However, Killua suddenly challenged Kurapika.
It wasn't really that sudden. He had always been frustrated about his crushing defeat to Kurapika during the Hunter Exam.
On the 200th floor, Killua hadn't been able to fight Kurapika because he was learning Nen, only to see Kurapika become the floor master.
Now that he had gained the new power of Nen, he naturally wanted to test how much the gap between himself and Kurapika had closed.
Kurapika was slightly surprised but agreed to the challenge.
To challenge a floor master on the 200th floor, a contestant must win 10 times. Killua, obviously, did not meet this requirement, so Kurapika and Killua decided to select another place to fight.
Thus, Killua and Kurapika engaged in battle once more, but to Killua's disappointment, he was soundly defeated again.
Killua knew he would lose, but he never expected it to be such a crushing defeat.
It felt like the gap between him and Kurapika hadn't been reduced at all, even after learning Nen.
This was because Kurapika had also been getting stronger. Killua knew the reason, but it only made things more frustrating for him.
His goal wasn't just Kurapika, but also his older brother Illumi, who was stronger than Kurapika, and even stronger than Illumi, was Germain.
Right now, Killua still has a significant gap in strength compared to Kurapika.
So, when would he be able to completely break free from Illumi's control, and when would he be strong enough to challenge Germain?
After losing to Kurapika, Killua asked Wing, who had taught him Nen, how to defeat Kurapika, Illumi, and Germain.
"Actually, I've already taught you everything I can," Wing said calmly, his hands behind his back. "With your talent, catching up to Kurapika and Illumi is just a matter of effort and time."
Then he gave a bitter smile:
"As for Germain... You can keep him as a goal to strive for, it will definitely benefit you a lot. But how to defeat and surpass him... that's not something I can answer."
"I believe there's hardly anyone across the entire six continents who can answer that question."
Killua swallowed hard, once again realizing that Germain's strength was likely far beyond what he had previously thought—stronger than Illumi by a lot.
Germain and Illumi were likely not even on the same level, and might even be much stronger than the elders in his own family!
In that moment, Killua recalled the strange attitude of the elders when Germain visited their home, and the serious way they entrusted him to Germain's care.
The secrecy from the family elders, Wing, and Kurapika sent a chill down his spine, and at the same time, he sincerely looked forward to meeting Germain again.
Germain had left them there for a few months without showing up, and no one knew where he had gone, not even his disciples knew his whereabouts.
Killua asked Wing again, since it was Germain who had temporarily entrusted him to Wing's care.
Wing responded with a familiar bitter smile.
He had an idea of where Germain had gone, but couldn't say, so he casually brushed it off.
Seeing Killua's confused expression, Wing sighed internally.
"I understand how you feel, because my teacher, and my teacher's teacher, were both like that—disappearing without a trace."
Kite, in order to begin his journey, finally found Gon Freecss, and it took him several years.
It was actually quite fortunate for the likes of Killua, Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon, to have teachers who were by their side for most of the year, personally guiding them.
Gon watched the entire battle between Kurapika and Killua and felt regret for Killua's loss.
However, he also understood that the current Kurapika was not someone they could defeat.
He comforted Killua for a while.
But Killua, with his hands behind his head, put on an expression like, "It's fine, I lost, I don't care."
What Killua really thought inside, only he himself knew.
Later, Gon shared some good news with Kurapika and Killua about Leorio.
Since entering the Heavens Arena, they had never lost touch with their friends.
But whether it was Gon, Killua, Kurapika, or Leorio, everyone was busy, so they only managed to make a phone call once a week.
Leorio had just called, telling Gon that he had pretty much confirmed that he had been accepted into the Fānlīn Medical College.
When they parted ways in February, Germain had given Leorio a letter of recommendation that allowed him to meet Dr. Lee at Fānlīn Medical College and became her disciple.
Afterward, Dr. Lee supervised Leorio as he prepared for the entrance exam to Fānlīn Medical College while also teaching him Nen.
Leorio had recently completed the exam, and based on his estimated scores, it was almost certain that he would be accepted into Fānlīn Medical College and officially become Dr. Lee's student.
He called Gon with excitement to share this good news.
However, his progress in Nen was nowhere near as fast as his medical knowledge.
His progress was the slowest among the four of them.
Now that the entrance exam to Fānlīn Medical College was no longer a concern, Leorio could fully focus on studying Nen.
Both Kurapika and Killua were happy for Leorio and later sent congratulatory messages.
Leorio replied to Killua's message with just "Thank you," but when replying to Kurapika, he added a little more.
"I'm really grateful for the letter of introduction from your teacher, Mr. Germain. It helped me a lot. Without it, I never would have had the chance to meet Dr. Lee. Even if I did, she wouldn't have had the time to teach me. And there's no way I'd have had the opportunity to get into Fānlīn Medical College"
"I don't have Mr. Germain's contact info, so please convey my sincere thanks to him. Once I finish my studies, I'll definitely find a way to repay him."
Leorio was very clear on one thing: Dr. Lee had only agreed to meet him because of who recommended him.
He wasn't the type to be ungrateful.
After reading Leorio's message, Kurapika gave a bitter smile, similar to the one Wing often had.
The problem was… I can't contact my teacher either.
But he remembered. Whenever he had the chance to meet Germain in the future, he would be sure to pass on the message for Leorio.
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