The morning after No. 2 got 'dismissed', Elder Lidor visits his remaining eight students again during breakfast. Auren finishes his meal, which, for some reason, is a lot simpler than usual.
Just rice, eggs, soup, and vegetables?
Lidor stands in front of them, looking solemn as he begins to speak:
"Good morning, students. Though I haven't shown it much, I'm quite proud to have you as my students. Each one of you is special in your own way and vital to my goals. Sadly, I have some bad news. Buno and Bunu will be leaving us immediately. I'm no longer employing them. They might still be around today to collect their equipment, so if you want to say goodbye, today's your chance."
"As a replacement for their training, I want you to keep up your basic physical strength exercises, by now you should know them. I'll make sure you don't slack off, but those will do just fine for now. I want you to concentrate even more on your Nen training! Focus on your Ren. I've heard some of you have been talking behind my back, trying to experiment. Let me make it clear: it's not time yet!"
"Once I've chosen my successor, I'll teach all of you about another aspect of Nen. Learning this part too early is dangerous—it might kill you! If you experiment now, you risk ending up crippled, unable to use Aura. This specialized training requires a certain age and experience, unlike Ren. Be patient for two more years, and you'll appreciate my advice. In return, I'll personally train those of you who listen and reach a certain level of Ren. But if you slack off, I won't teach you."
"Also, Mrs. Mu will reduce her classes to just Saturdays. However, you'll spend almost the entire day with her to make up for the lost sessions. Use your newfound free time to practice Ren, Ten, and Zetsu! You can also work on that special technique to cloak your blade in Aura. It's essential for swordsmen—but don't overdo it."
"That's all! I have Elder duties over the next few days, so I'll be leaving the school at random times. If anyone dares to escape or slack off, you will all be punished—whether you're innocent or not. You'd better make sure no one abuses my trust as I'll hold you all equally responsible."
He really is broke! He can't afford his staff! Buno and Bunu, two ex-assassins and Nen experts, were probably paid monthly or yearly. He can't afford them anymore. Even Mrs. Mu only teaches once a week now! Then there is this food… no longer featuring a lot of meat.
Elder duties, huh? More like side jobs. He's probably out there trying to earn money. The opportunities in Meteor City must be limited, and he can't risk taking missions too far away. Honestly, this is almost comical—watching him struggle like this.
As soon as Elder Lidor leaves, No. 24 walks over to Auren.
"No. 23… can we talk?"
...What does she want?
"Fine, what is it?" Auren responds curtly.
"Follow me, please…" she says, leading him to the yard.
"You know, I worry about the other students… nobody visited us, even though some promised to bring us gifts from the outside. I know they're busy, but still, I'm worried. Also, I think Master Lidor isn't telling us the whole truth. I asked him so many questions and he doesn't answer! I've even discovered some applications of Nen on my ow—"
"Stop. You might be someone who doesn't believe in or trust the Master, but I do. I'll pretend this conversation never happened—but don't ever talk to me about these things again. I trust Master with my life." Auren loudly says, walking away.
"...Sorry." She lowers her gaze, looking confused and embarrassed.
There's no need to entertain dead people. I don't wish to kill her, and I have no grudges—but I can't afford to care about anyone but myself. I need to stay ahead in total Aura capacity and Aura strength. The difference must be substantial—so there's no mistake about who's leading when it comes to Aura. She is… my competitor.
"Well, aren't you a model student. Such respect for your Master," a voice echoes quietly in Auren's ears.
"He must be proud," another, clearly sarcastic, voice adds.
Auren smiles and enters the small shed, the source of the voices.
"You're still here, Instructors?" Auren asks with a smile.
"From today onwards, we're no longer your instructors—since we're no longer getting paid," Buno says with a grin.
"Not like you need our help anymore. You've soaked up everything we could teach you," Bunu adds.
"Thank you for everything. I'll keep up the training and push myself even harder!"
"Will you? You'll focus on your Ren, won't you? Information brokers are great at getting intel, but they can't be trusted. They'll sell you out in a heartbeat. Not that it was a surprise to us—how you slowly nudged us to talk, asking question after question, starting months ago," Buno says, his tone suddenly serious.
Auren stays cool, though a flicker of panic rises within him.
"You know, we had a contract that would've forced us to report that to Lidor immediately… fortunately, that contract is no longer valid, too bad, huh?" Bunu says, grinning.
Buno also lets out a laugh. "You must have figured out the kind of game your Master is playing, huh? As much as we dislike him, we can't—and won't—interfere. That's almost all we can offer you now."
"I didn't expect you to," Auren replies, keeping his voice calm. "I'll see you both again in two years… I still need some guidance. I need experience. I need contacts. I'm not there yet."
"I like your confidence, boy," Bunu says, grabbing a large, rugged-looking bag and tossing it toward Auren with a single, effortless motion.
What is this?
"Poisons," Buno says flatly, as if that explains everything.
"And along with them, you'll find detailed instructions," Bunu adds. "How to consume them with the least chance of dying… or, you know, destroying a few essential organs along the way."
He chuckles, but there's a sharp edge to his tone.
"While we're not exactly specialists in poison, if you keep up with this program and force yourself to endure it, you'll gradually build up resistance. Maybe even immunity. This will protect you from a wide range of drugs and toxins."
"Thank you…" Auren says, his expression thoughtful as he accepts the bag.
I actually like the idea. This could be useful.
But... can I even use them properly? Wouldn't Azure Restoration just cancel it all out, when I use it?
"Worried about your Hatsu?" Buno asks, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.
"..." Auren doesn't answer. He keeps silent, swallowing his unease.
He's sharper than I thought.
"You take me for a fool?" Buno asks, grabbing Auren's hands suddenly and firmly. His grip is rough, and his eyes are intense. "I've trained these hands! Molded them over years and now… the scars are gone. Every single one. My job was to focus entirely on them—I know when something doesn't add up. Never would I have expected you to develop a Hatsu like that. It's completely contrary to everything your master—and we—taught you. I'm genuinely curious. How did you manage to come up with something like this in this kind of environment? Tell me, No. 23."
...They already know so much. They could destroy me easily if they wanted to. I might as well tell them.
"Azure Restoration. I can rapidly heal all kinds of wounds—both internal and external. I can also emit this ability to affect others, although it works best when someone is within the range of my Aura," Auren explains, meeting their eyes steadily.
"How exactly does it function?" Buno asks, narrowing his gaze. "Does it just enhance your body's own healing, or does it actually repair, or more accurately restore the body?"
"I don't know for certain," Auren admits. "But the concept behind it is that it restores the body to its ideal state. The ultimate, unblemished version of itself. I've seen it regrow fingernails in seconds. It's wiped out scars, created fresh skin, and even regrown actual flesh after cuts. It's more than healing. I think it's restoration in the truest sense."
"Show me," Buno says suddenly, extending his weathered, heavily scarred hands toward Auren.
I've never used this ability on someone else before…
Auren closes his eyes briefly, then activates Azure Restoration. His Aura brightens, flaring into a luminous, vivid azure hue. It wraps around his arms and hands, swirling gently. He steps forward, holding his palms near Buno's hands. The Aura stretches out, flowing over Buno's skin in soft, rotating motions, then begins to slowly seep into him.
Buno closes his eyes. His expression relaxes.
Once around half of Auren's Aura is depleted, he slows the flow, then stops it completely.
He looks down at Buno's hands. Every single scar—except for one large one, faint and barely visible—has vanished. The skin is smooth, nearly pristine, almost looking like it belongs to someone else.
"This ability of yours… it's completely abnormal. It doesn't just enhance the body's natural healing—it restores it, like you said. My injuries… they were chronic. Lingering damage that my body hasn't been able to recover from for years. And yet now… they're completely gone," Buno says, staring at his hands, slowly turning them over. "This shouldn't be possible. What you've done goes against everything Nen is supposed to be limited by. My body was damaged beyond natural repair, but your ability didn't care. It didn't heal me—it recreated parts of my body. That's not healing, not in the usual sense. At least part of your Hatsu is beyond explanation. A 'restoration,' huh? I can feel it—some of the injuries I've carried for decades are just… gone. And the rest? The injuries you didn't fully fix are also way lighter now."
He looks back up at Auren, eyes hard now.
"This ability is incredible. And that's exactly why you need to be careful. Don't go around showing it to anyone. I'm serious—this kind of power will get you killed. You're talking about the potential to recover from any wound, any injury. People would do anything to get their hands on someone like you. You don't know how rare this is. How did you do this?"
"I… I didn't overthink my ability, it just came to me," Auren replies, a bit unsure of himself. "I went with what felt right. I just developed my Hatsus based on instinct. One's meant for combat, the other… for endurance, training, healing."
"Are you a Specialist, No. 23?" Bunu asks suddenly.
A question like that… I might as well use this moment to get everything I can out of them.
"I'm not sure," Auren answers honestly. "I learned about Water Divination through… a certain method I can't share. But when I tried it, the water overflowed. That was the main reaction. But there were also faint secondary effects—a small shift in color, and a slight change in taste."
"Then that confirms it. You're a Specialist," Bunu says without hesitation.
Auren shakes his head. "No, I'm not. I know what I felt during training—especially during those Enhancer drills like stone smashing. I've always performed best when the exercises focused on Enhancement. I've studied the basics. Specialists usually struggle with Enhancement the most—they're supposed to be weakest in that category. That's just not me."
"You're thinking too narrowly," Bunu replies. "You might be a Specialist whose ability makes you seem like an Enhancer—someone whose Hatsu allows for unnatural compatibility with Enhancement, Emission, and even Transmutation. That's not unheard of. Water Divination only has six results! When someone triggers multiple effects at once, that counts as a specialist result. It might not change how you train or fight, but from a classification standpoint, that's what a Specialist is. Someone whose Aura can't be categorized."
He takes a breath and adds, "Nen is deep. Complicated. There are many things unknown about it, even to experts. Some of it borders on the mythical. Your Hatsu doesn't follow standard rules. It's something else entirely. You can try to explain it logically, but it'll never fit into a neat box. And that, more than anything, is what makes you a true Specialist."
Really? I am a Specialist? Whatever, classifications are useless to me. I'll keep up my training and slowly learn more about my abilities as I go along.
------------------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
10+ Early chapters available
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!