"Twelve thousand eight hundred aura! That was manageable when I was at full strength, but now I've got basically nothing left after that fight. I definitely can't afford to pay it back."
Liam sat cross-legged on the sofa, speaking in the tone of a dying old man. "I'm guessing I'll be entering forced Zetsu in a minute. Dora, Suzaku—my two guardians—I'm counting on you to protect me."
"Yes." Shizuku stood beside him. "I won't leave."
"Suzaku?" Kurapika blinked. "You mean me?"
"Oh right, I forgot to mention," Liam said. "All ten members of The Ten have code names. I'm Ring A, code name Tendō. Shizuku is Ring B, code name Dora. You're the third member, Ring C. Your code name is Suzaku—the Vermillion Bird reborn from ashes. Fitting, don't you think?"
Mr. Suzaku had no comment for a moment.
The aura in Liam's body vanished rapidly until it was barely perceptible. The number in the ball in his hand dropped fast. "5588" and still falling.
Kurapika said suddenly, "The greatest use of this ability you've developed probably isn't in one-on-one duels. It could be the most strategic ability within a team. When facing an enemy so powerful you can't defeat them normally, you can design the fight so the opponent falls into a weakened state—or even forced Zetsu—when they have to repay the 'aura debt.'"
Liam smiled faintly.
In truth, the moment this ability took shape, the first target that popped into his mind was the Chimera Ant King, Meruem.
Liam didn't know Meruem's total aura capacity.
One million? Two million?
He didn't know how much his own aura would increase in five years.
Fifty thousand? Seventy thousand? One hundred thousand?
But with this buy-now-pay-later ability, even if he only had fifty thousand total aura in the future, even if he faced an Ant King whose capacity might exceed one or two million—defeating the strong with the weak wasn't impossible. As Kurapika analyzed, as long as he could drag the Ant King to the point where he had to repay a ball worth over one million aura, then regardless of whether Liam personally won or lost, the Ant King would definitely lose.
When forced into Zetsu, even an individual as powerful as the Chimera Ant King couldn't withstand attacks from Nen users. His body and spirit would be shredded by Nen-enhanced strikes.
Of course, that was all hypothetical. Nobody could predict the future.
Because of his butterfly effect, whether the Ant King would even be born remained to be seen.
What's more, what if five years from now, he was already powerful enough to punch Netero and kick the Three Royal Guards?
Then there'd be no need for tricks. Just fight the Ant King head-on.
Besides, what if his personality changed drastically by then and he was too lazy to care about strangers thousands of miles away? Chimera Ants were just a B-rank disaster. If they wanted to eat people, let them. The world was big enough. Someone capable would deal with them eventually.
Man, why am I worrying about this in advance...
Liam's thoughts wandered as mental exhaustion from the battle washed over him like a tide. He fell asleep unconsciously.
Shizuku let him rest his head on her lap.
Kurapika pulled up a chair in the living room. While guarding Liam as he recovered in forced Zetsu, he silently practiced his abilities. He raised his hand and manifested his dolphin bookshelf with six books emerging one after another.
Three days later, Liam arrived at Heavens Arena with Shizuku and Kurapika feeling refreshed. They took the elevator straight to the 200th floor.
It wasn't that he'd been in forced Zetsu for three full days.
Actually, the real forced Zetsu caused by that ball had ended in just over an hour.
After all, Liam's current total capacity was eighteen thousand. More than enough to repay a debt of only "12,800."
Winning ten consecutive matches and earning the right to challenge a Floor Master was worth celebrating. Liam had relaxed a bit with Shizuku and Kurapika over the past few days. Now he came to inquire about challenging Floor Masters feeling fresh and energized.
When he asked about it, he got a little depressed.
Tetsuro had won his tenth victory two days ago and already applied to challenge a Floor Master. The challenge date was set for August 18th.
The reason Liam felt depressed was that the Floor Master Tetsuro had applied to challenge was the only one willing to accept in the near future.
That's right—Floor Masters weren't NPCs. Just because you challenged them didn't mean they'd accept immediately.
Fighters above the 200th floor had a ninety-day preparation period for each battle. Floor Masters, who stood above ordinary fighters, had it even better.
The staff explained that each official Floor Master had a one-year response window when facing a challenger's application. And if another Floor Master accepted a contestant's challenge first, the process automatically stopped for the others.
Not only that, every official Floor Master had the privilege of declining three times. A challenge application could be put on hold for one year up to three times. Decline more than three times and you'd automatically lose your Floor Master position.
Of course, most Floor Masters were experts who valued their reputations. As long as nothing was genuinely wrong, they generally didn't deliberately avoid challengers. That would be too embarrassing if word got out.
"Experts at the Floor Master level each have an entire floor between 230 and 250, but they don't live at Heavens Arena year-round." The staff member paused awkwardly. "Basically, very few Floor Masters are stationed here. Everyone has their own careers and personal affairs. Sometimes when they're busy, they genuinely don't have the energy to deal with Heavens Arena."
Once you became a Floor Master, you'd basically made a name for yourself in martial arts circles. Every Floor Master was qualified to establish a school and recruit disciples. That was fine.
After training hard in matches, climbing through levels and floors, defeating countless opponents, finally becoming famous—weren't you allowed to enjoy yourself?
Some Floor Masters were even Professional Hunters.
Professional Hunters had their own pursuits. Very likely they'd be traveling all year, impossible to track down even for the Hunter Association, let alone Heavens Arena.
Furthermore, it was disrespectful for Floor Masters to respond to every challenge immediately just because someone asked.
So it was common for people who applied to challenge Floor Masters to get no response for a year or two. Or get declined once or twice.
Of course, sometimes there were Floor Masters keen to accept challenges. Liam was just unlucky he hadn't met one this time.
The staff member raised a finger and explained thoughtfully, "So although in terms of benefits and official status, only contestants who successfully challenge and occupy floors 230 through 250 are called Floor Masters, in reality—among the public—anyone with a ten-win record on the 200th floor is considered a Floor Master. Well, some people call them Little Floor Masters."
He smiled. "A Floor Master who loses to a challenger won't suddenly be doomed just because they lost one match. Their strength and status remain. Though the Floor Master title is no longer official, most people still acknowledge them. So although there are only twenty-one Floor Masters in name, there are actually many more."
Liam remembered that in the manga, the three bullies Gon and Killua challenged as newcomers all thought that as long as they got ten wins, they'd become Floor Masters. The three hadn't even seriously considered challenging actual Floor Masters. Real Floor Masters were in short supply, so Little Floor Masters counted too?
"Just tell me which other Floor Master is available to accept challenges," Liam said.
The staff member typed on the keyboard, checking quickly. "Currently, the nearest Floor Master with time to accept a challenge would be scheduled for October..."
"Then that one," Liam decided.
"Alright." The staff member typed. "We'll also try our best to contact other Floor Masters for you. If we can reach them—"
Liam waved his hand. These people were proving unreliable.
Think about it—people with Nen were basically supermen. In the Hunter Association, they were masters who could legally kill with licenses. Enjoying privileges was normal. Heavens Arena itself was probably owned by a Nen user. The Hunter Association didn't have strong binding force on its members, let alone Heavens Arena, which didn't even have proper organizational structure. At best, this was a "leveling dungeon," and an easy one at that.
"Busy. Everyone's busy," Liam sighed. "Better to be busy, I suppose."
"Since you don't have a match, I'm heading back," Kurapika said.
"Why the rush? By the way, Wing's still in the hospital ward. Let's go visit."
Kurapika walked toward the elevator as if he hadn't heard.
"I want to discuss experiences related to Nen abilities," Liam called after him. "With a proper teacher."
"Let's go." Kurapika turned back, eyes sharp. "Which ward?"
Shizuku made a circular gesture near her temple, looking at Liam with confusion.
Liam felt embarrassed. Kurapika really only heard what he wanted to hear, didn't he?
Meanwhile, in the hospital ward, Wing held his phone and honestly accepted criticism from his master. He was being chewed out thoroughly.