Hunter X Hunter: I Got Stronger After I Died

Late at night, heavy rain poured relentlessly.

Yorknew City, Sewage Street.

Rainwater, like beaded curtains, gathered into streams, flowing along the veins of the city streets.

The streetlights flickered unsteadily, but one antique shop remained brightly lit.

Above the antique shop hung an electronic display screen, a common sight, with a line of red text scrolling slowly across it:

"We Buy Antiques, Miscellaneous Items, and Handmade Artifacts—June 22, 1997."

Inside the antique shop, there was a display window near the wall.

Bathed in a warm orange glow, various antique artworks were displayed inside, though their authenticity was hard to discern.

At the back of the shop, a solid wooden table was placed against the wall, with a desk lamp perched at the edge.

In the bundle of light cast by the lamp stood a red wooden figurine, about fifty centimeters tall.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached into the light, wrapping around the seemingly ordinary wooden figurine.

The hands belonged to a boy dressed casually, with neat black hair and strikingly handsome features.

Crack.

The boy's fingers applied a slight force, and cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the wooden figurine. Wisps of white light, different from the lamp's glow, seeped out of the cracks.

The wooden shell then shattered and fell away, revealing a jade figurine emitting a faint glow of Nen.

The jade figurine's translucent surface was veined with pale green fish-scale-like patterns that shimmered brilliantly under the lamp's light—a clear sign of its extraordinary value.

Breaking the shell to reveal treasure.

This scene was observed by a muscular man wearing a dog-shaped mask who stood near the antique shop's entrance.

The man seemed to be familiar with the boy's abilities and was not surprised at all.

Crossing his arms, he fixed his gaze on the boy and spoke in a steady, powerful voice:

"Moro, why did you refuse the gift Morena prepared for you?"

"A gift?"

The boy, called Moro, lifted his head suddenly and met the masked man's gaze, a helpless smile on his face.

"Dog Brother, asking me to kill twenty-one strangers—this counts as a gift?"

"Of course it's a gift. As long as you kill them, you'll immediately level up to level 21. After that, unless something unexpected happens, you should be able to master a new Nen ability tailored to your needs. Even if the final result is slightly different, you'll at least increase your aura capacity."

The dog-masked man's voice remained steady and powerful. After a brief pause, he continued:

"Moro, Morena needs feedback on the effects of her Nen ability as soon as possible. Don't disappoint her. Besides... getting stronger by simply killing a few people—it's a win-win for you."

"..."

Hearing these words, Moro fell silent.

Killing a few people, just like that...

That was the Mafia's way of doing things.

Or rather, in this Hunter x Hunter world, the disregard for life and the trampling of individual existence weren't uncommon.

Moro had experienced this firsthand when he transmigrated here a year ago...

He silently stared at the dog-masked man.

As a transmigrator, Moro knew the plot and characters of Hunter x Hunter well.

The dog-masked man in front of him, as well as Morena, who had saved him a year ago, were both characters from the Mafia families introduced in the Kakin Succession War arc.

Putting aside Morena's identity as an illegitimate child of the Kakin royal family and her future role as the leader of the Ai family Mafia, the most vivid memory Moro had...

Was of the Nen ability Morena had displayed in the original story.

It was an ability that allowed others to grow stronger by killing people...

"Killing people to grow stronger—it sounds so easy."

Moro suppressed his thoughts, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth, though his eyes remained calm and emotionless.

"Dog Brother, Nen abilities aren't such shallow things. With the existence of vows and restrictions... While I don't know how Morena developed this ability, one thing is certain."

Saying this, Moro shifted his gaze downward, looking at the jade figurine on the table, and said softly:

"There are risks. Massive and unknown risks."

"..."

Hearing Moro's words, it was the dog-masked man's turn to fall silent.

Silence, at times, could be a form of agreement.

But he didn't forget his role. He quickly broke the silence and asked bluntly:

"So your answer is no?"

"How could it be... My worthless life was given to me by Morena, after all."

Moro lowered his gaze, a self-deprecating smile on his face as Morena's deep, unfathomable black eyes flashed through his mind.

After a pause, he looked back at the dog-masked man and spoke softly:

"Give me a day."

"Alright, I'll let Morena know."

The dog-masked man nodded at Moro, then turned and left decisively.

As he reached for the door handle to leave the shop, he suddenly stopped, as if he had remembered something.

"By the way, Morena said she hasn't decided on a name for her Nen ability yet. She wants you to help her come up with one."

"..."

Moro was stunned for a moment, and fragments of scenes from the original story flashed through his mind.

"Love Etude."

That was the name of Morena's Nen ability in the original story.

As for why such a destructive ability would have such a name...

Moro didn't know.

Without much thought or hesitation, he gave an answer based on the information from the original story:

"Just call it 'Love Etude,' if Morena doesn't mind."

"Hmm?"

The dog-masked man was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Moro to come up with such a romantic-sounding name.

But he didn't dwell on it. He waved at Moro and pushed the door open, stepping out into the rainy night.

Moro's expression remained calm as he watched the dog-masked man leave.

Creak—

The door closed shut.

A few minutes later, Moro finally withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the jade figurine standing amid the pile of shattered wood.

"I guess I'll have to run..."

Some things weren't worth doing, especially when there was no room for negotiation. Moro had decided to leave Morena's circle.

It wasn't that he objected to killing—rather, it was because among the twenty-one people Morena wanted him to kill, there were infants and children.

That crossed a line for him.

Moreover, Moro understood better than anyone else what Morena's true purpose was.

The destruction of Kakin, of humanity, of the world—of everything...

That was Morena's ultimate goal.

So Moro had always known he would leave—he just didn't expect that day to come so soon.

For the past six months, the antique shop he ran had brought considerable profits to Morena.

If nothing had changed, he had intended to repay Morena's kindness this way for as long as he could.

But this was enough...

Moro silently thought to himself and raised his right hand to look at the back of it.

There, a tattoo-like symbol composed of six concentric hollow rings in different colors resembled tree rings.

The colors of the rings, from innermost to outermost, were white, green, blue, purple, red, and gold.

At the very center of the rings was a small black infinity symbol.

Moro didn't know the origin or purpose of the "Year-Ring Tattoo."

He had only noticed it a few days after transmigrating, as its outline gradually darkened and became permanent.

What he did know was that no one else could see the tattoo on his hand, and the part of his hand covered by the rings seemed to possess an invincible vow-like effect.