"The master was still measured in his actions; with 'Sense' providing protection, even though the young master sustained some concussive injuries, a few days of rest will have him recover."
Darkness enveloped the night as Wutong replaced Luke and carried Roy back to his bedroom.
The boy's forehead was wrapped in gauze, with several bloodstains on his back. By the window, a young butler knelt, carefully applying medicine for him.
A lamp was already lit on the desk against the wall. The light merged with the moonlight, diffusing a gentle halo all around...
Roy lay lost in thought, seemingly admiring the moonlight, but in reality, his mind was racing, reconstructing today's battle.
Without a doubt, there was a vast gap in power between him and Silva... This had nothing to do with the use of 'Nen', Silva didn't even activate his Nen. He simply relied on 'Great Strength' and a 'Speed' that left one unable to react, achieving an absolute crush.
'When it comes down to it, the difference still lies in the body...'
The opponent was in the prime of their life, and his physique, honed through countless trials, had reached an unreachable pinnacle,
'To measure up to him, I at least need to be able to fully push open the "Gate of Trial".'
The Zoldyck Family's "Gate of Trial", one door was two tons, two doors were four tons, and three doors were eight tons... To fully push it open, one needed to possess 256 tons of absolute strength in their arms.
The limit of an ordinary adult's strength is around 400 to 800 pounds, translated into constitution...
In other words... Silva's current numerical value is at least 500 or more. Silva won't say specifically, and Roy won't ask, he only knows that in the next phase... he needs to grind his constitution to a fundamental 500 points first.
"Young master, bear with it, it might hurt a bit." The ointment wasn't gentle and was rather stimulating; it was very much like the Zoldyck style.
Just as Wutong warned Roy, Roy gasped, throwing all plans to the back of his mind.
The good thing about pain is that enduring it might make it worse... Roy simply shifted his focus and asked Wutong, "Did you get in touch with the doctor who lives near Heavens Arena?"
"I sent someone to inquire, and the other side is available on Thursday."
"Then book the tickets for Wednesday."
Tanjuro's illness couldn't be delayed; the sooner it's treated, the better. Conversely, whether 'Conjuration' can be reversed into 'Anti-Conjuration' is a troublesome question. Roy is pondering whether he should take the Hunter's License exam after mastering the Four Major Principles and search the Hunter website for information.
Just then, as Wutong finished applying the medicine and was wrapping the gauze, he brought up another matter: "That Wing called again, inviting the young master to watch the battle on August 17th."
"He said that the tickets for watching and all travel expenses are covered, as long as the young master is willing to come, everything is not a problem."
"What day is August 17th?"
"Next Saturday." Wutong adjusted the glasses on his nose and said gravely, "That guy probably hasn't given up on the thought of challenging the young master, harassing the young master over and over. Should we..."
"I'll take him out."
Wutong ended with a throat-cutting gesture.
Roy didn't belittle him, nor did he take him lightly, but he did know that if Wutong dared to act, by this time next year, Roy might have to lay a wreath of his favorite violets on Wutong's grave...
"There's no need for killing,"
"Besides —"
"He's not alone; there's an old fellow behind him."
Roy replied casually... thinking of a particular blonde twin-tailed loli. If she got angry and stripped, the entire Heavens Arena might not be enough for her to demolish.
Additionally, Roy has every reason to suspect that her numerical value is at least 500 above!
"Should I refuse him?" Wutong asked tentatively.
After a moment of pondering, Roy said, "Never mind."
"Since he's sincerely inviting, let's go see for ourselves."
"It's been a year since we last met; I'm actually curious to see how much he's grown now."
"It's said that in this battle, he's matching against a seasoned Transmutation Nen user. If the young master wants to observe, he will certainly discover something." Heavens Arena has already publicly released information about this battle, and those interested can find it online.
Roy noncommittally hummed lightly, waited for Wutong to finish bandaging, and gestured for him to prepare a report for the next day.
That night, lying prone on the bed, he drifted off into a deep slumber.
After enduring a tough battle...
Roy, disoriented and groggy, entered the dream again, with a multi-colored path before his eyes, crossing it led to the familiar "Sea of Cognition."
He rolled up his pant legs, stepped into the sea water from the soft beach, allowing the waves to wash over him, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Ah——"
Cleansing his mind of all the negative emotions like disappointment, frustration, and dejection before he rubbed his face and pushed open the Demon Slayer door.
He walked inside.
The familiar feeling of falling struck again...
Roy awoke again, cuddling against the heater, lying on the floor; upon opening his eyes, he saw... Makomo, curiously observing him with her beautiful big eyes.
The other demons thought that after applying for leave yesterday and finishing the hot pot that Urokodaki Sakonji prepared for him, he would embark on the journey home to confront his father.
Unexpectedly... Roy lived up to his word, spending a day in the cabin with Urokodaki Sakonji. Occasionally, he ventured out to hunt some game from Sagiri yama, handing them to Urokodaki for smoking as a reserve supply for the upcoming winter.
It wasn't until late at night, the master and pupil blew out the oil lamp, exchanged a goodnight, about to fall asleep, that Roy brought up that he wanted to fight... At the time, the master said nothing, everyone was confused, except Shinsuke, whose big mouth wildly speculated and shouted, "Could he be dreaming about fighting?"
It sparked a heated discussion among them.
Some disgruntledly said... they were duped by Eiichiro Oda; it was just an excuse to slack off.
Others said... perhaps Eiichiro Oda really dreamt of Tanjuro, with deep-seated grievances between father and son. Being a filial boy, he dared not express it ordinarily, only to release it in dreams...
Shinsuke and Fukuda, both having their words, once again engaged in a tussle.
For some reason, only Makomo and Sabito exchanged a glance, believing Roy's words as truth.
"My intuition tells me, Eiichiro Oda is not the kind of person who would lie." Makomo confidently told Sabito the previous night.
Therefore, she hadn't closed her eyes the whole night, staring at Roy, watching for any abnormalities in his behavior; unfortunately... aside from frowning and turning over more frequently, there was nothing different from usual.
Leaving Makomo somewhat disappointed...
"He's awake, Sabito, quickly ask if he managed to defeat his father..."
Seeing Roy open his eyes, Makomo urged Sabito... Sabito rolled his eyes in resignation, feigning deafness.
The living and ghosts differ; since they knew the other side couldn't hear them, why still ask...
'Makomo's curiosity sure grows day by day.' Sabito so exasperatedly thought... suddenly heard Roy say: "Lost, and lost badly."
Immediately, with Makomo along with the rest of the demons who were curled up inside the small cabin, even Shinsuke and Fukuda were frozen on the spot!