Hunter: I'm Really Not a Nen Exorcist - Chapter 11

Monica was undeniably an observant woman.

Yet, despite her attentiveness towards Moyu, she failed to notice the one anomalous detail about him – he cast no shadow.

Before entering the room, no, to be precise, after the skirmish had ended, Moyu did three things:

Tending to the unconscious Monica.
Grabbing his phone to search for the information he needed.
Sending his shadow out to keep watch.
His reason for doing the third? The possibility that there were more threats than just Ian.

Ian was the name of the murderer outside.

Though it was improbable for another killer to be lurking in the nearby woods, what if there was?

Merely based on this ‘what if’, Moyu believed that even if sending his shadow out was a waste of time, he’d still do it.

Just moments ago, the shadow, which served as his lookout, relayed a piece of information to him:

Someone had stepped over his shadow.

That’s how Moyu knew there was someone outside.

And the basis for him to determine it wasn’t the police? The lightness and number of the footsteps.

“There’s only one person, deliberately treading lightly.”

This fact alone confirmed that it wasn’t the police.

Turning off the room light, Moyu pressed himself against the side of the bookshelf, holding his breath.

From this vantage point, he could monitor both the room’s door and window.

“At the moment, I’m sure there’s only one.”

Moyu frowned.

At this hour, anyone sneaking into the temple likely had impure motives.

Though it could be a thief, what’s there to steal in such a decrepit temple? The small coins tossed in the courtyard pond?

It was too suspicious.

Compared to a thief sneaking into the temple at night for some loose change, Moyu was more inclined to believe the person outside might be an associate of Ian’s.

“Better to observe for now,” he thought.

Moyu quickly glanced towards the single bed’s direction.

The worst-case scenario? If the intruder was an accomplice of Ian’s and even more powerful than him. In that case, Moyu might struggle even to protect himself, let alone look after Monica.

“No matter if the shadow I placed outside was detected, I need to stealthily position the shadow where it can assist me in combat at a moment’s notice.”

In his mind, Moyu gave commands to the shadow outside while attentively observing the situation.

So far, he hadn’t heard any noise, indicating that whoever was outside was exceptionally stealthy.

This wasn’t good news.

It suggested the intruder was probably more formidable than Ian.

Time passed silently, second by second.

Moyu held his breath, while Monica, who was tucked in a corner of the bed and oblivious to the current situation, grew restless.

She didn’t understand what was happening, but she could infer from Moyu’s demeanor that the situation might be grim.

One minute, two minutes…

Five minutes had unconsciously passed since the lights were turned off, yet there was still no sound outside.

The power of ‘Soul Echo’ was still in its infancy. Without the developed ability of ‘Shared Vision’, merely detecting the enemy’s footsteps was the limit.

In preparation for the potential upcoming combat, he moved the ‘Soul Echo’ close to himself, leaving no energy to further scout the situation.

He had to minimize the presence of his shadow puppet. Naturally, he couldn’t use it for reconnaissance.

Regrettably, his Nen ability was still rudimentary. He hadn’t yet learned to use ‘En’, or else he could expand his Aura outward to sense the surroundings.

The room was eerily silent.

Monica’s unease grew.

Being an ordinary person, her tolerance was limited.

In contrast, Moyu remained calm and composed.

“I now see why Ian Achille fell to you,” a deep male voice suddenly echoed from outside the half-opened door.

Hearing the words, Monica’s heart shuddered.

However, Moyu, like a steadfast rock leaning against the bookshelf, looked towards the door with unchanging eyes, completely ready for combat.

The voice continued with a tone of curiosity, “My ‘Zetsu’ isn’t perfect, but it’s quite impressive. I’m curious, how did you detect me?”

“…”

Moyu’s pupils narrowed slightly, obviously not willing to respond.

But from the stranger’s words, he gathered crucial information.

His shadow that had been left outside for surveillance had not been detected.

‘Soul Echo’ currently had two forms.

One was two-dimensional, the other, three-dimensional.

The former wasn’t tangible and inherently resembled the nature of Aura.

This meant that even if the regular shadow could blend seamlessly with the environment, in the eyes of a Nen user, it would inevitably leave traces of Nen.

The latter was a tangible materialized entity, so even those who don’t understand Nen, normal people, could see the mimicked shadow.

When setting up an ambush or a surveillance net, the ideal method would be to use ‘In’ to erase the aura traces of the regular shadow.

Another method was to shape the mimicked shadow into a black veil that perfectly blended with the environment, merging with the surrounding shadows, thereby avoiding the enemy’s ‘Gyo’.

Moyu currently could not employ either of these techniques, so the surveillance shadow net he set up outside was just regular shadows with traces of Nen.

However, the unidentified man outside approached using ‘Zetsu’.

This meant that with all his pores closed and suppressing all his Aura, he couldn’t detect the Nen traces on the regular shadows, even if he stepped over them.

This realization was good news for Moyu.

But what followed was a bit unexpected.

“Don’t worry, I bear no ill intent and am not the enemy you anticipate.”

The man outside, having received no response from Moyu for quite a while, reluctantly revealed his identity. “My name is Light Bulvo, a professional blacklist hunter. Here’s my Hunter License.”

In an attempt to gain further trust, this man named Light directly tossed his Hunter License accurately in front of Moyu.

This act made it clear that Light had pinpointed Moyu’s location.

“You can check it. Just handle it with care; don’t damage it.”

After tossing his license, Light reminded Moyu.

“…”

Moyu, with furrowed brows, of course, didn’t make a move towards the supposed license, remaining silent.

Seeing Moyu’s continued caution and restraint, Light wasn’t surprised, understanding that this is how a mature Nen user should behave.

“I understand that you’re a formidable Nen user too. To show my sincerity, I’ll activate ‘Zetsu’ and then come inside.”

After saying this, Light began his action. He closed his aura nodes, suppressing all his Aura, then walked in, eyes locked on the side of the bookshelf.

“Whew…”

Moyu let out a sigh, emerging from the bookshelf’s side.

Light looked at Moyu.

Upon realizing Moyu was just a teenager, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. He then discreetly opened his aura nodes slightly, allowing a faint Aura to leak, enabling him to discern the ‘Ten’ enveloping Moyu.

“Er…”

Naive, crude.

It was essentially the level of a beginner.

That was Light’s initial judgment.

Of course, he didn’t believe it.

“Sigh.”

Light let out a soft sigh and said, “I thought I had shown enough sincerity. Are you still trying to hide your true capabilities before me? You don’t honestly think this crude ‘Ten’ will make me believe you’re just a novice, do you?”

“This is my genuine ability, and at the moment, ‘Ten’ is all I can muster,” Moyu responded, his gaze unwavering as he looked at Light.

“Stop joking!!!”

Light’s mouth twitched, and he raised his voice involuntarily, “Based on this ‘Ten’, which can be best described as beginner-level, how could you possibly have defeated Ian?”

“Believe what you want,” Moyu replied without much defense.

Seeing Moyu’s reaction, Light felt a slight unease.

“You’re not joking, are you?”

Moyu chose not to respond.

“Really, truly not joking?”

“…”

Reading some information from the aura emanating from Moyu, Light began to believe him and subsequently fell silent.

“Unbelievable!!!”

He exclaimed, his voice full of unbridled astonishment.