The next twelve months were a brutal blur of physical torment and mental conditioning.
Vane's father did not coddle him. He knew that in the outside world, a weak Nen user was nothing more than a corpse waiting to happen. He first taught him basics of Nen.
He explained that the Ten technique allows one to contain aura within the body, which strengthens it. He explains that Zetsu stops the flow of aura, allowing someone to hide their presence. Ren allows one to produce more aura, demonstrating the stance as Vane recognized the change.
"So, there are more techniques and the one I am using is "Ten".
"It feels like I am in a lukewarm pool. It doesn't feel alien at all. It feels like it's a natural part of me—literally," Vane said, fascinated.
"Usually, it takes more time to master Ten, but you mastered it naturally but don't get conceited as there is still a lot to learn" Vane's father replied.
The first step of his training began the very next morning in the family's private courtyard with a simple, standard test: Water Divination.
"Pour your aura into your hands and focus it on the glass," his father commanded, placing a cup filled to the brim with water and a single, crisp green leaf floating on top.
Vane took a deep breath, slipping into the familiar calm state. He extended his hands, letting the warm energy flow smoothly toward the glass. Within seconds, a faint splashing sound broke the quiet.
The water didn't change color, nor did the leaf move. Instead, the water began to swell, overflowing over the rim of the glass and spilling onto the wooden table.
His father watched the water cascade downward, a firm nod of satisfaction breaking his stoic face.
"An Enhancer,"
A nod.
"Good."
"It's the category I hoped for."
"It's the most straightforward and balanced of all Nen categories. It reinforces your natural body, making your skin denser, your muscles stronger, and your healing factors rapid. For a surgeon, it is a formidable foundation—but only if your physical base is strong enough to support it."
Let me show you. He then rips out a page from a book and uses energy to straighten it, slicing a wooden tree nearby. He explains that by using Nen, it's possible to turn even a piece of paper into a sharp blade and that one's body can resist damage as if it were covered in metal armor.
From that day on, Vane's routine was rewritten.
His father stripped away his medical books for six hours a day, replacing them with grueling physical conditioning. Vane had always been athletic, a necessity for standing on his feet during ten-hour practice dissections, but Nen completely shattered his biological ceiling. With his nodes open, every workout was enhanced. His muscles tore and rebuilt themselves at accelerated speeds.
To push him further, his father brought home a set of massive, pitch-black training weights. They were incredibly dense, looking entirely too small for how heavily they dragged against the floorboards.
"I bought these from a specialized black-market broker," his father muttered, tightening the straps around Vane's ankles and wrists. "He claimed they are the same caliber used by the Zoldyck family of assassins to train their young. Each band is heavily dense. Do not take them off. You will live in them, run in them, and sleep in them."
The weights felt like lead, pinning him to the earth, but Vane adapted. He learned to cycle his Ren—the technique of erupting his aura outward—to fuel his muscles when his physical stamina failed. He practiced Zetsu to completely shut down his aura, forcing his body to carry the weight on pure, raw muscle tone alone.
1 year later.
Standing before the mirror, Vane looked leaner, his posture perfectly straight. Testing his physical limit at the local docks, he gripped the bumper of a massive transport truck and lifted. His muscles flared, his base physical strength—screamed with power as the two-ton vehicle's front tires left the gravel entirely.
His Ten was as smooth as water, his Ren was fierce and steady, and his Zetsu could mask his presence to a great degree.
"You still have a long way to go but for now you are ready," his father said on a chilly morning in early 1990. He handed Vane a train ticket and a small badge.
"I have taught you the theory and the foundation. What you lack now is real-world experience. The Hunter Exam is about to begin. Go get your license and start your journey as a hunter, "