A raisin-sized ball of aura floated above Liam's index finger.
Tiny. Pathetic. But there.
Ten, Zetsu, and Gyo had come easily. Muscle memory built in minutes. Natural talent or beginner's luck or some cosmic joke—didn't matter. He could do them.
Emission, though?
Emission was suffering.
Ten minutes of concentration just to produce this sad little grape of concentrated aura. And he was Manipulation-type, which meant his Emission cap was 80% efficiency. Good by most standards. Terrible when you were trying to shoot laser beams.
This is what the efficiency curve feels like. Welcome to diminishing returns, population: me.
Liam flicked his finger at a tree ten meters away.
The aura-ball wobbled through the air like a drunk mosquito. Traveled maybe eight meters before fizzing out of existence.
"Pathetic."
He tried again. And again. Half an hour of attempts. Slowly, painfully, the raisin became a grape. Marginally more substantial. Marginally less embarrassing.
Liam held the grape-sized aura-ball on his fingertip. Stared at it.
Restrictions and vows. The power multiplier.
In HxH, Nen abilities got stronger through self-imposed limitations. The stricter the restriction, the greater the power boost. It was cosmic contract law: sacrifice convenience for strength.
Gon's "Jajanken" required him to stand still, charge up, and shout the attack name like an idiot. Inefficient. Telegraphed. Tactically stupid.
Also: hit like a freight train because the restrictions boosted output by multiplicative factors.
Restrictions turn addition into multiplication. Math exploits for magic.
Liam adjusted his grip. Thumb over index finger. The aura-ball settled into the gap like a bullet in a slingshot.
Restriction one: specific finger positioning. Thumb-and-index only.
He aimed at the tree. Held the pose.
Restriction two: charge time. Minimum three seconds.
One. Two. Three.
SNAP.
The aura-bullet exploded forward. Crossed twenty meters in a blink. CRACK. Slammed into the tree trunk.
A palm-sized crater appeared. Bark shattered. Wood splintered. At the center: a perfectly round hole punched clean through.
Holy shit.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Liam grinned like a maniac. "Restrictions work! Physics is a suggestion! I have a FINGER GUN—no SPIRIT GUN!"
And it only costs 20% power because I'm not Emission-type. 80% efficiency means I'm doing damage at 0.8x multiplier.
Still a Spirit Gun, and now all he need to do is slick his hair back and wear green, and maybe he can get a plot armor by being another Togashi main character.
He formed another Spirit Gun. Faster this time. Only one second of charge—less restriction, less power—and flicked it at a leaf on a branch.
Snap.
The leaf exploded off its stem. Fluttered to the ground.
"Isn't this just a matter of having hands?" Liam laughed. "Nen development is easy. I'm basically a prodigy."
Then his knees buckled. His aura reserves hit empty. The world tilted.
Oh. Right. I have 100 total aura and I just burned through 90% of it showing off.
I'm not a prodigy. I'm an idiot.
Liam dropped to the ground. Lay flat. Stared at leaves and sky.
While he recovered, he plucked a hair. Wrapped it in the dregs of his remaining aura. Used Shepherd's Song to manipulate it.
The hair floated. Danced. Up, down, left, right. Sudden stops. Quick retreats.
Transmutation—changing aura's shape and properties—is my opposite type. 40% efficiency. Garbage tier.
But Manipulation? 100% efficiency. I can twist this hair into any shape I want. Pentagrams. Crescents. Little dancing stick figures.
No lag. No resistance. Perfect control.
The hair folded into a star. Then a crescent. Then a tiny humanoid doing a jig.
This is my wheelhouse. This is where I'm actually good.
His stomach growled. Loud enough to scare birds.
Liam grabbed food from Lumos's supply saddlebags. Dry bread. Compressed biscuits. Water. Gourmet dining.
"Lumos, you hungry?" Liam chewed around the words. Gestured at the forest. "I don't have enough food for you. Go hunt. Bring back something edible."
Lumos rumbled. Didn't move.
"I'm fine." Liam charged a finger-bullet. Two seconds. Snap. Blew a crater in the dirt. "See? I am now an intern spirit detective and can defend myself. Go. Hunt. Be back before dark."
The tiger nuzzled Liam's head. Then bounded into the trees. Silent despite his size.
Liam finished eating. Felt the post-meal sleepiness creeping in. So tired. Just five minutes. Power nap. Totally justified.
"No." He said it out loud. "Liam, how could you be so weak? Get up. Train more."
His body didn't move.
"Fine. Guess I'm doing this the hard way."
He gave himself an order. "Get up and continue practicing. Ten sets each: Ten, Zetsu, Gyo, Ken. Then Ren until empty."
The Star Mark on the back of his neck activated.
Aura flared. Invaded his nervous system. Hijacked his motor control.
Liam's body stood up like a puppet with fresh strings.
Oh this is WEIRD.
He was conscious. Aware. But not in control. Watching himself move from inside his own skull while something else pulled the levers. Third-person and first-person simultaneously. Dissociation as a training tool.
Deeply unsettling. Probably traumatic. Definitely effective.
I'm manipulating myself to overcome laziness. This is either genius or a cry for help.
Both. It's both.
His body began the drills. Ten. Zetsu. Gyo. Repeat. Mechanical. Tireless.
Liam's consciousness floated along for the ride.
Mysterious. Boring. Mysteriously boring.
Lumos returned at dusk. Rabbit in his jaws. Already dead.
The clearing was destroyed. Broken branches scattered everywhere. Tree trunks pockmarked with finger-bullet craters. Scorch marks where Ren output had overheated bark.
Someone had a productive day.
Liam sat by a fire. Rabbit roasting on a spit. His belly full. His body sore in that good post-workout way. The Star Mark had kept him functional all day—healing micro-damage, flushing fatigue toxins.
Infinite stamina glitch. I'm basically speedrunning Nen mastery.
He leaned back against Lumos. The tiger was warm. Comfortable. Better than any furniture.
Forgot something. What did I—
"Fenrir." Liam sat up. Looked at the dark forest. "It's been a whole day. He hasn't caught a single bird?"
Oh shit. I didn't tell him to eat. Or drink. Just patrol the traps indefinitely.
Did I accidentally starve my minion to death?
That would be on-brand for my luck.
It'll be fine. Probably. Wolves are resilient. Right?
He was considering sending Lumos to search when the feeling hit.
Eyes. On me.
Liam's spine went rigid. He spun. Channeled Gyo automatically—muscle memory from eight hours of forced practice.
Something in the trees. Pale. Small. Watching.
A child's silhouette. White skin. Too-large eyes catching firelight.
Liam stared. The figure didn't move.
Then it vanished. Not running. Just... gone. Like it had never been there.
"Did I just..." Liam blinked. Rubbed his eyes. "Was that a pale kid?"
He looked at Lumos. The tiger's ears were forward. Alert. He'd seen it too.