[5]: Pampas

Drip… drip…

Dark red blood dripped onto the ground.

It was a nosebleed.

"Here we go again," Ryo muttered, bored, wiping it away with his sleeve.

Getting chased while bleeding, casting skills with every chance he got.

His curse energy never fully refilled along the way; every time it gained a little, it was immediately used up.

Especially with that last blast of Blue.

So, at this point, he was drained once again.

Instead of rushing to the church, he strolled at a leisurely pace, taking his time, letting his curse energy recharge along the way.

By the time he slowly, almost turtle-like, reached the church without any interruptions, he saw a few familiar, battered figures stumbling out of the entrance.

They were the very ones he'd blasted away with Blue just moments ago.

Despite their wounds and tattered clothes, they appeared unscathed in terms of limbs, with a dense layer of energy wrapping tightly around them like a protective cocoon.

As expected, they were Enhancement types — their physical resilience was remarkable, surviving even that.

Clearly, his current level of cursed energy was still insufficient, and his strength still too limited.

When the group spotted Ryo, they glared at him with anger but dared not act near the church. Supporting each other, they begrudgingly left.

Ryo ignored their hostility, stepping into the church and settling into a seat without a care.

He reached out and grabbed some fruits and snacks from a table nearby.

These things were rare in the lower districts, but in the upper districts, they were everywhere.

Sugar replenishment, sugar replenishment, sugar replenishment.

If he didn't get some sugar soon, he'd lose the patience for any further discussions.

Severe hypoglycemia… it's no joke.

Even sitting in the church, his Six Eyes tirelessly captured every detail, seemingly unending in its function as long as its owner was alive.

A constant, unceasing passive ability.

How troublesome.

There were no traces of religious idols in the church, though plenty of people were present. They weren't dressed uniformly, but each one bore an inverted cross as an accessory or tattoo.

And according to his Six Eyes, every member in the church possessed Nen abilities.

And each one carried at least one gun, some with more.

It was evident that Meteor City didn't lack weapons.

If he remembered correctly, he'd once read an analysis online suggesting that Meteor City had secret dealings with outside mafia groups. It looked like that analysis was spot-on.

"What do you want to discuss?"

Having finished all the sweets on the table, Ryo felt much better and was now in the mood to talk.

"You were probably betrayed and abandoned in Meteor City, weren't you?" The only person dressed like a priest sat down beside him, answering with a question of his own.

"Hm?" Ryo neither confirmed nor denied, responding with a questioning hum.

What led the man to that conclusion?

"You were injured and dropped into Meteor City by a garbage-transporting airship, along with the trash."

"Judging by your appearance, was it a family power struggle? Or perhaps… is Meteor City your trial ground?" The man continued his analysis calmly, discreetly observing this new ability user.

From his appearance, the boy was surprisingly young, with a character that seemed both strong-willed and arrogant. His strength was as expected.

And he was… quite a looker.

His cold, pure appearance contrasted sharply with the strange, dark tattoos covering him, giving him an almost godlike yet ghostly allure.

Especially those eyes… like gemstones, reflecting the sky itself.

In his view, the beauty of those eyes could even rival one of the world's Seven Great Colors, the Scarlet Eyes.

Such distinctive features often imply a unique background.

This boy in front of him likely comes from a prestigious lineage.

Some special families send their children to various places for rigorous training.

Meteor City is one such testing ground.

But for those families, even a place like Meteor City is merely a playground for their children's trials.

Take the infamous assassin family — the Zoldycks, for example.

They're known for sending their children to Meteor City to hone their skills.

So the best approach toward such outsiders is simply to ignore them.

"Did I give you permission to ask me questions?" The white-haired, blue-eyed boy smirked arrogantly, his tone emotionless, revealing neither joy nor displeasure. The black markings on his body seemed almost alive, shifting with his breaths.

As expected, he had a bit of a temper.

"I was just talking to myself," the man replied indifferently, as if he'd encountered difficult personalities countless times.

After all, he was a resident of Meteor City; he'd seen people with far worse temperaments than this boy, including some with peculiar, twisted personalities…

"Meteor City doesn't care about your motives, but this is our shared home. Even if you're an outsider, I hope you remember that."

"As compensation for breaking through the gates of multiple districts, other buildings, and even the church doors…" The man's gaze roamed over the boy, finding nothing of value.

Or rather… the most valuable thing here was the boy himself.

His strength, body, and those eyes.

"You've been marked by the Vulture Gang's Nen ability…" His gaze fell on the inverted pentagram on the boy's hand.

"As long as you bear this mark, the Vultures can locate you and track you down."

"The church can remove the mark for you. In exchange, as compensation, you'll need to stay in Meteor City for one year and, during that time, perform some tasks for the church," the blond man said with a smile.

"Fine. After one year, when I leave Meteor City, you'll provide me with identification papers." Ryo leaned back, tilting his head, not even sparing a glance at the man across from him.

He needed to remove the inverted pentagram mark. He didn't want to tolerate such a thing on his body for even a day longer than necessary.

And when the time came to leave Meteor City, he'd need a valid ID. He also needed time to develop his abilities.

All things considered, staying in Meteor City was a smart choice.

After all, the Hunter world is highly dangerous.

The Six Eyes had already shown him the exact amount of Nen each person in the church possessed. Of course, analyzing this information made him feel his nosebleed threatening to drip again.

Definitely can't let that happen in front of others — how undignified.

Even though the Six Eyes revealed that most of the people in the church had considerable strength — their Nen reserves were several times his own cursed energy.

This meant they had more stamina and vitality.

But that didn't mean Ryo felt any fear; in fact, he was so thrilled he could barely stop himself from trembling.

"Deal." The man ignored Ryo's condescending posture, casually agreeing.

"Let me introduce myself: I'm a member of the Council of Elders responsible for managing District Twelve —"

"Pampas." He seemed to remember to introduce himself at that moment.

"As for me, just call me Cyr… Cyr DeVille." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy tilted his head, his voice somewhat muffled as he offered a casual alias for the people around him.

"Cyr," derived from the French ciel, meaning "sky," was a name an international teacher had given him in kindergarten.

As for "DeVille," he'd made it up himself.

"Enjoy your stay in Meteor City, Cyr," Pampas offered as a parting blessing.

"Church members have their own residences. Someone will take you there shortly, and clothes are also provided free of charge. By the way, I hope you can start working tomorrow." His words seemed friendly, but beneath the surface was a clear undertone of exploitation.

"Are you that short on people?" Ryo asked as he stood up, clearly unenthusiastic.

Only a fool would be thrilled about working for someone else.

"I simply hope you'll start showing your value as soon as possible." Pampas smiled.

He looked like trouble.

Ryo said nothing more, following one of the church members to District Three, to an empty house.

"No matter how strong, ability users can only stay in District Three. District One is where all the Council members live, though each manages other areas. District Two is the domain of Meteor City's families."

"Your specific residence depends on where you're assigned to work. Of course, once you're with the church, you'll have free access to all districts except District One. Any vacant house is unclaimed and can be used as you wish."

Meteor City had existed for nearly a thousand years, so it wasn't surprising that some established families had arisen.

Ryo didn't respond, simply carrying his newly-issued supplies from the church's "generous sponsorship" into his temporary dwelling.

The house was mostly empty, with a somewhat elegant exterior but only basic furniture inside, giving it a sparse feel. Still, it had what he needed, including food in the cupboard.

The faucet even ran water, which was enough for him.

Ryo wasn't picky about his environment; the fact that he'd had no complaints about sitting on a trash pile showed that.

So, he quickly filled the sink, washed himself up, changed into fresh clothes, and made sure there was no trace of blood, dust, or any strange odor before lying down on the bed.

Everything he'd experienced that day had been a bit stimulating.

But as per his habit, he'd go over each day's events each night.

"Currently, I can use Dismantle and Blue as attack methods, and Blue also lets me move quickly. But these attacks drain a lot of energy, and my current energy isn't enough for multiple uses. Plus…"

"Even though the Six Eyes can detect Nen trajectories, and my physical condition is decent, I'm still not strong or fast enough. If my energy runs out and someone gets close, I won't have a way to fight back."

"I need to find a way to increase my energy capacity, improve my reaction speed, and learn some close-combat skills…" Lying in bed with his eyes closed, he mentally reviewed what he needed to improve, summarizing several areas for further development.