Chapter 61: Simple and Direct

Facing Heather's provocation, Pariston remained entirely unmoved, his feet planted as firmly as the roots of an ancient tree.

When it came to pure combat capability, Pariston was no match for Heather, a fact he was well aware of. However, anyone familiar with him knew that Pariston’s true terror had never lain in his physical might, but rather in his strategic intellect and his unique mindset.

To use a more familiar example, Pariston was much like the DC Comics arch-villain the Joker—handsome in appearance, yet possessing a terrifying rationality that perfectly commanded a completely mad psyche.

"Mr. Heather, if you continue to act so recklessly, I will genuinely be forced to exercise my authority as Vice-Chairman to revoke your eligibility for the examination. Please do not compound your mistakes. Life is precious, whether it belongs to you or to others."

Pariston stood his ground, speaking with casual eloquence while completely ignoring the increasingly oppressive and murderous atmosphere in the air.

Meanwhile, Killua and Solino were already drenched in cold sweat. Killua’s mind, in particular, was continuously screaming warnings at his body to flee. Yet he desperately wanted to stay; in order to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Gon, he had to secure this Hunter License no matter what!

The scene in the underground parking garage suddenly took on a bizarre appearance—

All around lay unconscious, fallen candidates. Two figures sat near the wall, two stood firmly in the center of the corpse-littered ground, and another cowered in a distant corner.

As for who bore the greatest pressure, there was no doubt it was Miki Shintaro, who sat rigid as a board right beside Heather.

Before his transmigration, he had been an exercise-avoidant otaku. Pushing himself to train bitterly for three months under the stress of an unfamiliar environment had already been his absolute limit. Now, not only had his arm been severed by the Demon King, but he was also being blasted at point-blank range by Heather's intense killing intent and formidable Nen. Coupled with the high-pitched alarms constantly blaring inside his head from the *Nen Ability Training Manual*, Miki Shintaro was truly on the verge of breaking.

Heather, too, was growing impatient. Since the other party refused to make the first move, he would simply have to take the initiative.

With a swift twist of his wrist, he snapped Miki Shintaro's neck, then rose to his feet.

As Heather stood, the previously quiet *En*, which had taken the shape of a thousand weapons, instantly boiled and surged, radiating outward in all directions.

Caught within the range of the *En*, Solino could no longer bear the pressure and took several unsteady steps backward. As a rare Specialist holding a dual ability, he usually considered himself part of the elite "association specialists," brimming with an innate arrogance. Across the entire world, there were fewer than ten ability holders he deemed worthy of his respect. Even Pariston was, in Solino's eyes, merely an opportunist adept at scheming and calculation, fortunate enough to have been noticed and promoted by Netero to the position of Vice-Chairman, thereby winning undeserved praise from the world.

Yet today, at this very moment, Solino felt a profound sense of self-doubt. Just how old was this punk, yet he possessed a Nen as vast and bottomless as an abyss? Had his own eleven years of bitter training all gone to waste? Solino, who normally prided himself as a genius among geniuses and looked down upon everyone else, realized today that he didn't even possess the qualifications to make his opponent look him in the eye!

At this moment, Heather truly paid little heed to Solino. Most of his attention was locked onto Pariston. The *En*, which could easily have expanded to a range of five hundred meters, retracted to two hundred meters, concentrating its dense Nen so that it washed directly over Pariston's body.

With every step Heather took, his Nen grew a fraction stronger. Solino no longer dared to use his naked eyes to gauge the intensity of Heather's Nen, terrified that his eyeballs would burst in the very next second.

Ding—

Just as the tension reached a breaking point, the elevator doors opened once more.

Isaac Netero, the Chairman of the Hunter Association, stepped out first, stroking his beard with a jovial chuckle. Two figures followed closely behind him out of the elevator.

Leading them was a tall man wearing a black-and-white patterned suit and a fedora, with a black ring circling his left eye. He was Mizaistor Nana, the "Ox" of the Zodiacs, a two-star Crime Hunter holding special investigative authority.

Behind him was a petite, robe-wearing woman with green hair. Her face had clearly undergone cosmetic surgery, leaving her with a nose and mouth strikingly similar to a hound's. She was Cheadle Yorkshire, the "Dog" of the Zodiacs, a world-renowned physician and three-star Disease Hunter.

Among the Zodiacs, both of these individuals were renowned moderates, fiercely loyal followers devoted to Chairman Netero, and powerful Nen users whose strengths were fully acknowledged by the Chairman.

"Ho ho ho... Such a stifling and tense atmosphere. Anyone unaware might mistake this place for an ancient gladiatorial arena rather than a Hunter Examination site."

Stroke his long beard, Chairman Netero wore a beaming smile as he looked around. "Pariston, looks like you've hit a wall this time, eh?"

"I still maintain my stance, but since you have arrived, Chairman, the command of the site and the disposal of candidate Heather are entirely up to you."

Pariston gave a slight bow, stepping aside to clear the path.

Heather also halted his stride, his hands hanging loosely at his sides as he watched Chairman Netero approach, remaining primed for action.

To his surprise, he hadn't expected to encounter Isaac Netero, hailed as the "Strongest Nen User in the World," quite so soon. Heather had to admit his original plan had been disrupted. However, plans were inherently meant to be adapted. If Plan A failed, he would simply switch to Plan B or Plan C... It merely meant shortening the steps and advancing the timeline of his ascent to become the "Strongest Nen User in the World" by a few months. It was no great matter.

Netero stopped about fifty meters away from Heather and looked him up and down intently. "My, what a remarkably handsome and talented young man. It reminds me of my own youth—just as dashing."

"Do find a mirror, place your hand over your conscience, and tell me that with a straight face, will you?" Heather curled his lip. Old man, did you really think I hadn't read the manga and had no idea what you looked like when you were young?

"Ho ho ho, what a merciless remark." Netero didn't take offense, chuckling as he surveyed the surroundings once more. "Most of the candidates have been knocked out, leaving only three. The examiner didn't know what to do and called me. Since I happened to be nearby, I came to take a look, and I certainly found an interesting young man. Well then, candidate Heather, do you intend to continue participating in the examination?"

"Even if I were to kill the candidate beside me right now, you wouldn't stop me?" Heather made no attempt to conceal his murderous intent.

"Strictly speaking, aside from the prohibition against attacking examiners, the Hunter Examination does not require us to prevent or hold anyone accountable for bloodshed among candidates. Since that candidate by your side voluntarily entered the Hunter Examination, it is only to be expected if he loses his life to another participant."

Netero raised an eyebrow. "I believe such an examination is precisely what maximizes a candidate's potential and self-awareness—allowing them to clearly recognize their own strengths and weaknesses during the trial, understand what they truly desire, and continuously temper their skills in the crucible of life and death. Don't you find that fascinating?"

*The Chairman's warped sense of humor...* everyone present thought inwardly, groaning in unison.

"It certainly is fascinating, but whether or not I pass the Hunter Examination isn't all that important to me anymore."

The *En*, which had previously spread outward resembling a thousand weapons, retracted inward. The Nen grew denser and more solid, ultimately forming a layer of blazing, flame-like aura enveloping Heather's entire body. Then, it erupted into a violent, churning mass of tempestuous energy, with radial electric sparks formed of Nen faintly flickering around him.

For the first time, Heather unleashed *Ren* in earnest!

The corners of his mouth slowly curved upward as he spoke in a soft, steady tone:

"Let's have a match, Isaac Netero—wagered upon the title of the 'Strongest Nen User in the World'!"