Chapter 98: Proper Guidance—Fading Scars

Seeing the group’s respectable showing of Ten, Auren nods approvingly.“Better than I thought. Now let’s switch to Zetsu!” he orders.

“What about me?!” Neffi asks, pouting.

“...Neffi, you have a Nen Master and are already quite experienced. Obviously, your Ten is quite advanced. Stop being childish,” Auren replies, looking annoyed.

What is wrong with this girl? She is suddenly so clingy and attention-seeking.

As Neffi looks a little frustrated, Auren focuses back on his students.

Like before, Konrad’s performance is mediocre. Auren can’t find a real flaw in his Zetsu, and he is indeed quite hard to detect. However, he can still feel the faintest hint of Aura, meaning Konrad is still having a few minor flaws in his use of Zetsu.

Eren, not surprisingly, maybe thanks to his prior experience as a pickpocket, displays a flawless Zetsu. It’s on a level that makes Auren doubt his own talent. Since Eren has only around a year of experience, his progress is astonishingly fast.

I think I needed more than three years to reach his level. I was a kid, only six years old when I learned Nen, but still. If we’re only talking about Zetsu, he is a real prodigy. A few more years and he will completely master the technique.

Finally, he looks at Vanessa, who, unsurprisingly, has the most underdeveloped Zetsu of the three. Despite her using Zetsu, Auren can still feel and even faintly see her Aura. Obviously there is still Aura flowing out of her Aura nodes.

She had the shortest amount of time, and it seems her character is rather extroverted. Zetsu does not suit her. She needs to put in more effort, but despite all of that, Auren doesn’t think she is hopeless.

“You three are all doing reasonably well. Konrad, just keep working. I think you know yourself that you are on the right track. Eren, your Zetsu is incredibly advanced. A few more years and you will reach Master level. Vanessa, you are actually doing better than expected. You just need to keep training. Zetsu is not the most important technique, but you shouldn’t neglect it either. I think you will just have to continuously practice it. Whenever you aren’t actively training or using Ten, use Zetsu,” Auren explains, his tone steady and instructive.

“Finally... show me your Ren!” he announces.

The three all begin to use Ren, their Aura surging out of their bodies.

Auren studies them carefully. Similarly to their use of Ten, their distinct traits reveal themselves again.

“Okay,” he says after a moment of thought, “I don’t think I need to go into more detail. It’s similar to your use of Ten. Konrad, you are fairly balanced again. Eren, your Ren seems smooth and stable, but is overall way too weak. Vanessa, while your overall Aura output is quite high, I see that you haven’t really mastered this technique yet, as your Aura is unstable. Considering you had the least time to practice, that’s perfectly acceptable, however.”

Auren crosses his arms, “Ren is the foundation of Nen. While Zetsu has its uses, it’s not a vital technique. Ren is important for any battle and also the way to increase your overall Aura input. You need to diligently train your Ren, even if you dislike it.”

All three of them Nod, seemingly understanding Auren’s point.

“I’d like to think we can trust each other. Have you checked your affinities yet? Konrad, I know yours, and you already have your Hatsu. It’s up to you how much you want to share. How about you, Eren, Vanessa, did you check your affinities yet?” Auren asks, his curiosity showing just a little.

Vanessa looks confused. “Konrad said I am an Enhancer, but I didn’t test mine yet! He said he tested mine! So you lied to me?! Asshole!”

She then starts to hit her brother, who blocks her attacks but is visibly frustrated as he takes the blows.

Despite his obvious pain, Konrad grins, while Auren lets out a sigh of disapproval. “Personality can be an indicator, but it’s by no means a foolproof method. Konrad, don’t be silly and bully your sister. She needs to do Water Divination. How about you, Eren?”

Eren shakes his head. “I’ve also waited. Honestly, I am in no rush to create a Hatsu... as you pointed out, I realize my Aura capacity is quite low, so I am working on that.”

“It’s smart to wait a while. Rushing and hastily creating the first Hatsu that comes to mind can ruin your Nen path and make you regret your choices for a lifetime. I trained for years before committing to a Hatsu,” Auren explains, recalling his own experiences. “The Basic and Advanced Techniques should come first. I’ll also show you a few exercises to train your affinities. Especially for Enhancers, Emitters, and Transmuters, the choice of Hatsu is critical, so building a solid base with the fundamentals takes priority. Conjurers and Manipulators, on the other hand, tend to be weaker in straight combat, so they rely more heavily on their Hatsus.”

“Well... let’s test it out then,” Auren says. He picks up an empty glass, fills it with water from a nearby bottle, then casually plucks a random leaf from a potted plant and drops it into the glass. Placing the glass on a table, he gestures for the others to gather around it.

“Just use Ren, keep your hands close to the glass, and pour as much Aura into them as you can,” Auren instructs.

To demonstrate, Auren briefly performs Water Divination himself. He only uses Ren for a split second, yet even in that instant, the water begins to spill over the edge, running down the glass and onto the table. He wipes it away with a tissue before continuing.

This way, they think I’m an Enhancer. There is no need to reveal that this test also says I’m showing signs of being an Emitter and Transmuter.

“I’ve already explained the different affinities, right? What you just saw is the sign of an Enhancer,” Auren says.

“Interesting!” Vanessa grins as she steps forward. She positions her hands next to the glass and uses Ren.

To everyone’s surprise, nothing happens at first. “Nothing?!” she exclaims, looking disappointed.

“Keep going,” Auren tells her calmly.

Probably a Transmuter then? He wonders.

But as Vanessa continues, the water slowly begins to turn red.

“You’re an Emitter,” Auren notes, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Judging from the qualities of your Aura, though, you also have a decent amount of talent in Enhancement. That means you’re an Emitter leaning toward Enhancement. You should focus your training on those two affinities. Manipulation could be an option as well, but only if you plan to mix it into a Hatsu.”

“Emitter...” Vanessa mutters, looking genuinely upset. “I’m not sure I like that. Enhancement would have been simpler. It feels like it would fit me better.”

“Don’t worry,” Auren reassures her. “Even as an Emitter, you can still train Enhancement. But it would be a waste not to include Emission in your Hatsu. Trust me—Emission is a great affinity. You can make very straightforward but effective abilities that mix well with Enhancement. You’ve seen some of my fights in Heaven’s Arena, right? I’ll show you a few techniques later. Personally, I think Emission combined with Enhancement and a weapon—something like my katana, or even better, a ranged weapon—is easy to learn and devastating if correctly used.”

“...” Vanessa nods, though her expression is still filled with confusion.

“You’ve got plenty of time to think it over,” Auren adds.

He then turns his attention to Eren.

Eren goes through the Water Divination just as Vanessa did. Minutes pass, but the water doesn’t react at all.

“So you’re a Transmuter,” Auren concludes. “Taste the water. Sometimes the change in taste gives a clue for the direction of your ability.”

Eren takes a sip and grimaces. “It tastes... salty.”

“Transmutation is probably the trickiest affinity. It takes a lot of work to find a certain substance you want to mimic with your Aura. Maybe you also want to focus on changing the shape of your Aura? Carefully think about it, I’ll tell you a few examples of good uses of Transmutation later.”

“You should also use Water Divination as part of your training,” Auren advises. “It’s a solid method on its own and will improve your inborn affinity. Aside from that, there are a few exercises you should include in your training.”

To demonstrate, he shifts his Aura into Transmutation, writing numbers in the air one after another. Then he changes them into simple calculations, the equations glowing faintly as he forms them with Aura. A moment later, he switches his exercise—creating small Nen balls and flinging them against the wall, where they pop on impact.

“We can go over these exercises in the coming weeks,” Auren explains calmly.

“Lastly, you should both spend time training Enhancement as well,” Auren continues. “The best way is to use Shu—infuse objects with your Aura and try to prevent them from breaking, while doing tasks that normally would destroy them. If you’re outside, take some stones, cover them in Shu, and smash them together. That’s a very direct and effective method.”

“Konrad, even with your affinity, it won’t hurt you to practice this too,” Auren adds, giving him a brief look.

Konrad is the type who wouldn’t focus on Enhancement, but a little training doesn’t hurt. He will probably focus way too much on his Hatsu. I’ll ask him later to show it to me. I wonder what he has come up with?

Konrad nods, looking a bit guilty.

After talking a little more, Auren finally says, “I’ve booked four large Hotel rooms. We don’t have to sleep here; this can just be our temporary training location.”

While Jolt’s family stays on the airship, Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, Konrad, Eren and his siblings head to the hotel.

Vanessa, with a cruel smirk, grabs her brother and drags him into a room. “I still owe you my ‘thanks’ for guessing my affinity.” She comments, while Konrad looks genuinely frightened.

“Thank you so much for training us,” Eren says, before disappearing into another room with his siblings.

Finally, Auren heads into his own room, only for Neffi to follow him.

“There is one more room left,” Auren says. “You are acting a little strange. What’s wrong?”

“Idiot!” She says, but shows no sign of leaving the room. “You are neglecting me! I won’t leave!”

Auren stares at her and can’t help but feel a little surprised.I guess... she really likes me. I guess after saving her and healing her injuries, her opinion of me changed.

Auren finally smiles, “We haven’t done it in a while. How about another treatment? It’s time to get rid of a few more scars!”

Neffi smiles shyly in response and nods.

Auren’s Aura changes into a bright Azure color as he activates Azure Restoration. He gathers most of it in his hands and readies himself.