Kurapika didn't know what Smith had done to him. He only knew that suddenly, he'd lost control of his body.
His body was moving. But not by his own will.
Only his eyes remained his own. Barely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see anything at all.
He immediately understood what Smith had meant by "you must trust me completely."
Is this Smith's special ability?
"Your body is now under my control. And of course, I know how to use aura. Which means after being controlled by me, your body is ready to formally learn Nen."
Liam raised his hand. Kurapika's hand on the opposite side also rose uncontrollably.
Liam moved his fingers. Kurapika's hands formed a set of strange hand seals.
Liam smiled. "That's basically it. The aura nodes on your body should be opened slightly now, but the ones around your eyes aren't quite there yet. To completely open all the aura nodes throughout your body, I need to push a little harder." He raised his palm. Shizuku could feel him gathering a small amount of aura there.
"Normally speaking, forcibly opening someone's aura nodes through an aura impact will cause their aura to drain rapidly. You must learn the trick to retain that aura as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you'll just die." Liam paused. "This is also my first time doing this. I'm not sure how to control the strength so I don't kill you with one palm."
As he spoke, he struck Kurapika's chest with his palm.
The impact exploded inside Kurapika like a violent storm, forcibly tearing open all the aura nodes in his body in an instant.
Kurapika's eyes trembled. He saw it!
The intense white glow around Smith's body. That was aura?
And Shizuku—the aura around her body was also obvious now.
Kurapika felt a mass of liquid that seemed weightless surging around him. This "liquid" that flowed wildly quickly stopped rioting. It gradually gathered around his body and became still.
"I'll temporarily control your body to make sure you're safe." Liam clapped his hands. Kurapika had successfully entered Ten. It was obvious his eye nodes were open—he could already see aura. Liam nodded with satisfaction. "First operation. Not bad results."
Bro, can this risk-free Nen initiation skill be considered a unique technique?
Kurapika couldn't move. He could only stare straight at Smith.
Liam raised his hand. "Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time. Haha." He told a joke no one else could understand and pointed at the rose-gold pentagram on Kurapika's forehead.
The star immediately vanished.
Kurapika instantly regained control of his body.
But the aura inside him that had been as stable as still water immediately became unstable. Kurapika's current Ten level couldn't be called top-notch. It could only be called half-incompetent.
"Don't panic. Try to stabilize it." Liam reminded him. "Close your eyes. Imagine the aura is blood flowing throughout your body. Integrating on the body surface like a layer of... uh, amniotic fluid? Anyway, something like that. Just do it."
Kurapika's talent was quite good. And with Liam's guidance and the fact he wasn't in danger of dying from aura depletion, after trying with held breath for ten minutes, Kurapika could rely on his own will to stably wrap aura all over his body.
He opened his eyes, exhaled lightly, and murmured, "Is this aura? Is this Nen? Such incredible power."
"Where is this going?" Liam said. "The four basic skills of Nen are Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. What you have now is just Ten. You need to practice maintaining this state. After you get used to it, you can use Ten while walking, sitting, lying down, or even sleeping."
Kurapika asked, "Can I also learn the special ability you used to control me?"
Liam said, "That's in the realm of Hatsu. First get used to Ten. Then learn Zetsu and Ren. Then Hatsu. That's the most orthodox and stable learning progression. When we reach the stage of Hatsu, we'll talk about abilities and things about the Phantom Troupe. Sound good?"
"I understand." Kurapika closed his eyes and prepared to continue practicing Ten.
"What do you understand? This is a hotel room. If you want to practice, go home." Liam said. "Where do you live?"
Kurapika gave his temporary residence address. He'd once reached the 120th floor of Heavens Arena. After reaching the 100th floor, winning a match earned over 1 million Jenny in bonuses, with no deductions for losing. So although he was alone, he wasn't struggling too much.
Liam also told him the location of the hotel where he and Shizuku were staying. They made arrangements for a place where they'd meet and communicate daily.
"You won your match on the 90th floor this morning, so you can move up to the 100th floor, right?" Kurapika asked, confused. "When you reach the 100th floor, you get a separate personal room. There's no need to live outside anymore."
Liam said, "The killing at Heavens Arena is too heavy. This poor monk doesn't like it."
Kurapika didn't know what to say.
Finally, he said seriously, "I'll retell the book as soon as possible and restore the original text as much as I can."
Liam smiled. "It's fine. Write slowly. It's still early for us to go to the Dark Continent anyway. If we go without sufficient strength, we'll just die in vain."
"Anyway, that's it. Let's stop here." Liam and Shizuku stood up. Before leaving the room, he said earnestly, "I hope you can complete the basic training as soon as possible and develop your unique Nen ability."
Dowsing Chain!
When it came to Kurapika's Nen ability, the one Liam coveted most was undoubtedly this one.
In the manga, Kurapika's Nen ability consisted of five chains on his five fingers. Each chain had different abilities and effects.
And this middle finger Dowsing Chain was the most commonly used. The effect was extremely outrageous. To sum it up simply: Sequence 9, Fortune Teller!
Although that was an exaggeration, it wasn't far off.
With a map, you could hang the chain and perform divination and search for people on the spot. Could you believe it?
If others lied in front of his Dowsing Chain, the chain would move. A universal lie detector. Dare you to believe it?
Not to mention the ability of Kurapika's pinky chain—the Chain of Judgment!
Wrap a chain around your heart and directly impose an unfair contract, like "You're not allowed to use Nen anymore." Once violated, the target's heart would be pierced by the Chain of Judgment and they'd die.
Could you believe that?
Wasn't that shameless?
It would be very satisfying if Liam could indirectly acquire such a shameless ability and let Kurapika serve as a tool to help with divination and fortune-telling.
Now a new item was about to be produced from Kurapika: the suspected manuscript of Don Freecss's Dark Continent travel notes. It could be said this was a fruitful and worthwhile trip.
________________________________________
On the way back, Shizuku, who'd been quiet the entire time, suddenly said, "Liam, can you use that method to open Nen for Lumos and Jaku?"
"Maybe," Liam said. "But animals have limited intelligence. It's difficult for them to train deeply even if they open their Nen. You want me to help them practice? There's no need."
If he had that energy, he might as well practice more seriously to deepen his own abilities.
Even for humans, it was hard to say they'd definitely achieve anything in the world of Nen. Let alone animals?
"Liam seemed very certain that person would definitely agree to join," Shizuku asked curiously. "Why?"
Liam said, "Didn't you say he was 'kind-hearted' and soft?" He paused. "Maybe it should be said he has a relatively high sense of morality. Even a bit of a moral cleanliness obsession. Faced with the enemy who exterminated his clan, he's unwilling to retaliate with blood for blood. If someone like that gets help from me for no reason and has his Nen awakened, I don't even have to force him. He'll have an uneasy conscience and feel terrible about it."
In the manga, the Hunter Association sent teachers to instruct Nen. That was a task assigned by the Association. As a member, it was reasonable for Kurapika to enjoy some benefits. Nothing to feel sorry about.
But Liam's situation was different this time. They weren't familiar with each other. He was giving such a huge benefit. How dare Kurapika just accept it?
It could be said Liam was convinced Kurapika couldn't resist the temptation of Nen. So it was a sure thing the other party would fall into his pocket.
The fortune teller was in hand.
________________________________________
The next day. The 100th floor of Heavens Arena.
Liam and Shizuku did have their own personal rooms now. But neither had any intention of moving in.
"See you on the 110th floor." Liam smiled and high-fived Shizuku.