Reborn as Roy Zoldyck

Summer in the Republic of Padokea was hotter than usual.

Before five in the morning, a sliver of light could already be seen creeping up from the horizon.

Taking advantage of the hour, before the heat had fully begun to rise, Roy got up early, pulled on a tank top and shorts, and started jogging around the entire Kukuroo Mountain.

From the family's Ancient Castle deep in the mountains, to the Butler Villa halfway up the slope, then to the security station at the foot of the mountain, and finally back the way he'd come—a journey of nearly ten kilometers... By the time he returned, he looked as if he'd just been hauled out of the water, drenched in sweat from head to toe, yet feeling indescribably refreshed.

Science had proven that running stimulated the body to release endorphins, giving people a certain rush of pleasure... But after catching his breath a few times, Roy didn't feel as happy as he'd expected. Instead, he furrowed his brow, feeling a little frustrated.

There was only one reason: he, the eldest son of the Zoldyck Family—the world's foremost family of assassins, whose very name was enough to strike fear into people's hearts—and a transmigrator from Earth in his previous life, had recently noticed that his rate of physical improvement was slowing down.

It was true that training had its plateaus. At first, whether you were building muscle or losing fat, the results came fastest. After that, progress steadily declined until it leveled off at a fixed rate.

But that only applied to adults. It didn't apply to a child like Roy, who was only eight and still in a period of rapid growth and development.

What's more, he was a Zoldyck. His physical prowess was naturally superior to other people's.

He just had black hair, so he hadn't inherited the Zoldyck Family's bloodline talents perfectly...

Still, Roy lived by the principle that "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," so he managed to keep his composure. He neither grew impatient nor lost heart. Once back in his bedroom, he took a quick shower.

When he came out, he had changed into a clean training uniform and sat down at the dining table.

It was six in the morning. As an old wooden clock in the corner chimed, the butler, Gotoh, promptly wheeled in a serving cart and laid out a lavish breakfast before him.

Cream of mushroom soup... bacon sandwiches... a fresh salad made with wild vegetables picked from Kukuroo Mountain and eggs, topped with rice vinegar... and finally, a glass of milk... Perfectly balanced nutrition, except that it didn't taste like much...

Roy casually picked up a sandwich, dipped it in the mushroom soup, and took a bite. As he listened to Gotoh report the day's training schedule, he quietly opened his status panel and studied it.

[Name: Roy Zoldyck]

[Bone age: seven years and eleven months]

[Physique: 10→10.001 (Note: an ordinary person's is 1)]

[Nen Ability: Aura Nodes unopened, awaiting development]

[Combat experience: lv2 (15/100)]

[Application Techniques—Shadow Step: Proficient (78/100); Rhythm Echo: Proficient (64/100); Snake Awakening: Beginner (83/100) (Note: application techniques are ranked by mastery: beginner, proficient, advanced, perfect]

[Title: Newbie Who Has Yet to Get Started, "Tender Grass" Easily Broken]

Tender grass, huh?

That evaluation really didn't pull any punches... Roy took a fierce bite of his sandwich to vent his frustration.

At that moment, Gotoh cleared his throat and quietly reminded him, "Young Master, Madam hasn't been in the best mood lately. You'd better be careful."

Madam meant Kikyo, Roy's birth mother... Three pregnancies in a row, all resulting in black-haired children and not a single silver-haired one. To an ordinary family hoping for a son, that would be like having three daughters in a row—not one of them a boy. Either way, it was a "serious offense."

So it was completely understandable that she felt anxious, even a little irritable.

Fortunately, Killua, the next child, wouldn't disappoint her.

"Milluki's a good kid. Other than being a little fat, a little ugly, having slightly small eyes, and farting a little too much, there's nothing wrong with him... I don't think it's a big deal that Mother doesn't like him."

After finishing his sandwich, Roy took a sip of milk and said it without a care.

Gotoh: "..."

He fell briefly silent. He couldn't tell whether his young master was praising Young Master Milluki or deliberately insulting him. Then he remembered that his young master didn't much care for Young Master Illumi, either. He always thought Illumi was cold as ice, with eyes as empty as a ghost's... In the end, he decided to pretend he hadn't heard.

Instead, he brought up something else. "Young Master, the master has decided to open your Nen."

The young butler still hadn't grown a beard. He pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and said solemnly, "It's set for eight tonight... He'll be waiting for you in the training room."

Roy's expression faltered for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. He took a napkin and casually wiped his mouth. His face remained calm, but his emotions inevitably stirred...

The bad news was that, after observing him for the past few years, the Zoldycks—from Silva to Zeno—had already realized he was merely an ordinary genius. Opening his Aura Nodes early might allow them to raise him into a competent assassin, but as for inheriting the Zoldyck Family, that was entirely something he'd imagined himself...

The good news was that if he opened his Aura Nodes and successfully awakened an Enhancement Nen Ability... it might give him a chance to make up for his "weak" physique.

In any case, the decision had been made.

Tonight at eight, whether Roy wanted to or not, he would have to take his first step into the world of Nen Ability!

And it was the step he'd been looking forward to most in the nearly eight years since his rebirth into the Zoldyck Family.

A glimmer of brilliance flashed deep in the boy's eyes, too subtle for anyone to notice, and he soon finished breakfast.

With Silva's permission, he had no training for once. He spent the day meditating and regulating his breathing, bringing himself into peak condition as he waited for nightfall and the full moon to rise in the sky.

He rose to his feet and, by the light of the flickering wall lamps, left his bedroom. He followed the deep, quiet corridor until he reached the training room.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

He knocked on the door...

"Come in."

A powerful voice came from inside...

The door swung open, revealing part of the room...

A tall man stood with his back to the door, his legs spread in a full split and resting on two heavy stone blocks. Silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and the aura he gave off without meaning to was so powerful it was hard to breathe.

Silva Zoldyck, a world-class assassin, had once killed the number eight member of the Phantom Troupe—an A-rank criminal organization—on his own and escaped unscathed. In the Chimera Ant arc, he had even descended from the sky and killed a Squadron Leader-level leopard with a single punch... Every time Roy saw his father, he felt the man's overwhelming pressure and suffocating danger firsthand.

It had little to do with father and son. It was more like the natural dimensional suppression of a higher-dimensional being over a lower-dimensional one.

He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and said, "Father."

"Bang!" The door slammed shut.

Silva turned around and looked at him with a gaze like a blade. "Come here."

Roy silently stepped forward.

Then a palm as large as a fan struck him in the chest, seemingly casual yet as fast as lightning!

"Crack!"

The gust of wind kicked up by the highly concentrated Ren pierced straight through Roy's body, then continued without the slightest pause and slammed into the wall behind him...

The thick wall visibly split open in a spiderweb of cracks...

At the same time, a certain shackle inside Roy's body shattered!