Nen Ability is Gacha(?)

Chapter 18: The Nen Ability Is—Card Draw (?)

Su Wu looked down at the small card. There was no photo on it, only a name, a string of ID numbers, and a place of birth.

Name: Hil Devil. Place of birth: Youkelin City.

"This identity has already been entered into the system database."

"If you want to take the Hunter Exam, you can use that ID number to register online. It just so happens that registration is open right now. Do you want me to sign you up?" Pampas spoke up at this.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run off today?" Su Wu asked with a smile, holding the card between his index and middle fingers.

"You can leave anytime. Maybe leaving early is for the best." Pampas's tone was indifferent.

"By the way, if you do go, remember to leave through District 13, then head toward the Gordo Desert. With your speed, you'll cross it quickly."

"Or you could choose to take a garbage transport airship out..." He proactively offered ways to leave.

Su Wu blinked, looking at the other man with some confusion.

When Pampas first asked him to stay in Meteor City for a year, he thought the guy wanted to use him for something. But the days he'd spent in Meteor City were... not bad, actually. Hmm.

He even had Sid helping him train to get stronger.

Now Pampas was saying he could leave anytime.

So what was this guy's real purpose in keeping him here in the first place?

"I'm a Speculator." Pampas said with a smile, facing the boy's suspicious gaze.

"I'm quite sure that was perhaps my only chance to invest in you."

"At the very least, even after you leave Meteor City, you'll remember me. We're friends, aren't we?" The blonde-haired, green-eyed man spoke courteously.

A shrewd merchant, upon first laying eyes on the white-haired youth, had already determined he'd seized an opportunity that could yield massive profits.

This guy's investment instincts really weren't bad.

If Pampas had met the current him... no, if the him back then had his current strength, he probably would have just forced his way out of Meteor City.

Su Wu silently acknowledged Pampas's insight.

But he couldn't bring himself to put on a cheerful, friendly act as if he were eager to be friends. Instead, he showed a dismissive expression. "I don't need boring things like friends."

"I'm off." As if unwilling to say another word, he turned to leave.

"Here, take this. It has mine and Sid's numbers." Pampas suddenly spoke up and tossed a phone over.

Without looking back, Su Wu caught the phone behind his back, his figure disappearing through the doorway.

"Let me see... I've invested in another Treasure Mine, huh..." After the other left, Pampas pulled a small notebook from his person and flipped through it.

The name Su Wu was using—Hil Devil—was written on one of the pages.

There were plenty of other names in the notebook too.

A Speculator, naturally, wouldn't invest just once.

Su Wu decided to leave tomorrow. Tonight, he'd go back to District 12 and get a good night's sleep. Of course, before leaving, he had to let Sid know.

"Leaving tomorrow?" Sid's face was full of surprise.

Pampas had kept the guy to join the Church, and now he was letting him go this soon?

Not that it was entirely unexpected—staying in Meteor City forever wouldn't make him stronger.

Experience in the outside world was better for improving all aspects of strength.

"I understand." Sid nodded, saying nothing more.

Su Wu didn't expect him to say anything else. He gave a slight nod and returned to the house he'd been staying in.

During his time there, aside from bedding and toiletries, he hadn't added any furniture. When he left, he only needed to take himself.

Famous locations in the Hunter World included... the protagonist Gon's birthplace, Whale Island, then the exam venues: the Mishiru Wetland, Warship Island, the Trap Tower... The Trap Tower was a prison, right? He wondered if it was open to visitors.

Then there was Kukuroo Mountain, home of the Zoldyck family, Heaven's Arena, and Youkelin City, controlled by the mafia. But attending auctions there probably required payment—he'd have to find a way to freeload.

And if he ran into famous characters, he'd have to get photos with them for his collection.

Su Wu suddenly sat up in bed, thinking back to Shalnark and Uvogin earlier. What a missed opportunity for his collection! He'd blown it. The Phantom Troupe was definitely long gone from Meteor City by now. He could only hope to run into them later.

As a former regular at conventions, collecting souvenirs was ingrained in his bones.

Speaking of which, what exactly would his Nen ability be? He didn't care much about specifics, as long as it was interesting.

Once he obtained all of Gojo Satoru and Sukuna's abilities, he'd be able to fight, control, and heal all at once.

If it were his own Nen ability... he wanted it to be fun, mysterious, and powerful. If he only got one ability, that would feel pretty boring. Ideally, it would be something with a lot of versatility...

Thinking it over, he lay back down, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

He had a dream. In the dream, he was also pondering what his Nen ability should be like.

He loved cards—Clow Cards, Tarot Cards, each one with different effects. No matter how he thought about it, they were just so fun to play with.

As the master of his dreams, he was the creator; anything he wanted came easily.

So in his dream, he conjured up a deck of his own cards.

The next morning, when he woke up and saw the extra thing in front of him, he fell silent.

A large circular disk floated in midair, with dozens of cards spinning inside it, waiting to be drawn. The fronts and backs of the cards were identical, all blurry and impossible to make out clearly.

Su Wu silently raised his hand and drew one. The empty slot was quickly filled by another card. He drew two more in succession, and the disk vanished.

Looked like he could only draw three at a time.

He looked down at the cards in his hand.

The mysterious veil over the cards, which had been too blurry to tell front from back, faded away, revealing their true faces.

Black-and-gold cards with a solid, weighty feel.

A familiar sight—they were unmistakably Tarot Cards.

The same kind he'd dreamed about last night.

Who the hell develops a Nen ability in their dreams...

"A Conjuration-type ability, huh..." He picked up the cards and flipped through them one by one.

Nen ability types could be tested with the Water Divination method.

The reaction would tell you what type it was.

Well, he could deal with that later.

Anyway, powerful Nen users almost always had abilities spanning multiple types, so the classification wasn't that important.

These three cards were no different from the Tarot Cards he'd seen before.

The only difference was that the figures on the cards looked like Su Wu himself.

For example, The Hierophant Card showed a white-haired, blue-eyed youth with tattoos, wearing a triple crown, a red papal robe, and holding a triple scepter while seated.

"...A mutated Tarot deck? My ability is to use these cards for fortune-telling?" Su Wu frowned at the cards, momentarily unsure how to use them.

As a seasoned anime fan, he did know a thing or two about using Tarot Cards for fortune-telling.

First, confirm the question you wanted to ask.

Then use the cards to divine the answer.

But the way this disk appeared and spat out three cards—it didn't seem like it was meant for fortune-telling at all.

The first card he drew was [The Hierophant Upright].

"Use?" He tried flicking the card.

The next moment, his outfit transformed completely, matching the image on the card exactly.

"...Draw a card, change clothes?" He stared stiffly at his flashy new look, unable to hold back a moment of silence.

He tried to take off the clothes, but the moment his hand touched the fabric, a gut instinct told him—he couldn't remove them.

"So I'm supposed to wear this all day?" He looked at the figure on the card, thought for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

No big deal. Just treat it as a new way to play. Today, he was playing the role of the Pope. It wasn't a problem.

He couldn't get mad at his own ability.

After all, he was the one who'd cheerfully cooked it up in his dream.

It really was fun—it had surprised him. What an interesting ability.

Su Wu walked out of the room dressed as the Pope and ran into Sid, who was carrying a white backpack.

When Sid saw the boy in his conspicuously flashy outfit, his gaze seemed a little dazed.

"Is that for me?" Su Wu asked, looking at the backpack in Sid's hand.

"Yes. I also prepared some money for you—there'll definitely be plenty of places where you need to spend on the road..." The way Sid answered made Su Wu's expression turn strange.

His tone... why did it feel a bit respectful? Something was off. This wasn't like the usual Sid at all.

"You even prepared money for me?" Su Wu asked, his tone tinged with suspicion.

"Yes. If you need it, I could even give you my savings from these years..." Sid trailed off, his words growing increasingly absurd.

Something was definitely wrong!

Wait... could all this be because of the Hierophant Card he'd drawn?

Su Wu looked down at his red robe again, his expression growing even more complicated.

Was the Hierophant Card's ability to make others willingly hand over their money?

It couldn't be that simple (x).