Chapter 323: Nen Theory

With Vanessa gone, Auren feels a strong urge to leave, somehow really having a hard time parting with her, despite his rough words earlier.

“We’ll leave now... Illumi, if you need me, give me a call. Zeno, I’m grateful for your training. If there is anything you need, you have my number.” Auren offers.

“Likewise,” Zeno says, looking at Killua. “Take care of Kill.”

Silva just nods at Killua, Auren noticing a small dot of blood on his thumb before briefly looking at Killua and spotting the same mark.

“Kill... dear... please be careful and come back soon, okay?” Kikyo says, looking genuinely worried about her son.

Surprisingly, not only to Auren but to everyone else, Killua nods at her casually, some of his hatred apparently gone.

Kalluto stares silently at the scene, still hiding behind his mother.

Finally, leaving Vanessa behind, the group of five, namely Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and Leroute, enters the airship together with Auren and Neffi.

Inside the airship, Jolt quickly lifts off, flying towards the regional capital of the Dentora Region, belonging to the Republic of Padokea

“I’m surprised Vanessa really stayed behind... thankfully she hates my brother. I can’t accept that he now looks like that. If she’d accepted his offer, I’m not sure I could have ever looked at either of them again,” Killua says, genuinely disturbed.

“That would never happen. You really like her, huh?” Neffi asks. “Too bad you’re a little too late.”

“I don’t!” Killua immediately replies, quite flustered. “I just like her style and how she fights! She has millions of fans; it’s just normal.”

“Really, Killua?” Gon says, grinning.

“The most important thing is that your issues with your family are solved,” Kurapika mentions. “Even so, that butler Goto... whom we visited this morning. He seems to like you as well. Your situation seems to be stable now.”

“Yeah, thankfully,” Killua says, nodding at Auren. “Thank you... I don’t even know how this happened; finally some luck.”

“So what now?” Leorio asks. “I’m a little excited, to be honest.”

“First, you have to drop me off,” Neffi says. “Then you can play around on Auren’s home turf. Heaven’s Arena, you’re in for a lot of action.”

“It’s not that great. It’s even a little boring.” Killua replies, “I’ve already cleared it, but I suppose I can do so again.”

“Can I come with you, Neffi?” Leroute asks, sighing. “With Master and you gone...”

“Tough it out,” Neffi says, gently slapping her back.

Just a short while later, Neffi enters the front deck, everyone gathering in front of her.

Briefly hugging Auren, Neffi walks up to the railing.

“Give me a call if something’s wrong with Grunah,” Auren reminds her.

“I will!” she replies casually, jumping off the railing, the regional capital below her.

“What the hell?!” Leorio yells, rushing with Gon to the railing.

“She’s flying!” Gon says. “That’s so cool... like she did during the exam.”

“You guys have a bad memory... if you’re paying, you can order one of these yourself. Even I can glide with no trouble and even fly for a limited time... should you succeed in your training, you can do so as well,” Auren teases him, excitement growing not only in his eyes but also in the others’.

“Auren,” Kurapika speaks up. “Can you explain why we are heading to Heaven’s Arena again?”

“Sure. As I told you guys before, Heaven’s Arena is the best place to gather combat experience... that includes Nen battles. A Hunter needs to be proficient at combat; that includes Nen combat. So while you two, Leorio and Leroute, might not care about combat at all, you still need to learn the basics. In Heaven’s Arena, we’ll focus solely on training, and you can also freely use what you’ll be learning. It’s frankly the best place possible,” Auren explains.

“I will have you fight; don’t worry, you know that injuries don’t mean much to me. I’m giving you the extremely valuable chance to fight with next to no negative consequences. You're allowed to fail; I’m letting you fail on purpose. I’m allowing you to progress at a pace that others can only dream about. No downtime, extremely low risks. It’s a gift, and I expect you all to do your very best not to waste it...” Auren speaks, while the others, except Leroute, all nod.

Especially Kurapika, who’s usually calm, is now extremely focused, his eyes staring at Auren intently.

“Now... there is no reason to waste any more time,” Auren announces. “When we reach Heaven’s Arena, I’ll be serious, and I’ll work you to the bone. I’ll be teaching you for real and won’t coddle you. So now while we’re flying there, it’s time to start turning you into real Nen users.”

Everyone perks up, especially Kurapika, his eyes now clearly carrying the unfiltered look of desire.

“Why... now? Why didn’t we do it at Killua’s home?” Leorio asks.

“Because now, I hope that all five of you can completely focus on training,” Auren replies, briefly looking at Killua.

“I’m sorry about that,” Killua says. “Thank you all, I guess.”

“So what do we do now?” Gon asks.

“I’ve taught you the breathing and meditation techniques... they’re my personal ones... I learned them from my dead master and slightly modified them according to my own insights and what I’ve learned from others. You may not realize it yet, but that’s already the key to mastering Nen, and I expect you not to divulge it to others, now... wait a minute.”

Walking into the kitchen, Auren finds Marsha happily reading a magazine, listening to a random radio channel while drinking a cup of coffee and eating a slice of pie. She perks up upon seeing him.

“Oh, Auren dear, do you need something? I was gonna serve you pie as well, but you seemed busy,” she says. “Can’t wait to reach Heaven’s Arena. I’m gonna take the old pilot on a few dates.”

“Hehe, I’ll give you two a bonus, go wild. Shopping, dinners, shows, you know it’s all inside the tower,” Auren says, happy that Marsha is having a good time. “I need help... can you get a few pens and notebooks for me? We have basic supplies on the ship, right?”

“Do you want to teach them that seriously?” Marsha asks. “That’s so kind of you.”

“Yes, indeed,” Auren replies, grinning.

“I’ll bring you everything you need!” she says confidently, disappearing into one of the rooms used for supplies.

Auren returns to the group, and just thirty seconds later, Marsha joins them carrying a stack of notepads under her arm, while also carrying a small whiteboard and a box of pens.

“We had that?” Auren asks. “Not bad.”

“Marsha, can you please... give the little girl a bath? I need to concentrate right now. It’s still raining outside, so we’re gathering new water in the tanks.”

Softly handing over the snake to Marsha, who shows no fear, Auren sighs in relief as she walks away, the snake perking up when Marsha whispers. "Water for our little princess," as if she has learned to recognize that particular word.

We can start....

“What... what’s going on?” Leorio asks. “Don’t tell me...”

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Kurapika comments, nodding appreciatively.

“Oh... we are...” Gon says, seeming surprisingly nervous.

Only Killua laughs. “Never figured it would be that.”

“Theory... Nen theory,” Auren states. “I won’t teach you randomly and give you access to a power that can not only kill others, but also yourself! There are countless idiots who’ve wasted their potential, or worse, crippled themselves because of incomplete information.”

“Before I teach you anything, I expect you to learn about Nen first. Not just a single thing... no, the entirety of it. Don’t think I’m kidding you; I’ll be quizzing you, and if you’re too dumb or lazy to learn, you’ll never learn Nen, at least not from me,” Auren states, panic setting in for Gon.

“... I’ll explain it again and again, don’t worry,” Auren says, sensing Gon’s panic. “This is for your benefit as well. Leroute, I’ll only ask you if nobody else knows, since Vanessa and I already taught you some of it.”

“Is this really okay?” Killua asks. “Shouldn’t you just start with boring exercises, then give us one thing that we have to master until we qualify to learn the next thing? That’s how it works in games, movies, and stuff like that.”

“Yeah, when I got taught by the people on my island, they always did it step by step,” Gon agrees.

“I see... you want me to slow down and only teach you a single thing.” Auren mutters. “That’s rather surprising.”

“No,” Kurapika says in a quiet voice, but with so much impact that everyone looks at him, nobody daring to speak up.

“Don’t worry, Kurapika,” Auren reassures the Kurta. “... I wouldn’t do so anyway. I believe people who teach step by step are naive. At least I believe so. You are essentially putting on kids' gloves, which is safer, because, as I’ve said, Nen can kill you, even your own, but you are Hunters. I’m simply being honest, and I won’t try to control you. I also have other good reasons. Nen is such a deep topic. You can spend more than a lifetime studying it and still not finish what you intended to do. It’s vital that you know everything and then make a personal and qualified decision on what you want to learn and prioritize. While there are basics you have to master, you need to look ahead too. There are incredibly far-reaching and important decisions to consider,” Auren continues.

“Now... let’s start,” Auren finally says. “First of all, let’s talk about Life Force and Aura.”

Auren then calmly begins to speak, not reading from a script, but simply telling the truth, of course in his own words.

“Every being and plant has life energy, also called Aura. As I’ve explained, some items do as well,” Auren says, taking off a gauntlet and placing it before him. “To make it incredibly simple, Nen is just how you harness and use that Aura. Before I continue, everything I’m telling you and stating as the truth has exceptions. Every rule, limitation, and restriction can potentially be broken. Be very aware of that and just try to understand the system before you think about ways to achieve such a feat.”

“To qualify as a Nen User, you must first master the Basic Nen techniques Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. The order plays an important part,” Auren begins to explain.

“The very first technique, Ten, has a prerequisite, one so harsh that without knowledge, it’s impossible to become a Nen user on your own. You need to open your Aura Nodes. As I’ve stated, there are two ways. One fast and one slow way, but thanks to your efforts, both ways can be considered fast, and we’ll be using the orthodox, safe, and superior way. Now, the meditation technique has one more chapter, which is about opening these Aura Nodes in your body. You’re just missing that one step, which I’ll teach you as soon as we’re done, allowing you to practice on your own.”

Everyone stares at Auren, clearly excited to finally pass that last step.

“But first...” Auren says, smiling, beginning to write on the whiteboard with rather mediocre handwriting, not unreadable, but anything but pretty.

“Let’s start with Ten...”