Passing through the dimly lit small room again on his way back to the ancient castle,
he paused momentarily, listening to the faint sound of snoring inside, recalling that last night he had left two dream paths unexplored. One was his mother, Killua, and the other, most likely, was his great-grandfather, Maha.
Grandfather Zeno was out on a mission and hadn't returned all night, so it couldn't be him... Roy straightened up and peered through a corner of the window, seeing the old man sleeping soundly under a blanket, he lightly took a breath and quietly left,
Back in the bedroom, he took off his coat and immediately headed to the bathroom.
It's time to level up.
Last night, after killing Akaza and Nightmare, and dealing with two Lower Moons, his already depleted "Life Energy" rose again to 190, plus the daily contribution of the "Sun Breathing" which added one point to his "Constitution"....
Roy leaned against the wall, took a deep breath, braced himself mentally, and with a thought, the panel promptly popped up to indicate...
["Life Energy" emptied... Congratulations host "Constitution" +191...]
[Current Constitution: 438.4→629.4 (Note: the average human is 1)]
[Manifested Nen Amount: C- (3950/100000→17854/100000) (Note: rating based on ants. Elite Squad Leader is D, Master General is C, Three Guards are B, Ant King B+)]
[Potential Qi Amount: C (48651/100000→68741/100000)]
Following the process, a muffled sound escaped his lips as his ten fingers dug into the wall. It took a good while for him to snap out of it, and he felt the power constantly surging from inside out!
"Tap...Tap...Tap.... " With a simple joint movement, Roy's new body emitted a series of continuous sounds... He raised his eyes to look at himself in the mirror. Neither his height nor his physique showed noticeable changes due to this leveling up, but the power... had undeniably increased significantly!
This was evident from his attempt to turn on the shower for a quick rinse to wash off dirt, unintentionally snapping off the handle in a move....
"Clatter~" The handle dropped to the ground.
From outside came a shout: "Young Master, what happened?"
The young butler, pushing a food cart as usual, arrived on time. Hearing the noise, he asked.
A metal handle flew straight towards him, and he intercepted it with a steady catch.
"The handle broke, call someone to replace it later." Roy emerged wrapped in a towel, grabbed a steaming beef burger, and took a fierce bite, letting the juices explode in his mouth.
"Yes." Wutong nodded, casually pocketing the handle while attending to Roy's meal, and said: "I've already instructed the kitchen to buy the ingredients for the dishes you asked for yesterday; they'll be ready before afternoon."
Old Master was clamoring for stir-fry. Roy took this opportunity to tweak his own taste, reached out a hand, opened the drawer, and took out the strategy guide handed by his father, Silva, spreading it open for a detailed look while eating, and instructed Wutong: "Go back and tell Haseki Dorou to pack up his things. We'll head to Meteor Street in a few days."
"What are we going there for?"
"Charity."
"Can he manage?"
"Do you think he can?" Roy looked up at him...
Wutong frowned, carefully picking his words: "Out of the Four Major Principles, he has learned [Ten]and[Zetsu], but hasn't mastered [Ren]and [Hatsu] yet. If Young Master plans to send him alone to such a place...."
Wutong pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, truthfully stating: "Handling small fry is no problem, but if he encounters seasoned "Nen users", he might struggle."
"Are you protecting him?" Roy smiled.
Wutong: "No, I'm just stating the facts."
The young butler spoke seriously: "He can die, but he can't ruin Young Master's mission!"
"Hmm..." Roy washed down the burger with milk, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and ambiguously said: "Since you've mentioned it, let's add another person."
"Who?"
"Me."
Roy grinned at Wutong: "Book two tickets to Meteor Street. A week later, I want to stand on that land!"
Two tickets?
Wutong's face turned pale, asking carefully: "You're not planning to take me, Young Master?"
That Haseki Dorou just arrived a few days ago, how could he deserve to travel alone with Young Master?!
'In hindsight... I should have just killed him directly at Heavens Arena back then!'
Thoughts burst, heart tumultuous... At that moment, a warm hand patted Wutong's back, reassuringly saying: "Don't overthink."
The butler snapped back, seeing the youth wink at him: "I'm not going, the other 'me' is."
Wutong: "..."
Stunned,
his mind grew even more chaotic....
Roy saw this and said no more, concerning the "Doppelganger", Wutong will understand in time.
He simply left him alone to tidy up the messy table, exited, and headed towards the training room.
As the morning sun jumped over the horizon, casting a myriad of dawn colors, in the just warm yet still cold early spring, it felt pleasantly warm on the face.
Roy walked leisurely with hands in pockets through the ancient castle's mottled corridors, looking through the window... Silva was supporting Killua, eating breakfast leisurely, and strolling in the garden,
The youth paused, recalling the loving man from last night's dream, his gaze capturing Silva's keen attention.
He looked back indifferently: "Something the matter?"
"Nothing."
Talking about "face", "proactiveness", "solace"... 'Don't I deserve face?'
Roy turned and walked away, soon disappearing into the shadow of the corridor, leaving without taking any part of the dawn.
Silva frowned,
Killua held his arm, leaning most of her body on him, asking: "What's wrong?"
The man lightly shook his head, remained silent, just quietly watched the youth leave, turned, and continued leisurely strolling in the garden with Killua.