"It's so high!"
Zane, Gon, and the others walked to the edge of the tower's roof, looking down at the ground below.
The overall shape of Trick Tower resembled a cylindrical chimney, its height far exceeding that of most skyscrapers.
Staring at the distant ground, Leorio sucked in a breath of cold air.
"At this height, and with such smooth exterior walls, it'll be difficult to descend through conventional ans," Kurapika noted with a frown.
As if in response to his words.
Not far away, an applicant claiming to be a professional climber approached with confidence, choosing to scale down the wall directly.
Under the gaze of Zane and his group, the applicant initially seed quite capable, demonstrating impressive climbing skills.
However, after descending a short distance, a series of strange screeches echoed out.
Several giant birds with human infant faces flew in, snatching the climber away in their beaks.
"Let's look around. Since the goal is to reach the ground, there must be secret passages here on the roof," Zane said, crossing his arms as he looked away from the scene.
Leorio and the others nodded and began to scatter to search.
*Ttap, ttap, ttap...*
Zane walked across the roof. Whether it was simple luck or sothing more, before he had gone very far, the ground beneath his feet suddenly felt light.
Quickly adjusting his weight, Zane looked down and saw the floor tile beneath him beginning to flip downward.
He looked up at Gon and the others, who were still searching for an entrance.
After a brief thought, he shouted to them, "Leorio, Gon, Kurapika, Killua! I'm heading down first. Stay safe!"
With that, as the others turned toward him, Zane waved goodbye with a smile and stepped forward.
*Whoosh!*
The stone slab flipped, and Zane vanished from the rooftop.
Zane was naturally well-aware of the situation in the third phase.
However, he wasn't fixated on having to stay with Leorio and the others.
Everyone had their own adventure to experience.
Even if he wanted to look out for Leorio, he couldn't act like a nanny, following him twenty-four hours a day.
Since he had happened upon an entrance so easily, Zane decided to go ahead.
As the slab flipped, the falling Zane quickly reached the floor.
Landing in a crouch, he slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings, finding himself in a sealed stone room.
anwhile, a display screen on one of the walls showed a prompt.
'You two: from here to the finish line, you may go alone or as a pair.'
Walking to the screen, Zane stared at the text.
"Alone or as a pair... it's just an invitation for whoever enters to turn on each other," Zane mused with a playful smile.
He sat down cross-legged, looking up at the unresponsive ceiling and waiting quietly.
Resting his right elbow on his knee, Nen aura quietly gathered into a small sphere in his hand, beginning to orbit his fingers and palm.
The speed of the Nen ball's movent shifted, speeding up and slowing down, even reversing direction at tis—it moved with complete fluidity.
Ti passed. Just as Zane was about to add a second ball to increase the difficulty of his aura control, a sound suddenly ca from the ceiling.
*Whoosh!*
A stone slab in the ceiling flipped, and a figure dropped down.
Like Zane before him, the newcor landed steadily on the opposite side.
Only...
Zane looked at the person and sighed, covering his face with his left hand.
"Oh, what a coincidence!"
Hisoka looked at the cross-legged Zane. After a brief pause, he waved cheerfully.
"It certainly is. Take a look at this," Zane sighed, giving a thumbs-up toward the screen behind him without turning his head.
Hisoka looked over and imdiately saw the prompt.
"Is there even a choice? Of course I'm going with you!" Without a mont's hesitation, Hisoka made his decision, even tossing a wink at Zane.
*If I'd known, I would have been better off jumping straight off the roof.*
Zane grumbled internally at Hisoka's eccentric behavior.
He stood up.
Not wanting to waste any more words on Hisoka, Zane simply put on one of the wristwatches provided below the screen.
Hisoka didn't mind Zane's cold treatnt; he stepped forward and put on a watch as well.
*Rumble...*
Once both watches were on, a stone door in the wall slid down, revealing a dim passage.
Without wasting any ti, Zane took the lead and entered the passage.
Hisoka followed behind at a leisurely pace.
"Say, do you know what that is wrapped around your body?" Hisoka's voice echoed in the passage.
Zane didn't answer, continuing forward calmly.
This clearly didn't deter Hisoka.
When he received no response, Hisoka continued, "That is Nen. Anyone who masters this energy is known as a Nen user. Did you know..."
For the next while, Hisoka went on as if talking to himself, explaining the nature of Nen.
"Enough. I have a certain understanding of Nen. Just tell what you want," Zane finally said, stopping and turning to face him, unable to endure the rambling any longer.
Hisoka flashed a wicked smile and raised an index finger. "Nothing special. I just want to invite you to a life-or-death battle once you've fully mastered Nen."
"Oh, sure. I'll contact you when the ti cos." Zane's reaction was quite calm, accepting the challenge without hesitation.
Hisoka stared at Zane. "Your reaction is quite unexpected."
"What did you expect? Fear? Panic? Don't be ridiculous. I like fighting just as much. My only worry is that you won't be able to satisfy when the ti cos." Zane began to laugh.
Hisoka's eyes lit up.
Zane's words had struck exactly the right chord of excitent within him.
"Wonderful... your eyes truly delight . Don't worry, when that day cos, I will do my absolute best to kill you."
Zane gave him a deep look before turning back to walk away. "If you want to kill , prove it with your strength then. For now, stop bothering ."
"No problem!" Having received a satisfactory answer, Hisoka followed with a grin.
...
The passage was unexpectedly quiet.
They encountered no traps or chanisms along the way until they reached a fork in the road.
Reaching the fork, Zane and Hisoka stopped, looking at a display screen on the wall between the two paths.
It prompted them to each take a different path.
"I didn't expect us to part so soon. I thought we'd have to cooperate to overco a series of obstacles," Hisoka said, looking disappointed.
No response.
Ignoring Hisoka entirely, Zane stepped into the left passage.
Seeing this, Hisoka shrugged and turned toward the right passage.
It seed there were asures to prevent any deviation.
As soon as Zane entered the left passage, a sturdy iron gate dropped from above, sealing off the path behind him.
User Comments
0 comments from readers