"Alright, kid, don't look so down."
At the moment, Killua wore a flat cap with the brim pulled low, almost completely covering his face.
Kevin Carpenberg reached out and patted his head, teasing, "I'm pretty awesome, you know. Losing to me isn't shameful."
Killua bared his teeth at Kevin in response.
"That last move of yours… you copied me, didn't you?"
Though that move gave Killua the chilling sense of staring death in the face, he still keenly noticed the similarities between that attack and his own fighting style.
Kevin nodded. "Didn't copy it perfectly, but yeah, I was mimicking your technique."
"No, for such a short amount of time, you got pretty close," Killua said seriously.
He wasn't just trying to make Kevin feel better.
Their fight in the arena hadn't even lasted ten minutes total.
In that short window, Kevin hadn't fully mastered the technique, but he'd managed to get about thirty to forty percent of it down.
"Really? Haha," Kevin chuckled. In truth, he'd been using his Nen ability during the beatdown.
How should one describe Nen? It was such an elusive power.
When Kevin developed his Nen ability, he focused on greatly enhancing his body's learning capacity—something like enabling muscle memory to develop at lightning speed.
The result turned out just as he had hoped. But once he applied that Nen ability in battle—deliberately taking hits to grasp his opponent's techniques—it seemed to enhance the effect even more.
When the enemy's attack landed on him, all the information about its power and technique flowed into him through his Nen.
Even if Kevin blocked with his hands instead of dodging, as long as the hit connected, it left behind a sort of "memory."
His body was like a precision machine with autonomous learning capabilities. Every strike he endured triggered an analysis, and through repeated hits and adjustments, he gradually simulated the opponent's mechanics.
And since Killua's attacks didn't do much damage to him, coupled with Killua's incredibly fast strikes, Kevin's ability to learn them ramped up even faster.
In just ten minutes, he picked up nearly half of Killua's striking technique.
It was a pleasant and unexpected bonus for Kevin.
"But just knowing about Nen isn't enough—I need to dig deeper into its true essence."
Kevin understood clearly that what he currently grasped were just end results. He had no idea about the process behind them.
To explore it thoroughly would be a long, arduous journey.
Still, this accidental discovery made him decide to stop wasting time in the lower floors below the 200s.
Of course, his training with Killua needed to become a priority. He realized this kid was basically a goldmine—his techniques were far superior to most fighters in this whole arena.
"Well then, just like we agreed, I'll be your sparring partner from now on," Kevin said with a smile.
Killua rolled his eyes. Just because he was a kid didn't mean he was easy to fool.
From their match, he'd already noticed that his attacks were being absorbed and learned by Kevin.
But that didn't bother Killua much.
Having someone strong to use as a "punching bag" came with a lot of perks.
Besides, Kevin was a rare friend, even if he was an older "big friend." Still, Killua wished he had more friends his own age.
…
Kevin returned home.
"What should I do today?"
Pharmaceutical work? Or physical training?
He could only pick one—either task consumed massive amounts of stamina and Nen.
Even while mumbling this to himself, he quickly walked into his materials room, starting to sort through all the jars and containers, and those items stored in climate-controlled chambers.
"Out of precious ingredients again… Gotta order another batch?"
Kevin sighed in frustration.
Buying ingredients always cost a fortune. Thankfully, he had won his match today and earned tens of millions in prize money.
According to his plan, he'd participate in a few more fights in the coming days and aim straight for the 200th floor. By then, his wealth would stack up to hundreds of millions.
That amount should last him for a while.
Since the materials weren't enough, training it was.
After wrapping up his training, Kevin quickly showered and went to bed.
Late at night.
A tall, thin figure stood silently on a rooftop not far from Kevin's home. In the moonlight, their long black hair fluttered lightly in the breeze.
With a few light leaps, the figure silently arrived at Kevin's window. Not a sound was made throughout the entire process.
They slowly opened the window. Suddenly, a circular burst of Nen flared out from their body.
"Hmm?"
The intruder let out a soft gasp of surprise and instantly crossed their arms.
BOOM!
A deafening blast shattered the calm of night. The tall man was sent flying by a powerful force, completely unprepared for the sudden attack. He soared straight onto a nearby rooftop.
After several bounces, he crashed onto the street below, even destroying a parked car on impact.
Immediately after, a burly figure came crashing down from the sky like a meteor.
BOOM!
Another loud explosion.
The slim man reacted quickly and leapt away with agile movements.
The spot where he had been lying now had a deep crater, as if a bomb had gone off and blasted open a hole.
Kevin stood there in his thin pajamas, slowly pulling his hand out from the crater.
"Who are you?"
He had been sleeping peacefully just moments ago—until someone's Nen surrounded him out of nowhere.
The moment a foreign Nen aura approached, Kevin's own Nen flared up in response, snapping him awake.
He instantly sensed the intruder. Whether they were friend or foe didn't matter—in the dead of night, anyone sneaking into his room was an intruder.
Without hesitation, he launched a single punch—powered by the [Ken] technique—a punch like a cannonball that sent the opponent flying.
"Not talking, huh?" Seeing the other man stay silent, Kevin clenched his fists tightly, ready for a serious fight.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistling cut through the air as several lollipop-shaped Nen needles shot toward Kevin.
He clearly saw the Nen energy swirling around the needles.
Kevin swiftly dodged to the side.
But the needles curved mid-flight like they had eyes, tracking his movement.
Seeing this, Kevin stopped dodging. After landing, he channeled more Nen into his palms and swatted the incoming needles away with rapid strikes.
Solid objects, not pure Nen—Nen-wrapped and capable of precise mid-air tracking…
"Manipulation Type."
Kevin instantly judged the intruder's Nen category.
His expression turned grave with heightened alert.
He knew this category well—and it was one of the ones he disliked most.
The ability to control others, or even forcibly command their actions, mostly stemmed from this category—true to its name: Manipulation.
And just the thought of those creepy, invasive abilities made Kevin's skin crawl.
If he accidentally got caught by one, it would be a nightmare.
He had to end this—fast.
patreon.com/HRT862 for 20 chaters ahead