Chapter 39: He Got Me
Ging is your teacher?
Arthur calculated. It's January 1995 now, four years before Gon, at 12, takes the Hunter Exam. So Ging is only in his twenties, not even thirty.
And this guy?
Judging by his appearance, he's almost forty, right?
"Is there a problem?" Alan Trill looked at Arthur.
Arthur replied, "No problem, just that you seem older than Ging Freecss."
Alan Trill looked surprised, glanced at Arthur, and asked, "Do you know Ging?"
Arthur answered honestly, "I know him, but he doesn't know me."
Alan Trill nodded.
Menchi felt like she'd heard Arthur's words somewhere before.
"Let's talk as we walk." Alan Trill turned, "By the way, since we're all association members, just call me Alan."
Shizuku reached out to press the exit's Divine Script, only to find Alan Trill heading in a different direction.
The toy white fox leaped out, following Alan Trill into a side chamber, standing on its hind legs to press a paw against a stone wall. The wall trembled slightly, opening a deep passage over two meters high. Alan Trill said, "This passage can only be opened by Little White."
"Where does it lead?" Shizuku asked curiously.
"Where else?" Arthur replied, "An amusement park, maybe straight to an office."
Menchi was surprised, "Your company's representative was so adamant about not knowing anything about an ancient tomb..."
Alan Trill said, "They really don't know."
Arthur understood, "The department responsible for the protected area, the amusement park, and the secret ancient tomb are all part of the same company, but not the same department, right?"
Alan Trill smiled, "Let's go."
Arthur, Menchi, and Shizuku followed him into the passage, hearing the stone wall close behind them. Looking back, a white shadow followed, the so-called Little White, the remnant of Nasuti Hui Guo Rou's grudge residing in the toy white fox?
Little White wagged its tail, walking on four legs like a living white fox, with Shizuku curiously observing it.
Nasuti Hui Guo Rou... Judging by the name, it resembles the current King of Kakin Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
Arthur, just over a meter tall, could easily pet the white fox walking beside him. As he did, he organized his thoughts.
If he guessed correctly, this Nasuti kid was an unfortunate prince who lost in a Kakin royal succession battle over twenty years ago.
Due to his grudge, his Nen merged with the parasitic Nen Beast from the succession ritual, undergoing a mutation, haunting the island's original location... The island's mysterious relocation might have been caused by the mutated grudge itself or by the Kakin royal family, who, fearing the vengeful spirit, used some form of Nen or ritual to banish it.
Spatial Nen Abilities, though rare, aren't unheard of.
Knov's "Four-Dimensional Apartment," a skill requiring a title, is one example. Many Emission Type Nen Ability users can switch places with their Nen Bullets, Nen Beasts, or Nen puppets, similar to "Flying Thunder God" or "Heavenly Hand Power," a common technique.
But relocating an entire island is a bit extreme.
However, considering it's the eccentric Hui Guo Rou, it's not surprising.
Arthur wasn't concerned about this but about himself.
He suspected that his deceased foster mother, who attracted the Kakin First Prince's pursuit, might have been a royal consort or queen. The body he inherited, with its accelerated growth, might have Hui Guo Rou royal blood... But seeing Little White's lack of hostility, he was likely overthinking.
The toy white fox, halfway through being petted, emitted a white aura, its ghostly form looking at Arthur.
"What are you looking at?" Arthur asked with a smile.
Of course, there's another possibility.
His buried foster mother was indeed a royal consort or queen, but the body he inherited had no Hui Guo Rou blood.
Who says that's contradictory?
"If that's the case, my foster mother played quite the game!" Arthur thought. "That would explain why she attracted so much pursuit..."
In any case, regardless of the bloodline of the body he inherited, Arthur didn't feel it concerned him. He was a transmigrant, not born here, with no ties.
With the island's matters nearly resolved, Arthur planned to move to the "plot-dense" continents on the left side of the world map. Kakin, on the right side, could be avoided entirely. What do the Hui Guo Rou have to do with him?
"Technically, I should have been Ging's teacher."
Walking ahead, Alan Trill's sudden statement almost made Menchi stumble, and Arthur snapped back to attention.
Even Shizuku, usually unfazed, frowned.
Alan Trill smiled, "Menchi, Arthur, when you received your Hunter Licenses, the association sent experienced professional hunters to guide you in learning Nen Ability, right?"
The passage ended in an elevator.
Alan Trill pressed the button, entering the elevator.
Menchi said, "Yes, I got mine last year. Not long after, a professional hunter approached me. What about you, Arthur?"
Arthur chuckled, "I'm naturally gifted. Who needs a teacher for Nen Ability?"
Menchi bared her teeth at him, but Arthur didn't mind.
The elevator ascended quickly.
Alan Trill continued, "In 1979, about 16 years ago, during the 267th Hunter Exam, a 12-year-old Ging Freecss was the only candidate to pass and receive a Hunter License. I was assigned to guide him in Nen Ability afterward."
"Twelve years old?" Menchi was surprised.
Arthur thought about how Tonpa, the guy who liked giving laxative drinks to newcomers, was probably active during Ging's exam. He wondered how Ging dealt with him.
Shizuku asked curiously, "Did you become his student because he learned quickly?"
"Who becomes a student's teacher because they learn too fast?" Alan Trill said.
"Then the only possibility is," Arthur said, "when you met Ging, he was already a Nen Ability user, and stronger than you!"
Alan Trill sighed, "Yes..."
Ding, the elevator reached the top, and the doors slowly opened.
"Much stronger than me." Alan Trill casually put a hand in his suit pocket, stepping out of the elevator.
Outside was a spacious room, half office, half living area with sofas, bookshelves, and a small kitchen.
Arthur and Shizuku looked around. Three walls were large glass windows, revealing they were at the top of the amusement park's tower.
It was already morning, and the park was mostly empty, with only a few early-rising cleaners and scattered security guards moving about.
The toy white fox immediately headed for the sofa, where toys were scattered on the carpet, indicating it often visited here.
"Wait a minute."
Menchi, gazing at the view, suddenly thought of something and turned back, puzzled. "If Ging was already a Nen Ability user during the Hunter Exam, why did the association send you, a senior hunter, to guide him in Nen Ability?"
Shizuku said, "Because he never used Nen Ability during the exam."
Arthur sighed, "Damn, he got me!"
Shizuku looked at him with a question mark, seemingly not understanding.
Alan Trill recalled, "Even Chairman Netero said that Ging was truly remarkable for making him misjudge."
Arthur laughed, "To earn the respect of a master like you at 12, he must be extraordinary."
Alan Trill humbly said, "I wasn't much of a master back then."
Menchi scratched her head, asking, "By the way, where did those who left earlier go? Where were they sent after leaving through the Divine Script?"
"Almost forgot."
Alan Trill went to his desk, pressing some buttons. Screens descended from the walls, soon lighting up with surveillance footage.
The footage seemed to be from inside the Ferris wheel cabins, showing Babimyna, Dago, and the others...
Arthur and Shizuku exchanged a glance, then looked out the window, spotting the Ferris wheel with the Divine Script they had ridden at night.
(End of Chapter)