9 Chapter 8: Awakening!
"Hey, Raymond! You might not remember me, but you gave me a good beating a while back..."
A blonde man approached him and extended his hand with a friendly smile.
Raymond recalled the unspoken rule against using Nen on ordinary fighters below the 190th floor, which had driven him to aggressively hone his technique without caring much about offending anyone.
However, he knew that rule didn't apply here on the 200th floor.
With caution, he subtly adjusted his stance, prepared to defend himself if needed, as he warily accepted the handshake.
Much to Raymond's surprise, the handshake turned out to be a regular one.
"...!"
Yet, as he turned to face the group, their bright smiles immediately set off alarm bells in his mind.
In the blink of an eye, their smiles widened, triggering an instinctive reaction within Raymond.
With lightning reflexes, he propelled himself backward, just as his senses detected a subtle shift in the air. Whirling around, he caught sight of the blonde man who had extended a handshake moments ago, now poised to tap his shoulder.
"An illusion?"
Raymond's inner monologue echoed with disbelief as the blonde figure dissolved into thin air, leaving behind the onewho had nearly made contact.
Before Raymond could fully grasp the situation, a sharp pain shot through his arm, causing him to grimace.
Examining his shoulder, he realized it had been dislocated by an invisible force.
"...Is that his Nen ability?"
Raymond pondered aloud, struck by the unexpected turn of events.
"Oh? Impressive, reacting even while I'm using Zetsu," remarked the blonde man, his tone laced with amusement.
"And you're familiar with Nen too, it seems."
A chuckle escaped Jack's lips as he observed Raymond's response.
Meanwhile, the once-friendly demeanor of the group had soured, replaced by sneers aimed squarely at Raymond.
"Jack, I must say, I expected more..."
"How did you manage to botch such a simple task?"
"What a letdown..."
Their derision cut through the air, directed at Jack, whose true identity finally clicked in Raymond's mind.
Memories flooded back, reminding him of a past victory over someone Jack the Assassin back in the 150s.
A bead of sweat trickled down Raymond's brow, his crimson gaze locked onto the group before him. Their chuckles only intensified his unease.
"If he'd touched me there, it wouldn't have just been a dislocation," Raymond thought grimly, realizing the gravity of his narrow escape.
"Haha, relax, everyone. It's all under control. My nen made contact," Jack's words dripped with malice, sending a chill down Raymond's spine. His companions smirked knowingly, their eyes fixed on Raymond's trembling form as his aura surged uncontrollably.
Yet, Raymond ignored their conversation, consumed by the sensation of an invisible appendage sprouting from his being.
The overwhelming aura enveloping him drowned out all else, leaving him grappling with its strangely comfortable yet unfamiliar presence.
"I wager 2 million he won't make it..."
"And how long do you give him?"
"Only a few minutes, tops..."
The venomous words exchanged amongst the group pierced Raymond's consciousness, igniting a fire within him. How could they speak of his life with such callous disregard?
With a fierce gleam in his crimson eyes, Raymond unleashed his nen, the energy pulsating around him in a radiant aura.
The sudden display prompted an immediate reaction from the group, their expressions shifting sharply as they swiftly encased themselves in their own nen defenses.
"What in the world? Ren!?"
"This guy's insane."
"Who in their right mind would unleash their nen like that? Is he asking to get killed!?"
Ordinarily, mastering Ten was the next step after successfully opening one's aura nodes.
It involved training the body to regulate the flow of aura while keeping the nodes open, preventing aura leakage.
Yet, Raymond had defied convention by unleashing his nen in a reckless display.
As his nen surged with an ominous bloodlust, the group's eyes widened in horror.
"...A death wish? Perhaps you're the ones who should be worrying about that."
Raymond's voice cut through the tense silence like ice.
The group could sense Raymond's nen pulsating with an almost boundless energy, sending a shiver down their spines.
They realized, with a sinking feeling, that they may have underestimated their opponent.
"Shouldn't he have exhausted his aura by now if he let it out like that?"
One of them muttered, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
Against all expectations, Raymond abruptly retracted his nen, drawing it back within himself with a single, controlled breath as he attempted to quell the raging storm of his emotions.
In the ensuing silence, Raymond's efforts to harness his nen became evident.
Despite his initial clumsiness, the group watched in awe as Raymond gradually gained mastery over his abilities.
Then, after controlling his Nen as he stopped it from going away from his body, Raymond looked over toward the group as he forced his dislocated shoulder back into place with his other hand as a sharp pang shot through his body.
"...!"
The sight caused everyone to flinch visibly, yet Raymond's expression remained stoic, unaffected by the pain coursing through him.
"...A blessing in disguise, indeed," Raymond mused inwardly, pushing through the tearing pain in his shoulder.
He had anticipated forcibly unlocking his nen by exposing himself to someone with the ability, but he never expected to be greeted with it right away.
It had caught him completely off guard.
An average martial artist might not have had the time to control it before their aura depleted entirely, resulting in a grim end.
But Raymond's familiarity with controlling his body, down to every muscle and thought, proved to be his saving grace.
As he grew accustomed to the invisible limb, instinct guided him in mastering its control with surprising ease.
Still, Raymond acknowledged the necessity of further training to enhance his control over his aura.
"...It seems my debut is set to make quite an impression this time."
With a cold gaze, he surveyed the group, committing each member's face to memory as he spoke with quiet determination.
Raymond was wary of causing undue chaos or drawing too much attention in Heaven's Arena, mindful of the Hunter Association's watchful eyes.
However, he refused to let their malice go unchecked.
Raymond's piercing gaze seemed to prick at their pride, fueling a simmering resentment within the group.
Despite benefiting from their 'greeting,' Raymond's apparent ease had wounded their egos.
However, they were no ordinary fighters.
Raymond's seemingly boundless nen had caught them off guard, but they were not ones to back down. They brimmed with pride, confidence, and an unshakable belief in their own abilities.
A clash between them became inevitable.
That year, Raymond earned himself a fearsome new moniker...
...the Crazed Battle God.
Throughout the first nine rounds of his debut, he emerged victorious, leaving a trail of defeated opponents in his wake.
However, it was not just victory he sought.
In a startling turn of events, Raymond unleashed a ruthlessness that shook the very foundations of Heaven's Arena.
His opponents fell not just defeated but lifeless, instilling fear in those in the 200s and making them refuse to register themselves for a fight.
The chaos he wrought forced Heaven's Arena to institute a ban on deathmatches without consent from both parties.
And just as suddenly as he had appeared, Raymond vanished from the arena, leaving behind a legacy that would endure.
His legend persisted, immortalized by his unprecedented impact on combat rules.
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