Auren, his plans and thoughts now properly considered and laid out as a concrete timeline, is quite satisfied with his earlier meeting. As he leaves the administrative building and walks into the busy city, he slowly builds an accurate timeline in his mind.
For some reason, Rakshala treats me like a child. Maybe her favourite child—the one she always tries to please and coddle—but still... it's a little frustrating. At least she doesn't try to limit my freedom—she probably knows better. Still, I've got a rough timeline now. To start with, I'll ask Leira to analyse the Nen Regalias… or at least find out what she can tell me about them. Afterwards, I'll treat another group of injured people. Rakshala mentioned they'll be here within a week. Neffi should also arrive relatively soon.
Then I'll set off towards the East. It might sound a little boring, but this is the kind of wilderness training I need. I'll probably do nothing but exploring and beast hunting. Maybe I can use that opportunity to improve Eternity. Strong beasts have a lot of Life force, meaning Eternity can grow if I hunt enough. It's important that I not only train myself, but also Eternity, my most important possession.
I'll maybe also consider supervising a few things, getting to learn new things could be useful, but I'll leave the boring organisational stuff to the Elders. A few of them should join me, I think some are already there since the operation has already started. Will Bunu and Buno join as well? Probably not. Those two are the only ones without the ability to use Rakshala's power to "initiate" new members with the Nen Mark. They would be useless, and they are in charge of special operations after all. This is too big for them.
Pariston also mentioned clients… I guess I'd better cooperate with him as I said. Money and more influence can't hurt. Hollow Blade has a lot of resources, but I don't want to use them for my personal ambitions. More of Battera's fortunes are also on the way. The next payout should be happening soon.
Then I'll focus on Battle Olympia. It might be a scam, created to deceive the public, but the title of the strongest Floor Master intrigues me nevertheless. My reputation will soar… and honestly, I don't want to live completely in the shadows. At least with one foot, I want to be a famous and proper Hunter.
After that is the Hunter Exam. It's still a long time away, but with so much work, it won't feel long.
Of course, I need to train the others, and I also want to spend time with them. This is not a race. As much as I want to grow stronger, I can still train effectively and still spend time with them. I just need to balance my life and not waste my time on stupid things.
Deep in thought, he walks home, nodding to a few people who smile and bow to him.
I guess I'll do the first thing on my list.
Back home, he meets up with Leira and Zepile. Goreinu also joins, since Zepile spends most of his time with him anyway. Together they sit on a large table in Auren's living room, the others deciding to give them some space.
"So you want me to analyse your so-called Nen Regalias?" Leira asks. "Let me first tell you how my Hatsu works. While I can analyse the specific properties of items. It isn't as simple as analysing something and receiving a detailed list of all chemical elements and their detailed compositions. No—an ability like that would have been too difficult to achieve."
Leira folds her arms, speaking like she's giving a lesson she's explained a hundred times.
"Life is complex, and the human brain is simply not capable of comprehending things on that level. It would go beyond human understanding… or at least beyond my understanding. Maybe there are geniuses who can do it, but I honestly doubt it." She pauses, then adds, almost dryly, "An ability like that could probably only be mastered by a god."
"I see…" Auren says, watching her closely. "So how does it work then?"
Leira answers Auren's question instantly, without a pause or any hint of holding back or hiding the truth.
"My ability requires me to carefully study and analyse known things—things I have a deep understanding of. Not only scientifically, but also practically," she explains. "It took me almost two decades to reach my current state, where I've more or less analysed all kinds of metals, wood, rocks, dirt, sand, chemicals, organic substances… meaning a lot of animals, including humans, and all sorts of other objects."
Humans? Likes bones and teeth? Archaeologist... I get it.
Leira's tone stays matter-of-fact, as she calmly explains her hatsu.
"The more I know, the faster I learn, since many things that resemble each other are tightly connected. Then, using my knowledge and understanding as a basis, Oculus displays certain information. It isn't easy to describe, but if I had to put it in the simplest way… Oculus can display similar items. That's how I detected the forgery back at the trade fair. Oculus displayed chemicals that should've been present in a genuine product of that age."
Now I get it. It's a little different from what I expected, but as long as it works, great.
"So me analysing them will tell you what kind of metals or furs are used, and whether any other materials are involved," Leira continues. "I should even be able to detect similar items that were created using the same process. Most likely, I'll be able to tell you the rough makeup of the items… however, there's a catch."
Her eyes narrow a little, serious now.
"Our world contains far too many unknown minerals, ores, beasts, and animals. The things I haven't seen—though there aren't many, considering I worked as an appraiser for so long and saw so many different things—I can't appraise properly. I can only show you similar objects. I'm also able to deduce things like age and certain details about how the item was created, but again… it's based on similarities."
Leira gestures to the small snake still sitting comfortably on her shoulder.
"I can see it now!" Zepile remarks. "Why did it just appear?"
"She was using In to hide it," Auren explains. "Your In is quite advanced indeed."
"I like to walk around with Oculus and analyse anything that catches my interest. In is a necessity. How it works is simple: Oculus, my cute little snake-pet, will stare at the item. It takes a little time, depending on the complexity, but afterwards I'll obtain a large amount of information. I also need to remember these details, because if I forget them, Oculus won't grow and recognise them in the future." She pauses briefly, her expression turning serious, "I can't guarantee success. Especially not on items as special as yours."
"No worries," Auren says. "Just give it a try."
"Yes," Zepile adds immediately, nodding along with Auren. "That ability is already incredible. I'm honestly blown away by the possibilities of Nen."
"Hehe," Goreinu snickers. "You'll be able to learn something yourself soon. Just do your best and train hard."
Auren nods. Then he takes off one of his bracers, a gauntlet, and even one of his boots, handing them over.
Leira doesn't react at all to the worn items. She simply sets them down on the table and begins her analysis.
Oculus stares at the bracer.
Time passes. Seconds. Minutes.
Finally, after about five minutes, Oculus displays a few lines in its eye that quickly disappear. Her eyes flicker briefly, but she remains calm and fixes her gaze on the gauntlet. Just thirty seconds later, she switches again, now looking at the boot.
That was faster... makes sense since they are very similar.
Fifteen more seconds pass, and Leira sighs, suddenly looking drained. Despite that, she pulls out a notebook and flips it open. Auren catches a glimpse of one page already filled with various notes about items.
She scribbles a little, making three smaller entries, then starts summarising beneath them—grouping the information together, as if the makeup is similar enough to treat as one set.
"That took a lot of Aura… these items, they're incredible," Leira finally says, closing her notebook. Her eyes sparkle a little, like she's trying not to look too excited. "They contain foreign substances I haven't seen before. I… I need to study them in more detail."
She steadies her breath, then continues, choosing her words carefully.
"What I can tell you is this: they're ancient, yet in perfect condition—as if they're brand new. It looks like Nen is protecting them from degrading. It might even be possible that the Aura infused into them keeps repairing them somehow."
Leira taps a finger lightly against the bracer, almost reverently. She then explains:
"I can recognize some simple substances like thread, some sort of organic glue, both used for the fur, and some remnants of oils used to polish the metal As well as many other known things that were used to treat the leather. However, these things are only around 80 to 90 percent similar to anything I know. It's like a different world. They are similar, but these things simply do not exist."
"As for the main parts of the items, both the black metal and the fur are unknown. The metal resembles iron, and it is also similar to Nightshade—a dark metal found on the northern tip of the Azian continent. There's also some semblance to Kutlu, another barely known metal used by an ancient tribe, discovered on the Azian continent as well." She waves a hand, dismissing her own tangent. "That tribe is basically extinct now, integrated through intermarriage with a larger country. The few remaining tribespeople operate a small museum to survive. I visited it by chance. Anyway, that isn't relevant. The similarity is only around sixty percent, which is nothing. It might sound like much, but trust me, anything below 80 percent is basically something that doesn't exist, at least not openly."
Her gaze shifts to the fur.
"As for this, several dangerous monsters share some similarities, but it's less than fifty percent. The closest fit is the large Grey Prisa Wolf, found on the western edge of the Begerosse Union. Their fur is highly prized—luxury-grade. Many items made with it have survived for hundreds of years."
Leira hesitates, then her expression turns strange—half confused, half unsettled.
"Surprisingly, I can't tell you much more. These… these items look like the resources used to create them came from outside this world. Even the minor things used to process them are greatly different." She lets out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Usually, even if I stumble across something unknown, I can still give you examples of items with high similarities—high eighties, low nineties. Something under seventy percent… that hasn't happened in almost two decades. Not since I barely started with my Hatsu. I scan hundreds of things wherever I go. By now, my knowledge is extensive."
"So they're rare and worth a ton of money?" Goreinu asks immediately. "How many maids could I employ with them?"
"Their monetary worth doesn't matter… I will never sell them!" Auren declares, shooting Goreinu a sharp glare. "And as for how many maids you can employ—you're a billionaire. You can do that even now, you genius."
"I guess you're right…" Goreinu mutters, his enthusiasm deflating as he realises his way of thinking.
"So their worth?" Zepile asks instead, clearly more interested in what the items are than what they could buy.
Everyone stares at Leira, waiting for her response and conclusion.
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