Chapter 21 - Exponential Growth x Hisoka

Chapter 21: Exponential Growth x Hisoka“This…”

Luo Lin stared silently at the eight logs tied together behind him.

Just a moment ago, he had used sheer strength to lift all eight logs at once.

Although Luo Lin hadn’t calculated the weight of a single log, he clearly remembered that three days ago, with all his strength, he could only lift three logs at best.

In other words, after just three days of training, Luo Lin’s strength had almost tripled.

Hmm.

No mistake about it.

Luo Lin’s silence was because he was shocked by the speed at which his strength had increased.

Although he had known for a while that in this world, as long as people trained with firm conviction and had a bit of talent, they could easily develop terrifying strength.

But the fact that his strength had tripled in just three days seemed a little too far-fetched.

To be clear, these past three days, he had only done basic strength training with whatever he could think of. Other than the logs, there weren’t even any other suitable training tools.

As for nutrition, it was just the prey he hunted from the forest or the seafood he caught from the sea.

Yet, even with such limited resources, he achieved such astonishing results.

But…

“The source of this doubled strength is probably life energy!” Luo Lin thought for a moment and quickly came up with a possible explanation.

Of course, this life energy was not the life force listed in his stats but the extraordinary power of the Hunter world.

At the same time, the life energy that people could freely control in this world had another name—!

In the Hunter world, those who opened their  and could freely manipulate their life energy were called  users.

Those who hadn’t opened their nodes were considered ordinary people.

But of course, “ordinary people” in this world didn’t mean the same as those from Luo Lin’s previous life.

Because of the existence of life energy, even ordinary people in this world constantly radiated a very faint amount of life energy.

Although this energy couldn’t be freely controlled by ordinary people, life energy is inherently influenced by a person’s firm conviction and controlled by their spirit.

So, as long as someone with decent talent trains with strong enough determination, they can, to a certain extent, tap into this life energy, training their physical abilities to an incredible level.

This isn’t something Luo Lin made up.

It was evident in the story’s plot as well.

In the Zoldyck family arc, the Zoldyck family’s guard had told Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika that young people like them could open the Testing Gate to the Zoldyck residence after just a month of training.

And in fact, after just two weeks, the three of them managed to open the two-ton Testing Gate. Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Leorio even almost pushed open the second gate, which weighed four tons.

Luo Lin had been keeping an eye on their strength throughout the journey. Although he couldn’t estimate the exact numbers, their strength was probably around two or three hundred kilograms.

If you compare the numbers, their strength increased more than tenfold after just two weeks of training, which was even more significant than Luo Lin’s current progress.

Of course, the time, environment, and base levels were all different, so the comparison wasn’t entirely fair.

Still, once Luo Lin realized this, he didn’t worry too much about his own rate of growth. He was just… a bit of a genius, right?

Besides, Luo Lin was more focused on his system panel than such things.

[Level 100 God System].[Name: Luo Lin].[Level: 1 (180/1000)].[Life Force: 1].[Mental Power: 1].[World: Hunter x Hunter].

Three days.

Luo Lin had gained a solid 70 experience points through strength training.

Although it didn’t match the efficiency of the 90 points he gained in three days from the Trap Tower, the difference wasn’t too significant. This was a pleasant surprise.

But what made Luo Lin happiest was that despite his strength nearly tripling, his attribute points hadn’t changed at all.

This confirmed Luo Lin’s earlier suspicions.

Attribute points—no, his system—was stronger than he had imagined.

“The Level 100 God System…” Luo Lin looked at the system’s name and felt that with just twenty levels, he could be called a god.

And at level 100… Luo Lin couldn’t even imagine what he would become.

He sighed inwardly, glancing around at the training ground where he had spent the last three days. After a brief moment of hesitation, he decided to leave.

Although his experience gain here wasn’t too slow, and it helped him train his strength, for now, Luo Lin prioritized gaining experience and leveling up.

As for strength…

For the time being, he had enough. No matter how much he trained now, he still wouldn’t be able to defeat Hisoka or Illumi, who was disguised as Gittarackur.

Aside from those two, no other Hunter examinee could rival him.

Once he passed the Hunter exam, the Hunter Association would assign him a Nen teacher to guide him in mastering .

Once he learned  and could actively manipulate his life energy, that’s when his strength—and his physical capabilities—would truly soar.

Having made his decision, Luo Lin wasted no time.

He sorted through the training tools he had been using over the past few days and chose a log that he found pleasing to the eye. He tied it securely and fastened the other end to himself.

Weighted running.

Luo Lin had recently discovered that adding a certain amount of weight to long-distance running could slightly increase the efficiency of gaining experience.

With one log, Luo Lin could run six kilometers and gain one experience point, which explained why his experience gain hadn’t dropped too much in recent days.

But if the weight was too much, it would exhaust his stamina and affect his speed, making the gains not worth the cost.

One log’s weight was just right, and this island wasn’t exactly the safest place.

With the log positioned upright, Luo Lin started jogging, pulling the log behind him. Thanks to his doubled strength, even while dragging the log, Luo Lin’s speed wasn’t much slower than before.

He could even nimbly maneuver through the forest without much difficulty.

However, the noise was something Luo Lin couldn’t help. After all, he was dragging a log behind him.

Previously, Luo Lin had been training at the island’s edge. Although the noise wasn’t small, the area was remote, so no other examinees had noticed.

But now, as Luo Lin dragged a log into the forest…

Even from a distance, the noise would give him away.

Of course.

Examinees who had already gathered enough points might avoid the noise and stay away, but those who still needed points would probably rush towards him with excitement!

Luo Lin thought casually.

And it turned out… Luo Lin was right.

He hadn’t even been in the forest for ten minutes when a Hunter examinee suddenly jumped out of the bushes on the roadside, sword in hand, thrusting it straight at Luo Lin.

“Die!” the man shouted as he charged out of the bushes from Luo Lin’s blind spot, aiming directly for his head.

From the corner of his eye, Luo Lin could even see the gleam of excitement and mockery in the man’s eyes.

It was as if he was saying…

And in fact, that was exactly what the man was thinking. He had noticed Luo Lin from afar, especially with his number badge clearly visible on his chest.

Of course, he’d prepare an ambush and strike!

But…

Luo Lin, seeing him from the corner of his eye, remained calm and composed, showing no surprise.

He didn’t even bother to untie the log from behind him. With a subtle shift of his feet, he easily dodged the man’s sword strike, and his palm gently but swiftly landed on the back of the man’s neck.

Although he didn’t want to kill, the man had attacked without hesitation, so Luo Lin wouldn’t hold back.

Besides…

He found the man’s number badge, casually taking it before continuing on his way.

“Ambushing me and then yelling out before attacking—how did this idiot even make it this far? Though…”

“Killing someone for the first time doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would… Is it because my mental power is strong?” Luo Lin mused.

Suddenly.

“This…”

Luo Lin’s expression tightened as he abruptly turned to his side, snapping the vine tying the log to him.

Then, Luo Lin saw a figure charging at him from a distance—a figure that looked nothing short of deranged—and his face paled.

“Hisoka—”