Are You Ready, Feitan?

Before the mountain of trash, a fair-skinned, black-haired boy dressed in coarse hemp clothing faced Feitan from a distance.

The boy was, of course, Ian.

Hearing Feitan's words, a smile appeared on his face, and he said with a smile,

"Don't misunderstand. I just couldn't quite contain my excitement at meeting someone with a talent for Nen Abilities..."

"Ian, are you going to fight?"

"Hey, Ian, I told you, as long as I'm alive, I won't let anyone hurt you!"

Beside Ian, Uvogin glanced over everyone present, then looked at him seriously and shouted.

Machi had also come to Ian's side. Though she said nothing, her guarded stance spoke for itself.

Ian was gratified by his companions' concern, but he couldn't help giving an awkward smile.

"I might not be that strong, but you don't have to treat me like a protected animal."

"But..."

Though the others said nothing, the worry they showed was the same.

After all, they had never seen Ian fight.

Although Ian had taught them about Nen and possessed all sorts of magical gadgets, force of habit still led them to think in terms of the most basic kind of combat: violence.

They were afraid Ian would get hurt in the fight.

"Besides, his objective is clear enough..."

"As the one who first proposed leaving Meteor City, I don't want to be treated like a spineless coward. If that happened, I'm afraid no amount of talk could make up for acting weak!"

Ian looked at the others, and Machi, Uvogin, and the rest fell silent.

They understood that they couldn't stop Ian from carrying out his decision.

"Hmph. You've got some backbone, at least. I won't lie to you: I have indeed mastered the power you call Nen Ability..."

A short distance away, Feitan raised his arm and slowly clenched his fist.

Feeling the power welling up in his hand, he revealed his fascination with it and sneered.

"Let me make one thing clear: I won't hold back in a fight!"

Ian made no comment on his words, merely saying with a smile,

"I haven't sunk so low as to beg my opponent for mercy..."

Ian slowly stepped forward, speaking as he walked.

"If you can, come at me with everything you've got..."

"I don't have much fighting experience, but I do know a thing or two about fights between Nen users..."

As his words fell,

Both Chrollo's side and Uvogin's group watched the two facing off with tense gazes.

"Hmph! I hope you can stay this calm when I knock your teeth out!"

Feitan sneered, then bent his knees slightly.

"Boom!"

In an instant, tremendous force erupted beneath his feet, kicking up a cloud of dust from the ground.

The distance of nearly thirty meters

vanished in the blink of an eye!

A black shadow flashed past, and Feitan's lean but powerful body appeared in front of Ian.

His face was stern as he threw a punch with his right hand, driving it straight at Ian's face!

The air even whistled briefly as his fist cut through it.

"Ian!"

Uvogin, Machi, and the others cried out in alarm.

Even they hadn't expected Feitan to unleash such speed, moving almost too fast for the naked eye to follow.

They all feared Ian wouldn't be able to withstand this straightforward opening attack!

Ian, standing in the arena, was indeed a little surprised.

So fast!

As expected of Feitan. He's only just learned Nen, yet he can already use it skillfully in combat.

The boost Nen gives his speed alone has probably made him more than five times faster than an ordinary person.

But...

Ian had absolute confidence in his total amount of Nen.

Since coming to this world, even though he only used Ten and had yet to learn Ren, which distributed the amount of Nen,

the Ten formed by his present aura output alone was enough to withstand most attacks.

It was just like how Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva struck Meruem again and again at a speed surpassing the material world, yet still couldn't inflict a fatal wound on him.

It all came down to Meruem's aura output, which was dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary Nen user.

The strange and varied abilities of Nen users were what allowed them to fight opponents above their level.

But when the difference in their amounts of Nen exceeded tenfold, the gap between them was already almost insurmountable, not something that could be easily overcome with skill and willpower...

Unless it was someone as exceptionally gifted as Gon,

who used the power of Restriction and Vow, paying an unimaginably heavy price for the brief use of the physique and amount of Nen his future self would possess after countless trials.

At that moment,

as Feitan swung his fist hard at Ian, under everyone's astonished gazes,

Ian's eyes shifted slightly. Rather than dodge, he raised a hand in front of himself, quickly assuming a defensive stance.

"Bang!"

The heavy punch slammed into Ian's forearm.

But the next moment,

Ian couldn't help the slight upturn of his lips.

Just as he had thought, his amount of Nen was enough to keep him safe.

Feitan, just inches away, showed a flicker of astonishment. The sensation in his fist made his expression turn ugly.

Damn it!

Is this guy made of stone?

Feitan felt as though he had punched a rock, unable to budge his opponent in the slightest.

But Feitan was, after all, an experienced fighter.

In an instant!

He quickly changed his move, sharply hooking the toes of his right foot upward.

Pivoting on his left leg, he spun with a sudden burst of force. As he pulled back his fist, his hooked right foot stabbed viciously toward Ian's temple like a dagger!

It all happened in a flash, too quickly for anyone to react.

Even Ian, who had just blocked Feitan's attack, was startled by the relentless succession of blows!

Too close!

Ian's eyes narrowed!

"Boom!"

He swung his elbow down like a blade, smashing it into Feitan's toes!

With a dull, heavy thud, both men took a step back.

Feitan's face was expressionless as he flexed his toes almost imperceptibly. That brief collision had left them numb!

"You bastard!"

In the distance, Uvogin was furious. Seeing that Feitan was really striking hard, he was itching to go up and beat him!

"Stop, Uvogin!"

But just then, Ian's calm voice rang out across the arena.

Ian rubbed his elbow joint, his expression calm.

"I'm fine... the fight has only just begun..."

He was unruffled inside.

His opponent's attacks had come so thick and fast that he had struggled to keep up.

If he hadn't reacted quickly, he would have almost fallen for his opponent's move.

Only after that heavy collision did it gradually begin to feel real to him that he was indeed living in the Hunter World.

Living in the Hunter World, fighting and getting hurt were bound to be unavoidable.

Gon, Hisoka, Killua—which of them hadn't been beaten black and blue...?

Though his four-dimensional magical gadgets could give him many advantages and let him seize the initiative, he still couldn't completely avoid the reality of fighting.

Although he had gained a Nen Ability in this life,

Ian was also well aware that he didn't have much fighting experience.

His previous life had been in a society governed by law, where not only was "combat" far removed from ordinary people,

but many had probably even forgotten what it was like to get into a fight...

Here, however, fights where a disagreement could cost someone their life were the norm. If he couldn't adapt, he would very likely be eliminated.

"A very good combination of attacks, Feitan. I have to admit, I still have a lot to learn about fighting..."

After evading Feitan's attack, Ian quickly stepped back a few paces and spoke, his eyes fixed on his opponent.

"Tch!"

"You're not bad yourself. Didn't think you'd be so tough!"

"Otherwise, I should've knocked you down with that first move!"

Feitan sneered, his eyes filled only with the vicious desire to keep fighting as he continued coldly,

"But you dared to fight me without a shred of combat experience. I don't care how you brainwashed that idiot Uvogin; I don't know the meaning of holding back!"

Ian smiled at that and said,

"You're right. Jumping straight into such an intense fight without ever learning any combat techniques was impulsive of me..."

"But I did get something out of it."

"At least I understand how ridiculous it was to think I could master the essence of combat just by watching some fighting videos. I probably won't make such a basic mistake again..."

"Now then, Feitan, let's begin a fight that truly belongs to Nen users..."

A smile slowly spread across Ian's lips. He raised his left hand, seemingly summoning a suited mechanical doll out of thin air, while his right hand flicked a coin.

In the distance, for some reason, Feitan felt a pang of panic at the sight.

Stop him... I have to stop him!

"Are you ready to play a wrestling game, Feitan?"