Take the Kakin princes in the manga, Liam continued. Most of them, especially that creepy Fourth Prince, have never even heard of Nen despite sitting at the top of the power structure.
For high-ranking people in this world, it's enough to have someone who understands this stuff. Understanding it yourself is a bonus. Makes you stronger, sure. But if you don't? You can hire professionals. That's literally what the Hunter Association is for.
They talked through the night like that. One on the western side of the continent, one on the east. Moon Mark keeping them connected across thousands of kilometers. Topics drifted from Pariston to Nen theory, from Nen users to the books Shizuku read. When they got to discussing her code name "Dora," Liam even told her a few Doraemon plot summaries off the top of his head.
Before either of them realized it, the night had deepened into true darkness.
[Time to sleep,] Liam sent, lying flat on the bed. [Good night.]
[Remember to practice daily...]
The Moon Mark's presence cut off abruptly. Communication terminated.
Liam lay alone on the small hotel bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a while. Then he closed his eyes and dropped into sleep.
Liam opened his eyes to daylight.
Morning noise filtered through the window facing the street. Vehicles. Pedestrians. The hum of a city waking up.
He sat up, crossed his legs on the bed, and rubbed his face. Then, almost instinctively, he activated Ren.
Nine thousand aura exploded outward from his body in a radial burst, then retracted just as quickly.
Liam gripped the edge of the bed and flipped himself into the air. The moment his bare feet would've hit the floor, concentrated aura shot out from his soles, pushing him back up three feet. He stumbled forward toward the bathroom, hovering.
Still need to work on the landing, he thought.
He turned on the faucet and started brushing his teeth. As his fingers passed through the water, a single droplet got wrapped in a sphere of aura like a bubble. Inside the sphere, the water flowed and twisted, forming the shape of a pentagram.
While Liam washed his face, more bubbles kept forming. Each one pulled moisture from the wet towel, wrapped it in aura, shaped it into a five-pointed star pattern. Within seconds, dozens of Flying Star Bubbles floated around him like a swarm of soap bubbles.
Liam tossed the towel aside and leaned against the sink, studying his reflection. He raised one hand, fingers moving in small gestures, and the bubbles danced in response.
After practicing for a few more minutes, Liam flicked his wrist casually.
POP POP POP POP!
All the Flying Star Bubbles shot forward and splattered against the mirror, leaving behind rose-gold pentagram marks across the surface.
Liam turned to leave, then stopped. "Wait. Can the Star Mark be placed on objects?"
He focused on the cluster of marks on the mirror and tried activating them.
The connection formed immediately, but something was different.
I can "control" the mirror through the marks. But unlike with animals or people, the mirror has no aura of its own to manipulate.
If Liam wanted to move the mirror, he'd have to use the Star Mark as an anchor point and inject his own aura remotely. Which was technically possible, but...
That's just my baseline ability. I've always been able to wrap objects in aura and move them. Blood, hair, water droplets, thread. The Star Mark doesn't change that. It's just another application of the same core principle.
The difference was efficiency. A single strand of hair cost barely any aura to control. The mirror, with its size and mass, would burn dozens or hundreds of times more aura for the same movement.
"So my ability really is a unified system," Liam muttered, reaching out to wipe the mirror clean. The rose-gold stars disappeared wherever his palm touched. "The core is Manipulation. The Star Mark is just one manifestation."
He glanced down at Ring A on his finger, then shrugged and headed back into the room.
Not much to pack. Most of his clothes were stored in Shizuku's Blinky anyway.
After checking out, Liam went shopping. Travel backpack. A few changes of clothes. Then he made his way to the city's train station and bought a ticket to the Dentora region, where Kukuroo Mountain was located.
Boarding in thirty minutes. Expected travel time: one hour and forty minutes.
Liam sat in the waiting area, watching the morning crowd filter through the station. Idly, he raised his left hand and stroked Ring A with his thumb.
He focused on the Moon Mark inside.
Nothing.
He couldn't sense the other Moon Mark. The one on Shizuku's Ring B.
Liam frowned, sat up straighter, and concentrated harder.
I can feel my own Moon Mark clearly. That's normal. It's my ability. But I can't detect Shizuku's at all.
When they'd been communicating last night, the connection had been crystal clear. Strong. Stable.
"Too far away?" he muttered.
But even as he said it, his subconscious was already feeding him the real answer.
Liam looked up at the morning sunlight streaming through the station's windows. "No. The Moon Mark only has maximum range at night. Damn it. I got influenced by Lumos's biology, didn't I? Misery Moon Tigers only glow after dark."
If that pattern holds, Liam thought, and I ever develop a third mark, a "Sun Mark" or whatever, it'll probably be the opposite. Best effect in broad daylight.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Shizuku's number from memory.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Busy signal.
"Beep... beep..."
Liam was about to try again when something coughed in his mind.
Not a sound. A sensation. Like a hiccup in his consciousness.
He raised his eyebrows and looked east.
A Star Mark just activated. Far away.
The train bound for Kukuroo Mountain pulled into the station with a gust of wind and the screech of brakes.
Through the suddenly active Star Mark thousands of kilometers to the east, Liam projected his consciousness across the distance. He switched to first-person control mode.
And saw "himself" standing by a sink, using a fruit knife to cut a shallow line across "his" palm.
The wound wasn't deep. Just enough to draw blood. Pain spiked through the connection, clear and immediate. A thin line of red welled up, dripped into the sink, and merged with the water spiraling down the drain.
That wound triggered the Star Mark's healing function.
Liam sighed internally and looked up at the mirror.
Shizuku's face stared back at him.
He released partial control, letting her consciousness surface enough to communicate.
Liam, your Moon Mark doesn't seem to work during the day...
"Yeah," Liam said through Shizuku's mouth. "I just figured that out."
I called you. Your line was busy.
"Liam—Shizuku" looked down at the wound on her palm, watching it heal visibly, flesh knitting back together in seconds. "Because I was calling you at the same time."
A pause. Then: Oh.
"Shizuku" flexed her restored palm, then sighed. "Are you stupid? Why did you cut your own hand? You have three birds right there. Just use them!"
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