Gaining an Ability, Beginning the Hunt

Inside the storeroom, Leo's fingers twitched slightly.

He opened his eyes, and his vision gradually cleared from a blur.

Pushing himself up from the ground, he looked around—the room was still the same room, and the beast-hide map still lay beside him. But his body felt completely different.

The formerly gaunt body that had belonged to the young Rexxar had become much sturdier. The lines of his arms and chest were now clearly defined, brimming with strength.

There was no discomfort whatsoever. Instead, he felt light and coordinated, as though every muscle were in peak condition.

Leo lowered his head to examine himself, his gaze falling on the back of his right hand—there was now a dark-red spiral tattoo there, about the size of a coin. Its patterns were intricate and refined, like some ancient rune.

He reached out with his left hand and touched the tattoo.

In an instant, information surged into his mind like a flood:

[Proof of Humanity]

Nen Ability Type: Specialist

[Level: 0]

Ability Conditions:

1. The body is forcibly placed in a state of "Zetsu," unable to sense or use any Nen.

2. Pain is doubled when injured.

3. After activating Nen, lethal weapons and defensive equipment cannot be used.

Ability Effects:

1. After killing a living creature, its remaining life energy can be absorbed.

2. Life energy can raise the level. Level increases strengthen the body, with no upper limit.

4. Once Level 25 is reached, the "Zetsu" state is lifted, and the body undergoes a comprehensive qualitative transformation.

5. Accelerates physical recovery and grants self-healing ability, which increases with level.

Note: This ability does not occupy memory capacity. A personal Nen ability may be developed separately.

After the stream of information ended, Leo stood stunned for a moment before breaking into a delighted smile.

This was the world of Hunter x Hunter.

Nen abilities—he had one now!

Though the restrictions were harsh, this ability possessed enormous growth potential.

At the same time, another piece of information surfaced from the depths of his consciousness—knowledge inherited from that stone.

This place was the ancient Cape Kingdom's secret realm, the "Eternal Dimension," built 2,200 years ago. The entrance and exit to the secret realm lay in a cave at the end of the eastern forest and could only be opened by activating Nen.

"A secret realm... I need Nen... to leave."

Leo's smile faded, and he furrowed his brow.

He was currently in a forced state of "Zetsu," completely unable to use Nen.

According to the rules of Proof of Humanity, he had to reach Level 25 before the restriction could be lifted.

That meant he had to leave this relatively safe palace, enter that unknown forest, kill creatures, and gather life energy.

The risks were obvious. Being unable to use Nen meant losing an important means of defense and perception.

The doubled pain was even worse—in the wilderness, injuries were inevitable, and amplified pain could affect his movements and judgment.

But he had no other choice.

Leo rose to his feet and stretched his limbs.

The changes to his body were real. Although he could not use Nen, his physical body was already much stronger than before. He clenched his fist and could feel the power contained within his muscles.

"At least my starting point isn't too bad."

He then found a stone knife in the palace. It was extremely sharp. Standing at the edge of the platform, Leo carefully observed the woodland below.

The trees were tall and dense, leaving the forest dimly lit. He could hear birdsong, beastly roars, and other sounds he could not identify.

Dangerous, but full of life—which meant there was prey.

"I'll start from the outskirts."

He formed a plan. "Find small animals, familiarize myself with the environment, and obtain life energy. Once my level rises, I'll venture deeper into the forest."

He gripped the short knife tightly and watched his surroundings warily. Rexxar's hunting memories came in handy now—how to identify animal tracks, how to move stealthily, how to choose the right moment.

A rustling came from the bushes ahead.

Leo immediately crouched down and held his breath.

A moment later, a rabbit-like creature emerged. It had grayish-brown fur and short ears, and it was lowering its head to gnaw on grass roots.

It was about five meters away.

Leo calculated the angle and route. Rabbit-like animals had keen hearing and agile movements; if he failed to kill it in one strike, it would flee.

He moved slowly, placing each step lightly to avoid snapping dry branches.

Three meters, two meters, one meter... Leo lunged forward. His stone knife stabbed into the rabbit's neck, killing it in a single blow. Its struggling ceased.

Just then, the red spiral tattoo on the back of his hand grew faintly hot. A weak warm current flowed from the rabbit's corpse and entered his body.

It was very slight, like taking a sip of warm water, then it quickly dissipated.

[Life Energy +0.5] [Level: 0 (1%)]

"I need two hundred rabbits to reach Level 1," he calculated. "And to reach Level 25..."

Relying solely on small animals would take far too much time. He had to find more efficient hunting targets.

Rexxar's hunting memories made his observations of the environment sharper.

He noticed several raised patches of soil in a forest clearing. Their surfaces had small holes, and fine grains of sand around them bore signs of having been moved.

"Ants?" Leo crouched down and gently dug into a patch of loose soil with his stone knife.

Sure enough, beneath it was the entrance to an ant nest. Several dark-brown ants were hurrying in and out. Each was the size of a fingernail, with well-developed mandibles.

His eyes lit up.

Though each ant provided very little life energy, they existed in great numbers. If he could find a large ant colony...

Leo stood and began searching with purpose. He looked along the sunlit edges of the forest, where the soil was dry and suitable for ants to build nests.

Less than half an hour later, he found his target beside a fallen log—a mound-shaped ant nest more than half a meter in diameter. Its surface was densely covered in holes, and ants bustled in and out.

"Found it."

He did not act rashly. First, he observed the nest's structure. It had been built against the roots of the fallen log, with its main body underground, though its aboveground portion was also massive.

He did not recognize the species of ant. They were about two centimeters long, glossy black all over, and moved quickly.

"Let's give it a try."

Leo backed away a few steps and found a sturdy branch as thick as his arm and of suitable length. First, he cleared away the dead leaves and weeds around the ant nest.

Once everything was ready, he gripped the branch with both hands, aimed at a relatively weak spot on the side of the nest, and drove it in with force!

"Pfft."

The soil burst apart. The nest's internal structure was exposed, and countless ants instantly poured out in a swarming black mass, like boiling black liquid.

They swiftly climbed up the branch, their mandibles snapping open and shut. They were clearly highly aggressive.

Leo quickly pulled back the branch and slammed it against the ground, shaking off the ants clinging to it.

Then he circled to the other side of the nest, thrust the branch in again, and stirred it around.

After repeating this several times, the ant nest was completely destroyed.

The aboveground portion collapsed, exposing the tangled tunnels and egg chambers below. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ants crawled about in panic. Some soldier ants tried to attack Leo, but he easily swept them away with the branch.

The slaughter continued...

The tattoo on the back of his hand continuously gave off warmth, far weaker than when he had killed the rabbit, but unceasing.

The energy provided by each dead ant was minuscule, but their numbers made up for it.

[Life Energy +0.01]

[Life Energy +0.01]

[Life Energy +0.01]...

The notifications flashed rapidly through his mind before finally converging into a total.

[This Harvest: Life Energy +9.8]

[Level: 0 (10.8%)]

Leo's eyes brightened.

Destroying one ant nest yielded nearly as much as killing twenty rabbits!

And the risk was extremely low—though the ants were numerous, each individual posed little threat. He only had to make sure that too many did not crawl onto his body.

"Now that's more like it."

He smiled in satisfaction, and the grave look from earlier eased considerably.

He carefully checked himself and brushed off several ants that had crawled up his pant legs.

The tattoo on the back of his hand gleamed dark red beneath the sunlight. His level progress had jumped from 1% to nearly 11%.

"There should be plenty of ant nests in this forest."

Leo cleaned up the area to avoid leaving too many traces that might attract other creatures. He memorized the location—perhaps the ants would rebuild their nest in the future, and he could "harvest" it regularly.

Over the next few hours, he changed his strategy.

Rather than focusing on finding prey, he systematically searched for ant nests and the nests of other social insects.

He gradually accumulated experience: black ant nests were usually built along dry forest edges or beside fallen logs; red ants liked building nests beneath rocks; there was also a larger brown ant with a sour, rotten smell, whose nests were usually deep underground and took more effort to dig out.

Each time he destroyed a nest, his life energy steadily increased. It was far more efficient than hunting animals.

By the time the sun slanted westward, Leo had cleared out four ant nests, raising his level progress to:

[Level: 0 (31%)]

At this rate, he could reach Level 1 tomorrow.

His steps were much lighter as he returned to the palace. Though he still could not use Nen, he could now see hope of leveling up quickly.

That evening, Leo found a relatively intact corner of the palace to rest.

He took stock of today's gains: besides life energy, he had made several unexpected discoveries—beside one ant nest, he found a small patch of wild berry bushes whose fruit was sweet and sour but edible; near another nest, there was a clean seep where the water was clear.

"Tomorrow, I'll continue."

He chewed on berries and planned out tomorrow's route.

"That sunny hillside to the east should have plenty of ant nests. I'll go there first."

The tattoo on the back of his hand gave off a faint warmth in the twilight, as though responding to his anticipation.

Night gradually deepened, and the forest fell silent.

Leo leaned against a stone wall and closed his eyes to rest.

Though he was still in the state of "Zetsu" and unable to sense Nen aura, the strengthening of his body was real—his stamina expenditure while destroying ant nests today had been much lower than expected, and he had recovered quickly.

"Level 25... it shouldn't take too long."

As he thought this, a relaxed smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

At least he had found the right path to level up early on. He would not have to fight beasts to the death every day.