Chapter 23: The Hunter System, Nen

Chapter 23: The Hunter System, Nen

Chapter 23 The Hunter System, Nen

It was too late for another match, so the trio headed out of the tower for some dinner and arrived at Wing's house afterward.

Wing invited them in and entered teacher mode. He wrote five characters on the whiteboard and named them: Nen, Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. He then explained what each one meant.

"Do I have your attention? Nen has the meaning of burning your soul, inflaming your spirit. The four major principles are part of a training curriculum for strengthening your will."

Gon asked with some disbelief, "Will strengthening?" while Killua questioned aloud, "Training?"

Wing pointed to each of the following symbols while explaining their meaning.

"That's correct. This practice is called Nen of Flame. We'll start with Ten, sometimes called Ten of Point. Ten means focusing your soul into a single point to increase your awareness of your ego and goals by removing extraneous thoughts. Zetsu means to translate that point into words, taking the focus from that single point of Ten and giving it a direction using language. Ren means to temper those words into an expression through amplification, giving substance to the insubstantial. And Hatsu means to act upon that expression, using that substance as if it were real."

He wrote a word next to each of the five characters to imply their meaning. Nen=Flame. Ten=Point. Zetsu=Language. Ren=Temper. Hatsu=Action.

He then turned to Rayleigh and said, "Rayleigh, Zushi tempered his refusal to lose during his fight with you. Allow me to demonstrate. I will now perform Ren while holding the thought, 'I am going to kill you now.' Are you ready?"

Ray nodded while Killua looked a little skeptical and Gon looked intrigued.

Wing continued, "I'll demonstrate step by step. First, Ten. I concentrate my soul into a single point. Then comes Zetsu, you can express yourself verbally or mentally, whichever is your preference. The expression I'll be focusing my soul on is, 'I will kill you.' Then comes Ren."

Wing suddenly released his lifeforce and covered himself in it. Wing felt like an existence that every cell in Rayleigh's body told him to run away from or he would be killed. The same feeling was felt equally by Gon and Killua.

Being in the presence of that aura badly affected him, but after experiencing it a few times, Rayleigh knew how to bypass it using Force Valor. Force Valor used the Force to control and direct the body, so the foreign instincts caused by Wing's aura were ignored.

Rayleigh didn't budge, and Gon didn't take a step back either. Gon was also a battle-junkie. The threat of death meant a good fight, which wasn't something he backed away from. But since he didn't come to fight Wing, he was a little confused by the crossed-signals.

Killua's reaction was a bit more normal. Kinda. He had planted himself in the room's corner, seven feet off the ground and close to the ceiling, with his arms and legs bracing either side of the corner and sweat dripping from his brow.

Wing halted the effect and continued, "After Ren comes Hatsu, where I act upon my thought. Obviously, I'm not really going to kill you, so I won't be demonstrating Hatsu. If your own will is strong enough, you can make your opponent back down without moving a single muscle using Ren. This shares the same basis as a bluff that can be accompanied by a shout or yell which enhances the effect of Zetsu."

Everyone turned to look at Killua, still clinging awkwardly to the wall. He dropped down with a huff and stood next to Gon.

Wing continued, "Ren hardens that which is soft, and training it makes the user stubborn and more difficult to change. Training Ren can cause someone to lose the ability to correct an incorrect idea and grow out of an immature or improper mindset. Therefore, you should avoid using Ren until your souls have fully matured. That is why I shouted at Zushi not to use Ren. Right now, you boys and Zushi should be training your souls. If you wish to learn Nen of Flame, you should practice Ten of Point. If you master Ten of Point, you will no longer feel the pressure of another's bluff."

Killua was about to leave, but Rayleigh stopped him. He asked Wing, "So for Ten of Point, is it a requirement to shed all thoughts, or all but a single thought?"

Wing answered, "Concentrating on nothing is useless, but a thought is too large as well. A single thought contains many concepts, histories, ideas, and impurities. A perfected Ten of Point concentrates on one or more basic concepts into a single point free of irrelevant impurities."

Ray asked, "How does concentrating on basic concepts increase self-awareness?"

Wing smiled at the question and answered with a bit of enthusiasm, "Because it isn't possible to concentrate on just any concept. Only a concept that is at the heart of your very being can accept your full concentration. Trying out various concepts and seeing which can take more of your concentration allows for self-discovery. Once you have found the concept or concepts that you can focus your entire being into, you will know yourself."

Gon asked from the side, "What kinds of concepts?"

Wing shook his head, "Words themselves each have too many concepts, so I can't answer your question using any. You can only discover what is best on your own. Start by using words that have meaning to you and breaking them down into their most fundamental parts. It is fine if you don't completely understand the concept or concepts you choose as long as you can feel them and concentrate on them with everything you have. Mastering the Ten of Point ensures that what makes you unique will be the foundation upon which everything else is built. The strongest foundation is always yourself."

Wing turned to Rayleigh and stated, "You asked some good questions. Have you done anything like this in the past?"

Rayleigh shrugged, but used telekinesis to lift the room's couch, TV, desk, nightstand, tables, chairs, refrigerator, and Zushi into the air. To Wing's dumbfounded expression, Ray answered, "Something like that. I'll share more the next time we meet." Everything and the flailing Zushi were then carefully put back where they were. Rayleigh left without saying a word, followed by Killua and Gon.

After getting a few blocks away, Killua laughed and said, "You showed that liar."

Gon asked, "He lied?"

Rayleigh answered, "Kinda. Everything he told us was true, but it wasn't what we wanted to know. I doubt Illumi knows what 'Ten of Point' is, and what Zushi used to defend himself against my attacks had nothing to do with a bluff. Every match Zushi lost on the sixtieth floor was a TKO. He hasn't been physically defeated even once. As for Wing, from how he answered my questions, Nen of Flame is definitely a legitimate will-strengthening exercise, but if will power was all someone needed to use aura, all of us would be able to use it by now. As far as I could tell, nothing Wing said had anything to do with aura or lifeforce."

Killua nodded, still a bit peeved that he reacted so badly to Wing's intimidation when Ray and Gon held their ground.

Gon asked, "But why did he lie?"

Ray answered, "We are not his students, so he has no obligation to teach us. I suspect Nen of Flame is already quite valuable, so he passed that off as the real thing to distract us."

Killua was still thinking over their interactions and trying to piece together Nen of Flame's value. He then recalled a certain line and pointed out, "Hey Ray, why did you say 'the next time we meet'?"

Rayleigh smiled, "Hehe, I saw that once we reach the 200th floor, Wing will come and teach us real Nen."

Gon almost shouted, "Really?! That's awesome!"

Killua asked, "We only need five more fights, so that'll only take us two days. Why then, and not today?"

Rayleigh shook his head. He didn't know. He was going to ask Wing directly if they could be his students tonight, since it's common sense not to teach someone who isn't your student. But then he saw a shatterpoint that showed him what would happen if he didn't ask, so he remained silent instead.

Gon pointed out, "If he'll teach us when we reach the 200th floor, maybe he refused today because he didn't think we'd reach it."

Killua added, "But why would reaching the 200th floor make a difference?"

Ray thought it over and asked, "Did you ever ask your dad why he said to return after the 190th floor and not the 200th? Maybe he knew something."

Killua nodded and said, "Maybe, but my dad isn't the kind of person you just ask questions to, so I never found out. You think the 200th floor has something to do with Nen?"

Gon asked, "Maybe we'll learn Nen on our own if we go to the 200th floor?"

Rayleigh felt a twitch in the Force and said, "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Let's just pass the 190th floor and wait for Wing."

Killua asked, "Did you see something?"

Rayleigh answered, "Kinda. I'm sure we'll find out then."

Gon shouted, "Yeah! Let's get to the 200th floor!"

Rayleigh was heavily tempted to just ask the Hunter Chat, but felt it shouldn't be needed. You obviously couldn't believe anything said inside. Besides, he was already riding the Main Character Express. Why take an unnecessary detour?

Ray, Gon, and Killua did three back-to-back matches the following day before returning to their rooms. Ray had already convinced them of Nen of Flame's value, and they both spent the night practicing Ten of Point.

Rayleigh spent that night attempting to create a more potent will-strengthening exercise by combining the Ten of Point and Alar. Rayleigh had clearly spent enough time meditating that achieving the Ten of Point was not difficult. The concepts he chose to focus on didn't have a word he could associate them with. Together, they had a similar feel to 'balance,' but also resembled 'payback with interest,' and 'unrestricted, unlimited growth.' He couldn't describe it if asked, but this combination was something he felt naturally able to focus his entire being into. Once he got familiar with the feeling of having his entire being focused into a single point, he could use that feeling of focus for Alar Training's Absolute Belief. Once he mastered that, he could begin with Contrary Belief, using his single point of focus to absolutely believe two things that were completely contradictory.

Alar Training would probably make him go crazy, but sanity was highly overrated to begin with.

The next day began early with a match on the 180th floor. Rayleigh's opponent looked like a madman who had grown his nails out into long claws. Weapons weren't allowed in these matches, so they could only use their bare hands. This guy got around that by sharpening his nails and applying a diamond-like enamel to them to ensure they were as hard as steel and could be sharpened better than most knives.

The announcer spoke enthusiastically to the raucous audience.

[Today's match, we have Rayleigh Rush, who, just as his name suggests, has Rushed all the way from the first floor to the 180th floor without a single loss! But today may be the end of his streak, for he faces Bloodclaw! As you all know, every one of Bloodclaw's losses comes from disqualification due to his opponent's gruesome Deaths! He has yet to actually lose a single match! How will our young Hero fare against the bloodthirsty killer?! Place your bets Now!]

After hearing about his opponent's 'glorious' history, Rayleigh felt a need to try something. The claw-fingered killer hunched himself over with a sinister smirk. The moment the ref called out for the match to begin, the man vanished from his position and moved to Rayleigh's side at a blindingly fast pace.

He slashed at Rayleigh's face with the clear intention of shredding through his eyes and shearing off his nose. Rayleigh dodged, but not enough. A trickle of blood dripped from his cheek.

The announcer called out, [Rayleigh dodged! But he has received his first injury since his arrival in the tower! Was it a lucky dodge, or will this be the end of Rayleigh Rush?!]

The murderer snickered and slashed again. His shirt had sleeves with black and white stripes. This was a trick Rayleigh recognized from an episode of Rurouni Kenshin. It made people misjudge the length of the man's arms and fail to dodge.

Rayleigh dodged again, and this time the tip of his nose was scratched. It would be very itchy until it healed, but he was used to itchy, so it didn't matter.

The man was no longer happy with these pitiful flesh wounds and shouted, "Dodge this if you can!" while launching himself forward with both arms wide apart, ready to strike whichever way he dodged.

Wing continued, "Your body will be crushed under your opponent's Hatsu."

Everyone looked at Rayleigh for a moment. He admitted, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can't survive that." He could use the Force to mitigate the symptoms of Ren exposure, but a direct attack was a direct attack. He might be able to do something with Tutaminis, the Force Art of Energy Control within the Body, but he'd need more practice.

Wing nodded with just a slight look of relief at Rayleigh's admission. He continued, "There are two general ways to awaken Nen. The deliberate way, and the aggressive way. Zushi trained the deliberate way. He worked hard and learned Ten in six months."

Killua looked outraged and said, "That's too long for us!"

Wing nodded, "That's why we will use the aggressive way. I will attempt to shock you into awakening. I will give your sleeping bodies a jolt so you can learn Ten more easily. I say your bodies are asleep, because your body's micropyles are closed."

Rayleigh asked, "Micropyles?"

Wing answered, "Micropyles, sometimes called Shouko, Aura Openings, Aura Veins or Aura Nodes, are the numerous pores and pathways within the body that release aura. Because they are closed, the flow of aura within your bodies is stunted. Under normal circumstances, you would spend a lot of time meditating and discovering your own auras while slowly opening these apertures. Even Zushi required three months to locate and open all of his. However, I suspect you three could do it in a week. Or even sooner."

Wing shook his head and said, "It's a shame we don't have enough time, so we can only do it this way. The aggressive way is highly frowned upon because if done by someone too weak or someone who has bad intentions, you could be completely crippled."

Gon said, "But you're not weak, and you don't want to hurt us."

Killua added, "I prefer the quick and dirty way to begin with."

Rayleigh stepped aside and said, "Actually, I'm curious about the normal way. You two can both do it this way. I'd like to try the deliberate way."

Killua pointed out, "But you'd have to start over from the first floor."

And Gon said, "And you wouldn't be able to fight on the 200th Floor until then."

Wing countered, "No, that's actually a preferable method for Rayleigh and yourself, Gon. Killua is the exception because he doesn't have a second chance. After registering for the 200th floor, you don't have to register for a fight for three months. I'm going to train you three for as long as it takes before I let you fight on the 200th floor."

Rayleigh said, "It's fine if Gon awakens with Killua. I just want to learn how to awaken on my own." Like hell he was going to rely on someone else. Let the Main Characters cheat, he'd redo the Tower and get a few hundred million more zennies and more combat experience while achieving a perfect foundation for the new system.

Wing obviously couldn't hear Rayleigh's inner monologue and stated, "That's very mature of you, Rayleigh. Very well. Gon, Killua, go put on some t-shirts. I am going to place my hands on your backs and inject you with my Aura."

Rayleigh asked, "If getting injected with Aura is enough to forcibly awaken Aura, could you awaken Aura from receiving an Aura attack?"

Wing nodded, "That's exactly right. Many of the fighters of the 200th Floor awoke their Nen exactly like that. They arrived at the 200th floor completely ignorant about Nen and received a powerful Aura attack in their first fight. The few that survived had their micropyles opened, though at great cost. They consider it a baptism."

Killua asked, "Is that why you came and changed your mind about teaching us?"

"Yes. That, and another reason. I called Chairman Netero after you left and heard all about you three. You see, Netero is actually the grandmaster of my school, Shingen-ryu style kung fu. He was the one who invented the Nen of Flame and standardized the Nen of Force. He didn't specifically tell me to teach you, but it was obvious he would have been disappointed if I didn't."

Rayleigh added, "That explains why you talk like him."

Wing smiled again at the comparison.

The reason was good enough for Killua. He and Gon stood next to each other as Wing placed a palm on their backs. A moment later, a weak surge of energy was forced into the pair. Immediately, their lifeforce seemed to be more outside their bodies than inside.

The pair looked like they had been shocked. They started staring at their hands and the air around them.

Wing explained, "That's lifeforce. All your micropyles are open. You can see it, right? It's because the countless tiny micropyles within your eyes are also open."

Gon exclaimed, "It's like water vapor. Water vapor escaping a kettle."

Killua looked a bit panicked and stated, "It's escaping from everywhere. Is this normal?"

Wing calmly explained, "It's lifeforce. If you continue to let it escape, you'll become heavily fatigued."

Killua asked, "So we're screwed?!"

Wing directed, "Use Ten of Point to focus your mind. Next, think of aura to be a liquid that surrounds your bodies. In your minds, imagine it as a halo that envelops and undulates."

The pair closed their eyes and took a relaxed stance. Rayleigh had no ability to see aura. Everything he knew was a second-hand impression from the Force. But from what he could sense, the lifeforce that was leaving their bodies like a running faucet was now circulating in, out, and over the surface of their bodies.

Wing looked both impressed and scared at the ease of their actions.

He stated, "Open your eyes slowly, don't lose focus. How do you feel?"

Gon eloquently answered, "Like I'm covered in warm mucus."

Killua explained using less vulgar terms, "It's like wearing very light clothes."

Wing nodded and continued to say, "Try to hold this image in your mind every day. When you get used to it, you'll be able to use Ten even while sleeping."

Wing then amplified his aura, using what Rayleigh now recognized as Ren. "Now I am going to channel some hostility and project my Ren. Before this, just staying in the presence of someone using Ren was painful for you."

Killua nodded, "Yeah, I think I get your example of standing in a blizzard now."

Wing continued, "If you can press through this, you can pass through Hisoka's wall."

Wing amplified his Ren to the same degree that Hisoka had used his own.

Rayleigh was still able to bypass the symptoms with the Force, but now Gon and Killua were less affected as well.

Wing magnified his Ren even further, but this only caused Gon and Killua to cycle their Ten quicker, allowing Wing's Ren to flow around them.

Wing halted his Ren and said, "You're ready. Go on and register for the 200th floor. I'll start Rayleigh on his deliberate awakening."

Gon and Killua left the room, and Wing entered lecture mode.

"There are three hundred and sixty-one primary micropyles in the body. Each is connected to one or more other primary micropyles, and each is also connected to dozens, or in many cases, hundreds, of lesser micropyles. There are over 9000 lesser micropyles in the human body, but they open naturally when the primary micropyles to which they are connected open, so we only have to focus on the primary ones. The first micropyle is the hardest to open and is considered the key to opening the others. It is located on the small of the back, the same spot I injected my aura into your friends at."

Rayleigh asked, "How can I open it on my own?"

Wing got up and then laid down on the ground. He then pushed himself up with his arms and did the equivalent of a pushup before also doing some kind of stretch.

While remaining in that position, Wing stated, "There are a set of forms that can be repeated. You can only do them once a day, but doing them will slowly open your first micropyle. I will demonstrate each form once, so see how much you can remember."

Wing slowly and deliberately did a total of twelve forms, each a variant of the push-up position. They seemed to be spine stretches of some kind.

Wing then got up and looked at the clock. "I'll return tomorrow afternoon to help you with the forms and start all three of you on the basics of Nen."

Ray smiled as he left. It was time to break out the good ol' psychometry. Since Wing touched the floor with his bare hands and arms while doing those stretches, couldn't Rayleigh use psychometry to get a feel of his echo and use that to perform the moves?

Right before Rayleigh could start, the door opened again. Gon entered with an awkward smile, while Killua was shaking his head.

Gon exclaimed, "I signed up for a match tomorrow morning!"

*Author's Note*

If you are wondering why I go into so much detail for these systems, it is partially for fun, and partially for inspiration. There are millions of good Naruto and Harry Potter fanfictions, but not nearly as many good Hunter X Hunter, Jedi, or One Piece Fanfics. Why?

One part is that their power systems are confusing and intimidating. So one goal of mine is that readers of this fic will fully understand the power systems of these three classes and maybe be inspired to write their own fanfic in one of these underused worlds using this fic as a standardized measure for how to learn and train in those systems. I gave a detailed overview of the Force, so now it's time to do the same for Nen.

You can also just take my entire first chapter and create your own fic using that as a base.

If you're honestly not interested, feel free to skip the detailed explanations and world-building.

Also, Reviews and stones are life.