Somewhere in the Meteor City.
In the alleyway, surrounded by mountains of junk,
A child who was bleeding from his head was lying on the ground looking like a corpse.
But if someone got near the child they will notice that child was still breathing, though very weakly.
Victor slowly opened his eyes and he slowly looked at his surroundings.
He only saw mountain of Garbage and filth all over the place.
As he observed the area, one question filled his mind.
"Where am I ?"
The stench of garbage filled his nose, making his stomach churn with nausea.
Suddenly, a sharp throb of pain radiated through Victor's skull. His hand moved subconsciously to the source of the pain.
He felt something thick and sticky coating his palm. When he pulled his hand away and looked, his fingers were stained with blood.
He quickly tore a piece of his shirt. With shaking hands, he tied the cloth around his head to stop the bleeding.
Victor stood up shakily. What am I doing here? he thought. He remembered walking home, but then his vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was in this alley.
As he stood up, new memories suddenly flashed in his head. His brain began to ache even more. After he saw these memories, Victor realized he had transmigrated. He was no longer in his old world. He was now in a place called Meteor City.
He remembered this place now. This was where the Phantom Troupe came from. Fear showed on his face as he looked around.
He remembered Meteor City clearly. This was a place where only the strong survive. In his past life, he was a big fan of Hunter x Hunter. Because of that, he knew exactly how dangerous this city could be.
From his new memories, Victor saw what happened. The original boy had fought someone over some fresh water. He was badly hurt in the fight and died. That was when Victor woke up in his body.
Suddenly, a sound rang in his head.
Ding!
"Talent System Activated."
Before Victor could think, more information filled his mind about how the system worked. Basically, If he defeated or killed animals or humans, he would get a talent from them. He could even fuse many talents together to create a better one.
However, if a talent did not match Victor's body, he could not use it.
Talents ranged from white all the way up to black.
Victor felt a bit better after seeing the system, but he didn't celebrate. He knew he had to get to his hideout since he was still hurt.
In Meteor City, even a dead body is a treasure. Body harvesters would pay well for organs, and Victor didn't want to become their next target.
Victor walked for twenty minutes, moving from one mountain of junk to another. In a hidden corner, he found a small container. From his memories, he knew this was his hiding place.
He went inside and sat down. The only thing in the container was a small box. Victor opened it and found a bottle of water and some bread.
The water was dirty, but Victor drank it all. Then he slowly ate the bread. It was very hard, but he didn't care. In Meteor City, having any food at all is a miracle.
After he ate, Victor sat down to rest. Suddenly, he saw a cockroach.
He picked up a metal rod lying nearby and killed it. As the cockroach died, a message appeared in front of him:
[Acquired: Vitality (White)]
Victor was curious, so he focused on the message. Suddenly, the prompt expanded.
[Vitality (White) ] : Congratulations! You are now as tough as a bug. Your tiny scratches will heal a little faster than a normal loser's. But don't get cocky if a real fighter hits you, you're still going to die.
Victor's mouth twitched as he read the words. This system was definitely mocking him.
After that Victor checked his own status
Name : Victor Kross
Age : 12
Talent : Scavenger (White), Pain Tolerance (White), Language Comprehension (White), Dirty Fighting (White), Vitality (White)
Victor looked at his status. He felt a bit sad seeing only White talents. It meant he was just a normal person, and without help, he might never learn Nen. But then he remembered his "cheat" system, and his spirits lifted.
He checked the descriptions of his other talents.
[ Scavenger (White) ] : You are an expert at looking through trash. You're basically a professional raccoon now.
[ Pain Tolerance (White) ] : You've been beaten up so much that your body is getting used to it. Don't worry, there's plenty more pain coming your way.
[ Language Comprehension (White) ] : You can actually understand what people are saying when they threaten to kill you. Great job learning your ABCs.
[ Dirty Fighting (White) ] : You fight like a cornered rat. It's ugly, it's pathetic, and you'll probably get spit on, but hey at least you're still breathing.
Reading the description Victor's fists clenched. He wanted to punch the system! The movement was so sudden that his head wound, which had just started to heal popped back open.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Getting angry wouldn't stop the bleeding.
Victor took a light nap to get some energy back. He didn't dare fall into a deep sleep because Meteor City is too dangerous. Even in his own hideout, he kept one ear open for any strange sounds.
- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- ---------- - - - - - - - - - -
After some time, Victor woke up. It was morning. His head still hurt, but it was much better than the night before.
He checked the wound and saw the bleeding had stopped. A scab was already starting to form. Suddenly, his stomach let out a loud growl. He was starving.
So Victor stepped outside and began to scavenge through the trash.
He saw many other people doing the same. Some of them were wearing protective suits. Victor stayed far away from them. He knew those suits were expensive. Only the strong could get them, and anyone with a suit was someone Victor couldn't afford to fight.
In this place, a suit was a sign of power.
Victor kept digging through the trash. The smell was terrible, but he didn't stop. After a while, he pulled out a radio covered in filth.
He knew he had hit the jackpot. He wasn't sure what year it was, but he remembered that electronics were worth a lot of money here. This radio could change everything for him.
Victor kept a poker face so no one would see his excitement. He smeared more dirt on the radio to hide it and tucked it into his bag.
He looked around, but everyone was busy digging. He walked calmly for fifteen minutes toward the exchange station. He didn't go in right away; he waited until it was empty so no one would see what he had.
Inside, a man in a full protective suit and a gas mask sat behind a desk. Victor handed over the radio. The man plugged it in, and it crackled to life with static and noise.
The man looked at Victor and asked, "What do you want for this?"
Victor looked at the man and said, "Food and water."
The man walked to the back. Five minutes later, he returned with a bag and handed it to Victor. Victor didn't check the bag or try to argue for more. He just took it and left.
On the way back to his hideout, Victor was very careful. He knew that in this city, food and water were worth more than a human life. He walked back towards his hideout cautiously, making sure no one was following him.
After walking for forty minutes, Victor reached his hideout. He checked the bag and found only five days of food and water.
He felt a surge of anger. That radio was worth at least ten days of supplies! He wanted to go back and hit the man at the station, but he stopped himself.
The exchange station was run by the Elders of Meteor City. If he caused trouble, they would kill him instantly. In this place, strength is the only thing that matters.