Thugs

Odin stood at the boundary between light and shadow, watching the brightly lit food stall nearby and the figures laughing together with their arms slung over one another's shoulders.

These men had lured this body into a dark alley with the flimsy excuse of "finding him a job," then robbed him of all his money and luggage.

In the end, annoyed by how little money he had, they had viciously struck his head with an iron pipe, directly causing "Odin's" death and his own arrival.

His stomach churned again, making his mouth water and reminding him of his most pressing needs.

Money, food, and somewhere he could sleep safely.

Taking a deep breath, Odin walked straight over.

The thugs clearly noticed him too. One blond nudged the bald man beside him with his elbow and jerked his chin toward Odin, undisguised mockery plastered across his face.

The bald man turned and squinted at Odin as he approached, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of tobacco-stained teeth. "Don't know how you survived, but if I were you, I'd stay down instead of coming looking for us."

His words drew an even louder burst of laughter from his companions.

Clearly, they thought nothing of the skinny, somewhat pale Odin standing before them.

Or perhaps they had met far too many people like him and unanimously considered them fools they could bully however they pleased.

Odin said nothing, and their jeers left him unmov... how could he possibly remain unmoved? He wasn't the Odin of this world. He had transmigrated here. When had anyone ever treated him like this in his previous life?

With his newly acquired cheat, the Rabbit Talisman, was he supposed to put up with this?

With a whoosh, Odin moved.

There was no warning. They didn't even see him lift his foot before his body seemed to shift into high speed, leaving a blur of afterimages.

Thud!

A figure dropped to the ground and stayed there, eyes tightly shut. He appeared to be sleeping very soundly.

"Huh?" The blond froze. He felt as though his vision had blurred for a moment, and then his companion beside him had gone straight to sleep.

It wasn't just the blond. The bald man and the other thugs abruptly stopped laughing too, their faces filled with bewilderment.

"What's going on?" The bald man frowned, staring intently at Odin.

Standing beside the blond, Odin tilted his head slightly, then suddenly broke into a grin that struck the thugs as downright roguish.

Just now, he had simply walked up to one of the thugs at his usual pace and hit him. From his perspective, everyone and everything had slowed down astonishingly, as though time itself had decelerated, while he alone moved at normal speed.

It was a remarkable experience. His thoughts kept up perfectly, and he could even clearly see the blond beside him blinking.

To everyone else, however, he had apparently moved from one spot to another in an instant.

"Fuck, don't think I'm scared of you!" The blond's mouth moved faster than his brain. With a growl, he lunged at Odin, swinging his right fist straight at his face.

The fist slowed in Odin's eyes. He could see the muscles in the man's arm tightening, the arc of his punch, and even the savage expression on his face.

He leaned gently aside. The fist swept past his cheek with a rush of air, without touching so much as a strand of his hair.

"The Rabbit Talisman is fucking awesome." Odin was thrilled.

He had always wanted superpowers in his previous life, and now his wish had finally come true.

With the relative sense of time granted by the Rabbit Talisman, ordinary people's movements were riddled with openings, as sluggish as footage played in slow motion.

His thoughts raced without delaying his movements. Watching the blond punch past him, Odin raised his right hand at his usual speed and struck him squarely on the chin.

Thud!

Time returned to normal, and the blond went flying like a rag doll, crashing to the ground and lying motionless like the other thug, his eyes rolled back.

Seeing two companions knocked down so easily in succession made the thugs realize once again that something was wrong.

The bald man stood up too, his expression ugly. "You're one of those people from up there?!"

But as soon as he spoke, he shook his head, rejecting the idea. They had ambushed Odin with ease just a little while ago.

If Odin had possessed this kind of strength, they could never have gotten the better of him earlier.

Which meant...

Something about him had changed?

At that thought, the bald man couldn't help recalling those freakishly powerful fighters on the two-hundredth floor of Heavens Arena.

I'm screwed!

The bald man was shaken to his core, and a bitter laugh escaped him. He had never imagined his luck could be this rotten.

At the same time, however, excitement stirred in his heart. If he could learn these abilities himself, wouldn't he be able to become someone like those big shots in Heavens Arena?!

Clenching his fists until his knuckles cracked, the bald man looked at Odin and asked earnestly, "Is it too late for us to surrender? We'll give you your money back. We can give you all our money."

His words shocked the thugs surrounding Odin, and they stared at him with wide eyes.

Their gazes conveyed an absurd sense of, We're about to fight for our lives, and you're leading the surrender, boss?

Odin sneered.

The next instant, their vision blurred.

Thud, thud, thud!

A series of bodies hitting the ground told the bald man that his plan had failed. He forced himself to focus, concentrating entirely on dealing with Odin's attack.

But the difference in their speed was too great. The thought had barely formed before Odin was already beside him. He crouched slightly, pivoted on his right foot, and lashed out with his left leg like a whip, moving so fast that it left only a faint blur in the air.

Bam!

There was a dull impact. The bald man hadn't even seen how Odin had kicked before he was down on the ground, unable to get up.

The entire process had taken only three seconds.

The food stall owner hadn't even had time to react. Now that he had, he didn't dare make a sound.

Some of the scattered pedestrians on the street kept their distance, afraid to approach this suddenly dangerous area.

Others stopped where they were and became spectators.

Ignoring everyone else, Odin walked over to the bald man, crouched down, and began searching his pockets.

A moment later, he pulled some crumpled banknotes from the bald man's pocket. It wasn't much.

Next, Odin searched the other thugs one by one, gathering a small stack of notes and coins.

He didn't count the exact amount, but he figured it should cover food and lodging for a few days.

He stuffed the money into his own equally empty pockets and walked straight up to the food stall. "Give me two of your set meals, to go," he told the owner hiding behind it.

The owner shakily agreed at once. "Y-yes, of course! They'll be ready right away!"

While waiting for the food, Odin stood by the roadside, feeling the exhaustion in his body.

Although he hadn't used the Rabbit Talisman for long during that brief fight, the drain on his stamina was obvious.

Ultimately, this body was simply too weak. Even ordinary jogging tired him out quickly, let alone moving at extreme speed.

He needed to improve his fitness as soon as possible, and he also needed to learn finer control over the Rabbit Talisman's speed.

It seemed he was using the Rabbit Talisman at its default supersonic speed. He didn't need to move that fast at all. It consumed far too much stamina and was terribly wasteful.

"Y-your food is ready." The owner cautiously handed over two packed paper bags, not even daring to ask for payment first.

Odin had already checked the stall's price list. Without a word, he pulled out several of his freshly earned banknotes and placed them on the counter. It was a little more than necessary, but that didn't matter.

He picked up the food, turned, and left.

He needed somewhere to rest, eat, and replenish his strength.

After walking a short distance down the street, he found a budget hotel that looked reasonably clean and unlikely to be too expensive.

Using the money he had just obtained, he paid for a single room, bought a bottle of water, and took his key up the narrow stairs.

The room was small, with only a bed, a table, and a chair. The walls were somewhat yellowed, but it was reasonably tidy.

Odin locked the door, set the food on the table, and eagerly opened it.

One portion was grilled meat over rice, and the other was stir-fried noodles. Both were generous servings, and their aroma filled the air.

He wolfed them down, the calories quickly driving away his exhaustion and chill.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he leaned back in the chair and let out a long breath.

He had made it through his first day in this world with a scare, but no real harm.

Thank goodness I had the Rabbit Talisman. Otherwise...

Odin couldn't bear to think any further. Given his circumstances, if nothing had changed, he probably really would have died in this world.

Relaxing, Odin rose and walked to the window. He pushed it open, letting the slightly cool night air flow inside.

Far in the distance, a building towering into the clouds stood out prominently. Even in the darkness, the countless lights studding its surface were dazzling.

That was Heavens Arena.

Information about it surfaced in his memories-it was a holy ground for fighters, and a place to earn enormous prize money quickly.

Every victory came with prize money, and the higher the floor, the greater the reward.

In the story, Gon and the others had earned over a million Jenny upon reaching the hundredth floor. By the hundred-and-ninetieth floor, they could earn two hundred million Jenny from a single match.

Gon and the others had earned eight hundred million Jenny altogether, or four hundred million each. Converted into yuan, that was twenty-four million yuan.

Even if that money were simply deposited in a bank to earn interest, it would be enough for a family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

"Heavens Arena..." Odin murmured the name, curiosity in his eyes.

For someone who urgently needed money and a relatively "legal" framework in which to test his abilities and hone his fighting skills, it was undoubtedly the best choice.

Using his speed to steal and rob might bring in money faster, but the risks were greater too, and it could easily attract unwanted attention and trouble.

At Heavens Arena, earning money through skill at least complied with the city's rules on the surface.

He needed money, more systematic training, and an understanding of this world's rules beyond the scraps of information he knew from the story.

At the same time, he needed to find a way to awaken his Nen Ability.

The Rabbit Talisman was his powerful cheat, but Nen Abilities were the core of this world's power system.

He remembered very clearly that the two-hundredth floor of Heavens Arena and above belonged to Nen users.

The gap between Nen users and ordinary people was enormous.

Looking at the giant tower in the distance, Odin made his decision. "I'll go check it out tomorrow."

He closed the window and lay down on the somewhat hard bed.

His physical exhaustion soon caught up with him, but his mind was still a little excited by the day's experiences and his plans for the future.

Transmigration, and into the world of Hunter × Hunter, no less. Something I could only dream about before had actually come true.

Drowsiness washed over him, and Odin's breathing gradually steadied.