Well, he's truly worthy of being an old... veteran hunter who had carved out her place in this dangerous world.
Such a keen sense of smell and alertness is truly extraordinary.
And Luke hadn't intended to be mysterious or deceptive in the first place.
In front of a veteran of this caliber, his attempts to conceal his true intentions only seemed childish and ridiculous.
"Hello… great senior... Biscuit"
Luke wore a slightly genuine smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you here."
Biscuit: Senior is fine, but what's with the great?! Don't you know that just the word 'senior' already sounds a bit old!
And… You just paused noticeably before saying the adjective.
You weren't thinking of old, were you?
And that adjective doesn't really fit with the word senior.
According to our usual addressing habits, the word senior is most often preceded by old…
At this thought, Biscuit's eyes gradually narrowed.
Since he could call her by her name and even knew she was a senior, he clearly knew her.
At least, this guy in front of her definitely knew her true age.
But even then, he still had the audacity to address her like that…
Are all young people these days so brave?!
"Hello, let me introduce myself..."
As if unaware of Biscuit's increasingly menacing gaze, Luke smiled and said: "My name is Luke, and I'm an inventor."
"I came here to gain some combat experience, and also to earn a little money."
"Inventor?"
Biscuit looked Luke up and down.
Already calling himself an inventor, yet still needing money?
If he had made useful inventions, he could have just applied for patents in his own country.
That way, he would automatically earn royalties.
No need at all to come to a place like this, risking his life in battle to get money.
Moreover, for a so-called inventor, inventing is the proper path.
Things like this, engaging in violence, are likely the most frowned upon and most avoided by them.
Since the other party chose to come here, he must be either truly short of money, or perhaps he wants to try to hone his Nen ability, or perhaps it's related to his own Nen ability.
In Biscuit's eyes, she could already tell Luke was indeed a Nen user.
And based on Luke's self-described title of being an inventor, his abilities should be primarily focused on invention.
Regardless of whether Luke is such a person, let's just assume he is.
According to Biscuit's stereotype of an inventor, creating inventions always burned through money.
The other party's ability to invent might require special conditions, such as spending a large amount of money or exchanging money for inventions.
Of course, there could also be other conditions she's unaware of. If he were truly just inventing something peacefully, he wouldn't have come to such a place.
Either his ability to invent requires special conditions, or his inventions might not be anything truly useful.
Biscuit, having traveled extensively over the years, has learned countless bizarre and strange Nen abilities.
And with her professional skills, she quickly developed a number of reasonable analyses based on Luke's brief remarks and his demeanor.
And these analyses were remarkably close to the truth!
Even more astonishingly, these thoughts flashed through Biscuit's mind, instantly clarifying them.
This ability to extract information and analyze it instantly is truly terrifying.
It was honed through repeated life-or-death battles.
Only by being able to make correct, accurate, and precise analyses in the ever-changing situation can one achieve ultimate victory in battle.
Luke was very clear on just how outrageous and professional these veteran hunters were.
In this world, anyone who had carved out a name for themselves was a formidable figure.
Especially one like her, already a highly successful and renowned figure, who had even shone brightly in the anime.
He didn't mind trying his best to understand this veteran's thoughts.
So, in this situation, how should Luke respond?
"Of course, I'm just being honest and telling the truth."
Luke's thinking was simple. In front of such an old monster, any attempt at concealment would be exposed.
It would be much better to be frank from the start.
"If you have anything you want to ask, feel free."
Luke raised both hands. "Of course, if you think I'm bothering you, then I won't intrude..."
Naturally, Biscuit wasn't about to let Luke leave just like that.
"You seem... To know me well?"
Biscuit stared at Luke and asked her first question. She had already had this question in mind from the moment Luke spoke his first words.
"A little bit."
Luke answers with a faint smile while looking at her.
"Senior Biscuit Krueger, that should be your name, right?"
Yes, the famous old veteran driver, a Double-Star Stone Hunter, a Transmuter type, and one of the heroines in the Greed Island arc.
She looks like a cute lolita, but in reality, she's a muscular forty-two-year-old woman.
She's also a veteran Nen user of the Shingen-ryu style.
She usually appears in this cute lolita guise, occasionally returning to her true form during combat.
"Don't call me senior..."
Biscuit waved her hand.
"I just turned eighteen years old. Calling me senior makes me sound old."
Just turned eighteen?!
How dare she say that...
But…
"Okay."
Luke replied boldly, without even blinking.
"Then I'll call you, sister Biscuit?"
Well, since he was younger than her anyway, calling her sister was no loss at all.
Even if she, a seasoned veteran, claimed to be only eighteen, he could still call her sister with complete confidence.
His current physical age was only sixteen.
"Sister... Biscuit?!"
Even someone as seasoned as Biscuit, a veteran of all kinds of battlefields, was momentarily stunned when she heard him call her that.
She hadn't heard such an address... In a long time.
"... Sister?!"
After she snapped out of it, a playful look appeared on Biscuit's face.
"Do you know that almost no one dares to call me that?"
"Then there will be one in the future."
Luke said confidently: "Besides, you're only eighteen, and I'm sixteen. Calling you sister isn't over the line, right?"
Your shamelessness is going a bit too far…
"That's a bit cheeky... But I like it, Hohoho!"
Who in this world doesn't like to hear nice words?!
Especially for someone like Biscuit, already over forty, well... Ahem, a senior.
They say men blossom at forty-one, and women at forty...
In any case, without her having to do anything at all, being addressed that way did indeed lift her mood.
As for Luke, a so-called inventor and what he might want to do next… she will just fight when the time comes.
After all, her current happiness won't affect her attitude in the slightest.
Biscuit distinguished things clearly, as always.
"Let's forget about calling me sister."
She reverted to her soft and delicate appearance again.
"Calling me that way can easily lead to misunderstandings."
Luke: "..."
You're clearly even more shameless and ruthless than I, aren't you?!
Yeah, otherwise, who else would be pretending to be a young girl when they're already in their forties, or even fifties…
"That's true."
Luke sighed. "Since you're already a senior, calling you that really doesn't sound appropriate."
He nodded seriously, as if he was truly considerate of Biscuit.
Biscuit: "..."
"Do you have to tear down this fragile illusion so quickly?"
She instantly regained her composure and muttered in a half-resentful and half-playful voice.
"If it weren't for Chairman Netero insisting I train a promising hunter, as proof of my achievement in teaching to qualify as a Double-Star Stone Hunter, I wouldn't bother with taking on newbies!"
So-called hunters were those who had passed the hunter exam and obtained or once possessed a hunter license.
They were called professional hunters.
Beyond that, there were three ranks that determined their level.
Single-Star Hunters are those who have achieved great success or left behind many accomplishments in a specific field.
For example, those like Tsezguerra (Single-Star Jackpot Hunter), Menchi the hunter exam examiner (Single-Star Gourmet Hunter), and Buhara (Gourmet Hunter) all belonged to this rank.
Above that were Double-Star Hunters, who had achieved great success in multiple fields or made major contributions.
For instance, Gon's father, Ging Freecss, helped ensure the reproduction of the Two-headed Wolf species, captured the notorious Kute Gang of Thieves, restored the Lurka Ruins, and so on.
Biscuit's main professional specialty as a hunter was Stone Hunter.
But if she wanted to be promoted to a Double-Star Stone Hunter, she had to achieve accomplishments in another field as well.
And conveniently, every year after the hunter exam ended, those participants who had passed the exam and obtained their hunter licenses still face the final assessment: learning Nen.
If they can't master Nen, they won't be able to protect their hunter licenses, and everything else will be meaningless.
Every new hunter who passes the exam must receive instruction from senior professional hunters.
This year, Biscuit received this task from Netero, the Chairman of the Hunter Association.
Although Biscuit was very reluctant, Chairman Netero, smiling as always, told her that she still needed to achieve other achievements in various fields to advance to a Double-Star Stone Hunter.
Chairman Netero promised that if she could successfully guide a newcomer, that would fulfill the requirement.
Biscuit then reluctantly accepted the task, even saying stubbornly: "If among this year's rookies there isn't one who satisfies me, someone truly worth teaching, I won't waste my time on a blockhead."
Chairman Netero assured her: if that turned out to be the case, it wouldn't be her fault.
"But… If you just glance around halfheartedly and then come running back to say the rookies are no good, I won't accept that."
Chairman Netero's casual remark pierced Biscuit's subtle thoughts.
But as shameless as she was, she didn't show her defeat. Instead, she solemnly promised: "Just wait and see."
Then, she came to the Heavens Arena and found Wing.
After some investigation, she felt he was a promising talent, so she took him on as her apprentice.
She didn't expect to meet someone like Luke in such a place.
"The scary little guy without eyebrows fighting against Wings down there, he's your companion, isn't he?"
Biscuit glanced at the ring below: "But it looks like he's about to lose."
Although Wing was also a beginner in Nen, he was at least a rookie who had passed this year's hunter exam.
His basic level was already established.
And Phinks, on the other hand, was just a small-time thug from Meteor City, with no professional guidance whatsoever.
It was only through following Luke that he opened his aura nodes and learned to use Nen.
Compared to Wing, his handling and application of aura were extremely crude.
Not to mention Wing also had Biscuit giving him advice and guidance from the side.
And besides… since Biscuit had chosen someone to teach, how could that person be simple?
To describe Wing in the Hunter Encyclopedia, it would be...
"Though he considers himself better suited to teaching, his judgment and wisdom in battle rival Hisoka's."
His judgment and wisdom in battle rival Hisoka's...
That one line alone was enough to show how formidable he was.
Thus, the battle between Wing and Phinks had no suspense at all.
Although both were Enhancer types, Wing's clever maneuvering allowed him to toy with Phinks with ease.
Relying on the Heavens Arena scoring system, he easily secured victory.
The matches here used the Progressive Knockout system; whoever reached ten points first or knocked out their opponent won.
Some professional terms included:
Clean Hit: An excellent strike, worth one point.
Critical Hit: An outstanding strike, worth two points.
Down: If the opponent fell and only got up after the referee's count, it was worth one point.
When points reached ten, the match ended as a technical knockout.
By landing excellent strikes, Wing accumulated points on Phinks and smoothly won with a total of ten points.
"Thank you for the match!"
He adjusted his glasses, smiled, and performed a courtesy bow toward the grim-faced Phinks across from him.
Phinks: "..."
He gritted his teeth and glared at Wing's face in silence for a long time.
Just when the referee thought he was about to lose his temper…