Kid X Competition

Sky Arena.

Floor 163, Arena A, Contestant Lounge.

Kevin sat in the lounge, holding an encyclopedia of flora and fauna as the broadcast echoed in his ears. At the moment, he was the only one there.

A few days earlier, after successfully advancing to the 150th floor, Kevin had rested and trained for several days before returning to take part in more matches.

The lounge door was pushed open, and a new contestant walked in.

Naturally, the lounge for fighters preparing to enter the arena was not a private room.

It's him.

The one who had entered was Killua, the six-year-old contestant who had won the first match Kevin watched three months ago.

This child had left an exceptionally deep impression on Kevin.

Faced with Kevin's scrutiny, Killua, small as he was, did not even raise his head. He was long accustomed to such looks. Because of his age, he was quite well-known in this arena.

To be honest, he was already growing irritated. Because of his age, plenty of fighters could not keep their mouths shut.

Killua was young, but he did not have a good temper. Because of that, he had already crippled several contestants. The only reason no one had died was that fighters above the 150th floor were not to be underestimated, and he could not kill them in a single blow.

Thus, when arranging the schedule, as long as time allowed, they generally tried to avoid having Killua run into other contestants in the lounge.

It was just that Killua seemed to have arrived early today.

Just as Killua was ready to teach Kevin a harsh lesson if he said anything offensive, Kevin had already withdrawn his gaze.

"Hm?" This instead piqued Killua's curiosity.

He raised his head and looked at Kevin.

Kevin had returned to his previous state, holding that thick book in his hands and studying it intently.

He truly was studying. Kevin's ability to learn physical skills was lacking, but his mind was exceptionally quick, and [Moment's Dream] was closely tied to knowledge of animals, plants, and medicine. So he had no choice but to study hard.

It had been nearly half a year since he crossed into this other world, yet Kevin had not had time to enjoy life. Every day, he immersed himself in intense training and study.

Weird. That was Killua's first impression of Kevin.

After observing him carefully, Killua's brows furrowed slightly.

Born into a family of assassins, aside from assassin training and all kinds of adaptation training, the most important thing he needed was sharp eyesight.

He had to judge the gap between himself and his enemies through observation. After all, in the assassin business, one careless mistake could mean not only failing to earn money, but losing his life as well.

And now, through observation, Killua had to admit that the man before him was very strong.

Unlike the arena opponents he had encountered before, most of them were people Killua could surpass before long.

The occasional losses in battle were only because Killua did not want to get too badly hurt. If he could not end things quickly, he generally surrendered outright.

But the man before him made a sense of fear rise from the depths of Killua's heart. That feeling... was like facing his older brother, though much weaker.

Thinking of his older brother made Killua irritated. His family situation was rather complicated, and what he felt toward his brother was mostly dislike.

Kevin shifted his gaze away from the book, meeting Killua's eyes.

"You're Killua, right?"

"Yeah." Killua gave a rare response and nodded.

Suddenly, a brilliant smile bloomed across Kevin's face as he asked calmly, "Want to spar and train with me sometime later?"

"What?" Killua looked puzzled.

"I've watched you fight. You may only be six, but your combat skills are extremely solid. When I was your age, I was still playing in the mud behind other kids." Kevin smiled, his words full of praise for Killua.

Clearly, Kevin's words pleased Killua. He showed a smug smile, but quickly retorted, "Seven. I'm already seven."

"Haha, is that so? Then congratulations on growing another year older." So that's what this little guy cares about. He really is still a kid.

After that brief exchange, Killua was quite pleased with Kevin, and his attitude noticeably softened.

"So? What do you think?"

Kevin truly meant it. He had seen Killua fight, and the boy's combat skills were genuinely impressive. To put it bluntly, he was stronger than the vast majority of people in the arena.

It was only because of his age that Killua lacked strength, limiting his destructive power. He could often strike his opponent's vital spots, yet lacked the force to inflict a lethal blow.

Considering his age, what he had achieved was already remarkable.

"How about this? I'll be your punching bag and sparring partner. I guarantee I won't hit back. What do you say?" Kevin offered an even more tempting condition.

However, those words seemed to hit Killua's sore spot.

Killua's face instantly darkened as he snapped angrily, "Hah! You think I can't beat you?"

A child's pride really was strong. Kevin had more or less figured out Killua's temperament.

"Haha, I'm more than ten years older than you. Naturally, beating you wouldn't be difficult."

Before Killua could retort, Kevin extended his fist.

"Let's make a deal. Consider it making friends. If I run into you in the arena and beat you, then you'll become my sparring partner."

Kevin's words choked back what Killua had been about to say.

Killua stood there, a conflicted expression appearing on his face.

In the end, he still walked over with an indifferent look and bumped his fist against Kevin's.

"Hmph! I'll definitely beat you. When that happens, I'll have to teach you properly, hahaha!"

"Really? Then I'll be relying on Teacher Killua to look after me." Kevin did not mind at all and replied with a smile.

"Hmph hmph!" Killua snorted smugly twice, clearly enjoying Kevin's response.

This kid really was interesting. Are kids in this other world all this mature so early? Kevin thought as he said, "I haven't properly introduced myself yet. My name is Kevin Carpenberg." As he spoke, he extended his hand.

Killua curiously reached out and shook Kevin's hand. "My name is Killua. Killua Zoldyck."

"I look forward to meeting you in the arena later."

Kevin did not doubt in the slightest that he and Killua would meet in the ring. He had basically figured out Sky Arena's pattern for selecting opponents.

Kevin himself was a contestant who drew attention, and the extremely young Killua was equally popular.

Now that both of them were competing on the same floor, Killua had evidently encountered a bottleneck after advancing to the 150th floor and was currently stuck. Yet he had never dropped below the 150th floor, which meant that once he reached this level, he had a high chance of winning whenever he fought.

Kevin had only just advanced to the 150th floor. If he lost and dropped back down, it would be far too troublesome, so he would certainly give this match everything he had and fight for victory.

Under such circumstances, as long as the timing of their next matches lined up, there was a very high chance that the two would be arranged as opponents.

After all, Sky Arena, as the organizer, loved using such attention-grabbing matchups to build hype and increase betting rates.

It was no exaggeration to say that whenever Kevin took part in a fight, the number of people gambling on it would often rise sharply.

Just then, a notification sounded beside Kevin's ear, informing him that it was time to prepare for his match.

Kevin stood up and smiled as he waved at little Killua.

"Then I'll head out first."

"Yeah, bye-bye!" Killua finally showed the demeanor a child should have as he smiled and waved back.