Hunter x Hunter: Unleashed

Auren sits in his private room on the airship. He has successfully managed to sneak his Ben's Knife onboard with him, despite the strict security checks. With the help of Zetsu and his well-trained Shadow Step, he easily bypassed security before boarding the airship.

He is travelling straight to the Federation of Ochima, using the only real vehicle suitable for such a journey. A blimp-like aircraft, made specifically for long-distance flights. While comparatively slow, it will still reach the Federation in a few days, thus giving Auren more than enough time to find his bearings once he arrives.

This flight leads directly to the Capital city. According to this year's information, every participant needs to arrive there before January 7th. Buno and Bunu mentioned something about a special exam, where combat skills might not be all that relevant. I hope they're wrong about that.

Apparently, every year's exam is vastly different, with new examiners and new tasks, so I can't really prepare. I have some vague memories about running a marathon, hunting animals, descending a tower filled with traps, some kind of survival scenario, and finally, a 1-on-1 tournament-style task. That all sounds pretty interesting. I'd be more than fine with those tasks.

Auren, of course, does not waste his time on the blimp. He practices the entire day. Auren does not slack on the basics, training his Ten, Zetsu, and Ren every single day! He also works on his fundamentals by specifically focusing on Emission and Transmutation exercises.

Auren has come up with multiple games. For example, shooting a few tiny drops of Aura against a wall, trying to slam them with enough force to cause dents in the wall, which, of course, does not happen. However, Auren loves the small but distinct impact these tiny Aura droplets cause. Another way he trains is by shaping his Aura into various forms, mimicking animals, and even writing words with his Aura.

Thankfully, he can simply use Water Divination whenever he wants to train his Enhancement affinity.

Auren decides to train all three affinities because his Hatsus depend on them. For now, he chooses to ignore Manipulation and Conjuration, with the sole exception of Conjuring Eternity, getting used to the feeling of conjuring it in the blink of an eye.

While not exactly proficient, he is certainly improving in every single regard.

Auren also decides to work on his Advanced Nen skills. Shu, Gyo, Ko, Ryu, Ken, In, and En. Partly because of its usefulness, but also because Auren loves to see tangible results from his training, Auren practices En every single day. His former 18-meter range increases by a few centimeters each day.

Of course, he practices Azure Restoration and Limitless Waters as well.

Because of his pure greed when it comes to Nen, Auren spends 20 hours a day practicing Nen. Only during the four hours when he sleeps does he not use at least some technique. In all other situations, Auren keeps up either Ten or Zetsu.

Around a week later, Auren arrives in the Federation of Ochima.

He steps onto the deck of the blimp and looks down at the Capital named Concordis below him.

It's a wide, sprawling city that stretches as far as the eye can reach. However, Auren immediately notices that there isn't a single skyscraper or large building around, which surprises him.

I... somehow remember from the otherworldly memories I received that some cities apparently forbid the construction of certain buildings in order to stay true to their cultural heritage. Could this be one of those cases? The city is huge, so having a few skyscrapers would normally make sense.

The first thing he decides to do after exiting the blimp is explore the Capital. Right next to the airport, he spots a small hut selling tickets for a bus tour of the Capital.

With no concrete goal in mind, Auren buys himself a ticket.

He sits down at the end of the half-filled bus, and a fairly bland-looking woman in her mid-twenties, dressed in a uniform, enters the bus.

"Welcome, dear visitors, to the wonderful Federation of Ochima! I am the beautiful, smart, and funny Mina. I'll be your tour guide today! As you all know, our beautiful Federation is made up of exactly nineteen independent states, which are all mostly self-governing but share a central government. Our beautiful Capital, Concordis, symbolizes this fantastic union. We respect the individuality of our states, but for political and practical reasons, we have united into one proud nation! On this tour, I'll have the pleasure of introducing you to our beautiful architecture, along with funny and interesting tidbits about the history of Concordis."

I don't really care about all those things. I know I should, but I'm just being honest. Maybe this tour was a mistake after all.

The tour continues, and Auren gets bombarded with one boring fact after another. At one point, he resumes his Nen training, using En, and trying his best to memorize all the details of a specific car that passes by them within the span of one second.

Finally, after three hours, the tour ends, and the tour guide takes off her small, cute hat, aggressively asking for donations.

Ignoring her, Auren exits the bus only to stop and wonder what exactly he should do in this huge, foreign city.

He shamelessly returns to the woman, waits for the other guests to leave, and pulls out a few hundred Jenny coins, throwing them into her hat.

"Thank you for the tour, sister. I really enjoyed it!" Auren blatantly lies, trying his best to act cute.

"Thank you! You're such a cute kid—you can come again any time," she says with a grin.

"I'm staying here for a while. Can you recommend me a decent, centrally located hotel? It doesn't need to be luxurious, but I also don't want to end up in some cheap hotel."

"Sure, that reminds me... It may not be of interest to you, but a week ago I was called into a meeting. If anyone asks me about a hotel, I'm obligated to say: 'Hunters beware: The Triangle Park Hotel is a well-respected and treasured Hotel!' Surely you remember the park from the tour? Ah—now I remember—I wasn't supposed to mention the meeting… Please keep it to yourself, okay, kid? Do this for your big sister, alright?" she pleads.

"Sure…" Auren says.

This is kinda suspicious, but it sounds like a clue?! Is this a trap? Now I have to check into that hotel.

Despite not paying close attention during the tour, Auren does remember the park in question. However, he doesn't recall any particularly 'interesting' backstory about it. It's a park shaped like a triangle, located right in the middle of the Capital, with roads forming the boundaries like fences. Apparently, there is a large Arena inside it, used for concerts.

It's around 30 minutes away. I'll just go there.

"Thank you!" Auren says, leaving with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

On the way to the hotel, Auren picks up a fresh stack of clothes, deciding to throw out his old ones, as he's been wearing them for quite a few days now. He also stocks up on a large variety of snacks, fruits, sports drinks rich in electrolytes, vitamin pills, and protein bars.

I want to make sure I have some non-perishable food ready. I shouldn't neglect my diet. Nen is directly connected to the body, and if my body is malnourished, my Aura will definitely suffer for it.

Thankfully, the Triangle Park Hotel—positioned precisely at the tip of Triangle Park—still has enough available rooms, and Auren books a single suite for himself.

After checking in and taking a moment to look down at the triangular park from the window of his third-floor suite, he calls Buno, who answers almost immediately.

"What is it, boy? We haven't made a sale yet, so if you're calling about money, you'll have to wait a bit longer!"

"It's not about that, Instructor. I just arrived in the Federation. It's still December… Have you heard anything? I don't think anything's been released publicly except the general location, which is exactly here in the Capital," Auren replies.

"Not yet. You'll have to wait a little longer. I should be able to dig up something a few days before the exam starts. Just enjoy life and have fun in the meantime," Buno responds, sounding completely casual.

"Sure… I'll talk to you later then," Auren says before hanging up.

With two full weeks remaining before the start of the Exam, Auren spends his days following a rhythm similar to the one he had aboard the airship.

The only change is that he now visits the medium-sized hotel gym for at least three hours every single day.

Aside from continuing his extensive Nen training program, he also explores various flea markets and antique stores scattered throughout the Capital.

These flea markets and antique shops might not be able to rival the ones in Yorknew, but I guess they're certainly worth a look!

The local flea markets do not operate on an auction system, and Auren is able to purchase items directly instead of placing bids.

Using the same strategy as before, Auren activates Gyo in search of hidden treasures. Not poor enough to risk getting exposed for mere pocket change, he simply buys anything of interest he stumbles upon.

He manages to find a few noteworthy items and flips them at a profit, earning over 2 million Jenny in less than two weeks. Auren always checks out different antique stores, carefully browsing their inventory, but he doesn't come across anything that truly captures his interest.

Finally, on January 5th, he steps into another antique store, planning to sell an old wooden vase that contains a faint trace of aura.

He quickly sells the vase for 100,000 Jenny, raking in a small profit of about 95,000. But just as he's about to leave, something catches his eye—a small showcase filled with knives.

With a smirk, he notices the absurd prices. They range from 50,000 Jenny to as much as 900,000. Then, finally, he spots one knife priced at a completely ridiculous 10 million Jenny. As he takes a closer look, he realizes the knife is split in the middle, forming two thin blades that connect about three-quarters down the blade's length.

10 million? Is this a scam?! Well... the knife certainly looks interesting. Actually, it looks more like a dagger. If you stab someone with it, they'll get hit by two blades at once, thanks to that strange shape. It's also pretty sharp—I can see that with my own eyes. Let me take a closer look.

He activates Gyo and immediately notices a distinct aura surrounding the blade.

I need to get it… at any cost!

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