Chapter 3: This is Too Interesting!
In his previous life, when Orson was stuck at home and extremely bored, he had binge-watched dramas and anime series. Naturally, he wouldn't have missed a classic, epic, yet notoriously unfinished series like Hunter x Hunter. Therefore, he remembered the relevant settings of this world view quite clearly.
In the Hunter world, everyone's body contains life energy, also known as "Aura."
Ordinary people are unaware of Aura and just let it dissipate. Those who can perceive the existence of Aura and learn to use this power are called Nen users.
Nen users, depending on their individual differences, will have abilities belonging to different categories.
Nen abilities are divided into six major types.
The identification method known as "Water Divination" involves placing a leaf on the surface of water in a cup, then bringing one's own Aura close to the cup. Based on a series of changes in the water or the leaf, a final conclusion can be drawn, as follows:
Leaf moves on the water surface → Manipulation Type
Water's color changes → Emission Type
Water volume changes → Enhancement Type
Water's color changes → Transmutation Type
Impurities appear in the water → Conjuration Type
Other changes than the above → Specialization Type
"..."
After briefly recalling this information, Orson sat up straight, looking at the cup of water placed before him with a leaf floating motionlessly on its surface. He extended his hands.
The large tiger crossed its front paws and lay down beside him. Being inside the ship's cabin, the glow from its fur patterns was somewhat dim. The tiger yawned, tilted its head, and looked at this human cub, not quite understanding what he was doing. Why isn't he drinking the water? What's he doing just looking at it?
Orson naturally didn't know what the large tiger beside him was thinking; he was concentrating on mobilizing his "Aura." Probably thanks to having already used his Nen ability a few times, even though his fundamentals were practically zero, he quickly sensed his Nen aura and successfully gathered it in his palms, moving them towards the cup of water.
Then, the leaf, originally motionless on the water's surface, slowly began to move…
Sure enough, I'm a Manipulation type.
Orson had already anticipated this, so he wasn't too surprised.
The six major types of Nen, if systematically linked end-to-end, are in order: Manipulation → Emission → Enhancement → Transmutation → Conjuration → Specialization → Manipulation.
There's a general rule, though not always accurate, that can roughly distinguish them:
Emission, Enhancement, and Transmutation types usually rely more on conventional combat methods, such as martial arts, energy blasts, and various transformations of Nen aura properties.
Among the myriad of strange Nen abilities, there are some that, once successfully triggered, are almost rule-like and uncounterable. Such abilities are more commonly found among Manipulation, Specialization, and Conjuration types.
Among these, in the Hunter worldview, any sufficiently experienced Nen user should know: Manipulation-type Nen abilities generally have a "first move guarantees victory" effect.
That is to say, if you let a Manipulation-type enemy successfully use their ability on you, then you're directly screwed!
It was just that unfair.
Orson's rose-gold pentagram mark had this characteristic. As long as the mark was successfully placed on the target, he could control them at will.
"So, this ability of mine… Hmm, I'll think of a proper name later. For a nickname, let's call it 'Star Mark.' What are the specific conditions for activating this 'Star Mark' ability of mine?"
Orson picked up the leaf floating on the water and pondered. Just in that short time of condensing Aura, he already felt tired. It was clear how pitifully small the total amount of Nen aura was in this current body, which had never undergone physical training. No wonder activating 'Star Mark' once before had left him exhausted.
Orson shifted his gaze to the wild wolf he already controlled, looking at the small rose-gold pentagram mark on the inner part of its ear.
"Speaking of which, if I want to remove this mark, how should I…"
He reached out, his fingertip touching the rose-gold pentagram inside the wolf's ear. Instantly, the pentagram dispersed with a poof.
"Woo!"
Freed from Orson's control, the wild wolf immediately cried out in panic.
However, behind Orson, a low tiger's roar sounded immediately. The large tiger, its body covered in patterns emitting a jade-like blue-green glow, bypassed Orson and pounced, pinning the struggling, escaping wolf to the floor.
This fluorescent mega-tiger, even on all fours, stood over one and a half meters tall. Its massive, heavy body slammed down on the wolf, which had already been injured and bled for Orson, making the latter seem so weak and helpless.
"Thanks, my Tiger Bro." Orson approached the tiger's paw and patted the head of the immobilized wolf. "Stop your yelping, I'm just running a quick test."
My Nen capacity is limited, so how can I test efficiently?
In other words, what kind of test target is the top priority?
Orson thought for a moment, took off the loose black suit he was wearing, and draped it over the wild wolf.
He plucked one of his own hairs, placed it on the wolf through the suit, then held his breath, focused, and mobilized the familiar sensation, manipulating his "Aura" to twist the hair into a pentagram shape, even pressing it down a bit onto the surface of the clothes—the ability's activation failed.
Orson could feel that this wasn't a failure due to a lack of Nen, but because the activation conditions weren't truly met.
He took a couple of breaths, rested for a moment, then removed the clothes and tossed them aside. He continued in the same fashion, using Aura to control a hair twisted into a pentagram, letting it fall onto the fur on the wolf's back—he intentionally only let the hair touch the wolf's fur, not pressing it tightly. The ability failed again.
"So, the 'pentagram' must be in tight contact with the target's 'skin' to trigger successfully? Or rather, a pentagram must be properly formed on the target's 'body surface'?" Orson mused. "So, preliminarily, the conditions for the ability are three: 1. The pentagram symbol; 2. The symbol must be in close contact with the target's body surface, not working through clothes; 3. While the first two conditions are met, my Nen aura must also cover it. All three conditions are indispensable. Only then can 'Star Mark' be successfully activated, bringing the target completely under my control…"
Orson really wanted to continue testing, but he was out of energy—thirsty, hungry, and tired.
Orson picked up the glass of water and gulped some down, then asked Tiger Bro to continue holding down the wolf.
He wandered around the cabin and found a lot of emergency food: compressed biscuits, bread, chocolate, small cakes, and the like.
Incidentally, he also found some pants and a shirt, rolled them up to a suitable length, haphazardly put them on, and found a rope to tie his waistband, so he wouldn't have to run around bare-bottomed anymore.
Thinking of the pile of gangster corpses on the shore earlier, Orson naturally wasn't worried about these foods being expired.
"Tiger Bro, you want some?"
Orson unwrapped a small cake that looked the tastiest and waved it in front of the tiger's large head.
The rare beasts of the Hunter world were indeed quite intelligent. It shook its head, lifted a paw, and pushed the small cake back, as if urging Orson to eat it quickly himself and not waste it.
As for the wild wolf, pinned under the large tiger's rear, it had no room to resist.
Honestly, although Orson was grateful for this fluorescent mega-tiger's help, he was also quite puzzled. Why was it so full of goodwill towards him? He hadn't paid any money!
Orson wolfed down the food—small cakes, chocolate, biscuits—and drank the little water left in the cup.
A quiet him, a quiet cabin; apart from the wolf's low whimpers, only the sound of Orson eating remained…
While dealing with the food and resting, Orson casually picked up the newspaper from before.
Although he couldn't read the script of the Hunter world yet, at least he could look at the pictures! There were many photos in the newspaper.
And there were also many numbers. Were these things universal across the cosmos?
Orson found amusement in his adversity, feeling quite at ease.
He saw a string of numbers in a date format under the indecipherable text of the headline news, which clearly read "1994-11-29." With a little recollection, he immediately understood his current point in time—according to the Hunter x Hunter storyline, the protagonist Gon Freecss set out to take the Hunter Exam in January of (Hunter Calendar) 1999.
In other words, it was most likely the end of 1994 in the Hunter Calendar, about four full years before the "start of the story"…
Orson's gaze lingered on a photograph in the news.
The photo seemed to have been taken by a journalist at some political event. What caught Orson's attention was one of the two people in the photo, shaking hands enthusiastically with a politician's smile. Importantly, one of the two… was a fat man. A fat man who looked somewhat simple and affable, somewhat prosperous, yet also exuded a shrewdness. More importantly, Orson thought he recognized him!
Isn't this King Kakin from the manga?
The guy whose royal family has that bizarre surname, "Hui guo rou"?
In his previous life, when Orson reread the Hunter manga, he had read up to the Dark Continent Expedition/Black Whale/Kakin Succession Contest arcs. Although he had given up on finishing it because the amount of text in that part of the manga became increasingly, absurdly overwhelming, making his head spin, he still had a strong impression of this King Kakin, who was quite important in the story at that time.
This meant he had transmigrated to the territory of the Kakin Kingdom in the Hunter world?
Thinking of the Kakin Kingdom, he couldn't help but think of Kite; thinking of Kite, he naturally thought of the Chimera Ant arc; thinking of the Chimera Ant arc…
Forget it, not thinking about it.
Bad juju! Orson tossed the newspaper aside. Feeling he had rested enough, he continued to use the wild wolf as material to test his ability.
But just then, Orson suddenly realized an anomaly he had overlooked, something that had been right under his nose until now, and he had only just noticed.
This wild wolf…
Previously, it had clearly been on the verge of death from the pack attack, down to its last breath. How was it so lively now, even without any visible major wounds on its body?
Was it because this wolf breed was superior, with strong recovery abilities, or…
Once he had an idea, Orson wanted to verify it on the spot and ran around the cabin. The head of the fluorescent mega-tiger pinning the wolf kept turning to follow him. In the end, Orson couldn't find a handy "weapon"; the kitchen knives were placed too high, and he couldn't reach them! Helplessly, Orson returned to the tiger. "Tiger Bro, I'll have to trouble you to lift your paw and give this guy a little something." He pointed at the wolf under the tiger's rear.
The large tiger didn't hesitate at all. Paw up, paw down. Amidst the wolf's慘叫, it tore a bloody gash in the wolf's neck. Warm drops of blood almost splashed onto Orson's leg.
With Tiger Bro holding it down, the wolf couldn't struggle free even in pain, let alone harm anyone.
Orson safely observed the changes in the wolf's wound from the side.
But even as the torn wound was stained dark red with blood, and the fur matted together and even coagulated, the gash showed no obvious signs of healing.
Orson, lost in thought, dipped his finger in some wolf blood, pushed aside some fur on an exposed bit of the wolf's belly, and, against its skin, managed to draw a neat pentagram with the blood.
This time, Orson didn't imbue Aura while drawing the pentagram.
Instead, after finishing the drawing, he lifted his palm, wiped his fingers, gathered his Nen aura, and smack, pressed his small palm onto the pentagram pattern.
"Star Mark" successfully activated!
A rose-gold pentagram mark thus appeared on the wolf's belly.
Hidden rule for Star Mark activation: The pentagram symbol can be prepared on the target in advance, and then I can find an opportunity to apply my Nen aura to it. It doesn't have to be simultaneous; the ability can still be successfully activated.
Orson nodded with satisfaction, then turned back to observe the bloody wound on the wolf's neck.
The wound began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye…
It was clearly an ability meant for controlling opponents and defeating them in one strike, yet it came with an unexpected, almost traitorous side effect—the one carrying the Star Mark actually possessed a powerful self-healing ability!
However, Orson felt no disappointment or dissatisfaction. Instead, a smile appeared on his face.
He nimbly dipped his finger in the remaining wolf blood again. Before drawing, he thought for a moment, then turned his back. With the aid of "Orson-wolf's" third-person perspective (referring to his ability to see through the controlled wolf, even if currently uncontrolled, or just his spatial awareness), he accurately drew a pentagram with wolf blood on the nape of his own neck. As he drew the final stroke, he gathered Nen aura at his fingertip, infusing it into the blood pattern, instantly covering the pentagram.
Instantly, a rose-gold Star Mark formed on the nape of Orson's own neck.
Perfect!
This way, don't I also possess a powerful passive self-healing skill?
Moreover, as a Manipulation-type Nen user, I've already "taken the initiative and won" by manipulating myself. This way, if I encounter other Manipulation types in the future, they won't be able to successfully manipulate me either. Completely defended!
The world of Nen abilities is truly… too interesting!
Orson was rejoicing, but just then, through the cabin's porthole, the sound of a gunshot came from afar.
Bang!…
In the silent, dark night, the gunshot sounded incredibly loud and abrupt, carried by the sea breeze, echoing for a long time.
Are there other gangsters still alive nearby?
Orson was startled.
At the same time, a strange aura, both cold and hot, drilled deep into his heart!
Orson's vision blackened in waves, and he slumped softly towards the fluorescent mega-tiger…