POV: Kaelin
The air was humid, thick with the scent of salt, decaying kelp, and a profound, ancient loneliness.
This was the Sunken Archipelago, a volcanic chain swallowed and partially resurrected by the ocean—a perfect haven for criminals and strange, deep-sea Nen Beasts.
It felt like a deliberate mistake. Kaelin hated the pervasive dampness and the way Sullivan Prentiss Morteuxe seemed entirely unaffected by the overwhelming, ambient chaos.
Their B-Rank mission was a critical retrieval: locate and secure a stolen Bio-Engine Matrix—a specialized piece of technology from a rival Hunter organization. The thieves were rumored to be highly adaptive Manipulators who specialized in controlling the sea life around the islands.
Sullivan walked ahead, twelve years old but carrying the silent weight of a master tactician.
His movements were calculated, every step measured to avoid dampening the Nen flow he was currently directing through the King Engine.
He was preparing for the deep-sea-influenced environment, prioritizing awareness and evasion.
Kaelin knew his primary goal was simple: Anticipation. To achieve this, he had made a high-risk internal commitment—a high-alert Evasion/Awareness Bias.
His Aura was ruthlessly divided into the necessary components:
His Mind attribute held a solid 10\% for continuous tactical planning, but the majority of his focus was on survival. He allocated 35\% to Perception for tracking subtle environmental shifts and the deep-sea Manipulator's Aura residue, and 25\% to Reflex to ensure his body could respond faster than any command. He reserved 10\% for Defense to handle minor impacts, and the remaining 20\% was split equally between Speed, Strength, Instinct, and Focus, each holding a nominal 5\%.
He is treating the whole island as an ambush, Kaelin realized, stepping carefully over a patch of slick volcanic glass. He is sacrificing brute force for the ability to preemptively neutralize the unknown variable. It is the perfect cold-blooded calculus.
A cold wave of fear washed over the admiration. I'm still terrified of his control. Not of his power, but of the moment he loses it. His relentless suppression of the 70\% Instinct breach was a ghost that haunted their partnership, reminding them of the chaos he contained.
Suddenly, the ground began to writhe. Not with natural life, but with a sudden, impossible acceleration. Thick, heavy kelp ropes, which moments ago were still, suddenly shot forward with the speed of thrown lances, aiming directly for their throats. This was the work of the Manipulators.
Kaelin felt her body lag—the sudden shift in tempo was too fast.
Sullivan, however, was already in motion. His boosted 35\% Perception tracked the unnatural Aura signatures guiding the kelp, and his 25\% Reflex executed the counter-move before the thought formed.
"Kaelin, low!"
He didn't need to push her. He executed a perfect, instantaneous pivot—a half-step that wasn't about speed, but about pure, micro-trajectory adjustment—and swept the kelp ropes past his body by a hair's width.
He was untouchable, yet totally exposed if a second, stronger attack followed.
They scrambled back into the cover of a decaying concrete bunker. The jungle of kelp continued to whip and lash, controlled by an unseen force.
Sullivan's voice was utterly calm, cutting through the chaos like a laser. "Three Manipulators. One primary anchor, two flanking supports.
They are using the kelp to draw our attention, preparing for a secondary attack using water pressure. Kaelin, target the primary signature. I need a diversion."
He initiated a rapid King Engine Shift. This situation required offensive disruption, not just avoidance. He stripped 15\% from Perception and 10\% from Reflex, adding the 25\% to his Mind attribute.
His new allocation was: Mind 35\%, Perception 20\%, Reflex 15\%.
The mental shift was instant. He felt his awareness of the external world dim slightly, but his internal processing speed surged. The time for seeing is over. The time for acting begins.
He spoke again, his voice now carrying the cold, flat tone of a commander. "Diversion: use the volcanic glass. The kelp is too damp and tough. I will use the Mind attribute to disrupt their focus."
Sullivan stepped out of cover, completely exposed. The three Manipulators immediately converged the kelp lances on his position.
He did not use Psychokinesis.
He used a highly refined application of his Mind attribute's base function: Mental Simulation. He simulated the perfect, necessary distraction.
He projected his 35\% Mind power outward, creating a momentary, paralyzing spike of disinformation—a calculated mental blast designed not to harm, but to utterly confuse the three Manipulators' shared focus.
The Manipulators paused—a fraction of a second of internal argument. The kelp paused mid-strike.
Kaelin, recognizing the opening, sprinted out. She didn't use her knife on the kelp; she used it on the nearby pile of volcanic glass, carving a precise, deep furrow in the stone floor, spraying fine, dark dust into the air directly toward the Manipulators' presumed positions.
The distraction worked.
The dust contaminated their focus, forcing them to break their Manipulator connection to sneeze or shield their eyes.
Sullivan was on the closest one instantly, not with strength, but with a lightning-fast, Nen-infused pinch to a critical nerve cluster. The Manipulator went down, convulsing, his control over the kelp shattered.
"We proceed," Sullivan stated, adjusting his collar, his eyes already seeking the next variable. "Two remaining. We have gained three minutes."
The cost of that trust was his momentary vulnerability, Kaelin realized, her hands trembling with exertion and the fading residual fear. He sacrificed his own physical safety for a fraction of a second of mental advantage.
Their reliance on each other was total. Their alliance was built entirely on the King Engine's logic: Sacrifice the self to control the system.