Makosi's disappearance left the old man, Vickhill, sleepless for an entire night.
He was already sensing that this Nen user of his likely perished at the hands of the Zatobi Family. But simply giving up on the family empire he'd built over the years was beyond him—he couldn't stand the thought.
So the Vick Family actually intensified its assaults on the Zatobi Family, Vickhill deciding to fight to the end. Xiang Nan was somewhat surprised by this. Evidently, even though Vickhill was older, he wasn't as clever as Mia. This only hastened the Vick Family's extinction.
With Xiang Nan's squad helping, in just one week, Zerta City was completely in Zatobi's hands.
…
Once the conflict ended, Xiang Nan didn't immediately leave Zerta City. He was too absorbed in his "research" on the captured test subject.
"Is it that feeling?"
In one of Zatobi's privately owned hospitals, Xiang Nan pressed his hand to Makosi's body, sensing the man's large burst of aura. Makosi's condition was much better than Kai's had been, so he could provide a longer "experimental window" and richer data. His poison had already been neutralized with an antidote.
Nen, Xiang Nan now understood, is the user's life energy under their own control. If the user's mind harbors hostility, then Nen can deliver mental or physical harm. But at the moment, having performed a craniotomy on Makosi, Xiang Nan merely had him unleash powerful vitality. In that unconscious state, the man's aura was wasted aimlessly—meaning Xiang Nan could reach out to feel it without facing an active threat. He just had to withstand the outward flow of Makosi's aura.
The risk was controlled, because Makosi's aura wasn't particularly strong or voluminous; his ability was fairly mediocre. Even when unconsciously letting it flow, it wouldn't explode so drastically as to become uncontrollable.
Xiang Nan, who'd been trying (through meditation) to emulate one of the "four major steps" of Nen training—concentrating one's will at a "point" to sense "qi" within the body—found that after two months, his progress was minimal.
So his plan now was to directly "touch" a Nen user's "aura" to bolster his own perception.
A nearby machine monitoring Makosi's vitals started beeping like mad. Its readings soared to extreme heights, meaning Makosi's life force rose to a certain peak, paradoxically indicating he was nearing death. Such a status violated normal human limits. With all that aura overflowing, even unconsciously, it still caused the bed and chairs in the room to rattle. Xiang Nan's black coat flapped noisily in the turbulence.
Meanwhile, Xiang Nan's outstretched hand felt a bizarre pressure—heat and pain.
"The primal force of life…"
There was a certain wildness in Xiang Nan's eyes. He still couldn't truly feel "Nen," but the massive energy in the room was causing tangible effects. That sensation was real.
"Slow down the aura leakage," he commanded the dazed Makosi.
Instantly, the invisible "wind" inside the room eased somewhat, and Xiang Nan closed his eyes to savor this "bodily sensation."
As time passed, Makosi's body withered as though dehydrated—his muscles shriveled, skin clinging to bones, and his hair turned dull and gray, like an old man at death's door. At last, the machines stabilized, and Makosi breathed his last. Once aura drains to a certain point, there's no recovering without some external powerful means.
"I felt something…"
Xiang Nan opened his eyes, a gleam there. Sealed inside this small space, with Makosi's aura filling it to a certain frequency, Xiang Nan—dulled though his senses were—managed a brief awareness of "energy." If Makosi's aura was "red," once the room was entirely painted red, any other "color" that appeared must be Xiang Nan's own. Essentially, Xiang Nan leveraged Makosi's aura to perceive his own "qi."
It was a pity that even though Xiang Nan had prepared himself, there was still danger. Makosi's aura, though unconscious, was potent enough that if it rose too high, it might drain Xiang Nan's own life force, dooming him. Xiang Nan felt his body temperature dropping, limbs going numb, and a headache creeping in.
"Though I have high 'comprehension,' it seems that once you're dealing with advanced levels of power, the advantage from that might be limited. The higher the tier, the less obvious that edge is… If I lacked that, it'd be even harder."
Xiang Nan ignored Makosi's corpse, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. From the look of things—and from what he'd gleaned of Nen's intricacies—just becoming a Nen user was a massive hurdle, nowhere near as simple as one might think.
In the Hunter x Hunter manga, it sometimes felt like Nen users were everywhere, but that's because the spotlight shined on them. In reality, given this world's vast population, the actual number of registered Hunters (and other unregistered Nen users across mafia, militaries, V5, hidden organizations) is minuscule in comparison. So the impression from the story is a bit misleading. For normal folk, especially those with average aptitude, maybe they'd never unlock Nen no matter how hard they tried. The main cast had a special "plot aura," but Xiang Nan and his fellow "players" did not.
"From the original storyline, Kurapika—unlike Gon and Killua—trained up Nen on his own. It took roughly half a year. If I compare my progress to his, I've got four months left. If I crack Nen on my own by then, it about equals his talent. Considering I'm just fumbling around while he had a teacher, I might be doing okay."
"Judging by that feeling, if I can get maybe four more test subjects…no, five… I should be able to truly sense 'Nen.'"
He let out a small laugh. Step by step, he was indeed acting like these "experiment subjects" were his teachers. Each time Xiang Nan captured a Nen user, he gleaned fresh insights.
In the process, for instance, Makosi had mentioned "vows and constraints" (the rules of Restriction and Pledge). This ties directly into how one crafts and shapes their ability. Not every Hunter's Nen was shaped through a powerful vow, though. Some abilities had milder conditions, meaning lighter constraints, which is why the vow aspect isn't always obvious. In reality, vow logic underlies all ability creation. But a person like Netero effectively bypassed it because his understanding of Nen was so advanced he minimized or negated that effect.
And of course, the typical example of vow-based power is Kurapika, who reaped massive gains at the cost of enormous restrictions. If you can endure those constraints, you get stronger abilities. But not everyone can handle that.
Makosi also described how Meteor City "mass-produces" Nen users: forcibly unlocking aura, then letting them either succeed or die. Those who survived became the Elders' "merchandise" sold to the mafia. This route is a short-cut, but it nearly always caps the user's upper potential because they have no foundational knowledge or experience.
By the same logic, the harsh environment of Meteor City also tempered many inhabitants' minds, making them better "raw stones" for Nen. Xiang Nan, never having visited Meteor City but hearing from both Kai and Makosi, grew curious. That was also the home of the Phantom Troupe.
Now, covering Makosi's corpse with a white sheet, Xiang Nan departed the room. He yearned more than ever to attain Nen—and fast.
"So let's ramp up the hunt." he said inwardly.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!