Auren activates Limitless Waters, his aura now flowing more smoothly—wave-like, steady, yet powerful, like a deep-running river. With one look Zeno notices the difference and analyzes his opponent with interest.
Auren draws Eternity and applies Shu, then slowly begins to walk toward Zeno.
Time for my combination!
Auren steps forward until he's just four meters away. Without warning, he slashes with Eternity—the blade coated in his aura, which suddenly expands and extends mid-strike.
Zeno reacts instantly, dodging backward, only for Auren to step in again and unleash another slash.
Now!
Like before, Auren's katana extends its reach unnaturally. Zeno manages to retreat once more—but just as the slash finishes, the aura detaches from the blade and shoots forward.
When the slash is about to cut into Zeno, he quickly stretches out both hands and unleashes one of his Nen techniques—Aura Blast. The wave of energy erupts from his palms with such intensity that Auren is knocked back several meters, despite the distance between them.
As he steadies himself, Auren notices a small cut on Zeno's hands. A trace of blood and his clothing slightly torn.
"Hoh... you're craftier than I thought," Zeno says, clearly pleased. "Let me show you my Hatsu as well. Most people who see it… can't tell another soul about it."
Because they died?
"Don't disappoint me, kid!" Zeno calls out, his tone growing more lively.
"Dragon Head—Dragon Lance!" Zeno roars.
A large purple dragon materializes in the air, formed of unstable, dangerous-looking aura. It surges toward Auren, still connected to Zeno loaded with explosive force.
This technique doesn't have great range. It's connected to Zeno. He's an Emitter… but this is Transmutation. It shouldn't be too strong.
Auren channels more aura into his katana. Limitless Waters is still active—the water around the blade now spinning rapidly. Not holding back, he slashes directly at the dragon.
To his surprise, the dragon's head shatters, split in two by his strike. The Aura still remains, however.
Only a moment later, Zeno's hands move in a complex pattern—and the dragon reforms instantly.
I can't destroy it... but I can collapse it briefly. He will also have to use some aura to reform the head. I'll need to remember that.
Auren begins circling Zeno at high speed. Zeno turns to follow, the dragon not moving in sync with him, despite always facing Auren head-on.
There's a delay... That dragon can't keep up with my movements!
Auren continues to dart around, launching Water Slash after Water Slash. Each one collides with the dragon's aura—but Zeno defends effortlessly. The dragon coils around him, acting as both weapon and shield.
The attacks manage to cause small fractures in the aura form, but Zeno keeps reforming it with minimal effort.
I'm spending more aura than he is. This isn't sustainable. Slashes are inefficient against this thing... Maybe I should try piercing instead.
Auren dashes in closer. With Eternity now conserving aura—not using any more emission—he strikes rapidly from close range. Each slash deals minor damage, chipping away at the dragon without risking everything.
Whenever the dragon's head lashes out, Auren spins around Zeno and continues attacking from another angle.
Suddenly Zeno changes tactics. He smiles as, instead of attacking with the dragon, he suddenly charges forward, striking with his own hands.
Shit!
Caught off guard, Auren attempts a slash, aiming for Zeno's chest—but Zeno evades. With no time to reposition, Auren creates a fast, spinning water shield using Limitless Waters, a violent torrent encasing him in high-speed rotation.
Zeno's strikes hit the barrier but fails to break through. Then, with a surge of force, Zeno slams the entire dragon lance down onto the shield. The impact collapses it instantly, sending Auren flying backward.
Still in the fight, Auren lands hard—but already has something prepared.
While defending with the shield, he's been forming three water bullets in his mouth. As he rises, he spits them out—cloaked in In, invisible to the naked eye.
Zeno, however, grins, easily seeing through Auren's tactic.
He smoothly dodges the first two and leaps over the third one, with a small, controlled jump. Then, raising one hand, he commands the dragon's head, which begins to glow. Aura gathers rapidly in its jaws.
What is this?! Don't tell me… Do I dodge or do I block?
Shit, if I dodge and still get hit, I'm done… And he's an emitter—his blast will be insanely fast. He might even aim with the head directly. Do I attack? I need to do both. I need to attack now, or he'll keep charging! This is my strongest technique—Pressure Bullet!
Auren focuses all of his aura into his hands. They begin to tremble under the weight of condensed energy. As the pressure builds, he braces himself—holding it for as long as he can—then suddenly releases it all in one explosive burst.
The blast launches a massive water bullet, forged with immense pressure and force. Nearly a third of Auren's total aura is behind it. The bullet tears through the air like a cannonball—fast, deadly, unstoppable. It's directly aimed at Zeno!
Zeno, a hint of alarm flickering in his eyes, positions the dragon in front of himself and twists his body to dodge. But the Pressure Bullet pierces through the aura dragon and slams into his shoulder. It doesn't go all the way through, but it buries itself deep enough to leave a serious wound.
Auren sees blood on Zeno. His attack worked! Auren however, has no time to feel triumphant or celebrate, as the dragon's mouth begins to swell, overflowing with a sinister blend of yellow and purple aura. Auren's stares at it and immediately senses danger.
He dashes backward at full speed, but Zeno leaps into the air, propelled by aura, laughing with genuine excitement.
"Dragon Breath!" he shouts, his voice booming through the air.
The dragon's mouth bursts open, not with fire, but with concentrated Nen—an explosive surge of pure energy, ripping toward Auren like a natural disaster.
Watershield!!
Still on the move, Auren summons a violent rotating shield of water. He breathes a sigh of relief as the first part of the beam misses him entirely, his shield remaining untouched.
But Zeno only smirks—he carefully shifts his hands, causing the dragon to adjust its head mid-air.
Just two tenths of a second later, the beam redirects—and crashes into Auren.
The force nearly knocks him out on impact.
His shield is spinning wildly, barely holding up. It begins to destabilize, the smooth, round shield barely maintaining its form.
In a final gamble, Auren channels every last bit of his remaining aura into his legs, his Ren about to break down.
Just as the shield dissipates, the beam catches his chest—a moment of blinding pain, like being punched and burned all at once. Every nerve of his body screams in pain.
Barely conscious, he launches himself upward. The aura in his legs propels him high—over ten meters into the air, away from the blast and out of the dragon's path.
As he flies, he catches sight of Zeno lowering his arms and ceasing the attack. The dragon fades. Zeno doesn't attempt to adjust his aim again.
I guess that's the sign… it's over.
I used everything. Ten minutes and I'm out of aura. I lost—hard. And I think he was still holding back… but I learned a lot. That was fun.
Despite the throbbing pain in his body, Auren walks toward Zeno and gives a respectful bow. "Thank you… for going easy on me."
"Not bad at all!" Zeno says, genuinely pleased. "You really are a little monster. I had fun. And—" he rubs his injured shoulder with a lopsided smile "—you even managed to land a good one."
Silva approaches, arms crossed. "You held back, Pops. Why?"
"I just matched his aura. Of course, I wasn't going all out," Zeno says with a smirk. "But with what I've seen? He's already way beyond his flabby instructors."
"For your age, you're more than impressive," Silva adds. "But you've got a glaring weakness."
Auren frowns. "May I ask what you are referring to? I think I'm fairly balanced."
"Maybe too balanced," Silva replies. "Your real weakness is your body. You've clearly spent an endless amount of time perfecting your Nen. For someone your age, your control and skill are abnormal. Your swordsmanship, movement, and even your battle instincts are refined. But physically… you're underdeveloped. You've neglected basic training."
I guess… he's not wrong.
"How many gates did you open?" Silva asks with interest.
"Four," Auren answers.
Silva nods, as if expecting it. "Not bad. But you used aura, didn't you? Based on your dense aura output and how well you use both Emission and Transmutation, I can say with certainty—you're an incredibly gifted Enhancer. But that's the problem."
He continues, "Your Enhancement is being held back by your physical limits. Enhancement doesn't just multiply power. Without a strong body as a base, you can't harness that potential. You're only using a fraction of what you could."
"I see… I guess I got too caught up in techniques and weapons. I honed my fists—but neglected the rest."
"Your claw technique is exceptional," Zeno cuts in. "It's already at a level that impresses even me. Once you fix your physical limitations, you're already strong enough that you'll have to start searching for worthy enemies. I would charge at least 5 billion to assassinate someone of your skill. No wonder you're a Floor Master at twelve."
"The title is worthless," Auren mutters. "I only beat a coward who targeted rookies and threatened his challengers."
"Well, while we wait, you might want to train. I'll have one of the butlers show you to our training rooms. It's only five days, but we can bring some equipment aboard the airship, too. That gives you another week. Anyway, you'll be very useful in the mission. I'll factor that in," Zeno says.
"Thank you," Auren replies. "I'll start… tomorrow. My chest is killing me."
"Do as you please," Zeno says, walking off.
Silva stares a moment longer, then silently turns and follows.
As the two vanish into the mansion, a girl cautiously approaches.
Canary…
She stops a few steps away from him, clearly nervous.
"M—Master Auren… I've been assigned to take care of you. If you need anything… please tell me!"
Can I change butlers?
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