Late at night, a torrential downpour battered the city.
In Youkexin City, Downpour Street.
Rainwater, like cascading beads, converged into streams, flowing along the city's streets. The streetlights flickered, casting an uneven glow, yet one antique shop stood out, its lights blazing brightly.
Above the shop hung a common electronic screen, its red text scrolling slowly: [Buying antiques and handcrafted artworks — June 22, 1997]
Inside the antique shop, display cases lined the walls. Under the warm orange glow, various antique artworks were showcased, their true value obscured.
Deep within the shop, a solid wooden table stood against the wall, a desk lamp perched on its corner. Its focused beam illuminated a red wooden puppet carving, roughly fifty centimeters tall, standing silently.
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached into the light, grasping the unremarkable puppet. The hands belonged to a young man dressed in casual clothing, with neatly trimmed black hair and strikingly handsome features.
Crack.
With a slight exertion of his fingers, cracks spread across the puppet's surface. Faint white light, distinct from the desk lamp's glow, seeped through the fissures. Moments later, the wooden shell shattered and fell away, revealing a translucent jade figurine radiating a faint aura of Nen.
The jade figurine's surface bore delicate green fish-scale patterns, shimmering brilliantly under the light—a clear sign of its immense value.
Breaking the wooden shell had turned trash into treasure.
This scene was witnessed by a burly man wearing a dog-shaped mask, standing near the shop's entrance. He seemed unsurprised, as if he already knew the young man's abilities. Arms crossed, he fixed his gaze on the youth and spoke in a steady, commanding voice, "Moro, why did you refuse the gift Melena prepared for you?"
"Gift?"
The young man, Moro, looked up abruptly, meeting the dog-masked man's gaze with a helpless smile. "Doggo, asking me to kill twenty-one strangers—that's what you call a gift?"
"Of course it's a gift," the dog-masked man replied, his voice unwavering. "Kill them, and you'll instantly reach Level 21. If all goes well, you'll likely awaken a new Nen ability tailored to your needs. Even if the outcome deviates, you'll at least boost your aura capacity."
He paused, then continued, "Moro, Melena needs feedback on her Nen ability's effects, so don't disappoint her. Besides… killing a few people to grow stronger? That's a win-win for you."
"…"
Moro fell silent.
Just killing a few people…
That was the way of the mafia, wasn't it? Or perhaps, in this world of Hunter x Hunter, disregarding life and trampling on individual existence wasn't all that rare.
Moro had learned this firsthand a year ago when he transmigrated into this world.
He stared silently at the dog-masked man. As a transmigrator, Moro was intimately familiar with the plot and characters of Hunter x Hunter. The dog-masked man before him, along with Melena—who had saved him a year ago—were characters from the Kakin Empire's Succession War arc, tied to the mafia family.
Setting aside Melena's status as an illegitimate child of the Kakin royal family and her future role as the head of the Ei family mafia, what left the deepest impression on Moro was her Nen ability, as depicted in the original story.
It was an ability that allowed others to grow stronger by killing.
"Killing to grow stronger—sounds easy, doesn't it?" Moro suppressed his thoughts, a faint, enigmatic smile curling his lips, though his eyes remained calm, devoid of any ripple. "Doggo, Nen abilities aren't that simple. With the system of vows and limitations… I don't know how Melena developed this ability, but one thing's certain."
He shifted his gaze to the jade figurine on the table and continued softly, "The risk. A massive, unknown risk."
"…"
This time, it was the dog-masked man who fell silent. Silence, sometimes, was tantamount to agreement.
But he didn't waver from his stance. Breaking the silence, he asked directly, "So, you're refusing?"
"No way… My worthless life was saved by Melena, after all."
Moro's eyes lowered, a self-deprecating smile flickering across his face as he recalled Melena's deep, unfathomable black eyes.
After a pause, he looked up at the dog-masked man and said softly, "Give me one day."
"Fine. I'll tell Melena."
The dog-masked man nodded, then turned and left the shop decisively. Just as he reached the door, he paused, as if struck by a thought. "Oh, by the way, Melena hasn't named her Nen ability yet. She wants you to suggest a name."
"…"
Moro froze, his mind flashing to scenes from the original Hunter x Hunter.
Love Etude.
That was the name of Melena's Nen ability in the original work. Why such a destructive ability bore such a name, Moro didn't know.
Without much thought or hesitation, he relied on his knowledge of the original story and replied, "How about Love Etude? If Melena doesn't mind…"
"Hm?"
The dog-masked man seemed surprised by the romantic name, not expecting such a suggestion from Moro. But he didn't dwell on it. With a wave of his hand, he pushed open the door and stepped into the rainy night.
Moro's expression remained calm as he watched the man leave.
Creak—
The door closed.
Minutes later, Moro slowly shifted his gaze back to the translucent jade figurine standing amidst the pile of broken wooden fragments. "Looks like I have no choice but to run…"
There were things he refused to do, and no room for compromise. So, Moro decided to leave Melena's circle.
It wasn't that he was entirely opposed to killing—among the twenty-one people Melena had listed, there were infants and children. That crossed a line.
Moreover, Moro knew better than anyone Melena's true, hidden purpose: to destroy the Kakin Empire, humanity, the world—everything.
It was only a matter of time before he left. He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.
For the past half-year, his antique shop had generated significant profits for Melena. Without disruptions, he had hoped to repay her for saving his life through this business.
That should be enough, right?
Moro thought silently, raising his right hand to look at the back of it. There, a tattoo resembling tree rings was etched, composed of six hollow concentric circles in white, green, blue, purple, red, and gold, from smallest to largest. At the center was a tiny black infinity symbol.
Moro didn't know the origin or purpose of the tree-ring tattoo. It had appeared on his hand days after his transmigration, gradually taking shape from faint outlines to a vivid pattern.
What he did know was that others couldn't see the tattoo, and the skin it covered seemed to carry a vow-like effect of being "indestructible." Additionally, he could absorb faint traces of Nen from antiques to fill the hollow rings.
This was why he had chosen to run an antique shop in Youkexin.
Over the past half-year, he had absorbed Nen from various antiques and artworks. Now, the innermost white ring was nearly filled.
For the moment, Moro set aside thoughts of leaving Melena and focused on the jade figurine, which still radiated faint Nen. Absorbing its aura should complete the white ring.
Even if it didn't, his employees were due to return that night with more antiques potentially imbued with Nen.
In the silent antique shop, Moro placed his hand over the jade figurine. Without any visible fluctuation, the figurine's faint Nen flowed visibly into the back of his hand. The tiny gap in the white ring filled, completing it.
No need to wait for his "workhorse" employees after all.
Moro's gaze fixed on the white ring, a spark of anticipation flickering after months of effort. To him, the tree-ring tattoo was likely his "transmigration cheat"—a golden finger.
If it activated now, it would give him the confidence to break free from the Ei family.
He waited patiently for a change, but as seconds ticked by, the fully filled white ring showed no reaction.
"The worst-case scenario," Moro muttered, shaking his head slightly.
There were three possibilities:
All rings needed to be filled to unlock an unknown ability. The filled ring required specific conditions to activate. The tattoo wasn't the golden finger he had hoped for.
Moro felt a pang of disappointment but didn't dwell on it. Even if he gained a cheat ability now, it would only be a bonus. His real confidence lay in the Emission-type Nen ability he had diligently trained since arriving in this world.
The night deepened, and the rain showed no sign of letting up.
The dog-masked man trudged through the downpour, reaching a black sedan parked by the roadside. The back window rolled down, revealing a refined, elegant woman. Her brows were like willow leaves, her eyes like phoenixes. Yet, two parallel, jagged scars marred her beautiful face, stretching from her hairline across her left eyelid to her cheek, a shocking sight.
"Melena," the dog-masked man said, bending to address the woman inside.
Melena looked up. "Dog, what did he say?"
"Moro asked for one day."
Melena lowered her eyes, as if sensing something.
The dog-masked man stood in the rain, waiting for her response.
After a moment, Melena's hand instinctively touched the scars on her cheek. "Forget it," she murmured softly.
The dog-masked man froze.
Melena's hand dropped, her gaze drifting past him toward the antique shop. "Dog, you know… there's something about Moro I really dislike."
"What?" he asked.
Her eyes darkened, her tone growing cold. "A sense of morality."
"…"
The dog-masked man didn't know how to respond.
Melena continued icily, "My people can't afford to have such a thing."
He understood her meaning. For a moment, he considered persuading her but held back, instead saying, "Melena, the Phantom Troupe is hunting someone, and several mafia groups have been wiped out. We should warn Moro…"
"No need," Melena cut him off, her gaze retracting. "It's his choice."
"Understood." The dog-masked man sighed inwardly before relaying Moro's suggestion. "He suggested naming your Nen ability Love Etude."
Melena's eyes flickered with a trace of emotion. As expected, it was still incomplete. Even if she could sense Moro's loyalty through a deep kiss, their purposes were fundamentally different, rendering it meaningless.
"Let's go," she said, lowering her head slightly. Though she couldn't get the feedback she wanted, she had identified a flaw in her ability.
Dog glanced at her, detecting a hint of melancholy in her tone.