"..."
The battlefield was eerily quiet.
Hundreds of human blood fountains sprayed crimson into the night air. The Mafia thugs remained frozen in place, their faces locked in expressions of terror, anger, or manic laughter.
A gentle breeze blew across the ruined street.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Like wheat being harvested by a scythe, the men collapsed one after another. Not just the foot soldiers, but their bosses and dozens of mercenaries as well.
Silence descended.
Blood pooled and flowed across the asphalt, literally turning the street into a river of red. The phrase "rivers of blood" was no longer a metaphor; it was a horrifying reality.
Outside the massive, burning shell of the Kailan Grand Hotel, only about seventeen or eighteen figures were left standing.
These were the elite assassins. The true professionals. But even they looked miserable.
Those with strong defensive Hatsu were covered in steel needles like human pincushions. Those with weaker defenses had been pierced clean through, only surviving through sheer force of will and aura control. Only a select few remained entirely uninjured, proving their status as top-tier hunters.
[DING! You killed Mafia Member A. Auto-plundering... Acquired: {Marksmanship} (White).]
[DING! You killed Mafia Boss B... Acquired: {Intimidation} (Green).]
[DING! You killed Assassin Draven. Auto-plundering... Acquired: {Poison Arrow} (Blue), {Enhancement Talent} (Green).]
[DING! You killed...]
A dense, mechanical symphony played in Ryker's mind.
In that single instant, he had wiped out over 600 people.
The vast majority were ordinary mafia members. Their traits were mostly White and Green, with barely a Blue trait to be found. But Ryker didn't care. To the System, garbage traits were just XP fodder used to upgrade his premium abilities.
The assassins, however, provided a much better haul. Anyone daring enough to hunt a 100 billion Jenny bounty had to have some skill.
A massive influx of data and energy flooded Ryker's system. Lifetimes of martial arts, assassination techniques, and even random life skills were instantly downloaded into his brain. While the individual boosts were small, the sheer volume of 600 souls provided a noticeable, holistic enhancement to his base stats.
True wealth is built on the bones of others, Ryker sneered internally. The most profitable business in this world is murder.
If Ryker wanted to become a true god, the fastest way was simple: kill everyone. Kill ten thousand, kill a million. Eventually, the sheer volume of White traits would fuse into Gold, Red, or even Black traits. But doing that would make him a slave to the System. Ryker wasn't a mindless butcher.
However, since these idiots had willingly delivered themselves to his doorstep, he wasn't going to refuse the free XP.
"Damn it! Don't be afraid!" one of the surviving assassins shouted, pulling a dagger from his shoulder. "He just used a massive AOE attack! He must be running on fumes! He's just trying to scare us off!"
"He's right! A hundred billion Jenny! If we kill him now, we can split it evenly!"
"Attack together!"
"Kill him!"
Desperation and greed overrode their fear. The remaining assassins prepared to launch a coordinated strike.
Bzzzt.
The faint sound of static electricity crackled through the air.
The assassins paused, looking toward Ryker.
What they saw made their souls leave their bodies.
Arcs of intense, blue-white lightning erupted from Ryker's skin. The ambient electromagnetic field was so strong that his dark hair spiked upward, defying gravity. His eyes glowed with raw, blinding electrical energy.
He looked exactly like a Super Saiyan 2 wreathed in lightning aura.
"H-How is this possible?!"
"I thought his ability was Fire?! Why is he using Lightning?!"
"Is it an illusion?! Is he a Manipulator?!"
"Damn it! It's a bluff! He doesn't have any aura le—"
ZAP.
The assassin who spoke didn't get to finish his sentence.
A streak of blue lightning flashed across the courtyard. To the assassins, it looked like Ryker was still standing in the center of the street.
But a split-second later, Ryker materialized right beside the man who had just spoken. He held his cheap fish-filleting knife casually in his right hand.
Ryker simply walked past him.
"What...?" the assassin gasped.
He turned his head slightly, seeing Ryker standing next to him. Ryker's clothes were spotless. The fish knife didn't have a single drop of blood on it. It only crackled with electricity.
Wait... whose body is that? the assassin wondered, looking down. He's wearing my clothes. But... where is his head?
That was his final thought.
The man's headless corpse collapsed to the ground. The wound on his neck had been instantly cauterized by the superheated lightning, preventing any blood from spilling.
The other assassins felt a primal, bone-deep terror.
They all knew how strong that headless man was. He was an upper-tier assassin who had easily survived the needle rain. Yet Ryker had decapitated him before he could even draw a breath.
"M-MONSTER! RUN!" another assassin screamed.
They finally realized the truth: fighting was suicide, and running was impossible. Ryker's speed defied the laws of physics. They had chosen a one-way ticket to hell the moment they accepted this bounty.
[Thunder Style: Shave!]
[Thunder Style: Lightning Blade!]
[Lightning Nen (Red)!]
Ryker became a demon of the storm. He didn't run; he teleported through the air as pure energy. Every time he stopped, a body hit the floor.
CLANG!
Ryker blinked.
His lightning-infused knife had been blocked.
Ryker smirked, genuinely surprised. He looked at the assassin who had parried his strike.
"Wait! I'm from the Matthew Family—!"
CLANG!
Ryker struck again.
This time, the assassin inexplicably slipped on a puddle of blood, falling flat on his back. Ryker's blade missed him by a millimeter.
"Oh? Impressive," Ryker laughed, checking the man's system profile. "So that's why. You have a very interesting trait. Let's see how many times you can dodge!"
Ryker stomped his foot, shattering the concrete, and lunged forward. He opened his hand, unleashing a massive net of high-voltage lightning to trap the man.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Ryker grinned.
"Please! Don't kill m—"
Ryker clenched his fist. The net contracted instantly.
ZAAAAAP!
The man's screams were drowned out by the roar of a million volts.
[DING! You killed Assassin Lolo Matthew. Auto-plundering...]
[Acquired: {Disguise} (Blue), {Good Fortune} (Gold).]
Ryker's eyes widened.
Gold? From a random assassin?
Before he could process it, the System chimed again.
[DING! Synergy Detected: {Lucky Star} (Gold) and {Good Fortune} (Gold) are merging...]
[DING! Fusion Complete!]
[Acquired: {Continuous Lucky Star} (Double Gold)!]
Ryker felt a rush of absolute euphoria. It was the sweetest sound he had heard in weeks.
[Trait: Continuous Lucky Star (Double Gold)]
[Effect: You may designate a guaranteed trait drop from an enemy. Can be used TWO times per day.]
Perfect!
His daily limit just doubled. Ryker had been bottlenecked by his daily drop limit, forced to slowly execute the Spiders one by one. Now, he could harvest two premium traits a day.
If he could somehow grind this trait up to Red or Black rarity, he could guarantee drops indefinitely. But Luck traits were rarer than Specialist Nen abilities. Finding this randomly among the assassin fodder was like winning the lottery.
This alone was worth the 100 billion bounty! Should I encourage more assassins to come after me? Ryker laughed internally.
"..."
The street outside the hotel was completely dead.
Every single assassin and mafia member had been exterminated. The only thing they accomplished was giving Ryker a slight cardiovascular workout and delivering a Double Gold trait right into his lap.
Inside the ruins, Dalzollene and the bodyguards stared at Ryker's back, completely paralyzed by awe and fear.
They had just watched one man slaughter hundreds of armed men and dozens of elite assassins without taking a single scratch.
"Monster... Genius... God..." Dalzollene muttered, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "Thank God I didn't offend the Captain... following him was the best decision of my life."
Baise's eyes sparkled with feverish adoration. She looked like she was about to faint from the sheer overwhelming display of dominance. Squala and Basho nodded in silent agreement. They knew this level of combat was realms above their pay grade. Just being associated with Ryker was a VIP pass to the top of the world.
Lord Ryker... Melody thought, her heart trembling. He might be the strongest Hunter I've ever seen. I wonder... how would he fare against Chairman Netero?
"Brother Ryker!"
Kurapika suddenly shouted, breaking the reverie. His face was pale.
"Brother Ryker! If the Mafia and assassins attacked us here... it might be a diversion! They might be going after Gon, Killua, and Leorio to use them as hostages against you!"
Kurapika's analytical mind was terrifyingly sharp. Even without the Kurta Clan's Scarlet Eyes, his tactical awareness was arguably superior to Gon and Killua's.
He was absolutely right.
Through his network of [Lightning Beasts] scattered across the city, Ryker had already seen the elite Spiders making their move toward Gon and the boys.
But Ryker wasn't worried.
"Relax, Kurapika. They'll be fine," Ryker smiled, his body turning into pure lightning. "You and Dalzollene clean up here."
Bzzzt.
Ryker vanished.
Continuous Lucky Star, huh? Ryker thought as he rode the electromagnetic currents across Yorknew City. Phantom Troupe... get ready for your worst nightmare.
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