Head Held Too High

He turned the card over and saw a faint line of small text.

[The Hierophant Upright] Buff Card.

A buff card? That meant it could grant beneficial effects to people, right? By the same logic, there should be debuff cards that inflicted negative effects.

But what exactly was the Hierophant's buff?

Su Wu spent half a day in District 12 under the effect of the Hierophant Card, eventually reaching a rough conclusion.

So far, he could identify three effects of the Hierophant. First: enhanced verbal persuasion ability.

This was proven by how whatever he said, those kids and Sid believed without question.

Second: it attracted young boys and earned their goodwill.

This was evident from the boys in District 12 who were now looking at him with eyes full of dependence.

It had no special effect on young girls.

Third: it compelled people to willingly offer tributes.

For example, Sid had already run back to get what he called his life savings.

And those kids carrying food they wanted to offer up also confirmed this effect.

He hadn't discovered any other effects yet—maybe he wasn't using it the right way.

But the Hierophant Card's second effect, boosting goodwill from young boys? What kind of hellish joke was that...

Su Wu stared at the second effect, his face expressionless while his mind was in chaos.

And the third effect practically seemed designed to bankrupt people.

Just look at these kids, penniless and barely able to feed themselves if they left the Church, yet still giving him their food.

As someone with a decent education and a Schrödinger's moral compass, he felt—

This ability was really fun.

But he had no interest in the food these kids had hidden away and couldn't bear to eat themselves. He waved them off and looked at Sid, who was rushing back in a hurry.

The man was holding a worn-out wallet that had clearly seen years of use, and with an enthusiastic demeanor, he pulled out several cards from inside.

"This is all the savings I have right now. Take it all—you'll definitely find a use for it." Sid tried to shove the items into Su Wu's hands.

"And this, this Hunter License can be pawned for a hundred million too—it might come in handy..." He looked completely bewitched, as if he didn't even want to keep his own underwear.

This Hierophant Card... was truly wicked.

Su Wu inwardly put on a show of condemning his own ability.

"I don't need the Hunter License. What's the PIN for your bank cards?" The white-haired, blue-eyed boy's smile was unapologetically mischievous and teasing, and his hand naturally took Sid's bank cards.

Sid actually had five bank cards. He wondered how much money was in them.

"The PIN is..." Sid obediently recited the password for each card.

"Mm-hmm, I'll take these then." Su Wu nodded, then made a few theatrical hand gestures. "May God bless you." He patted Sid on the chest, subtly slipping the cards back into the man's clothes, took the backpack Sid had prepared for him, dug out the things he'd buried under the church floor, and left Meteor City without hesitation.

He felt no attachment to this place, which had been his starting point and where he'd spent several months.

The reason Su Wu hadn't initially realized the exit was in District 13 was because the endless sea of garbage had thrown him off.

His Six Eyes kept analyzing the trash, and the sheer volume of information made him want to get as far away as possible.

Just like now—the moment he arrived in District 13, his Six Eyes passively began analyzing the garbage. Fortunately, he had gotten skilled at stuffing paper balls up his nostrils in advance to stem the nosebleeds that would inevitably come.

Walking along the garbage piles toward the edge, he eventually reached a wall that was neither high nor low, barely enough to keep anyone out.

From a distance, Meteor City was already behind him.

The air gradually grew fresher, the faint stench of decay and rot fading away.

[Detected that the host has left the starting point, Meteor City. Main quest now issued—

Quest One: Find the Seven Great Beauties.

Quest Two: Explore the current world.]

[Current world exploration progress: 0.1%]

[Completing the main quest will allow another traversal.]

Seven Great Beauties?

When Su Wu saw the quest, the first three names that popped into his head were Chrollo, Hisoka, and Illumi.

But he quickly shook his head. No, no—the Seven Great Beauties weren't people, they were objects. He only remembered the Kurta Clan's Scarlet Eyes; the other six were a complete blank.

It looked like he'd need to get a Hunter License first, whether for exploring the world or finding things.

A 0.1% world exploration progress was pretty frustrating. Was it because he'd only been stuck in Meteor City? Did he have to travel the whole world?

What a hassle.

Su Wu pulled out the other two cards he'd drawn earlier.

[The High Tower Reversed] debuff card.

[The Sun Upright] buff card.

Neither had any explanation of their effects on the back, but a row of numbers was ticking down, reminding him he'd better use these two cards soon.

Still, he was curious what would happen if he didn't.

The countdown on the cards had three minutes left, so he decided to wait.

Three minutes later—

An old man with white hair, his body aged but his spirit brimming with energy, began walking expressionlessly.

Now he knew what would happen if he didn't use the cards before the countdown ran out.

Both cards would be applied to him.

At the same time, he also learned part of their effects.

[The High Tower Reversed] Effect 1: Aging.

[The Sun Upright] Effect 1: Energy Boost.

Using these two cards together let him experience what dissonance felt like.

His body was decrepit, his movements sluggish, but his energy seemed endless—like wearing an ill-fitting suit, tight and uncomfortable everywhere.

Especially since... he was still wearing the Pope's outfit, which made him look even more like a qualified old Pope.

In this state, he didn't even want to use Cang for high-speed movement, and hurried to get into territory where humans lived.

This mismatch between soul and body lasted for a full twenty-four hours.

The first thing to disappear was the Pope's clothes on him, and then, after a moment, he finally returned to his original form.

Smooth, firm skin, a pretty face, still young—a boy of twelve or thirteen.

He touched his face and let out a long sigh of relief.

He was a bit afraid of aging; at least for now, he wasn't mentally prepared to face his own old age.

On top of that, he was afraid of marriage and children—basically, every fear of modern young people, he had them all.

Of course, that didn't conflict with him thinking his ability was very interesting.

After all, these card abilities could actually be used on other people. He'd find someone to test them on later.

From the timing of his draws, the time limit was probably half an hour. He had to use the cards within that time, whether on himself or someone else. If he didn't use them on someone else within half an hour, the effects would land on him.

Also, card effects could stack, but since the draws were all random, the results were too unpredictable.

If he remembered correctly, there were seventy-eight Tarot cards in total. Each random draw produced different combinations of effects, and after every three draws, he had to wait twenty-four hours before drawing again.

It was a hard ability to control.

Tarot cards themselves carried the meaning of natural law, also known as the library of nature's mysteries.

In that case, his Nen ability would be called—

"Wheel of Law." He named his ability.

"Now I can get moving." Regaining his spirits, he finally agreed to use Cang for travel.

There was a small town called Gordo, right on the edge of the Gordo Desert. It had started as a market for caravans crossing the desert to trade, and gradually turned into a town with a permanent population.

Though the town wasn't big, it had plenty of people. You could see caravans leading camels coming and going.

"I can't quite remember the Hunter Exam process," Su Wu said as he walked along the stone-paved road, trying to recall the original story.

He only remembered the characters and a few locations; the specifics of the exam were mostly forgotten.

After all, he hadn't even finished watching the anime.

"I think the Hunter Association recruits ordinary people or even beasts as guides, and to find the real venue, you have to contact a guide or something..." He thought about it, then looked up and scanned the area.

Plenty of ordinary people, plenty of camels, but beasts... he didn't see any beasts.

He'd dropped into Meteor City at the start in 1997, January 8th, and now it was December 25th, 1997.

He needed to arrive at the official Hunter Exam venue by January 7th, 1998, to register on-site. He also seemed to need to sign a death waiver.

In 1998, he would be taking the 286th Hunter Exam. Gon and Killua took the 287th in 1999. He still remembered the exam location for that one, but that would mean waiting another year.

After a year, he probably wouldn't need a Hunter License anymore.

To him, a Hunter License was just a ticket to travel and sightsee all over the world.

The town was mostly adult men, averaging 1.8 meters tall, all armed with knives and guns, dressed like gangsters or bandits.

Women and children were rare, and even when there were women, they were all burly, with arms thicker than Su Wu's thighs, fierce expressions, and skin roughened and darkened by the environment, even under the coarse cloth they wrapped around themselves to block sand and sun.

The kids were all like little black monkeys, mostly staying within their own front yards.

Fruit shops, weapon shops, antique shops, clothing stores, taverns, inns...

These places looked deserted, but the Six Eyes detected prying gazes coming from all directions.

Su Wu's presence stood out in this small town, like a soft white lamb mixed into a flock of black goats.

"These days, even little brats like this are out doing business." A few burly men gathered together, their expressions mocking as they eyed the slender, thin-limbed youth and sneered.

"Skin that pale, probably some young master from who-knows-where. Bet he's dreaming of becoming a Hunter too."

"Look at those tattoos on him—bet they're just painted on to scare people."

The group of burly men stood by an alley, arms crossed, leaning on each other, laughing and joking, their voices growing louder without any care if the subject heard them.

When Su Wu caught the keywords "pale skin" and "tattoos," he turned his head to look at them.

So that's who they were talking about.

"What are you looking at, kid? Go home and drink more milk so you can grow taller." The burly men, seeing the youth seemed to notice them, showed no panic. Instead, they leisurely hurled more insults.

To flaunt their dominance, they even stepped forward as a group, closing in on the youth.

These men stood between 1.9 and 2 meters tall, towering over Su Wu, who was still in a youthful build. Their large bodies surrounded him completely, blocking out the sunlight behind them, casting the small area into shadow.

A few people in the nearby Caravan glanced over, as if wanting to stop the situation from escalating.

The youth trapped in the middle of the group wore a cold expression. He merely lifted his eyelids indifferently and looked at them.

An invisible pressure descended along with the youth's gaze.

"You're holding your heads too high," he said, his voice calm.

This area seemed to be completely cut off from the lively space around it. No more sounds from the surrounding people reached them—only the thumping of their own hearts could be heard.

It felt as if some great terror was about to appear.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of dread surged up, and one of the burly men instinctively dropped to his knees.

"Hey, what are you doing—" The other men started to complain, but their words never finished.

Their speech was cut off by an unstoppable force that descended without warning, ending abruptly.

What followed was nothing but a series of bloodcurdling screams.

"Shhh—" "Aaaaaahhhh—"

The bodies of the men who had been standing were split in two by an invisible blade that seemed to fall from the sky. The halves toppled in opposite directions. Their abdominal organs were shredded, chunks of bloody viscera dropping to the ground. The cut intestines spilled their undigested contents across the dirt, dragging longer and longer as the half-bodies writhed and crawled.

Those not yet dead clutched their lower halves, crying and trying to piece themselves back together.

The man still crouching on the ground heard the sounds but kept his eyes shut tight. Only when he felt a warm liquid splash onto him did he open them in terror—and saw a scene straight out of hell.

He looked down at himself. He was drenched in his companions' blood—bright red, scalding hot.

Though still alive, he wished he were dead.

His eyes went wide and vacant. Stiffly, he turned to the culprit—that beautiful, slender youth, who glanced at him and curled his lips into a playful smirk.

"You made the right choice."

The man looked up at the youth with eyes full of terror, understanding what he meant.

If he hadn't dropped to the ground fast enough, he would have been one of those people split in two, writhing like insects on the ground.

Staring into those blue eyes looking down at him, he felt a warm stream rush down his leg, soaking his pants and the ground.

[Congratulations, host. Your compatibility with the character Sukuna has increased.]

[Current character compatibility: Gojo Satoru 20%, Ryomen Sukuna 20%]

Hearing the system's notification, Su Wu's mood lifted considerably. He kindly decided to let this lucky one who made the right choice off the hook.

He wasn't deliberately trying to act like Gojo Satoru or Ryomen Sukuna just to grind compatibility. He was a cosplayer, but that didn't mean he wanted to play someone else every moment of his life. The fact that all his characters had custom settings showed he just liked to have fun.

If it weren't for the initial 20% appearance-based compatibility with Gojo Satoru, his compatibility would clearly be higher with Sukuna.

His true nature leaned more toward Ryomen Sukuna.

"Hey, kid over there! Want to join our Caravan?" A voice called out loudly. Su Wu ignored it.

Until the person called out again.

"Hey, white-haired kid with the tattoos! Want to join our Caravan?"

The direction was clear enough that Su Wu lifted his gaze toward the speaker.

A man in a white robe with a white cloth wrapped around his head, his skin dark, was waving at him enthusiastically. He wore a gold necklace and gemstone rings on both index fingers, radiating a flashy, wealthy aura.

The others in his group were dressed the same.

The image looked familiar—like those people from that country where everyone wears a cloth on their head and claims to be the richest in the world.

Seeing that the youth had finally acknowledged them, the Caravan leader grinned, flashing a row of white teeth.

"Kid, want to take a look at our mission?"

This guy—could he be a Guide hired by the Hunter Association? Like the captain of the boat Gon rode on, also an examiner?

Thinking that, Su Wu walked over to the front of the Caravan.

"Mission?" He glanced at the recruitment notice hanging on the camel's side.

The text roughly read:

[HIRING ESCORT GUARDS to escort a caravan through the Gordo Desert. Meals and lodging provided. Compensation negotiable.]

A young man with a white backpack, wearing a simple sleeveless vest, snow-white hair and skin, and mysterious, bizarre tattoos on his face and arms, squinted his seemingly bewitching blue eyes as if lost in thought.

The team leader beside him waited quietly for the other to make a decision.

But after a moment of deliberation, the young man asked with keen interest:

"Can I ride a camel?"

Huh?

A flicker of surprise crossed the leader's face, but he quickly nodded happily. "Of course you can. Ride as long as you like!"

"Then no problem. Let's go." Su Wu agreed without hesitation, not even asking about the pay before urging them on.

"Alright, everyone! The guards are all hired. Pack up and get ready to move out!" The leader turned and shouted in a certain direction.

Instantly, two or three adults trickled out from the surrounding inns.

They carried all kinds of weapons—guns, bows and arrows, machetes, spiked clubs—you name it.

Their faces and expressions were each more ferocious than the last.

Only Su Wu, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and empty hands, looked like a grade-schooler off on a field trip.

PS: [This chapter is a two-in-one.]

Known information so far—

Nen Ability—[Wheel of Law]

Owner: Su Wu / Sil Devil

Rule 1: Only three different types of cards may be drawn at random per round.

Rule 2: A drawn card must be used within half an hour.

Rule 3: Drawing is allowed only once every twenty-four hours, and card effects also last twenty-four hours.

Cards are known to be stackable; other conditions have yet to be figured out.

PS: If there's an issue anywhere, point it out in the comments, and if it's reasonable, I'll fix it right away.