Eight wins in three months.
Liam's conservative plan was simple: apply for one match per week. Win every time, rack up eight victories in two months. Even if he got unlucky and dropped a match here or there, he'd still have a month left to make up the difference before his showdown with Wing on May 15th.
He made the plan. Shizuku followed along.
She'd left Meteor City because she couldn't find anything interesting to do there. Originally, she'd wanted to meet the Phantom Troupe. Instead, she'd run into Liam first.
When Liam trained, she trained with him.
When Liam fought, she watched.
When Liam wanted to relax, she tagged along. It might've looked like she had no opinions of her own, but despite her usual blank expression, Shizuku genuinely found this lifestyle pleasant. Relaxing, even.
Kurapika continued his Nen training as well. When Liam had matches scheduled, he'd come along to watch and absorb knowledge.
Liam taught him the Four Major Principles: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Then the advanced applications: Gyo, Ken, Shu, Ko, and Ryu.
Kurapika was a quick study. More importantly, he knew how to extrapolate from a single example. He was proactive in his learning. For instance, when Liam was explaining Gyo, Kurapika immediately brought up the counterpart technique.
"If there's a method to see through hidden Nen," Kurapika said, "then logically there should be a method to avoid being easily detected."
Exactly. Meeting Kurapika was like finding a sparring partner who could keep up.
Liam had his own thoughts on the two remaining techniques he hadn't fully mastered: In and En.
In was an advanced application of Zetsu. It hid your Nen completely, masking your presence and making it nearly impossible for enemies to detect traps or ambushes. If Liam could use In skillfully, he could make Flying Star Bubble completely invisible. Unless the enemy was paranoid enough to use Gyo the entire time, they'd never see it coming.
But Liam had always found the concept awkward. Zetsu sealed all the aura nodes in the body, locking aura inside. So how could In, an application of Zetsu, work on Nen techniques created with Hatsu? Hatsu required open nodes. The logic seemed contradictory.
The two of them debated this back and forth. It was enlightening every time.
Liam had deeper practical experience and more vivid instincts. Kurapika had a sharper analytical mind and could always cut straight to the core of a problem.
Then, after one particularly long discussion, they both turned around to find that Shizuku had been listening the entire time. And somehow, she'd already mastered In.
Liam and Kurapika stared at the empty space in her hands. They both activated Gyo simultaneously, focusing aura into their eyes. Sure enough, the familiar bulging-eyed vacuum cleaner materialized in their enhanced vision.
"Oh. It worked," Shizuku said.
Liam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Is there a relationship between In and Gyo in terms of level suppression? If your In is strong enough, then someone with weak Gyo won't see through it. But if their Gyo is strong enough, no amount of In will hide it."
Kurapika blinked. "So you're a Conjurer too?"
He looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "If you've got something to say, just say it. Are you having trouble with something, Kurapika?"
Shizuku dispelled Blinky and said flatly, "He probably wants me to share my experience developing conjured objects."
"Oh." Kurapika nodded. "Is that acceptable?"
"Just teach him," Liam said with a snap of his fingers. "Shizuku, remind our third member. What are the rules of The Ten?"
Shizuku recited, "Listen to the boss."
"Not that one. The other rule."
"Don't interfere with each other, help each other, don't betray each other."
"Exactly!" Liam clapped Kurapika on the shoulder. "Help each other. I help you today, you help me tomorrow. Beautiful system, right?"
Even if you replace the chains with a book, you'd better keep the Ring Finger's soul-chasing function intact.
While Shizuku guided Kurapika, Liam would just add some of his own suggestions. Steer the development in the right direction. No big deal.
Kurapika was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Aren't the two organizational rules contradictory?"
"How so?" Liam asked.
"On one hand, we have to listen to the boss. On the other hand, we're supposed to not interfere with each other. Isn't that a contradiction? And it seems strange to say 'don't interfere' but also 'help each other.'"
"What's so strange about it? If an organization member asks for help, the others should try to assist. If they don't want interference, the others back off." Liam spoke seriously. "All the rules of The Ten are subordinate to the first rule."
"In other words, you have final say on interpretation," Kurapika sighed. "I understand."
Liam grinned. "Look, as the boss, I'm pretty hands-off. I only care about the overall direction of the organization. For example, we're going to the Dark Continent. That's non-negotiable. As long as you're a member, you need to be united on that goal. You need to do everything possible to keep up with the team. If you can't keep up, you ask the others for help. As for everything else? We don't have strict hierarchy. We can discuss it."
One week later.
February 22nd, 3:00 PM. The arena on the 211th floor was packed. The crowd roared with the same energy as always.
"Fighter Smith currently has a record of one win, zero losses! His opponent is Kotobuki, with a record of five wins, two losses! Who will emerge victorious today?"
The referee's enthusiastic announcement echoed through the speakers as Liam stepped into the ring for his second match on the 200th floor.
His opponent was a bizarre figure. Face wrapped entirely in bandages, head covered by a hood. Probably suffered severe facial trauma during his Nen baptism. Left him disfigured.
The moment the referee called for the match to start, the bandaged fighter shook out his wide-sleeved robe. Dozens of crumpled paper balls tumbled out.
"Waste paper?" Kurapika muttered from the stands.
Wing adjusted his glasses. "As long as aura reinforces them, even paper can be dangerous. Huh. Liam really does seem fated to fight Manipulators."
Down in the ring, the paper balls were already moving. They unfolded themselves, refolding mid-air into sleek paper airplanes. A dozen of them circled above the bandaged fighter like a squadron of miniature jets. With a flick of his sleeve, two fighters broke formation and dove toward Liam.
"Are you trying to recreate Grave of the Fireflies?" Liam asked, dodging to the side.
But the paper planes had tracking capability. They curved through the air, rotated 360 degrees, and came at him from behind.
Liam released a massive amount of aura across his entire body, forming a barrier as solid as reinforced steel. Ken at full output.
The two paper planes collided with him and exploded on impact. Fire and smoke erupted like actual aircraft had crashed into his torso. The crowd gasped.
But before the flames even dissipated, Liam's uninjured hand shot through the smoke and grabbed for the bandages on his opponent's face.
The bandaged fighter jerked backward, startled. He flicked his sleeves again, sending all dozen remaining paper jets screaming toward Liam in a coordinated assault.
Liam concentrated aura into his palm and swung his arm in a broad arc. He released the energy in the crudest way possible, creating a shockwave of raw aura.
This kind of unrefined aura blast wouldn't seriously hurt anyone with even basic Ten defense. But it was perfect for dealing with explosive paper airplanes.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
One after another, the planes detonated mid-flight.
The bandaged fighter had somehow mounted a larger paper airplane and floated up toward the ceiling. His visible eyes were wide with shock. All his carefully prepared constructs, defeated so easily?
As he hovered there in disbelief, the smoke cleared below. Liam stood in the center of the ring, one finger pointed directly upward.
Liam smiled. "Oh, you flew up to the ceiling to avoid me accidentally hitting the audience? That's considerate of you. Thanks."
He points his finger gun.
Spirit Gun!
The compressed aura bullet shot out like a beam of white light, obliterating both the giant paper airplane and the bandaged fighter. They crashed down from the ceiling in a smoking heap.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Wing smiled from the stands. "Very solid fundamentals. Is he training in Emission as well?"
Three days later.
February 25th, 1:00 PM. Arena on the 208th floor.
Liam received a text from Wing saying he had a match scheduled today.
"Looks like he's planning to compete every ten days," Shizuku observed from the stands. "Eight wins in eighty days. He's more confident about victory than you are, Liam."
Before Liam could respond, the match was already over.
There wasn't much to see. Wing used his overwhelming raw strength to crush his opponent. The moment the enemy dropped their guard, Wing stepped in and knocked them unconscious with a single punch. No suspense whatsoever.
Amid the thunderous applause, Wing glanced up toward where Liam and Shizuku were sitting.
Liam gave him a thumbs-up from across the arena.
"Alright, Dora, let's get back to training," Liam said, standing. "This week's goal is to hit fifteen thousand aura. Let's go, we're on fire."
"What's on fire?" Shizuku asked, following him into the corridor.
The days continued rolling forward.
Within one month, Liam won four consecutive matches. His record stood at five wins, zero losses.
Liam or his ring name John Smith's reputation spread throughout Heavens Arena. Everyone else struggled tooth and nail just to earn the right to challenge a Floor Master. Most people refused to waste the ninety-day preparation period that reset after each match. But this kid? He'd casually racked up five wins in just over a month, breezing halfway to his goal.
The thing was, Liam barely spent any time at Heavens Arena itself. Most of his days were spent at the rented apartment with Shizuku.
On March 1st, Kurapika announced he'd finally made progress developing his ability.
The three of them gathered in the apartment's living room. Liam and Shizuku took on the roles of teachers inspecting their student's work.
Kurapika didn't hesitate. He focused, releasing a sphere of aura from his hands. Using the mental blueprint he'd spent the past month refining, he rapidly constructed the aura into tangible matter.
A dolphin-shaped bookshelf materialized, holding six neatly stacked black books. It floated quietly beside Kurapika.
What kind of Crazy Slot, Mad Clown knockoff is this? Liam's first thought jumped to Kite's ability.
Both were Conjuration-type. Kite's Crazy Slots, developed under Ging's guidance, worked similarly. A clown doll floated beside him, acting as a weapon arsenal that randomly issued different tools. Kurapika's version was a dolphin bookshelf, designed to organize his six books for easy access.
"Book Three, 'The Abyss,'" Kurapika said, raising his hand.
The dolphin swam through the air as if alive. One of the six black books floated out from the shelf and dropped into Kurapika's palm. The cover was marked with the number "3."
Kurapika's expression was calm. "This is the second ability to take rough form."
"The Abyss." His voice went cold. "There's no place more fitting for those spiders than this."
"That's the second one?" Shizuku asked. "What about the first?"
Liam already knew the answer. "The spider ranks second. The one that ranks first can only be..."
Sure enough, Kurapika dismissed Book Three and said to the floating dolphin, "Book Six, 'Resurrection.'"
The dolphin pulled out the sixth black book and delivered it to Kurapika's hands. The number "6" was printed on the cover.
"As long as the relevant body part is placed on a page, the owner's name will automatically appear and resurrect them," Kurapika explained. A faint smile crossed his face. "But the price is that whatever natural lifespan the resurrected person had left will be deducted from my own life."