Faced with the smiling Netero and the rules of the match he proposed, Kisho felt a slight urge to run away.
But thinking about it seriously, if he went back without obtaining a Hunter License, wouldn't it feel a bit like sneaking away in shame?
Besides, that guy Shalnark had said something like,
"I'm betting my entire fortune that you'll pass."
If he failed the exam…
Tch. Then he probably wouldn't have a single peaceful day. The nagging alone would drive him to death.
Thinking of this, Kisho raised his head again and stared at the smiling chairman.
Although he currently looked like nothing more than an ordinary troublesome old man, Kisho knew that this would be the most terrifying opponent he had ever faced.
If that was the case, having a match didn't sound bad.
With that thought, a trace of fighting spirit flashed in Kisho's eyes.
If he was going to fight seriously, then he would definitely go all out to seize victory!
"Ho ho ho, although I don't know why you suddenly developed fighting spirit, this kind of match is exactly what I was hoping for."
Netero stroked his beard and smiled.
"Little fellow, if you're ready, we can begin."
Kisho did not move.
"I have two requests first."
He turned his head slightly toward the candidates waiting in the exam area.
"I request that they withdraw. Also…"
Kisho hesitated for a moment, but still continued.
"I want a harp."
"A harp?"
Hearing Kisho request an item completely unrelated to the current battle, everyone showed puzzled expressions.
Amos, however, remembered what he and Kisho had experienced during the underground labyrinth test. The "music" from back then had come from a harp.
Amos's expression changed slightly as he murmured inwardly.
"Sonata of Darkness, harp chapter."
Using a "Song of Taboo" as a trump card in a place like this.
Amos frowned faintly.
In a certain sense, Kisho truly lived up to being an Enhancer—stubborn in certain ways.
"I can give you a harp," Netero paused, then frowned.
"But asking the other candidates to withdraw is outside the scope of the rules."
"If you proposed this test because you want me to show my full strength, then I will fight with everything I have."
Kisho looked at Netero seriously.
"But what kind of effect my trump card will produce… even I don't know right now. It would be better if unrelated people kept their distance to avoid accidental injuries—at the very least, they shouldn't watch from this close."
He added:
"That includes the examiners."
Upon hearing this sentence, the examiners' faces darkened. Bisky even glared fiercely at Kisho.
Kisho certainly had good talent, but in a situation like this, saying things like "I might injure the examiners" or "unrelated people should step back to avoid accidental harm" was a bit too arrogant.
Relying on Netero being present, Kisho ignored the examiners who wanted to beat him up and simply stared at Netero, waiting for an answer.
"Ho ho, even the examiners must withdraw? It sounds like quite a terrifying trump card."
Netero smiled.
"So you want to use me as an experiment? What an annoying little kid."
Although he called him an "annoying little kid," the interest on Netero's face had clearly grown stronger.
"That's right."
Kisho nodded seriously.
"You want to examine my strength, so I'll show you everything I have. As for whatever consequences occur, you'll take responsibility for them—that's fair, right?"
Netero shook his head and compromised.
"Alright then. I'm also quite curious what exactly you're going to do that requires me to 'take responsibility.'"
Netero waved to a referee behind him. After saying a few words, the referee nodded and stepped away.
"I've sent someone to fetch the harp. The test will begin in ten minutes. How about that?"
Netero asked.
Kisho nodded.
...
A short while later, the field was cleared. In the vast exam hall, only Netero and Kisho remained.
The other candidates were led to a viewing room on the third floor. At Kisho's strong request, the closed-circuit television there even had its sound turned off.
A brand-new harp was delivered into Kisho's hands.
He plucked one of the strings, producing a crisp sound.
Looking at Netero, he said softly,
"I'm ready."
Netero smiled.
"I don't need to repeat the victory conditions, do I?"
Kisho nodded.
"The time limit is noon today. In other words, you have a little more than an hour."
Netero spoke lightly.
His voice was soft, but each word gradually grew heavier than a thousand pounds, crashing heavily onto the floor.
Kisho's pupils shrank.
The chairman standing before him had not changed the smile on his face at all.
But something about him… was completely different from before.
The difference was like heaven and earth.
The aura surrounding the chairman was not dazzling, yet it was as heavy as mountains and oceans.
Even more astonishing was that such heavy aura flowed around Netero like a light stream.
There were no openings.
Not even the slightest opportunity to attack could be found.
Seeing the seriousness in Kisho's eyes, Netero smiled and provoked him.
"Are you planning to just stand there until time runs out?"
Kisho ignored him.
...
In the third-floor viewing room, on the silent closed-circuit television, the white-haired boy merely closed his eyes and opened them again.
His left eye had turned into a deep silver-blue color.
A book slowly appeared in his hand.
The boy's gaze fell onto the pages. Without wind, the pages began flipping until they stopped on a certain page.
He slowly raised his hand and plucked a harp string.
Across from him, Netero raised a hand to pick his nose while staring at Kisho with a look that said,
"I'm so bored—hurry up and start."
But at the instant the boy pressed the string—
Netero's expression changed slightly.
He heard no sound.
Yet precisely because he heard nothing, he sensed terror.
Yes.
Terror.
This terror did not come from the boy before him.
It came from the action the boy was performing.
Ever since he returned from that continent many years ago, he had almost never experienced such a feeling again.
"This kid…"
Netero's expression remained unchanged, but the appreciation in his eyes for a junior disappeared.
Only at this moment did he regard Kisho as an opponent rather than a younger generation.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and a flash of excitement flickered in his eyes.
"This is starting to get interesting."
...
Inside the viewing room.
"A book?"
Bisky frowned.
She said quietly,
"As far as I know, any Nen ability that materializes a book—whether it belongs to Enhancement or Transmutation—requires ten times the training time to achieve."
"He himself is an Enhancer, yet he can also use Transmutation abilities, and now there's a materialized book…"
"How exactly did this kid manage to train three systems at the same time?"
"Talent, perhaps. Like Knov's disciple—although she's an Enhancer, she also possesses an innate Specialist ability."
Beside her, Sion raised a hand and rubbed his chin, giving his guess.
After a pause, he also recalled the experience from the underground labyrinth.
Those melodies.
That harp Kisho mentioned—the one inside the underground tomb that produced sound eternally even in silence.
He added,
"This kid might be even more mysterious than either of us imagined."
...
In the first-floor viewing hall, Netero folded his arms and waited for the "little musician" performing the silent melody to finish.
"How much longer? Making an old senior like me wait here is a bit rude, don't you think?"
"Stop rushing, stop rushing. The rules never said I had to launch an attack within a certain time. If you're in such a hurry, come over and hit me."
Kisho replied while continuing his movements.
As the number of instruments he collected increased, when using the Nen ability [The Fantasizing Musician], Kisho gradually gained the ability to prevent others from hearing the performance of Sonata of Darkness.
Perhaps after collecting enough instruments, he might even be able to activate the ability without needing to "perform" at all.
The melody that only Kisho himself could hear finally reached its last note.
He lowered the harp and placed it back into its case.
A clock-shaped badge appeared in his hand.
"Finished?"
Seeing Kisho's movement, even though Netero hadn't heard anything, he still clapped a few times in encouragement.
"Can we start now?"
Kisho smiled.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
He stared fixedly at Netero, slowly inhaling and exhaling.
The next moment—
The aura around the boy exploded like explosives detonating inside a sealed container.
The aura transformed into fire and wind, enveloping his body.
Combined with the power surging through his entire body, he shot toward Netero like a thunderbolt.
Kisho had already gone all out.
The battle was about to erupt!
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