Chương 36: Deception

When they opened the door, an elderly man in a tailcoat bowed with one hand over his heart.

"Welcome to Elder City, Mr. Lucilfer. The elders have been waiting." Aren stared. There were too many things to question at once.

'Had the elders spent too much time dealing with the mafia? Why did Meteor City's ruling structure look like a mafia estate? Could they not develop a style of their own?' Chrollo seemed comfortable with the situation and familiar with the old man.

"Rock. Please take us to the elders."

"Of course. Follow me." The butler bowed again and led the way with his hands behind his back. Whatever else Aren thought, Rock carried himself convincingly. Soon, they reached the meeting room.

"Elders," Rock said with another bow, "Mr. Lucilfer and his companion have arrived." The old man at the head of the table waved him away.

"Thank you, Rock. You may leave." From his position and presence, Aren judged him to be the Head Elder. Once Rock departed, the Head Elder looked sharply at Chrollo.

"Are you ready for our test?" He did not use Nen, but years at the top of Meteor City gave his voice a natural pressure. Chrollo remained calm.

"Yes. This is Aren Voss, one of the companions I found and deputy leader of our team. He will represent us during the test." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He stepped aside. Only then did the elders focus fully on Aren, who had looked around the room with visible boredom since entering. They did not care whether Chrollo personally took the test. They already had a reasonable understanding of his current strength.

They only needed proof that his group could survive outside. Aren was unfamiliar to them. The elders collected information on nearly every fighter in Meteor City with even a small reputation. Their plan had existed for years. Uvogin and the others had originally reached Chrollo through names recommended by the elders. Aren's original body had been sold to the Nostrade Family through the Third Elder's subordinates.

The Sixth Elder's side had also contacted Fanobi through intermediaries when arranging the interception. Neither task mattered enough for the elders to handle personally. That was why none recognized his face. They assumed he had kept a low profile. They trusted Chrollo's judgment. The Head Elder clapped. A muscular man roughly two meters tall entered through another door.

"Jack," the Head Elder said.

"Test him."

"Understood." Jack's voice was as flat as a machine. He and Aren activated Gyo at the same time. After confirming that no traps waited around Aren, Jack rushed forward. More than half of his visible aura gathered around his right fist. His physique and straightforward charge resembled Uvogin's style.

'Enhancer?' Aren thought. Jack certainly looked like one. Then Aren dismissed the question. The difference in aura was too large for the answer to matter. If Jack maintained only Ten, Aren could not estimate his total reserves accurately. With so much gathered into one fist, the rough scale became visible. Around ten thousand. Nothing impressive. Aren could block the punch with Ten alone. But he had no interest in letting an unfamiliar man touch him. Especially not a grown man he did not know.

Limitless Technique activated. Aren opened his left hand casually. The Head Elder shook his head.

"Too young. He fell for it." As if confirming the old man's judgment, Jack shifted aura smoothly from his right fist to his left hand with Ryu. He left only a thin layer around the right fist so Aren would not break it during the apparent clash. Nen Cannon. A sphere of emitted aura formed in Jack's left palm and shot toward Aren's abdomen.

"Success." The expressionless man smiled viciously.

"Another naive little fool." Anyone seeing Jack for the first time would assume he was an Enhancer. The large body. The heavy muscle. The direct behavior. It was a disguise. Jack was an Emitter. At the start of each fight, he gathered aura into his right fist and pretended to launch a simple Enhancer attack. When an opponent concentrated defense on the expected point of impact, he used Ryu to transfer power to his left hand and fired Nen Cannon into the weakened abdomen.

He practiced Ryu until his aura moved faster than most opponents could react. The trick worked repeatedly. This time, the expected impact never came. Jack's confidence cracked.

"So you're an Emitter," Aren said beside him.

"You look honest, but you're pretty nasty." Jack saw something he would never forget.