Bang bang bang!
Under the pitch-black night sky, in a dense forest.
A black figure flitted like a ghost, racing frantically between tree trunks.
During his sprint, the person swung both arms, his fingertips hard as steel constantly tearing at tree bark… everywhere he passed, he left claw marks on the trunks that looked as if slashed by a sharp blade.
Some of the smaller trees even snapped immediately with muffled thuds.
After a few minutes, the figure stopped, and the silver moonlight filtering through gaps in the foliage illuminated his face.
It was Akira.
Covered in sweat, he looked down at his palms—slightly scratched but otherwise fine—and broke into a satisfied smile.
He turned to glance at the forest he had destroyed.
"Hard work pays off… I've finally… gotten the basics down…"
With that thought, he summoned the system screen and gave it a quick glance.
Host: Akira.
Age: 16 years old.
Combat Class: Fighter. (Can advance to: Martial Arts Fighter.)
Comprehensive Attribute Rating: Ordinary Person.
Skills: Iron Shirt, Mighty Vajra Finger.
Compared to his attribute values from two months ago, his stats had skyrocketed, but he still hadn't escaped the realm of an ordinary person. This was evident from his combat class and the system's comprehensive evaluation—quite accurate.
Personal attributes included strength, constitution, spirit, stamina, and so on. These primarily determined physical strength and didn't greatly affect combat power, because in Akira's view, the "Combat Class" setting encompassed many aspects.
Besides the body, there were combat thinking, combat experience, on-the-spot reactions, and finishing moves—the body was just one element. Particularly regarding combat thinking, experience, and on-the-spot reactions, in these three areas, from his memories… the top representatives were Hisoka and Chrollo, including Illumi and Silva from the Zoldyck family.
In other words, the strength of combat power emphasized comprehensiveness and relied heavily on talent.
Of course, the physical body was the foundation of everything, because Nen, to put it simply… was a form of life energy.
The stronger the flesh and blood, the more powerful the Nen that could be developed.
In short, Akira still had a very long road ahead…
However, for him at present, he felt at least somewhat relieved… having reached a certain level meant he now had capital to stand on.
"I've barely gotten the basics of Mighty Vajra Finger and Iron Shirt down… yet I've only been given the Fighter rating, not even granted the Martial Arts prefix…"
Closing the screen, Akira rolled his shoulders and muttered.
Counting the time… the Royal Granham's grand show was coming up soon.
Less than a month away.
In other words… his time with the circus troupe was running short. Where should he go next?
"Hisoka…"
After tidying up briefly, Akira returned to the stationed venue.
Recently, his situation within the circus troupe had become quite unfavorable… because Hisoka was increasingly relied upon by Troupe Leader Neo, making everyone detest him even more. And since Akira himself had grown too close to Hisoka, even the members who had initially looked after him began to deliberately distance themselves, showing him no pleasant faces.
It could be said… if he continued associating with Hisoka, he would be reduced to the same treatment.
Although for Akira, these insignificant small fries didn't need to be taken seriously, but… being categorized together with Hisoka still made Akira uncomfortable.
"If it weren't for training in Nen… I would've ditched that psycho long ago!"
Akira clicked his tongue.
The key to unlocking the door to Nen lay with Troupe Leader Moritonio.
And the troupe leader valued Hisoka… highly.
…
At noon, the troupe leader brought the three kids to the city center of Galance to purchase supplies.
Recently, the young girl Abaki had been getting close to Hisoka and Akira… occasionally chatting with them.
Akira could tell that Abaki's change was likely related to guidance from the troupe leader.
People bustled along both sides of the street, with all kinds of shops and vendors—quite lively.
Some of the architectural styles closely resembled the European-style houses Akira was familiar with.
"It's Hundred-Face John Doe, this criminal has become quite famous lately…"
"The serial killer who's been terrorizing the Yorbian Continent!"
As they walked, they suddenly saw a large crowd gathered ahead, pointing and discussing several portraits posted on the wall.
After approaching, they also stopped.
"This is…"
Standing outside the crowd, Abaki took a few glances.
"A bulletin from the government and some official organizations."
"I heard this guy's methods are extremely bloody. The victims are all in terrible condition, all crushed to death, their bodies flattened."
Whispered conversations reached their ears.
The wanted portrait on the wall depicted a large man with vacant eyes and a dull expression.
From the corner of his eye, Akira glanced subtly at the kind-looking Troupe Leader Moritonio beside him… aside from him, no one else probably knew that the serial killer they were talking about was right here!
"Hundred-Face, I think I've heard of that…"
Abaki's curiosity was piqued as she looked at the three of them, "John Doe—that name is quite common everywhere… sometimes it even refers to fictional people. He's killed many victims, and from the appearance of the bodies and methods, you can tell it's the same person. However… there are reports that each time cameras capture the killer, the silhouette and build are different… as if each time he commits a crime, this person gains a new face, hence the nickname."
"How do you know that?"
Hisoka asked with a smile.
"In the several regions we've visited before, there were wanted posters for this criminal, and flyers too…"
Abaki answered honestly.
"Heh."
Hisoka's lips curled up.
Akira glanced at Hisoka, knowing this guy had already caught on to something.
"Some say this Doe is a makeup expert who deliberately lets himself be caught on camera to show off his skills…"
Abaki added, "I didn't expect… it would spread all the way here."
Moritonio reached up to adjust his hat brim and urged, "This person… is probably just a neurotic trying to attract attention…"
The four of them then slowly walked away.
"It seems this place isn't too safe either… don't go out at night recently, no wandering around." Moritonio.
"Yes."
…
Hundred-Face!
The reason Moritonio's appearance changed each time he killed was precisely because of his Nen ability… which would later be learned by Hisoka as "Texture Surprise".
Akira couldn't quite understand… why would the old man, as a Nen user, kill people?
If seeking thrills, challenging the strong would undoubtedly be a better way to satisfy himself, right?
At the very least, hunt targets who were also Nen users… killing ordinary people like this was truly degrading.
Did he want to experience the pleasure of brutal killing, or was he trying to provoke government authority?
Or perhaps, having participated in the Hunter Exam years ago and been left with psychological trauma by Ging Freecss, had his entire mindset become twisted?
In the evening, it was mealtime.
The troupe members had dispersed early, leaving only Hisoka and Akira to dine.
Clearly intentional—isolating the two kids.
"Because of you, I'm being ostracized too…"
Akira ate a large bowl of food, his expression blank.
His appetite had been enormous lately.
"Doesn't this suit you just fine… no one will discover your secret…" Hisoka held a fork in his mouth, his eyes gleaming slyly, "By the way… have you been doing something new behind my back lately? I feel like you've gotten a lot stronger…"
A vein popped on Akira's forehead, "Is that any of your business?"
"Of course it is. You're my only friend in the troupe."
"Colleague!"
Akira coldly corrected him.
"Okay, okay… colleague."
"You two, come by when you're done eating."
Just then, the door was pushed open and Abaki walked in with instructions.
"Okay."
Akira's heart skipped a beat.
It's here!
He had a premonition that Moritonio was going to teach them both to train in Nen!
Finally, this day had come!
However, Akira felt somewhat anxious… he knew Hisoka would definitely succeed in learning it, but as for himself… honestly, he had no confidence in his own talent.
But with the system… he firmly believed he could become a Nen user. If he lacked talent, it would probably just take an extremely long time.
Not everyone could master Nen… at least, in the entire circus troupe, only Abaki had succeeded.
There were generally three ways to awaken Nen.
The first was through self-cultivation, under a teacher's guidance, opening the aura nodes and gradually growing through the Four Major Principles of Nen.
The second was having a Nen user pour Nen into the body for stimulation, forcibly opening the aura nodes… a rather dangerous method.
And the final one was self-exploration.
The third type—those who mastered Nen on their own without anyone's guidance—were exceptionally gifted… monsters. Such people were extremely rare.
After building his physical foundation, Akira had tried to sense the "energy within his body" and attempted to awaken Nen… but hadn't succeeded! For Akira, he didn't really need any teacher, because his understanding of Nen far surpassed everyone else's.
He possessed all the theories and related knowledge about "Nen".
This was the inherent advantage of being a transmigrator!
In his brain, he had stored knowledge from all the powerful Nen users in this world regarding the development, application, understanding, and execution of techniques related to Nen. He even knew all the settings of the "Nen" power system created by Togashi-sensei.
When it came to Nen, in terms of academic achievement, Akira believed… no one could compare to him.
No helping it… he had Togashi's buff.
But… theory was theory, whether it could be applied in reality was another matter… at least for now, relying solely on himself… there was no way to awaken Nen.
Quickly finishing his meal, Akira ignored Hisoka and left directly.
"Hmm?"
Hisoka was somewhat surprised. He rarely saw Akira in such a hurry.
"Is something interesting about to happen…"