Chapter 6: Attributes

One week later.

Heather sat cross-legged on a massive stone, resting her chin on her hand as she watched Izenaby instruct Kurapika in the training of "Ren."

"Keep going! Haven't you eaten? Speed up!" Izenaby shouted loudly, arms crossed.

"Mobilize your aura as much as possible! Squeeze it out! Press it! This little bit of aura—you’re joking, right?"

Kurapika, sweat pouring down his forehead, stood by the stream, eyes closed, desperately extracting his aura. In Heather’s view, the aura enveloping Kurapika’s body steadily grew stronger, transforming from a thin viscous layer into flames.

Wow, a Super Saiyan.

Heather muttered inwardly—blond hair, radiant light—if only there were some bolts of lightning nearby, it would be even more convincing.

After several minutes, Kurapika suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily, sweat dripping all over.

Izenaby nodded. "The total amount of aura has increased significantly since the start. Rest for ten minutes."

Kurapika was too exhausted to respond, only able to focus on regaining his strength.

"Heather, your turn." Izenaby cracked his neck with a series of sharp pops. "Show me your 'Ren.'"

With a grunt, Heather flipped off the rock and landed lightly, shaking her hands and legs loose. After a few warm-up movements, she clenched her fists at her waist, spread her legs slightly, narrowed her eyes, and shouted,

"Ha! SUPER! SAIYA-JIN!!"

A fierce and vibrant aura burst forth from every pore, resembling a blazing ball of fire made of aura.

"What the hell are you shouting..." Izenaby instinctively raised his arm to shield himself. This aura was terrifying. "Stop for now."

"Teacher, don’t you think this form still needs improvement?" Heather adopted the earnest expression of a craftsman. "I think we have to add some crackling lightning wrapping around the body, then some surging airflow... and of course, the 'sizzle-sizzle' sound effect!"

Izenaby, having spent some time with Heather, had begun to understand how to handle her. He scratched his head and replied, "We’ll get to those later. Heather, try lowering the speed of refining your aura, then shift the aura to your eyes."

"Like this?"

Two ghostly flames of aura gathered at Heather’s eyes. At that moment, she noticed a floating number "4" formed of aura beside Izenaby.

"See that? Say out loud what you see."

"Four. Is this the 'In' you mentioned before—that technique used to conceal aura?"

"Exactly."

The number beside Izenaby continuously morphed. "The technique of concentrating aura in the eyes is called 'Gyo,' an application of 'Ren.' Correspondingly, 'In' is an application of 'Zetsu.'"

Kurapika, having caught his breath, fell into deep thought upon hearing Izenaby’s words. It seemed that Nen powers were indeed profound, with various advanced techniques.

He attempted to concentrate aura in his eyes like Heather, but immediately felt a tremendous drain as his aura rapidly dissipated! The concentration lasted less than two seconds before the aura shattered and collapsed.

Izenaby glanced at Kurapika, panting on the ground, and comforted him: "Don’t be impatient. Mastering advanced Nen techniques requires diligent training and practice."

He could see that his disciple was eager to master Nen quickly, but the path was arduous and required steady, step-by-step progress.

Well, except for Heather.

Suddenly, Izenaby remembered something and clapped his hands with a smile. "Perfect timing—your 'Ren' has progressed well. Let’s test your Nen 'Attributes.'"

"…Attributes?"

A wine glass filled with clear water quietly rested on the stone.

Kurapika and Heather stared at the glass for a moment before turning to Izenaby. "Stop the mystification. How exactly do we test this?"

"Patience, patience... oh, this leaf will do."

Izenaby placed a leaf on the surface of the water. "Heather, didn’t you ask me earlier at Old Jack’s why I use a wine glass? Now I can tell you."

"First, Kurapika, congratulations. You passed the final exam of the Hunter Test."

He looked at Kurapika and smiled, stroking his stubbled chin. "You don’t seem surprised. That’s right—only by learning Nen can one become a true professional Hunter. Those who fail are eliminated and have their Hunter licenses revoked."

"But the four main techniques of Nen include 'Hatsu,' which you haven’t taught us yet," Kurapika frowned. "'Hatsu' is the most important part of Nen, isn’t it?"

"Don’t rush. Let me explain slowly."

Izenaby sat beside the stone, motioning for them to sit as well.

"For you two, 'Hatsu' isn’t difficult to learn. After mastering 'Hatsu,' you must explore and practice on your own, blending your unique personality and creativity to forge your exclusive Nen ability."

"'Hatsu' is the skill to freely manipulate aura—considered the pinnacle of Nen mastery. It is generally divided into six major categories."

"Nen is deeply tied to each person’s character—both innate abilities and those cultivated through life experience. Determining your category is simple with the 'Water Seeing Test.' Kurapika, you go first. Use your 'Ren' on this glass of water."

Kurapika stepped forward, holding his hands around the glass without touching it, releasing his aura.

Gradually, tiny specks of light flickered within the water.

Izenaby bent down to observe carefully and spoke slowly, "Impurities of some unknown substance appeared in the water. Kurapika, you are a Conjuration type—this category allows you to transform your aura into any object you desire, materializing aura into matter."

"Conjuration..." Kurapika lowered his hands and furrowed his brow. "Besides Conjuration, what other types are there?"

"That’s exactly what I’m about to explain."

Izenaby took out a blank sheet and laid it on the stone, drawing a hexagon.

"Aura is classified into six main types. Besides the Conjuration you just showed..."

"If the water level in the glass rises significantly, that’s Enhancement type. Enhancers strengthen their bodies with aura for combat. In terms of sheer fighting ability, this is the strongest."

"If the water’s taste changes, that’s Transformation type, which alters the nature of aura."

"If the leaf moves on its own, that’s Manipulation type, which controls objects or living beings with aura."

"If the water changes color, that’s Emission type, which launches aura over a distance for attacks."

"If something different from the other five types occurs, that’s Specialization type."

Kurapika looked disappointed. "I see... It’d be great if I were an Enhancer—the strongest in combat."

"Fool, it’s not about what you want. Your constitution decides. Of course, you can learn some Enhancement techniques. But before that..."

Izenaby emptied the glass, refilled it with fresh water, and replaced the leaf. "Now, Heather, let’s see your type."

"Finally!" Heather placed her hands around the glass’s sides and activated her aura.

Crack! Crack!

With a series of crisp sounds, fine cracks appeared on the glass walls. In the water, numerous metallic-colored crystals emerged and grew rapidly.

Within a second, the glass shattered, water spilled onto the stone, and the crystals vanished.

"You’re also a Conjuration type. Unexpected—I thought you might be Enhancement or Specialization..."

Izenaby rubbed his stubbled chin.

"Master! You still haven’t told me how to use Enhancement abilities!" Kurapika couldn’t wait.

"Tsk, such a practical disciple. Only calls me master when he needs something!"

Izenaby scratched his head, then marked the six corners of the hexagon on paper with the names of the six types, adding corresponding percentages.

"Listen carefully. Assuming you fully develop your Conjuration abilities, the proficiency rates for other types would be like this."

He pointed to the numbers: Conjuration 100%, Transformation 80%, Enhancement 60%, Emission 40%, Manipulation 60%, Specialization 0%.

"No matter how talented you are," Izenaby glanced at Heather, "you can’t fully develop abilities outside your own type."

He then pointed to Emission, opposite Conjuration. "The farther the ability is from your own category, the lower your proficiency."

Kurapika frowned at the hexagon and suddenly asked, "Why is Specialization at zero?"

"Specialization is very special. It’s not something you can learn at will. It requires a unique bloodline or an extraordinary upbringing."

The pen twirled swiftly between Izenaby’s fingers before he grasped it firmly. "Specialization is placed between Conjuration and Manipulation because people in these two types have the highest chance of transitioning into Specialization. This means you might still learn Specialization abilities. But don’t be fooled by the name—most Specialization abilities are strange supportive powers. They’re weaker in direct combat than Conjuration."

Kurapika’s frown deepened. "More than Conjuration or Specialization, I need power to defeat enemies alone!"

"You said before you became a Hunter to reclaim the scarlet eyes left outside by the Kuruta clan, right? There will inevitably be many battles. Wanting Enhancement abilities is sensible, as it balances offense, defense, and healing—truly the strongest combat system."

Izenaby shook the pen. "Unfortunately, you’re a Conjuration type. If you learn Enhancement, you can only reach about half the skill and power shown here."

Heather suddenly asked, "If two opponents have similar aura quality and quantity, between Conjuration and Enhancement, who has the advantage in battle?"

"Hmm..."

Izenaby scratched his scalp and tossed the pen onto the paper. "There’s no simple answer. Facing an Enhancer with extreme offense and defense, a Conjuror struggles to win. But if you use Conjuration to turn aura into physical objects, you can unleash astonishing power. Heather, let me ask you: can Conjuration create a ‘blade that can cut through anything’?"

"No, right? That’s beyond theory and human limits," Heather tilted her head.

"Exactly. Such ridiculous things cannot be conjured. But creating a ‘hard, sharp blade’ is possible. But will you settle for that? Why not just buy a real famous sword if that’s all?"

Izenaby stroked his chin and explained slowly:

"If you only conjure real weapons, you won’t realize the strange power of Nen—at best, you get the effect of wielding them freely. In that case, Conjuration is at a disadvantage in battle... You need imagination!"

Heather began to understand. "You mean, as long as I believe I can conjure it, and I have enough aura, I truly can?"

"Idiot, are you even listening? You must carefully consider the most suitable objects to conjure. Failure is not an option. It takes a massive amount of focus, imagination, and training to conjure something flexibly."

Kurapika grew despondent. Just ordinary weapons couldn’t possibly deal with the Phantom Troupe’s monstrous fiends!

"I have a question. Suppose I want to conjure a ‘blade that can cut through everything.’ Obviously impossible, right? But what if I add conditions—weaknesses, similar effects? Could that be conjured?"

Heather’s words suddenly enlightened Kurapika, who looked up at Izenaby.

Izenaby scratched his head. "You two are troublesome disciples... Fine, there is a technique called ‘Restriction and Vow.’"

"‘Restriction’ means setting conditions to be fulfilled, and ‘Vow’ is swearing to abide by them. Rules are established, and you swear in your heart: ‘No matter what happens, I must obey these conditions!’"

Izenaby raised his right hand and clenched it tightly. "The stricter the rules, the greater the power! It’s like playing mahjong or poker—the harder the hand to get, the higher the score. If normal Nen enhancement is additive, then Nen with restrictions and vows is multiplicative, amplifying abilities severalfold!"

"Within your mental limits, create restrictions for the weapon you conjure. Honestly, this daring skill is unstable, like a double-edged sword. If you break the vow, the backlash will destroy your Nen! Now, have you decided what to conjure?"

"Chains."

Kurapika said calmly.

"When I learned I was a Conjuror, this image came to mind. To bind the Phantom Troupe’s wanton fiends and drag them to the underworld, chains are necessary!"

"You surely won’t be satisfied with ordinary chains. Any ideas?"

"Chains used only against the Troupe, impossible to break free from."

"Is the condition that they can’t be used outside the targets? Not strict enough!" Izenaby shook his head. "At that level, you can’t make ‘unbreakable chains.’"

"Wait. Not being used on anyone but the Troupe is just the premise."

Kurapika’s eyes gradually turned scarlet. "I will stake my life on this. If I break the vow, my own chains will tear my heart apart—that’s my resolve!"

Izenaby stood, astonished. "Wait, Kurapika! When you turn scarlet-eyed, doesn’t your aura increase... Yes, your aura surges!"

He hurriedly found another wine glass, filled it with water, and dropped a leaf on top. "Come quickly, do the Water Seeing Test again! Maybe you’re..."

"The leaf moves, the color turns red, water increases, unknown impurities appear, wait..."

Izenaby dipped his finger into the water and tasted it. "The flavor changes too! Kurapika, you’re not just a Conjuror. When you’re scarlet-eyed, you’re a Specialization type!"

"Is this really alright? Manufacturing a cheat right on the spot?"

Heather, sitting nearby, had read the original manga but was speechless at the scene—it was truly a godsend.

Kurapika’s Specialization ability meant that as long as he was in his scarlet-eyed state, every Nen type could be performed at 100% capacity. Its name—

Absolute Time.