A few days later, at the appointed ti, Xiang Nan boarded a military transport bound for his assigned base—a small military district within the Republic of Padokea, not far from Kotaki City.
Unlike Wesera City, Kotaki was a mountainous city surrounded by peaks, located in the northwest of the country. Xiang Nan traveled with over a hundred other new recruits, though he was the only "specialist" (a dical staff recruit).
They weren't taking an airship, but going by road, so the journey took a while—nearly two days to arrive at the restricted military zone.
The base wasn't very large, but it had everything one would expect. After disembarking, Xiang Nan followed a veteran from the logistics departnt around the camp, learning the rules and layout.
No complicated procedures—he settled into camp easily.
"This here is the drill field, and that building over there is our training hall," the veteran explained, pointing out soldiers training in the midday sun. "We dics are under the logistics division, so we don't need to do the crazy workouts they do. As long as you keep up with basic drills and handle your professional duties, you're good."
Xiang Nan nodded, his gaze drifting to a shirtless soldier squatting with a massive boulder on his shoulders—easily hundreds of kilos. Sweat poured off him, soaking the dirt around his feet. Just from his physique alone, the man looked explosively strong, quite intimidating.
Xiang Nan grinned. This was exactly what he wanted: a place stocked with strong, physically fit soldiers he could spar with and use as "live training dummies," plus loads of exercise gear and realistic practice environnts. Perfect.
A person's body is one thing; fighting techniques—martial arts—are another. Even if a martial artist's physique was impressive, it might not match these soldiers in raw strength. Seeing them train so intensely made Xiang Nan happy; it ant he, too, could reach that standard.
Though he was past his ideal "youthful" years, in this world, a normal person's upper limit is way beyond what his old world considered possible—almost absurdly so. Think about Killua, who, at a very young age, could push open three gates to the Zoldyck estate, each weighing several tons.
Xiang Nan knew he didn't have a protagonist's plot armor and was nowhere near as monstrously talented as the main characters. But he planned to use this ti in the military camp to push his "ordinary human" potential to the absolute max. Otherwise, it'd be a waste of such an environnt.
Bang!
A few minutes later, the muscular soldier finally gave out, dropping the stone with a thud and panting heavily. Noticing Xiang Nan's stare, he looked up and flashed a proud grin—training like that was definitely eye-catching, and few could replicate it, so he had the right to be cocky. Xiang Nan just smiled back before moving on with the veteran guide.
…
Boom!
After a bit more touring, a distant roar made the ground tremble faintly. Sowhere far away, a shell streaked across the sky, trailing smoke and fire before striking its target in an explosive display. Even from this distance, Xiang Nan felt the vibration under his feet.
Since entering the base, he'd been quietly observing everything: the equipnt soldiers carried, large-scale weaponry—familiar to him in so ways, yet overall less advanced than his old world's. That said, Hunter x Hunter has higher-level powers and unique backgrounds that can affect technology developnt. Their "tech tree" differs from Earth's, shaped by the environnt here.
The first day in camp was calm enough. Starting day two, Xiang Nan quickly integrated into daily life. As a dical staffer, his main responsibilities were tending to injuries from training or drills. Beyond that, there wasn't much challenge—he could do the tasks easily.
So, he spent his free ti working on his own physical conditioning. He had thods from his previous life, but given the difference in how power worked here, those might not fully apply. He decided to learn from the experienced "physical masters" in the camp, planning to combine both worlds' training know-how through his comprehension talent.
In a place like Hunter x Hunter, humans can reach a much higher baseline than people in his old world, so Xiang Nan saw no reason to be arrogant. You do what's appropriate for your stage in life. Overreaching would just ruin him.
The soldiers were more than happy to show him the ropes—nobody really believed he could match them anyti soon. But as ti passed, they started noticing sothing was off about Xiang Nan.
He… was different.
He practically lived in the training hall, hardly ever returning to the barracks. Morning, noon, or midnight, whenever anyone went to train, he was already there, sweating away—like so training-obsessed madman who barely seed to sleep.
Rumors spread around the camp. People admired his incredible drive but didn't think much of it beyond that… until…
…
"Sir, I'd like to represent our dical unit in the upcoming camp-wide combat tournant, which starts three days from now."
One day, Xiang Nan, his appearance noticeably changed, went to see his superior in the office with an official request. Three months had passed since he'd first arrived at the camp. Physically, he'd beco much leaner—his skin was darker, and any excess body fat was gone. Though slim, he looked solid and compact, exuding an aura of efficiency.
"You want to sign up?" The officer blinked in surprise. The participants were usually the best fighters from each division. Why would a logistics dic join in?
Wearing glasses, hair grown out a bit, Xiang Nan still had the look of a polite, refined doctor rather than a brawny military grunt. From appearances alone, he'd get crushed in a real match, so why bother? If he got injured, that'd be a waste—plus, it'd be embarrassing to lose imdiately in front of the higher-ups.
"Co on, don't be ridiculous. Senior officials co to watch that tournant, and it's intense—so contestants get seriously hurt. This isn't child's play. You guys should be preparing for dical support, not stepping into the ring," the officer said sternly.
He didn't outright dismiss Xiang Nan because Xiang Nan was an exceptional rookie—highly competent in dicine, top of his assessnts, clearly soone with a bright future.
"Sir, if you won't let participate, then, well… I might suddenly feel unwell, and need a, uh, long leave of absence," Xiang Nan replied with a soft grin.
"…"
Before he'd even finished speaking, the officer's face darkened.
Minutes later, Xiang Nan strolled out of the office looking quite satisfied, having gotten permission to enter the tournant.
He wanted to participate for one simple reason: to climb the ranks fast and build a record of achievents. Plus, though he'd spent these months cultivating raw strength, he hadn't neglected his martial arts skills. He needed real fights to validate his "progress."
He couldn't stay cooped up on base forever. The resources here weren't enough for rapid growth. Ideally, he'd be sent on active missions to gain real combat experience—maybe as a combat dic or special forces doc. But advancing the normal way would be too slow. This upcoming tournant was a chance he couldn't pass up.
"Hopefully the competition will be interesting," Xiang Nan thought, adjusting his glasses and flashing a little smirk.
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