Chapter 7

In the end, Heser graduated earlier than Kurapika.

It wasn't that Heser had fully developed his own unique Nen ability, but rather that he needed to travel and broaden his horizons, which would help in the final development of his Nen ability. This was also Izenabi's suggestion.

Although his cheap master had never asked about Heser's past, he could clearly feel during their time together that this disciple was extremely unfamiliar with world knowledge and human geography, which was not a good thing.

Fortunately, Heser had successfully opened his Nen, and with his monstrous physical constitution, he should have no problem protecting himself while traveling.

Kurapika, under Izenabi's guidance, was still working hard on the materialization of the chain, which was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Carrying the chain with him at all times, whether eating or sleeping, touching, smelling, and even licking it, one might think Kurapika had a fetish.

According to Izenabi, this would help form a comprehensive understanding of the chain in his mind. When he could produce the illusion of holding the chain even after throwing it away, or even dream of holding it, he would be very close to materializing it.

After a month of training in the mountains, Heser returned to the town.

Heser, dressed in tattered clothes, walked down the street, completely ignoring the gazes of passersby who looked at him as if he were a beggar. He quickly returned to the "Octopus Jack Department Store" but found the door closed, the roller shutter pulled down and locked.

"What's going on? Is Old Jack closing so early? He must have drunk too much again..."

Heser took out the key Old Jack had left him and opened the roller shutter and the store door.

Ding dong!

Pushing open the door, he saw that the broken shelves had been replaced with new ones, and all the fresh produce on the shelves had disappeared, leaving only some canned goods and other items that could be stored for a long time.

There was no one in the store.

Heser looked around and saw a piece of paper under an empty cigarette box on the counter.

"Brat, I'm staying at my girlfriend's place for a few months. You take care of the store. You can run it or keep it closed, it's up to you. If you want to go out, go to your room on the second floor. I left some money and a new phone for you. See you in six months!"

Below the note was a string of numbers, which looked like Old Jack's phone number.

"Girlfriend? Is she real or just a paper doll?"

Heser pursed his lips, folded the note, and put it in his backpack. He then climbed the creaking wooden stairs and pushed open the door to the room on the second floor, which had been converted from an attic.

The room contained only a bed and a wooden desk and chair, with the windows tightly shut.

On the desk was an envelope and a new package.

Opening the package, he found a beetle-shaped phone.

"Golden Beetle 07 model, global internet connectivity, no call range restrictions outdoors, built-in camera and photography functions, and a translation app for two hundred ethnic languages. It can play movies and sends daily news updates... It even has a touch screen. This world is only up to 1999, right? What kind of black technology is this?"

Heser glanced at the phone's manual, turned it on, and quickly saved Old Jack's phone number. He thought for a moment and decided not to call, giving the old man some private time. Instead, he sent a text to let him know he was safe.

Before parting, Izenabi and Kurapika had also given him their phone numbers, which he saved in his phone and sent them texts with his new number.

Then he picked up the envelope.

The envelope had nothing written on it. Inside was a thick stack of money, totaling 1 million Jenny. In the Hunter world, Jenny has a similar purchasing power to Japanese yen, which was enough for his travel expenses.

Run the store? No way, Heser had already decided to go on a good trip.

In his original world, his parents had never allowed him to travel for fear of exposing his secret. The schools he attended were always the closest to home, and the farthest place he had ever been was his grandmother's house, which was only 10 kilometers away.

This time, Heser was going to enjoy his trip to the fullest.

Oh, right, and the training for materializing his Nen ability. If he didn't make progress, Izenabi would nag him again.

Heser didn't rush to leave immediately. Although he had never truly traveled before, he knew from movies and TV that it was important to prepare well before a trip.

He took a refreshing shower, grabbed some canned food from the shelves for a quick meal, and slept until the next morning.

He changed into a black hooded jacket and regular jeans, no longer keeping his bowl-cut hairstyle but letting it fall loosely. The "Superman's Invisible Glasses" still sat on his nose, and his backpack contained a few changes of clothes, a map, and a popular novel (Heser had learned to read and write the common language in the first month).

Ding dong!

Standing at the store entrance, watching the passersby, Heser took a deep breath and took his first step toward the train station.

1 million Jenny was enough for travel expenses, but to have a better trip, he would need to earn some extra money.

The "Heavenly Arena" from the original story seemed like a good option. Climbing to the 200th floor would earn him at least 100 million Jenny, which would be easy for him.

However, the main character, Gon Freecss, and Killua Zoldyck, according to the timeline, should also be at the Heavenly Arena. Should he meet them? It didn't matter; their values wouldn't cause any conflict with him, so he would just pretend not to know them.

After all, the only place where he could both fight to improve his combat skills and earn money was the "Heavenly Arena."

He decided to spend a month at the Heavenly Arena, climb to the 200th floor to meet other Nen users, and then use the money to travel.

At the train station, Heser learned that the Heavenly Arena was located on the easternmost part of the Archipelago continent, while he was in a remote mountain town called Norim in the northern part of the Yorknew continent. The two continents were directly opposite each other, separated by a vast ocean.

Norim only had a train station because of its remote location. To reach the Heavenly Arena on the Archipelago continent, he would need to take a train to the western city of Zaban, and then take an airship to the Heavenly Arena.

As for the identity documents needed to buy a train ticket, Izenabi had arranged them through his connections with the Hunter Association and the Shinso-ryu school half a month ago, so there would be no problems if anyone checked.

The train station was bustling with people. Although Norim was remote, it was a popular tourist destination due to the beautiful Norim Mountains and unique architecture. It was also on the main route between Zaban and the Republic of Kodorin, benefiting from the trade between the major kingdoms.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the D175 train is now boarding. Passengers on the D175 train, please gather your belongings and proceed to..."

After the conductor checked his ticket, Heser found his seat, number 39, in carriage F. He put his backpack on the overhead rack and began reading the popular novel.

A short while later, Heser felt someone sit across from him. It must be another passenger heading to Zaban.

"Evil Hero 4: The Revival of the Armored Dragon Legion? You've got good taste, kid!"

Heser looked up to see a tall, thin man with long, curly blonde hair staring at the cover of his novel with interest. "These days, few people are willing to read this series. Tsk, tsk, they say the Black Swan King's Legend is better, but they just don't understand art!"

Noticing Heser's odd expression, the thin man realized, "Sorry, sorry, I can't help but talk to readers of the Evil Hero series. I'm Gogai, a traveling novelist."

"Izenabi, unemployed wanderer."

Shaking the man's outstretched hand, Heser, who had decided to use his cheap master's name, held up the novel. "Did you write it?"

"Me? No way! I'm just a poor, struggling author and a loyal fan of the Evil Hero series. If I could write something this good, I'd be laughing all the way to the bank."

Gogai chuckled. "Izenabi, can I call you that? You... are you a professional Hunter?"

Heser bookmarked his page and closed the book, smiling at Gogai. "You're joking, Gogai. I'm just an unemployed wanderer, how could I be a professional Hunter?"

"No, no, no, you can't fool me."

Gogai looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then continued in a low voice, "I've met several professional Hunters, and you have the same aura as them."

"Aura?"

"How to put it? It's like an invisible magnetic field covering your body, or a terrifying energy inside you."

Gogai gestured with his hands. "You understand, right? There's a fundamental difference between professional Hunters and ordinary people. Can I learn it? Do I have the potential?"

Sharp guy... Heser had been constantly training in "Ten" and "Zetsu," so he always kept his aura covering his body. He didn't expect this ordinary person, who knew nothing about Nen, to sense it.

"Now?"

Heser retracted all his aura, entering the "Zetsu" state.

"Gone... gone... now you're just like an ordinary person. How did you do that? So, this aura thing can be cultivated, right!?"

Gogai looked like he wanted to touch Heser to see if there were any physical differences.

Gogai seemed friendly and familiar, but Heser could see the hidden malice in his eyes. This guy had ulterior motives. Even the Shinso-ryu school was selective about who they took as disciples, and Heser had no intention of teaching this so-called traveling novelist. However, as long as the man didn't provoke him, he wouldn't hurt him.

So, he decided to reject him outright.

"Stop asking, Gogai. This isn't something you should know."

Heser lowered his head, opened the novel to the bookmarked page, and said without looking up, "Also, a friendly tip: next time, don't ask such questions so boldly. Not every enthusiastic question will get a peaceful response. You... should understand what I mean, right?"

Gogai's face turned pale. He suddenly felt a powerful malice from Heser, like a frog being stared at by a snake. In an instant, the malice disappeared like spring snow in the sun.

He looked around, but the other passengers and the conductor seemed to have noticed nothing. He touched his collar, which was already soaked with cold sweat, and all his schemes and bad intentions vanished.

"Thank you... for the advice..."

Clang! Clang!

The train slowly started, and the rest of the journey was silent.