Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 10, HxH Greed Island

Day 20/90 of Greed Island.

Standing before Shin and his comrades was a monster. It wasn't their first time seeing a monster as they've been into the worlds High School of the Dead and Apocalypse Alice, yet the monsters looming over them were the largest by far. Countless humanoid giants with only a single eye rampaged as they took long strides towards Team Japan.

Cyclops -

Card Number: 572

Rank/Copies: G-333

Description: Among the giants, the Cyclops are the largest. They prefer moving in groups. They attack creatures that enter their territory. When their weakness, their eye is attacked they become surprisingly fragile.

Shin: "Everyone keep it up! Like in the Manga they still only have two attack patterns! A downward smash or side swipe! Their bodies then stay still for a few seconds so take that time to hit their eye. Remember that any other attack will be-"

Misaki: "Just shut up already! I'm still not use to this hardcore fighting, so stop distracting me!"

Misaki said so as he jumped to the side to avoid the downward smash of a giant Cyclops's wooden club. Misaki successfully avoided the club, but the wind that followed after almost blew him away and off balance. Shin was worried for a moment, but Misaki showed that he wasn't completely overwhelmed.

Misaki: "Fucking Cyclops! Burn in hell!"

Misaki propelled himself towards the Cyclops in one burst from the soles of his feet. Misaki couldn't yet fly like Sozin from Avatar, but his short distance jumping power now ranked number one in Team Japan. The Cyclops was not yet ready to initiate the next attack and Misaki did not let that chance go. Still in midair he delivered a spinning kick to the creature's eye.

The Cyclops covered its eye in pain as it roared for all to hear. Two seconds later the monster evaporated into a puff of smoke becoming the monster card 'Cyclops'. A Monster Card that could be exchanged at a store for money that Shin didn't hesitate to swiftly pick up and place in his binder.

Shin: "Good work Misaki! That makes five now. Get five more and your quota will be filled."

Misaki: "Screw five more! Do you realize how hard it is to actually avoid giant monsters swinging large clubs at you? It isn't as easy as the Manga made it look and I don't have a speed technique like you!"

Shin: "Well I don't have a god damn makeshift jet pack, so stop complaining! You're one of our main fighters now. Having unlocked your constraint, you can better use your body's power and speed. Even without Unlocked Mode, your combat ability and degree of control over your enhancements will reach new heights. This is the perfect opportunity for you to grasp your fighting ability in a non-Unlocked Mode state."

Misaki: "You still make it sound easy."

Shin: "It is easy. We all have enhanced bodies and skills, so giant monsters that telegraph their attacks and have little attack variation are easy to take out. Aqua and I have already filled our twenty-five quota with the cyclops. Connor finished first by taking on forty. Hurry up. We are already moving on to the next group of monsters spotted."

Misaki: "You!"

Misaki looked like he really wanted to hit me or burn me alive, but he left to take out his frustrations on the cyclops. Misaki bitched and moaned about it, but he was clearly a good fighter. In a battle without relying on enhancements, skills, tools, and without going into Unlocked Mode, Misaki was by far the better fighter between us.

Shin: "He'll be fine alone. It's time to move on."

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Melanin Lizard -

Card Number: 697

Rank/Copies: E-100

Description: Giant lizards capable of swallowing a whole cow. Can cause death by suffocation with its weight. Has a sensitive mole on its back, and has developed camouflage to hide it.

Kampa: “Connor! Take the shot!”

Connor: “Lead it a bit further to the left. A rock is obstructing the shot.”

Speaking through the Communicator Phones with Connor, Kampa lead the giant yellow lizard monster through the rocky area to create an opening for the child soldier.

Using the modified infinite ammo M41A Pulse Rifle, Kampa unleashed a rain of bullets into the nose of the lizard. It did little to no damage, but it grabbed the monster’s full attention away from Connor, who was lurking in the shadows waiting for the perfect shot. The giant lizard followed Kampa with bloody rage, wanting nothing more to swallow him whole, yet Kampa never let it come close.

Kampa, as a mercenary, wasn't just stupidly firing his rifle. He kept himself aware of the distance between the creature and himself. Not only could Kampa guarantee the monster would never get close enough to him, he had the confidence to perfectly protect any comrades by his side, even if his opponent could retaliate with a gun of its own. This was an ability that he had as a world ranked mercenary that no one else in Team Japan could duplicate so easily, if at all.

Connor: "...Target locked on. Terminating."

Connor, hiding 1500 meters away watched as the foolish monster chase after Kampa. Its weak spot was finally revealed and in the blink of an eye Connor lined up the shot and fired without pause.

- *BANG*!

Connor fired a single bullet from the anti-material rifle capable of punching through armored trucks. The bullet cut through the space between Connor and the giant lizard, and without deviating hit squarely at its one and only one weakness: its mole.

The bullet cut through the meat of the giant lizard and exited through the other at its belly. The giant lizard’s scream resonated in the air in anger and panic, yet like all other monsters it evaporated in a puff of smoke, leaving behind the Monster Card "Melanin Lizard"... that was supposed to happen, but the dead body of the monster still remained and had not turned into a card

Kampa breathed a sigh of disappointment and called back Connor on the Communicator Phone.

Kampa: "This is it for Melanin Lizards. We must have run up the full 100 monster cap after taking out twenty-seven of them this past week. Let's meet up with the others. Aqua should be fighting Bubble Horse, Shin and the newbies are trying to catch Marimocchi, Hikari and Shuai are working on catching Remote Control Rat, and Misaki is having trouble with the pudding slime monsters. Let's help out one of them for now."

Connor: "Acknowledged.... but I can hunt for more Cyclopes alone."

Kampa: "You can, but why not work with the others? You’re still new to the team and don't get that well along with the others. You’re a team player and do your part, but there's more to a team than that. I'm guessing that you missed that in the past and that's why your organization fell apart, right?"

Connor: "..."

Kampa: "You're also a kid. Despite your past, no because you've lead such a life you need to learn to have fun every now and again. You're ten years old, but you've lost all ten years of your life. That sin lies with the adults around you who were supposed to do good by you, but now your life is your own, Connor. If you don't learn to have fun now you'll grow up into a boring adult who can't feel any excitement outside war zones. Those are the kinds of adults who made you what you are today."

Connor: "...I'm heading out."

Connor hung up his phone and moved back to the cyclops hunting ground. Kampa's words had some effect on him as they were both men of the battlefield, yet ultimately he couldn't accept such pretty words. Kampa chose his life as a soldier. Connor hadn't. It was forced on him and he could only excel in his new life or die... like so many of his other good friends.

Little boys and girls both fought for their lives yet most of them didn't make it. They didn't have the ability to make it and died, or did have the ability to make it yet still died. Connor wouldn't have made it as well if he did not discard his childhood and ultimately surpass his limits.

Connor: "...This gun is all that I need. Real world or God's Dimension... even alone things will be fine long as you pull the trigger."

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Marimocchi -

Card Number: 673

Rank/Copies: D-80

Description: Small being that moves with ultra-high speed. It has the hardness of a gumball, so its attacks don't cause any damage. However, if you receive direct hits it can be very irritating.

Renji: "Leader! Three of them are coming our way at once!"

Shin: "Great! I'll capture two. You and Kisara try to capture one on your own this time. They may be impossibly fast, but long as you discover the pattern before they escape they’re easy to catch. They can't damage you as well, so don't hesitate to attack!"

Renji: "Okay!"

Kisara: "Yes! We won't fail!"

The three moving black fur balls, Marimocchi, finally arrived. Seeing people they followed their preset programming of Greed Island. They didn't escape right away like normal animals and moved around us, yet their movement speed increased by leaps and bounds. They perfectly made use of their bouncy body type to ricochet from one place to the next at impossible angles. Even with Instant Movement I wouldn't be able to catch a Marimocchi with speed alone without going into Unlocked Mode... but I didn't do that, so instead I opted for a “wait and then strike” approach.

Shin: "Fast, but not good enough!"

I channeled Ki Energy towards my eyes and immediately experience a boost in perception. It wasn't as effective as "Gyo" from Nen that specialize in application of Aura, but it allowed me to somewhat follow the Marimocchi’s lightning fast movements all the same. Thirty seconds later I saw through each of the three Marimocchi's movement patterns and targeted two. I stretched my right hand towards my side and fully extended the left arm straight outward. Once two of my targets brushed past where my hands waited for them I swiftly snatched up the two Marimocchi with ease before they knew what happened.

Shin: "Got you!"

They squealed in shock at having been caught and a puff of smoke later they transformed into two Monster Cards "Marimocchi"! Seeing the two cards in my hands I was filled with joy. It wasn't just because these Monster Cards could be turned into cash for us, but because I can visually see my personal growth now that I can catch a Marimocchi with ease when compared to when I first started out. At first it was very difficult to catch even one after an hour of trying in vain. They may have predictable movements, but it was no exaggeration to call those small critters lightning fast. Aqua was here with us earlier and it took her three tries to succeed in catching them and myself seven.

Coming to the realization that I needed to increase my eye sight was the key. Not only did it make catching them easier, but it also reminded me that I rarely, if ever, channel Ki Energy into my eyes in combat. It said in the description of Ki Energy that Ki increased stats, not just physical strength like how I've been using it. It is no "Gyo", but I should be able to see things that I normally wouldn't be able to see. I actually knew all of this, but I kept forgetting. Never putting it into practice regularly. Looking back, if I had done so in my fight against Disease Girl Kiri in Apocalypse Alice I wouldn't have struggled as much against her. Definitely not knocked around and requiring the assistance of both Aqua and the main character Shinnosuke Arisu.

Renji: "Leader! We caught it... More like Kisara caught it, but I helped!"

Shin: "So fast! As expected of Team Japan's peerless bea-, I mean peerless samurai girl! You may have a better eye than I do."

Kisara: "It nothing. Along with flawless and quick movements, seeing through enemy movements and their very thoughts is the specialty of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. I've only been doing what I've been taught by my Father since the day that I was born.... but what really helped was this new power that you and Aqua have given us. I can't keep up those 'eyes' for long and Renji was able to react in time to disturb the Marimocchi movement pattern. Without both of us it would have been impossible to catch one so fast."

Renji: "Kisara is right! This power isn't a lot, but it's amazing. When that energy circulates through my body I feel like a new man! I wish my grandmother could see me now."

Shin: "Again with your... never mind. I understand the feeling all the same. When we get back to the Terminal Lobby the two of you can start going down that enhancement path if you like, or something different as well. We don't know yet if this type of power suits you, so for the meantime just use your Aura in emergency situations. If we encounter Team Germany you newbies will become their ideal targets as the least enhanced members of our attack group. Escape. Attack. Assist. How you train your new power will determine if you live another day or not."

Looking at the two of them I felt that this experiment was a complete success. We have three months here after all, so why not use that to train the newbies? Such an ideal has been on my mind since I learned how long this mission could last and where we were in the world of Hunter X Hunter. Of course, I knew that there wouldn't be any great results with normal methods. Renji was a normal young teen and was definitely no athlete or warrior. For a normal teen like Renji it would take a year of hard training to become competent in a fight. More so to even reach professional athlete or military level fitness.

Kisara, upon closer examination, appeared very thin and lady like, but her body was composed of strong muscle that didn't show through her clothes while not posseing an ounce fat on her. Kisara's body was perfectly tempered for sword combat which was a plus, yet she couldn't become any stronger unless she went down a pursuit of strength like female body builders. Not only would that look... undesirable for Kisara, there would be only so much she could do as a female. Even compared to Aqua, a women who can punch and kick better than most men and already has the body of an Olympic athlete in the makings, Kisara is on the smaller side.

To summarize, neither Renji nor Kisara had the time or option to become stronger using normal methods, so... I chose to use an unconventional option impossible for normal men and women in the real world.

Shin: "As I thought... it was the right choice to unlock their Nen."

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Authors Note:

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Proofread by Hoebagger

I've seen comments about Aqua and others gaining a boost in Nen by entering into Hunter X Hunter and learning from someone, so I wanted to address this. There's nothing to learn like how you are suggesting. What's interesting and distinctive about Nen in Hunter X Hunter is that it's a self taught art at its core. As I've previously stated Nen is a highly specialized power that fits the individual. There are teachers, but they only teach the basics, applications, and training methods. You can't learn a skill/Hatsu of another, or better yet shouldn't try to copy another without stunting your own growth.

Your Nen ability is something you create yourself. No skill books or pills to increase Nen or training speed. It's just your own personal ability at its core. I know it doesn't sound exciting, but a Nen ability polished over years can become frighteningly powerful. The former Hunter's chairman Nen Ability, something born from years and years of training after reaching his peak could be called a A tier, or maybe S tier skill is you've seen the Manga or Anime.