The next day, Linck didn't wake until nearly noon.
After a leisurely meal, he finally began to prepare for training.
He knew exactly what kind of path suited him. Back on Blue Star, life had already been hard enough.
Now that he had a means to protect himself, he wasn't about to pour his whole soul into grueling cultivation.
A bit of effort here and there was fine, but spending every waking hour training like the protagonists in other Hunter × Hunter fanfictions, seeking out Biscuit Krueger as a master, no less, was completely out of the question.
Not to mention, he didn't have that kind of talent. That sort of harsh, long-term training that Biscuit specialized in was something you read about in novels.
In reality? Not many could last through it.
Even so, Linck had to admit, Nen really was tied intimately to the person themselves.
[Pokémon Master]an ability where he simply had to travel around to obtain Pokémon and strengthen his Nen, was absolutely perfect for him!
But before starting today's practice, there was one thing he needed to confirm.
Not long after, a hotel waiter arrived and handed him the day's freshly printed newspaper.
Linck's eyes went first to the date in the top right corner: 1998.
He remembered that Gon and the others had participated in the 287th Hunter Exam in 1999, and every year the exam began on January 7th.
If memory served, this was the year Hisoka was disqualified after injuring an examiner, forcing him to wait until the following year to take it again.
That meant he had arrived in this world a little before the main story began, plenty of time to develop himself.
That was the main reason he had asked for the newspaper. The rest of the headlines were secondary; knowing the current point in the timeline was far more important for planning ahead.
Yesterday had been his first day in this world, and with the confidence that came from having Gardevoir by his side, he'd gone straight to solve the money problem.
As for winning every round at the casino? That was, of course, thanks to Gardevoir.
Under her psychic Nen, seeing the dice through the cup was as easy as glancing at the back of his hand.
With that primary task done, Linck could finally focus on his first day of training.
He changed into a loose training robe and stood naturally relaxed, slowly sensing the flow of Nen through his body.
According to what Wing had taught Gon and Killua, this was the best way to practice Ten.
The Nen within him circulated like blood, flowing from his head to his right shoulder, down his arm and leg, then over to the left side. It sank lower, and in his mind he visualized it drifting in a slow loop around him.
These methods were straight out of the anime, now applied in reality, one more reason Linck felt no need to formally seek a master.
As a dedicated Hunter × Hunter fan, he'd memorized a lot of the series' knowledge, Nen training included.
Sure, there were gaps in his understanding, but for the fundamentals, he had no problem.
After some time, Linck's closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a glint of light flashing in them.
The thin film of aura that had been calmly coating his body swelled like a balloon being blown up, until it completely enveloped him.
When it reached a certain point, a critical mass, it burst outward, aura surging in every direction like a torrential flood.
The high-intensity release created a powerful wind pressure, whipping his robe into a noisy flutter.
Since the aura erupted from him in all directions, the updraft even lifted his hair, giving him a faintly Super Saiyan look.
This was Ren, releasing all stored aura in a single burst.
Ren was also the most basic way to gauge a Nen user's current aura capacity: the longer one could maintain Ren, the greater the capacity.
While maintaining Ren, Linck also tried to control the flow upward, directing it toward his eyes.
His goal was to coat them in aura.
Gyo wasn't particularly difficult, try it enough and you could get the hang of it, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded either.
Focusing aura into your eyes meant controlling the force precisely; too much and you risked harming yourself.
There was also the matter of efficiency. When you weren't yet proficient, it was easy to pour in too much, draining your aura reserves fast.
And in a real fight, battles between Nen users could last a while, run out of aura after only a few moments of Gyo, and you'd be in serious trouble.
Half a minute later, the surging tide of aura steadied again, now noticeably weaker than before.
Linck was drenched in sweat, his robe soaked through, revealing the lean frame beneath.
Half a minute of full-force Ren, that was his result for his very first training session.
It might seem short, the mark of poor talent, but compared to the characters in the original story, this was actually quite good.
After a short rest, Linck mentally replayed the session over and over.
For the next several days, until he got his ID, he'd be staying right here in the room, training.
After all, he had nothing else to do: eat, sleep, train.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed, and it was now the evening of the seventh day.
According to Pierce's promise, his ID should have been in Linck's hands by now.
But so far, he hadn't seen a single hair of it.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, his refined features looked a little weary, but his eyes were bright and sharp, faint streams of white aura curling over them.
He had already grasped the basics of Gyo.
"Heh… frog in a well. Your vision's still too small." Linck's lips curled into a mocking smile.
In truth, he had known for days that Pierce had no intention of helping him.
Even if you ignored the question of whether the ID required a personal photo, surely it at least needed a name?
And Linck hadn't told him his name once that day.
The only reason he'd waited until the deadline was that he'd been too busy training to bother.
Seven days later, with Gyo mastered, his patience was just about spent.
He was itching to travel, visit new places, see wonders he'd never encountered before, and most of all, obtain Pokémon of his own.
As for the ID…
If Pierce could produce it today, fine.
If not… he'd be producing it anyway.