Chapter 9: World Crossing — Hunter × Hunter
Three days after the trip to the black market, late in the morning, Leo finally stepped out of his room. His preparations were complete — everything was ready, save for the final step.
But the moment he walked into the hall, his mood plummeted.
Asta was there, broom in hand, face scrunched in frustration. "Why don't you clean, huh? Noelle doesn't clean either! We're all rookies — it's unfair!"
Leo gave him a sincere, almost solemn look. "Asta, I have something very important to do. So, please handle the chores for the next couple of days. Once I'm free, I'll take over cleaning duty, alright?"
Asta sighed, then grinned. "Fine, fine. You're my comrade, after all."
Afterward, Leo wandered around the base, searching for a particular person. He eventually found him — the timid transformation mage, Grey.
Approaching, Leo said, "I need a favor. Can you lend me your Transformation Magic?"
Grey only exhaled nervously, saying nothing.
Leo continued, calm but firm. "I need it for something important. You just have to cast it once and don't resist my sealing magic. I'll store it, and when I need it later, I'll release it. Please — just nod if you agree."
After a few seconds of hesitation, Grey gave a reluctant nod. He released his magic, and Leo activated his seal.
"Sealing Magic — Magic Capture."
A soft pulse of light enveloped Grey's spell, trapping it within Leo's grimoire. He repeated the process two more times, successfully sealing three uses of Transformation Magic.
Previously, he had stored three of Yuno's wind spells for emergencies. But now that he had offensive capabilities of his own, he replaced them — preparing for something far greater.
Returning to his room, Leo sat on his bed, breathing slowly. It's time.
The plan he had been preparing for fifteen years was finally ready.
He wasn't born in this world — he was an outsider, a soul that had crossed from another existence. The thing that brought him here wasn't a god, a spell, or a ritual — it was a single white cloud.
Or more precisely, a small, glowing pearl hidden within that cloud.
He remembered that day vividly. The jump. The fall. The gray sky split by one patch of white light.
When he had been reborn as a baby in this world, that "pearl" had come with him. For years, it slumbered inside his consciousness, whispering faintly in dreams, hungering for energy.
Fifteen years ago, he began feeding it — funneling mana into the invisible pearl whenever he could. Nothing happened for a long time, until eight years ago, when it finally stirred.
That night, it sent him a single mental message:
A treasure that can traverse all worlds — the World-Piercing Orb.
Leo had been stunned. Then thrilled. My cheat has finally arrived.
For the first time, he felt true power within reach.
He immediately tested it, focusing his will on a world he remembered fondly. Hunter × Hunter.
The words etched themselves onto the orb's surface. A hollow gauge appeared beneath — an energy bar, nearly empty.
Then came the worst part. A second message appeared:
Energy required for activation: Full.
Note: Cross-world travel is not free.
Leo had almost screamed. A pay-to-win system? In my brain?!
It felt like some cosmic scam — but he couldn't uninstall it, and he couldn't exactly call tech support on a mystical artifact in his skull.
Five years ago, he'd already charged the orb to 99%, but he refused to fill it completely. He didn't know what would happen — maybe he'd vanish instantly. Back then, he didn't have the strength to survive in another world.
At fifteen, he was strong enough to fight, but he'd purposely held back during the Magic Knight exam to ensure the Black Bulls would take him in. If he'd drawn too much attention, his plans might've fallen apart.
Now, with space and ice magic sealed safely, the time had finally come.
He thought ahead. The dungeon — the "Magic Palace" — was coming soon, a deadly mission for even seasoned knights. If he wanted to grow faster, he'd need to train in another world first.
He'd even spent nearly his entire month's salary buying two bottles of healing potion from the black market. A painful investment, but worth it.
Now, everything was ready.
He opened his hand. The faint outline of the pearl shimmered in his palm — translucent, pulsating faintly with light.
"Alright… let's do this."
He channeled one-tenth of his mana into the orb.
The gauge flashed —
100%
Then came the surge.
A blinding light filled the room. The walls warped, the air twisted, and the floor disappeared beneath his feet.
For a moment, there was nothing but white.
Then, sound — the noise of engines, distant honking, and human chatter.
When Leo opened his eyes, the scent of exhaust and asphalt filled his lungs.
He stood in the middle of a sprawling concrete city — skyscrapers piercing the clouds, neon lights buzzing even in daylight.
Billboards, traffic, bustling pedestrians — a modern metropolis.
Leo blinked slowly.
"…This isn't Clover Kingdom anymore."
Then his gaze landed on a massive digital screen hanging from a tower — an announcement of the upcoming Hunter Exam.
He froze.
A slow grin crept across his face.
"So this is it… the world of Hunter × Hunter."
He first took a fist-sized stone and used Grey's sealed Transformation Magic on it; the stone's exterior and weight all turned to gold.
Then he wandered through the narrow alleys looking for a shop that, by any measure, did not seem legitimate. He brought the gold into a shop intending to exchange it for cash, but no matter what price they offered he refused, then swaggered out of the store.
He strolled into a small lane and waited; after a few dozen seconds, the sound of about ten footsteps approached the alley mouth. The plan had worked — he was a clever little rascal.
Startup funds were in hand. Although he had trained, as a caster he was not suited for close combat yet; he considered it. He promptly used Chain Control to bind the attackers into tight bundles.
Although he had been the target of the attempted robbery, he was the first to speak the famous line: this road is mine, this tree I planted; if you pass here you must pay a toll. He then stripped their clothes, watches, and phones, and finally found about two hundred thousand in cash.
He put the watches and other items into a bag to sell later; he was a thrifty man. The would-be robbers wailed and cried — such a delightful sound.
From among them he selected an unremarkable man. After knocking them all unconscious, he disguised himself as that man and used the man's identification — since he was not of this world and had no local ID, he relied on Grey's sealed Transformation Magic. This was the second use of Transformation Magic.
He asked a passerby the way to the airship port, then took a taxi and bought a ticket to the city that housed the Sky Arena.
He began his journey to the Sky Arena. According to his memory of Hunter × Hunter, there were two routes: one was to follow the protagonists, take the Hunter Exam, and then learn Nen under a teacher at the Sky Arena;
the other was to go straight to the Sky Arena and fight up to the 200th floor where three "cripples" awaited — those three had become disabled after being struck by Nen users, and by being struck by them one could supposedly acquire Nen.
Thus his plan: find those three disabled men and be hit by their Nen so he could obtain Nen. With Nen unlocked, he could rapidly grow stronger in this world's power system.
Beside the World-Crossing Orb in his mind was an energy gauge with numbers; to his shock the time limit read ten days. The flight alone would consume half a day, and he still had to buy presents for his Black Bulls comrades — every member would get something.
He mentally listed gifts: for Chami, a cookbook from this world; for Vanessa, a medical reference book on healing practices; for Luck, a short volume on electricity and magnetism; for Asta, weight-bearing bracelets or a weighted vest; for Noelle, reluctantly, a book about water blade techniques to avoid resentment; for Gordon, several books on poisons and antidotes; for Magna, books about flame magic; for Gauche, a book about convex and concave mirrors; for Finral, a manual on flirting; for Grey, a smiling jester mask; and for Yami, worried he might crush Leo's skull if left out, he decided on the best laxative this world offered to cure the captain's chronic constipation.
Having decided the presents, he needed money — the Sky Arena would be his earning ground.
Less than an hour after boarding the airship, Grey's Transformation wore off. After sneaking out of the port, he headed for the tallest building here: the Sky Arena, and registered.
After paying the entry fee and passing a preliminary check, he was assigned his first fight on Floor One.
Floor One matched his physical level: despite years of training he remained essentially at ordinary human strength.
He might be stronger than a common thug, but he could not compare to trained martial artists or monsters. He considered stealing martial arts manuals back home but realized that strong guardians guarded such tomes, and theft would draw Hunter pursuers.
He pondered instead the idea of a single instant technique — a fearsome old man capable of delivering ninety-nine slaps in an instant, each slap powerful enough to demolish a skyscraper. Only four words flashed through his mind: terrifying, terrifying.
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