With Ope Ope no Mi in Hunter x Hunter

"What exactly is this guy trying to do?" In a castle atop a mountain near Miro in Greed Island, four of the game's creators, including Elena, were engaged in an online conversation. On a large screen in front of them, an image displayed Daniel Davis beating a one-horned wolf nearly to death, cutting off its limbs, and then using the "Angel's Breath" ability to heal it.

Normally, Elena and the others wouldn't pay attention to the game's players, not even to someone as prominent as Gon's son, Killua. However, Daniel was different. Not only had he discovered the underground "God" character, but he had also been frequently entering and leaving the Greed Island game recently.

Players occasionally leave the game midway, which Elena and the others usually wouldn't care about since Greed Island always has plenty of players. But Daniel was an exception. His repeated and frequent exits had naturally drawn attention, especially given his previous actions.

In truth, Daniel didn't want to draw attention, but Greed Island had a game system. He wasn't there to enjoy the game but to learn Nen abilities, which he needed to use outside, even in other worlds, rather than just within Greed Island. By identifying the differences between the outside world and the game world, he could master these Nen abilities more quickly.

To this end, Daniel had purchased several copy cards and used them in the game to analyze abilities. Since it wasn't easy to find someone to test them on, he had to resort to experimenting on wild monsters.

The saying "Practice makes perfect" proved to be true. Through the liberal use of copy cards, Daniel finally mastered the essence of the "Angel's Breath" ability. This was an ability similar to Biscuit's magical beautician, Cookie—a combination of the Emission and Transmutation types. The angel's form was an emission-based construct, while its healing effect was a transmutation-based Nen ability.

"The Risky Dice—whoever has this Nen ability must be a gambling addict."

"The Wish Cushion—probably an Operation type ability, more complicated than Shalnark's operation abilities. The Canary Candy—this is somewhat similar to the magical candies in Harry Potter, a voice actor's dream artifact."

After mastering the essence of Angel's Breath, Daniel immediately turned his attention to other designated cards. One must admit that these hundred types of cards, which could be brought into the real world, were truly magical. There was even a card that allowed the user to choose a profession—like an egg that would hatch into a top-tier professional of various kinds.

For ordinary people, acquiring just one of these eggs would be a cause for joy. These eggs had amazing abilities. For example, the egg of a top-tier writer—once hatched, the person would become an exceptional writer. Many people would covet such an egg (I certainly would).

Apart from these, there were various creatures like the "Maiden Series," similar to the magical girl Cookie—though strictly speaking, they were all kinds of Nen beasts. The maidens in this series had very unique abilities. For example, the "Sleep Maiden" could sleep on behalf of her master, which is every "grind" gamer's dream ability.

Then there's the Nen beast that every person from China loves: the maid panda. If Daniel hadn't already planned out his own Nen beast, he might have chosen one when clearing the game.

"The Witch's Youth Restoring Potion, an S-rank difficulty item. Better not waste it yet. I'll start with other potions from the Witch Series." Having acquired the Angel's Breath ability, Daniel immediately set his sights on the Youth Restoring Potion.

The Witch Series has three major potions: the Youth Restoring Potion, the Slimming Potion, and the Witch's Love Potion.

Strictly speaking, these three potions are all incredibly powerful. The Youth Restoring Potion needs no explanation. The Slimming Potion is also extraordinary—one pill reduces body weight by one kilogram with no side effects, a favorite of countless women, and even many men. As for the Love Potion, it's essentially an Operation-type potion, similar to the Love Slave with a 180% success rate. One pill can make someone fall in love for a week.

"Room." Daniel materialized the Slimming Potion and Love Potion and began his research using the power of the Operation Fruit. "So, it's made of Nen. I thought it was a chemical compound. It makes sense. If it were made with actual chemicals, these kinds of potions would have appeared on the market long ago. While Love Potions might not be sold openly, Slimming Potions certainly would."

"So it's a materialization ability, then." Realizing that the potions were Nen-based physical objects, Daniel deduced that they were Materialization-type abilities.

"If it were anyone else, they might have no way to replicate such objects." Nen-based objects are difficult to copy. Even if someone had a similar ability to Daniel's, they would still need to witness the user employing their Nen ability.

But Daniel was different because he possessed the Operation Fruit. As long as it was a physical object, the Operation Fruit could work on it. Combined with his analytical skills, even Nen-based objects could be replicated with enough effort.

"It seems my Specialist ability really might have come from the Operation Fruit."

Even though Daniel had the Philosopher's Stone, a miraculous longevity artifact, the Youth Restoring Potion still held significant value for him. Although a person can only take a hundred pills, that's still a century's worth of youth. Each pill reduces the body's age by one year without affecting wisdom, knowledge, or memory.

"What's this? It turns out the Hunter Exam is coming up again. Does this mean I've been in this world for a year? And now they want me to be an examiner, Netero?" After leaving the game one day, Daniel saw an email in his inbox. The sender was Netero himself, inviting him to serve as an examiner.

"The Hunter Exam, huh?" Daniel lay back on the sofa, contemplating the email.

"If I want to get into the Hunter Association, this seems like a good opportunity." The Hunter Association and licensed Hunters aren't bound by any strict hierarchy. The Association can only command the professional Hunters within its ranks. Hunters like Gon, Killua, Hisoka, and Illumi, who possess Hunter licenses, cannot be forced to obey orders. In fact, they could even be enemies of the Association. For example, in the original story, when Gon was seriously injured, Hisoka and Illumi killed many Association members without facing any consequences.

In the world of Hunters, Nen users are above ordinary people. The Hunter license grants many privileges with no obligations, highlighting this fact.

The obligations of professional Hunters are entirely based on personal interest. Once you obtain a Hunter license, no one will say anything if you just want to enjoy its benefits. The license is not reissued and is rarely revoked, reflecting the freedom of the license holders. The only way to drive them is through missions, i.e., incentives.

Apart from free Hunters, there are also Association Hunters, though even they are divided into two factions. One, led by Netero, is similar to free Hunters but focuses on protection and adventure. The other is led by the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association, Pariston, and is known as the "Association Hunters."

Daniel had no interest in getting involved in the power struggle between Netero and Pariston. However, the Hunter Association held something he needed, so he had to join.

In the world of Hunters, the most comprehensive information can only be found in two places: the V5 and the Hunter Association. Setting aside Nen ability information, the Hunter Association's archives on the "God" character alone were something Daniel couldn't ignore.

The best way to obtain this information was to join the Association. If he could become one of the Twelve Zodiacs, he'd have even greater access.

"The old man Netero probably keeps Pariston around on purpose. What a willful guy." Although Daniel didn't want to get caught up in the struggle between Netero and Pariston, he had to join the Hunter Association for the sake of the "God" character. Therefore, he couldn't refuse the examiner role.

"So it's in the Vismer Wetlands again." This year's Hunter Exam started in the city of Zaban, as usual, with the first phase led by the foxbear, just like in previous years. The first and second phase locations hadn't changed. Since Killua wasn't around to disrupt things, the exam hadn't ended prematurely.

While it's true that the Hunter Exam changes every year, that doesn't mean the exam locations change annually. Even with the Hunter Association's deep pockets, they don't need to change cities every year, as that would be too costly. Typically, they change locations every three years or so.

Because the content of the exams changes each year, previous candidates don't gain much of an advantage.

"This guy's pretty tough, eliminating nearly two-thirds of the candidates right off the bat." With Killua not dominating the first round, only about 200 of the 700 candidates made it through the initial battle in the hall. When Daniel and Killua took the exam, there were only about 400 candidates.

The number of stages in the Hunter Exam is determined by the number of remaining candidates. For example, when Killua single-handedly knocked out all the other candidates, he immediately passed.

"I've placed fifty coins in the forest. To pass this stage, you must find at least one coin and return here before nightfall."

Glancing at a few familiar faces who had made it to the second stage, Daniel slowly announced the exam's instructions. Among the candidates was Tonpa, who shrank back into the crowd upon meeting Daniel's gaze.

"Bockle, Ponzu." Daniel wasn't particularly

 interested in Tonpa. Despite being a notorious "rookie crusher," Tonpa hadn't actually committed any major crimes; he hadn't even killed anyone. In some ways, he was actually doing a service for the rookies, weeding out those who were truly unfit for the challenges ahead. If they couldn't pass Tonpa's test, they would likely perish in later stages.

He then focused on Ponzu, who had green hair and wore a yellow round hat. Sensing the creature inside her hat, Daniel couldn't help but take a closer look.

Though Ponzu seemed weak now, she was already capable of controlling bees, indicating her Nen ability was likely in the Operation category. Whether she could only control bees or could extend her control to other insects was something only time would tell.

Some people are just blessed by nature, like Ponzu, Neferpitou, and later, Komugi, who had a great talent for Gungi. If she ever awakened her Nen ability, it would likely be Gungi-related, forcing her opponents into a deadly game of chess.

The six major categories of Nen abilities each have numerous subcategories. For example, within Operation, one could control people, puppets, insects, beasts, birds, and more, each considered a distinct Nen ability.

"These two are actually pretty good; it's just that their fates in the original story weren't so great." Both Bockle and Ponzu died at the hands of the Chimera Ants before they had a chance to grow stronger.

"If they manage to pass, I might apply to teach them Nen. Without mastering advanced Nen techniques, they shouldn't go wandering around."

Teaching these two while also learning from their abilities would be a win-win for Daniel.

"Only thirty-eight passed, huh?" After noting the final tally, Daniel glanced at Tonpa, who had managed to pass, and reported the numbers.

The first two stages of the Hunter Exam are designed to eliminate the unqualified, leaving only the truly skilled for the later stages. Tonpa's best record is reaching the third stage, but he never made it to the fourth and would often give up after the third stage.

If Daniel hadn't tested him personally, he might have thought Tonpa was some hidden master. In reality, Tonpa just had a twisted sense of pleasure from bullying the weak.

"Is that so? No problem. Once they pass, I'll notify you." After discussing his request with Netero over the phone, Netero immediately agreed. It was unclear if it was due to Biscuit's influence, but Netero seemed to be giving Daniel special treatment.

"It's been three days; time to head back." Seeing that only three days had passed, Daniel decided to re-enter the Greed Island game.

Greed Island has a rule: if a player leaves the game for ten days, all their data will be reset, and they'll have to start over upon re-entry. This prevents people from hoarding cards and staying offline for too long, as the game's cards are limited in number. If someone monopolizes a card and stays offline indefinitely, no one else could complete the game.

Many people would do that out of spite, ensuring that if they couldn't win, no one else could either.

Upon re-entering the game, Daniel resumed his research on the Witch's Youth Restoring Potion while staying in touch with Biscuit, Killua, and Gon to check on their progress with their missions.

"It's about time to finish the game. The rest of the research can be done later. As long as the game isn't shut down, I can always return." After realizing that Killua, Gon, and Razor were all pushing to complete the game, Daniel decided it was time to collect the cards he was still missing.

"The cards exclusive to Razor... I should see if I can negotiate an exchange. Since he's a bounty hunter, it might work." Daniel had already devised strategies for obtaining the three cards he still needed.

"You want to trade for 'A Lot of Dense Forest'?"

"Exactly. I'll trade you 'Angel's Breath' for it." Even though Daniel had been using Angel's Breath regularly, he was still the sole owner of the card.

"Deal." After a moment's hesitation, Razor agreed. Since both were S-rank difficulty cards, and both were unique, the exchange was beneficial to both parties.

Daniel then waited for Razor and his team to fly over. The exchange went smoothly, with neither side attempting any tricks.

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