As Auren nonchalantly helps himself to multiple sets of clothing, the others reluctantly follow suit, murmuring their thanks to Neffi.
"I'll order some more later. I'll take your exact sizes so they fit better. They stretch a little, but the closer the fit, the more comfortable they are to wear," Neffi explains. "These are extremely durable! These suits can even stop bullets... at least some. I wouldn't want to test it myself, but these clothes are something truly unique! I never intended to start a real company—I just wanted experts to create custom clothing for me, but unexpectedly, we managed to obtain a few contracts with police organizations, and even some military contracts. The biggest problem is still the high cost, but I'm working on that... or, more accurately, my scientists are."
"Not bad," Auren comments. "It looks like you did it by mistake, but you stumbled onto something valuable. You should keep at it. Even military contracts are fine, since your clothing is purely defensive. You managed to develop something potentially life-saving."
"Let's talk later, okay?" Konrad cuts in, staring at Neffi. "I've got some connections. Maybe we can collaborate."
"Sure! But I'm not getting scammed!" Neffi says quickly, her eyes narrowing in slight suspicion.
Just saying it won't protect you... it only makes you look like an easy target. I guess, I'll better make sure he doesn't actually do it. She is a little naive.
"Anyway," Auren says, taking a deep breath. "I summoned you all here because I wanted to tell you something. Not only about myself, but also about what I've been doing these past months. But first, I need to warn you. If you leak this information, you will die. Not by my hands, but by others closely related to me. You can back out now, and we can still train together. You don't need to worry about me cutting you off just for refusing. It will just change how honest I can be with you."
Silence follows. Nobody speaks. Everyone's eyes are fixed firmly on Auren.
"Fine," Auren snickers, before turning toward Jolt and his family, as well as Mio and Kai. "For now, this is only for my official students. I'll tell you later, alright? Could you leave us alone for a moment?"
Jolt and his family, along with Mio and Kai, look visibly disappointed, but they nod and step out of the room without protest.
Auren then explains Hollow Blade—skipping over certain crucial details—and briefly summarizes his recent actions.
Everyone looks stunned, aside from Neffi, who already knew most of the story.
"A Nen Entity..." Vanessa says, gulping nervously. "That's terrifying! Is something like that really possible? Still... I really respect you for saving those girls. Even those awful criminals don't sound too bad... they actually helped you?"
Auren nods. "There are even scarier things out there, Vanessa. And the Troupe are far more complicated than people think. Their motives are rarely clear. It's best to assume that everything you've heard is wrong until you confirm it for yourself. That includes what I'm teaching you. You can believe me, but it's better to develop your own opinion after checking out things for yourself. Regarding Nen, your personality and your own beliefs—even if they make no sense to others or go against established principles might be more important. That doesn't mean that you should ignore what I'll teach you, but just that you sometimes need to believe in yourself, even if others disagree."
"That sounds kinda cool! You sound like a real master. I like that!" Vanessa says with a wide grin.
"Vanessa... shut up!" Konrad snaps, clearly annoyed by his sister's casual responses.
"It's fine," Auren says calmly. "What I mean is that you need to be prepared for anything. Which brings me to the reason I called you all here. First of all, I owe you training. Now that the organization has officially accepted me as your Master, I'll do my job. At least for a while, I'll teach you seriously. Especially you two—Vanessa and Eren. I've neglected you far too much. Secondly, if you're serious about advancing as Hunters, you need to find a goal or a path for yourself. I already told you about Pariston... he's like a double-edged blade. He can help you like no one else, but you never know what he's planning. Whether you accept his help is your choice."
His face turns serious. "He might... no, he will manipulate you and play games you won't even notice, much less realize you're an active piece on his chessboard. It's certainly risky, and even I can't fully protect you. On the other hand... Pariston is one of the smartest and best-connected people in the world. If he knows you're associated with me, he won't harm you without a damn good reason, and if you ally with him, he'll probably support you... but you could still be used as a tool to reach or target me. Nobody knows what the future brings. I'm not here to baby you, so think about it carefully before you decide. You don't have to take shortcuts—I still have enough people I can ask for help aside from Pariston."
Everyone falls silent, each of them looking lost in their own thoughts.
"Finally..." Auren continues, "I've invited another teacher for all of you. Since I'll also be teaching the twins, and your siblings too, Eren—at least a little—it won't hurt to have someone else around. You already know him, Konrad. It's Goreinu."
"Ah... that guy," Konrad says with a hint of recognition. "You think pretty highly of him, don't you? You seemed to be a little more capable during the exam."
"To be honest, I don't know his exact affinity," Auren admits. "But according to my sources, he should be either an Emitter or a Manipulator. I can help you with every Nen category, except Manipulation. So, if things go according to plan, Goreinu can fill that role. Neffi also has knowledge in the area and may be able to help you as well, but her Hatsu is rather... unique."
Eren looks momentarily confused, but his expression quickly brightens into one of excitement. "So... we're training? This time, seriously?"
Auren nods. "Yes. Of course, it all depends on you. I mean, you're here already, so I'll take that as a yes—but I'm not forcing any of you. You all know the basics of Nen, so technically, you're somewhat qualified Hunters already. However, I strongly suggest you stay. I can teach you ways to train specific affinities, tell you about Hatsus I've encountered, give you hints on how to create your own Hatsu, share my experience... and most importantly, I can teach you every single advanced Nen technique. I hate bragging, but I've studied each one thoroughly, and I've reached at least an advanced, if not master, level in all of them. The only area I can't really cover is Manipulation—but with Neffi here, and hopefully Goreinu, that gap will be filled."
He then turns his attention to Eren and Vanessa. "This is your chance to obtain the knowledge to become true experts. Whatever you need, I'm prepared to teach you seriously."
"I accept!" Eren says instantly, without even the slightest hesitation. "Thank you so much!"
Vanessa beams with joy and throws her arms around Auren, only for Neffi to quickly wedge herself between them.
"I'm sorry? Neffi, right? What exactly is your relationship with him?" Vanessa asks, tilting her head, obviously confused.
"Nothing! This is just a serious occasion! Stop hugging him for no reason," Neffi huffs, crossing her arms.
"As much as I agree with you, Neffi, the same could be said for you," Auren says, looking mildly annoyed. "There's one more thing. I promised Pariston I'd take on a few Temp Hunter missions for him. They're basically requests—like the typical quests you see in video games. The Association receives a request, and we take care of it in exchange for payment. If you're interested, you can join me, or even take on a few easier ones by yourselves. I'll leave that choice to you as well."
"Any questions?" Auren asks.
Nobody answers. The group remains silent, their faces serious, but there's also an unmistakable spark of eagerness in their eyes.
Auren smiles, clearly satisfied with their responses. "If that's the case... it's time to train! First, let me see your progress. Show me five minutes of Ten, five minutes of Zetsu, and finally, five minutes of Ren."
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
"Ha, I've been waiting for this!"
Auren shakes his head as he watches the very different reactions of Konrad, Eren, and Vanessa, respectively.
They all activate Ten, with Neffi joining in just for fun.
Auren also activates his own Ten, letting his students see the difference and giving them a clear standard to compare themselves against.
Konrad's Ten looks fairly well-balanced. It isn't outstanding or praiseworthy in the slightest—yet it also can't be considered poor or faulty. In the end, Auren can only describe it as average, which is honestly not bad, considering Konrad hasn't been practicing Nen for that long, only around a year.
I'd say that's a pass. Konrad is average, but that isn't necessarily bad. I can see that he has been training.
"Average. That's good, Konrad. I don't see any obvious mistakes. Keep going," Auren says, nodding lightly.
He then shifts his attention to Eren.
Looking at him closely, Auren notices that his Ten is remarkably weak and thin, almost invisible.
Ten itself is already considered the weakest of the four basic Nen techniques, since the Aura it produces is thin and offers no offensive capability. At best, it provides a minimal amount of defense. Eren's Ten is extremely thin and weak—even compared to the usual standard of Ten. Yet, at the same time, it feels incredibly smooth and calm, carrying a sense of stability. It almost feels like he's been training for a long time.
"Your Ten is very weak, but it's also extremely stable and smooth. It almost feels like you've been practicing for many years. I can see that you have trained it for a long time. Good job, that will pay off in the long run. Keep up the good work, but we need to work on increasing the strength of your Aura," Auren comments.
Finally, his gaze falls on Vanessa. Her Ten is unstable, the thickness constantly fluctuating. However, even with its uneven form, it is remarkably thick and powerful, at least compared to Eren and even Konrad.
Almost the complete opposite of Eren...
"Ten needs to be smooth and calm. Look at how Eren does it!" Auren points out.
Vanessa lets out a frustrated sigh, clearly disappointed with herself.
"Still... your Aura is strong. If you can work on your technique, I'd say you show the most promise. It's difficult to increase Aura quantity and strength, but just improving the basic techniques should be much easier in comparison!"
Vanessa smiles brightly, making Neffi stare at her in frustration.
Augen, ignoring her, thinks about the individual results of the three.
These three... Konrad is pretty balanced, while the other two each have clear strengths and weaknesses. Together, they actually make a great team in that regard.
Let's keep going. I already have a few ideas.
-------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
24+ Early chapters available
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!