The "No Visitors" order issued by the current head of the Zoldyck family, Silva, lacked any real enforcement, as evidenced by my unhindered arrival at the cell where Killua was held. The cell door wasn't even locked; it opened with a push.
Naturally, I didn't push it open.
While the "No Visitors" order could be easily circumvented, the consequences would certainly lead to punishment. The Zoldyck family's methods of discipline were notoriously severe, and I had no desire to seek out a beating for no reason! It hurt too much!
Killua was the apple of the Zoldyck family's eye, so there was no need to worry; he would undoubtedly be released from the cell soon. As for Alluka, according to the original story's setting, she would remain confined from this point on until the Election Arc years later.
I didn't possess a strong desire to change the "original story's fate." After all, I was getting older and lacked the passion of youth. I simply wanted to try and see what a "player" could achieve.
Perhaps I could find an opportunity to have Alluka grant my wish, to eliminate all Nen users in the world, thus making me the strongest human automatically… Heh heh… Heh heh heh, fortune favors the bold.
To avoid accidentally exposing my ulterior motives, I had worn a voice-altering device. This way, I wouldn't have to show my face for Silva to read my lips, and I could suitably mask my expressions.
"No," was Silva's curt reply to my request to see Alluka.
Coupled with the aura of a dungeon boss, it was clear there was "no room for negotiation."
"I heard you say, 'Don't mention Alluka again'," I said. "Five minutes, no, three minutes is fine. I want to give him this souvenir. After all, he was once family. Letting me see him one last time, could you do that?"
"Then you should also have heard how many people have died because of Alluka's ability."
"..." I nodded.
"His ability is too dangerous. If we're not careful, the entire Zoldyck family could be annihilated because of it, which is why we had to decide to isolate him. There is no better method. Or do you have any other good ideas, Meru?"
Good ideas?
Of course, I had no good ideas. I was merely a mediocre person wanting to use a wish-granting item for personal gain.
Since Silva had given me an opportunity, I needed to think carefully about how to get him to allow me to see Alluka.
Hmm—
Hmm…
I couldn't think of anything!
In the original story, when Killua wanted to see Alluka, he invoked the oath of "never betraying a friend" between him and Silva, which made the resolute Silva relent. This was a classic case of "foreshadowing paying off," and it was entirely legitimate.
But what about me?
What legitimate reason could I possibly have that Silva couldn't refuse to see Alluka?
Or did I possess superior deception skills and could resort to trickery to see Alluka?
Don't be ridiculous. I knew I couldn't. I was just an ordinary person, a standard failure in the conventional sense, inferior to the current head of the world's number one assassin family in every way.
When I looked up, Silva had already gleaned my answer from my dejected expression and delivered his prepared response, "While you cannot meet, I can pass the souvenir to him. If you wish to converse, you can use the microphone in the control room. His abilities are still largely unknown, and his current state is not absolutely safe. Any form of communication carries risk, so I can only grant you one exception. Three minutes. You can think about what you want to say beforehand."
My first reaction was that I had nothing to say.
What could I possibly say to Alluka through a monitor screen? Unrealistic comfort? Feigning normalcy with casual greetings? Forget it, that would be too boring, utterly meaningless, and a complete waste of time, all while incurring a debt of gratitude for Silva's "one exception."
"No need. It's enough if you can help me deliver the souvenir," I suddenly recalled another matter, which wasn't major but wasn't insignificant either. "What about the pet kitten I gave to Alluka? The bluish-gray one. How is it doing now?"
"It's fine. It's staying with Alluka."
"..." With an extra cat accompanying him compared to the original story, Alluka's life might be slightly enriched?
In the original story, Alluka was confined for years but seemed to have no psychological trauma, remaining innocent and lively, without any resentment. From a certain perspective, it was somewhat terrifying, exceeding normal bounds.
He felt more like a paper cutout than a paper cutout, with no trace of evil or darkness. In the context of a jungle law-based manga original, his innocence was out of place.
The author, through Killua's mouth, stated that Nanika was gentler than anyone else.
My mood was somewhat complex. The thought of opening the "Souvenir" tab in my game inventory was interrupted. Considering my "player" identity, would ending the conversation with Silva by doing nothing at all mean I was missing out on the proper game experience?
Don't forget, I was the type of player who would "deliberately try bad options as long as they didn't affect substantive interests," testing NPCs' different reactions to choices, and enjoying the show without concern for trouble.
My long-dormant sense of player duty made me stand up, point forward, and declare with a resounding voice, "Silva, I challenge you!"
"..."
"..."
This was not a static image.
Give me some reaction to anything, Silva!
Otherwise, I would be extremely embarrassed, no, I was already embarrassed enough to dig my toes into the ground.
"You..." Just as he began his provocative words, Silva suddenly raised his hand, and I flinched, swallowing the rest of my words.
Silva supported his forehead with one hand, appearing somewhat helpless. The good news was that he didn't consider my direct address disrespectful. The bad news was that he thought I was being foolish and didn't take me seriously.
"I..." Cornered, I braced myself and tried to add some dignity, "I'm serious!"
"Seriousness implies resolve. Since you say you are serious, then, Merlus," Silva placed his hand on his knee, slightly lowering his body, like a predator hiding behind bushes, locking onto its prey with its pupils, "Do you have the resolve to pay a certain price if you lose?"
"..." No way?! It requires a certain price? Can't I challenge for free?! I am your biological daughter, according to your character settings! Isn't the Zoldyck family supposed to be very family-oriented?!
In other words, under Silva's even more serious aura, I cowered.
Silva was a ruthless man, and his seriousness was far beyond ordinary.
"Meru, you are already eighteen years old, yet you are still as willful as a child," Silva dispelled his oppressive aura and gazed at me with an unreadable expression, "...Have you thought about your own future?"
My... future?
I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
That was simple. I had almost no worries about my future. My ideal was to die before I turned thirty, without having to worry about longer-term matters or about beauty fading. To remain young forever, how wonderful! Let longevity be for those who need it, thank you.
I couldn't lie here, but I could rephrase it. I would use phrases I had seen in the "real world" to answer, "I don't want to blindly aspire to the future and live in fantasy. I want to cherish the present and live in the moment."
How's that? Isn't it positive and upward-looking? The internet says this is the wisdom of a free and unfettered life.
Frankly, I disliked Silva's gaze at this moment. Although his gaze held no hostility or other negative emotions, it had an imperceptible penetrating power, as if it were looking through my eyes, turning over piled-up leaves, and seeing my heart buried deep beneath the dark ground.
He was too focused, causing me waves of panic.
No, I couldn't retreat. I had to hold my ground. Silva definitely didn't have mind-reading abilities, otherwise, he would have already purged me, this ungrateful wretch, from the Zoldyck household. As long as I didn't lose my composure, he wouldn't see the truth I hid the deepest—he didn't know I was a "player." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Mmm, I understand," Silva made no comment on my philosophy of life. "Then, what do you want to gain by challenging me? I assume you are well aware that you have almost no chance of winning."
"I know, but the process is also important," As someone who frequently failed, it was hard to live life without such self-comfort. "You have to try, right?"
Perhaps the process of my challenge would sway Silva into allowing me to meet Alluka?
Haha, just kidding. I just wanted to see how much of Silva's HP I could shave off this time.
Challenging a boss that wouldn't actually kill me was a rare form of entertainment, and I was quite motivated.
My determined gaze prompted Silva to ask an almost absurd question, "If you win, what do you want?"
"To see Alluka."
Perhaps because the topic revolved around Alluka, who possessed the power to annihilate the Zoldycks, Silva took longer to consider each of my answers than usual. The survival of the family was too important to him, leading to such caution, and I realized with increasing clarity that my chances of seeing Alluka were very slim.
Just as I thought Silva would refuse again, he said he would accept my challenge and even proactively lowered the difficulty, setting the game rules.
[Limited-Time Challenge Mission]
[Mission Name: Martial Arts That Must Be Refined]
[Mission Content: Do not be defeated within ten minutes]
This... doesn't it feel like I'm the one being challenged?
It's not me attacking the boss, it's the boss attacking me?
Calm down. Survival mode is also a common game mode, not something to be overly surprised about.
Master Meru, don't forget how you got scraped last time. This time, it's not about attack power but survival. The game mode is clearly much more favorable to you!
Upon arriving at the training ground, Silva asked if I needed any preparation.
Two options appeared to the right of his dialogue box:
[... (Nod)]
[I need to prepare further]
There was nothing to prepare, so I chose the first option and nodded.
The mission began. Let me give everyone a brief glimpse of my player interface to increase immersion.
——————————————————————————————————————
Silva Zoldyck
Current Head of the Zoldyck Family
Lv???███████████████████████████████████████
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Silva feared Chrollo, at least he was wary of Chrollo's unknown trump cards, so Chrollo could employ some tricks to stall for time. However, Silva knew about my Nen abilities, which allowed him to dispense with many concerns and choose offensive combat mode for everything.
I think Silva hits me harder than he hit Chrollo. Am I really his biological child?
What if he accidentally kills me?!
What about the promise that Zoldycks don't kill their family members?!
Although, like Chrollo, who had undergone divination, I knew I wouldn't die easily here, under Silva's swift onslaught, death truly brushed past me. My biological instinct for survival erupted, adrenaline surged, and my focus intensified, leaving little room to consider anything other than survival, let alone counterattack.
Alright, I knew Silva was holding back; otherwise, I would have been finished right at the start. Silva was the father of one of the main protagonists in the original manga, and our strength was on completely different levels.
Speaking of which, there was no such thing as cherishing a lady in the Hunter x Hunter world, nor would anyone feel guilty while crushing an inferior opponent.
I was beaten black and blue by Silva, my health bar like a candle in the wind. If this were a Yu-Gi-Oh! set or another hot-blooded shonen manga setting, this would be called "locking health" and the beginning of the protagonist's desperate counterattack, shouting "As long as I believe in XX, XX will respond to me!" or "Because we are the tails of XX!" or "I am the man who will become the XX King!" or "Excalibur!" accompanied by stirring background music, and the situation could be reversed. However, this wasn't a Yu-Gi-Oh! set or another hot-blooded shonen manga setting, and I wasn't the protagonist.
So I...
[Challenge Failed]
I lost very ordinarily.
And every part of me hurt. I didn't want to calculate my injuries; I just wanted to lie there and rest.
"Can you still stand?" Silva walked up to me.
From my perspective lying on the ground, he seemed distant, like a giant looking down at a small insect. In the shadow of his face, which was turned away from the sun, only his beast-like eyes were particularly striking, somewhat eerie. It was a typical perspective used to portray villainous characters.
"..." I was beaten by you personally, what do you think?
"If you can still stand, I'll take you to see Alluka," he said.
Was he certain I couldn't stand up? Or was he moved and decided to give me a chance?
Rather than trying to discern Silva's intention, it was better to think about what I could do under the Zoldycks' watchful eyes if I got to see Alluka.
Wait, isn't this what Silva wants! He might be testing me! Could he suspect I want to use Alluka to fulfill my wish?! Well, my motives were indeed impure. Besides, my relationship with Alluka wasn't close enough for me to defy the Zoldyck family. And for that, I actually initiated a formal challenge against the family head; it was a bit too enthusiastic. If I continued to be this enthusiastic, it would only make me more suspicious.
"......No, I can't," so I chose to lie flat, using my mind to [take out] the cake box from the "Souvenir" tab in my game inventory. The paper box appeared in my dominant right hand. "This, please deliver it for me, Father."
"You don't really want to see Alluka," Silva stated a fact.
"Killua is also confined by you," wasn't that the consequence of wanting to see Alluka so badly?
Yes, don't hold onto any侥幸 (jiǎoxìng - luck, good fortune). I won't be able to see Alluka because I am a member of the Zoldyck family. Alluka's ability rules would implicate other family members, and Silva probably wouldn't want to take unnecessary risks.
"I can let you see Killua," Silva said.
"...No, thank you."
If I saw Killua, I would definitely have to comfort him, wouldn't I? I'm not good at comforting people. My mother in the "real world" would just stand there傻站着 (shǎ zhànzhe - stand foolishly), not daring to make a sound, only handing her tissues whenever she cried, until she repeatedly told me to go away. I would go back to my room, close the door, and press my ear against it to listen to the commotion outside. Only when there was no sound would I get into bed and sleep. Of course, I wouldn't fall asleep quickly. Lying in bed, I would think about many things, including dying.
Because I couldn't do anything, I couldn't solve practical problems, nor could I say nice things. I was so stupid.
It was the same this time. I couldn't fulfill Killua's request, so what use would it be for me to see him?
To enjoy Killua's disappointed expression towards me?
Absolutely not.
Putting the cake box in my hand aside, I [took out] another box of cake from the "Souvenir" tab in my game inventory. The paper box appeared in my dominant right hand. "This is for Killua. Please deliver this one too, Father."
"The younger brothers all get one, is that right?" Silva took the box from my hand. "Is there anything else you need delivered?"
"Mmm." I sat up and held up the third box of cake. "This one is for Kalluto."
"You don't need me to deliver this one, do you?" Silva said with a hint of a joke. "I haven't confined him."
"Alright." I'll have the butler help me deliver it later.
[Picking up] the third cake box back into my game inventory, I lay back on the ground and watched Silva's departing back.
Hiss—
It hurt like hell. This damn game doesn't allow me to adjust the pain level, which is really unbearable.
I lay there until Kikyo appeared and forcibly hauled me up from the ground. I said I wanted to go to the infirmary, and she said my frail appearance was unacceptable and unfitting, and I needed to undergo remedial lessons.
In the interrogation room, suspended high, Kikyo personally carried out the punishment, using a whip that I disliked. Well, actually, I disliked other things in the interrogation room too.
"..."
Although the mental torment was painful, when the physical damage reached the level of Zoldyck family education, it could also be described as pain that life could not bear.
Unwilling to face my grim reality, my eyes gradually lost their luster.