The training by the river continued.
"Mori, have you noticed? Kevin is remarkably resilient to being hit," Bisky remarked one afternoon.
Mori paused, considering her words, then nodded. He supposed it was true. However, knowing Kevin's special circumstances—that he had once been a trained Nen user—he didn't find it particularly strange.
"It's because he's been using Ryu, even if he doesn't realize it himself."
This time, Mori was genuinely surprised, his gaze snapping to a bewildered Kevin. Before finding Kevin, mastering Ryu had been a significant part of his own training.
"What's Ryu?" Kevin asked. The naming pattern suggested another formal Nen technique. Some of these terms were bluntly descriptive, while others felt almost abstract.
"Ahem! Class is in session!" Bisky cleared her throat theatrically, slipping back into her instructor's role.
"Beyond the Four Major Principles, Nen is also structured around seven major techniques," she began.
Kevin nodded. Advanced applications.
"In fact, you've been using several of them all along. You just didn't know their names."
With that, she launched into her explanation.
En: An advanced application of Ten and Ren. It expands one's aura outward from the body, creating a sensory field to detect any presence within it.
Gyo: An application of Ren. It concentrates heightened aura into specific body parts, most commonly the eyes, to see through illusions (In) and perceive aura flow. A fundamental combat skill.
In: A technique using principles like Zetsu and Hatsu to conceal one's aura, making it invisible or undetectable to most.
Ko:The ultimate concentration of offense. It involves using Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, and Gyo simultaneously to gather all one's aura into a single, devastating attack.
Ken: An advanced, defensive application of Ren and Ten. It maintains a powerful, constant flow of aura around the entire body to strengthen both defense and offense.
Shu: An application of Ten that involves coating an external object (like a weapon) with one's aura, enhancing its properties and durability.
Ryu: The dynamic, real-time adjustment of aura distribution across the body. It allows a Nen user to fluidly shift aura between offense and defense for maximum combat efficiency.
Kevin listened intently. The concepts themselves were straightforward, even familiar. Frankly, they seemed easy to grasp. But could these really be considered advanced techniques? He was somewhat puzzled. Ever since he'd become aware of his Nen, he'd been instinctively making similar adjustments to his aura flow. The only technique he hadn't naturally stumbled upon was In.
"You find them very familiar, don't you?" Bisky observed.
Kevin nodded.
Mori finally caught on, his eyes widening as he looked at Kevin. "So that's why you could always dodge my initial attacks during our spars! But why did you stop being able to after a while?"
This question made Kevin shift uncomfortably. "Uh..."
"Because his body's physical conditioning is still weak, his total aura capacity is limited, and the amount he can manifest is equally restricted," Bisky answered for him, her tone matter-of-fact.
"Oh! I see now," Mori exclaimed, a light dawning. "So every time you called for a stop, it wasn't just because you were tired... it was because you felt if you continued with no aura left for defense, you'd get seriously hurt?"
Kevin nodded. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? If I run my tank dry and you land a clean hit, I'm done for.
The reason Mori hadn't pieced this together earlier was his own assumption. He had initially placed Kevin's strength above his own, believing Kevin was merely hampered by injury and amnesia. He never guessed that, from the very beginning, Kevin had been fighting not with his past strength, but with a new kind of strength—one that, in its efficient application, was arguably more formidable.
Listening to their exchange, Bisky silently sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ''These two. Textbook Enhancers, through and through.''
At that moment, the full implication finally clicked for Kevin.
"If these seven techniques require long-term training and specific talent to master... and I'm already using them instinctively..." He trailed off, the realization dawning. "Then wouldn't that mean I'm... actually pretty remarkable?"
He still knew far too little about the wider world of Nen users. His frame of reference was painfully limited. But for the first time, a seed of genuine confidence began to take root, not in his raw power, but in his innate, fluid understanding of the energy that defined this world.
He had always, unconsciously, measured himself against the lofty benchmarks of prodigies like Gon and his own past self. It had never occurred to him that the instinctive, fluid control of aura he took for granted was, in itself, a rare talent.
Now he understood why Bisky had hammered him with relentless physical conditioning from the very start. His foundation was the bottleneck, not his understanding.
"Don't start congratulating yourself yet," Bisky cut in, dousing his budding pride. "I told you, your learning ability is abysmal. These so-called 'advanced' techniques are only a hurdle for the self-taught or half-baked. Any true master is fluent in all of them. Against such opponents, you'd be hopeless. Your terrible capacity to learn new skills will prevent you from seamlessly integrating these techniques into actual combat. And that's before we even address you constructing your own **Hissatsu-waza**—your ultimate, personalized technique."
The initial flaw of poor focus, which Kevin had displayed, had already been polished away by the grueling, distraction-free wilderness training. Bisky had discovered his earlier impatience was simply a product of a cluttered modern life; two weeks of raw, repetitive discipline, fueled by his genuine passion for Nen, had brought his concentration to a perfectly serviceable level.
Only the learning disability remained. After two weeks of daily combat, Kevin's actual fighting technique had seen negligible improvement. His only tangible growth was in aura capacity and endurance. For actual skill… he was truly limited to the most time-consuming, grindstone method of repetition. For a scholar who had emerged from an ivory tower, it was an inelegant and frustrating path, but it was his only one.
After her stern assessment, Bisky couldn't help but feel a flicker of relief. Kevin was, at his core, an Enhancer. When it came to forging a Hissatsu-waza, the Enhancement type demanded the least in terms of complex learning. Often, simply mastering the integration of the core techniques into a fighting style was the ability. The flaws in this particular raw jade were always being counterbalanced by its brilliance in other areas. In a way, it was its own form of luck.
"My own Hissatsu-waza?" Kevin began, then caught himself. "But don't I already have my own Nen…" His voice trailed off as he fell silent. On this matter, while Bisky had said little, Kevin was certain she had discerned the anomaly of "A Moment of Dream." So that's it,he thought. The confirmation was clear: the inherited ability would not block him from constructing something truly his own. He could, even while hosting a Specialist-type power, build a compatible Enhancement-type ability from the ground up, without reservation.
But how should he…?
"Stop overthinking it," Bisky commanded, interrupting his mental spiral. "What you need now is to absorb more foundational knowledge, continue tempering your body, and—most importantly—truly *understand* the Nen you possess. Not just use it, but comprehend its nature within you."
Kevin reined in his racing thoughts and gave a firm, decisive nod.
"Now, class dismissed!" Bisky announced. "Back to training!"
As she spoke, her finger flicked out once more.
*Thwack!* "Ah!" Mori yelped, tumbling backward yet again.
And beside him, Kevin's body moved on its own, seamlessly dodging the unseen strike—another instinctive application of Ryu. The grind continued.
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