NOVEL FROG [25] : Into the Nen Realm, Mika’s Hunter Exam Odyssey
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"Hunter x Hunter" is a very old anime series for Mika.
But even so, its excellent Power System still feels extremely familiar to Mika.
Nen ability, this is the Power System of the "Hunter x Hunter" world.
And to obtain this ability, the most orthodox way is to become one of the Hunters.
When Mika first started watching the anime, he didn't feel that Nen abilities were particularly powerful, just somewhat novel.
But with the end of the Chimera Ant arc, the appearance of Killua's sibling, and Gon's father's revelation about the truth of this world, the danger of this world was fully revealed to Mika.
This world is extremely dangerous.
It might even be on par with the Danmachi world where gods don't directly intervene.
Fortunately, as long as Mika doesn't actively seek out these dangers, they won't suddenly appear around them.
Otherwise, Mika estimates that after learning Nen, he would quickly leave, only returning to explore after becoming powerful enough.
"Let's go!"
Glancing at Gon who was talking to his aunt, Mika led Airmid and Mellie away from there.
Next, they would go find a hotel to settle down temporarily.
As for getting familiar with the protagonist Gon?
Mika indicates that as long as the three of them want to pass the Hunter Exam to qualify for learning Nen, they will inevitably get to know him.
After all, they will be fellow passengers on the same boat in the future.
...
"Huh, sign up for the Hunter Exam?"
"That's right!"
In the hotel, after entering Airmid and Mellie's room, Mika told them about their next action.
Then, facing their confusion, Mika explained.
"Do you remember the boy who caught the large fish at the port today?"
"Of course we remember."
Mellie said gravely, "He's too amazing. Such a big fish, he could catch it all by himself. Before receiving God's blessing, even we couldn't do that."
"Exactly, from his exaggerated physical abilities, we can see that this world is not simple at all," Mika explained seriously. "Based on my previous experiences, I think most worlds with special abilities can be temporarily divided into two types."
"One is like our world, where the existence of God's blessing can be known as long as you want to seek it out, an ability that exists openly."
"The other is like the world I went to last time, where the existence of demons and demon slayers is almost unknown to local residents, an ability hidden in the shadows."
"This world should belong to the type where abilities are hidden in the shadows, known only to relevant personnel. If so, this profession called 'Hunter' is quite suspicious."
"Millions of people participate every year, but on average only one person passes every three years?"
Looking at some related information translated by Mika, Mellie and Airmid also noticed the suspicious aspects of the 'Hunter' profession.
"Moreover, even that boy with extremely strong physical abilities wants to take the Hunter Exam. I think this is very valuable for reference. What do you think?"
"Let's participate then!" Mellie said with a light laugh. "After all, we know almost nothing about this world now. Since that's the case, it's better to find something to do than do nothing!"
"And since it's your decision, Mika, I'll naturally follow it."
"That's right!" Airmid said seriously. "No matter what decision you make, Mika, we'll follow you."
"After all, you're our team leader!" Airmid and Mellie said in unison.
Hearing their words, Mika was stunned.
To hide his identity as a reincarnator, Mika naturally had to conceal the fact that he knew information about this world.
For this, he had racked his brains to come up with this explanation.
But he didn't expect to receive such a result.
Feeling the full trust of the two, Mika felt a bitter taste in his heart.
"With Mellie's wisdom, she should have noticed something, but out of trust, she didn't say anything. As for Airmid, she trusts unconditionally. Compared to their trust, I was thinking about how to deceive them."
Shaking his head, realizing his mistake, Mika decided not to hide anything anymore.
"If that's the case, let's go find someone who can read tomorrow to help us register online for the exam!"
Without explaining further why he, who couldn't read, knew that the Hunter Exam needed online registration, Mika said directly.
"Then leave it to me!"
Seeing Mika return to his former decisiveness, a satisfied smile appeared on Mellie's lips.
After all, in her eyes, the decisive and impulsive Mika was the true hero in her heart.
...
After completing the Hunter Exam registration online, the three of them began to wait.
Of course, they wouldn't waste this waiting time.
During the day, Mika would take Airmid and Mellie to wander around various parts of the town, letting them experience the differences between life in different worlds.
And help them quickly adapt to the customs and habits here.
As for the night? That's of course for the hard work of learning to read and write!
They didn't have to wait long before the ship designated by the Hunter Association arrived at Whale Island.
Stepping onto this ship, feeling the constant swaying beneath their feet, the three quickly got used to it.
After all, their sense of balance wasn't trained for nothing.
"Hey, kid, are you also going to take the Hunter Exam? You even brought girlfriends, that's hilarious! Hahaha!"
Looking at the three of them, the Hunter Exam participants who came out on deck to look at the scenery had contemptuous looks in their eyes. In their view, Mika and the others were just there for fun.
After the mockery came the harassment.
The loneliness brought by long sea voyages, coupled with Airmid and Mellie's breathtaking beauty, caused some people on the ship to start harboring ill intentions.
Among them, the most obvious was the most muscular man.
"Kid, if you let your girlfriend accompany me..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mika's figure had already disappeared from where he was standing.
Instantly appearing behind the man, he directly pressed the man's head and smashed it into the ground.
With a 'bang', the muscular man's head collided hard with the deck, the violent impact quickly attracting everyone's attention.
"Didn't your mother teach you that trouble comes from the mouth?"
Catching the dagger thrown by Airmid, repeatedly tapping the man's face with it, Mika warned in a cold voice despite his smile.
"I'm sorry, sir, please forgive me!"
Feeling the bone-chilling killing intent emanating from Mika, the muscular man immediately cowered and started apologizing profusely.
Seeing this, Mika had no intention of taking further action.
Releasing his hand pressing the man down, Mika stood up again.
Returning to Airmid and Mellie's side, after returning the dagger to Airmid, Mika suddenly saw Gon below the ship.
At this moment, he was saying goodbye to his fellow villagers from Whale Island.
"It's about to begin, the Hunter Exam!"
Smiling lightly and nodding, Mika led Airmid and Mellie into the cabin, starting to prepare for the upcoming challenge.
That storm coming from the sea.
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"Boom!"
The sea was now shrouded in darkness, with fierce winds, pouring rain, flashing lightning, and rolling thunder.
The power of nature was flaunting its majesty unrestrained.
On the surging sea surface, the ship carrying Mika and his companions was resisting the turbulent ocean, advancing boldly across the waves.
"Ah!!!"
But sometimes the gap between people can be so vast.
While the ship's crew were battling the storm at their posts, the Hunter Exam candidates in the cabin were wailing in agony.
However, this was after all a ship carrying candidates heading to the Hunter Exam.
Amidst the painful cries, there were still people who seemed unaffected, maintaining the same composure they had before the storm hit.
A boy lying in a hammock, a young man leaning against the wall reading a book, and the young Gon who was helping out everywhere.
Of course, Mika and his two companions were among these unaffected individuals.
At this moment, Mika was leisurely lying on the floor, resting his head on Airmid's lap to conserve energy.
As for Airmid and Mellie, they were playing mobile games.
Although they didn't understand much of this world's writing yet, some games could be enjoyed without recognizing the text.
"It seems there are quite a few noteworthy people in this Hunter Exam!"
After the weather returned to normal, the captain steering the ship came to the cabin carrying the Hunter candidates and took in everything he saw.
In his view, candidates who couldn't withstand this level of storm had already been eliminated.
"You few, come with me!"
Hearing the captain's voice, Mika, who had been resting with his eyes closed, immediately opened them, then got up and led Airmid and Mellie towards the captain's cabin.
The other three, though somewhat confused, eventually followed as well.
In the captain's cabin, the six of them introduced themselves one after another.
Besides Mika's group of three, the others were Gon Freecss wearing green clothes and carrying a fishing rod, the androgynous blonde Kurapika, and Leorio who looked like an adult.
Then, the captain asked the six of them why they were taking the Hunter Exam.
To this, Kurapika and Leorio initially refused to answer.
But soon, they gave in.
The captain directly stated that they were already in the Hunter Exam now, and answering his questions was part of the test.
If they were unwilling to answer, the two could give up on taking the exam.
Left with no choice, the two had to state their reasons for taking the Hunter Exam one after another.
Kurapika was for revenge, to kill the Phantom Troupe who had massacred his clan.
As for Leorio, it was for money.
Gon had already stated his reason before the captain revealed his identity, which was to see what kind of work could make his father abandon his family to pursue it.
"Money is good! As they say, money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything! Although people always say talking about money is vulgar, ironically what saves you is precisely this vulgar thing!"
Hearing Leorio's words, Mika couldn't help but sigh, he never underestimated the importance of money.
After hearing Mika's sentiment, Leorio immediately took a liking to him.
Mika's words had directly resonated with his heart.
"Then what are the reasons for you three to take the Hunter Exam? Mika, Airmid, and Mellie, right?"
After learning the reasons of Gon and the others, the captain turned his gaze to Mika's group.
"For us three, we're together, and our reason for wanting to become Hunters is the same, that is to obtain the ability exclusive to Hunters, and then to take a good look at this colorful world."
Standing in front of Airmid and Mellie, Mika said seriously.
"Ability exclusive to Hunters?"
Hearing Mika's explanation, Kurapika's expression changed slightly.
Obviously, in his eyes, Mika must know more about Hunters, and it was something very important.
"I see!"
The captain standing to the side also nodded slightly after hearing Mika's words.
As a partner of the Hunter Association, he knew a bit about the abilities of Hunters.
That ability called 'Nen'.
After answering the captain's question, Mika stepped back, ready to watch the show between Kurapika and Leorio.
Sure enough, the two with contrasting personalities eventually clashed, and then agreed to go to the deck to settle their differences.
Mika and Gon also followed eagerly, wanting to watch from the sidelines.
"To understand a person, you need to understand what they dislike."
"I really like what Aunt Mito said. I think they must both have reasons to be angry at each other, so it's better if we don't stop them."
Gon said seriously.
"That's right, at times like this, it's better to let them fight it out!"
Mika strongly agreed with Gon's thoughts.
After all, isn't friendship between men often born from quarrels?
When Mika led Airmid and Mellie to the deck, the sky that had returned to calm once again turned black.
Fierce winds and heavy rain once again swept across this sea area.
And in such an environment, neither Kurapika nor Leorio showed any sign of being affected. They stared straight at each other and drew their weapons in succession.
But just then, a mast on the ship was suddenly broken by the wind, and with the added force of the gale, it struck a crew member.
"Watch out!"
Mika, who had been watching Kurapika and Leorio, quickly shouted out after hearing the sound of wood breaking.
But this didn't prevent the incident from happening.
Struck by the wood, the crew member was immediately flung towards the outside of the ship.
"Mellie! Rope!"
"Got it!"
Hearing Mika's reminder, Mellie immediately threw the rope on the ground to Mika.
Seeing the crew member flying off the deck, everyone present rushed towards him.
Watching Gon sprinting rapidly towards the crew member, Mika swung the rope in his hand, looping it around Gon.
As Gon grabbed the feet of the crew member who was about to fall into the water, his own feet, also flying off the deck, were grabbed by Kurapika and Leorio.
With Mika's rope added, Gon was now completely safe.
"Too reckless!"
"If we hadn't grabbed your feet, you would have been lost at sea!"
"But, you did grab them, didn't you?"
Looking at the three 'conversing' in the corner, Mika called out with a smile: "Hey, if you want to scold him, shouldn't you wait until we're back in the cabin? It's very dangerous out here right now!"
Hearing Mika's call, the three looked at each other and then returned to the cabin.
After this joint effort, the relationship between Kurapika and Leorio also eased.
Recognizing their mistakes, both apologized to each other.
Thus, Mika, Gon, and the other four also became more familiar with each other.
Of course, most importantly, the six of them gained the captain's approval, and he decided to personally take them to the nearest port.
"With this, the first stage of the Hunter Exam can be considered passed."
Lying on Airmid's lap, Mika pondered silently.
To learn Nen ability, the Hunter Exam wasn't the only path, but for now, it was the simplest one.
Familiar with the plot, Mika knew clearly that this Hunter Exam, due to Chairman Netero's involvement, would become the exam with the highest number of admissions.
With their abilities, as long as they participated in this exam step by step, they would surely pass.
Mika had this confidence.
Of course, this didn't mean that participating in the Hunter Exam would be without any danger.
In this exam, there were still two extremely dangerous individuals.
They were Hisoka from the Phantom Troupe and Illumi Zoldyck from the assassin family.
Both of them are very powerful Nen users!!