(bonus chapter)
"I will not hold back." Botobai's voice rumbled as two long streams of air shot from his nostrils.
Roy rested his hand on his cane sword, replying calmly, "I couldn't ask for more."
"Very good!" Chen Long wasted no more time, turning to walk into the depths of the tunnel. "Follow me," he said directly.
"Young Master," Gotoh and Kurajing looked over...
"Gao." Roy patted the Golden Crow's head and instructed the two, "Wait for me here."
He turned, sword in hand, and followed.
The large and small figures entered the tunnel, one after the other, and disappeared from view.
Electronic eyes embedded in the tunnel walls were everywhere, fixedly capturing their figures and distributing the feed through the monitoring room. One of the staff members, wearing a baseball cap and looking slightly shifty, took out his phone while his colleagues weren't looking and secretly sent a text message: "It's starting."
The Kakin Empire's capital, Spanto.
In a luxurious manor on the south end of Tulip Street—which neighbored the Hall of Kings, the center of power controlled by the Heil-Ly family—where Beyond was staying.
One old and one young, one standing and one sitting, were each busy with their own tasks, neither paying any mind to the other.
At this moment, Beyond held a pair of binoculars, monitoring the construction progress of the "Black Whale" through the massive floor-to-ceiling window. He broke the silence, asking the blond-haired youth behind him, "A few days have passed. Have you figured out where you lost?"
Pariston sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, casually flipping through a book titled "Dragon Species Records," written by a "Dragon Chaser." Without looking up, he replied, "What else could it be? Just lacking in strength and insufficient information."
Not being able to win meant lacking strength. Knowing nothing about him meant insufficient information.
Pariston had reviewed it carefully. He could have avoided the conflict with Roy Zoldyck. He had even taken the initiative to yield at the airport, but unexpectedly, because of that Strange man, he was forced into the storm of conflict with him.
In other words... it was a complete accident. An accident that cost him two guards and a pawn, only to prove that the opponent was "extremely fun to play with"...
Pariston thought of that indifferent face and started to feel an itch in his heart again, unable to control his excitement.
Just then, Beyond looked back at him and said, "You're still missing one thing."
The youth closed the book, tossed it onto the desk, laced his hands behind his head, and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue.
A soft "buzz" came from Beyond's pocket.
This "wretched beast," as someone strongest of humanity called him, this mad adventurer who had established a "Contract and Vow" at the cost of his life to confine that person to the island in the lake, took out his phone, glanced at it briefly, and ordered someone to turn on the huge television hanging on the east wall.
The screen lit up, clearly reflecting the figures of Roy and Botobai "racing" in the tunnel. Beyond studied the black-haired youth on the screen with his hands behind his back and said, "You also lack preparation."
"People die when they are killed... No matter how strong an existence is, with enough preparation, they can be killed in a single blow!"
"What about Chairman Netero?" Pariston clearly knew a lot about Beyond's affairs.
"Same." The man suppressed his voice and laughed lowly. "Roy Zoldyck is a good opponent. Watch closely, gather information on him. I look forward to the day you kill him for revenge!"
'Zoldyck... If their family's child is killed, they will definitely go crazy.' Beyond glanced sideways at Pariston. 'At that time, the boy will be hunted with no way out. His only option will be to tie himself firmly to my chariot and flee to the Dark Continent...'
"Hehe... I will."
Pariston squinted at Roy on the monitor, his body trembling... Revenge wasn't important to him...
What was important was destroying the things his opponent cherished, one by one, watching him go mad with rage yet still hating him, and then smiling as he danced a waltz... As for a partner?
'I'll just borrow his beloved woman for a while...'
"Tap... tap..." The sound of two sets of footsteps emerged from the screen, echoing clearly in the luxurious room.
In the underground tunnel, Roy used [Grandmaster Dark Step], following leisurely behind Botobai. If Botobai was fast, he was fast; if Botobai was slow, he was slow. Finally, a sliver of light became visible through the tunnel exit ahead. Unexpectedly, Botobai threw a smoke bomb on the ground... and instantly disappeared, leaving only a sentence lingering in his ear...
"This test of mine isn't that complicated. It's called the 'Milsy Military Exercise'..."
"Find me before the sun sets this evening, and you pass..."
White smoke filled the air, sealing the entrance. Roy paused, letting Xiao Jin open its mouth and spit, clearing the way with fire. Although the Golden Crow was small, its breath was incredibly long. A tongue of fire swelled in the wind, instantly spreading into a large blaze, dispersing all the white smoke in an instant.
"A good Nen beast." Beyond stood at the huge window, his gaze immediately landing on the Golden Crow perched on Roy's head.
Pariston propped his chin on one hand, leaning against the sofa and frowning. He had no impression of this fat crow.
'Could it be that after "Magnetism" and "Swordsmanship," this guy Roy Zoldyck is also hiding a "Nen Beast"?'
The youth's lips curled up. This was getting more and more interesting...
On the screen.
Xiao Jin opened its mouth, hiccuped, and exhaled a small wisp of black smoke. Light poured in from the tunnel exit... Roy seized the opportunity, gripped his cane sword, and stepped out of the cave—right into a "hail of bullets"!
"Da... da... da..."
Bullets rained down, seemingly timed perfectly for his exit, the firepower appearing even fiercer than Gotoh's.
Captured by a camera in the corner of the entrance, the image reflected a dense storm of "live ammunition."
In the barbecue restaurant at the venue entrance, the two old men had leisurely taken an afternoon nap and grabbed some afternoon tea. They were slurping noodles while watching TV. On the screen, in an open area in front of the tunnel exit, several parallel trenches had been dug. In the nearby woods and swamps, many "soldiers" in camouflage, their faces painted for concealment, were hiding—standing, crouching, or prone. They aimed machine guns or submachine guns at Roy and opened fire... Anyone who didn't know better...
...would have thought they had stumbled onto a battlefield, becoming the target of an enemy unit!
"'An Army of One,' hohoho... Little Bo is an army all by himself." Netero slurped a mouthful of oolong noodles, another stack of empty plates piling up beside him.
Enhancers, besides being "all brawn, no brains," were also "bottomless pits" when it came to eating, each one outdoing the last.
Zeno wasn't quite on Netero's level, but he wasn't far off. Perhaps because Roy had been afflicted with the "curse," the old man wasn't in a good mood and wanted to eat more to cheer himself up. He ordered a few more plates of barbecue from Beanman and silently stuffed food into his mouth, all while keeping an eye on Roy's movements.
'It seemed "An Army of One" was that Botobai's "Nen ability." To be able to maintain so many "Nen beasts" and control them all to fire simultaneously, he had to be either an "Emitter" or a "Manipulator"!'
Next, they would see how Roy dealt with it.
"Da... da... da..."
The bullets were coated in [Ten], far from the ordinary ammunition the Ten Dons would later use against the Spider, which had hit Uvogin.
"BOOM!"
Roy even saw an officer, seemingly a captain, shouldering an RPG and firing it right at him!
The corner of his mouth twitched. He smiled...
Whether it was a "hail of bullets" or "cannonballs," they were, in essence, just "chunks of iron" filled with "gunpowder"!
And as long as it was "iron," it could not escape the judgment of "Magnetism"!
Roy didn't even draw his sword. His free hand simply pushed forward calmly. [Magnetism · Repel]!
The milky-white "Nen" instantly transformed into a transparent "magnetic wall," stopping the bullets and the cannonball in mid-air before violently flinging them back out...
"Swish... swish... swish... BOOM!"
The bullets returned whence they came, and the cannonball flew straight back along its original path. With a loud explosion, it blew the captain who fired the RPG to smithereens!
[Notification: "Life Energy" +1... +1... +1... +5... +1...]
As the "soldiers" hidden in the trenches, jungle, and swamp fell one by one, Roy was surprised to hear the panel's notification sound echoing continuously in his ears. Looking up, he saw a transparent shadow emerge from every soldier that fell.
These shadows were large and small. The tallest and most solid one was from the unlucky captain who had just been blown apart by Roy's reflected rocket.
'These are the "undead spirits" that Botobai rescued from terrorists...'
Roy was deep in thought. He couldn't be bothered to absorb these "undead spirits" right now. Holding up the "transparent shield" forged from his "magnetic field," he calmly advanced into the next round of "hail of bullets"...
Kakin Empire.
In his luxurious study, Beyond watched the youth leisurely reaping Botobai's "subordinates" like grass, his eyes filled with appreciation.
"A transparent shield? An air wall? Something that can repel bullets... an interesting Nen ability."
"Unfortunately... it's neither... 'It's magnetism.'" Pariston stared intently at Roy on the screen, ripples appearing in his pupils. "You've only seen its repulsive side. In fact..."
"There's also 'attraction'!"
The blond youth had barely finished speaking when the monitoring feed changed. Roy leaped into a trench, stretched out his hand, and pulled. He grabbed a soldier from several meters away, clenched his fist, and snapped its neck... [Notification: Life Energy +1...]
A transparent shadow emerged and plunged into Roy's body.
And so it continued... one, two, three... eight... ten... As time ticked by, the trenches, the jungle, and the muddy swamp were filled with Roy's身影. Wherever there was a "soldier," he was there!
"Stop!" At that moment, a loud shout suddenly interrupted Roy's "atrocity"!
Botobai couldn't take it anymore. He emerged from a small thicket, his face dark as he called out to Roy, "You brat, you don't know when to quit! If I let you keep killing, all my 'children' will be wiped out!"
His towering figure seemed to block out the sun, his exaggerated opera mask-like face filled with rage. Botobai took a step and suddenly grabbed one of Roy's hands. He felt a chill in his heart and looked down...
At some unknown point, the cane sword Roy had been holding had silently left its sheath. It was aimed perfectly at his chest, having pierced straight through his heart!
"Ah!" A wretched scream. The white blade went in, and a red blade came out!
In the Kakin Empire, Pariston, who had just been summarizing Roy's Nen abilities for Beyond, raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the boy to be so bold as to kill an examiner during the Hunter Exam, right under the Hunter Association's nose!
'As expected of the eldest son of the Zoldyck family...'
'Always doing the unexpected, pulling off earth-shattering feats!'
"Hehehe... Hahaha..."
"Beyond, you'd better hold me back, or... I really won't be able to stop myself from going after him again!"
Pariston's shoulders shook as he laughed uproariously. Beside him, the middle-aged man stroked his thick beard, unmoved. He glanced over coldly and said, "You're celebrating too early."
"Botobai... is not that easy to kill."
Beyond had clearly recognized Botobai at a glance.
Just as he said.
The "Botobai" on the screen seemed to have never expected that Roy, a candidate, would actually attack him, the examiner.
After all, based on his understanding of the Hunter Exam, attacking an examiner would result in immediate disqualification!
'Does this candidate in front of me not care about failing to get a Hunter License at all?'
"Squelch—" The cane sword was retracted and gripped tightly in the youth's hand. Having lost the support of the blade, "Botobai" staggered and fell to the ground. Only then did he hear a mocking voice drift over...
"A monkey is still a monkey. Just because you know a little 'transformation' technique, don't go thinking you're actually human."
"You..." "Botobai" glared at Roy with hatred, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last, revealing his true form. It was a Man-Faced Ape, a magical beast from the original Hunter story that had impersonated the examiner Satotz!
[Notification: "Life Energy" +2... [Monster Encyclopedia] has been updated...]
[Man-Faced Ape]
[E-Rank Magical Beast]
[Racial Talent: "Deception" (Note: Can observe humans, transform into humans, and defraud others)]
[Manifested Aura: 10/100]
[Potential Aura: 25/100]
[Talent Fragment "Deception" has been extracted. Current "Quantity": 1/5]
[Note: Collect five fragments to exchange for one "Deception." This is unique; excess fragments are void.]
'Huh? Did I get "loot"?'
Roy received the notification and glanced at the panel.
A faint understanding dawned on him... The "panel," supported by the "Gate of Cognition," was also evolving silently in the background as he continued to explore this world, influenced by his gradually strengthening "Constitution" and "Nen ability."
Back when he was weak, he would never have been able to use "cognition" to deeply capture the talents and characteristics of other "people" or "magical beasts." But now...
Whether it was a "Nen beast," a "magical beast," or even a "Demon," as soon as it was [Recorded in the Monster Encyclopedia], it was immediately identified, its "characteristics" were extracted, and the "quantity" extracted... depended on his own current "Nen" intensity!
'So, the question is... I still need four more fragments to exchange for [Deception]. Who should I "get" them from?'
Two suns ignited with a "poof" in Roy's pupils, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the nearby bushes.
"Chee... chee..." The sound of monkeys chattering was heard. Several other Man-Faced Apes, which had planned to get a piece of the action after seeing "Botobai" fall, instantly met Roy's fiery gaze. Terrified, they scrambled, wiggling their bright red buttocks as they fled in panic toward the depths of the Milsy Wetlands!
"This guy's tough, run!" It was a classic case of the monkeys scattering when the tree falls.
Unfortunately, fleeing never solved any problems. As the Man-Faced Apes scattered, Roy caught several stragglers and lopped off their heads.
[Notification: Life Energy +2... Talent Fragment "Deception" has been extracted...]
One, two, three, four... In less than three minutes, all five fragments were collected. The panel flashed, sending a "stream of information" surging into Roy's mind.
The youth stood leaning on his cane sword, surrounded by a path of blood littered with monkey corpses and Botobai's "soldiers." He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling. At a certain moment, with a thought, he activated [Deception] and transformed into the appearance of Gotoh.
To the naked eye... his body suddenly grew taller by ten-odd centimeters, the cane sword in his hand vanished, his clothes and shoes changed, and even... even the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose were identical to Gotoh's!
In the Kakin Empire, in the barbecue restaurant at the venue entrance, and even... in the depths of the Milsy Wetlands, where Botobai had been hiding and remotely controlling his "soldiers"...
...All of them, along with Beyond, Pariston, Netero, and Zeno, were momentarily stunned by this scene!