An Unexpected Commission, Leaving Heaven's Arena

The next day, Leo stepped onto the sixtieth floor.

His first opponent was an agile boxer focused on footwork, lean in build and swift as the wind.

Rather than ending the match in a single blow as he had yesterday, Leo chose to observe.

For the first two minutes, he remained entirely on the defensive.

The boxer's footwork was indeed exquisite—forward and backward slides, lateral movements, feints and sways, every step landing at the optimal distance.

Leo's probing attacks were easily evaded, while the opponent's jabs and hooks, though they struck Leo, felt like scratches against his enhanced body.

Leo watched closely.

The way force was generated through the feet, the rhythm of shifting one's center of gravity, the coordination between breathing and movement... After two minutes, he had completely grasped the essence of this footwork.

In the third minute, he moved.

The same sliding steps, the same control of distance, but faster and more precise.

A flash of astonishment crossed the boxer's eyes. Before he could adjust, a knifehand strike landed on the side of his neck.

KO.

The second match went much the same way.

His opponent was a jiu-jitsu practitioner skilled in joint locks. Leo deliberately allowed the man to lock his arm, feeling out the force application and the angles for breaking free.

A minute and a half later, he escaped with a reverse joint lock and ended the fight with an over-the-shoulder throw.

From that day onward, Leo's match routine became fixed.

When he encountered a worthwhile opponent, he would defend and observe first, absorb their skills and experience, then end the match in one strike.

If the opponent relied purely on brute force or had nothing worth learning, he would finish them instantly.

Two matches a day, steadily advancing.

His practical combat experience grew at an astonishing rate.

Boxing footwork, jiu-jitsu locks, karate's methods of generating force, even the secret techniques of obscure styles... He absorbed and fused these arts, gradually forming his own fighting style.

A week later, Leo made it to the 180th floor.

During that time, he fought a total of twenty-six matches and won them all.

His accumulated prize money reached 160 million Jenny—the prizes at Heaven's Arena increased with each floor.

Above the hundredth floor, the Arena assigned private rooms to its fighters.

Leo's room was on the 185th floor. It was not large, but it had everything he needed: a bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen, and a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.

At that moment, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating.

His breathing was steady, and aura slowly circulated around his body—this was training in "Ten."

"Ring, ring, ring—"

The phone suddenly rang.

Leo opened his eyes and looked at the caller ID: Goreinu.

He answered...

"Hello, Leo..."

Goreinu's voice came through, carrying obvious fatigue.

"Are you all right, Goreinu?"

Leo replied readily.

"From the sound of your voice, things don't seem too good."

"You could tell..."

Goreinu gave a bitter laugh.

"I've run into a bit of trouble recently. Has your Nen... recovered?"

Leo raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, Goreinu's troubles were serious if he had come to him for help.

"Yeah, it's recovered."

Leo said.

"What is it? Do you need help? Just say the word. If I can help, I definitely will."

The other end of the line fell silent for several seconds, as though Goreinu were making up his mind.

"Here's the situation." Goreinu began to explain.

"A while ago, while I was traveling in Toth City, I accidentally got caught up in a gang conflict. To protect myself, I took care of them all... and happened to save a woman as well."

The moment Leo heard that, he roughly understood.

This was such a classic setup—accidentally getting dragged into a gang war, saving a key figure, then being pulled into an even deeper vortex.

He said teasingly, "I imagine the woman you saved must have had a very special identity."

After a moment of silence, Goreinu admitted it.

"That's right. That woman is the daughter of the leader of another gang."

"That day, her father and several high-ranking members were driving to another city. A rival gang sent a large number of men to ambush them along the only route, killing her father and everyone else."

"She was attacked too. Everyone protecting her died, and I happened to be in the same store as her... so I saved her."

"Afterward, to thank me, she paid me one billion Jenny and hired me as her bodyguard for a month."

Leo understood now. Goreinu had been hired as a temporary bodyguard, only to run into someone far tougher than expected.

"Things were peaceful for a while at first. I blocked several waves of attacks for her."

Goreinu continued.

"After half a month of quiet, they somehow hired two Nen users."

"I barely managed to deal with them. I injured one, but I was badly hurt too. If they come again, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist."

"Vivian—the woman I mentioned—saw a promotional livestream for Heaven's Arena on TV."

"I saw you. I guessed your strength had probably recovered, so I contacted you."

Goreinu paused, his tone turning serious.

"I want to ask you to come and help me deal with those two Nen users."

"Vivian is offering three billion Jenny. We'll split it equally. Of course, if you think it's too dangerous, you can refuse. Think it over."

Leo put down the phone and began to consider.

Goreinu was not particularly strong in the original story, but neither was he weak.

The fact that the two Nen users had been able to injure him meant they had some skill, but they probably were not overwhelmingly strong—otherwise, Goreinu would not merely have been injured. He would have been killed outright.

The reward was tempting.

Three billion Jenny, split in half, meant 1.5 billion for each of them.

Even in the world of Hunters, that was an enormous sum, enough to keep him from worrying about money for a long time.

But the risks did exist. Gang conflicts ran deep, and this could involve even more trouble.

Furthermore, battles between Nen users were full of variables. Without knowing the other side's abilities, it was difficult to say who would win or lose.

There was one more point... Leo looked at the back of his right hand, where the dark red tattoo faintly glimmered beneath the light.

"Proof of Humanity" required killing living creatures to obtain life energy.

Over the past half year or so, he had only killed beasts, insects, and similar creatures. He had never killed a person.

It was not that he could not, but that he did not want to—he had no desire to become a murderous monster without any moral limits.

But gang members... Their hands were stained with blood. Killing them would weigh far less heavily on his conscience.

And the life energy provided by Nen users would certainly far exceed that of ordinary beasts.

Of course, if the situation became critical and his life was in danger, he would retreat without hesitation.

1.5 billion Jenny was not worth gambling his life on.

After weighing the pros and cons, Leo picked up the phone.

"No problem. I'll take an airship over first thing tomorrow morning."

Goreinu's voice immediately filled with delight.

"That's great! Leo, thank you for helping! Vivian will send someone to pick you up at the airport."

"Mm." Leo answered and hung up.

He then called Heaven's Arena's customer service line and asked them to book him the earliest flight to Toth City the next day.

As a fighter on the 180th floor, he enjoyed certain privileges. The staff quickly handled such a minor matter.

The ticket information was sent to his phone: departing at eight tomorrow morning, expected to arrive in Toth City the day after tomorrow.

Leo began packing.

He did not need to bring much: a few changes of clothes, money, and his phone.

He checked his account balance: 162 million Jenny.

That would make him wealthy in the ordinary world, but in the world of Nen users, it might only be enough to buy a decent piece of equipment or some valuable intelligence.

If he could get that 1.5 billion... many of his plans could be moved forward.

That night, Leo did not continue meditating. Instead, he went to bed early.

He needed to be well-rested for tomorrow's unknown challenge.

Outside the window, Heaven's Arena remained brightly lit, with matches continuing on every floor.

But Leo knew that his training here was about to come to a temporary end.