Chapter 14

[Toneri's POV]

Stealthily walking away from the crowd of reporters that surround Jin-Woo, I calmly approached my car.

*Ring* ×2

'Another phone call?'

I opened my phone and checked the caller's name. Again, it's an unknown number.

'Who is this? It can't be Adam because I edited his contact number on my phone...'

I'm starting to be conscious about my security. One person managed to get my contact number in an unknown way, sure I'll bat an eye on that because he's a National-level hunter, but two people? Seriously? I should seriously change my contact info...

"Hah..."

Breathing a helpless sigh, I tapped the screen and spoke to the caller with an indifferent voice

"Who is it?"

[Take a guess...]

Huh? This voice... That tired-sounding and familiar voice...

"Ryuu? How'd you get my number?"

Yeah, it was Ryuu from the raid. The same guy that turned to a... Dragonoid? I dunno... No, aside from all that, how'd he contact me?

[You're surprisingly easy to track down online...]

I flinched for a second and stayed silent.

I spoke to him in the next moment with suspicion

"... Are you stalking me? I'm sorry but I don't swing that way"

Yeah no. I'm straight as I can ever be. If this guy is really stalking me, I'd better turn him down right now

He answered me back with an annoyed tone.

[I'm straight too asshole... I just called you because you were invited to a joint mass gate clearing here in Japan... The number of gates appearing here had been rising at an alarming rate...]

Huh? Gates appearing at an alarming rate... How's that possible? Moreover, I don't seem to remember a 'mass gate clearing' in the original series... Oh wait, maybe it did happen but it wasn't focused on. And as for the many gates appearing... Could it be... Nah, it can't be. That's too early to start haha

Now, regarding Ryuu's request... I guess clearing a few more gates and earning a bit more money won't hurt, right? Moreover, I could get the chance to go on sightseeing in Japan.

"... When will this happen? And can you give me more details later? I still have an appointment right now."

[Okay. I'll call you later for more details...]

"Wait, you still haven't answered my question. How'd you track me down?"

[...]

He stayed silent for a while before speaking again with a somewhat confidence and pride in his tone

[Let's just say I was good at using the internet to my advantage before being a hunter...]

*Beep*

'...'

What the hell is wrong with that guy? He did answer my question but hung up in the next second... Rude.

Closing my phone I made another plan. Reinforce my personal information. First, it was Liu Zhigang, now it's Ryuu. I can't let this continue.

Adding the plan to my personal notes, I approached the parking lot where Adam White said to go.

I searched a bit until I finally saw someone waving at me. I checked his appearance and saw that he had brown hair is wearing a suit.

I approached him and spoke with the English language

"Adam White, I presume?" (Toneri)

He was startled a bit before collecting his composure. Must be because I spoke English... After all, I only spoke Korean to him when we were on the phone

"That's right, Hunter Toneri. According to our previous conversation, you are interested in our proposal, yes?" (Adam)

"Yes, that's right. Now that we're met, can you tell me more about it?" (Toneri)

Hearing this, a smile appeared on his face as if he had won.

Now that I've thought about it if the upgrade does succeed, won't the Federal Bureau of Hunters use it as an opportunity to lure me in?

Oh well, I'll think about it later on when I see the results

Adam turned sideways and showed his car

"Then let us go meet the director."

I opened the car's door and say at the back shortly after Adam entered.

* * *

The drive took about an hour with the traffic, but it was bearable. We arrived at a building where the supposedly Deputy director is supposed to be.

I exited the car and so does Adam and he led me to the floor and room where the director was meeting me.

We entered an elevator and pressed the 39th floor.

Exiting the elevator, we walked into a long corridor where many people were passing by who were wearing suits.

We entered the room where the director was and what met me was a blonde man who had a good build. Seriously, this guy is slightly taller than me...

"Nice to meet you, Hunter Toneri. My name is Michael Connor and I am the deputy director of the federal bureau of Hunters." Michael said while smiling before handing out his hand for a handshake.

"Likewise, Sir Michae—"

I said before shaking his hand. B7t then, I felt a familiar aura

I subconsciously turned around where I entered and stared at the door.

"Is there something wrong, Hunter Toneri?" Michael asked while keeping that indifferent face, but those sweat beads appearing on his forehead won't fool me.

I turned to him and said with a serious tone.

"Tell me honestly, Sit Michael, are there other S-Rank Hunters in this building?"

Yeah, that familiar aura is none other than Jin-Woo himself. How was that even possible? He didn't even manage to get in the raid, so how was he scouted by the federal bureau?

Hearing my remark, Michael let out a sigh as if he had been defeated.

"It seems like the rumors of Hunter Toneri's perception is no joke..."

I raised an eyebrow for a hit hearing his answer

"Rumors? About my perception? What are y9u talking about?"

"Haha, do not mind that, Hunter Toneri. It was only rumored on the internet..."

Oi oi oi, seriously? Rumors about my enhanced sensing are spreading on the internet?

Sigh... Whatever. It is only the sensing part of power, after all...

Michael then continued

"You are correct, Hunter Toneri. There is another S-Rank Hunter in this building."

He signaled Adam and the latter opened the door revealing the tall man wearing a formal suit standing on the door

"Let us introduce you to each other, he is—"

Michael was about to introduce us but was cut off by my interference

"That is not necessary, Sit Michael, I already know this man very well." I said while still having eye contact with the guy standing at the door frame

I walked up to him and slightly smiled before handing out my hand for a handshake

"Pleasure to meet you, Hunter Jin-Woo. I actually saw you back in the gym at the hunters association before the Jeju Island raid. My name's Toneri Otsutsuki."

He looked at my hand for a bit before speaking and shaking my hand

"Although it's too late, my name is Sung Jin-Woo, a pleasure to meet you as well."

Hearing his response, I smiled and looked at Michael again

"Well then, Sir Michael, care to tell us about your proposal?"

Michael coughed a bit before leading us into the rook where we will get the 'upgrade'. But who am I kidding? Of course we'll be meeting Selner

The three of us took a sit and Adam stood behind Michael.

"Now, before we start, I'd like to get straight to the point of all this."

After that, he took out two folders with our names on them.

"These are immigrant papers. It usually takes two years for the papers to be processed. However, with just one word, you two can become citizens of America." He said while holding up his finger

"... I came here because Mr. White told me about information that YOU are willing to share with me." Jin-Woo said while releasing small bits of killing intent. Although it was small, as someone who has high perception, that's quite a potent killing intent.

He then continued

"... Is it really possible to upgrade a hunter's abilities?"

Ok, here comes the main topic.

I pretended to be shocked when I heard this. Since they still haven't shared the information with me, this was the perfect chance

"What?! Upgrade a hunter's abilities?! Mr. Michael is this true?!"

I sound a bit exaggerated but it's all according to plan.

"... That is correct, Hunter Toneri. This is actually the content of our proposal. A chance for your abilities to be upgraded."

He then gestured at Adam and the latter went to another room before coming back with a black woman.

'Here it comes...'

I must take the opportunity to be the first here. If Jin-Woo gets evaluated by Selner first, she'll have a mental breakdown, resulting in me not getting my abilities enhanced!

I can't let that happen!

"I'd like the two of you to meet Ms. Selner. The only person in the world... Capable of enhancing a hunter's abilities... Ms. Norma Selner."

Me and Jin-Woo absorbed her for a moment. Although I don't what method Jin-Woo is using to analyze her right now, I'm using the high perception of the Tenseigan to analyze her.

And certainly, she's 'different'

(A/N: Quite the vague statement, no?)

"Ms Selner. Would you please tell Hunter Toneri and Hunter Jin-Woo the scope of your abilities?" Michael spoke a bit proud but still keeping it in

She looked at us a bit and we snapped out of our analysis about her.

"You two must be quite skeptical about all of this... Everyone has the same first impression..." Selner said

Yeah no shit. Your abilities can increase a hunter's powers by 20% or 30%! Although below 50, that's still beneficial! Who would believe that at first?

But of course, as someone who knows the series, her powers are the real deal.

I took a sip from the coffee on the table while listening. As for the guy sitting on the other side of the sofa? He's just sitting there, MENACINGLY.

Selner sat across us and sliced a piece of cake before eating it.

"But I assure you, gentlemen. When you get a taste of my powers, you'll crave more of it."

For some reason, I felt like people reading this fanfic had something nasty in their minds, maybe just my imagination.

Michael was a bit surprised when he heard this.

"M-Miss Selner...!"

Can't blame him, for me, those words were quite arrogant. As for Jin-Woo, he just sat there silently while staring at her

She continued her monologue while eating that slice of cake

"As all of you know, Hunter have limits to their strength, and no one can surpass this. Unless, of course, they underwent a second awakening" after saying the last part, she glared at Jin-Woo

"... Or in some cases, a late awakening..." She said as she also glared at me

Wait, late awakening exists? I just made that bullshit up. Surprisingly, it actually exists?

After that, she drank a cup of coffee on the table.

"This is common knowledge among hunters."

"... And you can change that?" Finally, the quiet guy spoke up

"How strong can a hunter be after your upgrade?" I spoke up. Yes, although I already know how much the upgrade increase, I still want to confirm it.

She stayed silent for a moment before speaking

"For the first question, yes, I can remove the 'limit' of a hunter's strength, therefore improving their overall abilities. As for the second question, it varies from one person to another, but after going through three stages, their strength will increase around 20% to 30%."

Michael spoke up on the sidelines

"Everything she said is true."

Jin-Woo stayed silent again. While I pretended to be excited about it.

Hmm... Pretended? Nah, more like I'M REALLY EXCITED!

"20%?! That's amazing, Miss Selner!" I exclaimed

"Thank you for the compliment, Sir Toneri" Selner said while smiling

She then put down the fork she was using to eat the cake and asked us both

"Now then, which one of you will be upgraded first?"

Without a second of thought, I raised my hand

"Me!"

Jin-Woo was also about to speak out but was interfered with me. Yeah no, I'm taking this chance!

Selner stayed silent for a while before agreeing

"Alright then. Sir Toneri first then."

Hell yeah!

She walked over to me and kneeled down. She touched my hand and said with a soothing voice

"Now, calm down, Sir Toneri."

Alright! Here it comes!

[General POV]

After Selner touched Toneri's hand, she used her ability.

However, instead of the usual mana consuming part of the process, she found herself in a white plane of existence.

She looked around and finally saw something in the distance.

It was... A strange creature. A massive creature towering hundreds of meters. The most noticeable features of it are the giant red eye on the front and the ten tails on its back

And... A silhouette of a person sitting on top of the creature is present. It was a woman who had pale white skin and long white hair. She had no pupils and only have white eyes

Then, something terrifying happened. The woman turned her head and saw Selner. Her eyes widened for a moment before disappearing and reappearing next to Selner

Currently, Selner couldn't move a single muscle. Her eyes were side and countless sweat beads went down her scalp

The pale white woman grabbed Selner's chin and observed her before squinting her eyes.

As if she found something interesting, she let go of Selner and swayed her hand, ejecting Selner out of the white space.

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Notes:

According to the skill of Selner, in order for this ability to work, a person must be gaining their powers from an outside force. (Like how the hunters get their mana from the gates which are given by the rulers)

And since the Chakra inside Toneri came from the fruit that the divine tree bore eaten by Kaguya, technically, Chakra originated from her and Toneri's chakra came from her. Making Kaguya the 'outside force' here.

Well, that's the conclusion I made from my fanfic.

Anyways, that's it. And by the way, Donutaoist, thanks for always checking up on my well-being. I appreciate it :)

Or you're just notifying me to upload a chapter...