I'm Really Not A Nen Exorcist (HxH Fanfic)

A gentle breeze brushed by, rippling the lake's surface.

Moses carried the 'frail' old man over to a shady spot under the trees.

After a careful examination, Moses confirmed that the old man was fine, then he stood up and walked towards the lake.

"December 1998... So, I've been in there for a year and a half. Has it really been that long?"

Moses sighed in a low voice.

His immersive training in the ruins had made him lose track of time. It was surprising to realize he'd emerged just as 1998 was already drawing to a close.

"I should take a shower first, then find a place to charge my phone."

By the lake, Moses took off his clothes, leaving his phone and some belongings on the grass.

Not long after entering the ruins, his phone had shut down as its battery ran out. Now, more than a year later, he wasn't even sure if it would still work.

Stepping into the lake, Moses began to wade in.

At the same time, Rat Jewel reverted to its original form.

"Chu chu!"

It stood atop the clothes as it did a few stretches with its short arms.

Hearing Rat Jewel's voice, Moses glanced back.

He saw it finish its stretches before leaping forward, its chubby body flying through the air and landing on the lake surface, splashing water all over Moses's face.

Judging from the location where it landed on the lake, it was obviously intentional.

Wiping the water off his face, Moses shook his head and chuckled, then began to scrub his body.

Rat Jewel, however, didn't resurface after jumping into the lake.

At first, Moses thought Rat Jewel was just playing and didn't pay much attention to it.

After a while, there was still no sign of Rat Jewel emerging from the water.

"Hmm?"

Moses stopped scrubbing and looked at the rippling lake surface with a frown.

'Could it be?'

Thinking of a possibility, Moses moved forward and then dived into the water. He saw Rat Jewel with its eyes rolled underwater, slowly floating up and down.

"…"

Moses was speechless as he quickly rescued the drowning Rat Jewel from the lake.

'It can't swim?'

'Wait, do Nen Beasts even need to breathe?'

Moses now had an answer to that, placing Rat Jewel next to the old man before returning to the lake to finish his bath.

Over an hour later, the old man stirred awake.

"Uncle, you're up! How are you feeling? Any discomfort?"

Moses noticed the old man waking up and immediately put down his fishing rod, walking over with concern.

The old man groggily sat up, staring in confusion at the concerned Moses.

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

Moses was taken aback, wondering if this old man had dementia, and immediately asked cautiously, "You don't remember?"

The old man shook his head, dazedly lifting his right hand to his forehead as he muttered, "I seemed to have had a terrible nightmare... In my dream, someone stuffed me into a giant vat of pickled vegetables, and when I tried to escape, more foul-smelling pickles kept piling on..."

As he said this, the old man shivered.

Such a clear and realistic dream is very rare for an old man like him who is a light sleeper.

After hearing the old man's words, Moses suddenly fell silent.

"Uncle, with your health, you'd best head home soon, so your family won't worry."

After a few seconds, Moses selectively ignored the old man's dream and made a suggestion.

The old man felt that today was a strange day and thought it was indeed better to go back early, so he nodded to Moses and walked towards his previous fishing spot.

As he reached his basket, he glanced at the fishing rod Moses had set aside, then habitually leaned over to lift the basket.

However-

The straw basket, which had always been light in the past, was unexpectedly heavy at this moment.

"What's going on?"

The old man was confused and subconsciously applied more force.

Crack-!

The basket didn't budge, and instead, he sprained his waist.

"Ouch."

A sudden jolt of pain made him stagger sideways, collapsing onto the grass and clutching his lower back in agony.

The basket tipped over, spilling a full catch of lively fish onto the ground, wriggling before his eyes.

The scene he'd long dreamed of seeing had now became the culprit that caused him to sprain his waist.

Moses was shocked when he saw that the old man had sprained his waist for no apparent reason.

"You really are..."

He had no self-awareness at all and just thought that this old man might have been overextending himself.

'If you're not feeling very well, you should just stay at home and bask in the sun, not fishing here!'

Moses shook his head with mild exasperation and rushed over to help the old man lying on the ground.

…

Evening.

Next to the field, there is a tiled stone house.

A trail of smoke wafted from the chimney, rising into the air.

Moses was helping prepare dinner for the old man.

'Asking for the date had turned into staying here to take care of a lonely, elderly man who had hurt his back… what a twist of fate.'

Looking at the boiling fish soup in the pot, Moses sighed softly.

The old man's home was a small, one-story house built from stone and tile. After Moses arrived, he'd taken a quick look around and hadn't seen any electrical appliances, let alone anything that could charge his phone.

"Young man, thank you so much..."

The old man's weary voice sounded from the wooden bed in the corner of the room.

"You're too kind, sir."

Moses replied, tasting the fish soup with a ladle and nodding in satisfaction.

'It seemed I would be staying here for a while...'

Moses thought to himself as he scooped out a bowl of fish soup.

Time flew by.

Five days later.

A group of people gathered by the field, all looking toward the stone house with smoke curling from its chimney.

Leading the group was Cheadle, accompanied by Menchi, Shizuku, and even Beans, who is dressed in a suit.

"This is the place."

Cheadle raised her hand and adjusted her glasses, and after seeing the tile and stone house that matched the 'crystal image', she breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace.

The reason why they were able to find Moses so quickly was all thanks to the Nen Ability of a member of the association, known as [Merman Clairvoyance].

This is a very rare Conjuration-Type Surveillance Ability.

As long as the user has seen the target, they can project the real-time image of the target on the conjured crystal ball.

However, the viewing area was small, so it was difficult to gather information about the broader environment around the target.

A year ago, Cheadle and the others had used this Merman Clairvoyance Ability to confirm that Moses was inside the ruins.

However, due to the limited view, they couldn't initially pinpoint his exact location. It was not until Moses in the crystal ball began to move, revealing more environmental information, that they finally knew that Moses was inside the ruins.

Through recognizable architectural details in the image, Menchi had identified the ruins.

Afterwards, she led everyone to Aragas Mountain, and with great effort found the stone slab engraved with the Divine Script, now completely drained of energy, buried in the snow.

Since they couldn't contact Ging, who was proficient in Divine Script, all they could do was stand there and stare at the stone slab, feeling helpless.

Fortunately, Moses's whereabouts have been found, and they can use the Merman Clairvoyance Ability to check on Moses's condition every now and then, so they don't have to worry as much as before.

Now-

As soon as Moses left the ruins, Cheadle and her group received the update and had rushed here immediately.