Get comfortable, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🔥 ✦ The voice had appeared without warning, and what it said was even harder to believe.
‘The Gaze?
Nen exorcism count?’ Kieran came back to himself, his expression unreadable.
As a transmigrator, his first thought was naturally of a system.
But was this so-called Gaze really something like a system?
He felt no excitement.
No joy.
Instead, he found himself thinking about last night’s nightmare.
The resentful Nen in that dream, with its astonishing aura, had left a deep impression on him.
And the timing of this voice was…
Too perfect.
So perfect that it made him doubt it.
This was the world of Hunter x Hunter.
The Nen system running through this world was a power that could turn imagination into reality and evolve into all kinds of strange, unpredictable abilities.
In other words…
If last night’s dream had truly happened, then until he understood the ability involved, he could not rule out the possibility that the resentful Nen had done something to him.
Maybe he was still dreaming and had not woken up at all.
Maybe some Manipulation-type suggestion had been planted in him.
The worst possibility was memory theft.
The more he thought about it, the more tangled his thoughts became.
Precisely because he understood this world’s power system, a change this conveniently timed made him think further, and in more complicated directions.
After all, the original story had even included a Nen ability that grew stronger through killing.
What exactly was impossible?
Nen itself was full of endless possibility.
With that understanding as his starting point, his thoughts kept spreading outward.
Before long, however, he forced himself to calm down.
Rather than sit here chasing wild guesses, he needed to investigate the source of the voice through action.
If it really was something like a system, all the better.
If not, he needed to figure out what it was as quickly as possible.
‘System?’ ‘The Gaze?’ ‘Exorcism?’ He began trying to call out to the voice that had appeared deep in his consciousness.
No response came.
‘Am I doing it wrong…?’ He stopped trying to call it and instead focused on recalling exactly what the voice had said earlier.
After several attempts, there was still no reaction.
‘What exactly is this voice?’ He frowned slightly.
A system.
Some unknown thing.
Whatever it was, free gifts did not simply fall from the sky.
And even if they did, the first reaction should not be excitement.
It should be caution.
If he could not understand the full nature of this voice, he would not be able to feel at ease.
Still, until he understood it, as long as this so-called Gaze did not harm him, he could accept the situation for now.
More importantly, he had to confirm whether the so-called Nen exorcism count was real.
That part would not be difficult.
He only needed to find a little post-mortem Nen and test it.
With that in mind, he steadied himself, washed up, changed clothes, and left his room.
The morning breeze that met him in the corridor carried a slight chill.
By reflex, he looked toward the release pond in the courtyard.
It was calm.
Nothing looked wrong.
After a brief hesitation, he walked over and observed the pond from up close.
There was no abnormality at all.
He could neither see Nen nor sense any aura.
It was as if last night’s vicious mass of malice had never appeared.
Besides, if he really had been injured by that resentful Nen, there was no way he would have woken up completely unharmed.
If the dream had not been so vivid, he would not even have reason to doubt it now.
‘I hope it was only a dream…’ With that silent thought, he headed straight for the main hall.
He soon arrived outside it, stepped over the threshold, and walked in.
The floor inside was laid with red brick.
On the left and right just past the entrance stood two vermilion support pillars.
At the far end directly across from the threshold were three offering tables.
Behind them sat a golden wrathful Vajra, four meters tall, with three heads and six arms.
Aside from that, the hall had no other furnishings, leaving it simple and bright.
He looked up at the wrathful Vajra.
Every time he saw it, he thought of Hunter Association Chairman Netero’s Nen ability, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
He wondered whether he would ever cross paths with a legendary figure like Netero.
After staring at the Vajra for several seconds, he turned to the offering table on the left.
Many objects had been placed on it.
Photographs.
Cotton gloves.
DVD discs.
Keychains.
Ordinary things like that.
All of them were keepsakes left here by the dead.
He stepped up to the offering table and looked down over the collection.
At a glance, he spotted several faint threads of black aura.
Their strength was nearly nonexistent.
They posed no threat at all.
He picked up one photograph with a black thread clinging to it.
The photo showed a glamorous, seductive woman.
She looked familiar, probably an actress.
He turned the picture over.
A line had been written on the back: Iridine Nako, I was so obsessed with you.
Why did you never even look at me?
Never.
Not once!!!
‘Uh…’ He stared at the note for a beat, his expression going flat.
Whoever had written this must have been the kind of fan who had gone completely beyond reason.
No wonder an ordinary person had managed to pour enough emotion into it to create post-mortem Nen.
‘Then I will use you to test it.’ Aura drifted around him as he slowly cupped the photograph, along with the resentful Nen wrapped around it, between both hands.
The instant he completed that prayer-like gesture, information about Nen exorcism appeared in his mind without warning.
It felt like an inborn instinct, integrating naturally into his understanding.
[Nen exorcism count: 1/1] Only one use.
No cost.
No consequence.
After a successful exorcism, it would also refine the target into an Emotion Fragment with many possible uses.
The essence of such remnants seemed to be a crystallization of the soul.
But compared with the Emotion Fragment, a single no-cost Nen exorcism was the ability that would drive most Nen users in the world mad.
It was equivalent to carrying a purification skill into a Nen battle, something that could instantly remove Nen effects an enemy had placed on him or his allies.
Used at the right moment, it would be a trump card capable of turning a desperate situation around.
And if he had no other ambition, he could sell a use of that exorcism count for an enormous sum of money.
There was a reason Nen Exorcists were considered one of the rarest and most valuable professions.
Right now, if he wished, he could remove the resentful Nen from the photograph at any time.
Naturally, he had no intention of wasting such a precious exorcism count on a photograph.
‘The activation condition is contact…’ Understanding settled in his mind, and he returned the photograph to the offering table.
The moment he set it down, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.
Kieran turned toward the entrance and saw a bald man in gray hemp clothes, his face covered by a full beard, stride quickly over the threshold.
It was Hawk, the father of this body’s original owner.
“What are you doing here this early?” Hawk looked at Kieran, clearly surprised.
“I…” Kieran had just been about to make up some excuse when Hawk cut him off.
“Breakfast is ready.
Remember to eat in a bit.
After you finish, sweep the courtyard.
Oh, and I need to take a trip soon.
I might be gone ten days, maybe half a month.
While I am away, lock the gate if you do not want to receive visitors.
Whether something happens or not, do not call me.” After rattling off those instructions, Hawk did not wait for him to respond.
He turned and left.
“…” Kieran was left speechless.
From beginning to end, he had not gotten a chance to answer even once.
‘Wait…
Hawk does not know Nen.’ His gaze shifted to the top of Hawk’s head, where a smoke-like stream of life energy was naturally leaking away.
✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS EmberHollow Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.