Ten blades surrounded him. A whirlwind of steel.
Ryker was forced back a step, but his expression remained calm.
The next mont, nchi's barrage intensified. But just as she prepared to overwhelm him, Ryker's left hand shot into the curtain of blades.
"Ah! You're crazy! Careful!" nchi gasped.
She had wanted to teach him a lesson, not maim a candidate before the Chairman's review. Instinctively, she dismissed the Conjured blades to avoid slicing his hand off.
But Ryker didn't stop. He ignored the vanishing aura and grabbed the real knife—the one nchi was holding in her right hand.
Clack.
With a twist of his wrist, he disard her. In the sa motion, he spun behind her, pressing the flat of his own fillet knife against her throat.
A single drop of blood beaded on her skin.
Silence.
The courtyard was frozen. Even the wind seed to stop.
nchi's mind went blank.
She had lost.
Not in cooking. In combat.
To a candidate.
He had reached through her Hundred-Blossom Blade Wheel and disard her. It was humiliation absolute.
[You have defeated Examiner nchi.]
[Rolling for Copy (10%)... Success!]
[Acquired: [Nen: Hundred-Blossom Blade Wheel (Conjuration)] (Blue).]
[System Note: Fusing trait... Knowledge acquired.]
Perfect.
Ryker felt the knowledge settle in his mind. The ability to conjure multiple blades, control them telekinetically, and form defensive periters.
He had it. His first real Nen ability.
Now, he just needed to open his aura nodes to use it.
"nchi..."
High in a tree, Satotz lowered his binoculars, stunned. Of the three examiners, nchi was arguably the most combat-proficient. And she had just been dismantled.
"This fruit..." Hisoka murmured, his eyes narrowing. "Just for a second... I felt Nen."
It was faint, but unmistakable. Ryker had used sothing beyond physical strength.
"HAHAHAHA! Well now, isn't this strict?"
A voice bood from the sky.
Everyone looked up. A massive airship emblazoned with the Hunter Association logo descended through the clouds.
"The Selection Committee?" soone whispered.
Before the airship even landed, a figure jumped from the open bay door.
He was hundreds of ters in the air.
BOOM.
He hit the ground like a teor, but the dust cloud was surprisingly small. As it cleared, an old man stood there. He wore a simple kimono, wooden geta sandals, and had earlobes stretched long with age. His topknot was white, but his eyes were sharp as a hawk's.
Isaac Netero. The Chairman.
"That old man... he jumped from 300 ters and didn't break a leg?"
"Monster."
"Is he human?"
The candidates parted, forming a circle around the legend.
"nchi held back," Netero said, walking up to Ryker with a smile. "But to defeat an examiner is still impressive. Young man, put the knife away."
He reached out and pinched Ryker's blade.
Ryker blinked.
He hadn't seen the movent. One second Netero was walking; the next, he was holding the knife. It was a glitch in reality.
Fast. Impossibly fast.
Ryker released the knife. "Self-defense, Chairman. No offense intended."
"I hate this kid," nchi muttered, rubbing her neck. But the taste of Nine-Turn Intestines still lingered in her mory, fueling her rage.
"Hahaha! A polite young man!" Netero laughed, his eyes scanning Ryker.
Ryker scanned him back.
Na: Isaac Netero
Traits: [Martial Arts Pinnacle] (Black), [Nen Grandmaster] (Red), [Taijutsu Grandmaster] (Red), [Absolute Will] (Red), [Justice] (Gold), [Lust] (Purple)...
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