Not long after, Xiang Nan left the shopping mall.
Inside the women's clothing store, a shop assistant happened by and noticed blood flowing outside the fitting room.
She covered her mouth, frightened, and timidly walked up to pull aside the curtain.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
A moment later, a piercing shriek resounded.
They saw that, inside the small fitting‑room enclosure, a woman lay collapsed in the corner—her limbs splayed awkwardly. Not only did her head appear cut open, but her expression and features were locked in terror, as if she had seen some kind of demon in her final moment.
Very soon, the others in the store were alerted and came running. Upon beholding the scene, they too froze in icy dread, and quite a few customers who had been browsing promptly fled in panic, not daring to linger.
Compared to the chaotic crowd, however, there was a man calmly standing not too far from the fitting room entrance.
When the shop assistant pulled aside the curtain and saw the body inside, Hisoka—his fingertips holding a playing card over his mouth—showed a gracefully curved smile, his eyes taking on a slightly deranged glint.
For other people, it was a scene of unspeakable horror; for him, it was utterly delectable. His expression was tinged with relish, almost intoxicated.
He wasn't particularly interested in that "Nowhere's Town" crowd; even though he likewise could not "toy" with them, based on Heaven's Arena data and footage, he was able to conclude that most who claimed to come from that mysterious place were small fry—far too weak.
He found them unworthy of a glance, not worth his time.
But in this case, this person…seemed a little different.
Though he "couldn't sense" the other, the bloody tableau right here made him pick up on some distinct aura.
He had never tasted that sort of "flavor" among the usual trash.
During Xiang Nan's "attack," Hisoka had been standing outside the fitting room the entire time, listening with perfect clarity to all those beautiful sounds.
He'd been watching out of curiosity—due to Illumi, in fact—and had come to "observe," somewhat casually.
He hadn't expected to stumble upon a new source of amusement.
Nowhere's Town.
This strange group of Nen users supposedly all came from the same place, yet no one could ever confirm where exactly in the human world—no official source had ever found evidence of that location.
At the very least, from a governmental or intelligence perspective, there were never any solid findings.
All that was known was that they had appeared a long time ago…some of them had Nen, others did not; strong or weak varied widely—but overall, they were mediocre.
The few strong ones… numbered maybe only one or two.
They also acted extremely cautious, seldom exposing their identities.
Once their "protective period" ended, so long as they themselves did not disclose the truth, outsiders could hardly figure out they were from "Nowhere's Town."
But as the saying goes, "where there is existence, there are traces."
Those who competed in Heaven's Arena would at least have a record. No matter where they went after leaving the arena, their background and documentation could be traced.
Interestingly, from the perspective of their "original" identities, nothing suspicious was ever discovered.
Hence, some rumors claimed that "Nowhere's Town" was simply a secret Nen user organization.
Not a real nation at all.
Such a notion would help explain their appearances.
Though they had drawn certain attention, to major countries or powers like the V5, these people were negligible—because their numbers were too few, and their power far from top‑tier.
Even if they had a few hundred members, they couldn't stir up much trouble in the world.
No one got any meaningful "information" from them, so eventually, people just assumed they were some unofficial underground group.
It was indeed true that they displayed certain oddities that defied normal Nen logic—like the way they were under some form of "protection," so strong Nen users couldn't do anything about them.
This was the only intriguing aspect about them.
But over the course of ages, no one ever found answers, so they were simply disregarded.
Hisoka, for his part, had once been curious and sought out a few "Nowhere's Town" Nen users—but seeing their mediocre standard left him disappointed.
Yet now, his appetite for possibility had rekindled.
"Hmm…"
As others crowded around the fitting room, Hisoka stretched, releasing a somewhat perverse sigh, then flicked his tongue over his lips.
With that same smile, he quietly slipped away, unnoticed by anyone.
…
Meanwhile, Xiang Nan strolled out of the mall onto the street.
Other Nen users' conceptions of their own powers could give him bits of inspiration, helping him refine his own future Nen ability.
In truth, after seeing so many Nen battles and combining them with his personal experiences, he was already formulating a design for his own skill.
But Nen ability isn't simply "the more complex, the better."
What matters is that it fits you—perfectly integrating with your combat style.
Too complicated or overly strong from the start only means heavier constraints later.
"Hmm…still not enough samples. Let's continue."
Xiang Nan mused.
After lingering in Heaven's Arena for so long, he more or less discovered where "players' levels" generally aligned within this Hunter x Hunter world.
Generally speaking, a player at "Extinction 4" who acquires Nen is basically your typical "200+ floor seasoned rookie" in Heaven's Arena—far outstripping Kaito from back then. Roughly equal to the standard of the "Rookie Crusher Trio" that Gon and Killua faced in the original story (the spinning top guy, the wheelchair guy, and so forth).
He vaguely recalled their names as Gido and Sadaso, that lot…
Kaito had hardly formed a Nen ability at all. He could manifest Nen, but it wasn't complete.
A true "whiteboard" with only basic Nen moves—no real advanced technique.
For "Extinction 5" players, they were a bit stronger—able to stand their ground around 200 floors without being quickly knocked out. Their record might be a mix of wins and losses.
Overall, still just average.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
Level alone doesn't guarantee real strength. Sometimes you get special individuals with lower level but higher skill.
Like Xiang Nan… or Manman's second personality.
He was sure they weren't unique cases.
Surely there must be players with even more monstrous talent than him, given how huge the overall player base was, plus various system "talent picks" and knowledge of the story.
But from what he could see at the moment, yes—the overall standard among players was pretty lackluster.
Even passing the fifth round, they only matched a second‑rate level in Hunter x Hunter.
As for that "boss" of Stars rumored to be Extinction 7, at most he'd be a floor master. And that might not be guaranteed—some floor masters, we saw, got effortlessly crushed by main characters in the story arcs.
They hardly matched up to the likes of Chrollo or Hisoka—vastly different leagues.
Hence, "The top player is at Extinction 8… that means he's roughly on par with major canon characters…?"
Xiang Nan reasoned to himself.
If that's so, perhaps clearing all ten rounds of the Extinction Tour was the bare minimum needed to truly "stand tall" in this world. Enough to match big names in the storyline.
But that's just his guess.
Because level alone doesn't decide everything.
It might be some super strong player once existed but died unexpectedly before completing all ten rounds—there were all kinds of variables.
"Anyway…I should proceed with my plans to develop my Nen ability."
Xiang Nan had come to Heaven's Arena partly for that reason.
Secondly, he also wanted the experience of fighting different users of each Nen type—exposure to all sorts of fighting styles and abilities, building up his bank of real combat data.
As we know, in Hunter x Hunter, how you break down your opponent's power is paramount.
He had to see more unusual or bizarre Nen abilities. Then, faced with unexpected foes, he would have enough knowledge to figure out a path to victory.
And that too… was part of building a solid foundation—an integral part of one's strength.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!