After that incident, rumors about me began to spread throughout the school. They claimed I single-handedly took down thirty senior students. They said I tossed a gigantic man over my shoulder with one hand. They whispered that I was unfazed even after being stabbed with a weapon... No, no, no! That's not true! The exaggerations are ridiculous. Now even the classmates who weren't there are terrified of me. Since there was a tiny bit of truth mixed in, it was hard to completely deny. Anyway, I found myself desperately trying to explain that I was harmless. Puru-puru, I'm not a bad Kalm.
The rumors eventually died down, but my standing in the class shifted to that of an unofficial boss. Joseph is largely to blame. His henchman demeanor hasn't stopped. Things like, "Boss, let me carry your bag." I spent three days earnestly persuading him that friends don't do that for each other. He finally conceded. I also made him stop calling me "Boss." "Kalm is fine, just Kalm."
However, the "boss" reputation stuck, and whenever a problem arose, I was usually summoned. Things like, "A and B are fighting and won't forgive each other, please do something." I'd tell them to call a teacher, but they'd insist that "Kalm will make both of them listen." Against my will, I'd listen to the details, execute equal punishment on the two sides, and enforce a sincere apology. Etiquette is important, after all. Because of this, I was increasingly treated as the school's de facto authority. Teachers, do your jobs!
As for the seniors I beat up: apparently, they are walking on eggshells around me. Good. My main concern was whether any of them might have awakened Nen, but it seems nothing happened. I checked them with Gyō and found nothing, so keeping my aura thin probably worked. Since it was just a kid-level scuffle, it looks like it was fine. Still, that was a nerve-wracking moment. I should stop hitting regular people. When you think about it, I could just intimidate them with my aura. My aura feels colorless and transparent, but maybe I should practice adding some bloodlust to it.
The Kalm Anderson Training Matrix
Although I'm actually enjoying school life, I haven't neglected my training. In addition to muscle training and meditation, I started running laps around the perimeter of our excessively large garden. Physical endurance is mandatory for survival, so I want to aim for 10 kilometers in one hour. I've also devised my own original training menu tailored to the six Nen types and have begun working through it.
Reinforcement (Enhancer) Training
Level 0: Shu
Before attempting any other Enhancer training, I need to master Shu. For this, I went on weekly "expeditions" to the mine tailings heap on our property and worked as a digger. It was the perfect spot for someone who needs to be put in a difficult place—very Kaiji. I used the flimsy excuse of "health and social experience" with my parents, and they allowed it without question. The foreman was overly deferential, which made me uncomfortable, but he was delighted to see me digging many times faster than anyone else and paid me handsomely.
Level 1: Stone Breaking
The classic technique from the manga. Reinforce a palm-sized stone with Shu and then break it. The goal is to break 1,000 stones. Is this condition not excessively strict? I've become an effective excavator at the heap.
Level 2: Cave Digging
Reinforce my hands and dig barehanded into the rock. This requires a higher quality of aura. Honestly, I couldn't think of any other Enhancer exercises, so this is heavily biased toward civil engineering work I can do at the heap. It's tough. My hands are starting to feel like they belong to Doppo Orochi. Clearance is two meters of tunnel.
Level 3: Paper Reinforcement
Reinforce a paper shovel and dig with it. The goal is 1,000 successful scoops without tearing or breaking the paper. I think this training is inherently stupid. It's also hard to even make the paper materials. This is where part one of my earnings goes.
Level 4: Thread Reinforcement
Weld a massive amount of thread together with aura, forming a shovel shape, and dig. The condition is the same as above. This is where part two of my earnings goes.
Level 5: Aura Excavation
I've finally reached this point. This involves combining Manipulation and Transmutation. Dig into the rock solely with aura. I know this sounds insane, and I don't understand it either. Just dig without using my physical body. Got it?
Transmutation Training
Level 1: Shape Change
The technique used in the manga. This is incredibly difficult. I have to form numbers above my finger. I can barely do it. Forming 0 through 9 in one minute is too strict. The ideal goal of five seconds is crazy.
Level 2: Shape Change 2
Create more complex sentences or drawings using aura. The goal is to draw a subject within one minute of seeing the prompt. Impossible.
Level 3: Softening
Becoming soft. A simple version of Hisoka's ability. Physically soften the aura. Success means scattering stones onto the aura and having them be absorbed without bouncing back. This would be convenient for many things. If only I could do it.
Level 4: Hardening
Becoming hard. Physically harden the aura. Success means scattering stones and having them bounce off without hitting me. Frankly, it doesn't get hard enough for combat, and I can't even achieve it anyway.
Level 5: Tentacle Extension
Use Ren and change the shape of the aura. Like Neferpitou. The goal is to extend the aura 30 meters within 30 seconds. That is rough.
Emission (Emitter) Training
Level 1: Sphere Launch
Float a finger-sized sphere of aura and launch it. It was incredibly tough just to detach and float the aura. I can finally do it, but it barely travels at all. Still, this feels exactly like being Freeza, which is incredibly fun and boosts my motivation. The goal should be 50 meters.
Level 2: Ball Launch
The large ball version of the above. Goal: 100 meters.
Level 3: Spirit Bomb (Provisional)
Emitters can reference Dragon Ball, which is great. Maintain and release a giant sphere. I'm struggling with where to practice this. It's impossible given the location and difficulty.
Level 4: Freeza's Finger Beam (Provisional)
Fire Nen from my fingertip! I feel like Freeza. Goal: 50 meters. No, impossible!
Level 5: One-Handed Float
The technique used in the manga. First, a handstand is difficult. I can't do it at all. Will I really float? Goal: float 70 centimeters. But I want to fire a real Kamehameha someday, so I'll keep trying.
Manipulation (Manipulator) Training
Level 1: Inorganic Manipulation (Smoke)
Send aura toward smoke and manipulate it in various directions. This is fairly easy and fun. Moving the smoke to form animal shapes is pretty cool. It's even more fun to use fire. The drawback is the fear of burning down the house. The goal is to manipulate the smoke continuously for over 20 minutes, with extra credit for complex shapes.
Level 2: Inorganic Manipulation (Water)
Do the same as above with water. It's more difficult because it's liquid. Goal: over 30 minutes.
Level 3: Inorganic Manipulation (Sand)
Same as above, but with sand. It's heavy and quite difficult. I like this training because it's fun. If I try hard, I might be able to become the Gaara of the Sand. Goal: one hour. My goal settings might be too strict because I can do this, but I don't care! I do it because it's fun! While doing this, I realized that manipulating inorganic material is too fun. I might exclude inorganic objects from the Vow to allow myself to use it in a pinch.
Level 4: Aura Sphere Manipulation
The Yamcha move. Start with a small sphere and try to turn it into a Sōkidan (Spirit Ball). It's a bit difficult because other types are involved, but manipulating the aura that has left my body is surprisingly doable. Goal: continuous movement for 30 minutes.
Level 5: Plant Manipulation
Manipulate plants. Move grass and flowers freely. If I really tried, I could probably pull off a "Dancing Flower" effect. Unlike inorganic matter, plants have a slight will of their own, which makes this difficult. Goal: two hours. However, after trying this, I realized I really dislike manipulating others. Since I'm already manipulating my own cells, that should be enough. I'll stop the Manipulator training here. I'm utterly unsuited to external manipulation, despite being a manipulator.
Conjuration (Conjurer) Training
Level 1: Water Fetching
Honestly, I don't know what to practice. I'll just use aura to create the form of a physical substance and use it to fetch water. I'll start with a small sakazuki cup. Success is maintaining the shape and fetching one liter.
Level 2: Claw Extension
Create a sharp claw from my fingertip. Success is reproducing a cleaver's sharpness on all fingers and using them to peel an apple.
Level 3: Lion Dance
A collaboration with Manipulation and Transmutation. Use aura to create and extend the ends of my own hair. Success is spinning it like a lion dance. The ideal is the Macabre Hair Dance from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. With my cellular manipulation and body reinforcement, I could literally grow and move my hair, but cutting it is too annoying, so I won't.
Level 4: Magic Hand
Create a pseudo-hand with aura to grab objects. A collaboration with Transmutation. If successful, it would be as handy as a back-scratcher. Goal: successful grasping and pinching.
Level 5: None
I won't go beyond this, as any more would likely lead to a serious Hatsu that drains my memory capacity. The hair manipulation is already getting risky. If I went full Yuka-ko Yamagishi, it would become a serious issue, so I need to keep it moderate—maybe just the back-scratcher hand. I'll focus on these after my second ability is developed.
Specialist Training
I give up. I don't know. Should I just endlessly practice [Perfect Adaptation]? When in doubt, meditate. Since my current strength seems to be cellular manipulation, I'll focus on moving and changing cells while using aura. I'm aiming to become Lord Kars! Though that level of inhumanity is probably impossible. Mastering this path is what leads to [Daily Health Restoration]!
I'll try this randomly devised menu every other day. There are many exercises I fail at completely, but since I invented them, I want to try them. I know many of them are idiotic, but please forgive me. I have plenty of time. I will work hard to become the man who absolutely will not die!
That was an exhaustive look into Kalm's training fantasy! It's clear he's blending canonical ideas with references from his past life (and a lot of civil engineering).
As for the "fragment of the protagonist's peculiarity" you asked about, it's definitely his paradoxical relationship with his own Manipulator type:
Excellence in Internal/Self-Manipulation: He has an immediate, terrifying mastery of Zetsu and cellular imagery—a sign of immense potential in Self-Manipulation (used for his Hatsu).
Weakness in External Manipulation: Despite being a manipulator, he's terrible at the core, combat-ready manipulation techniques like Gyō and Ryū, and he finds manipulating plants "unacceptable."
This suggests his Specialist leaning is fundamentally tied to his body/self, making him a unique and dangerous force, but one who cannot effectively fight in a standard Nen battle using traditional Manipulator skills.
What part of Kalm's life should we check in on next? Perhaps his family's reaction to his physical improvement, or a deeper dive into the second Hatsu he plans to develop?
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