Birth of Phantom Pages
"I guess that's it. I can't believe I finally did it. I have a Nen ability," Togiri muttered, standing in the stark white training room.
The bright, metallic sheen of the tile-covered walls reflected the sterile lighting, emphasizing the cold, quiet atmosphere.
This was no ordinary space—it was Togiri's personal training room, custom-built to withstand even his most powerful strikes, including an all-out KO punch.
It had been his sanctuary for the past three months, a period of intense focus following the Hunter Exam.
After the exam, life had returned to what could only be described as Togiri's version of normal. Fang, his friend, brother and now fellow hunter, had parted ways with him and the others.
Netero, the legendary chairman, had taken Fang under his wing—not as a direct disciple, but to introduce him to an old hermit friend, a master who lived in isolation. This was a dream come true for Fang, who was fixated on perfecting his Hatsu and Nen ability.
However, it came with one major drawback: Fang's training was so isolated that he wouldn't be able to visit or contact anyone until his training was complete—no phones, no family, no communication at all.
Fang didn't even return home to see his parents after the exam. He left directly with Netero to meet his new master. His parents, Julia and Arthur, were understandably saddened, but they accepted his decision. They had their hands full with their youngest, Lilia, who had just turned three a week earlier.
"Fang mentioned his master plans to train him for ten years, but he said he'd finish in two."
Togiri chuckled, thinking aloud, "Knowing Fang, we'll probably see him in five. By then, we'll be what? Seventeen and eighteen?"
Togiri was almost almost year older but he only guessed. He confirmed that Gon was twelve so is also twelve years old, but he prefered to say he is 13 years old.
"Yeah, I really need to stop using Ten all the time too. This small body is becoming a bigger problem than I thought," Togiri mused, glancing at his childlike physique.
"I should ask Rika about some growth potions. There's got to be some kind of Nen elixirs or something in this world."
Rika Vermillion had been Togiri's assistant since the fateful warehouse incident where he had encountered Chrollo Lucilfer.
Since then, Togiri had devoted an enormous amount of time to building his own organization, the *Phantom Society*.
The name had been chosen with care—an organization that existed in plain sight but operated unseen, like a phantom.
Real, but elusive. In just a few years, the Phantom Society had grown into a multi-billion jenny/yen enterprise, dealing in rare metals and the mass production of advanced weaponry.
It all started as a small endeavor, helping Arthur, Fang's father, spread his fame as a master blacksmith. But with Rika's help, that small business had exploded, expanding across multiple cities with over thirteen branches now established.
Despite its rapid growth, the Phantom Society was still a dwarf among the true giants of the industry. However, they had recently signed a lucrative contract with a private military group—war, after all, was the fastest way to turn a profit.
But Togiri had his own code: at least the side he backed would always win, and his weapons would never fall into the hands of terrorists.
Over the past few months, Togiri had streamlined the Phantom Society to operate almost entirely without his direct involvement.
Rika handled most of the day-to-day management, and although Togiri knew every detail of her secrets and weaknesses to ensure loyalty, he trusted her. After all, he had saved her little sister from being trafficked—an act that had cemented her unwavering loyalty.
But now, Togiri's focus was back on his training. For three months, he had secluded himself in this massive training room, thinking, refining, and perfecting his Nen ability.
He had always known his potential was limited. As a Conjurer, he had 100% efficiency with his own category, but only 80% in Transmutation, 60% in Enhancement and Manipulation, and a mere 40% in Emission.
Specialization, as always, was out of his reach. Yet, like Fang and Kite, Togiri wanted an ability that pushed him to his limits, drawing from every Nen category.
After much deliberation, he had finally created his Hatsu. He named it Phantom Pages.
---
Togiri conjures a special book that starts without pages. Creating a page requires a significant investment of Nen, concentration, and time, limiting how many pages he can conjure at any given time.
He can create pages in preparation and then rip then summoning Phantom Warriors. Currently, his limit is just two pages.
The book itself is an extension of his Nen—a durable, slightly stronger-than-average book that serves as a conduit for summoning and controlling powerful entities known as Phantom Warriors.
Togiri uses Conjuration to summon the book and blank pages. Each page is created using a large amount of Nen, representing a potential Phantom Warrior.
Using his own blood, Togiri can write commands on the pages that dictate the behavior of the Phantom Warriors.
This Manipulation of Nen allows precise control, but at his current level, he can only write simple, non-complex commands, like targeting the nearest attacker.
If no commands are given, the Phantom Warrior will attack all nearby targets, including Togiri himself.
When a page is torn from the book, it transforms into a Phantom Warrior—a durable entity made of transmuted paper, identical to Togiri in appearance, but made completely out of paper.
The warrior is much stronger than ordinary paper but is vulnerable to fire and water.
Togiri can enhance the physical strength and speed of his Phantom Warriors, but only within close range since his emission is weak. If not enhanced, the warrior's strength is equivalent to the durability of the paper when its created.
The Phantom Warrior only exists for one minute before it disintegrates, returning the torn page to its original form. The time limit is a deliberate restriction to increase the power and efficiency of the ability.
Togiri knows his ability has enormous potential to become a one man army, but he's painfully aware of his limitations.
He has relatively low aura capacity compared to prodigies like Gon or Fang. Even using Ko taxes him heavily, which is why in the last few years he's more focused on weaponry and physical training to supplement his Nen.
The real question lingered in his mind: Why create an ability that relied so heavily on Nen when he had so little?
The Reviewer System
Seven, his AI assistant, had assured him there was a way to overcome this. The Reviewer System was designed to grow alongside him, a system reminiscent of those used by protagonists in thousands of novels.
Usually his system would behind of most systems, but Togiri wasn't at the starting line—he was far behind it.
Two-thirds of his traumatic memories were sealed, limiting the system's functionality by 99%. For now, all he had were three basic features:
1. The ability to see mistakes in his blacksmithing.
2. His status displayed in numerical values.
3. Virtual Fighting, a tool that let him create avatars of opponents he had fought or observed.
After hours of experimenting with his Nen ability, Togiri collapsed, exhausted. His head hit the hard floor as his consciousness drifted toward sleep. He cursed himself one last time before losing consciousness.
Then, a strange sound echoed in the darkness of his mind.
*Ding.*
The familiar, plain black text-and-white status window appeared before him. This was unusual.
The only time a pop up window appeared and bell rang was when Togiri created Seven, his A.I. assistant.
Another *ding* followed. Then another. And another. The system notifications kept coming, faster and faster, but Togiri didn't wake up.
The white status window slowly shifted in color, becoming orange, then blue, and finally a deep, ominous red with black text.
*Ding Ding Ding.* Over a hundred windows appeared and disappeared in quick succession until everything fell silent.
*Buzz.*
A large status window appeared, divided into three sections: ocean blue with golden text on the left, blood red with pitch-black text on the right, and orange with red writing in the center.
It read: HERO / LEGEND / VILLAIN.
---
When Togiri finally woke up, half a day had passed. He groggily stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Seven... I slept like a rock."
No response.
"Seven?" he called again.
Suddenly, the plain white status window with black text appeared before him.
Tutorial Starting...
Togiri's eyes widened. It had begun. The Reviewer System was upgrading and Togiri was ready.
"Let's do this!" he exclaimed, slapping his cheeks to wake himself up fully. The real journey was about to begin.
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Sorry for the delay of the chapter. By the way I created the images of Togiri and Fang in their current age, but I dont know how to show it to you guys. Has somebody got a suggestion?