Arin's legs ached as he trudged through the uneven forest floor.
Then, at last, he saw it.
"A dirt road..."
Primitive, yes, but undeniably human.
"I remember that the world of Hunter x Hunter was really weird in terms of technology; despite the existence of cars and nuclear-like bombs such as Rose, the chosen transformation of air was airships."
"Also, the use of wood boats like the ship that docked at Whale Island and its captain was pretty old."
"I should not be shocked by these kinds of things," he thought.
He stopped at its edge, staring in both directions before muttering,
"Left or right…"
There was no indication, no sign of recent use, and no sound of carts or chatter.
He looked down at his dirt-stained clothes and scratched skin, sighed, and chose the path heading west.
"Better than wandering in circles,"
For another two hours he followed the road, the forest slowly shifting around him.
That's when he saw the sign.
Literally.
An old wooden post, weather-worn and crooked, stood by the side of the road with a simple name carved into it:
Blue Tree Town
A town. A real town.
Arin stopped and exhaled, smiling faintly.
"A town means people," he said under his breath. "And people means civilization."
And civilization meant shelter, food, information—everything he lacked right now.
"I might not be ready to live off the wild."
"But I sure as hell know how to survive in a city."
This forest, with its silence and lurking predators, was the opposite of everything he knew.
And yet… he was adapting. Slowly.
As he approached, the smell of cooking food and the murmur of distant voices greeted him like old friends.
Smoke rose from chimneys. A wooden gate, barely tall enough to be called a wall, marked the town's edge.
Children ran through the streets.
Merchants stacked crates.
A man passed by with a wheelbarrow of what looked like a freshly slaughtered animal of some sort with far too many claws.
Arin paused just outside the gate.
This is real.
And he could work with that.
Squaring his shoulders, he stepped forward.
The forest was behind him now. In front of him was Blue Tree Town, his first taste of this world's people, and perhaps, if he was lucky, the start of something bigger.
All he had to do was play it smart.
Blend in.
Gather information.
And figure out what the hell came next.
Arin sat quietly on the corner of a wooden crate near the entrance of Blue Tree Town, eyes half-closed as the world moved around him.
No one questioned the stranger sitting silently by the wall.
He let his eyes close completely, tuning into the sounds.
The scent of grilled meat drifted through the air, making his stomach twist in frustration.
He hadn't eaten in hours.
This was the time to observe.
Observation is the foundation of understanding, he reminded himself. Understanding is the foundation of control.
He opened his eyes slowly and began the process of decoding the world around him.
1. The currency system.
He watched a short transaction between a vegetable vendor and a pale-skinned man with a straw hat.
The coins and paper money exchanged were marked with simple characters J. "Jenny," Arin muttered under his breath, nodding to himself.
So it's real. Not just a forest trick or dream simulation.
They were using Jenny, the official currency of the Hunter x Hunter world.
That fact alone grounded the reality further.
He was in it.
2. The language.
He listened closely to the conversations swirling around him.
The language was unmistakably Japanese.
"Expected," he whispered.
"The world was written in it. Would've been strange if it wasn't."
He understood every word, which was convenient but a bit too convenient.
3. Psychological and behavioral baselines.
This part was trickier.
People here smiled more.
Not in the shallow, urban way he was used to, but with a kind of open honesty.
They laughed loudly, moved freely, and bartered with intensity.
He watched as a boy dropped a loaf of bread.
A passing stranger picked it up and returned it with a pat on the head.
The boy bowed deeply.
Hmm, Arin narrowed his eyes.
Decency feels... normalized here.
Of course, Arin was not a fool to believe that all the world was like this.
He knew enough of Hunter x Hunter to remember what happened to Sarasa and Meteor City, as well as Leorio and his friend and many other atrocities done to people by other people.
Still, two hours of watching people in a small town wasn't enough to draw deep psychological conclusions.
Then he stood, brushing dust from his trousers.
His body ached, his throat was dry, and his stomach gave another loud protest.
He exhaled.
"Alright."
He needed money.
Desperately.
And that meant one thing.
"Time to take it from others," he muttered with a thin, humorless smile.
It wasn't cruelty.
It wasn't evil for the sake of it.
It was survival, and Arin had always been pragmatic.
Morality could wait.
Ethics could wait.
In a foreign world where monsters and assassins walked freely, playing fair was a luxury.
"In the end, I am still me, A serial killer. A killer that likes to kill."
"Truth be told, I did not think much about it back on Earth, but here I may think about it and improve on it."
He walked further into town, letting the evil smile twist a little more on his face.
First, he needed to pick his target.
Not someone poor.
Not someone too weak; it would draw attention.
And definitely not someone connected or well-guarded.
He needed someone comfortable. Lazy.
Someone who thought they were in control.
He passed a tavern with open windows.
Inside, laughter erupted as a round man slammed his mug on the table.
His clothes were cleaner than most. Two large rings on his fingers, one set with a red gem.
Bingo.
"It seems I found my target..."