HxH: Ryomen... Satoru?

"I was planning to go mining..." Cyr sighed as he looked at the distant, bombed-out mining site.

A once-in-a-lifetime mining experience had ended before it even began.

"Now what? Where am I supposed to find liquid ore...?" He landed back on the ground, casually tossing the sleepy tiger cub onto the dirt. His tone carried a hint of frustration.

Biscuit and Chrollo both heard his muttering.

Biscuit's expression was one of surprise, but she pointed at Chrollo and said, "You came here to find liquid ore? Isn't that exactly what Chrollo's earrings are made of?"

Cyr blinked, his gaze shifting silently to the two blue pendants hanging from Chrollo's ears.

At his feet, the tiger cub also looked up, eyes bright and focused on Chrollo.

Maro, too, joined in staring. Biscuit, as if enjoying the show, watched Chrollo with sparkling eyes.

With four pairs of eyes fixed on him, Chrollo sighed slightly, showing a helpless expression. He didn't even lower the book in his hand.

"So this is liquid ore... Doesn't look as impressive as the legends say," Cyr mused inwardly, comparing the earrings to his Six Eyes in terms of aesthetic value.

In the end, he came to a conclusion.

"The most beautiful blue thing in this world is definitely my eyes," he declared with absolute confidence.

"While you do have the right to say that, it's not exactly a good thing," Biscuit reminded him.

Being associated with world-class beauty rarely led to a happy ending.

"So, what do you all plan to do now? Even if I say these aren't liquid ore, you wouldn't believe me, would you?" Chrollo spoke with a falsely wronged expression, clearly exasperated.

He wasn't particularly eager to fight these people. The blond youth wasn't too concerning, but the boy and girl—despite their youthful appearances—felt far more threatening.

But if it came down to a fight...

Chrollo's book flipped open, the pages stopping on one in particular.

"Don't underestimate my eye for gemstones! As a Gem Hunter, I never misidentify a stone!" Biscuit's voice was filled with absolute confidence in her abilities.

"Ah... I'd rather not fight you, though..." Cyr murmured, stroking his chin as if conflicted.

After all, back in Meteor City, a lot of the food, clothes, and supplies he used had come from the Phantom Troupe.

Before Chrollo could respond, he noticed that the boy who had just claimed he didn't want to fight had vanished from sight.

At the same moment, the air behind him shifted.

Chrollo spun around immediately, his sharp eyes catching sight of Cyr now standing at his back.

"Now that I think about it, I should probably thank you all for those supplies back then," Cyr said, but even as he spoke, his hand was already reaching for Chrollo's ear.

Supplies?

The Phantom Troupe only ever sent supplies to one place.

Meteor City.

Was this boy also from Meteor City?

Even as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Chrollo didn't hesitate—his ability was already in motion.

The shadow beneath him suddenly came to life, surging upward to block Cyr's approach.

At the same time, Chrollo himself swiftly retreated from his original position.

This was Light's Shadow, an ability recorded in Skill Hunter.

It could only be used in environments with light, allowing the shadow to defend against attacks and counter enemies. However, the tradeoff was that any damage inflicted on the shadow would also be felt by the user.

And, of course, if the light disappeared, the shadow would vanish as well.

The original owner of this ability had once caused considerable trouble using it.

Chrollo, relying on his harmless appearance, had befriended his target, gained their trust, and then… stolen their ability.

"Shadows? I used to think about having an ability like this too," Cyr mused as he observed the black silhouette before him.

Something like the shadow army from that one anime—not necessarily the strongest, but undeniably cool.

The shadow remained connected to Chrollo's feet, its length changing as he moved.

This ability had a range limit.

As the elongated shadow stretched forward, it touched the shadow beneath Cyr's feet.

In an instant, his legs stiffened unnaturally—he couldn't move them. His own shadow was being invaded by the opponent's.

Manipulation-type? Does the shadow control people?

That thought had barely formed when his body abruptly appeared in the air.

For him, using Blue to teleport himself skyward didn't require moving his legs at all. A strong enough Enhancement-type user could probably brute-force their way out of this ability as well.

Of course, that was assuming only part of their body was affected.

But if the entire shadow was taken over… would he still be able to use his abilities?

Curious as he was, Cyr had no intention of testing it on himself.

Chrollo didn't close his book, but the shadow quickly retreated back to him, returning to its normal state.

His offensive capabilities were still somewhat lacking. But finding the right ability to steal wasn't easy.

Not to mention, his ability required him to witness the target using their power firsthand and gather enough relevant information from them.

To achieve that, he often spent time befriending his targets first.

Progress was slow. Sometimes, the targets even saw through his intentions.

And this white-haired boy in front of him… what was his ability?

Suddenly, a blade of ice shot toward the back of his head. Chrollo tilted his head slightly, narrowly dodging it.

His shadow moved again—fast.

In a fraction of a second, it invaded the shadow beneath the blond youth.

The blond's expression twisted, but his body refused to obey him. Worse still, his attack changed course.

The ice blade now flew straight toward the airborne Cyr.

"Tch..." The white-haired boy extended his hand, red light flickering around it.

A single Red blast wouldn't kill Chrollo himself, but… what about the earrings?

He had heard that liquid ore became quite fragile once it solidified.

Guess I'll find out…

"Fine, I'll show you."

Chrollo suddenly spoke.

A gut feeling—or maybe his "spider sense"—kept warning him not to take that unknown attack head-on.

But without knowing his opponent's ability conditions, how was he supposed to dodge it?

His opponent showed no true intent to kill. If they had, they would have simply attacked with that move from the start.

Besides, Chrollo himself was not a frontline fighter.

And considering that this boy might also be from Meteor City, Chrollo was willing to have a conversation. It was better to leave it at that.

Closing the book in his hands, he released his control over the blond youth.

Cyr, too, stopped his movements, the red glow fading from his hand.

"You should've said so earlier. I just wanted to borrow it for a look."

Cyr spoke with complete confidence as he walked up to Chrollo and held out his hand.

Chrollo had no choice but to remove one of his earrings and hand it over.

It was, indeed, liquid ore. As for where he had obtained it…

Did a thief ever need to explain where their treasures came from?

[Liquid Ore Accessory detected (Not raw ore, not eligible for collection).]

[Congratulations, Host has obtained Chrollo's Earring (Bound, Cannot be Unbound, Can be Replicated).]

[Would you like to replicate this item and list it in the marketplace for sale?]

[The Host will receive 1% commission on the sale price.]

Three unexpected system notifications popped up.

So Chrollo's earring could be copied and sold in the system's marketplace?

And it was actually classified as a bound item?

"1%? That's straight-up exploitation," Cyr complained internally.

[The energy required for replication is provided by the system, as is the energy for transaction transfers. After analysis, a 1% cut is extremely reasonable.]

Oh, sure, reasonable—for a profiteering system that takes the lion's share.

Heh.

Still, profit was profit. It was an unexpected bonus, after all.

"Do it," Cyr replied in his mind.

[Replication successful. Item has been listed in the system marketplace.]

"Here."

Cyr tossed the earring back to Chrollo.

°°°

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