Chapter 3: Neither Nen Ability nor Magic

Whether it was Sora's fault or Biscuit's fault, the two of them were kicked out of the Hotel anyway.

"Oh, think about it, Master. In the end, Gander was hit by Finn."

On the way, while Sora stirred his au lait coffee with a stirrer, he reported the training results to Biscuit.

"Yes."

It was like a dog wagging its tail desperately; she had wanted to praise him, but the 'Gander' Sora spoke of was a bullet of an Emission System ability, and 'Finn's strike' was a type of bullet capable of causing physical damage.

If it were Sora, who possessed an Enhancer aura, even if he were an Enhancer rather than a Transmuter, it would be a fault that he hadn't mastered it for a long time. Deep down, I felt I should give up on becoming a Nen User and live like a normal person.

However, over the past three years, Bisque had learned that such common sense did not apply to this disciple.

"I understand."

"But there are also guys at the level of Finn's Gatling, right?"

"If you had to label it, that's not genius, it's a monster. Or rather, in the true sense, this strike of Finn's is not physical damage, but a heartbreaking Curse, but why would it be a bullet? My former sisters and disciples..."

"... Honestly, the half-baked knowledge of Nen Ability is overlapping, so it's particularly difficult to work with."

While drinking her café mocha, Biscuit sighed once again at how troublesome this disciple was.

＊＊＊

The world Sora came from had many similarities to this world, but also many differences.

Among them, the technique called "Magic" that existed in Sora's world was used immaturely by Sora; it was quite similar to the "Nen Ability" of this world, but at the same time, it had great differences.

First of all, the "Spiritual Power" required for "Magic" and the "Aura" required for "Nen Ability" were the same "Life Energy," just with different names. Created by the individual.

In Sora's "Magic Circuit," the difference could be clearly seen—Mana, or perhaps a Pseudo-Nerve—it was the core that generated "Aura," and the channel through which Spiritual Power and Aura flowed when exercising "Mana" or "Nen Ability."

Although it was pseudo, the Magic Circuit was treated almost like an internal organ, so Sora's body was completely different from normal humans and Nen Users of the original world and this world. In fact, precisely because of this, Sora was strange. It was inconsistent, as it was hard to say whether he possessed the ability of a "Nen User."

Thanks to this Pseudo-Nerve, it was possible to pass down "Nen Ability," which was limited to one generation, to future generations, further improving and developing this ability, which was called "Magic" in Sora's world.

However, although there were many children and parents with the same aura, it was not uncommon for them to be born with aura of completely different systems; this was also like modifying descendants, making them only able to use specific abilities while ignoring their qualities.

In fact, the mages in Sora's world tried to manipulate their descendants to have as many Magic Circuits as possible, but there was no logic in increasing the number of internal organs.

"But you are still lucky; you are an Enhancer."

"That's right. Gander Magic and Gem Magic are both Emission, Enhancement, and Transmutation, so they work well together and are well-balanced."

"I am still hesitant to use disposable jewelry because it is a waste. Because of that, Jewels that wasted Mana have piled up."

"Honestly, your bad luck is incredibly strong."

Once again, Bisque breathed a sigh of relief, discovering that the magic determined and learned by the talent and bloodline the disciple was born with was still a compatible ability, just in case.

Gander was called a "Pointing Curse," and as the name suggests, it was a "Magic" that cast a Curse on an opponent pointed at by a Finger, applying the Emission System and Sora's Enhancement System to temporarily lower the opponent's immunity. It was the ability to fire melee bullets, causing a mild allergic reaction similar to gin by enhancing it.

Simply put, Gem Magic was the ability to set the effects of Curses and Magic onto minerals like Jewels, and create bombs that activated the magic by throwing them or using simple Spells. It was not translation, but a combination ability of the Transmutation System that changed the nature of the aura, and the Emission System that separated the aura from the body.

Although I didn't use the basic Enhancement System much, I was really lucky to be able to use a relatively compatible system together.

No matter how I thought about it, if this kind of magic were called 【Projection】 and could only be handled by the Conjuration System, the result would be too disappointing.

"Well, if your ability has progressed and improved, that is a good thing. Until now, it was a power that could only be used for Harassment even if it was a Curse."

"So, Sora. How is the 'Ryu' and 'Ken' Training going?"

When Bisque finally praised Sora's progress, her expression was clearly happy, but when Bisque's next question followed, he twisted his face as if to say "Oops!"

Biscuit said: "Sora? You aren't slacking off because of the comfort of traveling alone, are you?"

"... Yeah, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. Even when I'm alone, I feel it's a bit empty."

"But there's no way around it! My body structure is really different, and it can't be helped even if I can't do it well!!"

Sora's response was to look away from Biscuit's aura.

Biscuit ended the screaming with the word "Sorry," and stabbed Sora's side with a Sword, temporarily keeping him silent.

Other than that, he just made a face and said, "If you're serious. There's no help for it," and said nothing else.

As far as Nen Ability was concerned, rather than the "Fire" of Nen Ability—Gander and Gem Magic—it was the application system of the four basic and indispensable categories in battle; "Ryu" flowed smoothly to execute "Hard," but Sora was very weak in the combination type of "Ken" and "Ren," and the "Ken" for overall defense was quite fatal as a Nen User, but this was also the reason for the Magic Circuit, and Sora himself was not responsible, so Biscuit hesitated.

The Magic Circuit was the core that generated Aura, so in this world without circuits, Sora's amount of Aura was much greater than that of a Nen User. It was impossible for humans in this world, such as being unable to transfer Aura to parts of the body that did not have a "Magic Circuit."

It wasn't that he couldn't rotate it at all, so there was no particular problem with his "Ren," but his Magic Circuits were in his limbs and head, not in his torso, so if he continued to emit aura for a long time, he would lose time. Over time, the amount of aura in his limbs and head decreased, but the amount of aura in his torso was too stable; this was also the biggest reason Bisque worried about Sora, inadvertently causing his whole body to fall into a predicament.

If the Cultivation was insufficient, it could be ignored, but this was hindered by the selfish and inhumane obsession of your ancestors with "Magic," so Bisque became overprotective of him compared to other disciples, and also became compliant.

But at the same time, I also knew that I really didn't need to worry about this.

In fact, there was no need to train Sora's Nen Ability.

On the contrary, Biscuit rarely thought that what he did would bring about terrible destruction.

They might teach their nemesis, the anxiety of their Nen Ability's "natural enemy," just a little bit, the size of a needle hole, but it did exist.

The disciple didn't know the master's mood, drank up the au lait coffee, rudely stuffed the mush into his mouth, and pointed his Finger like an innocent child, saying.

"Master, Master, is that the museum where you are holding the exhibition?!"

While asking, Biscuit yelled at the disciple who hadn't heard the answer and ran: "Wait, you stupid disciple!"

By then, I had already forgotten my worries.

But I was reminded immediately.

The moment I bumped into Sora's back, Sora suddenly stopped, looked up at Sora's face, and covered his nose, trying to complain to his disciple.

The moment he noticed that Sora's eyes had changed from the indigo before dawn to the color of a high-grade Sapphire, Bisque felt a chill down his spine.

＊＊＊

A faint aura condensed in Sora's eyes, but what Sora saw, "what he saw," was by no means Nen Ability or Magic.

It was just strengthening the original ability with "Growth" unknowingly, making it look better. When trying to look at something far away, this act was nothing more than squinting.

Sora stared at the man at the museum entrance who seemed to be in charge of moving the exhibits and other items, his eyes having turned Sapphire blue.

"Master. It seems your target is a more troublesome opponent than I thought."

Biscuit did not respond to Sora's words; he himself looked at the man with a "Hard" expression.

This person is not the person in charge of the museum, but a Bodyguard hired by the Collector sponsoring this exhibition. Inada.

Bisque asked Sora, who was beside her, and discovered that a Manipulator's Aura was hidden within the "Shadow" slightly embedded in the man's head.

"……Sora. What did you see?"

To Biscuit's words, Sora answered quite crisply, his mouth still full of goo.

"A dead person."

Humans manipulated by mechanical hands are usually pierced or connected with an "Antenna" to send in an Aura of power, but in this case, there are mainly two modes.

Even if an antenna is attached, it is still alive; only at the moment of being controlled is its consciousness and self stolen, or while maintaining consciousness, the right to use the body is stolen, and the moment the antenna is attached, does the Aura destroy the brain and you become a perfect Puppet?

If you use "ki," unless there is a clear level difference as a Nen Ability user, you can find a person controlled by a Manipulation System with an antenna attached, but is removing the antenna enough? Is it already too late? Unless you are a person with a Nen Ability who is good at research and detection, you usually cannot tell.

However, Sora, who should not have been integrated into either the investigation system or the reconnaissance system, stated it at a glance.

"It's completely too late. It's already dead. It's completely dead. It's dead, but it's moving."

"It's completely, almost pitch black."

"……Yes."

Biscuit did not pursue Sora's words too much, but instead placed her hand on her chin to think.

The motive for holding this exhibition itself is a kind of childish desire to show off, so no matter how rare the exhibited Jewels are, I think it will definitely cause some kind of trouble due to Harassment of the Collector. Becoming a Puppet, if you are targeted by an inhumane brain-destroying method, then after the trouble occurs, you can blow away the culprit and pay off the debt; that is not a good trick.

It is obvious that this opponent is probably the type who would not hesitate to kill guards, visit exhibitions, or even kill the Collector.

So Biscuit sighed deeply.

"……Ugh. I don't want to sign a legal contract."

"Isn't it? I was kicked out of the Hotel and have nowhere to live."

Biscuit's words made Sora laugh, and when Biscuit stabbed his side again, he fainted in pain.

"It's fine, just come over." Bisque ignored her disciple who had fainted from pain and pointed at the person Sora called a "dead person."

"Hmm? This is unusual, Master using that."

"Since it is a Manipulation System, the other party will most likely watch your hands from a safe place. In that case, the person who completes your 'that' the fastest and also shows a little bit of 'that.' But the other party will read it without permission."

Even if I can take it down in one hit without showing any ability, once it is known that I can take it down in this form, the advantage disappears.

"You can go back to your original handsome gorilla form to hit it."

"You want me to defeat your original form as you wish!?"

Biscuit was as serious as ever during Sora's usual playful remarks.

Sora seemed to be escaping Biscuit's madness, stood up and said: "Sorry, I was lying. Hag is a fairy, not a monster." I walked to the dead person who was pretending to be dead.

Grab the goo in your mouth and trap your Aura completely inside your body.

"Ah!? What's wrong, you ha!?"

The corpse made a surprised sound at the appearance of the white-haired beauty Sora who suddenly appeared in front of him. Sora did not know if it was somewhat automatic, if it was able to speak and act naturally according to the memories before death, or if the Manipulator just wanted to know, "When?"

And I don't know who the owner is.

Since I am watching through the doll, I can predict it because there is "Absolute" in my eyes.

Even when Sora stood in front of the doll, he was still "Absolute."

Without emitting any Aura, the moment something pierced the doll's thigh, the Manipulator's Mobile Phone screen went black.

"………………………Impossible."

I stared at my favorite Mobile Phone for about a minute, and when my friend asked me "What's wrong?", I finally said the word.

It took Shalnark several more minutes to accept the fact that the Aura contained in the antenna piercing the doll had completely disappeared in one hit.

＊＊＊

It was just a Coincidence and a whim that Chrollo decided to raid the Jewel exhibition.

I just happened to pass by and learned that there was an exhibition of rare dynasty Jewels and ornaments here, so I told the person I could contact two days ago: "Come if you are free." I even thought that if no one came, one would be enough.

Therefore, only Pakunoda, Feitan, Machi, and Shalnark came. Only those who were really busy, or those like Chrollo who happened to be nearby, came.

A small number of people who were good at fighting, healing, and collecting information gathered, and the organizer of the exhibition could not feel any sense of danger at all, so it was too easy, and Feitan had difficulty digesting it. Worried that I would go crazy.

However, some things that happened during the day convinced me that my worries were unfounded.

"This will be an easy victory, but I will Collect information and deal with it a little." Shalnark said, "The Fate of other carriers is Black Voice," stealing internal information and guiding them to the location of the exhibits and the location of the guards at their convenience.

The Puppet manipulated by him instantly made Shalnark's ability invalid, and for a moment he hugged the Computer tightly and shouted: "Impossible! What's up with that white hair!?"

If this happened when he was wearing his usual "coat," he would be considered a powerful exterminator, but when he was told that the white-haired one was in a "zero" state, the members of the team, including Feitan and Chrollo, all had blank faces, and without thinking, said: "Shalnark, you are tired, take a rest."

Shalnark must have known he wouldn't believe me, but Shalnark said: "If you don't care, you should let someone else get the Hunter License!" I showed the video to the other three.

Just as Shalnark said, the white-haired one approached the doll in an "Absolute" state, did not pull out the pierced antenna, erased Shalnark's Aura in one hit, and turned the doll into a corpse.

It's hard to believe that this hit did not hit the head or the heart, but the thigh.

It was a plastic stirrer.

It pierced deep into the doll's thigh like piercing pudding or jelly, and the doll lost the Aura that controlled it and collapsed.

Far from overturning the common sense of Nen Ability, Leader Chrollo was the first to recover from the shock of this image and completely destroyed it.

He narrowed his eyes, which had widened in surprise, and smiled as he ordered.

"Chalnark. Learn as much as you can about this person."

I don't know if the person named could have predicted it, although he responded faintly "Yes," his hands were already watching the video, typing at high speed on the keyboard of another Computer, looking for information on this white hair.

"Leader, what are you going to do? Steal something? Are you going to make friends?"

"Currently, there are no vacancies for members."

"……I wonder if No. 4 will die now."

Listening to the Leader's words, Feitan seemed dissatisfied that he could not beat the white-haired one no matter what, and asked.

Hearing Machi's words, Feitan said: "Yeah, it's best if he dies." He looked up and answered the question.

"Regardless, I must meet him first. I cannot tell what kind of ability he has just by watching this video, but if he is an Exorcist, even if he cannot steal abilities or be recruited, he can still be used." Just pay him. "If that is the case, you should establish contact no matter what."

Feitan was somewhat dissatisfied with Chrollo's words, but he was actually told that finding a good Exorcist is harder than finding a snowman, which is why he was satisfied.

No matter how you look at it, this white hair is not at a level that can be called excellent. The word genius might not even be enough. First, considering he is "Absolute," it is doubtful whether it was a Nen Ability that eliminated Shalnark's presence.

Killing someone with this kind of power so quickly is truly a waste.

Of course, no matter how much capital they invest, Chrollo will not become an ally by their side. That is what I thought, and the light in my childish, sparkling eyes told me clearly.

Machi asked the highly motivated leader: "So, do you intend to change the plan from the Jewel to this white hair?"

Machi and Boyuetian looked at each other and gave a wry smile at the leader, who was as greedy as a child before obtaining it, even though once he fell in love with it, his obsession disappeared like a lie, and he sold it.

That smile was one with a unique sense of distance like a relative, as if saying "I can't help it" to the selfishness of a childish younger brother.

Chrollo was somewhat annoyed by the two's smiles, and that look made him feel older yet younger. Pull yourself together.

"Somehow, he seems more troublesome than I imagined. I don't have his household registration, but do you recognize him?"

Shalnark showed the other members a photo of the face that was clearer than the surveillance camera, but they all shook their heads.

Having no household registration means this white hair is from the same hometown as us. Although he should be a resident of Meteor City, even if he hasn't returned home recently, if he looked this good, there should be some familiar feeling, but this white hair does not exist in anyone's memory.

"His name is Sora Shikiori, he should be from Japan, just like Machi. Do you recognize him?"

"Yeah, he seems to be about the same age. If he were here, I would definitely know his appearance and name. I absolutely do not know this guy."

Machi clearly denied Shalnark's insistence. Just as Shalnark said, they are of similar age, and regardless of their origin, if a peer were born in Japan and abandoned in Meteor City, they would have some interest, so they wouldn't forget. Absolutely nothing. I can assure you, nothing happened.

"Yeah. This alone is interesting, but this is a very interesting profession."

A disciple of Biscuit Krueger, a Two-Star Hunter. It's not like I'm an amateur looking for something special, but it seems I've done many different things in different places. I really don't know what his ability is, but it can definitely be done."

Shalnark said so much, and since verbal explanation is troublesome, he showed the computer monitor to everyone.

Chrollo and the others looked at the profile and profession of Sora Shikiori simply listed on the screen, and at first, everyone said the same thing.

"Is it a woman?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

At that moment, Sora, whose gender is unknown, sneezed five times in a row.

Because most of the time is exposition, Sora is not that vague.

Regarding the similarities and differences between Magic and Nen Ability, it is a completely twisted, original interpretive production setting.

For the time being, I am checking for consistency while looking at the Type-Moon wiki, so I don't think there is anything too strange, but if you find any errors or contradictions, please feel free to point them out.

However, I am basically pushing the story forward with the Hunter world as the mainstream, so I know exactly that it is different, but I am forced to explain it to match the Hunter world, and sometimes it is completely my own. If you misunderstand the setting due to errors, but if it is not the setting, the story will collapse, so even if you point out the errors, you will most likely continue without correcting them.

In this regard, we ask for your understanding and forgiveness.