Chapter 14: Gourmet Hunter
In regular training and battle preparation, merely maintaining Ken at full strength would consume 1 aura per second; this was the basis for Arthur's assessment of his total aura.
However, during actual combat, due to the need to repeatedly switch between Gyo, Ryu, Shu, and other more consuming derivative techniques, the aura consumption per second would multiply, depending on battle experience and aura control, ranging from 6 to 10 aura per second.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Additionally, specific Nen abilities, especially certain special moves, were major aura consumers...
"Hey! Can't you see me?"
For instance, Arthur's "Finger Flick Technique"—each charge and release consumed a significant amount of aura, and the longer the charge time, the more aura was gathered and consumed as the destructive power increased.
With a total of only 1000 aura, how many times could he afford to do this?
This made Arthur deeply reflect. In the future, without absolute certainty of hitting the target, he must not charge for more than three seconds!
Otherwise, it would be a pure waste of aura.
Fortunately, this encounter didn't last long, and he still had a decent amount of aura left. Otherwise, that final 10-second charge of the Finger Flick Technique might have drained him...
This reminded Arthur of a member of the Phantom Troupe named Phinks, whose Enhancement Type special move "Ripper Cyclotron" increased the power of his punch with each rotation of his arm... It was probably similar in principle to his Finger Flick Technique and naturally had similar drawbacks: the more rotations, the more aura gathered, and if the punch missed, it would be a pure waste of aura. In the worst case, if he drained his aura, it would be disastrous...
"Hey!!!!"
The green-haired girl, not known for her patience, shouted, interrupting Arthur's contemplation. "You little brat, don't ignore me!"
Arthur gestured for her to wait, and she fell silent.
Arthur reached out and touched a spot on the wolf's body, the Star Mark dissipating, and the wolf's head, which had been slowly moving toward the neck, stopped completely.
At the same time, a wisp of Post-mortem Nen entered Arthur's heart.
He thought, "It seems that when this wolf's head was blown off, it was already half dead, only now truly dying... Moreover, this confirms that as long as the Star Mark isn't destroyed, even if the head is severed, the brain smashed, or the heart removed, it won't truly die. But such fatal injuries will heal very, very slowly."
While the green-haired girl was growing impatient, Arthur stood up and pointed behind her.
"Behind me?" she asked suspiciously. "What's there?"
Arthur said seriously, "Take a few steps back."
The girl, seeing his seriousness, retreated a few steps. "Like this?"
"Step back a bit more. Okay."
Only then did Arthur feel at ease, squatting down in front of the scattered poachers. The big man with half his head bitten off by Lumin had already sent a wisp of Post-mortem Nen into Arthur's heart, clearly dead. One was knocked out by the two he had controlled. The other two were shot in the head by Galo... Arthur glanced at the bullet wounds on their foreheads; the wounds themselves had closed under the Star Mark's healing, but there was a faint sound of something wriggling inside their skulls...
It seemed their positions were wrong, and despite healing, the bullets remained in their brains, causing unimaginable cranial turmoil... Arthur shook his head, reaching out to wipe the Star Marks from their cheeks and necks, releasing them from their torment. Immediately, two more wisps of Post-mortem Nen entered his heart...
As a Manipulation Type user, the best scenario was for no one to know the details of his ability.
Arthur decided to disguise himself as an Emission Type Nen user whenever possible.
The green-haired girl didn't notice Arthur was erasing Star Mark traces, thinking he was just "looting corpses," and warned him, "Hey, that guy over there isn't dead yet, be careful."
"I know he's not dead." Arthur dusted off his hands and stood up; Galo hadn't sent any Post-mortem Nen.
He looked at the girl, puzzled. "Why are you still standing there?"
The girl snapped, "Didn't you tell me to stand here?! I haven't figured out the situation yet!"
"Oh." Arthur nodded, walking over to Lumin. The bag revealed another moonlit tiger, seemingly drugged with a strong sedative, still groggy after Lumin dragged it out.
"Oh, what do you mean 'oh'?" The girl, unable to hold back, strode over. "Aren't you going to explain?"
She reached out to grab the boy's ear, but he dodged.
Unconvinced, she reached again.
Swish, swish, swish... Arthur, seeing he was about to be caught, grabbed her wrist, accusing, "What are you doing? Bullying me because I'm tired from the fight?"
The girl was taken aback; how did it seem like she was in the wrong?
She took a deep breath, calming herself. "I'm Menchi, a newly certified professional hunter! I was drawn here by the gunfire, and these poachers are the criminals we've been trying to catch. And these two moonlit tigers are protected animals in this first-class reserve! Let go, I'll show you my Hunter License."
Arthur scrutinized her, wearing a tank top and hot pants with a black mesh shirt over it, reminding him of Anko Mitarashi... Oh, it's Menchi. The gourmet hunter who was the examiner for the second stage of the Hunter Exam in the manga.
Arthur released her wrist.
"See!" Menchi pulled out a Hunter License from her hot pants pocket, waving it in front of Arthur.
"Stop waving it around. It's just a license, who doesn't have one?" Arthur scoffed, pulling out his own Hunter License. "Look, when it comes to moonlit tigers, no one knows them better than me! You think I don't know this is a reserve? Didn't you see this moonlit tiger helping me fight poachers?"
Menchi was taken aback, skeptical. "Did Blanchet Company hire other hunters? No way, you're so young, and you're a professional hunter too?"
What the heck is Blanchet Company... Arthur focused aura in his eyes, examining Menchi's aura, which seemed loose and not very concentrated, with a quantity not even half of his at full strength. He advised earnestly, "Young people, don't have such a narrow view. The world is vast, and the possibilities in the world of Nen are endless! What do you mean I'm so young? I'm already... how old are you?"
"...16."
"Heh, I'm already 20! You're just a little girl." Arthur said. "Have you learned Nen recently? Are you proficient in Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu? Have you developed your own Nen ability?"
Menchi, overwhelmed by his barrage of questions, admitted, "I did just learn recently... But I have my reasons! I took a few months off to focus on a gourmet competition! As for a Nen ability, I recently had some inspiration, but it's still vague..."
"So you haven't developed it yet."
"Yeah."
"Keep working hard. The future of the Hunter Association depends on young people like you with drive!" Arthur said earnestly. "I have high hopes for you; you'll become a One-Star Hunter soon."
"Alright, that's it. I'm leaving. Lumin, follow me!" He patted his backside, ready to leave. "I won't compete with a novice hunter like you for credit. You can handle these poachers yourself."
"But... why am I the one staying here to contact others, and you're not waiting with me?"
Arthur waved, and Lumin, seeing Menchi didn't seem like a bad person, entrusted the other moonlit tiger to her, trotting over to Arthur.
"You don't want the poachers you caught to wake up and escape, do you?" Arthur asked.
Menchi nodded.
"Then there you go." Arthur flipped onto the tiger's back. "Lumin, charge!"
The moonlit tiger roared, carrying him away, heading into the forest toward the eastern coastal town.
Menchi stood there dumbfounded, only reacting after Arthur rode away. "Wait, what's your name?"
"Hey! Come back..."
From afar, the young gourmet hunter's exasperated voice reached him, and Arthur, riding Lumin with a flock of birds overhead, laughed heartily. What fun!