ******* ship?!]

[White_Knight: Make sure you wear a life jacket.]

[Armory: Some pirate you are.]

One of the Pirate Players had long spread the details of Devil Fruits to the General Chat. Rayleigh guessed it was a Marine Player. Because of this, everyone knew that Players who had the power of a Devil Fruit sank in water.

Some of the Players did a number of experiments. If a DF User was wet, there was no effect. If submerged to their ankles in water, there is a 10% loss in strength. If submerged to the waist, strength is reduced by 50%. 100% submerged means zero strength.

What many of the Players hated was that this did not just include seawater, it included all forms of stationary water.

Even in the Tavern, Players complained about that point. They claimed it should only be sea water and only in the Ocean in the Sea Circle World.

The Tavern brought out the One Piece Manga and showed a few tiny examples of being submerged in fresh water having the same effect. It seemed a lot of Players didn't know about that during character creation.

[Dyna_Might: Hey Swordsman, you better not get in my way during the Exam. You're a Jedi right? Jedi can't do **** against Explosions!]

Rayleigh rolled his eyes. Some Players eventually gave the details of what a Jedi was and what they did in the General Chat, so most Players had a rough idea of what they were and how to deal with them. He wouldn't mind a fight if the guy was strong, but two lines of dialogue and this guy already gave Rayleigh the impression of a fire cracker.

[Green_Lantern: Did you all bring money for the Exam? Poor people can't take the Hunter Exam.]

[Dyna_Might: Ha! Then they should just give me my license now! I brought fifty million Zennies!]

[Armory: What the hell? What was the conversion rate for Mission Points to Zennies?]

[White_Knight: I think it was 100:1,000,000 when making the ID. You can't do smaller increments, but that means he converted 5000 points to Zennies.]

[Swordsman: Did you buy any kind of special identity?]

[Dyna_Might: Why the hell should I do that? I can just buy what I need with real money. I even bribed the registration office to take the exam.]

Rayleigh wondered if this guy was a genius or an idiot. Well, the difference between the two was measured in success, so he'd wait to see if it worked before he judged him.

He also realized that after the purchase, he only had 99 Mission Points left. If he had a single point more, would Red have recommended buying 6 million Zenny instead of 5 million? Probably.

What was funny was that he remembered that, during the Tutorial, he was told Mission Points couldn't be used outside the Tavern. Apparently, this kind of thing where you exchange points for money was a loophole. Technically, that pirate didn't get that 50 mil with his points, he already had the 50 mil and the Pirate paid Mission Points to replace him. Or make him exist? It was confusing. Rayleigh figured it didn't really count because, at least after he got here, he couldn't go back to the Tavern and directly exchange 100 Mission points for another million zennies.

Rayleigh spent the remainder of the night cooking. He was far too excited to finally have a chance to use Force cooking to sleep, and he didn't need that much sleep unless he exercised.

The next morning, with a backpack filled with delicious-smelling foods and spices, Rayleigh departed from his apartment for the last time, returning the Key to the Office and heading for the docks.

The ship arrived a few minutes after he did and was tied up and docked within a few minutes. Rayleigh along with a few burly looking locals stood in line to head into the ship, tickets in hand. When they noticed Rayleigh in line baring the same ticket, most didn't bother to hide the sneer of incredulity.

Rayleigh didn't care about them. Who he cared about was the ship's captain, the grizzled, grey bearded old man looking out to the port from the ship's upper deck. The moment Rayleigh showed up, the man's eyes locked onto him. There was no malice, just a calculating stare. Rayleigh got the impression that this guy was strong.

Rayleigh handed his ticket in and stepped up the plank onto the ship.

"Oh I can't believe this, another brat? Are we supposed to be babysitters?"

One of the men who sneered at Rayleigh just spotted two more kids of Rayleigh's age on the ship meant for Hunter Exam candidates.

Rayleigh glanced over and meet the eyes of the pair looking back. A small smirk was shared by all.

The first was a sun-tanned blonde haired male with hair that was unaturally spiky. The other was a white-skinned slender girl with perfectly straight, shoulder-length, ebony black hair.

The blonde took the man's comment as provocation and loudly asked aloud, "What's a dog-eating uncle-fucking yellow turd like you calling me a brat for?"

The kid could not have been asking more clearly for a fight if he'd just said 'fight me,' so the local needed no further words before charging at the one he believed to be a snot-noised brat.

No one got in the way or tried to stop him. If one glanced up at the ship's captain, they'd notice a sly smile.

An explosion caused almost everyone on the ship to flinch as a body was seen flying over the side of the ship into the water. When everyone glanced over to the source of the explosion, they noticed the brat from before was reeling his arm back and smoke was covering his fist. He had the widest grin, showing everyone he pissed off the man on purpose so he could show off what he could do.

Rayleigh figured this boat ride would be more interesting than he initially thought.