Chapter 123: Breaking Free from the Cocoon and Becoming a Butterfly
The martial arts master evolved into a true Style Master thanks to Haze's mastery of acupressure, pulse control, and breathing techniques.
Through these breathing methods, he tempered his internal organs, achieving an extraordinary balance of vitality, blood, and qi ... granting him incredible endurance, rapid recovery, and efficiency in his bodily functions.
His physical attributes reached a state known as "a thousand hammer strikes," symbolizing the unity of body and mind.
Thus, his overall attribute level rose from Superhuman Level 1 to Superhuman Level 2.
As for his Nen level, his current rank as a Sub-World-Class Hunter was mainly due to his passive ability, Curse of Hell, which increased his "magical power" by collecting souls.
In truth, his Nen mastery had improved very little over the past two years ... just like leveling up in a game: the higher you climb, the slower the progress.
It was thanks to Curse of Hell, which allowed him to achieve limitless breakthroughs, that Haze ascended from National-Level Hunter to Sub-World-Class Hunter.
Otherwise, given his talent, reaching the national level would likely have been his limit.
His greatest potential lay in his physical abilities; his comprehension and application of Nen were merely above average. With effort, he could reach sub-world-class, but not nearly this fast.
Still, even at this level, he would inevitably plateau, finding it difficult to advance further.
In the original work, the concept of an Attribute Cloud appears later within the Nen system.
The Attribute Cloud represents a person's Nen skill level ... not raw strength or combat power, but their proficiency in Nen itself.
From lowest to highest, the Attribute Cloud ranks are: Excellent, Outstanding, Gifted, and Supreme.
Among them, Chairman Netero, the Chimera Ant King Meruem, and Zeno Zoldyck all reach the Supreme level, while Silva, Chrollo, Hisoka, and Uvogin belong to the Gifted level.
Shizuku from the Phantom Troupe is Outstanding, while the protagonist Gon is merely Excellent ... the lowest rank.
However, a person's Attribute Cloud can evolve. Gon, still a teenager, naturally hadn't reached his potential yet.
After his corruption into his adult form, Da Jie, his cloud rose to the Extreme level.
Based on Haze's self-assessment, his Attribute Cloud should now be at Gifted level.
The Attribute Cloud differs from elite Nen users ... it's a reflection of inner mastery, not outer strength.
Without the Infernal Curse and Absolution, Haze might have remained stuck at this level ... but now, he could challenge even those at the Extreme rank.
Even his system panel could not fully capture his true combat power.
With the passive effect of Absolution, Haze's attack range expanded to five meters.
During his first year leading Menchi and the others on missions, all the Nen users he defeated were formidable opponents due to the mission's high difficulty.
By the second year, he estimated he had slain at least three thousand magical beasts ... traveling across all six continents.
While his passive ability stacks looked terrifying, the actual boosts from those beasts were limited, as their Nen power couldn't compare to that of humans.
Still, that five-meter range alone was fearsome.
Combined with Haze's acupressure technique, it became overwhelming ... long-distance pressure-point strikes that were virtually impossible to counter.
The extended range also compensated for the need to focus aura on his fingertips when striking, removing any chance of an opponent exploiting an opening.
His critical hit rate reached 100%, meaning every attack at least doubled in power.
The remaining 100% converted into life steal ... currently 20%, allowing him to recover one-fifth of the damage dealt.
As for armor or physical defense, Haze hadn't even needed to test them.
For the past two years, nothing had been able to threaten his life or pierce his defenses.
Likewise, there was no magical barrier his power couldn't break.
And these were merely his base stats ... not including his actual combat techniques or Nen abilities.
In other words, though he wasn't an Enhancement-type user, Haze's Nen strength was already monstrous.
The reason he considered his former limit to be Sub-World-Class, with a "Gifted" Attribute Cloud, was because Hisoka and Chrollo had reached that same level years later.
Of course, this only referred to their Nen proficiency ... in overall Nen strength, aside from Chrollo, most Phantom Troupe members were merely upper-national-level users.
Only Chrollo had the potential to surpass them.
Now, Haze could confidently compare himself to the likes of Hisoka and Chrollo.
When he first transmigrated into this world, the gap between him and Hisoka had been enormous.
But now… Haze was certain he could defeat Hisoka easily.
Unless something unexpected had happened, Hisoka was probably a National-Class Hunter by now.
He had once told Hisoka that, over time, it would become harder and harder for him to win ... and he hadn't been joking.
"I must go to the Dark Continent… If I can hunt the lifeforms there, the power boost from their soul matter and black mist will be unimaginable."
Haze watched the rising golden sun, feeling its warmth on his face, and smiled.
"Right now, in this world, the only humans who could truly threaten me are but a handful of Nen users."
Once he became a World-Class Hunter, what rank would he achieve?
Could he break into the Top Ten?
Though technically still a Lower-Class Hunter, Haze felt that while he couldn't yet rival someone like Netero, he could at least stand his ground.
His body was incredibly powerful, and his aura surged accordingly.
With his boosted armor and magical power, he might even endure several strikes from Guanyin: One Hundred Styles.
"This level is fine for the human world," he mused, "but on the Dark Continent, I'd probably be easy prey… Nen strength has no ceiling, and my abilities will eventually reach the Extreme Realm. Yet even with this physical potential, reaching Netero's prime remains far too difficult. My current body is roughly equal to his in old age… In other words, my physical limit matches Netero's twilight years."
The stronger one becomes, the higher one's realm ... and the clearer one's understanding.
Years ago, even knowing how strong Netero was, Haze could only vaguely imagine it.
Now he finally understood why that old man sat at the top of the Hunter world.
He also understood how terrifying Gon and Killua's potential truly was.
The Gon who turned evil years later ... after wasting his potential ... had reached the same level as peak Netero when he killed Neferpitou.
Still, Haze wasn't discouraged.
Because the system had already given him the perfect path forward ...
It offered a way to transcend his physical limits once he reached the summit of his potential.
Just like his acupressure and pulse control techniques, it was a treasure carried over from his previous life:
Acupuncture and medicinal baths!
To stimulate the meridians and bones through acupuncture and break the body's internal chains with tonics.
Since one cannot alter innate constitution, one must nurture flesh and blood through acquired means!
"…We truly can't afford to grow careless," sighed Haze from deep within.
Leaping from a hollow in the canopy ... thousands of meters above ground ... he vanished into the sky.
(End of Chapter)