The night of the torrential downpour.
'Where am I?'
Dia came to his senses, his eyes opening to a place that looked like a public restroom.
He found himself hanging upside down, unable to move.
The air here was cold and silent.
He found that he couldn't speak, couldn't make any expressions.
What happened?
Dia suddenly saw his Stand, [The World], floating quietly in front of him. He wanted to control [The World] to help him untie the ropes.
But [The World] didn't move.
"Ehehehe—"
Suddenly, a red-haired clown walked in from outside, laughing strangely, his hands on his hips, holding something unknown.
When Dia saw the clown's appearance, his heart skipped a beat:
'Hisoka? Why is he here?'
A cruel smile hung on Hisoka's face as he suddenly darted in front of Dia.
Only then did Dia see clearly that what he was holding in his hand was Cheadle's head!
"Is this your companion? She fought with her life to save you..."
Dia's pupils shrank. He didn't know where the strength came from, but he struggled desperately, trying to create some space.
Finally, he managed to pull out an arm from the minuscule gap. Then, with all his remaining strength, he threw a punch with lightning speed!
"Aiyah!!"
A cry of pain jolted Dia awake from his dream. Dia's eyes shot open, and he took a closer look—
An unknown green creature in a suit was rolling on the floor, while an old man with white hair was stroking his beard with a grin, saying something to it.
"Disturbing someone's sleep, you got what you deserved."
Chairman Netero had an 'I told you so' expression on his face. Beans, on the floor, finally stopped rolling after a while and couldn't help but complain:
"It was clearly the Chairman who said, 'That kid looks like he's having a nightmare,' and then told me to wake him up!"
Chairman Netero cleaned his ears with an 'I can't hear you' expression, then, as if he had just discovered something new and interesting, he looked at Dia and said:
"Oh, you're awake. You're Dia, right? I'm Netero, and this one next to me is Beans."
Beans quickly got up from the floor and bowed politely.
Dia, having just witnessed the Chairman's little comedy, pretty much knew what had just happened. He immediately stood up as well and bowed with a bit of embarrassment, saying:
"Hello, Mr. Chairman. I'm sorry, Mr. Beans. I have a habit of hitting people in my sleep."
As he spoke, Dia secretly glanced at Netero.
Netero playfully made a 'V' sign at his peeking.
'So this is Isaac Netero. Just as described in the original work, the aura on his body is frighteningly calm.'
Wait, aura?
Dia suddenly realized that the aura he could only see before when borrowing Cheadle's ability, he could now see on his own.
"Can you see it? The aura on my body."
"Ah, yes..."
Dia said hesitantly. He could already feel the aura flowing around him, held tightly around his body by [Ten] as if by instinct.
So this is [Ten]. It feels similar to constantly maintaining the Ripple's defense all over his body.
What about [Ren]?
Dia tried to relax the restraint on the aura around him, instead concentrating on controlling the flow of aura within his body to flow out faster.
Bang!
Dia felt the aura on his body boil violently, like cold water dropped into hot oil. Is this [Ren]?
'He figured out [Ren] on his own so quickly? Not bad...'
Chairman Netero stroked the beard on his chin, looking at the aura that suddenly erupted from Dia's body. He turned to Beans and said:
"Beans, go get the things for the Water Divination."
Dia also heard Netero's words. As someone who had read the original work, he of course knew what Netero was about to do.
[Water Divination], a method to determine one's own Nen type.
After mastering the four basic principles of Nen—[Ten], [Zetsu], [Ren], and [Hatsu]—one's Nen ability would be classified into one of six categories based on their Nen type.
And Water Divination was one of the most commonly used methods to determine a Nen user's type.
First, you need to prepare a glass of water with a leaf in it. The user must then activate their [Ren] on both sides of the glass. This process is actually infusing their Nen into the glass.
If they are an Enhancer, the amount of water in the glass will increase. If they are an Emitter, the color of the water will change. If they are a Transmuter, the taste of the water will change. If they are a Manipulator, the leaf in the glass will move. If they are a Conjurer, crystals will appear in the water.
And all other changes that are not the five mentioned above, or if multiple phenomena occur, are classified as Specialist.
Beans quickly prepared a glass of water with a tea leaf on it.
"Give it a try, kid. You should know what to do."
Netero said to Dia.
Dia nodded.
He solemnly placed his hands on both sides of the glass.
[Ren]!
As Dia activated his [Ren], the water in the glass suddenly changed. From its original clear state, it turned into a dazzling gold!
Is this?
"An Emitter, huh? A very good type."
Netero praised.
As one of the top three types, Emitter was indeed an excellent Nen category. Its characteristic was that the Nen aura did not weaken after leaving the body. At the same time, it was the most suitable category for developing Nen beasts among the five main types, excluding Specialist. Moreover, Emitters had another point that was not often mentioned: spatial abilities often required Emitter-type Nen.
In the original work, representative figures of the Emitter type included the volleyball kid Razor, the medical school newcomer Leorio, the fruit god Goreinu, the beautiful-haired Knuckle, and the most heavyweight guest—the Ant King [Meruem].
It was only at this moment that Dia truly felt like a Nen user.
His Nen learning plan had never even begun. There was no arduous training, no risk of a forced awakening. He had become a Nen user painlessly in his sleep.
'Then the next step is to continue to practice the four basic principles until I can develop my own Nen ability.'
Dia began to calculate the time in his mind. He didn't know when Cheadle's commission would begin. Before that, he could freeload off Cheadle's guidance.
Creak—
The door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open, attracting the attention of everyone present.
Under the gaze of the three, Cheadle walked in very naturally with a cake, and was then frozen in place by Chairman Netero's winking eyes.
Eh? What happened? How did Dia wake up so quickly? Why is the Chairman here? What does that look mean?
"Ahem, I suddenly remembered that that kid Ging had something to see me about. I won't disturb you any longer."
Before he could finish, Netero left the lounge with a speed that Dia couldn't see, pushing off the ground a few times, and also pulled the giggling Beans with him.
Cheadle: ? Hasn't Ging been missing for almost a year?
Suddenly, her gaze fell on the food in her hand, and she realized something. The Chairman didn't think she had come specifically to take care of Dia, did he!
But she had intended to eat this herself while waiting for Dia to wake up!!
Cheadle, who had always prided herself on being calm and dignified, instantly felt a little flustered.
"Um, Professor Cheadle?"
Dia looked at Cheadle, who was frozen in place, and couldn't help but ask.
Hearing Dia's voice, Cheadle snapped out of her daze and quickly asked:
"The old man... ahem, why is Chairman Netero here?"
Dia recounted what had just happened, and Cheadle calmed down.
But even after calming down, the Chairman's strange look still swirled in Cheadle's mind. For a moment, she didn't know what to say next.
And at this moment, the sight of Cheadle reminded Dia of the dream he had just had, and for a moment, he also didn't know what to say.
The atmosphere in the lounge thus fell into a mysterious awkwardness.