Chapter 10: Total Aura
If all goes according to plan, Kai's training in Hatsu would focus on Manipulation as his main, with Emission as his secondary.
Specialization was a lost cause, barring some kind of miracle.
The energy he saved from not being able to train in that category could be diverted to Enhancement.
Even though he would only get 60% efficiency in Enhancement—and it would be much harder for him than for a natural Enhancer—it was better than letting that "slot" go to waste.
And so, Kai trained. He would practice his Ten, enveloping his body in Aura. Then, he'd practice Zetsu, sealing all his Aura nodes. He drilled the two, back and forth, building his proficiency. Since that seemed easy enough, he also started practicing Gyo.
Gyo wasn't one of the Four Major Principles, but an advanced application. It was the technique of focusing Aura in a specific body part.
Focusing Aura in his eyes—Gyo—allowed him to physically see Aura.
Kai found this wasn't too difficult, either. In less than a minute, he could use it freely, his "Nen-vision" active. He looked down and could clearly see the thin, white film of energy covering his own body. When he looked into the forest, his vision was sharper. He glanced at Butch, who was over ten meters away, and he could see every individual strand of his moon-white fur.
After about thirty minutes of this, Kai decided to move on to Ren, or, more accurately, Ken.
He took a deep breath, opened all his Aura nodes, and expelled his energy at maximum output. This was Ren.
Maintaining that state is Ken.
Kai gritted his teeth, holding it.
All these terms seemed complicated, but the essence was simple: they were all just different ways to use Aura.
A normal person's body is fragile. Even a highly trained assassin or martial artist is nothing compared to a Nen user. Just the simple application of Aura can multiply a person's attack and defense by tens, or even hundreds of times. This was the chasm between mortals and superhumans.
Ten was the "entry-level" defense. It was like a steady jog; you could maintain it for a long time, and a master could keep it active 24/7.
Ken was the "maxed-out" version of Ten. It was an all-out sprint, and incredibly difficult to maintain.
According to Biscuit, the Shingen-Ryu master, in a real Nen battle, you had to be able to maintain Ken for at least 30 minutes. Anything less, and you were guaranteed to lose.
Kai's Song of the Earth was an "instant-win" ability. But if an enemy was using Ken, and Kai couldn't break their defense to plant his Star Marker, he was useless. If that same enemy got close and hit him with a Ken-powered punch, it wouldn't matter how "hax" his ability was. He'd be dead.
The fundamentals were everything.
It wasn't just about having a high "stat." It was about not being pathetically weak.
Speaking of stats, Aura could be quantified.
A member of the Hunter Association had once calculated that when maintaining Ken (full combat readiness), a user expends about 1 point of Aura per second.
This was the standard. You could measure your total Aura by seeing how long you could maintain Ken.
He remembered the stats from the Greed Island arc. Before Biscuit's "hell training," Killua's total Aura was about 3,300 (he could last 55 minutes), and Gon's was slightly less. After that month of training, Gon's total Aura had skyrocketed to 21,500. In theory, he could maintain Ken for almost six hours straight.
By that logic, Biscuit's "bare minimum" of 30 minutes meant a total Aura pool of 1,800.
If you were below that, you were in danger. An opponent with a deeper Aura pool could just wear you down and kill you, even if their Hatsu was weaker. After Gon and Killua hit ~3,000 Aura, they were considered high-level players on Greed Island. They could wander the real world safely... as long as they didn't run into the Phantom Troupe, Hisoka, or the Chimera Ants.
"Damn..."
Kai maintained his Ken, counting in his head. When he hit 60 seconds, his Aura began to flicker like a dying lightbulb.
At 70 seconds, he was covered in sweat, and his Aura was shrinking back toward his body.
At 80, his muscles were screaming, and his Ken was barely a film of Ten.
"Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine..."
Kai was drenched, his limbs shaking. His Aura sputtered... and died.
"One hundred!"
Thump. He collapsed on the ground.
"Hah... hah..." he panted, completely spent. "So... my total Aura... is only 100."
He recalled Gon's stats. When Gon's total Aura (P.O.P.) was 21,500, his max output for Ken (M.O.P.) was 1,800—about 1/12th of his total. That made sense. It was a biological failsafe. Even the most athletic person in the world can't expend all their stamina in a single sprint.
That meant his own Ken output was only about 8-9 Aura per second.
And since he was a Manipulator, with only 60% efficiency in Enhancement, his 8-9 Aura Ken only had the defensive power of about 4.8-5.4.
"Man, I'm weak."
He lay on the ground, and a giant, furry head suddenly blocked his view of the sky. Butch nudged him, checking to see if he was dead.
"You think I'm a goner?" Kai laughed, weakly scratching the tiger's chin. "Just... resting."
He lay there for a full ten minutes before he had the strength to sit up.
"Even with the Star Marker's healing, it takes ten minutes to recover," he muttered. "If I didn't have it, how long would a two-minute drill take to recover from? I'd kill for Bisky to be here. Her 'Magical Spa Services' ability is the ultimate training hack."
His Star Marker was for healing wounds; the stamina recovery was just a side effect. Biscuit's ability was designed for it.
"Alright. First goal: get my total Aura to 1,000."
Kai took a deep breath, and once again, unleashed his Ren, forcing it into Ken. He was back to training.
Meanwhile, far to the north, in the royal palace of the Kakin Kingdom.
First Prince Benjamin Hui Guo Rou stared at his palm. Overnight, a new mark had appeared.
A five-pointed star.
It meant that Muser was dead.
After a long silence, he picked up the phone. "Send in Babimaina."
(End of Chapter)