An old man with Buddha-like ears suddenly pulled out a volleyball and said, "Young man, how about playing a game with this old man?"
"Bang... Bang..." The old man toyed with the volleyball as if it were a basketball, clearly showing more than two and a half years' practice.
Roy paused his steps and then resumed them, not bothering to acknowledge him. He brushed past the old man's shoulder and ran straight ahead, as the rising sun bathed the sky in morning light, draping "clothes of dawn" over the young boy.
Netero chuckled... being ignored—what a fresh feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time,
Yet there was not a trace of anger. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he tucked the ball away into his robe. Without any visible movement, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and in the next moment, he was running alongside Roy by the riverbank, keeping pace with him.
The Golden Crow sat on Roy's head, bobbing curiously up and down while watching Netero.
Netero squinted and smiled at it, recalling the day when its blazing golden flames nearly burned down half of the fox's den. He reached out a finger to tease it, but ended up nearly singeing his hair when Jinx spat out a tongue of fire.
"Hoho... This little thing sure has a temper," he said, with a double meaning, as he brushed his hand over the Golden Crow's head, unsure if he was talking about the bird, the boy, or himself as a strange bird-like person.
"Whoosh——" Roy quickened his pace, transforming into an arrow shot from a bow, already putting Netero far behind him.
Disturbing someone's peace early in the morning; the old man had no sense of boundaries whatsoever. What a nuisance!
"Caw~" The Golden Crow, breaking away from Netero's control, shook its behind at him mockingly.
Netero laughed softly, leaving afterimages as he sped to catch up, infuriating the Golden Crow. It started kicking and flapping its wings furiously on Roy's head, "Caw... Caw..." urging him, "Faster... Faster... Faster..."
But what they didn't expect was a stumble—almost getting left behind due to Roy's sudden burst of speed...
"Dark Step?"
Netero felt a blur before his eyes. The boy propelled himself forward dramatically with a "Great Success Dark Step." This time, Netero didn't rush to catch up; instead, he took a closer look at the boy's back, which gradually overlapped with a spirited figure from his past.
'So much like... truly your grandson, Jager....' (Note: For convenience in addressing, a great-grandson is also referred to as a grandson)
Except for the hair color,
A flicker of reminiscing crossed Netero's elderly eyes. With a flick of his roomy sleeves behind him, he resembled a dragonfly as he tapped the ground and appeared beside Roy once more.
"Caw——"
The hateful old man caught up again!
The Golden Crow, exasperated, turned its head toward Netero and breathed out another tongue of flame.
But it was effortlessly extinguished by the golden-glowing hand of the old man, reducing it to nothing.
Netero, full of interest, scrutinized the young boy and said, "Can you go any faster?"
Roy said nothing, gazing at the red sun hopping up the horizon, he sipped a bit of sunlight, "Full Concentration"...
His heartbeat echoed with a "thump," instantly doubling; his blood flow accelerated, adrenaline spiked, his body temperature rose, his body suddenly flushed like a motorcycle igniting with a buzz. Two streams of warm air flared from his nostrils, and with one more look… he shot off again at full speed...
"Caw——"
This time, the Golden Crow wisened up, its two wings tucked tightly, clutching onto Roy's head,
Man and bird sprinted like the wind, leaving a white streak along the riverbank... leaving Netero far behind.
The world's strongest human paused for a moment, then, with hands on his hips, turned back and laughed out loud, "Good boy, wait for this old man!"
His enthusiasm rising, Netero clapped his hands together, "clap~," and time seemed to halt at that moment... though Roy was still running forward, bizarrely, his body appeared to be flying backward toward Netero, helplessly watching the distance between them shrink!
[Heart Drop·Punch Listening]
The highest realm of Martial Arts!
Control over one's body reached its peak; one could listen to another's heartbeat and confuse their mind, significantly compressing their sense of time, creating the illusion of time rewinding, where "forward" meant "backward," "backward" meant "back-backward"...
"Thump... Thump..."
In that instance, it seemed as if only the sound of the heartbeat was left between heaven and earth.
Pedestrians on the street, passing vehicles, egrets skimming over the river surface... all vanished,
leaving just two dots—Roy and Netero—constantly closing the distance along the "line" that connects them.
"Caw——"
The Golden Crow sat slumped on Roy's head, its beady little eyes scanning around in a daze... how, amidst all the running, had its master and the hateful old man disappeared... It was as if it'd been excluded from the realm of "Punch Listening," though it could clearly feel itself still being carried along in the race....
"Hoho... To see a young man at this age with such a physique is already quite remarkable, but ah...."
"When it comes to body control, youngster... you've got a long way to go...."
An ethereal voice grew nearer... Roy had to admit that Netero was right. Compared to him, Roy still had some gap in terms of constitution and mastery over "power."
But... the old man seemed to celebrate a tad too early....
Leaving a champagne bottle half-opened is a major faux-pas!
In an instant, two suns ignited within the boy's pupils, without hesitation he unleashed the [Eye of Truth]!
Penetrating illusions, restoring the most real world... since his sense of time had been deceived, he corrected it... since his mind was clouded, he dispersed the fog... since the world beyond himself had been silenced, he brought it back to life....
"Beep-beep..." the sound of car horns returned...
"Chirp——" an egret flapped its wings, skimmed over the river surface, and caught a fish...
"Caw——" scared to death, I thought you were gone... The Golden Crow found its loyal master again, its wings folded tightly, clung to Roy's forehead....
"Pop~" "Heart Drop·Punch Listening," broken!
Netero fixed his gaze upon the boy's returning look, those two brilliant suns, not just as bright as the scorching sun but even more dazzling, seemed to warn him... there is a limit to human strength, yet even if the world ceased to exist, the sun would still rise just the same!
"Screech——"
Reaching the daily ten kilometers!
This time it took, one minute and ten seconds.
Roy stood still, exhaling a long breath, he lifted his leg high and rested it on the railing to begin stretching.
"Tap... Tap..." Netero arrived shortly after, standing next to him, watching as the morning glow scattered across the river, creating shimmering waves just like the time on the Dark Continent when he reunited with Jager, with each sitting on a flying dragon, quietly enjoying the serenity and peace of that moment....
After a good while, he asked, "Why do you want to become a Hunter?"
A breeze blew through, tousling the hair of the old and the young and the feathers of the Golden Crow....
Netero turned his head to look at the boy, reminiscent of seeing Jager years ago, patiently awaiting the boy's answer.
In that instant, Roy thought of his father Tanjuro, thought of the intelligence network, thought of the benefits of a Hunter's License, and after pondering for a moment, he candidly said, "Originally it was to save someone, now... it's still to save people, plus the desire to see more landscapes."
Netero squinted his eyes, "Landscapes are endless."
"Then I'll keep on looking." Roy spread his arms wide to embrace the morning glow: "As long as the sun remains, I won't stop, I want to explore the farthest reaches of this world, and truly achieve..."
"I came, I saw, I conquered!"
"Your ambition is really big."
"Can't help it; born this way."
"Hoho..." Netero raised his eyebrows, teasingly said, "Is that so, then later I shall relay today's conversation, word for word, to your great-grandfather."
"Let's see if he'll break your leg."
Roy: "..."
Beyond is truly sinister!