When Conrad arrived in the city near Kukuroo Mountain, he followed the same route Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio once had by bus, mixed among tourists and curious civilians.
Luckily for him, he did not see anybody on the bus that would create problems and try to enter the Zoldyck Estate to be dinner for Mike, the guard dog.
The bus was crowded with chatter.
The tour guide stood near the front, holding a microphone, and started speaking to gather attention.
"To your right, you'll soon see Kukuroo Mountain, home of the Zoldyck family. As many of you already know, the Zoldycks are the most famous assassin family in the world…"
Conrad listened, though none of the information was new to him.
Names were mentioned.
The guide spoke openly, casually, as if describing a historical landmark rather than a family of professional killers.
That, more than anything else, caught Conrad's attention.
"People really accept this," he thought.
"An assassin family, known worldwide, living openly."
On Earth, such a thing would be impossible.
Even if an organization like that existed, its identity would be buried under layers of secrecy.
It would most likely be a governmental organization such as the CIA or a similar type of intelligence agency.
He could not expect and imagine seeing a family of assassins known to the public living without problems from the law.
"This world really is different."
The bus ride took around forty minutes.
As the road curved upward and the trees grew denser, the mountain finally came into view.
Several passengers gasped.
"Wow…"
"So that's it…"
"What a view…"
Conrad smiled faintly.
"What a great piece of art," he murmured.
The bus came to a stop near the entrance path.
People disembarked, cameras already in hand.
The tour guide continued speaking, explaining the rules with emphasis.
"Please remember, do not attempt to enter the estate grounds."
"Do not provoke the guard. Do not approach the gate without permission."
Conrad stepped off the bus and took in the scene.
The Testing Gate stood close to him; most of the people did not know, but the "Testing Gate" was the real entrance, and it was not locked or anything; it was just too heavy for ordinary people to open.
The butlers and Mike, the guard dog of the Zoldyck family, were instructed to not attack anybody who enters using the testing gates.
Near the gate sat an old man, the guard that protected the entrance.
To anyone who knew better, he was something else entirely.
He was a cleanup for Mike, the guard dog.
"He's waiting," Conrad thought. "Waiting for someone to cross a line."
The tourists gathered near the designated area, listening, taking photos, and laughing nervously.
A few whispered jokes. Others stared at the gate with awe.
Conrad stood apart.
"I guess it's not wrong to test myself here," he thought. "Just the gates. Nothing more."
The Testing Gate had multiple panels; the weight of it doubled each time.
Even the first one required strength far beyond an average human.
Conrad approached slowly, stopping a few meters from the gate. He could feel Zebro looking at him.
The tour guide noticed and raised her voice.
"Sir, please don't."
"I won't go inside," Conrad said calmly. "Just the gate."
Conrad placed his hands against the first panel.
The surface was rough, worn by time and failed attempts.
He exhaled slowly.
"No Nen," he reminded himself. "Pure physical strength."
The stone creaked.
In just a second, Conrad calculated the physical power that he needed to spend, and the first door, which was "two tons," was easily opened.
Several tourists fell silent.
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"Did you see that?"
"He opened it…"
"Is he a monster?"
Conrad ignored them.
He looked at the second panel.
This one was heavier. Much heavier.
He placed his hands again and pushed.
Without much of a problem, the second gate, which was eight tons, started to budge, and then a second later, it started to get open too.
Conrad grinned as he tried.
Zebro, on the other hand, looked neutral from the outside but felt that something was not right with this young man.
"I am not seeing any kind of a supernatural power in him..."
"His physical capability is really off the charts; opening the second gate is something really impressive."
He said, his hands behind his back.
As he was about to approach Conrad and congratulate him about his actions, Conrad pushed more of his physical power; this time, the third gate started opening.
"Wow..."
Zebro, shocked.
"This..."
"I did not really expect it at all."
After seeing that he is able to open the third gate just by his physical capability, Conrad stopped testing and then nodded as he looked at the gate.
"I can try to open gate four too; I am sure I can do that without much of a problem without using my Nen."
"But gathering much more attention just does not make any sense at this point."
With this thought, Conrad stopped testing.
He believed he could open "32 Tons" without the use of nen, and if he were to use his nen fully, he should be able to open 128 tons with a great deal of effort.
But even with all the power of the nen he believed he had, he did not have the power to open the gate to 256 tons.