Liam and Shizuku had eaten lunch before boarding the Heavens Arena airship. The flight to Sensui Mountain took most of the afternoon. By the time they'd landed at the base and climbed to the summit, evening had arrived.
Dusk settled over the mountain. The deserted villa stood before them, all sharp angles and traditional architecture against a darkening sky. The door swung shut behind the group with a slow, deliberate creak. A cold mountain breeze swept past.
This is definitely not ominous at all.
The main road stretched ahead, leading deeper into the villa grounds. Trees Liam didn't recognize lined both sides. Open lawns and gardens spread out between them. The dim orange glow of sunset painted everything in muted tones.
Six figures emerged from the shadows on either side of the path. Men and women dressed in formal waiter uniforms. They moved with eerie synchronization, approaching calmly to ask whether the guests preferred hotel accommodations, dining, or a tour of the villa.
Liam glanced at Shizuku. "Should we check in first?"
"Okay."
"We can explore after dinner."
Even though he knew Shizuku would follow his lead regardless, Liam made a point of asking her opinion on everything. Old habits.
The thirty-plus martial artists from various schools followed the waiters toward the hotel section of the villa complex. Even those who wanted to explore the grounds decided to familiarize themselves with their lodgings first.
"What are you staring at?" Wing noticed Hart's intense focus. He followed the boy's gaze. Hart was watching the villa staff leading them down the path.
Hart looked embarrassed. "I was wondering if they're like... you know. Nen constructs."
Wing chuckled but corrected him gently. "Clones, not puppets. There's a difference."
"What difference?" Hart frowned.
Shizuku's eyes showed curiosity too. Liam smiled.
"A puppet is 'other,'" Liam explained. "A clone is 'me.' Generally speaking, puppets and Nen beasts fall under the Emission category. Clones, if they're indistinguishable from a real flesh-and-blood body, belong to Conjuration."
He'd explained something similar to Menchi months ago. Anything involving physical transformation or transmutation typically fell under Conjuration. Even alienated body parts required aura to manifest the corresponding structures first. Like the Zoldyck family's elderly butler, Tsubone. Her ability, Rider's High, let her transform into vehicles. Motorcycles. Jet planes. She was a Conjurer.
If we're being technical, Liam thought, Shizuku's Blinky and Kurapika's six books are both "clones" in a sense. Just not made of flesh and blood. And they don't project consciousness.
Wing nodded in agreement but raised one finger. "Strictly speaking, Nen beasts aren't exclusive to Emitters. Users from all six categories can potentially create Nen beasts."
Liam raised his own finger. "And strictly speaking, no one belongs to a single Nen category. It's just that one of the six has the greatest advantage. In other words, every Nen user has some Emission talent. Which means every Nen user has the potential to create a Nen beast."
Take Shizuku, for example. She was a Conjurer. Separated from Emission by two categories on the hexagon chart. Her efficiency for Emission skills was only forty percent. But forty percent was still far from zero.
Wing thought for a moment, then smiled. "That's true. Your explanation is closer to the essence of it."
Hart's eyes glazed over. He clearly didn't follow the technical discussion.
Liam looked at him. "Have you done Water Divination yet?"
"I'm an Enhancer!" Hart raised his hand proudly.
"Yeah, I can tell."
Both Wing and Hart looked at him with confusion.
How?
Shizuku nodded. She'd heard Liam's theory about predicting Nen types based on personality traits.
The hotel section of the villa was surprisingly modern inside. Clean lines. Polished wood. Soft lighting.
Liam requested a double room. He swiped the keycard, and he and Shizuku pushed the door open.
The room was spacious. Two beds. A sitting area with a small table. A window overlooking the mountain vista.
Liam walked to the window immediately. He checked the latch. Unlocked. Perfect.
He opened the window. Within seconds, a small gray bird fluttered inside. Jaku circled the room twice, shook its feathers dramatically, then landed on the back of Liam's hand.
Showoff.
Seeing the bird reminded Liam of the bunny girl he'd encountered during the climb. He still wasn't sure what to call her. Pyon? Piyon? The Hunter world's language wasn't his native tongue, and he kept defaulting to the fan-translated names from the manga.
More importantly, that woman's En had covered the entire cave. It had even leaked out through the cracks, which was how he'd noticed it while possessing Jaku.
That kind of range is insane.
"Let's practice while it's still fresh in my mind," Liam said. He let Jaku hop onto the windowsill to preen itself. He turned to Shizuku. "Come on. We'll work on it together."
Shizuku was conjuring Blinky, pulling out their luggage and belongings from the vacuum's infinite storage.
"How do I describe the feeling of En?" Liam sat down on one of the chairs. "It's like trying to draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other at the same time."
Shizuku finished unpacking. She sat across from him, listening quietly, nodding occasionally.
Outside the window, the sky darkened bit by bit.
Wing knocked on Liam's door.
"Come in," a voice called from inside.
Wing pushed the door open. Liam and Shizuku sat in armchairs with their backs to the entrance.
"Aren't you coming to dinner? The restaurant here is supposed to be excellent."
Wing smiled. Neither of them responded.
Odd.
He took another step forward. His foot landed on the carpet.
His expression shifted. Surprise flickered across his face.
"Your left foot," Liam said without turning around. "Half of it's on the carpet. Right?"
Wing looked down. "Yes."
He pulled his left foot back to the doorway. "En?"
"What's the range?" Liam turned around in his chair, grinning. "Can you tell?"
"En is difficult to perceive at first glance," Wing said. He focused, channeling Gyo into his eyes. "The advanced Zetsu application, In, was originally inspired by En. Gyo helps, but you mainly feel it with your instincts."
After a moment, a vague outline appeared in his perception.
Centered on Liam sitting in the armchair, there was a field of aura spread across the floor like an invisible dome. It covered both Liam and Shizuku, who sat in the adjacent chair facing away from Wing.
"Seven meters in diameter." Wing tapped his toe on the carpet. "This is the edge of your En."
He looked at Liam steadily. "You mastered En during the climb?"
"Seven-meter diameter," Liam muttered. "So three and a half meters in any direction from my center. That's my current limit."
It's pathetically short. Barely useful for anything except finding coins on the ground.
Shizuku's En was even smaller. Only about two meters in diameter. She could span most of it by spreading her arms. Her range was so small that it nested completely inside Liam's, like a bowl inside a larger bowl. Wing hadn't even noticed it.
"What about you, Wing?" Liam asked.
Wing shook his head. "I don't use En."
He explained. "I'm an Enhancer. I don't have many tricks or special techniques. To deal with emergencies, I don't like releasing my aura to form an En. It leaves me too exposed. So instead, I take advantage of the Enhancement category. I strengthen my five senses directly. Even my sixth sense. It compensates for the lack of environmental awareness."