Honestly, I had underestimated humanity.
This continent is a harsh environment for long-term survival. Even I, possessing this body called Quinn, understand that. I have revived many times because of my ability, but normally, life is something that ends once you are killed.
Just because the elite unit of the investigation team was annihilated doesn't mean they were weak. While I thought that, I also harbored an emotion akin to superiority somewhere inside me. I was trapped in the preconception that I was a high-class existence, superior to humans.
However, I realize that such emotion does not suit my objective. I was supposed to desire to know humans and live like them. Separating 'myself' and 'humans' and looking down on them could actually be said to be moving away from my goal.
I must stand on equal footing. At the very least, I can honestly admit that the four humans here are beings worthy of respect. They were Nen users of that level of excellence.
Their extraordinarily extensive enemy detection abilities are completely beyond my reach. If I contributed anything, it was merely teaching them the ecology of dangerous creatures in this vicinity to watch out for. Even without me, they likely could have operated on their own.
Rather, I had more to learn from them. They are a group of specialists, especially in the handling of Nen. It is only natural that they are superior to me, who trained alone relying on vague memories. In particular, their skill in 'Ryu', called the ultimate technique based on the basics of Nen combat, was a masterpiece.
During a break, the young man named Tokunosuke showed me a little, and I had to admit that the practice I had done until now was equivalent to child's play. It was that vivid and free of stagnation. The human body and the aura filling that vessel became a harmonious whole, rushing through the body with the naturalness of blood flow.
"Katroi-san is better at this kind of thing than me. He's a master of the Shingen-ryu."
According to Tokunosuke, Katroi is the warrior most skilled in close-quarters combat among this group. Seeing Katroi violently shaking his body and denying it with such force I thought his head might fly off, I couldn't believe it.
However, the Shingen-ryu is a major school of Nen arts, and I had been interested in its techniques for some time. I definitely wanted to see it.
"Impossible! A master, absolutely not! My skills aren't worth showing..."
"It's fine, show him. Don't worry about the lookout. He's instructor-class just in 'evasion' techniques. Come on, Quinn. Try punching him appropriately."
"Please stop!?"
Since permission was given, we decided to spar. There was no sign of him initiating anything from his side; he just looked terrified. For now, I approached and tried throwing a light jab.
"Eek! Stoooop!"
Despite closing his eyes and crying out, he avoided the attack perfectly. I threw punches in succession, but they wouldn't hit. Just when I thought I had him, he dodged lazily.
The opponent was visibly shaken and just running away miserably. Thinking I could corner him immediately after he dodged, I launched my next move, but it was evaded again. It was a terrible movement that looked like he avoided it by pure luck, yet that coincidence continued dozens of times.
It was no coincidence. While feigning to be prey that could only be tormented, he possessed the excellent skill to simply parry attacks continuously. Even knowing this, I felt like I was being misled. He looked that desperate, as if he had lost all composure.
Irritation at that mocking attitude grew, and strength went into my fists. The aura, which had a minimal enhancement rate at first, gradually increased, and finally, I was showering him with punches in a nearly full-power enhancement state.
"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!"
But they didn't hit. In that frustration, I almost used 'Weight', but I restrained myself. I distanced myself to calm my spirit and took a deep breath. Katroi collapsed on the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut, but that was likely a bluff too. If I tried to punch him now, he would surely dodge it.
"Well, it's weird for me to say since I instigated it, but you're a demon."
"I'm surprised he survived."
If I hadn't been informed of his ability beforehand, I would have heated up more. I recognized his troublesomeness once again. That ability is called 'Allergic Incense'.
He possesses a naturally unusual aura quality. Aura differs slightly in nature depending on the owner, and sometimes the person's personality is reflected in the atmosphere.
In his case, it's a bit special; he has an aura quality that 'irritates others'. It is uncertain whether his personality became servile because of that quality, or if the quality of his aura became distorted because he is servile.
'Allergic Incense' is an Emission ability that amplifies this aura property and disperses it into the surroundings. It has absolutely no direct offensive power, but it has the effect of acting on the enemy's mind and guiding their emotions.
That said, this effect is not that strong. Although it affects emotions, it naturally cannot manipulate thoughts themselves; it merely irritates the enemy and rubs their nerves the wrong way. An immature user might be driven by anger and lose their composure, but the more skilled the opponent, the higher their ability to control their mind, making it ineffective.
At a glance, it seems like a useless ability, but when combined with his extraordinary combat skills, it demonstrates great power. He has a very sensitive detection ability regarding killing intent directed at him from others. By inducing the enemy's murderous intent with 'Allergic Incense', he highlights the trajectory of the attack the enemy will unleash next.
When people consciously intend to attack others, they harbor killing intent more or less. Excellent assassins can suppress this killing intent to the limit, but they cannot reduce it to zero. As long as the will to attack is active, some sign will appear.
A veteran warrior would be able to return their mind to a calm state immediately even after receiving 'Allergic Incense'. However, that always takes "one extra step". An unnecessary process of 'calming the mind', which would normally be unneeded, intervenes.
The more skilled the person, the more accurately they grasp their own mental modulation and try to hold their mind strong to erase that hesitation. A slight "strain" arises there. It is a small difference that a normal person cannot even perceive, but Katroi skillfully sniffs out the enemy's killing intent from that unnecessary strain and traces the trajectory of the attack as if predicting it.
In the sparring just now, he avoided all my attacks. From the outside, it might look like I was attacking one-sidedly and giving him no chance to attack. But the essence is the exact opposite. When it comes to skills in interpersonal combat, Katroi has the upper hand.
Usually, combat is an exchange of offense and defense as one. The closer the skills are matched, the more ambiguous the boundary between defense and offense becomes. Sealing the enemy's actions by attacking and creating a situation advantageous to oneself can be called "defense", and there is also "offense" where one parries the enemy's attack by defending and uses that as a stepping stone for the next move aimed at that opening.
But if discussing which is more advantageous, it is the attacker. The defending side can only defend at that moment, but the attacking side possesses the properties of both offense and defense at once. 'Offense is the best defense'. Taking the initiative is overwhelmingly advantageous.
Just as an army placed in a disadvantageous situation requires a massive amount of energy to turn the tables, the same can be said for individual combat. Therefore, the stance of 'attacking so as not to be attacked by the enemy' is basic. In combat, clumsy speed is preferred over skillful slowness.
Of course, speed isn't the solution to everything. Especially in battles between Nen users, there are many developments where one cannot predict what will happen, and there are cases where one should not attack recklessly.
However, even considering that, "continuing to dodge" is far more difficult than continuing to attack. Daring to allow the enemy's offensive and continuing to handle it without laying a hand on them is something only a master with significantly higher skill than the enemy can do.
It is a feat possible precisely because he is a first-class warrior. It's frustrating, but now that I've actually sparred, I can understand. I didn't think I would be toyed with this much even while knowing the details of his ability beforehand. I want him to be my opponent one more time.
"Pleeeeease forgiive meeeee!!"
My request for sparring was refused, but he did give me guidance on various body arts. He could only look at me during the short breaks, but it was very educational.
I fight in a boxing style, so I can't switch to the Shingen-ryu fighting style now, and Katroi doesn't seem to know much about boxing. But as long as it is a martial art, there are common parts regarding basic movement. I want to absorb whatever I can learn from this opportunity.
"Teach me Shikyoku."
"You know an amazing technique?! I can't because it's not Shingen-ryu... However, let me see... well then, I will teach you one piece of footwork that seems utilizable even in boxing. It's a technique that's a bit too minor and has no users, though..."
The name of that technique was 'Yōkyaku'. Shingen-ryu generally has many forms where one plants their feet firmly on the ground, but this technique uses steps. One lifts the toes with a unique gait and feels the vibration with the soles of the feet when they touch the ground.
By doing this, it is said to be possible to accurately grasp the position of an enemy in contact with the ground, like acoustic positioning. If one can master this, it seems easier to deal with techniques that deceive vision like Shikyoku.
"No, no matter how you think about it, that's not a technique an amateur can imitate. Or rather, it's impossible for a normal person. It's a secret technique or something like that, right?"
"Ah, y-yes... I'm sorry!"
Certainly, it is difficult. It is not a technique one can use immediately just by seeing it. But while trying it out, a bright idea came to mind.
This is not a technique for attacking, but a "reading" technique to see through the enemy's movements. Sharpening the sensation in the soles of the feet to feel vibrations. Strengthening that sense was my forte. If I apply 'Sympathy', it isn't impossible.
"Done."
"..."
Katroi and the others are dumbfounded, looking at me as if they were seeing something absurd, but it makes sense. What I did was merely simulate the technique called 'Yōkyaku' through the application of Nen abilities; it cannot be compared to Katroi who achieved it solely through his own skill.
Certainly, if I use 'Sympathy', I can do something similar, but the problem is the situation where its use is assumed. Since 'Sympathy' is a technique requiring extreme concentration, I cannot use it easily during combat. In that respect, 'Yōkyaku' can be said to be a technique premised on use during combat.
However, at the point of actually confronting an enemy, there is no need to go out of the way to perform enemy detection. Since the enemy's figure is visible, taking the trouble to strengthen the sensation in the soles of the feet is a waste. I can nod to the fact that there are no users.
But, I thought it wasn't a completely useless technique. When I tested the feeling of use by having Chel and Tokunosuke attack me a little, I realized the true value of this technique lay elsewhere.
Human sensory organs are largely divided into five. The so-called five senses, but among these, the one that has the greatest influence on recognition is vision. Conversely, recognition is prone to discrepancies when vision is deceived.
There is a secret technique of assassins called 'Shikyoku', which apparently creates illusions through a special walking method with varying speeds to deceive the enemy. That is an overly extreme example, but illusions occur naturally even in daily life. Vision does not create recognition; the brain outputs the reality it has arbitrarily interpreted as visual information. What is visible to the eye is not necessarily the whole truth.
That is merely a microscopic discrepancy, but in combat where a split-second judgment divides fate, that difference is huge. How to recognize accurate information—it is important to prepare means for that.
At first, I thought I should just strengthen my eyes using 'Gyo', but this was counterproductive. By strengthening vision, even the illusions at the root of visual function worsen. Because illusions are not defects, but simply one of the normal functions of the brain.
'Gyo' that focuses the eyes is an indispensable technique in battles against Nen users to ascertain the opponent's ability, but overuse is taboo. If one relies on it too much, the danger of falling into the enemy's trap actually increases.
Senses sharpened in a state of extreme concentration sometimes show illusions that aren't there. In the midst of a death match, it often happens that I unleash a satisfying punch I think the enemy can't dodge, only to have it avoided effortlessly. I think it definitely should have hit, yet it misses as if some strange magic trick was used.
If I divide my consciousness using 'Thought Calculation' and observe my actions objectively, I understand immediately; this is not a trick or anything, merely that my ability is insufficient. The problem is not there, but in the point that I cannot recognize my own fault and replace reality with my own arbitrary imagination.
This phenomenon is similar to judgment by camera replay in sports. Both athletes exert their full power and believe without a doubt that they won, but if one checks the video in reality, one of them must have lost. To that extent, the human brain is an untrustworthy organ that rewrites recognition to its own convenience.
In my case, I can check myself from a third-party perspective with 'Thought Calculation', but that is something I can only do during practice. In the middle of actual combat where lives are at stake, there is no time to slowly observe myself and correct my actions.
In that respect, 'Sympathy' can be said to be an excellent means of recognition. Intuition shared by interweaving the five senses sometimes demonstrates a super-sense akin to a premonition. By capturing reality from multiple angles using various other senses, not just vision, one can probably obtain more accurate information. But as I touched on earlier, this is not a technique usable during combat. It is not a technique that can be used together while handling physical enhancement by aura or high-speed movement of offensive and defensive power via 'Ryu'.