Chapter 2: [2]: Church
Even in the original Hunter x Hunter manga, there wasn't much detail about Meteor City. Even as someone who'd read part of it, Ryo only knew that Meteor City was divided into thirteen districts and was managed by a council of elders.
The further you go into the districts, the stronger the residents and the better the living conditions. The Phantom Troupe lived in one of these districts.
Which district exactly? Unknown.
Who were the elders? Also unknown.
In short, he knew almost nothing.
However, as Ryo walked through, he discovered some details.
For instance, he noticed an inverted cross symbol everywhere — almost every house's doors, windows, and walls had this symbol carved on them.
He remembered that members of the Troupe had similar marks on their bodies.
Chrollo in particular had many inverted crosses — on his forehead, earrings, and even on the back of his coat.
Of course, as he walked along, his Six Eyes passively analyzed the people, buildings, and everything else within its range, causing his nose to bleed quite a bit. He didn't want to think about how much blood he'd lost, feeling like it was even more than when he'd been stabbed.
He genuinely feared he'd end up not dying from Meteor City's harsh conditions or its residents but from blood loss due to the burden of the Six Eyes.
As he held his nose, Ryo thought to himself.
Despite the surrounding environment being filthy and chaotic, there seemed to be a certain order within the chaos.
Besides the excessive garbage and poor air quality, there was even a forest in Meteor City.
And… children, young but lacking any trace of innocence.
The white-haired boy, dressed in blood-stained clothes, strolled down the dirty streets like a tourist.
At one point, he saw a group of people lining up in an orderly manner, moving in a certain direction.
They weren't wearing protective gear, just simple, often tattered clothes.
Of course, only the areas near the garbage heaps required protective gear; otherwise, it wasn't needed.
With nothing better to do, Ryo joined the line and followed along.
Soon, a church came into view.
It wasn't grand or imposing, just a small building.
At the entrance, a few people dressed in black were handing out something.
When it was Ryo's turn, one of them handed him a package and a black inverted cross.
"Remember your past, but never speak of it. Do not seek God's grace, nor hope for His salvation."
"Behind every sanctity lies a den of sin."
"Only strength, resilience, and an indomitable spirit can save you."
"Meteor City rejects no one; everyone has the right to kill and to be killed."
"Welcome to Meteor City."
After speaking to Ryo, the person turned to the next person without saying much, just silently handing over a package.
Ryo looked at the scene, then at the package in his hand, and walked away quietly.
Meteor City wasn't quite what he had imagined.
In his mind, Meteor City was supposed to be full of danger, its residents devoid of humanity, living like beasts without any order.
But the Meteor City he saw now was unexpectedly… normal.
There was even a church! And the church was actually distributing supplies to the residents!
The black inverted cross symbolized rebellion, aligning with the defiant words he'd just heard.
From what he observed…
The church represented by the inverted cross probably had a massive influence in Meteor City, with followers everywhere.
After all, their symbol was visible almost everywhere.
Inside the package were several bags of bread, a bottle of milk, and two bottles of clean water. If rationed carefully, it could last about a week.
Perhaps the church distributed supplies once a week?
He found the answer to this question from a resident of Meteor City — at the cost of one bag of bread.
"The church distributes supplies every two weeks. The rest of the time, if you want food, you have to find a way to get it yourself."
"You can become a scavenger or a vulture, or work for the church handling garbage. If you're strong enough, you can join the church or work for the lords of the upper districts."
The child born in Meteor City first hid the bread in his clothes, then flashed a smile, either seeing Ryo as easy prey or a generous benefactor, as he explained.
"Scavengers and vultures?" Ryo asked, puzzled.
"Scavengers are those who search through the garbage heaps for usable resources to sell to those who need them. As for vultures…"
"They prefer targeting people directly rather than scavenging through garbage," the child's gaze turned disdainful as he spoke.
It seemed that even in Meteor City, vultures were looked down upon.
So those people he encountered initially must have been these so-called vultures, and he was their prey due to their lack of food.
Ryo thought to himself, though his face displayed a nonchalant expression with a hint of disdain.
As his friends used to say — he looked like he was asking for a fight.
"What district is this?" he continued to ask.
"District Thirteen, the outermost area of Meteor City, with the most garbage and the least order," the child replied succinctly.
"You must be new here. If you're strong enough, you'd better leave quickly; otherwise..." The child looked at Ryo. "A lot of kids disappear around here every year."
This person was clearly an outsider; aside from some blood on his clothes, he was clean and tidy, and… surprisingly good-looking.
"How do I leave Meteor City?" Ryo asked.
"That's not something someone like me would know." The child shook his head, implying he had no clue.
"But people in the upper districts would definitely know how to leave," he offered as a suggestion.
"How do I get to the upper districts?"
"Just prove you have the strength to live there, and fight your way up." The child pointed in a direction with a serious tone.
"Got it." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy with black markings nodded, exuding confidence.
He started walking in the direction the child had pointed, his demeanor relaxed and carefree.
"In terms of power, where do I stand in the Hunter world right now?" Ryo asked the system internally.
[No reference found. The host is advised to figure it out independently.] The system replied with cold indifference.
"Bruh." Ryo deadpanned, then ultimately said nothing.
Oh well, he decided to forgive the system, seeing as it had at least saved him from dying.
"Let's see what skills are currently available—"
"Six Eyes, Dismantle, Blue…"
Dismantle and Blue could both be used for attack, and the Six Eyes were there to analyze combat situations.
He had three skills in total, two of which — Six Eyes and Blue — came from Satoru Gojo.
The Six Eyes were his own eyes, a passive skill.
Meanwhile, Blue was a commonly used technique by Satoru Gojo, generating a large-scale destructive force through gravity centered on himself.
Dismantle was Ryomen Sukuna's ability, an invisible slash.
"Attack power is sufficient for now, but… why don't I have the Cursed Technique Reversal? That's what I need most!"
"How am I supposed to fight without a healing ability?" Ryo muttered, a bit exasperated, as the system remained silent.
Cursed Technique Reversal is a healing ability in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, essentially a self-healing skill.
Infinity is Satoru Gojo's technique, which creates a barrier that slows anything approaching him to a halt, using concepts of attraction and repulsion. The skill Blue utilizes Infinity to create a gravitational effect.
"Oh, well."
"I can't use Infinity or the RCT, but I can use Blue… This doesn't make any sense."
A sorcerer's skills are generally based on their innate techniques; without a technique, one usually couldn't access its abilities. But somehow, the system had arranged things so that Ryo couldn't use Infinity but could still use Blue…
Then again, being transmigrated with a system wasn't exactly logical in the first place.
Combining Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna was also illogical.
His very existence was already absurd in every way.
"Blue might allow for high-speed movement and teleportation… it's worth a try." Ryo pondered over the principles of using Blue.
Identify the target for movement, determine the direction, and compress the space…
Like firing a cannonball — confirm the direction, then launch the projectile…
In an instant, Ryo vanished from his original spot.
The next moment, he reappeared after colliding with a wall.
The wall he hit instantly collapsed, burying him under the rubble.
"...I forgot; Blue needs a clear path to work."
"Ouch…"
He crawled out from the debris, head bleeding and covered in cuts and bruises, with more blood staining his clothes.
Using Blue to crash into something was like a speeding truck slamming into an obstacle.
The building collapsed, and by all rights, the truck would be left in pieces.
And Ryo was that "truck."
He hadn't used any protective techniques. If he'd remembered to reinforce his body with cursed energy, he wouldn't have looked this pathetic.
Luckily, his current physical resilience was strong enough; otherwise, he would've ended up killing himself.
Even with good physical strength, he looked quite battered.
The commotion from the collapsed building drew nearby residents out of their homes, who silently observed the person responsible for the noise.
"What are you looking at? Trash." The white-haired, blue-eyed boy, hands in his pockets, swept his gaze over the onlookers with a mix of contempt and indifference. Blood still dripped from his forehead, but he seemed utterly unconcerned, his tone dripping with provocation.
PS: [Just to emphasize, he's not invincible from the start, nor is he on a rampage.]