Kikyo stopped abruptly, spun around, grabbed Kalluto by the throat, and glared at him with a grim expression. "No one will take Killua away from me! No one…"
"M-Mother… M-Mother… I…" Kalluto stammered.
Kikyo released Kalluto, turned, and continued running, her skirt billowing.
"Kalluto, keep up."
"Yes, Mother."
'I'm the Zoldyck's apprentice butler. No matter the enemy, I must act, even if… I die!'
Canary, feeling the immense pressure from Loki's aura, gripped her cane tightly, took a deep breath, and prepared to attack. The moment she moved, Loki's fierce aura vanished completely. Instantly, the pressure lifted, and Canary felt significantly lighter. She swung her cane with increased force, aiming a heavy blow at Loki's face.
Whoosh!
Just as Canary's cane was about to strike Loki, a flash of light suddenly appeared from a corner, impacting Canary's hand.
Bang!
Canary fell to the ground. Her cane spun through the air, landing far away, embedded point-first in the earth. The crystal on the cane reflected the sunlight, creating a multicolored gleam.
Loki looked down at the fallen Canary. "Impressive resolve."
"That was… Mr. Gotoh," Canary said, looking aside.
Gotoh, the butler, stood in the distance, adjusting his glasses.
"Canary, you can't be rude to the master's guest. Bring them in."
"Yes, Mr. Gotoh."
Gon and the others approached.
"Loki, are you alright?"
Loki nodded, acknowledging Kurapika's concern. He started walking towards Gotoh, who was bowing to them.
"Mr. Gotoh's technique is quite interesting."
"You must be Mr. Loki, the master's guest."
"Mr. Loki's presence is truly astonishing. Even from a distance, it's palpable. Compared to such talent, my skills are insignificant," Gotoh said, glancing at Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. His gaze towards the three was distinctly unfriendly.
Gotoh led them towards the butler's room. Minutes earlier, Master Silva had contacted Gotoh, instructing him to greet the 'guests' and escort them upstairs. Gotoh, though puzzled, carried out Silva's orders. However, as a butler, he needed to anticipate his master's intentions. Silva's instructions implied a desire to test the guests before bringing them upstairs. Gotoh was quite pleased with this prospect.
"Please rest here for a while; it's almost lunchtime," Gotoh said. "The journey to the top will still take some time, so please have your meal here."
Gotoh led Loki and the others to a spacious garden outside the butler's room. The garden wasn't large, perhaps half the size of a soccer field. It was planted with unusual flowers and plants; some were in bloom, displaying a vibrant array of colors. The garden was surrounded by a wooden fence, with lush trees overhead providing shade from the sun. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled patterns on the ground, providing pleasant illumination without being harsh. The garden was clearly meticulously maintained.
A white-clothed table stood in the center of the garden, upon which a refined meal was elegantly arranged. The clean cutlery gleamed under the sunlight. Four comfortable chairs with soft cushions were placed around the table. Loki had never experienced such refined living.
Gotoh's arrangements brought smiles to Gon and the others' faces. Gotoh projected an image of an excellent butler, leaving a good impression on them.
As they sat down to enjoy the exquisite meal, a butler, with a white napkin draped over his arm, stood attentively nearby, providing impeccable service. Although the meal was excellent, Loki sensed a lack of genuine goodwill in Gotoh's earlier gaze. Instead, he felt a suppressed anger.
"Loki, Loki!"
As Loki was pondering, Gon, sitting beside him, put down his cutlery and called out to Loki.
Loki turned his head. "What is it, Gon?"
"Loki, why didn't that butler, Canary, attack you immediately? I have a feeling you didn't just use your aura to intimidate her."
This question made Loki pause. Even though the Nen wasn't directed at Gon, he could still feel it. However, upon reflection, Gon did possess a protagonist aura, so it wasn't surprising that he could sense the Nen.
Gon's question drew Kurapika and Leorio's attention. While not as sensitive as Gon, they also realized something was amiss. Intimidating someone to the point of paralysis with aura alone was astonishing.
Seeing their curious gazes, Loki considered that they were now Hunters and would eventually learn Nen, so telling them wouldn't be a problem.
"You have your Hunter licenses, but you're not true Hunters yet."
Leorio was the first to speak up.
Loki smiled. "Getting a Hunter license isn't that difficult, but the Hunter Exam is just the first step to becoming a true Hunter."
Pausing, Loki picked up a nearby wine glass. The butler behind him stepped forward to pour him some red wine.
"For a true Hunter, the most important thing is to learn Nen!"
"Nen?"
"Yes, Nen! I accidentally learned Nen during the Hunter Exam, which is why I didn't have to participate in the later trials and became a Hunter directly."
"So that's how it was," Kurapika said, now understanding why Loki had obtained his Hunter license without completing the exam. He had passed the most crucial test for Hunters—learning Nen. Further participation in the Hunter Exam would have been pointless.
Leorio looked at Loki. "So! Is learning Nen difficult?"
Loki didn't answer directly. He extended his right hand, activating his Nen to form a Nen orb in his palm.
"Do you feel anything?"
Gon stared intently at Loki's palm, his brows furrowed. "I don't see anything, but I feel a sense of oppression, like…"
"That's right!" Gon's eyes lit up. "Like the aura from Hisoka, very oppressive and uncomfortable."
Kurapika and Leorio exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We don't feel anything special."
"It seems Gon has a high aptitude for Nen. He could sense its presence without even learning it." Loki turned his gaze to Kurapika and Leorio. "Your aptitudes are slightly lower, but since you passed the Hunter Exam, it means you have the potential."
"How can we learn Nen?" Kurapika asked, eager to learn about this power.
"Don't worry. The Hunter Association will soon send someone to guide you in your Nen training."
"How long did it take you to learn Nen?" Gon asked Loki. Kurapika and Leorio also wanted to know.
"Me?" Loki pondered. "About a few minutes."
Leorio, supporting himself on the table, slumped his head onto the table upon hearing "a few minutes."
'A few minutes…'
'That kind of power, which is clearly not something ordinary people possess, was mastered in just a few minutes…'
'Monster! I'm definitely not asking this monster any more questions like that, absolutely not…'
Gotoh, standing nearby, also heard Loki's words, his eyes widening in shock.
Even though the three hadn't learned Nen yet, they knew, without even thinking, that mastering Nen in that timeframe indicated monstrous-level talent. If they knew that Loki's "few minutes" referred to mastering all the basic applications of Nen, their expressions would have been even more dramatic. Even his practice of Nen application techniques only took a month—equivalent to decades of training for ordinary people. This level of achievement wasn't surprising given Loki's S-rank extraction: Yō Asakura's talent. If Yō Asakura hadn't had exceptional talent, he wouldn't have become a top-tier boss in the Shaman King world and controlled the Fire Spirit.
'He learned Nen in a few minutes!' Gotoh thought.
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