'Why did I have that dream... I've never even met Hisoka?'
'Could it be a prophetic dream? Should I go hunt down Hisoka in advance...'
(At this moment, a distant Hisoka, who was taking a bath, frowned, feeling a sense of unease.)
Dia frowned. Hisoka was a rare combat master in the world of Hunter x Hunter who had become a top-tier expert solely through his fighting skills.
To defeat him, whether in a frontal battle or a surprise encounter, was a fool's dream for him right now.
But Hisoka had a flaw: he liked to hold back at the beginning of a fight, toying with weaker opponents before getting serious.
This personality, combined with the fact that he wasn't a defense-oriented Enhancer, made Dia believe that as long as [The World]'s ability wasn't exposed, he would have a chance to kill him on their first encounter if he was well-prepared.
'Wait... [The World]?'
Dia suddenly remembered that he had also dreamed of [The World] at that time. A certain premonition suddenly arose in his heart!
The content of that dream was probably not important. What was important was the appearance of [The World] at that time!
Dia was just about to summon [The World] to check it out when he quickly glanced at Cheadle beside him.
That's right, although Cheadle couldn't see the Stand, if Dia started to inspect [The World], Cheadle would still be able to see his movements.
This strange glance was precisely caught by Cheadle.
Hmm? Why is this kid looking at me?
Cheadle frowned, realizing that she couldn't let the atmosphere remain so silent:
"You've rested enough, haven't you? If you have, then come with me to the dojo on the top floor. Today is the first lesson of your Nen training!"
After speaking, she decisively stood up, without any hesitation.
When it came to business, Cheadle immediately entered her usual swift and decisive state.
Seeing this, Dia also prepared to get up, but suddenly he seemed to see something. He paused for a moment, then followed behind Cheadle as if nothing had happened.
Only, from an angle that Cheadle couldn't see, Dia silently made a subtle swallowing motion.
And at this moment, the piece of Nebula Lava Cake on the table, which Cheadle had originally intended to save for her dinner, a recipe she had learned from a Gourmet Hunter, had disappeared.
On the top floor of the Hunter Association, inside the Chairman's dojo.
Dia was quietly holding a horse stance, his eyes closed, as if feeling the aura on his body, but in his mind, he was thinking:
'As expected, my [The World] is an invincible Stand!'
At this moment, to Dia's side, [The World], with its explosive muscles, golden armor, and golden mask, floated quietly.
It was once covered in cracks, like fragile porcelain, but now [The World] seemed to have been affected by Dia's awakening of Nen, and the cracks all over its body were slowly disappearing!
It probably wouldn't even take three days for it to be fully repaired.
The dream he had today was probably caused by the mental fluctuations during the Stand's repair.
And just now, after Dia's test, [The World]'s time stop duration had reached an astonishing 1 second.
It was important to know that in a battle between masters, one second was a decisive advantage!
When the time stop could reach 5 seconds, or even 9 seconds...
"Alright, let's begin."
A voice pulled Dia out of his daydream. He opened his eyes and saw that Cheadle had already changed her clothes and was standing in front of him.
Her original outfit was obviously not suitable for combat, so Cheadle had taken off her hat, the decorative dog ears, and other useless things, and even threw away the large, round-framed glasses.
That's right, they were actually non-prescription glasses; Cheadle was not nearsighted.
She then changed into a well-fitting, exquisite, handmade white training uniform, and tied up her long green hair into a simple high ponytail, instantly appearing飒爽 and heroic.
Dia solemnly said, "Yes!" and then waited for Cheadle's instructions.
"Then let's start from the basics. The most basic four..."
Cheadle stopped mid-sentence, suddenly stunned. Her nose twitched twice, as if she smelled something familiar.
When she realized the smell was coming from Dia, she suddenly realized something, and her eyes narrowed.
She calmly changed her words:
"Let's start with the most basic impact resistance training. Maintain [Ten] and defend with [Gyo]!"
Eh? That's not right, is it?
Seeing her suddenly change her words, Dia was about to say something when he saw that Cheadle had already activated [Ren], her aura surging!
Cheadle focused and bent her knees, her legs exploding with terrifying power as she shot out like an arrow from a bow!
Dia only saw a blur. The next moment, Cheadle had already appeared in front of him, a left jab striking out like a venomous snake's tongue, coming at him from a tricky angle!
This speed! I can't dodge it!
Dia almost instinctively activated his Ripple Breathing to prepare to take it head-on—suddenly he remembered, he should be activating [Gyo]!
It's too late, let's activate both. Dia gritted his teeth and lowered his center of gravity.
Pfft!
With a sound like leather hitting the ground, the fist accurately struck Dia's left arm. The immense force sent him flying sideways, his feet leaving long marks on the floor.
Incredibly!
It doesn't hurt that much?
Dia was stunned. His left arm, covered by both the Ripple and [Gyo], felt completely uninjured!
Cheadle was also stunned. Of course, she hadn't used her full strength in that punch. In fact, with the intention of testing the kid, she had only used about thirty percent of her power, but it shouldn't have been blocked so easily.
But when she noticed the conspicuous golden electric current, she immediately understood what had happened.
Cheadle was now at ease, a mischievous smile identical to Netero's appearing on her face:
"The Ripple, is it? Then I don't have to worry about hurting you, do I, Dia-kun!"
Before she could finish, Cheadle's figure had already shot out, her turquoise pupils fixed on Dia like a hawk's!
This time, the speed was even faster than before!
Before Dia could react, a simple and unadorned heavy right punch came straight for his abdomen.
Bang!
This time, he really felt the pain. Dia almost threw up the cake he had just sneakily eaten.
Cheadle gave him no time to rest. Left jab, right straight, left hook—the combination punches flowed like water, so fast there was almost no pause, the movements as smooth as a high-speed precision instrument.
Pfft! Whack! Pfft! Sweat flew through the air in fine arcs.
Dia could only instinctively activate [Gyo] and use the Ripple to protect his vitals—because he couldn't see the trajectory of the punches at all!
Although Cheadle was evaluated by Pariston in the original work as "lacking in martial prowess," it now seemed that was only in comparison to top-tier experts.
A storm of punches rained down on Dia, forcing him to stumble back, like a tree about to be broken by a gale, only able to raise his arms to defend himself with the residual consciousness awakened by the pain.
But he didn't give up, because he knew that pain tolerance was indeed a necessary ability for the strong. Dia gritted his teeth, raised his arms, and held on, not letting himself be knocked down.
He didn't know how long it had been. Ten minutes, or half an hour.
The more Cheadle fought, the more surprised she felt. This kid was too tough.
In fact, the pain-reducing ability of the Ripple was too insane. Although only a few vital points were covered by the Ripple, it had allowed Dia to hold on until now.
Dia, who was like a candle in the wind, suddenly felt his ears go quiet, and everything around him slowed down.
He saw it clearly.
The sweat falling in mid-air, the drops of blood he spat out, the long green hair dancing in the air, and Cheadle's serious and focused eyes.
And that powerful uppercut, rising from below, tearing through the viscous air!
'It's impact resistance training, but it doesn't say I can't counterattack...'
Dia, whose subjective time was compressed to the limit, caught a minuscule gap in Cheadle's power-up—an almost instinctive movement suddenly erupted!
He swayed his body slightly, and instead of retreating, he advanced. He spread his arms to parry the uppercut, maintained a headbutt posture, and charged forward, his undefended head aiming for Cheadle's unsuspecting face!
This was the bullet time he had brought from the JoJo world. In a very short period of time, he had completed the process from dodging the attack to launching a counterattack!
'Let's call this move "Head to Face"!'
Cheadle hadn't expected Dia to still have the strength to dodge an attack, let alone launch a counterattack.
Seeing a head charging towards her face, Cheadle felt Dia's strong desire to counterattack!
What a persistent kid.
But, muda da (it's useless)!!
Cheadle forcefully reined in her power, and with the speed of lightning, she threw her head back and then slammed it down!
Bang!
Cheadle's forehead slammed hard against Dia's head!
Splat!
After a loud noise, Dia was splayed out, face down on the floor, like a fly squashed by a fly swatter.
Dia Diego, unable to get up again