The moment Kortopi instinctively relied on the enhancement-type puppet, his defeat was sealed.
A 200% power flying star attack…
That's no joke!
What's more, Kortopi still had part of his nen energy deployed elsewhere on the long street, making it impossible to defend against this fatal strike.
As Moro turned and walked away, he heard the sound of the flying star detonating in the distance. He casually raised the back of his hand to glance at it.
Lv.22 → Lv.31
"Leveled up by nine…"
Staring at the number in the center of the ring-like tattoo, a flicker of satisfaction crossed Moro's eyes.
In just half a month, he had climbed from Lv.7 to Lv.31.
If it had been purely through training, half a month might have only added two or three levels to his initial rank of seven.
And the higher the level, the exponentially more time it would take to progress further.
Hunting high-level nen users, however, allowed him to bypass the constraints of time and directly claim results that otherwise belonged to the distant future.
The only difference was—
Hunting nen users came with the very real risk of losing one's life.
"Kortopi's level must be somewhere between Lv.45 and Lv.60, I'd estimate…"
Moro speculated about Kortopi's aura level.
Initially, it was hard to gauge due to the distance.
Once he got closer, the split in Kortopi's nen energy, which was deployed elsewhere, made it even harder to pinpoint the exact level. All Moro could do was provide a wide range for his estimate.
"No point in dwelling on it—time to make my getaway."
With the tattoo's level feedback confirming his success, Moro didn't worry about any "fake death" tricks Kortopi might pull. He turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.
Attacking Kortopi had been a calculated risk—a gamble for glory amidst danger.
Now that he'd claimed his reward, it was time to distance himself from any lingering risks.
If he had waited until Hisoka fully allowed Kortopi to feign death before launching his attack, the risks might have been smaller.
However, by then…
Kortopi would have been at full strength, making it far more difficult to kill him through an ambush.
"Choices are everything…"
Moro thought to himself as he sprinted ahead at full speed.
He passed through a passageway flanked by tall buildings and arrived at a pedestrian path lined with plane trees.
"Chirp, chirp…"
A series of sparrow calls rang out from the trees above.
Moro suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up. Through the branches, he could vaguely make out a few sparrows perched on the trunk.
Woo-woo! Woo-woo!
In the distance, piercing sirens echoed from various directions, growing louder.
The sharp sound startled the sparrows, causing them to flap their wings and scatter into the air.
Seeing this, Moro jumped into the air and stretched out his right hand, grabbing one of the sparrows mid-flight.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The sparrow struggled furiously, its cries turning sharp as it pecked at Moro's fingers with its beak.
Moro looked down at the small bird in his hand.
"Starburst Convergence."
His aura shattered into starlight, swirling around him in a radiant field.
Moro extended the index finger of his left hand and slowly moved it toward the sparrow.
The sparrow panicked further, pecking desperately at the approaching finger.
But Moro dodged its attacks with ease.
A few seconds later, Moro deactivated his ability and released the sparrow, watching it fly away before turning toward the sound of the sirens.
In the distance, police cars were speeding down the road, their blaring sirens causing private vehicles to pull over in haste.
Pedestrians, unused to such a commotion, turned to watch in curiosity.
Moro quickly averted his gaze from the scene and looked at the sparrow now flying off into the distance. Then he resumed sprinting in the opposite direction.
His astonishing speed drew gasps of surprise from the passersby.
But Moro couldn't care less—his sole focus was escaping the epicenter of this chaos as quickly as possible.
After running for some time, Moro suddenly heard louder gasps and cries coming from behind him.
"Hm?"
Sensing something unusual, Moro turned his head sharply, and his pupils contracted at what he saw.
In the air above, a red figure swung swiftly toward him like Spider-Man...
No, it was Hisoka!
High above, a pink elastic thread had latched onto the top of a traffic light.
The other end of the thread was connected to Hisoka, who exuded a terrifying, ravenous killing intent, his face twisted into a monstrous expression.
As the thread abruptly retracted, Hisoka's body flew through the air at high speed, leaping over the traffic light and hurtling directly toward Moro.
On the roads and sidewalks, every onlooker had noticed Hisoka.
Though they couldn't clearly see his sinister face, the sheer malice emanating from his swiftly moving figure sent chills down their spines. His presence coiled around their throats like a venomous snake, leaving them breathless with just a glance.
If not for the fact that Hisoka had no interest in them...
The oppressive killing intent radiating from his aura alone could have shattered their consciousness from meters away.
The police cars screeched to a halt when they noticed Hisoka in the distance. The officers immediately turned their vehicles around, retreating without hesitation.
But Hisoka paid no attention to the police.
His gaze was locked solely on Moro.
"The killing intent still lingers… I understand that feeling. The afterglow of satisfaction—it's still present in your aura."
Using the incredible elasticity of his pink thread, Hisoka launched himself like an arrow from the sky. With frightening speed, he closed the distance, now only a few hundred meters away from Moro.
Boom.
Hisoka's body slammed into the ground with explosive force, shattering a large section of bricks and sending debris scattering everywhere.
Amid the rising dust, Hisoka strode forward, his golden eyes trembling with anticipation as he scanned his surroundings.
Several meters ahead, Moro stopped running the moment he heard the crash behind him.
In a bustling urban setting, trying to escape someone like "Spider-Man Hisoka" with pure speed was simply impossible.
Accepting this, Moro turned to face Hisoka.
The aura emanating from Hisoka was suffocating, a chaotic mix of madness, desire, and bloodlust. His face was twisted into something resembling that of a demonic beast.
This, Moro thought, was probably the most unhinged thing he had encountered since arriving in this world.
"Damn, he's fast. What is he, part bloodhound? And that aura… it's definitely over Lv.60."
Looking at Hisoka's wildly surging nen, Moro made a mental assessment that he was confident in.
Without favorable circumstances—no luck, no advantageous setup—there was no way Moro could win against this version of Hisoka, who was in an intense state of bloodlust.
"What do you want?"
Moro opened his aura nodes, allowing his maximum nen to flow freely around him as he calmly addressed Hisoka. At the same time, his right hand began gathering nen into a sharp, concentrated form.
Hisoka's expression grew even more menacing, the corners of his eyes and mouth pulling together grotesquely.
He glanced briefly at the nen forming on Moro's right hand and smirked, his golden eyes narrowing.
"So, you're a Transmuter…"
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen