The trip to Austin wasn't short, but Ames's ship was fast enough.
Unfortunately, Ringo can't leave a nightmare mark on a planet full of mages, especially with a Grade S mage right next to him, if he were discovered, it would cause more problems than it solves.
On the spaceship, Ringo was practicing his Chi in his cabin, keeping his eyes closed as he attempted to change the nature of his Chi.
As he had previously thought, Chi could be quite relevant to the Nen in Hunter x Hunter. One of the characteristics of Nen was transmutation, meaning making Nen take on the form of something else. This could range from simple things like chewing gum and fire to more metaphysical things, like something that didn't even exist in nature, although that was much more difficult to achieve.
Unfortunately, Chi isn't Nen, so he doesn't believe he can go as far as, for example, transforming Chi into space, although he admits it would be interesting, being able to create an infinite layer of space around himself would basically mimic Satoru Gojo's Limitless ability.
However, Chi is still extremely versatile, after all, it is pure life force, energy drawn from life itself.
There are many things that this energy can still allow, but if he learns to strengthen one aspect of it at the expense of another, it could cease to be a purely neutral energy.
What Ringo was trying to do now was precisely that, isolate a simple aspect of that energy and... bring it to the surface.
He started by thinking about increasing the intensity of the Chi's brightness, he admitted that this was quite useless initially, but who knows, maybe he can imitate Tenshinhan and copy the Taiyoken (Sun Fist), an ability that simply generates a light so strong that it blinds the opponent.
Even so, his purpose was simply to choose a simple aspect, isolate it, and strengthen it.
So he chose the simplest and safest option: light.
The problem is that he did manage to increase the brightness of the Chi, but not by transforming Chi into Light, he simply emitted more energy, and that generated more light, plain and simple.
Of course, that wasn't even close to his goal, so all he could do was meditate, trying to control this strange energy.
The problem with Chi came back to the point that there is no clear path, it was a completely new path created by Li, so there is no manual or book of techniques, thus it was a constant process of trial and error.
Chi is vital energy, if he were to separate vital energy into smaller aspects, he could focus on things like heat, which isn't strong, more like a gentle warmth, life itself, which represents vital energy, and light, which is what he's trying to enhance now.
Sure, there are other aspects, like acting as armor and dealing kinetic or energy damage, but that was more of a result and less of a property, it's like throwing a piece of metal at someone's head and saying that its property is to give the victim a concussion.
Sure, possessing kinetic energy is indeed a type of property, but the armor around him is already a great advancement in that aspect, and simply by training it he would already be improving it.
Ringo didn't want that, he wanted to focus on the foundation of Chi, light, heat, vitality. That's the conclusion he's reached so far. He doesn't deny that there might be more to it that he doesn't yet know, but for now, it's been enough for him to work with.
Vitality could be very useful if strengthened, and if a technique were created for it, it could go beyond slightly accelerating the body's natural healing, but actually achieve a remarkable restorative effect. However, Chi is very neutral, very quiet, very difficult to mold.
The heat is laughable, going down that path would make concentrating on it even more complicated. In the end, he could spend a lot of time and only gain the ability to heat a kettle, besides, he already possesses demonic fire. So he set aside the heat and focused on what he considered the easiest of the three aspects.
Even so, progress was slow, he needed to learn how to destabilize the Chi to begin with, but it was like trying to make an old man with a bad hip dance Salsa. The stability of the Chi was what made it so simple to learn, albeit time-consuming, but it was also this same stability that was hindering his current progress. Ringo could only sigh and keep trying.
Luckily, he still possessed his evolutionary energy, although the process was slow, he still managed to pick up some insights sometimes, it was better than nothing, as if he were a surgeon slowly trying to fix the old man's hip.
Whether or not he would learn to dance, that was the question.
While Ringo worked, outside Aesop was drinking with Ames on the observation deck. The pair sat in comfortable armchairs, Ames leaning back gently, maintaining her agility, while Aesop reclined his armchair and stretched his legs, completely relaxed.
Ames looked at him with a gentle smile, making Aesop a little uncomfortable, holding back a tired sigh like an old father caught after failing to "buy cigarettes".
He cleared his throat and started a conversation, trying to get the woman to stop looking at him with such intense, loving, and playful gaze.
-Well, you really like that brat, don't you?- he said casually. -Going all the way to Austin just to help him.
Ames looked away, staring at the stream of stars outside the spaceship. -He's a good subordinate, and I'm also curious about what's inside the black sphere.
Aesop raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but didn't comment on it, instead changing the subject. -The boy seems troublesome, causing problems wherever he goes.
Ames smiled slightly, Ringo had surprised her more than once. Despite her domestic cat-like demeanor, occasionally venturing out to patrol her territory, she couldn't help but appreciate the surprises Ringo brought her.
-He's really problematic, but he's my subordinate.- She said, as if explaining everything.
Aesop sighed. Ames was good at everything, but when she liked someone, she didn't mince words. She could be completely biased, authoritarian, and hypocritical when it came to protecting those she cared about.
This means that even if Ringo massacred innocent people in broad daylight and a civilization demanded justice, she would simply stand in front of Ringo and ask who dared to ask for justice.
Aesop was even more worried because of this, his appearance this time was also aimed at seeing what kind of person Ringo was. Of course, he had other plans and didn't want to get caught, but observing so closely was also much simpler.
What he saw made him feel conflicted.
Ringo seems fascinated by power, but at the same time he doesn't seem interested in enjoying it.
In fact, he has a few more women, but the women Aesop has conquered in his long life could circle a planet. If it weren't for the fact that he lost interest in it long ago, Aesop wouldn't be much different from Ringo, perhaps even worse.
But aside from that, Aesop saw no other interest in Ringo, training, training, training... that's all the brat does.
If it weren't for confirming that he was an Esper, he would have to say that he would bet all his savings that Ringo is a Pugilist, he only saw this type of behavior in these stubborn, muscle-bound guys, and Ringo is one of the most extreme examples.
This relieved him as much as it worried him, the fact that Ringo didn't want anything now didn't mean he wouldn't want it in the future. His relentless pursuit of power must have a reason, and his biggest concern was how that reason would affect Ames.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get rid of the boy, he hadn't done anything wrong. On the contrary, Ames really liked him, so he could only sigh and follow the ship that had already sailed, hoping for the best.