Chapter 285

There were quite a few people who recognized Ron.

Some were spectators, some were fighters, but none were fans like that young man, so it didn't affect Ron much.

"Ding!"

They arrived at the 200th floor.

Ron went to the door and knocked.

"Woof!"

Before the door opened, White Bear's voice came from inside.

Miste stepped back instinctively when she heard the sound.

At that moment, the door opened.

"Shizuku."

"Ron!"

Shizuku saw Ron and looked pleasantly surprised.

Though she had short-term memory issues, Shizuku's long-term memory was fine, and she had already remembered Ron.

However, upon seeing Miste, Shizuku paused for a moment.

Then she took out her notebook and began flipping through it.

"Shizuku, no need to look."

Ron introduced her. "This is Miste, a new member of our team. You haven't met before."

"Oh."

Shizuku put away the notebook.

Miste curiously studied Shizuku.

Shizuku also sized up Miste, intending to memorize her features and record them in her notebook later.

"Miste, this is Shizuku, one of our team members. From now on, you'll be partners."

"Shizuku has a short-term memory problem, so she might forget some things. You'll get used to it."

Miste nodded.

"Hi, Shizuku."

Miste extended a hand.

Shizuku shook it.

"Shizuku, where's Nina?"

"Nina's in a match."

Shizuku said this, and suddenly seemed to recall something.

"Ron, I promised Nina I'd go watch her match. This is her first fight since arriving at the 200th floor."

Ron raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Nina's already on the 200th floor?"

"Yes, she reached it a while ago."

"When does her match start?"

"Soon, in about ten minutes."

Ron walked over to the TV in the living room. This TV could be used not only to watch the Sky Arena channel but also to buy tickets.

In no time, Ron found Nina's match.

There were still quite a few tickets available, so he purchased three.

"Shizuku, let's go together."

"Sure, Captain."

Ron and Miste set down their luggage, then left the luxury suite with Shizuku.

Only White Bear was left behind in the living room.

"Woof!"

White Bear swished its tail, looking a bit downcast.

The three of them headed through the ticket entrance.

Because they hadn't purchased tickets at the same time, Ron and Miste's seats were a bit away from Shizuku's.

Once they entered the arena, they went in different directions.

They took their seats.

Ron looked down at the ring below.

To be honest, he hadn't watched many matches in Sky Arena.

For Ron, there wasn't much worth seeing.

By the time Ron first arrived at Sky Arena, his strength was already well above most ordinary fighters on the 200th floor.

Only matches involving the top fighters held any value for him, and those were rare until the fighting tournament that took place every two years.

After that, Ron watched even fewer Sky Arena matches.

This time, sitting in the audience, Ron's mindset was different than before.

Previously, he wanted to learn something from watching.

Now, he was just here to enjoy the match, like any regular spectator.

"Most ordinary fighters on the 200th floor probably aren't a match for Nina."

"Nina's starting point is already higher than that of many Nen users."

Because she went through the 'synth beast' experience, her aura nodes opened right away.

On top of that, Ron personally taught her.

Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, Gyo, En, Shu, In, Ken, Ko—all those techniques that rookie competiros have never even heard of, Nina has already started learning them.

And at Ron's insistence, Nina fought many matches without using Nen while on floors below 200. Those battles weren't meaningless.

They helped Nina solidify her foundation.

Once Nina really starts using Nen in combat, she'll explode with power.

"Come to think of it, the Sky Arena fighting tournament will be held again soon."

"Time sure flies."

"From when I started learning Nen until now, about two and a half years have passed."

"And Killua has been here in Sky Arena for a year and a half."

"If nothing changes, in another half-year, Killua will meet Silva's requirement and then leave Sky Arena to train elsewhere."

Spectators continued to file in.

The announcer's voice rang out, and the referee stepped onto the ring.

A figure emerged from the tunnel.

"Let's welcome our first fighter, Tero."

"So far, he's had three matches on the 200th floor."

"With one win and two losses."

"In the last match, he showed a rather impressive performance. Let's see what he brings us this time."

A young man came in from the tunnel, but he only had one leg, leaning on a crutch.

He was likely someone who had gone through the newcomer initiation.

There was a gloomy look on his face.

"Now, let's welcome our second fighter, Nina."

"She only recently advanced to the 200th floor, but she put on an excellent showing below this level."

"She's been on a winning streak all the way here."

"And she's very young."

"Who knows—perhaps Sky Arena has another young prodigy on its hands."

"Let's wait and see."

"The match begins!"

Nina stepped into the ring.

After confirming both fighters were ready, the referee signaled the start.

Immediately, the young man dashed at Nina.

Even with only one leg, he moved very fast.

Nina stayed cautious.

Facing Tero's attacks, Nina dodged.

Their figures moved rapidly across the ring, chasing one another.

"A prodigy?"

"Prodigy my foot."

"You don't know anything about what it's really like on the 200th floor until you've been here. It's a whole different world from below."

"All those things that seemed impressive down there mean nothing here."

"If I had to go through that kind of ordeal, then you can't escape either!"

Hatred flashed in Tero's eyes as he remembered the newcomer initiation.

That experience left an indelible scar in his heart, a lifelong pain.

He used to be so bright and handsome.

But after the newcomer initiation, he became a disabled, disfigured person.

Tero gripped his crutch, knuckles turning white.

Ron could see Tero's state of mind, but he wasn't worried, because Nina's strength far surpassed Tero's.