Chapter 141: Out of Reach, Yet Not Out of Sight

As Auren finally closes his eyes, he feels unbelievably relaxed. His entire body is aching, screaming in pain, and his Aura is almost completely used up. Despite that, the cool air, is making him extremely comfortable.“Are you tired already, my young friend?” a voice echoes through the forest.

“Asshole...” Auren curses, lying on the soft forest ground.

Begrudgingly, he opens his eyes and sees Netero standing in front of him, now smiling once more.

“Can you help me? I feel I’m hurting all over,” Auren asks.

“Of course. Should I carry you back to the airship? You don’t look that hurt to me, so a hospital shouldn’t be required,” Netero notes, a hint of concern on his face as his forehead wrinkles slightly.

“Of course not,” Auren replies, pointing Eternity at him, “Just let me stab you a little with my katana. I require a small donation of Aura.”

To his surprise, Netero actually grabs Eternity—still tightly held in Auren’s hand—the blade’s edge managing to slightly cut into his palm.

“This sword is miraculous,” Netero says as his Aura gets drained by the blade. “I can’t even imagine how you were able to conjure something like this. If I’m not wrong, you... inherited this from your former master. It’s quite the sad story, at least from what I’ve been told by a certain rat, shortly after you passed the exam.”

Damn rat...

As he speaks, Eternity is indeed draining more and more Aura—until Auren decides to pull it away.

“I was joking...” Auren mutters. “However... I guess I’m thankful. Maybe I should be more careful about what I say around you, or you might take me at my word again.”

Still lying on the ground, Auren focuses on Eternity, now glowing with an intense Aura once again, and activates Azure Restoration. Connected to the vast amount of Aura within Eternity, his body begins to shine—wrapped in the familiar Azure Aura that envelops him completely.

It takes a few minutes, but his wounds slowly, yet steadily, begin to close. Broken bones, torn skin and muscles—even his bruises and swellings, all over his body—are healing at a rapid pace.

Finally, after just five minutes, Auren stops and rises to his feet, acting like the fight never happened, calmly placing Eternity back into its sheath.

“This is quite frightening,” Netero says. “This shouldn’t be possible. In any case, why don’t we fly back to the Association? This forest isn’t a nice place to talk.”

“Gladly,” Auren replies.

They slowly leave the forest and approach the airship, the battleground behind them torn up and scarred—like a small warzone.

Back inside, Beans starts the airship and flies them toward Swardani City, while Auren and Netero sit on the lower deck. Netero works on finishing the bottle Auren had gifted him earlier.

“I am confused. You can conjure a special fog, along with that sword of yours. You obviously use Transmutation, Enhancement, and Emission—I can confirm that one hundred percent. But you’re also skilled in Manipulation, using that water Nen Beast.”

“It’s not a Nen Beast, but a Water Clone,” Auren responds. “Don’t insult my watery alter-ego.”

Not like I can create more than one... well, to be honest, I can create more than one... but I can’t control it! At least for now.

“In any case,” Netero continues, “you are perhaps the most surprising and talented Nen user I’ve seen in a long time. You remind me of Ging, but on the other hand, you couldn’t be more different. Ging is always looking for new goals, seeing Nen just as something that he requires, but not truly wants to master. It’s just a means to an end for him. You, on the other hand, genuinely like Nen training—I can feel it. You are closer to me than you might think. I can respect someone like you.”

“You discovered what I learned later in life at an incredibly early age. This is what’s scary about you. You began early, and it looks like you have no intention of ever stopping. Your Nen potential is simply abnormal. Not because you are a 1-in-10-million genius, but because of your attitude and mindset. Don’t misunderstand me, you are certainly incredibly talented, but I know a few people as talented as you. They don’t train nearly as hard as you do and don't have the proper mindset, like you. They also started to train later than you, which seems to be an issue. Using Nen seems to be as normal as breathing to you.”

“Anyway, I’m guessing you're either a Specialist or an Enhancer. Since you’re using all five Nen categories, Enhancer makes the most sense. Enhancement is the category with the most potential—many people don’t believe it, but it’s simply the truth. A strong body contains a lot of Aura, and it’s the easiest for an Enhancer to build up his body. I’m pretty sure now... I’d even bet a can of juice on it. You’re an Enhancer, aren’t you?”

“Much like yourself, right?” Auren asks, smirking. “You can call me a fan who likes to imitate his idol. If you want to bet on it, though, I would require a little bit more of an ante. How about you gift me a few Hunter Licenses that I can sell or distribute to a few acquaintances?”

“Forget it,” Netero replies. “If you want to buy them, I’d consider it. But making a bet? That would be stupid.”

Buying them would be even dumber.... What a silly old man.

“Heh, you can’t scam me. Anyway, your affinity doesn’t interest me that much. Once you reach a certain level, it doesn’t matter too much. Your abilities are what interest me. However, as much as I am intrigued by them... the one with the mysterious Azure glow easily wins against the rest of them combined. It’s perhaps the most effective Healing Hatsu I’ve ever seen. It’s a tad slow, and it looks like the faster you want to heal yourself, the more Aura it drains—but the effects are incredible. Why don’t you work closer with the Association? I could use someone like you,” Netero says, staring directly at him.

Are you the Association or what?

“I’m already working for the Association. Don’t forget I’m a Temp Hunter—and a Blacklist Hunter. I don’t want my healing ability to be exposed. Thanks to Pariston being possessed by an Ancient Demon, he already found out about my ability. I’m trusting you to keep it a secret,” Auren says, staring back.

“Fine... though I might need your services one of these days,” Netero says, looking torn as he rubs his ears.

“I’ll always await your call,” Auren replies, politely handing him a fresh card.

“Better than nothing,” Netero responds, looking bored as he grabs the card. “Having you around would be convenient. I could beat up as many opponents as I want without holding back—and you could even heal them. That would make life much more interesting and perhaps people would actually dare to fight me again. Nowadays, I’ll only get to punch one time, and I even have to hold back.”

I thought he wanted my ability to save Hunters on dangerous missions... he just wants to spar more often and more seriously? What a selfish Association President!

Netero, now deep in thought, continues, “It’s quite an unfitting ability. Your skills easily qualify you as one of the top Assassins—not lagging behind the Zoldycks, especially considering your age. Your battle IQ is impressive as well. I can’t believe you actually found a way to deal with my Bodhisattva. Heh... not like you succeeded. In any case, I’ll demand a fight every one or two years. It won’t take long for them to get really interesting.”

“Fine...” Auren replies.

So for now, they’re not. Or at least, not really challenging enough.

“Why not become an examiner?” Netero suddenly asks.

“Already working on it,” Auren replies. “Pariston is guiding me through the process...”

“I’ll speak to him about it,” Netero says, not leaving any room for negotiation.

Finally, the airship arrives back on the roof of the Association headquarters.

It’s still the middle of the night, and Netero yawns loudly.

“The fight made me tired. I guess I have to thank you. I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, so take it as the biggest compliment I can give you. I even suffered a few wounds,” Netero says, rubbing his hand, revealing the cut Auren created with his ranged slash after learning how to control the Aura inside Eternity.

“Do you require hea—” Auren starts, but Netero walks away before he can finish.

“You can be proud,” Netero calmly says as he turns around, walking toward the exit. “Not everyone can wound me. I’ll be paying attention to you in the future... Goodbye, Auren.”

I’ll be proud when I defeat you...

Auren waits until Netero is fully gone before following, only to be stopped by Beans.

Beans... what does he want?