Chapter 55: Setting Off—Lack of Sight

Auren makes his way toward Rakshala’s office, curious about the result of her negotiation.Aside from Rakshala herself, a few of her aides are also present.

“Welcome, Auren,” she greets warmly.

They seem fairly invested in this… Good, I like that.

“Hello, thank you everyone, for your hard work,” Auren replies politely, nodding at the small team. “So, what are the details?”

“500 billion Jenny. However, there are strict conditions attached. Still, I think they're quite reasonable.”

WHAT?! 500 billion?! I expected maybe 120 or 150 at most! Does Battera even have that kind of money?

Rakshala, sensing his surprise, quickly explains, “I can sense that you didn’t expect that. We will only receive 100 billion upon successful treatment. Battera needs time to sell his Greed Island copies and other assets to raise the remaining amount. So, in total, you’ll receive the other 400 billion over the next four years. Don’t worry, the contracts are air-tight. After signing them we will be notified about his every step. He can’t deceive us… and should he still go ahead, then we can reverse your treatment, by sending them both to eternal slumber.”

“What about the copies?” Auren asks, remembering his goal to eventually play Greed Island himself.

Rakshala smiles, looking slightly amused as she answers, “You get one. And as a bonus, there are currently no players active in the console, so you're free to do whatever you wish with it. Now, regarding the conditions: he won't pay until your ‘patient’ is completely healed and awake. Additionally, he wants his own doctors to closely monitor her after each treatment. If her condition worsens at any point, he reserves the right to stop immediately.”

“Thank you. Those conditions seem fair—in fact, they're almost suspiciously reasonable…” Auren notes cautiously.

Her connections and influence are clearly more impressive than I initially thought.

“I asked one of the Ten Dons to vouch for me. I had to call in a favor, but it was definitely worth it, if anything happens they will be wiped out, wherever they may flee, the ten dons control the entire known world,” Rakshala adds casually.

‘Known world’? So she knows!

Anyway does she think mentioning the favor will make me part with more of my money? I guess… 500 billion Jenny is absurdly high. Maybe... no, I'll keep it all for now!

“Thank you,” Auren repeats politely. “Do I need to prepare anything? We still have nearly two weeks until the date.”

Rakshala shakes her head gently. “No, you don’t. I will personally accompany you, along with a few of my trusted aides.”

Really?

“I sense you're surprised. I can’t allow anything to go wrong. My En will ensure everything proceeds smoothly. And if someone interferes, they won't survive long enough to regret their foolishness,” Rakshala says, her voice turning icy-cold at the end. Even her En momentarily shifts, darkening the atmosphere before quickly returning to normal.

Auren nods, slightly startled by her brief outburst.

She’s not okay… There’s an extreme amount of rage inside her. I wonder what her story is. I'm getting curious. Her eyes… whatever happened was incredibly cruel. Almost reminds me of the Kurta clan, though the clan is wiped out, aside from Kurapika, and he already confirmed there are no survivors. So this has nothing to do with the Kurtas.

“I’ll see you soon, then,” Auren says, preparing to leave.

“Wait a moment,” Rakshala interrupts, stepping into her private room. Seconds later, she returns holding a small box. “Take this—I believe it will be useful for your training.”

Auren cautiously accepts, opening the box to reveal a beautifully crafted black metal visor, very similar to her own. Despite its intimidating appearance, the visor has a mysterious charm.

I see… so this is for training En.

“Challenge yourself with it. Start with a few days, then a week, and eventually aim for an entire month,” Rakshala instructs.

“I really appreciate this. I'll put it to good use,” Auren replies gratefully, briefly inspecting the visor with Gyo before putting it on.

The visor locks tightly in place, unmoving unless significant force is applied. His vision is now completely suppressed, darkness surrounding him.

Activating his En, Auren enjoys how it's no longer a smooth circle but rather a large, shifting cloud of fog, constantly morphing slightly. Despite its increased complexity, his En remains very thin, consuming minimal Aura yet allowing him to cover more than 50 meters thanks to his intense training.

I really have learned a lot from her. In just a few weeks, I managed to refine my En to reach thirty meters, and now, half a year later, I've even created my own unique version, reaching Master Rank. Considering all the time I spent learning Nen, this isn’t a big surprise. I just needed someone to teach me seriously for a while!

Relying solely on his En, Auren makes his way home easily. He quickly enters and ascends to the upper floor, heading to his gym. Before entering, he senses someone already inside. Smiling knowingly, he approaches the person.

“What’s that visor?!” a familiar female voice immediately questions him. “That looks exactly like the one our leader wears!”

“I know, Neffi. It’s a gift from her,” Auren explains casually.

“I still don’t understand why you’re so focused on En! Sure, it's useful and interesting, but developing a strong Hatsu is far more important!” Neffi argues stubbornly.

“The basics are important! The advanced techniques, despite their name, are still fairly simple applications of Nen. The more skilled you become, the more control you'll have over every aspect of your abilities. I've learned a lot from my Nen training—I’ve even developed a few new techniques for Limitless Waters,” Auren explains patiently.

“Hmmm, whatever you say! I prefer to focus entirely on my own style. Mastering too many advanced skills turns you into a jack of all trades! You know the saying,” Neffi replies with a smug grin.

“Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than a master of one?” Auren counters, smirking slightly.

“Now you're just making things up!” Neffi says, playfully hitting Auren, who quickly activates Ken, causing her strike to have zero effect.

“Ouch! You meanie!!” Neffi complains, rubbing her fist.

“See, this is exactly why you need to practice advanced techniques!” Auren retorts teasingly.

“You're younger than me! You’d better start respecting your big sister!” Neffi says, puffing her cheeks dramatically.

Auren smiles warmly and pats Neffi gently on the head, making her blush slightly but remain silent.

“How about I take care of your scars… just a little? I need to practice my ability for the upcoming deal anyway,” Auren offers kindly.

“Really?!” Neffi asks excitedly. “But… won’t that be dangerous?”

“No, not if I go slowly. You'll be fine. I won’t completely remove them—just fade them a little,” Auren reassures her, having carefully considered the consequences.

With a big smile on her face, Neffi undresses and lies down on the floor, commenting cheerfully, “Your visor is really convenient! No peeking!”

“I don’t need to peek—my En is more than enough to tell me you’re completely fla—” Auren begins before sighing deeply.

I can’t let myself get pulled into this girl’s silly games.

“Let’s start!” Auren quickly says, shrinking his En range to just two meters and activating Azure Restoration. His Aura immediately turns a vibrant azure color.

He carefully moves his hands over Neffi’s body, making sure to use the ability no longer than thirty seconds at each spot, releasing just a small amount of Aura at a time.

After a few minutes, he stops, his Aura drained slightly, though more than half still remains despite his earlier En practice.

“Perfect!” Neffi exclaims happily. “This is so much better! In a few years, I might finally be rid of them completely. Then you won't be able to resist my charms!”

“Personally, I couldn’t care less about the scars, but I guess women always worry about their appearance,” Auren remarks, shaking his head slightly. “You should be confident Neffi, those scars are really not what makes you special.”

“Hm?” Neffi mumbles, a little embarrassed, puzzled by his words but choosing not to press the issue further.

Auren continues his training diligently for the remainder of his stay. Finally, on August 7th, Auren, Rakshala, and two female aides board a small airship headed toward Yorknew.

Rakshala forcefully takes command of the airship, insisting on piloting it herself despite her lack of sight, slightly worrying Auren. Meanwhile, Auren himself sits on a couch, observing the two aides seated opposite him. Both women appear to be around thirty—clearly not new aides but trusted veterans, likely longtime associates of Rakshala.

“Rosa and Mola, right?” Auren asks, attempting at least a bit of friendliness toward the people assisting him.

I know they’re both Nen users. Rosa is tall and clearly strong, while Mola is smaller but looks agile. Both have brown hair and brown eyes, are they related? They make a balanced pair.

“Good that you remembered, boy!” Rosa replies, eyeing Auren with curiosity.

Mola crosses her arms defensively, “You'd better be grateful our goddess treats you so kindly.”

“Of course I’m grateful… but goddess? Please, don’t tell me you actually belie—”

“Mola, be kind. Auren is an important member of our community. Also, please don’t cause misunderstandings, alright?” Rakshala calmly interrupts, causing Mola to blush slightly and shyly avert her gaze.

No normal people in this ‘community,’ huh?

Auren takes out his phone and quickly messages Konrad, letting him know he'll soon be in Yorknew and asking for updates regarding their company.

Auren reads Konrad's quick reply:

“Fantastic. Our high-end products are extremely costly, but we’re making a fortune. However, I have some bad news. The research Cluck is involved with will finish soon, rendering our current products obsolete. Still, I have successfully applied for patents—it cost me a hundred million to bribe a few acquaintances, but I have pushed them through. Even if they won’t hold up, we can delay our rivals long enough to earn more money. However, ideally, we should sell the company fairly soon before things get public—I expect around 20 billion Jenny for it. Additionally, we've accumulated earnings of 6 billion Jenny. I’ll wire you half shortly.”

Auren smiles to himself, feeling pleased as his wealth steadily grows, thanks to multiple profitable ventures.

Less than a day later, their small group arrives in Yorknew, and Auren begins preparations for his ‘client.’