"Today's winner is—UN!SHAK!ABLE! Kevin!!"
"Kevin, Kevin!"
"Woohoo!"
The audience erupted into cheers.
"Congratulations on advancing to the 150th floor," the referee beside him said with a smile.
Kevin returned the smile politely, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked out of the arena.
In the stands.
Kite silently pulled his hat down lower and walked through the bustling crowd to leave.
Soon, he spotted Kevin in the corridor outside.
Kevin had already noticed him and greeted him with a smile. "Oh, it's you, Kite. Came to watch me fight again? Honestly, what's there to see in my battles? Isn't it a waste of time? Hahaha."
As he spoke, he naturally slung an arm over Kite's shoulder like a good friend.
Which they truly were. Kite didn't react to Kevin's gesture, only replied, "Didn't you also watch every single one of my matches lately?"
"Hahaha!" Kevin laughed, patting Kite's shoulder.
"That's different! You know that. Don't play dumb."
After that one fight, it had taken Kite just a few days to reach the 200th floor.
It was now July 24th. Over two months had passed since Kevin began battling in the arena.
Kite had been fighting on the 200+ floors for two months. Although that sounded long, he'd only participated in six matches during that time, already making him one of the most frequent participants recently.
Battles above the 200th floor were by reservation only, with a hard rule of at least one fight every 90 days.
This made matches on the upper floors extremely popular—tickets would sell out the instant they went on sale.
"Speaking of which, do you get any personal tickets as a contestant? You have no idea how expensive those 200+ floor tickets are! Every time I have to deal with those damn scalpers—bunch of crooks!"
Kevin grumbled as he followed Kite to his room.
As for why they weren't heading to Kevin's room? Simple—Kite's room was way better.
Kevin's room was like a standard hotel suite, while Kite's was more like the presidential suite of a five-star resort.
Hearing Kevin's complaints, Kite rolled his eyes.
As a Nen user who had already reached the 150th floor, how could Kevin possibly be short on money?
Sure, the tickets for 200+ floor matches were expensive, but for them, it was pocket change.
They arrived at Kite's room, and the door opened to reveal a luxurious 200-square-meter suite.
Fine furnishings and high-end electronics filled the space.
Honestly, the tech level of these devices looked on par with what Kevin had in his former world.
"Man, this is awesome. Ugh, I could never stay in a place like this," Kevin said, flopping onto a plush sofa and sinking into it with a content sigh.
Kite picked up a glass, poured Kevin some fruit wine, and sat down beside him on the couch. "With your strength, you'd easily make it to the 200th floor. How long are you planning to hang around down there?"
Hearing that, Kevin smiled at Kite. "No rush. You know how it is—everyone above 150 is already a known martial artist. I need a few months here. Maybe by October, I'll hit floor 200."
Kite nodded. That was fine. He could wait.
He'd already fought six times above the 200th floor: three wins, three losses.
But he still yearned for a match against Kevin.
Even now, after several matches against Nen users, he still felt Kevin was a real challenge.
"Why are you so fixated on fighting me?" Kevin asked, puzzled.
He had watched dozens of matches on the upper floors himself and had a decent understanding of how Nen battles worked.
To be honest, Nen really did seem like a superpower—abilities that almost granted your wishes.
He had seen all sorts of Nen abilities. Some seemed completely useless, but others had genuinely impressed him.
Most importantly, he understood what Biscuit meant back then: most Nen users really had poor fundamentals.
Now he realized why Biscuit praised his use of Gyo.
Across all those matches, he had only seen three Nen users actually use Gyo in combat—and even then, they only used it when they sensed something was wrong.
Only Kite used Gyo correctly, at every subtle sign of danger.
The other Nen techniques? Absolutely terrible. Kite was slightly better thanks to his familiarity, which let him achieve a 3-3 record.
The ones who beat Kite didn't necessarily have better technique—they had completed their own Nen abilities.
Kite, meanwhile, fought with basic Nen skills and a sword.
Losing was normal.
Hearing Kevin's question, Kite didn't hide anything. "Your Nen skills are really strong. I've only ever seen that level in my teacher."
So, not self-taught.
Kevin had figured out a way to tell if someone was formally trained: solid Nen fundamentals.
Nen users with teachers didn't rush to build a personal ability. They learned all the basics thoroughly first.
"Hmm, okay then. When I make it to the 200th floor, you'll be the first person I fight. Are you going to create your own Nen ability? If you don't have one by then, you might not beat me."
Kite shook his head. "No, I'm going to finish my master's trials first. Once I become his true disciple, I'll think about that."
"I see." Kevin was a bit disappointed, then asked, "So, you're leaving?"
He had watched Kite's last match a few days ago and noticed Kite was hitting a bottleneck. What he needed now was time—to turn his experiences into power.
Continuing to fight on the 200+ floors wouldn't help much anymore.
"Yeah." Kite nodded.
"I need to pass my master's trials and prepare for the next Hunter Exam—this coming January."
That piqued Kevin's interest. He leaned in and asked, "Hunter Exam? You've taken it before?"
Kite nodded. "I took it earlier this year. During the final phase, I met another Nen user among the examinees and lost. I wasn't good at fighting other Nen users at the time."
"Oh, that's how it is." Now Kevin understood why Kite came here—to prepare for the next exam through 200-floor matches.
"Then let's do it together. Honestly, I'm pretty interested in this Hunter thing. I should be ready by then."
"Of course. It'd be great to have a partner for the exam."
Kevin stood and clapped Kite on the back with a smile. "Then you better train hard. Don't end up losing to me again like last time."
"Heh, we'll see about that. Next time, I'll beat you to a pulp."
"Haha, I'll be waiting."
"Hahahaha."
The two peers exchanged a glance and laughed together.
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