Chapter 31: Heaven’s Arena

As soon as Auren and Konrad board the airship, Auren explains briefly, “Anyone with Nen can forcefully awaken someone else. It is, however, quite dangerous. One wrong move and the person being awakened could die. I have confidence in doing it, however, so don’t be scared. Besides, I don’t have the luxury of spending months to awaken your Aura the slow way.”“Close your eyes and concentrate!” Auren then orders.

Much like Eren in Yorknew, Auren uses Azure Restoration to awaken Konrad’s Aura.

It’s simply a gentler method compared to forcefully injecting Aura into someone. Azure Restoration carries no risk of harming the target.

Just like Eren, Konrad initially struggles to master Ten. It takes him quite some time to gain proper control of his Aura, and once he finally manages it, he ends up exhausted for days, spending most of the time asleep. They quickly resume their training afterwards.

“I need to focus on my own goals. I’ll check in from time to time, but I don’t have the time to babysit you,” Auren warns him.

“It’s fine! Now that I’ve opened my Aura Pores and learned Ten—and how to close them—I’ll manage,” Konrad assures him.

After Konrad recovers, Auren begins teaching him the basics during the journey, which spans a total of ten days. He briefly explains the Nen system and also teaches him Zetsu, along with the Basics of Ren.

Along the way, Auren receives a call from Buno. “Congratulations on passing the exam. We’ll be wiring your first payment soon. Bunu insisted we keep most of the content under wraps, so the earnings aren’t quite as high as expected. Still, every high-ranking member of Hollow Blade will pay to read what you gave us. Don’t worry, we won’t cheat you.”

“It’s fine. Thank you. I plan to visit you guys eventually. Do you have anyone skilled with knives who could teach me a bit?”

“...Yes. I’d better start paying you now, because that person’s greed is legendary. You will need every Jenny you can get your hands on. However, if you’ve got the money, you’ll get the best training possible.”

“Sounds promising. Please prepare everything, also don’t forget, I am interested in Weapons and other items, with trace amounts of Aura. I also want a copy of Lidor’s material. I might as well study a little as well,” Auren replies confidently.

“Have fun, kid. Call if you need help,” Buno says, ending the call.

A minute later, Auren receives a message on his phone: 500 million Jenny has been deposited into your account.

Not bad... Though considering Master’s knowledge and hidden secrets about Nen, this isn’t that much. Still, I expect these payments to keep coming. It’ll do for now. If my plans work out, money will never be a problem. Also, considering you can buy a Ben’s Knife for 5 to 10 million—at least the unpopular ones—this is a crazy sum. 500 Million Jenny can buy up to 100 Ben’s knives? These knives really are crazy undervalued! Good for me. I know this is silly, but I’ve got an urge to collect them. This greed… It’s weird. However, it’s not a waste of money as these knives are worth every Jenny, and may actually rise in value if I clear the market. They are an investment!

With his bank account continuing to grow, Auren is more financially secure than ever. He also receives a few more messages. Eren sends him pictures of various art pieces and collectibles, mostly paintings, and hand-crafted items, containing traces of Aura, but Auren replies immediately, “Not interested. Sell them!”

I have no use for trash like that.

The days pass, and finally, Auren and Konrad arrive at Heaven’s Arena.

From their airship room, Auren gazes up at the towering structure in the distance.

With a slightly smug grin, Konrad begins, “Heaven’s Arena! The fourth-tallest building in the world. It’s almost 1,000 meters high, exactly 991! It has 251 floors! Thousands of martial artists compete there every single day!”

“...You sure know your details, Konrad. Do you plan on fighting too?” Auren asks.

“No... I don’t think so. I’ll use this time to train. I still need to get a handle on the basics. But Auren, are you sure about fighting in that arena? I might not know much, but I’ve heard that people on the higher floors use special abilities. Before meeting you, I had no idea what exactly they were doing and how they were accomplishing such miraculous feats—but now I know. They’re using Nen. You’ll be revealing your techniques if you participate.”

“My ability is extremely basic. I just mimic water, using Aura, and then shape it in different ways. Even if someone knows what I do, I can use it in a thousand different forms. It really doesn’t matter if it gets exposed. What I need most is experience. I’m willing to reveal that much,” Auren explains.

It serves as a perfect red herring to hide my real, unique ability!

He then shapes his Aura into several forms, a small demonstration.

“See? What do you even do with that knowledge? It changes nothing,” Auren adds. “Now, let’s go.”

Konrad stares at Auren, clearly impressed, and nods, agreeing with him.

Quickly exiting the airship, Auren and Konrad head toward Heaven’s Arena, jumping into the next available taxi. The colossal tower looms in the distance, impossible to miss.

Yeah... Hard to miss that one.

They enter and walk toward the registration area, where hundreds are already in line.

Auren casually ignores the queue. With a brief burst of Ren, he flashes his Aura at the people in front. Everyone suddenly begins to shudder, and most people fall onto the floor, every single upcoming participant staring at Auren as if they’ve seen the Reaper himself.

“You don’t mind if I go first, right? Thanks!” he says, stepping confidently to the registration window. The female attendant on the other side looks only mildly surprised.

“Sign me up!” Auren says, presenting a normal ID—choosing not to use his Hunter License, as it offers no benefits and only makes him a target.

I can’t risk that license getting stolen. It’s worth a fortune. I heard one in five Hunters loses theirs within a year. This thing is worth billions.

Registered, Auren receives number 2223 and proceeds into the massive fighting hall on the ground floor. The vast space contains numerous combat stages and is surrounded by tiered seating.

I don’t want to waste time, and I want a room inside the tower, so I might as well get serious for a moment.

Auren watches the ongoing fights with a bored expression, completely disinterested in the low-level bouts taking place.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, his number is called.

“Number 2222 and Number 2223, please proceed to ring 11,” a voice announces.

He moves swiftly toward ring 11, casting a single glance at his opponent—tall, extremely overweight, and looking every bit the stereotypical brute.

Auren steps into the ring and walks up to the referee. He speaks in a calm, quiet tone. “This is the only fight I’ll fight without Nen if you treat me like this. If anyone messes around and slows me down... I’ll kill all my future opponents.”

The referee’s expression darkens, visibly shocked by the remark.

Auren then strolls to his side of the ring, while his opponent takes position on the opposite end.

Regaining composure, the referee asks, “Candidates, do you know the rules?” Both Auren and his opponent nod.

“Begin!!”

Auren advances steadily, while his massive opponent rushes him, throwing a heavily telegraphed right straight.

Grinning, Auren allows him to commit. As the fist nears, he casually catches it with his left hand, then grabs one of his opponent’s fingers. With a firm grip, he starts spinning in place.

He completes three full rotations before letting go, flinging his opponent into the audience seats, where he crashes down, heavily injured and unconscious.

So long.

Auren walks back to the referee and flashes a brief wave of Aura, displaying a glimpse of Ren.

“Number 2223... proceed to floor 150,” the referee announces, handing Auren a small slip of paper.

Auren nods. “Acceptable. I’ll refrain from using my Aura in this case. Thank you, Referee.”

Leaving the large hall, Auren—trailing ahead of Konrad—enters the elevator. Inside, a female attendant stands ready, managing the controls.

“Floor 150,” Auren announces.

“Certainly,” The attendant responds, eying Auren curiously.

Why do they hire people just to press buttons? This is silly. I guess this place really takes its prestige seriously.

They head toward the fighter’s reception on Floor 150. There, Auren receives his first payment: a mere 100-something Jenny, barely enough for a drink.

This doesn’t matter. Once I reach floor 200, I’ll have earned around 200 million Jenny.

“I want to fight again right away. I’m aiming for the 200th class. These worthless matches bore me,” Auren tells the receptionist.

“I can schedule your earliest available match. It’ll be in two days—is that alright?” she says with a polite smile.

“Would it help if I bribed you?” Auren asks flatly.

“Sadly, no. I’m heavily monitored to prevent that. You should’ve approached me privately,” she jokes. “I’ve already given you the earliest slot. We need time for promotion, organizing the matches, and selling tickets. The higher up you go, the longer everything takes. Honestly, I don’t know what miracle got you straight to floor 150—that’s extremely rare. I usually don’t have to explain this to fighters, since most of them already know. Even talented ones start at floor 50. Everyone else begins at floor 10 if they win on the ground floor.”

“Fine... I get a room, right?” Auren asks.

“It’s on floor 159,” the receptionist replies, handing him a key with the number 159-20 on it.

“Fine...” Auren mutters.

“Since you gave us your number when you registered, we’ll notify you of the exact time and location for your next fight. Please enjoy your stay until then.”

Without sparing her another word, Auren walks off, Konrad following with a look of amazement.

“You really don’t hesitate, Auren. I’m impressed. You make it look so easy,” Konrad says.

“Anyway, I’ll catch you before your next match. I’ve got some things to handle—training, checking in with my father about the Copperleaves, and asking around about those knives. I still owe you for teaching me Nen, right?”

“Hmm, sure,” Auren replies. “See you later.”

They part ways, and Auren enters his room. It’s spacious and luxurious—more than enough for comfortable training and living.

He conjures Eternity and begins his regular training routine. That last fight was nothing more than a formality.

I’ll make it to the very top! I won’t leave until I’ve become a Floor Master! These buffoons are so weak... if I can’t even reach that modest goal, I seriously need to retrain myself!