Arrival x Purchase

Machi, who watched the swift battle between Shakal and the beast, was amazed at the ability of his traveling companion's aura. Since he never showed anything like it in their previous duels.

The girl even used Gyo to see if there was any kind of weapon hidden inside his aura, but in the end she couldn't see anything. The blood threads created by Shakal were extremely thin which was almost impossible for the human eye to see.

The other three beasts that were still on board, upon seeing death began to jump and move around Shakal.

Shakal upon seeing the intention of the beasts to attack him from various directions widened his aura using Ren and with his ability re-created the threads of blood. This time, he created four extremely thin threads, which wrapped them about fifty centimeters from his body, creating a kind of cage for himself.

This technique derived from his Blood Manipulation ability was created to be able to face against melee fighters. As strong as the technique may seem, being a tangible object, it can hurt its own user, so using it as an armor, Shakal basically forces himself not to be able to move. Another of its weaknesses is that the attacks of the Emitters, if they are relatively strong, can go beyond the defense of the few threads and reach the user.

The three beasts attacked together, with a lot of coordination to deal with unintelligent creatures. Although the result did not change, the three were separated into several parts, leaving the floor of the ship dyed red.

The situation in the other locations of the ship was already under control as well, the crew used heavy cargo, such as bazookas, and killed the large beasts.

The other creatures ran scared.

Machi, who had stayed in the same place, began to walk to Shakal.

"A very interesting nen skill." - He said with a certain mischievous tone.

"Thank you" - Shakal replied, without giving it more importance.

"I think we should get out of here quickly, before more people come." Shakal said.

"Yes, you're right, let's go back to our rooms." Machi confirmed.

The two each arrived at their room. The captain announced that the problem was resolved, and that everyone could go back out and enjoy the comforts of the ship. Although both Shakal and Machi decided to stay in their room for the rest of the day.

Shakal took the opportunity to tell the adventures that happened after leaving the Heavens Arena to his friend Eden. Then he devoted himself exclusively to meditating and practicing the principles. He would have liked to start practicing En, a technique that allows him to expand his aura over a large area. But since his room was next to Machi's, he decided it was not too ethical to do so.

The days passed, without any incident. On the fifteenth day, in the morning, the ship finally arrived at its destination, port of Dolle.

The two got out, and quickly separated to start gathering information regarding the hunter exam.

Shakal speaks to many locals, asking if they knew of any of the participants' routes.

After a few hours of searching, the two companions met again in a bar.

"Did you find something useful?" - Shakal asked, while taking a drink of beer.

"Many of those new to the post take the bus directly to Zaban city, but there are a few who take a different route." - Machi explained, while mixing her cocktail with the straw.

"Yes, they are heading towards the big tree, it seems that we have obtained the same information. Now the question is, should we go to the city or to the big tree? " Shakal asked.

"The logical thing would be to go to the big tree, since the information that most of the participants have is that of going to the Zaban city, but it seems that some chosen ones, due to their abilities, obtain different information. The two routes will probably take us to the same destination, but one allows us to shorten part of the journey and arrive earlier. " - Machi replied.

"Makes sense. We will have to prepare for when the tests begin, although there is still enough, more or less two weeks before they announce the start of the exam. " Shakal said.

"We could use the time that remains to collect more information, plus from what I saw of your battle against the beasts, your control over the nen needs even more practice." - Machi finished saying.

The two stayed in a small hotel near the port. Apart from training together every day, Machi tried to get more information. They also visited the city closest to the post, Zaban.

Zaban was one of the largest cities in the area, so the flow of people was very large. The city, visited mainly by sailors and adventurers, contained a large number of shops, especially antiques.

One trick Machi taught Shakal was to use Gyo to observe the different antiquities. If the item in question contained a bit of aura, it meant that both its provenance and value were higher than normal.

In one of the many stores, Shakal fanned himself with a small knife. It had a rather strange shape, since the knife blade simulated the vibration of the waves. The knife also had a small trace of aura.

"Excuse me sir, how much do you ask for the knife?" Shakal asked.

"Young man, you have good taste, this piece was brought to me by a great adventurer. He said he found this knife inside some strange ruins. I sell it to 100,000 Jenny. " - replied the seller.

"A hundred thousand jenny for a knife, for that price not even if it were from the King of Kakin would I buy it. Bring it down to fifty thousand, and I'll buy it for you. " - Shakal said with a tone similar to outrage.

"Hm. Don't get upset boy, the most I can get you down is to my seventy. Take it or leave it, but I can't go down. " - The seller finished saying.

"You are very stubborn old man, very well. Here's the money. " - Shakal said as he handed him the money.