Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The night was as cool as water. The modest room is less than thirty square meters and the furnishings were sparse and simple, with a wooden plank bed, a wooden cabinet, a wooden table, two wooden chairs, a hanging lamp, and a small bathroom. This was where Machi lived.

Lawliet lay restlessly on the wooden plank bed, unable to fall asleep, while Machi, in contrast, was sound asleep in her hammock.

When he first came to this place, the hammock was already there, but the wooden plank bed was covered with a layer of dust, which showed that Machi had stopped using it a long time ago.

'Hunter x Hunter World...'

Lawliet lay on his side, fiddling with the pendant in his hand, unsure whether to feel fear or excitement.

Machi is only ten years old, but her image of purple hair and golden eyes is highly consistent with the memory Lawliet has.

Based on her appearance, her name, and the mention of Meteor City, Lawliet finally confirmed his situation.

Although Machi's mental age is definitely far beyond her years, she is just a child after all, not a qualified teacher. Despite having books to assist her, Machi cannot teach systematically Lawliet the common language step. However, Lawliet learns very quickly, and within half a day, he had picked up numerous words, including their names and the term 'Meteor City'.

Thanks to this basic level of communication, Lawliet managed to use grand promises of future wealth to persuade Machi to return the pendant to him.

After hearing the big promise made by Lawliet, Machi handed the pendant back without much hesitation.

Lawliet didn't think much about it. He simply thought that this girl, who would become a member of the notorious Phantom Troupe in the future, was still just a child. She had not experienced much, so she would easily believe him.

In fact, most of Machi's decisions were guided by her intuition. This was the fundamental reason she had brought Lawliet home. Moreover, Lawliet could breathe effortlessly in the 'toxic gas' environment of the garbage dump without wearing protective gear, which further piqued her interest.

Though Lawliet was physically weaker than her, Machi trusted her intuition. She believed bringing Lawliet back was the right choice. As for the pendant, she regarded it as a pretty trinket and it would be a good deal if she could get Lawliet's promise for it.

'I used to imagine that transmigrating to the Hunter x Hunter World would be exhilarating. Why does it feel so underwhelming now?'

Lawliet sighed softly in his heart. Until now, he still had no idea what the powerful, mysterious presence he encountered at the bottom of the Unfrozen Lake was, nor how he had inexplicably arrived in this world.

When he was still on Earth, he always felt that there wasn't enough time. He rarely watched anime, let alone read manga.

Because of his interests, there are only two anime that he is interested in, one is Hunter x Hunter and the other is Toriko.

As a foodie, he enjoyed Toriko for its culinary adventures. As an explorer with an intense curiosity about the unknown, he loved Hunter x Hunter.

'If I remember correctly, there is a Gourmet Hunter in the classification of Hunter Profession.'

Although he wasn't sure if the food ingredients in this world were as diverse as those in Toriko, but since there is existence of Gourmet Hunters, Lawliet believe that even if it is not as rich as that in the Toriko World, it is definitely a world apart from Earth.

This was the source of his excitement, which is enough to suppress the unease and fear of being in a strange new world.

Not to mention the various rare ingredients that exist in the unknown and are not found on Earth, there are also various secret places that have not been described in anime. For Lawliet, these are all full of irresistible allure.

Exotic beasts and magical beasts.

Secret treasures.

Secret realm, magical realm.

These wonders, which didn't even exist in anime, were like an unpainted canvas waiting for him to create a masterpiece.

Thinking about this, Lawliet's emotions gradually calmed. On Earth, he had dreamed of exploring the ten forbidden zones of humanity. After a chance encounter that gave him power, he turned that dream into a goal.

If ordinary people suddenly gained powerful strength, they might succumb to their desires, but Lawliet saw his newfound strength as a tool to pursue uncharted territories and discover unheard-of ingredients.

An adventurer at heart and a pure gourmand, Lawliet combined his love for cooking with a quest for rare culinary delights.

Because of his unique experiences and aspirations, Lawliet quickly came to terms with his current situation after thinking things through.

Although his carefree adventures on Earth had only just begun before he was inexplicably transported to the Hunter x Hunter World, the abundance of unknown wonders here far outweighed what Earth could offer.

'It's good, but the danger level here is far greater than that on Earth. Fortunately, I vaguely remember the principles and training methods of Nen.'

Lawliet slowly closed his eyes. Right now, he just wanted to master the power of Nen as soon as possible. After all, this was the foundation for him to gain a foothold in this world.

In the quiet night, he couldn't sleep and began to ponder about Nen Ability, temporarily forgetting the faint life energy in his body.

Upon realizing this was the Hunter x Hunter World, his thoughts turned to the endlessly diverse and fascinating Nen Abilities. He wondered which category he belonged to and what his ability might be.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his mindscape was suddenly filled with the same shifting, white smoke text that had appeared during his training earlier in the day.

This time, Lawliet wasn't surprised at all. He calmly accepted the reappearance of the mysterious text.

It wasn't just because he had already encountered it once, but also because he thought that no matter how strange the matter was, it was nothing compared to being transported to the Hunter x Hunter World in the first place.

Level: Ordinary Human.

Power: Nen.

Category: Unknown.

Awakening Rate: 0.5%

'It's changed.'

Seeing the white smoke text again, Lawliet was slightly startled. Although he had only caught a glimpse of it during the day, he clearly remembered that there had been no mention of levels, the power was listed as unknown, and there was no reference to categories.

'Could it be because I now know about Nen and its categories?'

As Lawliet pondered this, he added the concept of categories into his understanding of Nen.

As soon as the thought came to his mind, he saw the white smoke text change again.

Level: Ordinary Human

Power: Nen.

Enhancement: Awakening Rate 0%.

Emission: Awakening Rate 0%.

Transformation: Awakening Rate 0%.

Manipulation: Awakening Rate 0%.

Conjuration: Awakening Rate 0%.

Specialization: Awakening Rate 0.5%.

Looking at the changed white smoke text, Lawliet was extremely surprised. Though he didn't understand the fundamental principle behind this phenomenon, it seemed undeniably beneficial for him.

'Only the Specialization category has an awakening rate of 0.5%. Does that mean I'm a Specialist?'

Lawliet silently speculated. At this moment, his thoughts focused solely on how to improve his Nen Mastery.

He remembered that a wetland in the original work's Hunter Exam was teeming with threats that even physically robust individuals couldn't escape. Only Nen could serve as a true foundation of strength in this world.

"Although I don't know what this text is or why it appears, its display of awakening rates can provide me with a clear indicator. All I need to do is train diligently to increase those rates!"

Lawliet muttered to himself in a low voice, his resolve to train growing stronger. Just then, he suddenly felt the jade in his hand emit an astonishing heat, so intense it felt like it could melt his palm in an instant!