A Wanderer's Lies - Chapter 102: He's a Monster!
“I don’t think you fully grasp the magnitude of the situation you’ve put yourself in, Isaac.”
Xavier, unthreatened as the amber-eyed boy before him, stood with a wild smirk.
“Really? That invisible technique I was just using didn’t surprise you? You’re the first person who knows about it.”
Isaac questioned, the usual smile on his face remaining thus making it seem as if he was mocking the blind man.
“Invisibility Technique? Please, you’d have to erase yourself from all of space before you could hope to hide yourself from me.” Xavier spoke in what seemed to be a tone with slight gloating.
‘Erase myself from all of space, huh?’
For once, Isaac seriously took note of what Xavier said.
“It’s also the same reason that whatever you do, there’s nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you…”
[Nen Proficiency: 4 -> 7]
“Ren.”
-BOOM
-BANG
“You seem to be under the impression that I’ll be running.”
Before Xavier could finish, a loud BANG could be heard as Isaac bolted toward the blind man, the earth beneath his feet breaking apart as if it were met with an explosion.
It wasn’t long until Isaac came face to face with Xavier, whispering under his breath but loud enough so that Xavier could hear.
‘W-What…’
Xavier stammered inwardly, taken aback by the sheer Aura that had exploded from Isaac. It was far more than what a Level Three Proficient Nen user, which he thought Isaac to be, should be capable of.
Isaac wasted no time as he drew dangerously close to Xavier, swinging his elbow.
-BANG
Despite Xavier’s previous thoughts, watching the elbow travel toward him, he could not help but feel a sense of confusion for a second before his usual smile returned to his face.
Placing his palm before the elbow, a loud BANG could once again be heard as Xavier blocked the attack with ease.
‘His Aura…’
Isaac raised an eyebrow, seeing Xavier’s Aura heavily concentrated on the hand which he used to block.
But that wasn’t what surprised him.
No, this was simply the Gyo he’d gotten used to over the last few weeks.
What left him stumped was the fact that Xavier now swung his opposite fist, a significant portion of his Aura also in this fist.
Though Isaac could see Xavier’s stance and posture were nothing notable, signifying that he was either underestimating Isaac or wasn’t a very good Hand-to-Hand fighter, he knew that simply his Ren was going to be enough to withstand this punch unscathed.
Additionally…
[Status: Satiated]
He’d eaten an abundant amount of Vitaflow pills, giving him a Satiated status and allowing him to use Partial Zombification once without the Thing taking over.
Taking unnecessary hits such as these would cause him to heal and lose this advantage he had.
Because of this…
-WHOOSH
Isaac successfully weaved the attack, though due to the surprise and urgency, the dodge wasn’t perfect and put him in an awkward position.
But it was enough.
Isaac raised his leg, driving it into Xavier’s gut, noticing there was a shortage of Aura in the rest of his body.
-BANG
But to no avail, Isaac watched Aura suddenly manifest in Xavier’s torso.
“Not bad.”
The hairs on Isaac’s neck stood up as he heard these words.
His vision was currently obscured and he was in no position to act any further.
Therefore, with the single leg he stood on, he kicked off the ground, landing a few metres away and stumbling a little before regaining his composure.
“I must say, Isaac. You surprise me. Let me guess, with the amount of Nen I’m sensing from you, you’re Proficiency Level is well above level 5. Maybe 6 or 7. Am I right?”
Xavier asked but was not answered
However, he didn’t seem to care as he continued.
“Despite this, your knowledge of Nen Techniques is limited, as evidenced by your basic use of Ren in battle. Anyone of your calibre shouldn’t be using such a flawed technique.”
Isaac narrowed his eyes.
‘Flawed?’
“It seems you know nothing more than what you’ve learnt from me. You still lack the third and final lesson of the set of techniques that surpass even the advanced techniques you’ve learnt.”
Xavier bent his legs and tensed his entire body.
As he did, Isaac witnessed Xavier’s Aura compacting all around his body. Rather than the smooth surface that coated his body with Ten, this time, his Nen presented rough bumps around its surface as Isaav could feel the pressure it was holding as if it were a balloon filled to the maximum with water.
‘What’s he doing? Is he teaching me? At this time?’
Though the answer seemed clear, Isaac didn’t know why, soon narrowing it down to two possibilities.
It was either because he didn’t see Isaac as a threat, or…
‘He’s extremely cocky.’
“This is Ken. A defensive form of Ren. With this, your attacks simply empowered by Ren will never harm me.”
‘Defensive form of Ren?’
Isaac thought. He didn’t even need Xavier to tell him the purpose of this technique as it felt as though he was staring at…a steel mountain.
Xavier noticed Isaac’s slight shift in facial expression due to surprise, causing the blind man to smile all the wider as he stood once again, his Aura returning to normal.
Xavier raised his arm, tightening his hand into a fist as Isaac watched all his Aura focus on it.
“This is Ko. Using Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu and Gyo, it allows you to concentrate 100% of your Aura into a single point.”
However, this time, Isaac failed to present the same reaction as previously, only staring with a neutral expression.
Xavier paused upon seeing this, his smile faltering for a second.
“But this…this is what’s considered to be the Ultimate Nen Technique.”
‘Hmm.’
Isaac thought. His concentration on the peculiar mid-battle lesson had lessened for a second as he focused on Xavier.
The way he acted, the way his emotions shifted despite there always being a smile on his face.
However, Isaac’s interest was once again piqued as he witnessed Xavier throw a few punches in the air.
As Xavier threw one punch, Isaac could see most of his Aura compact in his punch, like Gyo.
Like Gyo, there was some Aura left around his body, but unlike Gyo, there was a significantly larger portion in his guard arm, though not as much as the Aura in his punch.
‘What…is this?’
Isaac asked, watching Xavier continue to punch and kick while doing the same.
With his attacking limb, he would infuse the most Aura while leaving a little less in whatever part of the body he was guarding, while what was left lingered around the rest of the body.
To Isaac, the idea seemed simple yet so…complicated.
“By allocating a percentage of your Aura in the most optimal points of your body in battle, you will see significant performance improvement, fighting efficiency rather than like an animal.”
“But that isn’t all…”
It was as if Xavier could hear Isaac’s thoughts as Isaac was starting to doubt the ‘Ultimate’ part of this technique, seeing as the allocation of Aura simply sounded like Gyo.
“It’s not just the separation of Aura. No, one can simply perform that with Gyo. This is a combination of Ko, Ken and Gyo.”
“Essentially, one was deciding what percentage went into their offence, also their Ko, and how much went into their defence, their Ken.”
Xavier demonstrated, punching the air with his fist resembling Ko, but not with 100% of his Aura. No, more like 55%.
Meanwhile, the rest of his body depicts a rough and rigid outer shell, similar to Ken with what was left of the Aura.
Once again, Isaac was taken aback.
This technique would indeed be far more efficient as well as effective in battle.
Xavier noticed the surprise in Isaac’s face once again, in turn causing his smile to widen as he stopped.
“I see you’re smart enough to recognise the extent of such a technique. This is Ryu. I hope now you can see why your current self will never…”
-FUAM
Before Xavier could finish, his smirk quickly faded as his eyes, which had been squinted due to his wide smile, opened wider.
“This is Ko, huh?”
One could see every drop around Isaac’s body converge into his fist as he stared at it with a blank expression.
“I never knew the name for it. But as long as it was useful, I didn’t care. Instead, this is what I’m interested in.”
Before Xavier could have a chance to say anything, he witnessed Isaac bend his legs, stabilising his body and tensing all his muscles.
Isaac breathed rhythmically, taking a second to relax as his Aura returned to its usual Ten.
He remembered Xavier’s thick and compact Aura.
The way it resembled a brick.
Its toughness.
With this thought, he spoke.
“Ken!”
-BRRRR
The Aura around Isaac’s body could be seen changing from the smooth surface of Ten, its volume increasing as its surface was now depicted as rough and bumpy.
Isaac could be seen with a strained face but slowly relaxed as the Aura around him also seemed to appear more controlled.
Isaac opened his eyes as he looked around his body.
“It feels…heavy. But I can still move as usual.”
What surprised Isaac the most was how easy this was.
Though he needed to focus on activating it and felt as though he couldn’t stay in this form for over forty minutes, considering it took him longer to master Gyo, In and the other advanced techniques, it seemed anticlimactic.
However, after a second, Isaac remembered why he shouldn’t be surprised by this.
‘Zoldyck Genes and the affinity for Nen I get from the activation of the Scarlet Eyes combined is nothing to scoff at.’
As Isaac thought this, Xavjer stood, frozen as his mind lagged to comprehend what was happening before him.
At first, he was taken aback by Isaac suddenly using Ko, but upon Isaac revealing he already knew it, he was able to regain his composure.
‘B-But I’m sure he didn’t know Ken.’
Seeing Isaac’s surprise upon using it and the fact it took him longer than it should have at his level, Xavier was inclined to believe…well, he didn’t know, the only words coming to mind being…
‘What the hell is he?’
“As for that last ultimate technique you named…Ryu, was it?” Isaac spoke, taking a second to remember the name.
“Well, I believe it’s best if we master that with practical training. Don’t you, Professor?”
-BANG
-ZOOM
Isaac leapt from his position.
But surprisingly, despite not activating Ren, he was faster than he was with his Ren active.
This was because Isaac allocated all his Aura to each of his feet, increasing his speed tenfold.
Xavier snapped out of his trance as for once, a difficult expression could be seen on his face.
Isaac closed in, focusing his Aura into his right fist as he swung it.
‘55% offensive, fist. 45% defensive, body.’
Isaac thought, setting clear separation of offensive in his fist and defensive in the rest of his body like Ko and Ken, respectively.
“Ryu!”
He could feel the rough and heavy sensation around his body like Ken, yet his fist felt light and destructive like Ko.
However, this didn’t seem to be enough to land a hit on Xavier as the blind man seemingly regained his composure.
Isaac also witnessed Xavier’s Aura shift, matching Isaac’s proportions as his fist met with Isaac’s.
-BANG
The two fists collided as shockwaves that caused the leaves and grass to flutter rang out.
Despite Isaac feeling like he was being slightly pushed back, this was simply the reason that Xavier had a higher Nen Proficiency.
Nevertheless, he was able to hold his ground.
Xavier pulled back his fist, his eyebrows furrowed as he swung for a hook.
‘I knew it. His form is sloppy, and his punch is premature. I’m the better fighter.’
This was the first time Isaac was fighting someone who wasn’t a master Hand-to-Hand combatant.
Because of this, he felt as though he could put more focus on his Ryu.
‘20% offensive, right fist. 80% defensive, left forearm.’
Despite Isaac thinking this…
-BANG
Isaac’s forearm stung.
He couldn’t allocate his Aura fast enough, leaving his forearm with around 50% rather than 80.
But this pain was nothing.
And so, the two engaged in a rapid back and forth, throwing countless blows at each other but none being pushed back.
Despite Isaac being the inferior Ryu user, his higher level in combat allowed him to stand his ground.
Meanwhile…
‘What is this?’
Xavier’s mind went wild as he witnessed the boy seemingly…improving before his very eyes.
This technique took him 5 months to master, yet Isaac was perfecting it by the second.
‘80% forearm, 20% body.’
-BANG
Isaac blocked another attack.
‘Still not good enough, only about 60-70%.’
Isaac’s uniform could be seen being torn as bruises started to manifest around his body, remaining on his skin as he suppressed his healing.
‘80% shin, 20% body.’
-BANG
‘75%’
‘80% elbow, 20% body.’
-BANG
‘There!’
‘H-He’s done it…’
Xavier thought, his shock showing on his face as his jaw dropped.
Isaac felt the full 80% reach his designated location as for once, he performed Ryu completely.
But he was satisfied.
‘90% offensive, fist. 10% defensive, body.’
Xavier witnessed Isaac channel 90% of his Aura into his fist, leaving little around his body.
“Are you crazy?!”
Xavier yelled. The consensus was to leave near to half your Aura around your body so that you were never vulnerable.
But Isaac…
“Maybe…”
Xavier stared as the punch travelled toward him. Despite the sudden attack, he was able to perceive it, prepared to block as he sent most of his Aura to the place of contact.
‘90% offensive, heel. 10% defensive, body.’
Isaac’s Aura shot through his body rapidly as his fist retracted, using the momentum to swing his body around and bring his heel up.
‘S-So fast…’
This was it.
Xavier concluded.
The boy wasn’t a genius. No, that would be an understatement. He was…
‘A monster!’
“…but more importantly, I’m not a pussy.”
-BANG
Isaac’s heel smashed into the side of Xavier’s face that wasn’t guarded, and the professor could feel his brain smash into the inside walls of his skull.
-BANG
Xavier’s eyes rolled back as Isaac’s heel drove through, smashing the blind man’s cranium into the earth below as his head was sandwiched between the foot and the ground.
Isaac took a step back, a slight smirk appearing on his face as he admired the scene before him.
However, before he could do so any further, he stumbled a little, his vision blurring and his equilibrium faltering.
‘This technique is taking its toll on me.’
“What tricks are you playing?”
Isaac’s attention snapped back as he noticed Xavier rising off the ground, his head pouring with blood.
“That attack…your Ken…it can only be the product of an Enhancer.”
Xavier knew Isaac was a Transmuter, thus causing his confusion.
However, instead of answering, Isaac simply smirked.
[The Paragon (Lvl. MAX)
Nen Type: Specialisation
Description: This Nen ability can enable the user to use every Nen type with 100% Efficiency.
Cost: Progressive Blindness.]
“Why don’t you eat a few more hits, maybe it’ll clear your mind…”
-VUAM
Before Isaac could finish his mockery, he noticed…he didn’t know what he noticed.
It was an instant.
So fast he wasn’t even able to react.
It wasn’t until the late sensation of something missing that Isaac looked down, noticing half his torso as well as his arm…gone.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Next chapter title: Kitsune’s Pall [1]
NNext chapter title: Kitsune’s Pall [2]
NNNext chapter title: Ego
In the next chapter, Isaac uses Kitsune’s Pall.
Hello….okay…goodbye…
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But wait, before I go, I can’t leave without asking for the…
POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS