Inside the room.
Kevin stood in the center as instructed, while the twin-tailed blonde girl circled around him, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
"My name is Biscuit. Biscuit Krueger. A professional Hunter, and an adorable eighteen-year-old girl!"
As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her dress slightly and spun around lightly, as if to display her youth.
She raised a hand, extended her index finger, tilted her head slightly, and proudly added, "With forty years of Nen training experience. A martial artist."
Wait—forty years of experience? How does that line up with being eighteen?
Kevin couldn't help but mutter mentally. The real age of the girl in front of him was probably way older than he had imagined.
He had originally guessed she was around the same age as Jin Freecss, maybe in her thirties. That assumption was based on the idea that she might be a friend of Jin's or something.
Clearly, that was completely off. Of course, it was also possible she was lying—but someone who disguises herself as a young girl probably wouldn't choose to lie by making herself seem older.
So does Nen have an anti-aging effect? Or can it change one's outward appearance?
Kevin fell into thought.
Suddenly, he felt a touch on his abdomen—Biscuit had patted it with her hand.
"Relax."
She looked at Kevin with eyes as brilliant as jewels and asked, "You want to learn Nen, but the problem is, it seems you already know it."
Biscuit believed herself to be flawless when it came to reading people, especially in observing and assessing Nen.
She didn't beat around the bush. Crossing her arms, she said directly, "Since I've accepted the commission to teach you, I naturally need to understand your situation."
You could've just asked me. I would've told you everything.
Kevin complained silently.
Especially if it meant avoiding this current experience—definitely not pleasant.
Seems like this master has quite the personality. Maybe everything that happened today was some kind of "trial."
He wasn't wrong—it was a trial, but one that tested his character.
Biscuit had no intention of teaching a scumbag, especially after she thoroughly checked Kevin's original profile.
However, she was a firm believer in seeing and judging for herself. That's why she had arranged a simple trial.
And as of now, she was fairly satisfied with the results.
Given that Kevin already knew Nen—and at a level far beyond a beginner—Biscuit firmly believed that he had already developed his own Nen ability.
In that case, it wouldn't make sense to treat him like a novice.
So she got straight to the point.
"Since last night, I've noticed that you seem to be struggling to control your body. But it doesn't appear to be due to injury—you're physically in perfect health." As she spoke, she pinched him again.
She made no effort to hide her curiosity and asked, "So did you hurt your head or your nerves or something?"
That was the simplest conclusion she could draw.
Even if someone had learned Nen through an unconventional or sloppy method, it shouldn't lead to this kind of instinct-level dysfunction.
Looks like Jin Freecss hadn't told her everything. That gave Kevin a bit of relief.
He nodded and admitted openly, "Yeah, due to certain special circumstances, I lost my memory.
It's the kind of amnesia that needs a trigger to recover memories—the deeper the memory, the harder it is to retrieve…"
He gave a simplified explanation of his situation.
Biscuit nodded. If that was the cause, she already had a few ideas.
Though Kevin hadn't told the full truth, she didn't mind. If something interested her enough, she'd dig it up herself.
Her eyes gleamed, like emeralds hidden in stone—heehee.
In just half a day since meeting Kevin, she'd already sensed plenty of secrets and strange anomalies about him.
If Jin was willing to entrust her with this, then he was surely prepared for those secrets to be discovered.
"Ahem. Since you've 'forgotten everything,' let's start from the basics.
Now begins Professor Biscuit's Nen class!"
Biscuit cleared her throat, putting on the demeanor of a teacher, and somehow pulled out a blackboard, with chalk in her hand.
Clap clap clap!
Standing by the door like a doorman, Yun Gu gave a cheerful round of applause.
Kevin had no choice but to raise his hands and clap quietly too.
Biscuit nodded in satisfaction.
She began writing on the blackboard.
Somehow, she'd also pulled out a pointer and tapped the board with it.
"The power of Nen is the ability to use willpower to control the life energy that bursts from within the body—also known as aura.
All living beings have this life energy. Humans, too, emit it unconsciously.
To harness and control this power, one needs long and dedicated training.
There are two main ways to awaken this ability. But since you've already learned Nen, we'll skip that part for now.
Let's fast forward to the point where you can already control your aura."
After she finished, she tapped the blackboard again, revealing four large characters.
"First comes the Four Major Principles—these are the fundamentals after learning Nen and the foundation of all Nen abilities."
That made Kevin sit up straight. He didn't know what this was about, but he knew every beginning required a solid foundation. A good base would make the path ahead smoother.
"Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.
Ten — the ability to keep your aura flowing evenly throughout your body. In combat, the strength of Ten determines your durability against Nen attacks.
Zetsu — the act of shutting off your aura flow and suppressing your presence. During this time, you're completely defenseless against Nen attacks.
Ren — amplifies the aura stabilized through Ten, used for various advanced techniques. Most basically, it enhances attack power.
Hatsu — the true application of Nen. It's the culmination of the Four Principles.
With Hatsu, individuals develop unique powers—think of it as crafting your own superpower, a kind of ultimate move!"
Kevin listened intently, trying to etch every word into his mind. This was like a secret manual to him.
When Biscuit finished, she looked at Kevin and asked, "You should already have your Hatsu—meaning, you've already formed your personal Nen ability."
She was confident in her assessment.
By the door, Yun Gu opened his eyes—no, widened them in surprise.
If Kevin already had a developed Nen ability, then why did he perform so poorly in the earlier battle?
While Yun Gu wasn't exactly a beginner, he was still in the process of training and hadn't yet created his own ability.
"Hatsu?" Kevin immediately understood, slapping his forehead.
"If you mean a superpower-like ability, then yeah, I have one."
As he spoke, Kevin casually summoned a familiar object: the alchemy station he'd long been able to materialize.
"I call it A Moment's Dream."
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