Inside the storage room, Leo's fingers twitched slightly.
He opened his eyes, and his vision gradually cleared from a blur.
Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he looked around—the room was still the same, and the animal skin map was still lying beside him. But the sensation in his body was completely different.
The thin body that originally belonged to the young Rexa had become much sturdier; the lines of his arms and chest were now distinct, full of a sense of power.
There was not the slightest discomfort; instead, his body felt light and coordinated, as if every muscle was in its optimal state.
Leo looked down to examine himself, his gaze falling on the back of his right hand—there was now a dark red vortex-shaped tattoo, about the size of a coin, with complex and exquisite lines that looked like some kind of ancient rune.
He reached out with his left hand to touch the tattoo.
Instantly, information flooded into his mind like a tidal wave:
[Proof of Humanity]
Nen Ability Type: Specialist
[Rank: 0]
Ability Conditions:
1. The body is forcibly entered into a state of "Zetsu," unable to perceive or use any Nen.
2. When taking damage, the sensation of pain is doubled.
3. After activating Nen, one cannot use lethal weapons or wear protective armor.
Ability Effects:
1. After killing a living being, one can absorb its residual life energy.
2. Life energy can increase Rank; after increasing Rank, the body is strengthened, with no upper limit to the improvement.
3. After reaching Rank 25, the "Zetsu" state is lifted, and the body undergoes a qualitative improvement in all aspects.
4. Accelerates physical recovery and self-healing abilities (increases with Rank).
Note: This ability does not occupy memory capacity and allows for the further development of one's own exclusive Nen Ability.
After the information stream ended, Leo was stunned for a moment, then broke into a joyful smile.
This is the world of hunter x hunter.
Nen Ability—he possessed one!
Although there were strict limitations, this ability had huge growth potential.
At the same time, another piece of information surfaced from the depths of his consciousness—knowledge from the Legacy of that stone.
This place is the Secret Realm of the ancient Capet Kingdom, the "Eternal Chamber," built two thousand two hundred years ago. The entrance and exit to the Secret Realm are located in the cave at the end of the forest on the east side, which must be activated with Nen to open.
"A Secret Realm... need to use Nen... to leave."
Leo's smile faded, and his brow furrowed.
He was currently in a forced "Zetsu" state and could not use Nen at all.
According to the rules of "Proof of Humanity," he had to raise his Rank to 25 to lift the restriction.
This meant he had to leave this relatively safe palace, enter that unknown forest, kill living creatures, and collect life energy.
The risks were obvious. Being unable to use Nen meant losing an important layer of defense and perception.
The doubled sensation of pain was like adding frost to snow—in the wilderness, injuries were inevitable, and doubled pain could affect his actions and judgment.
But he had no choice.
Leo stood up and stretched his limbs.
The changes to his body were real; although he couldn't use Nen, his physical body was already much stronger than before. He clenched his fist and could feel the power contained within his muscles.
"At least the starting point isn't too bad."
Afterward, he found a stone knife inside the palace; it was very sharp. Leo stood at the edge of the platform and carefully observed the forest below.
The trees were tall and dense, and the light in the forest was dim. He could hear bird calls, beast roars, and some unrecognizable sounds.
Dangerous, but also full of life—this meant there was prey.
"Start from the periphery first."
He formulated a plan, "Find small animals, familiarize myself with the environment, and acquire life energy. After my Rank increases, I will venture deeper into the forest."
He gripped the short knife tightly and observed his surroundings vigilantly. Rexa's hunting memories came into play at this moment—how to identify animal tracks, how to move stealthily, and how to choose the right timing.
Rustling sounds came from the bushes ahead.
Leo immediately crouched down and held his breath.
A moment later, a creature resembling a wild rabbit crawled out, with grayish-brown fur and short ears, lowering its head to gnaw on grass roots.
The distance was about five meters.
Leo calculated the angle and route. Rabbit-like animals had sensitive hearing and agile movements; if a single strike missed, they would flee.
He moved slowly, stepping lightly on the ground with every step to avoid snapping dead branches.
Three meters, two meters, one meter... Leo pounced, his stone knife stabbing toward the rabbit's neck, killing it in one blow, and the struggling stopped.
Just at this moment, the red vortex tattoo on the back of his hand felt slightly hot, and a faint warm current came from the rabbit's carcass, flowing into his body.
It was very subtle, like drinking a sip of warm water, then it quickly dissipated.
[Life Energy + 0.5] [Rank: 0 (1%)]
"I need two hundred rabbits to reach Rank 1," he calculated. "And to reach Rank 25..."
Relying solely on small animals had too high a time cost; he had to find more efficient hunting targets.
Rexa's hunting memories made him more acute in observing the environment.
He noticed several mounds of soil in the forest clearing, with small holes on the surface and traces of fine sand being moved around.
"Ants?" Leo crouched down and used the stone knife to gently brush away some loose soil.
Beneath it was indeed an anthill entrance; several blackish-brown ants were scurrying in and out, each about the size of a fingernail, with well-developed mandibles.
His eyes lit up.
Although individual ants provided very little life energy, their numbers were massive. If he could find a large anthill...
Leo stood up and began searching with purpose. He followed the sunny edge of the forest to search, where the soil was dry and suitable for ants to build nests.
Less than half an hour later, he discovered his target beside a fallen log—a mound-shaped anthill over half a meter in diameter, its surface densely covered with holes, with ants busy entering and exiting.
"Found it."
He did not act rashly, first observing the structure of the anthill. The nest was built against the roots of the fallen log, with the main body underground, but the surface part was also quite large.
The species of ant was one he didn't recognize, about two centimeters long, shiny black all over, and moved quickly.
"Let's give it a try."
Leo stepped back a few paces and found a sturdy branch, about the thickness of an arm and of a suitable length. He first cleared away the dead leaves and weeds around the anthill.
After preparing, he gripped the branch with both hands, aimed at a weaker spot on the side of the anthill, and thrust it in forcefully!
"Thwack."
The soil burst open. The internal structure of the anthill was exposed, and countless ants surged out instantly, a black mass like boiling black liquid.
They quickly crawled up the branch, their mandibles opening and closing, clearly highly aggressive.
Leo quickly pulled back the branch and slapped it hard against the ground to shake off the ants.
Then he circled to the other side of the anthill, inserting and stirring again.
After repeating this a few times, the anthill was completely destroyed.
The surface part collapsed, revealing the intricate tunnels and egg chambers below. Hundreds or thousands of ants crawled around in a panic; some soldier ants tried to attack Leo, but he easily swept them away with the branch.
The slaughter continued...
The tattoo on the back of his hand continued to emit a warm sensation, much weaker than when killing the rabbit, but continuous.
The energy provided by each ant's death was negligible, but the sheer quantity made up for it.
[Life Energy + 0.01]
[Life Energy + 0.01]
[Life Energy + 0.01]...
The prompt information flashed rapidly in his mind, eventually converging into a total.
[Total Harvest: Life Energy + 9.8]
[Rank: 0 (10.8%)]
Leo's eyes lit up.
Destroying an anthill once was almost equivalent to the gains from killing twenty rabbits!
And the risk was extremely low—although the ants were numerous, the individual threat was small, as long as he was careful not to let a large number of ants crawl onto his body.
"That's more like it."
He smiled with satisfaction, his previously grave expression easing up quite a bit.
He carefully checked his body, brushing off a few ants that had crawled up his pant legs.
The tattoo on the back of his hand gleamed with a dark red luster in the sunlight, and the Rank progress had jumped from 1% to nearly 11%.
"There should be quite a few anthills in this forest."
Leo cleaned up the scene to avoid leaving too many traces that might attract other creatures. He noted this location—perhaps the ant colony would rebuild their nest in the future, and he could "harvest" them periodically.
Over the next few hours, he changed his strategy.
He no longer focused on looking for prey, but systematically searched for anthills and the nests of other colonial insects.
Experience gradually accumulated: black ant nests were mostly built on dry forest edges or beside fallen logs; red ants liked to build nests under rocks; there was also a larger, acidic-smelling brown ant, whose nests were usually deep underground and required more effort to dig out.
Every time he destroyed a nest, his life energy increased steadily. The efficiency was far higher than hunting animals.
When the sun slanted west, Leo had already cleared four anthills, and his Rank progress had increased to [Rank: 0 (31%)].
At this rate, he would be able to reach Rank 1 tomorrow.
His steps were much lighter when he returned to the palace; although he still couldn't use Nen, he saw hope for rapid leveling up.
In the evening, Leo found a relatively intact corner inside the palace to rest.
He tallied today's harvest: besides life energy, there were a few unexpected discoveries—beside one of the anthills, he found a small patch of wild berry bushes, the fruit was sweet and sour and edible; near another nest, there was a clean seepage point with clear water.
"Continue tomorrow."
He chewed on the berries, planning tomorrow's route.
"That sunny hillside to the east should have many anthills; go there first."
The tattoo on the back of his hand felt slightly warm in the twilight, as if responding to his anticipation.
The night deepened, and the forest returned to silence.
Leo leaned against the stone wall, closing his eyes to rest.
Although he was still in the "Zetsu" state and unable to perceive Nen, the strengthening of his body was real—the physical exertion from destroying the anthills today was far less than expected, and his recovery speed was also fast.
"Rank 25... shouldn't take too long."
He thought to himself, a hint of a relaxed smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
At least he had found the right path for leveling up at the start, and didn't have to fight beasts to the death every day.