Acc to the inal storyline, Gon and his friends would participate in the 287th Hunter Exam, scheduled to take p 1999, with the exam traditionally beginning on January 7th each year. This meant Larry still had ample time before the main plot kicked off. He also recalled that in the previous year’s exam, Hisoka had been disqualified from the 286th Hunter Exam in 1998 for attag an examiner, which meant that the uping exam would mark his return to the se.

  Leaning ba his chair, Larry felt satisfied—uanding the timeline was crucial for pnning his moves and staying ahead of future events. Yesterday, his first day in this world, he had resolved his money problem thanks to Gardevoir. Her powerful physic made reading the dice a breeze, allowing him to win every round effortlessly.

  Now that finances were taken care of, it was time to focus on training. Dressed in a loose training robe, Larry took a deep breath and assumed a natural, rexed stance. He closed his eyes and started feeling the flow of his aura, trag its circution through his body.

  Following the methods demonstrated in the anime by Wing, the mentor of Gon and Killua, Larry visualized his aura moving through his body—from his head to his right shoulder, then down to his hands, legs, and back up again. He imagihe aura swaying like flowing water, ing around him in a protective yer. This exercise wasn’t difficult, thanks to his prior knowledge from watg the a was another reason why he felt he didn’t need a mentor—he already knew enough to cover the basi his own.

  Although there were still gaps in his uanding, practig the fuals was enough for now. After a while, Larry's closed eyes snapped open. A faint glow pulsed around him as his aura, once calm and steady, suddenly expanded outward. Like an overinfted balloon reag its limit, his ed in a sudden burst, flooding the room with invisible pressure. The surge of aura kicked up a strong gust, making his training robe billow violently. His hair spiked upward, caught in the rushing flow of aura, giving him the appearance of a Super Saiyan fron Ball.

  This was Ren. The raw release of built-up aura in a single, powerful burst. The iy of Ren was a good indicator of a Nen user's current capacity. The longer one could maintain it, the stroheir potential. As the aura eventually settled, Larry sat down with a thoughtful expression. "Not bad," he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  Despite his rexed approach to training, he had made det progress today. With steady effort, he could build up his aura reserves over time without too much strain. Gardevoir, who had been silently from the side, approached aly pced a hand on his shoulder. "Shauna?" she asked, evident ione.

  Larry smiled at her. "I'm good. Just getting used to this whole hing."

  Gardevoir tilted her head, a soft hum esg her lips. Even though she was born from his telekinesis ability, she acted just like a real Pokémon—g and full of personality. Larry reached over and patted her head. "Thanks for stig with me, Gardevoir. Let’s keep w together." Her eyes sparkled with joy, and she nodded enthusiastically.

  Larry stood up, stretg. "Alright, that's enough for today. Time for some well-deserved rest." While others might throw themselves intorous training for days on end, Larry believed in a banced approach. He had plenty of time before the Hunter Exam, and he'd use it wisely.

  Late at night, the streets were empty, with only a faint glow of moonlight spilling over the cobblestone road, providing just enough light to navigate the quiet town. Larry strolled leisurely into the o, hands tucked casually into his pockets, as if he were walking into his own home. There was not a hint of caution in his demeanor. Of course, he had every reason to be fident. Deep within him, Gardevoir y in wait, ready to appear at a moment’s notiot only was Gardevoir formidable in bat, but her life-saving abilities were top-tier. As long as they weren’t fag overwhelming numbers, a sieleport was enough to escape any tricky situation.

  After sing the o, Larry’s sharp gaze nded on two men standing at the ter of the hall. One was short and fat—his old acquaintance, Vahe man’s pudgy face was currently pstered with an arrogant grin. Beside him stood a tall, thin stranger with an angur fad a promi aquiline nose. He looked shifty, like someone who thrived in the shadows.

  Using Gyo, Larry focused his aura into his eyes, enhang his vision. Immediately, the world around him shifted, revealing what was hidden from normal sight. A smoky aura drifted zily above Vance’ head, the hallmark of an ordinary person who couldn’t trol their aura. His life aura was tinuously seeping out, something that happened naturally to non-Nen users.

  Vance, however, wasn’t the . The real threat was the tall, thin man standio him. Larry noticed that unlike Vahe man’s aura g tightly to his body—solid, trolled. A clear sign that he was a Nen user. But what stood out the most was the stratern c the man’s exposed skin. His body appeared fractured, like cracked gss, with thin lines of Nen running through the breaks. ‘Baptism...’ The term came to Larry’s mind instantly.

  In Hunter x Hunter, reag the 200th floor of the Heaven’s Are fag Nen users for the first time. Ordinary fighters who climbed that far were often subjected to a brutal “baptism”—an overwhelming exposure to aura filled with malicious i. For those with otential, it was a death senteheir bodies would break down uhe pressure, leaving them crippled for life. But for the lucky few who survived, it served as an awakening. They would gain a crude uanding of hough their abilities would be rough and unrefihe cracks on this man's skin told Larry everything he o know—he was one of those survivors.

  “Hahaha! Boy, your time is up!” Vance’ voice rang through the o, his ughter loud and obnoxious. His chubby face jiggled with every chuckle, making him look even mrotesque. The tall, thin man beside him remained silent, watg Larry with a calcuted gaze. "I knew you weren’t some ordinary brat," Vaneered. "So I paid a fortu in this expert!"

  Vance' voice was filled with rese, and his eyes burned with the pain of loss. Hiring a Nen user had cost him dearly, but to him, revenge was worth any price. "Tonight, you pay for humiliating me!" His voice dripped with venom, the memory of their st enter clearly still haunting him.

  Larry, however, remained calm, his expression unreadable. His eyes flickered toward the Nen user, analyzing his aura further. The man's trol over his Nen was crude but dangerous—wild, uable. If Vahought he had found a reliable on, he was about to be sorely disappointed.