After pushing the door open, an old man in a tuxedo faced Rimo and Chrollo, bowing slightly with his right hand pressed over his chest.
"Welcome to the City of Elders, Lord Chrollo. The Elders have been waiting for you for some time."
Rimo's mind was full of black lines. There were too many inconsistencies all at once, and he didn't know where to start. Did the Elders of Meteor Street have more dealings with the underworld than with their own people? Why was everything so oddly formal? Couldn't they have a little of Meteor Street's own character?
Chrollo, however, seemed completely at ease, as if he knew the old man very well. "It's Locke. Take us to the Elders' chamber," he said calmly.
"No problem. Please follow me." Locke bowed again and walked ahead with his hands behind his back. His posture alone exuded authority, but it was also the quiet efficiency of someone accustomed to the underworld.
Soon, Locke led them to the conference room.
"Elders, Lord Chrollo and his companions have arrived," Locke announced respectfully, saluting the six Elders seated around the table.
"Thank you, Locke. You may leave now," said the first elder, the one in the head seat, gesturing for him to step aside. Rimo observed carefully. This had to be the Great Elder, the head of Meteor Street.
Once Locke exited, the elder's sharp eyes fixed on Chrollo. "Chrollo, are you prepared for our test?"
Even without using Nen, the Great Elder radiated an imposing presence. Years of standing at the top of Meteor Street had honed an aura that weighed on anyone in his presence.
Chrollo nodded. "I'm ready. This is Rimo, my teammate and deputy head. He will undergo the test on behalf of our team."
He gestured to a position and formally introduced Rimo.
The Elders immediately shifted their attention to Rimo. He had been casually observing the room, but now he was under their scrutiny. Regarding Chrollo's test, whether Chrollo himself accepted it mattered little; the Elders needed to see that his team had the capability to handle their responsibilities. They already knew Chrollo's strength firsthand, so there was no objection to his delegation.
Unseen faces, silent judgments—this was their first impression of Rimo. The Elders had some familiarity with slightly renowned figures in Meteor Street; after all, they had been planning and observing potential masters for days. For instance, Uvogin and the others had been recommended to Chrollo by the Elders themselves.
Rimo, in contrast, was unknown to them. His original body had been sold to the Nosla family by the three lesser Elders, and trivial dealings with the underworld were delegated to subordinates. Even the Sixth Elder notifying the Fanobi family to eliminate him had been executed by those under their command. Rimo's face left no impression on the Elders—they trusted Chrollo's judgment implicitly.
The Great Elder clapped his hands.
A muscular man, roughly two meters tall, entered from another door.
"Jack, you will test his skills," the elder said flatly.
"Understood," Jack replied, his voice emotionless, like a machine.
[Congeal]!
Rimo and Jack's eyes locked. After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Jack lunged without a word.
He didn't show any special ability at first. Like Uvogin, he concentrated over fifty percent of his aura into his right fist, aiming straight for Rimo's head.
[Enhancer]? The body shape and hair suggested it. But Rimo knew better than to rely on appearances. The difference in aura was too significant to guess Jack's true Nen type accurately. Even if Jack maintained a standard [Enhancer] attack, Rimo could feel roughly ten thousand units of aura directed at him. Using [Tangling], he could withstand the punch unharmed—but Rimo wasn't the type to let an unknown male strike him at close range.
[Unlimited Spell]Activate!
His left hand opened instinctively, ready to intercept.
The Great Elder, observing, shook his head. "Alas… too young. Rimo has been fooled."
Jack, mid-lunge, skillfully used [Flow] to transfer the bulk of his aura from his right fist to his left, leaving only about ten percent in the right, avoiding Rimo's counter.
[Thinking Cannon]!
Condensing his aura into a spherical projectile in his left hand, he shot toward Rimo's abdomen. A sinister smile spread across his previously emotionless face. "Another naive little cutie! Hahaha!"
Anyone observing would assume Jack was a pure [Enhancer]: tall, muscular, and exuding brute force. But this was a deliberate disguise. Jack's true Nen type was [Transmuter]. He condensed aura in his right hand to feign a straightforward punch. Once the opponent focused on defending it, he transferred the energy via [Flow] to his left hand, executing a precise attack on the abdomen—his weak point. Years of practice had made this transfer almost instantaneous.
Yet, before he could gloat, Jack noticed something unexpected. His opponent hadn't reacted as anticipated. Normally, Rimo would be incapacitated.
"Oh~ So you are a [Transmuter]. Didn't expect you to be so sinister, thick eyebrows and large ears," Rimo's playful voice rang from his stance, followed by a scene that would forever be etched in his memory.