Su Wu looked down at the small card. It had no photo, only a name, a string of ID numbers, and a place of birth.
Name: Sil Devil. Place of birth: Youkelin City.
"This identity has already been entered into the system's database."
"If you want to take the Hunter Exam, you can use that string of ID numbers to register online. Registration is open right now, actually. Would you like me to sign you up?" Pampas offered.
"Not worried I'll run off today?" Su Wu asked with a smile, holding the card between his index and middle fingers.
"You can leave whenever you want. Maybe it'd be better if you left sooner rather than later." Pampas sounded unconcerned.
"By the way, if you do leave, remember to go through District 13, then head toward the Gordo Desert. At your speed, you'll get across it in no time."
"Or you could take a garbage transport airship out..." He offered Su Wu a way to leave without being asked.
Su Wu blinked, looking at him in confusion.
When Pampas had first asked him to stay in Meteor City for a year, he'd thought the man wanted to use him for something. But his time in Meteor City had actually been... pretty good. Yeah.
Sid had even helped him train and grow stronger.
And now Pampas was saying he could leave whenever he wanted.
So what had this guy wanted from him when he'd kept him here in the first place?
"I'm a Speculator." Pampas smiled at the boy's suspicious gaze.
"I'm certain that might have been my only chance to invest in you."
"At least even after you leave Meteor City, you'll remember me. We're friends, aren't we?" the blond, green-eyed man said courteously.
The opportunistic businessman had known from the first moment he saw the white-haired boy that he'd found an opportunity capable of bringing in huge profits.
The man really did have a good eye for investments.
If Pampas had met the person he was now... No, if he'd had his current strength back then, he probably would've forced his way out of Meteor City.
Su Wu privately gave Pampas credit for his good judgment.
But he couldn't bring himself to act all pleased, as if he were happy to be friends with the other man. Instead, he looked dismissive. "I don't need something as boring as friends."
"I'm leaving." As if he couldn't be bothered to say another word, he turned to go.
"Here, take this. It has my number and Sid's." Pampas suddenly called out and tossed him a phone.
Without looking back, Su Wu caught it behind his back, then disappeared through the doorway.
"Let's see... I've invested in another treasure mine." After the other man left, Pampas took a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it.
The name Su Wu used—Sil Devil—was written on one of the pages.
There were plenty of other names in the notebook, too.
A Speculator wouldn't invest just once.
Su Wu decided to leave the next day. Tonight, he'd go back to District 12 and get a good night's sleep. Of course, before leaving, he still had to let Sid know.
"You're leaving tomorrow?" Sid's face was full of surprise.
Pampas had kept him here to join the Church, only to let him go so soon?
It wasn't all that surprising, though. Staying in Meteor City wouldn't keep making him stronger.
Experience out in the wider world would do a better job of improving him in every way.
"Got it." Sid nodded, saying nothing more.
Su Wu hadn't expected him to say anything. He gave a small nod and returned to the house where he was staying.
During his stay, he'd added no furniture besides a blanket and toiletries. When he left, all he'd need to take with him was himself.
The famous places in the Hunter World included Whale Island, Gon's birthplace, and the exam sites where they'd be tested: Mishiru Wetland, the military ship island, and Trap Tower... Trap Tower was probably a prison, wasn't it? He wasn't sure if it was open to visitors.
There was also Kukuroo Mountain, where the Zoldyck Family lived; Heaven's Arena; and Youkelin City, which was controlled by the mafia. He thought you had to pay to attend the auction there, though. He'd have to figure out a way to get in for free.
And if he ran into any famous characters, he'd have to take photos with them and collect them like stamps.
Su Wu suddenly sat up in bed, thinking of Shalnark and Uvogin. What a great chance to collect photos with them! He'd missed it! The Phantom Troupe members must have left Meteor City ages ago. He'd just have to see if he ran into them later.
As a veteran convention regular, collecting photos with people was practically in his bones.
Speaking of which, what exactly would his Nen ability be? He didn't care about anything else; he just hoped it'd be fun.
Once he got all of Gojo Satoru's and Sukuna's abilities, he'd be able to attack, control, and heal.
If it was a Nen ability of his own... He hoped it'd be fun, mysterious, and powerful. It'd be boring if it only did one thing. Ideally, it'd be something with plenty of ways to use it...
As he thought, he lay back down and closed his eyes, falling asleep.
He dreamed that he was thinking about what kind of Nen ability he should have.
He liked cards, like Clow Cards, or Tarot Cards.
Every card had a different effect. Just thinking about it was fun.
As the master of the dream, he was its creator. He could have whatever he wanted.
So in the dream, he gained a deck of cards of his own.
When he woke up the next morning, he stared silently at the thing that had appeared in front of him.
A large circular disc floated in midair. Dozens of cards spun inside it, waiting to be drawn. Both sides of the cards looked the same, their faces too blurry to make out.
Su Wu silently raised his hand and drew one. Another card immediately filled the empty space. He drew two more in quick succession, and the disc disappeared.
So he could only draw three at a time.
He lowered his gaze to the cards in his hand.
The mysterious haze that had obscured their faces lifted, revealing what they really looked like.
The cards were black and gold, with a satisfying heft and texture.
They looked familiar: they were Tarot Cards.
Just like the ones he'd dreamed of last night.
Who developed their Nen ability in a dream...?
"A Conjuration-type ability, huh..." He picked up the cards and turned them over one by one.
A Nen user's type could be tested with Water Divination.
The reaction would tell you what type they were.
Well, he could do that later.
Powerful Nen users tended to have abilities with traits from multiple types anyway, so the type 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 them looked like Su Wu now.
For example, The Hierophant Card showed a white-haired, blue-eyed boy with tattoos, wearing a three-tiered crown and a red papal robe. He sat holding a three-tiered staff.
"...Mutant Tarot Cards? Is my ability to tell fortunes with them?" Su Wu wondered, holding the cards. For a moment, he had no idea how to use them.
As a seasoned otaku, he knew a little about how to use Tarot Cards for divination.
First, decide what question you want to ask.
Then use the cards to divine the answer.
But that disc, and the three cards it had produced, didn't look like they were meant for divination at all.
The first card he'd drawn was [The Hierophant Upright].
"Use?" He tried flicking the card.
In the next instant, his appearance changed, and he looked exactly like the figure on the card.
"...Drawing a card to change outfits?" He stared at his flamboyant getup with a stiff expression, unable to help falling silent.
He tried to take off his clothes, but when his hand touched them, an instinctive warning rose in his mind: he couldn't remove them.
"Am I supposed to wear this the whole time?" He looked at the figure on the card, thought for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
It was fine. He could treat it as a new kind of game. Today, he was playing the role of the pope. It wasn't a big deal.
He shouldn't get mad at his own ability.
After all, he'd come up with it himself in a dream, all excited.
It really was interesting. What a delightful surprise. What a fun ability.
Su Wu walked out of his room dressed as the pope and ran into Sid, who was carrying a white backpack.
When Sid saw the boy in such a striking outfit, his eyes seemed to glaze over.
"Did you prepare that for me?" Su Wu asked, looking at the backpack in Sid's hand.
"Yes. I also prepared some money for you. You'll probably have plenty of expenses along the way..." Sid's tone made Su Wu look at him strangely.
Why did he sound... respectful? Something wasn't right. Sid had never acted like this before.
"You prepared money for me, too?" Su Wu asked, his tone peculiar.
"Yes. If you need it, I can give you my savings from all these years, too..." Sid went on, growing more and more absurd by the second.
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 turning even more complicated.
Was the Hierophant Card's ability to make people willingly hand over their money?
It couldn't be that simple (x)
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