After the events of breakfast, Nicolas returned to his room, his mind still clouded with confusion.
As he sat down on his desk chair, he let out a heavy sigh he hadn't even realized he was holding.
The butler is clearly not someone I can joke around with… I wonder if he's a Nen user or if he just has skills sharp enough to emit that kind of aura…
Nicolas slowly opened the laptop in front of him. Since he had possessed this body, he had left it on the same page displaying information about the upcoming Hunter Exam. However, after the meal, he decided to dig through the original Nicolas's files. Thankfully, he seemed to have retained the ability to read the characters of this world.
He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but for now, this computer was the only source of information about himself and his new twisted family.
Click click.
Most of the folders he opened were either school materials or random political documents.
The real Nicolas really was a genius. The subjects he was studying were at a university level. I considered myself above average… I don't stand a chance.
After tens of minutes scrolling through the computer, nothing particularly interesting stood out, until suddenly, one folder caught his eye. Up until now, most folders had very clear names indicating their contents, but this one was simply titled "Lessons."
Nicolas clicked it immediately and discovered a multitude of documents. As he browsed through them, he quickly realized they were all assassination reports. His eyes widened slightly as he rushed to read them.
What kind of madness was an 11-year-old like Nicolas involved in?
He was somewhat relieved to find out that the contractor for these missions wasn't Nicolas himself. But that relief was short-lived. The one ordering the assassinations was none other than his father.
A drop of cold sweat ran down Nicolas's temple. As he scrolled further, he found dozens of other assassination reports, all commissioned by his own father. Each time, there were notes, undoubtedly written by the former Nicolas, analyzing the motives behind each kill. Reasons ranged from business disagreements, envy of someone's success, to minor interactions during social events.
This man is insane… he sends assassins for reasons this petty? This world truly runs on violence and power…
Finally, he reached the last document. As he read it, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper the target of the assassination was none other than Nicolas's own brother.
Nicolas felt his heart beat faster before managing to calm himself.
Reading through the notes left by the former Nicolas, he learned that his brother had tried to flee the house, terrified by their father's wish to make him a Hunter. In anger, his father had sent assassins to retrieve him, but the boy died during the mission. He even found a personal comment from Nicolas saying that his brother was a coward for abandoning his responsibilities and that his death was a natural consequence of his actions.
SLAM!
He slammed the laptop shut, his hand trembling with anger. This family was insane, and the old him had been no exception.
Regaining his composure, he sank his overweight body into the chair, his mind even more muddled than before.
For now, I'm not safe here at all. I have a few options: I could try to run away before the Hunter Exam… but then I risk being hunted down by assassins like my brother…
He immediately erased that idea from his mind. First of all, he had no clue what kind of organization his father used for these missions. Even if it wasn't the Zoldyck family, such groups surely had ways to track him down wherever he went. Plus, he didn't want to live the life of a fugitive.
Another option is to follow my father's wishes and take the Hunter Exam. It's still dangerous, but at least it buys me eight months of time enough to think of an alternative.
For now, the safest option is the Hunter Exam. Afterward, I could fake my death during the exam or join an organization, like Kurapika did… assuming I even survive the exam.
Alright. For now, I'll just play along with my father's plans, but I'll keep searching for a safer alternative to taking the Hunter Exam.
Having made his decision, his gaze dropped to his belly. For the time being, his priority was improving his chances of survival. Without hesitation, he got up from his chair and left his room, heading for the courtyard.
He warmed up slightly before starting to run. He had decided to test the limits of this body and use the opportunity to explore the area. After that, he would create a training program tailored to himself.
After just a few minutes of running, he realized that despite the way his body looked, he wasn't tired in the slightest. He decided to gradually increase the pace to push his limits.
Now that I think about it, even though he was the first to be eliminated during the Hunter Exam, he still managed to run dozens of kilometers for hours. In my old world, he would've been a top-tier athlete, but here, he's considered weak.
After running at high speed for over three hours, Nicolas finally stopped, utterly exhausted and unable to stand.
Huff huff!
Panting heavily, he reflected on the results of this endurance test. Clearly, this was one ability he needed to improve before the exam. However, simply running like this was a waste of time. He decided he would strap weights to all four limbs. It was a risky method that would put way too much strain on his joints, but this wasn't a normal world, his body would probably adapt.
Moreover, training with weights would also passively boost his strength and explosiveness at the same time.
He mentally noted to get his hands on some weights and added strength-training equipment to his mental shopping list. After all, Gon and Killua had trained like that during the Chimera Ant arc.
"I should also ask my father for a combat instructor. After all, he's the one who wants me to become a Hunter, he won't say no."
After some thought, he finally decided to have all his training requests passed on to his father.
Eventually, Nicolas sat down cross-legged. In the world of Hunter x Hunter, physical strength was just a drop in the ocean. The most important factor was undoubtedly Nen, a power that could let a weakling knock out a giant with a single slap.
In the manga, Gon and Killua's master explained there were several ways to awaken Nen. Among those, the only one currently available to Nicolas was meditation.
Even if he didn't have a teacher to guide him, and even if the task was likely to be difficult, it was the only way for him to try to access Nen, the ability that could drastically increase his chances of survival.
From what he vaguely remembered, meditation was used to open one's aura nodes, one by one, to release Nen.
Nicolas closed his eyes and tried to sink into a meditative state and locate his aura nodes.
After about two hours of fruitless meditation, Nicolas stopped. Still, he didn't get discouraged. He had already prepared himself mentally for the possibility that he didn't have genius-level talent in Nen, but he still clung to a faint hope that his possession might give him an edge.
Not everyone can have the absurd talent of Gon or Meruem…
Eventually, he returned to the mansion and paid another visit to his father, despite his disgust after the morning's discoveries. After all, he wasn't about to spit on a human wallet.
He was about to give him his "shopping list" for his training.