The entire hotel room is engulfed in a bright azure glow as Auren gently places his hands on Neffi's shoulders. His Aura spreads outward, wrapping around her before seeping into her body, gradually dyeing her own Aura with the same deep azure color.
Over the next few minutes, Neffi's scars begin to fade, shrinking at a pace visible to the eye.
Meanwhile, Neffi does her best to remain silent, but can't help but let out a few moans, obviously enjoying the feeling of her body rejuvenating itself, slowly returning to peak condition.
Satisfied with the results, Auren finally stops after five minutes. Neffi's scars are now barely noticeable.
"That should be enough for now," he says. "I'll get rid of the remaining scars in a year or two."
"Thank you," Neffi replies, her cheeks beet red as she tries to hide the obvious happiness on her face.
After a moment of silence, she looks up at him. "Can I stay?"
"...You can," Auren answers, a little surprised. "But there's another room available."
Neffi, clearly prepared for this response, quickly interjects, "You mentioned that your acquaintance will arrive soon, right? He'll need a room too, won't he?"
"... True. Anyway, it's fine. This isn't the first time we've shared a room," Auren says, remembering their days together back in Heaven's Arena.
After the treatment, the two of them sit side by side on the bed. Auren slips into Zetsu to recover the Aura he spent, while Neffi remains in Ten, meditating. Her Aura flows extremely calmly, but from time to time playfully flows around her, briefly showing slight irregular ripples here and there—tiny signs of her current happiness.
She can't really calm down. She is obviously happy... I'm glad.
When Auren feels his Aura returning, he finally lies back on the huge bed of his luxurious hotel room. Neffi continues her meditation for a while longer, her Ten still steady, before slowly lying down next to him. She inches closer and closer until she's pressed right against his side.
Without a word, she crawls into his arms and stays there quietly.
I'll indulge her... just this once. I suppose I owe her for leaving her alone these past weeks.
For the first time in years, Auren sleeps for a full eight hours. When he finally opens his eyes, he finds himself staring directly into Neffi's golden-brown ones.
Seeing that he's awake, Neffi blushes faintly but doesn't move away. Instead, she hugs him tightly, resting her head against his chest.
Auren raises a hand and gently pats her head, feeling the smooth strands of her black hair against his palm.
After a few quiet minutes, he finally says, "Let's get up. We've slept long enough."
With Neffi following behind him, Auren goes through his morning routine. After a quick shower, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed, he's ready to face the day.
Together, they rejoin the others, and the entire group heads down to the ground floor of the hotel to have breakfast in the restaurant.
Once finished, they make their way back to the airport and board Auren's new airship, which has been relocated to a more remote docking area, one they can use indefinitely as long as Auren keeps up with the fees.
Inside, Auren turns to the others. "For now, train a little on your own. I want to spend at least an hour or two teaching the basic breathing techniques to the twins, as well as your siblings, Eren."
He then focuses on Jean and Joanne, along with Eren's younger siblings. They train not in the gym, but in one of the empty rooms, as the breathing technique requires silence. Auren does his best to guide them through meditation as best as he can, briefly remembering how Lidor taught him and his other students many years ago. All four show signs of understanding—especially the twins, most likely thanks to their age.
If they keep at it, the twins should be able to unlock their Aura nodes in about two to three months. They are surprisingly talented! It's almost shocking. Eren's siblings are younger, so they'll probably need three or four months, maybe half a year. Still, that makes them quite talented. This isn't a competition or a race, though, so the actual time is not important. I'll stop teaching them entirely if they show signs of instability or if they make foolish decisions. Before I let them learn actual Nen knowledge, they'll also have to sign Hollow Blade's contract. I need to return there anyway—I still owe Bunu the restoration of his eye. I can't keep him waiting too much longer.
Later, Auren meets up with the others in the gym, the airship's best space for both Nen practice and physical training. He gives a brief demonstration of the fundamental exercises for Emission and Transmutation.
"That's something for later! For now, Vanessa and Eren practice Water Divination. You need the practice. It's the best exercise for beginners. Konrad, how about we focus on En, you said you wanted to learn, right?"
"Of course!" He says, with a smile, while Vanessa briefly glares at him, obviously jealous.
Suddenly, his phone buzzes. Auren pulls it out and checks the message.
It's from Goreinu: "I've just arrived in Swardani City. I'm at the airport. You never told me the exact location, so where should I go?"
"Looks like the help I requested finally arrived," Auren remarks to the others. Some of them look uncertain at the mention of the newcomer—except Konrad, of course, who already knows Goreinu.
Auren quickly types a reply, sending Goreinu the airship's current location at the remote airport hangar where it is stationed.
Just a few minutes later, Goreinu arrives, still looking like his usual self, and Auren greets him with a smile and a firm handshake.
"Good to see you again, Goreinu," he says, genuinely pleased with how things have turned out.
Goreinu is a genius Nen user. His Hatsu is absolutely astonishing and probably one of the most devastating Hatsus I know of. In truth, his Hatsu is so powerful, I believe with his help, I can take down absolutely anyone later down the line. If I train for half a decade, I am sure even Netero or the King, who won't be born for many years, could be in danger if I manage to surprise them. I haven't seen it in actual combat yet—I only recall it ever being used during a volleyball game where it frankly could only reveal a tiny hint of its true potential.
I need to build up trust with Goreinu... if he is willing to train with me, I believe we can become unstoppable.
Goreinu carefully inspects Auren. After only a brief glance, his eyes widen with surprise. "Auren. You look completely different! Not only did you grow a lot physically, but your Aura is even more terrifying. Just your Ten alone makes you seem like a monster!"
Auren smirks. "You haven't seen anything yet. Anyway, come inside... meet your new students."
A few moments later, in the gym, Auren stands next to his old acquaintance and makes the introductions. "This is Goreinu. He took the same Hunter Exam as me and Konrad. Only the two of us passed that year. These are Neffi, Konrad—whom you already know—Vanessa, his sister, and Eren."
"It's nice to meet you all," Goreinu says with a smile. "I'm a little surprised... you already seem like pretty decent Nen users. I guess I'll have to really work if I want to teach you anything useful."
Neffi crosses her arms, clearly unsure what to think of him, while Konrad steps forward and shakes his hand. Vanessa and Eren exchange a skeptical glance, but even they seem pleased to have another teacher around.
After a quick introduction, everyone displays their current level with the basics, switching between Ten, Zetsu, and Ren. Goreinu studies them carefully, then nods. "I see what needs to be done. I can definitely help polish your fundamentals. Except for you, Neffi, right? There's really nothing I could teach you."
Neffi tilts her head up, clearly satisfied with the compliment.
Silly girl... her personality changed a lot from when I first met her... or maybe it just returned to how she always was.
"Goreinu, there's actually someone else who needs training," Auren says.
"Who?" Goreinu asks, looking a little confused.
Auren steps forward. "Me."
"Haha," Goreinu chuckles. "You've got to be joking, Auren. If we sparred bare-handed, I'd be lucky to last a few minutes. With your devilish blade, I wouldn't even last a minute. How could I train you?"
Auren shakes his head and explains. "Listen. I've got a good grasp on Enhancement, Emission, Transmutation, and even Conjuration. I also know solid methods to train those affinities. But when it comes to Manipulation, I'm completely lost. I've come up with two small exercises, but I need an expert to guide me. Don't ask me how, but I figure you must be an Emitter or a Manipulator. Surely you can teach me a few things."
Goreinu glances at the others, then closes his eyes briefly. "I assume your students are trustworthy?"
"Of course," Auren answers immediately, without hesitation.
Goreinu nods, seemingly satisfied by the decisive response. "I'm a Manipulator, heavily leaning toward Emission. When it comes to Manipulation, I can teach you a lot. My Master was a Manipulator too, but he went down a different path, which allows me to teach you the two major basic styles of Manipulation. Still, I know most of the tricks and training techniques."
Perfect.
"However," Goreinu continues cautiously, "I've seen your fights in Heaven's Arena. You're obviously a Transmuter, or maybe an Enhancer. There's a small chance you're actually an Emitter, since you trained in Emission and handle that affinity well. If you're a Transmuter, forget Manipulation—it's too far removed from your natural affinity. You also already have a Hatsu, and coming up with a brand new Manipulation one would be the riskiest, dumbest thing you could do. If you're an Enhancer, it changes things slightly, but I'd still advise against it. If, by some chance, you're an Emitter, then Manipulation could add something entirely new to your fighting style."
He's quite perceptive.
"Don't worry about it. I don't plan on creating a full Manipulation Hatsu," Auren says with confidence. "I also have a few secrets. I've made up my mind—I want to learn Manipulation. I appreciate the warning, but I've thought it through—you can trust me on that."
"You said you've already trained with some exercises you learned by yourself? Can you show them to me?" Goreinu asks. "It's best to see at what level you're currently at. Worst case, you'll have to unlearn those self-taught tricks."
This is something completely new... Now comes the big reveal. Either my self-made training regime is a stroke of genius, or it's something I'll have to painfully unlearn. I'm getting more and more hyped. Time to show him what I've got!
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