Chapter 11: The Cryptologist Ascends
I chose an abandoned monastery in the mountains, approximately two hundred kilometers from York New City. The location was remote enough to be undisturbed but accessible enough for emergencies.
The monastery had been built centuries ago, then abandoned when the monks migrated to the city. Now it stood empty, peaceful, and perfect for my purposes.
I'd informed Rai that I was leaving for one month of intensive training. I'd arranged for all business operations to be handled by trusted Kurta managers. I'd left detailed instructions for any emergencies that might arise.
Now I sat in the monastery's main hall, surrounded by candlelight, preparing for the breakthrough.
Sequence 7 represented a fundamental shift in the nature of my power. At Sequence 8, I stole objects and concepts. At Sequence 7, I would steal information itselfâ€"memories, secrets, truths, understanding. The Cryptologist didn't just take things. The Cryptologist took knowledge.
The implications were profound and somewhat terrifying.
I began the breakdown process two days before the actual breakthrough attempt, slowly reducing my food intake, entering deep meditation states, and preparing my mind for the transformation. Sequence advancement required not just power, but mental and spiritual alignment with the new level.
The Error Pathway was about certainty, about absolute conviction that something should be yours. At Sequence 7, I would need to convince myself and reality that I deserved the power to steal truth itself.
On the third night, I was ready.
I sat in the center of the main hall, having arranged candles in a specific patternâ€"a ritual I'd instinctively understood was necessary. My Nen began to circulate through my body, building intensity.
Unlike my Sequence 8 breakthrough, which had been violent and explosive, the Sequence 7 breakthrough was subtle and profound. My Nen didn't surge outward. Instead, it turned inward, spiraling deeper into my core, into my very being.
I felt my consciousness expanding. It was as if my mind was becoming larger, more capable of holding complex concepts and information simultaneously.
*Knowledge,* I thought, focusing my will. *Truth. Secrets. Information. These are mine to claim.*
The sensation was different from previous breakthroughs. Instead of physical transformation, I experienced an intellectual one. Suddenly, I could perceive information flowing through the world like streams of water. I could sense the secrets people held, the knowledge locked in documents, the truths hidden beneath lies.
It was overwhelming at firstâ€"too much information, too many secrets, too many truths pressing against my consciousness simultaneously.
I focused, centering myself, learning to filter and control the influx of information.
Gradually, the overwhelming sensation resolved into focused clarity. I could sense information. I could understand its structure. And more importantly, I could steal it.
The breakthrough lasted approximately three hours. When it was complete, I lay on the floor of the monastery, completely exhausted, my Nen reserves entirely depleted.
But I was no longer at Sequence 8. I was Sequence 7: the Cryptologist.
The first week after breakthrough was about understanding my new capabilities.
I discovered that I could now steal information in multiple ways:
**Direct Memory Theft**: By touching someone or being in close proximity while using focused Nen, I could steal specific memories directly from their mind. Unlike the temporary Sequence 8 ability to make someone forget, this was more preciseâ€"I could steal a single memory while leaving others intact.
**Document Information Theft**: I could steal the information contained in written documents without taking the physical documents. The knowledge would be displaced from the pages and into my possession.
**Conceptual Truth Theft**: I could steal abstract truths. If someone believed something deeplyâ€"a core conviction about realityâ€"I could steal that belief from them, leaving them uncertain about what they'd previously known for certain.
**Intuitive Knowledge Acquisition**: When I stole information, I didn't just acquire the dataâ€"I acquired understanding. If I stole knowledge of a language, I would suddenly understand that language. If I stole knowledge of a technique, I would understand how to perform it.
The last ability was the most dangerous and most useful.
By the second week of integration, I began conducting tests of my new abilities.
I traveled to a nearby city and broke into a corporate headquarters. Using Zetsu to remain undetected, I moved through secure areas. In the CEO's private office, I found financial documents containing sensitive information.
I stole the information directly from the documents. The knowledge of specific transactions, account numbers, and business dealings flowed into my mind. More than that, I understood the implicationsâ€"where the money was flowing, how it was being used, what illegal activities might be occurring.
I left the documents untouched. The CEO wouldn't even know information had been stolen.
I encountered a Nen user in a bar in another city. Using my Error Pathway abilities combined with my newfound Cryptologist power, I stole a single memory from her: her last week's worth of interactions.
Suddenly, I knew everywhere she'd been, everyone she'd met, everything she'd done. The memory was so complete that it was like I'd lived through her last week myself.
The woman didn't even realize anything had happened. She continued drinking her beverage, completely unaware that I now knew her secrets.
This test was more dangerous and required careful control.
I identified a individual who was a master of a specific combat technique. I approached him casually and, while maintaining a perfect Ten shield, I stole his understanding of his own technique.
Suddenly, his core conviction that he understood how to execute the techniqueâ€"the absolute certainty he possessedâ€"was stolen from him and claimed by me.
His hands trembled. He looked at his weapons in confusion, suddenly uncertain about techniques he'd known for decades. He would recoverâ€"the effect would wear off as his mind reasserted its understandingâ€"but for a few minutes, I'd completely undermined his confidence in his own abilities.
More importantly, I now possessed complete understanding of his technique. I understood exactly how to execute , the physical movements needed.
By the third week, I'd begun developing advanced applications of Sequence 7.
I realized I could use stolen information for strategic advantage. If I stole knowledge of business competitors' strategies, I could counter them preemptively. If I stole intelligence about potential threats, I could neutralize them before they materialized.
The Cryptologist wasn't just about stealing informationâ€"it was about using that information to reshape reality according to my will.
More complex than simple truth theft, I discovered I could steal someone's core understanding and replace it with different understanding.
For example: If someone was absolutely certain that they were loyal to their employer, I could steal that certainty, and in the same action, implant a different certaintyâ€"that they were actually a spy for me.
The person would wake up with completely different memories, different core beliefs, different loyalties.
It was terrifying in its implications. I was essentially rewriting people's identities.
I tested this only once, and the experience was disturbing enough that I decided to avoid using this particular application unless absolutely necessary.
By stealing someone's complete understanding of their Hatsu, I could learn their technique instantly. Not just understand it intellectually, but understand it the way they didâ€"deeply, instinctively, completely.
I tested this by identifying a Transmutation specialist and stealing his understanding of his ability. Suddenly, I didn't just know how Transmutation worked in theoryâ€"I knew how he applied it, his specific innovations, his personal discoveries.
If I wanted to, I could probably execute his Transmutation techniques with reasonable proficiency, despite having my own Hatsu.
By the end of the integration period, I sat in the monastery and reflected on my new capabilities.
I was no longer simply a Nen user. I was a living information extraction system. I could steal knowledge from people, documents, and concepts. I could understand and apply that knowledge immediately. I could use that knowledge to influence people, events, and outcomes.
My estimated power levels compared to Hunter x Hunter characters had increased significantly:
**Versus Illumi**: 80-20 in my favor. I could steal his memories of his techniques, his certainty about his abilities. He would be helpless.
**Versus Nobunaga**: 90-10 in my favor. I could steal his combat understanding mid-fight, leaving him unable to use his techniques.
**Versus Hisoka**: 70-30 in my favor. Still competitive, as Hisoka's unpredictability was his strength, but I had significant advantage.
**Versus Chrollo**: 50-50. Chrollo's ability to steal other powers was still a significant threat, but now I could steal knowledge from himâ€"information about his abilities, his strategies, his weaknesses.
**Versus Netero**: 40-60 in his favor. His raw power and experience still exceeded mine, but the gap had narrowed significantly.
**New Tier**: I'd entered the elite tier of Nen users. I was no longer "powerful for my age"â€"I was simply powerful, comparable to the most skilled Hunters in the world.
As I was preparing to leave the monastery, I had a realization about the Error Pathway structure.
Each sequence represented not just a power increase, but a fundamental change in how I interacted with reality.
Sequence 9 (Marauder): Stealing objects. Reality treated me as though I possessed things I didn't actually possess. The universe bent slightly to accommodate my claim of ownership.
Sequence 8 (Swindler): Stealing concepts and certainties. Reality accepted that I could claim not just objects, but abstract qualities. Momentum, balance, convictionâ€"all things that existed only as concepts became stealable.
Sequence 7 (Cryptologist): Stealing information and truth. Reality now accepted that I could claim knowledge itself. The deepest, most protected aspect of existenceâ€"truth and understandingâ€"became stealable.
Each level required the universe to accept a bigger lie. Each level demanded absolute certainty on my part that I deserved to steal increasingly fundamental aspects of reality.
What would Sequence 6 require? If Sequence 7 was about stealing truth itself, what could Sequence 6 be?
I didn't know, but I was beginning to understand that by the time I reached Sequence 0, I would essentially be a being capable of stealing reality itself.
Standing at the monastery's entrance, looking back at the building where I'd spent the last month undergoing the most profound transformation of my journey, I allowed myself to contemplate what this meant for the Kurta clan.
Nine months remained before the Phantom Troupe's scheduled arrival.
With Sequence 7 power, I could now:
- Extract intelligence about the Phantom Troupe's movements and plans
- Steal knowledge of their abilities and weaknesses
- Potentially steal the memories and understanding of anyone who'd encountered them
- Use stolen information to prepare detailed counters to their tactics
- Extract confessions and secrets from anyone I encountered
More practically, I could now protect the clan not just through physical power, but through perfect information awareness. I would know about threats before they materialized. I would understand enemy capabilities and counters before any confrontation.
The Phantom Troupe wanted Kurta scarlet eyes for profit. They viewed us as resources to be harvested.
With Sequence 7 power, I would ensure that any such attempt would be met with overwhelming resistance grounded in perfect understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
I arrived back in York New City after a two-week journey, having taken a circuitous route to ensure I wasn't being followed.
Rai met me at my private residence, his expression immediately showing concern.
"You look completely exhausted," he said.
"I am," I confirmed. "But successful."
I didn't detail exactly what I'd done during my month away, but I provided enough information that Rai understood: the breakthrough had been successful, my power had increased significantly, and I was now even more capable than before.
"The business ran smoothly in your absence," Rai reported. "No major issues. We had three new partnership proposals from companies that heard about our growth rate. And the Kurta Hunter Guild has now grown to one hundred and twelve registered Hunters."
I nodded, absorbing this information. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
"I need you to initiate a new intelligence gathering operation," I said. "I want information on any significant criminal organizations or power groups in this region. Their structures, their capabilities, their movements."
"Why?" Rai asked, though he was already mentally cataloging how to implement this.
"Preparation," I said simply.
That evening, I sat in my office reviewing the Kurta Materials Trading Company's financial statements and operational reports.
The business was thriving. The clan was secure. My power was approaching elite levels.
Each breakthrough was taking longer as I progressed, but each also granted me exponentially more power.
The Cryptologist had ascended. The next transformation awaited.