Shizuku wasn't in the audience anymore.
Liam scanned the other rings in the venue and spotted her just as she slapped her opponent clean across three separate arenas. The poor bastard flew through the air and crashed into the spectator section. At least she'd remembered not to kill anyone. Liam was nearby, after all. Death energy accumulation was a problem.
The registration form had included a liability waiver. If someone died in the ring, neither Heavens Arena nor the opponent would be held responsible.
"Take it easy," Liam said when Shizuku returned victorious. They turned in their slips and received 152 Jenny each, plus a complimentary can of soda. Then they headed for the elevator to the 10th floor. "If I suddenly age into a seventy-year-old man, you're taking full responsibility. Understand? You'll have to care for me in my old age."
Shizuku turned to look at him, completely serious. "Then Liam shouldn't stay here long."
She knew his situation. She'd be careful not to kill her opponents. But others didn't have that concern. Though admittedly, it was probably rare for someone to casually kill an opponent on the same floor.
"Who's Liam? I'm John Smith," Liam reminded her. Then he smiled. "If you win one match and leave, they won't let you go. The rules require a minimum number of fights. You have to win two matches a day, or lose one, or leaving counts as a forfeit and you're disqualified. So how about this: you win one more match today, then we go out to eat?"
"Okay." Shizuku nodded. Then, after a pause: "I can fight here, then spar with you back at the hotel. That would give you combat experience too, right?"
"That's one way to do it," Liam said as they stepped out of the elevator.
On the 10th floor ring, Liam's opponent was a boxer. Not overly bulky, but densely muscled. Every inch of him looked coiled and dangerous.
The referee explained the rules. "The match uses a three-minute point system. An excellent attack is worth 1 point. A critical hit is worth 2 points. Knocking down your opponent and having the referee confirm it is worth 1 point. First to 10 points wins via TKO. If your opponent loses the ability to fight, you win immediately via KO. Understand?"
"Understood," the boxer said, clapping his fists together. No weapons allowed on this floor. No gloves either. Just layers of bandages wrapped around his knuckles.
I don't understand! Liam thought. He nodded anyway. This time he couldn't win as casually as before. That wouldn't teach him anything.
The opponent moved first. He must have noticed the openings in Liam's stance, because he closed the distance and launched into a dazzling combination of punches.
But Liam's eyesight had been trained with Gyo for months. Even without actively using it now, he could easily track these seemingly fast but actually slow fists. He didn't counterattack. Instead, he made halfhearted defensive gestures while the barrage of punches hit his body, which had been tempered by thousands of hours of Nen training.
He barely felt anything.
What did it feel like to punch a 16-ton steel statue with fists made of cotton?
In the manga, Gon had pushed open the first Testing Gate and climbed all the way to the 200th floor with nothing but a simple "I'll blow you away" technique. Liam could push open the second gate barehanded. With his current physical fitness, the actual challenge difference between the 10th floor and the 190th floor was probably negligible.
In other words, if he wanted combat experience below the 200th floor, the 10th floor and the 190th floor were basically the same. He could afford to think about countermeasures now. Find a solution.
As for above the 200th floor? That was Nen user territory.
Fighting between Nen users was an entirely different beast. It didn't align with his original goal of accumulating basic combat experience.
"Huff, huff..."
At some point, the muscular boxer had started sweating profusely. He was panting from exhaustion. He stared at Liam in disbelief.
The referee shot Liam an "Are you serious?" look.
"You looking down on me?" the boxer growled, wiping sweat from his face. His eyes were fierce. He screamed, pivoted on one leg, and whipped the other leg like a steel cable toward Liam's head. "Aiyaaa!"
That strange battle cry suddenly reminded Liam of a black-and-white interview video from his past life. An energetic martial arts philosopher speaking to the camera: "Be water, my friend."
Command: use power similar to your opponent's.
Liam's heart stirred. He raised his arms and caught the kick.
His arms tingled slightly. He couldn't help but smile. The rose-gold pentagram on the back of his neck pulsed like a seed, spreading through his entire body, pulling at his muscles and nerves.
The boxer kicked again, sweat flying.
Imitate your opponent's moves! Liam gave himself an order through the Star Mark on the back of his neck. Instantly, he pivoted on one leg and kicked. Bang!
Their legs collided mid-air and bounced apart.
First-person possession! Third-person remote control! Voice command mode! Liam cycled through every control method the Star Mark allowed him to use on himself. In a daze, he felt like he was operating a game character named Liam. It was like his perspective had shifted three feet above his head, looking down at himself fighting. He was being controlled but not controlled. Dreaming but not dreaming. Awake but not awake.
Half an hour later, the opponent collapsed from exhaustion. His entire body was bruised and battered. His muscles cramped. He foamed at the mouth and was carried off the stage.
Liam, meanwhile, hadn't broken a single drop of sweat.
Sure, he'd only used strength similar to his opponent's. But there was no way to reduce his stamina to match.
"KO! The winner is Contestant 988, John Smith!" The referee raised his hand. Scattered applause came from the small audience. The evenly matched fight had been exciting, but the ending where one fighter remained perfectly composed while the other foamed at the mouth was... unexpected.
The referee thought to himself: This kid's movements suddenly improved. The more he fought, the better he got. Did he have some kind of breakthrough? He already had absolutely crushing physical ability. Now he's made significant technical progress too. The future is limitless!
Liam ignored all of this and left, immersed in what he'd just experienced.
"It's kind of like the Knight's automatic mode," he muttered to himself.
The Phantom Troupe's Shalnark had the ability called Autopilot. After plugging an antenna into a target, he could control them with his phone. His trump card was plugging an antenna into himself and letting the phone's programming take over his body. Like entering a full-automatic combat mode, like a video game character being controlled by an AI.
"What Bruce Lee called 'be water' in that interview is probably from the phrase 'supreme goodness is like water,'" Liam thought. "Adaptable. Flowing. Changing anytime, anywhere. If I remember right, he meant integrating fighting instinct with conscious control. Not purely instinctive, not purely rational. Like when the thought of punching arises, you've already punched. No rigid forms. No hesitation."
"Wait. Isn't that Ultra Instinct?"
"No, no. This is the Hunter world. If I had to find a similar example, the closest would be..." A figure flashed in Liam's mind. "Killua's Godspeed mode."
In the manga, Killua's Hatsu transformed his aura into electricity. He used electric currents to stimulate his nervous system. After sensing an opponent's actions through hostile intent and the movements of their aura, his body reacted with pure physical reflexes. Wasn't that exactly what Bruce Lee described? Natural unnaturalness. Unnatural naturalness. Conscious control and bodily instinct integrated seamlessly.
Of course, achieving that level required a massive accumulation of combat experience.
But Liam had compensated for that by using the Star Mark's self-manipulation to enter a state similar to Shalnark's automatic combat mode. In this state, he could even learn and imitate his opponent's fighting techniques at maximum speed.
Soon, Shizuku won her second match too. Like Liam, they both received promotion slips to the 20th floor. But they decided to call it a day.
After leaving Heavens Arena, Shizuku listened with curiosity as Liam explained his latest insight.
In the restaurant, Liam tapped his spoon against the table. "The name doesn't sound good. Shizuku, think of a new one for me. Hey, this chocolate ice cream is great. Want to try?"
Shizuku looked thoughtful. She opened her mouth and accepted the spoonful of ice cream Liam offered.
For the rest of the afternoon, while they wandered the streets, visited the Elf Playground, took photos, fed pigeons, and rode the Ferris wheel, she kept pondering. Still thinking about what to name Liam's new technique.
And so, Liam and Shizuku's routine stabilized.
Mornings: go to Heavens Arena, check in, win two matches, leave.
Noon: walk around, sightsee, take tourist photos, grab lunch, then spend the afternoon training in the hotel.
A few days later, the audience on the 70th floor had grown larger. More betting booths appeared.
On the ring, a massive man weighing four or five hundred pounds charged at Liam. Liam stood perfectly still and thought: Flowing Star Strike!
The Star Mark on the back of his neck activated immediately. Liam's eyes dimmed, then lit up with a faint sapphire glow. Facing his opponent's attack, his body reacted instinctively, but he still retained the sense that he was in control. Liam's consciousness and body absorbed all the combat experience from these extreme battles.
"KO! The winner, Contestant John Smith!"
The referee walked up to Liam and announced loudly. Waves of cheers came from the audience.
Liam waved and left to collect his prize money. He found Shizuku, who had also won, and asked, "How much did you get?"
"70,000 Jenny," Shizuku said.
"Same. 70,000." Liam grinned. "Let's go eat!"
After wandering near the Elf Playground, they found the restaurant they'd been frequenting lately. They looked through newly developed photos while waiting for their food. Luckily, they'd arrived early, so they'd managed to snag the last few servings of chocolate ice cream. With their physical conditioning, it was nearly impossible to get stomachaches, so they indulged.
Suddenly, Liam paused while flipping through the photos. He thought he'd grabbed one he'd already set aside.
This was one Shizuku had taken of him. He was standing in front of the fountain, teasing Jaku and the other birds playing in the water.
But the focus wasn't on him. It was on the edge of the frame. In the corner of the crowd, a figure with blond hair had almost walked out of the camera's range.
The picture was slightly out of focus, the face a bit blurred. But the delicate profile, the blond hair, and especially the unique clothing of the Kurta Clan was unmistakable.
Kurapika?
Just then, a dissatisfied young voice came from the ordering counter. "What? The chocolate ice cream is sold out? Who bought it all?"
Shizuku looked back. Liam glanced over too, just in time to meet the eyes of a small white-haired kid with an unhappy expression.
Well, well. Meeting two protagonists in a row. What were the odds? Liam recognized the white-haired kid instantly. With that aura, that attitude, it couldn't be anyone else.
Killua Zoldyck.
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