After the assessment, Luci was granted referee rights for floors 1 through 90. To work on the 100th floor, he would need to undergo further assessments with other examiners.
Through this, Luci gained a basic understanding of Sky Arena's staff structure.
Though all were part of the Sky Arena "family," each floor's overseers might come from different martial arts schools.
This wasn't mentioned in the anime.
That wasn't surprising, as the anime focused on the protagonists as fighters, with limited screen time, so it didn't delve into such details.
Now, Luci was somewhat of a privileged figure.
He didn't rush to higher floors but instead asked Martha to arrange referee work on the 50th floor, still limiting himself to 20 matches.
If he didn't gain much from it, he'd move to a higher floor tomorrow.
On the 53rd floor, at a certain arena, Luci took up referee duties again.
Unlike the simple matches on the first floor, matches on higher floors took more time.
There was a preparation phase, and spectators needed to be seated.
Starting from the 50th floor, the fighters were noticeably different.
Most had martial arts skills, and even those without were often naturally gifted with physical advantages.
Luci copied some techniques with his Sharingan, gaining modest results.
By noon, he had completed his "work."
As a privileged figure, he didn't schedule additional matches.
After lunch, he returned to his room.
Opening the window, a clear bird call sounded as a creature flew in from outside, landing on a bird perch in the room.
"Phoenix, you're back," Luci said, gently stroking it.
The creature was vibrant red, about the size of a goose, with golden claws and an air of majesty.
This was Luci's first Nen ability.
Nen Beast: Phoenix.
From the Harry Potter world.
Nen beasts weren't rare among Nen abilities, but those with their own consciousness were extremely uncommon.
Luci's ability was akin to directly obtaining a phoenix.
Maintaining its existence required consuming Luci's Nen aura.
For now, he could sustain it fully, as long as he didn't use the phoenix's abilities.
As a magical creature from the Harry Potter world, and a particularly rare one, it possessed considerable power.
After becoming a Nen ability, it underwent some changes.
Its fire magic transformed into fire manipulation, and it could carry people in flight or use an ability similar to Apparition.
It could also help block attacks, and its tears had healing and purifying properties.
With this ability alone, Luci had considerable combat power, enough to be called a "mage."
As a phoenix with its own consciousness, it naturally didn't want to return to its "dark" resting place.
So Luci gave it plenty of free time to fly each day.
He also used the phoenix's eyes to explore Kuri City.
The city wasn't detailed much in the anime, and since this era predated the anime's timeline, it was bound to be different.
For one, Kuri City was far from peaceful.
Where martial artists flouted laws, a city filled with fighters could hardly be calm.
With the Hunter x Hunter world's powerful mafia presence, Kuri City naturally had its share.
Unless near Sky Arena or the airship ports, other areas were quite chaotic.
After soothing the phoenix, Luci recalled it.
He began his daily Nen training.
At this point, Luci was already training diligently.
He had practiced Ten and Zetsu since childhood, mastering them thoroughly.
His Ken could now be maintained for 175 minutes outside of combat, a testament to his deep Nen reserves.
He was also working on Ryu, which progressed faster in actual combat, including training in Gyo as part of it.
Shu was also part of his training, though he lacked a suitable venue.
Gyo had been in his training plan, but with the Sharingan, he put it on hold.
As for In, Luci practiced it daily. Since the phoenix was formed from Nen, it could also be imbued with In's concealment effect.
Luci's current focus was En.
En, a Nen application technique, was a detection skill.
It involved extending aura outward from oneself in a circular radius, sensing intruders within its range.
En was defined as extending Nen beyond a two-meter radius and maintaining it for more than one minute.
The range of En varied based on skill, but it didn't necessarily reflect a Nen user's overall strength, as it depended on their application or need for En.
Luci's En could extend to a radius of about two meters, with a potential maximum of seven meters.
However, expanding further consumed more Nen and reduced precision.
The size of En didn't determine a Nen user's strength.
Unless En was combined with one's Hatsu, like the Phantom Troupe's Nobunaga, a sufficiently large En was necessary to be considered a "master."
Luci viewed true Nen masters as those with a "mountain-shaped" Nen proficiency—strong in their primary Nen type, capable in others, and versatile in various situations.
Luci valued En highly.
In the anime's Chimera Ant arc, Nepherpitou's En was a major challenge for the extermination team.
Without Meruem's influence, the team's plan might not have succeeded so smoothly.
In the Greed Island arc, during Chrollo's fight with Hisoka, if Hisoka's En had been stronger, the outcome might have favored Hisoka.
Similarly, in Kastro's fight with Hisoka, a stronger En might have prevented Wutong's death.
En's detection ability was incredibly powerful.
In Yorknew City, Zeno Zoldyck used En to locate Chrollo, and in the Chimera Ant arc, the reborn Ant King's En instantly found Netero and others among thousands.
Luci was currently training to maintain his En longer.
With a two-meter radius, he could sustain it for 40–50 minutes, though it was shorter in combat.
Only after training Nen did he truly appreciate the terrifying talent of the Chimera Ants.
Luci thought of Nepherpitou, with her vast En range and incredible duration.
After exhausting his Nen, Luci practiced the techniques he had copied today.
His physical fitness allowed him to perform them effortlessly.
But he soon stopped.
"It looks like I need a proper training space," he said. His room was too small to practice freely.