The Reincarnator's Tavern - Chapter 29: The Six Nen Categories

Chapter 29 The Six Nen Categories

[Hi_I’m_Paul: I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I think there was a typo.]

[Bone_Wizard: If you are going to troll, please try something more believable.]

[Book_worm: Did the finals take place on the moon or something?]

[Hercules: This isn’t a joke! Jackie Chun just blew up the moon!]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Yeah. I watched the match too. Moon is gone. I’m gonna pass out now.]

[Dark_Lord_Skullcrusher: Hahaha! Jackie Chun is the lowliest of my followers. My power can destroy the whole Universe! Much less some pitiful moon.]

[Daniel_Rogers: Umm.. I’m in the Warrior world and yeah… The moon is gone.]

[Swordsman: How did the moon get destroyed during a martial arts tournament?]

[Ninja_Lord has signed in.]

[Dragon_Chef has signed in.]

[Demon_Hunter has signed in.]

[Wild_King has signed in.]

[Titan has signed in.]

[Ninja_Lord: I heard that someone blew up a moon?]

[Dragon_Chef: I’m pretty sure that can’t happen.]

[Hercules: Here’s what happened. The suspected Warrior MC made it into the finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament. He was getting his ss kicked by Jackie Chun and was about to lose. Then he looked at the moon and turned into a four-story-tall ape monster. To beat him, Jackie Chun formed a bright ball of energy in his hands and then shot it like a laser. The suspected MC turned back into a 12-year-old when the moon was gone.]

[Wild_King: Your MC is a were-ape?]

[Dragon_Chef: Jackie Chun?]

[Ninja_Lord: What’s the MC’s name?]

[Daniel_Rogers: I think he’s referring to a Ki Attack.]

[Hercules: Goku Son.]

[Dragon_Chef: Goku? Oh. That’s not good.]

[Ninja_Lord: What’s a Ki Attack?]

[Wild_King: You don’t believe him do you?]

[Demon_Hunter: He’s definitely trolling you.]

[Dragon_Chef: Son Goku, since family names come first in that culture, would be another way of saying Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. A Mythical figure capable of changing shape, growing huge, and fighting gods. He had a divine staff and flying cloud.]

[Hercules: Oh? Goku did actually use a golden flying cloud during one of his matches.]

[Daniel_Rogers: A Ki Attack is where a martial artist concentrates their energy until it is so dense it can exist outside of the body, then fire it as an attack. The most well-known Ki Attack is the Kamehameha Wave invented by Master Roshi.]

[Swordsman: Who cares about the MC. Tell us about this Jackie Chan.]

[Dragon_Chef: I believe he said Jackie Chun.]

[Dark_Lord_Skullcrusher: Jackie Chun is one of my weakest disciples. All who prostrate themselves before me shall receive unlimited power!]

[Hercules: I’m pretty sure he’s using a fake name. He actually looks like Master Roshi, the guy Daniel was talking about and the attack he used to blow up the moon was the Kamehameha. Except he is wearing a wig. Goku claimed to be a student of Master Roshi, and so is another fighter who made it into the semi-finals before Jackie Chun beat him.]

[Wild_King: So the master snuck into the tournament in a wig to beat down his disciples to make sure they would not get a big head?]

[Lord_of_Madness has signed in.]

[Lord_of_Madness: What’s this I hear about someone blowing up a moon!]

[Swordsman: Quiet, the adults are talking.]

[Hercules: I never thought about it that way, but you’re probably right. I’m definitely gonna find and ask Master Roshi if I can be his disciple. Goku used a weaker Kamehameha wave in the fight, so Roshi is definitely teaching it!]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Count me in. The temple I’m in is all talk. I’m already stronger than the adults but they refuse to fight me cause they know they’ll lose. Time to leave.]

[Bone_Wizard: Should I go? Ninjas only teach how to be sneaky and the wizards are only teaching how to point your stick at things and inconvenience them. Neither can blow up a moon.]

[Ninja_Lord: Unless you have high Warrior Talent, I doubt it will matter. Jackie Chun, or Master Roshi, or whatever is probably a powerful fighter in his prime.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: I heard he is 300 years old.]

[Hercules: Master Roshi is a really really old man.]

[Ninja_Lord: …]

[Swordsman: How many of you attended the Tournament?]

[Hercules: Four Players, including myself.]

[Book_worm: How do you know they were Players?]

[Dark_Lord_Skullcrusher: Because every Player who fought in the tournament wore a majestic disguise!]

[Ninja_Lord: YOU ACTUALLY WENT OUT IN PUBLIC WEARING THAT?!]

[Hercules: I’m ashamed.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Didn’t have a choice. Got a feeling that I could not sign up using my own name.]

[Hercules: Same here. When I went to sign up, I got a really strong feeling I had to fight wearing… That. instead of going without a disguise.]

[Dragon_Chef: What the hell are you talking about?]

[Miracle: Oh, you mean THAT. I didn’t know everyone had one.]

[Demon_Hunter: I am confused. What are they all talking about?]

[Ninja_Lord: I guess every Ninja, Wizard, and Warrior has one. No. I won’t say more than that. Do. Not. Ask.]

[Lord_of_Madness: Soo… What is it?]

[Miracle: …]

[Hercules: Changing the subject, it’s obvious the Warrior is the strongest class.]

[Book_worm: Warriors should be nerfed.]

[The_Spiffing_Brit: Nonsense. The Warrior is a perfectly balanced class with no exploits at all. Why don’t we all have a chat and drink a nice cup of some lovely Yorkshire Tea?]

[Hercules: You’re here too? Me, Panda, Brit, and Skullcrusher all attended the Tournament and used our Chat Names.]

[Dark_Lord_Skullcrusher: My majestic attire is black and silver with a cracked skull mask and an awesome broken skull on my cape. Hercules was yellow and white, with a white wrapping around the lower half of his face and a big H on the back of his cape. Panda’s disguise was black and white, he had a panda mask and panda face on his cape. And Brit’s color scheme was like the Union Jack, the British flag. He wore a cloth mask and on the back of his cape was a steaming cup of Tea.]

[Lord_of_Madness: Your costumes have capes?]

[Hercules: Excuse me. I have a skull to crush. Be right back.]

[Dark_Lord_Skullcrusher: Puny mortal! You shall-]

[The_Spiffing_Brit: I do believe that is going to leave a mark.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Agreed.]

[Swordsman: So did he win? Jackie Chun or Master Roshi or whatever.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Actually, he just did. Goku still had some energy after turning back to normal. They almost had a double-KO, but Roshi got up first and declared himself the Champion!]

[Miracle: I wonder if I could kill Voldemort with a laser like that?]

[Dragon_Chef: Who is Voldemort?]

[Miracle: The big bad of our setting. He can kill anything with a single spell.]

[Bone_Wizard: Yeah, rather than learning to blow up moons, it might be better to just get really good at that Instant Kill Spell.]

[Wild_King: You have an instant kill spell?]

[Titan: Is there any way to defend against it?]

[Miracle: Maybe…]

[Swordsman: So how big are the moon fragments? Won’t those rain down and destroy the planet? Shouldn’t you get out of there?]

[Miracle: Ah, he’s right. Run!]

[Hi_I’m_Paul: RIP Warrior World.]

[Hercules: Ah, actually, I don’t see any fragments.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Yeah, I don’t see anything.]

[Swordsman: It’s in the middle of the night, of course you don’t see anything.]

[Hercules: No, the sun is still out.]

[Swordsman: Was it a full moon?]

[Hercules: Yes.]

[Book_worm: Then it has to be nighttime. A moon is only Full when it is opposite the sun from the Earth. So a full moon only rises after the sun sets. How can you have a full moon in the day?]

[Hercules: Nope, it was full. The sun is almost setting, but it’s still in the sky. The moon was pretty high up too, well above the horizon.]

[Lord_of_Madness: Your moon was retarded then. It deserved to get blown up.]

[Kung_Fu_Panda: Hey, that’s a low blow. Apologize to the moon!]

[Book_worm: What moon?]

[Daniel_Rogers: Maybe our moon was smaller and closer to Earth. The sun is mostly set right now but it’s still there. If the moon was smaller and closer, that might explain a few things.]

[Hi_I’m_Paul: It explains how stupid your moon was. RIP Retard Moon.]

[Dragon_Chef: If it was a lot smaller and a lot closer, then it might show up as full at dusk instead of night.]

[Book_worm: That’s not how it works.]

[Swordsman: If that was the case, Lunar Eclipses would last a long time, be more common, and there probably would never be a solar eclipse.]

[Daniel_Rogers: I’ll check it out and see.]

[Lord_of_Madness: So what happened?]

[Hercules: So it’s like this.]

Several other Players from other Chat Rooms entered the General Chat, and a few other Warriors confirmed the lack of the moon’s presence in the sky.

There were multiple arguments about if such a thing could be possible, but details were conflicting.

Rayleigh could not be sure if it was a hoax but would keep it in mind. What would he do if a moon-destroying laser was shot at him? Well, even if he could not move at the speed of light, he could probably dodge it before it was launched using Battle Precognition and Danger Sense.

Various braggers showed up which gave other players more info about other classes. The wizards apparently had a One-Hit-Kill spell. Rayleigh wondered if his Lightsaber could deflect spells and Warrior Lasers.

Pretty much every Player with high Warrior Talent intended to train under Master Roshi, so a number of Wizards and Ninjas left their world and went to the Warrior World.

Rayleigh tried not to let it bother him. He was a 20 Talent Player, he already had full comprehension of his first class and was on his second. He had the highest Talent for both Hunter and Pirate to stack it will his Supreme Jedi Talent. His limit shouldn’t be weak. Still, he could not deny the sense of urgency he felt. He needed to devote more time to mind split training. Thankfully he already finished understanding the journals he borrowed from Wing and didn’t need to spend more time reading them.

The day after their last match, Rayleigh and the rest returned to Wing’s house and Rayleigh returned the journals. He did not say anything, but Wing likely assumed he got nothing from them and didn’t ask any questions.

Wing got out his familiar whiteboard and began the day’s lecture. “Today we will finally begin to train Hatsu, but first, a review of the fundamentals.”

Wing wrote on the board, Ten=Shroud, Zetsu=Null, Ren=Enhance, Hatsu=Act.

Then he explained, “Ten is the ability to build up and keep up a shroud of aura after opening your aura nodes to their fullest. Doing so allows the flow of aura, makes your body harder, increases your defense, and significantly slows the effect of aging.”

Moving on, he continued, “Zetsu is a technique used to nullify your Nen Aura. It is effective for concealing your presence and recovering from extreme fatigue.”

“Ren is a technique to create an especially strong aura, enhancing your Ten to a much stronger degree, and is the source of power for many Nen of Force Techniques.”

“And finally, Hatsu is the release of your aura after boosting it with Ren. These four elements are known as the four major principles, and are critical to the mastery of Nen of Force.”

Wing pointed to each as he explained before erasing the board, “You have completed your studies on the first three, and once you master Hatsu, you will have learned the final basic principle of Nen of Force. After that, you will need to personally work on developing your own Nen style.”

Wing then drew a hexagon on the whiteboard, “Hatsu is the technique by which you control your Nen. It is the culmination of Nen of Force and there are six distinct categories.”

At the 12 ‘o clock position on the hexagon, Wing wrote ‘Enhancer,’ and below that, ‘Strengthen Objects or self.’

At the 2 ‘o clock position, he wrote, ‘Transmuter,’ with the caption, ‘Can alter aura quality.’

The 4 ‘o clock position had ‘Conjurer,’ written over ‘Can manifest aura into objects.’

‘Specialist’ was written in the 6 ‘o clock position and ‘Special aura not under the other five categories.’

At the 8 ‘o clock position Wing wrote, ‘Manipulator,’ with the description, ‘Can use aura to control objects or creatures.’

And the 10 ‘o clock position on the hexagon had ‘Emitter’ with ‘Can propel their aura,’ written under it.

After naming each category and giving a brief description of what they were, Wing continued, “The key to developing a good Hatsu is deriving a power that suits your needs while keeping in mind the category you have compatibility with.”

“There are two things which determine the category which suits you. Everyone is born with a predisposition toward one of these categories. That is the first part. The second is the experiences you have gained throughout your life. Combined, these determine which of the categories suit you the most. Although rare, it is possible for life experiences to change which category suits you the most.”

“If you attempt to learn an ability that does not fall within your Nen disposition, you will find it very difficult. The closer another Nen category is to your own, the higher your compatibility with it. For example, if you fall under the Enhancer disposition, you can learn techniques which enhance things very easily.” Wing pointed to the top of the hexagon at Enhancer. But then he pointed to the two categories on either side of Enhancer and continued, “Someone with the Enhancer disposition can also learn abilities which fall under the Emitter and Transmuter categories. Not as easily as they can learn Enhancer abilities, but still not with particular difficulties.”

Wing then wrote numbers next to each category. 100% next to Enhancer, 80% next to Emitter and Transmuter, 60% next to Manipulator and Conjurer, and 0% next to Specialist.

“These represent how much effect training each category has, specifically for an Enhancer. For another Category, you can just imagine it being turned. The exception is Specialist. If you are not a Specialist, you will always fail to train in an ability that falls outside these categories, though there is always a chance a Manipulator or Conjurer may turn into a specialist.”

Rayleigh raised his hand and Wing pointed at him, giving him a chance to ask his question. Rayleigh asked, “What kind of things fall out of any category?”

“Hmm, well, what would you call the ability to shrink someone or yourself? How about an ability that lets you see into the future? I knew a Manipulator who could control others but turned into a Specialist who could merge his flesh into someone to possess or strengthen them. What about an ability that directly removes or affects the senses? Specialists are completely unpredictable and many are very formidable. But every category has the potential to be very powerful with the right training.”

“Let me give you some examples you are familiar with. Guido is an Enhancer. He enhanced the strength of his tops, making them hit with far greater force than they should have. However, he also commanded them to seek out targets, that’s manipulation, which, as an Enhancer, he had limited compatibility with.”

“Next is Sadoso. He is a Transmuter and transmuted his aura into a large arm he could use to grasp and squeeze things. But moving the arm would require Manipulation. For a Transmuter, Manipulation training is only 40% as effective as Transmuter training as it is on the opposite end of the chart.”

“Next is Riehvelt. He is an Emitter and used his wheelchair to channel his nen through and propel himself around using that chair.”

“As for Kastro, hmm. The strength of his Bite of the Tiger was wonderful, so he was certainly an Enhancer. But his doppelganger ability required materializing the doppelganger and manipulating it, which is a combination of Conjuration and Manipulation, two poorly compatible abilities for an Enhancer. He must have trained incredibly hard to achieve that technique, but lost in the end because the technique wasn’t strong enough.”

“And last we have Hisoka. As you saw, Hisoka can turn his aura into a gum-like substance, that is pure Transmutation.”

Rayleigh asked, “If Guido and Sadoso were so poorly attuned, why were they pretty strong?”

Even though they got wrecked, the group had a number of wins before Rayleigh’s group and not all of them were rookies.

Wing considered it before answering, “It has to do with the state of their bodies. Guido basically turned himself into a top. This gave him greater compatibility with tops. Sadoso lost his arm and used his aura to make a new one. Since he was just making something he used to have, it would have been easier. If your ability relates to something that means a lot to you, it will be much stronger and can counterbalance poor compatibility. Of course, it is best to have an ability that means a lot to you and matches your compatibility. Hisoka’s ability is a perfect example. Kastro’s Bite of the Tiger was likely an Enhancement of a martial art technique he spent years mastering, so that was also very powerful.”

Killua asked, “How can we tell what category we are most compatible with?”

Expecting this question, Wing picked up a wine glass from a nearby table, a bottle of water, and a single leaf. He poured the water from the bottle into the glass, getting it as full as possible without it actually spilling. Then he placed the leaf on the top of the water where it floated.

Wing said, “The Shingen-ryu Style teaches this method, Water Divination. This is also how we teach the mastery of Hatsu.”

Wing placed his hands around the glass and said, “We place our hands around it like so and use Ren. The category we are most compatible with will cause a specific change, and we can use that to know what category we belong to.”

Wing then used Ren. He did not touch the glass, but the nearly overflowing water suddenly started to actually overflow and drip over the rim of the glass.

Everyone watching was certainly surprised, his aura had somehow made more water in the glass.

Wing calmly explained, “The quantity of water has changed. It is a sign of being an Enhancer, and shows I have an affinity for Enhancer category techniques.”

Everyone wanted to be the first to try, so rather than argue, they decided on the order using Rock-Paper-Scissors. Rayleigh won first place, Gon second, Zushi third, and Killua got last place.

Rayleigh placed his hands at the sides of the glass and used his Ren. After a moment, the water started dribbling over the edge of the glass. A far, far weaker effect than Wing’s, but it was still an increase.

Zushi exclaimed, “So you’re an enhancer like Teacher.”

Rayleigh didn’t answer but got out of the way for Gon. When he used Ren, an identical scene occurred, and water started dripping from the glass.

Killua asked aloud, “You’re both enhancers?”

Rayleigh and Gon turned to each other and shared a smile.

Zushi was next. After using his Ren for a few moments, the leaf on the surface of the water started wiggling a bit.

Killua pointed out, “Oh, it’s moving?”

Wing stated, “The leaf moving means Manipulation.”

With a few ‘ahhs’ and ‘oohs,’ Killua stepped up and used his Ren. After a few seconds, nothing happened. Killua tried harder for a bit, but his Ren died out after holding it for as long as he could.

He looked up at Wing and awkwardly said, “Nothing happened. Does that mean I’m not good at anything?”

Wing smiled and replied, “Of course not. Try tasting the water.”

Everyone stuck a finger inside and tasted a drop. Rayleigh pointed out, “It tastes like someone added a pinch of sugar.”

Gon added, “Yeah, it’s a little sweet.”

Wing explained, “The taste of the water changed. That’s a sign of a Transmuter.”

Killua smiled, “Cool.”

Wing nodded, “Now you all know which category suits you best. Next is your Hatsu training. In order to create an acceptable Hatsu, you must be able to strengthen the effect of your Ren on the glass to a certain standard. Have more water come out, move the leaf more, or make the water sweeter. Only once the effect has reached a certain standard can it be considered that you have mastered the Basics of Hatsu training.”

Rayleigh asked, “How would the other categories look in Water Divination?”

Wing answered, “If the color of the water changes, that indicates the predisposition of an Emitter. If some impurities form within the Water, that’s the indication of a Conjurer. Other changes such as the temperature of the water changing, the water becoming heavier or floating out of the glass, or the leaf catching on fire would all be considered the sign of a Specialist.”

Once the lecture ended they all returned to their respective apartments to train.

From what Rayleigh understood, his aura had a slight tendency to enhance things. Through trial and error, he had to figure out how to make that aspect of his aura more pronounced. Only once his aura’s ability to enhance things reached a certain level would it be suitable for him to use Enhancer Hatsu. That’s what this training was for.

As for what he would enhance, that was obvious. He had plenty of options in fact. The top priority would be to enhance his speed. He could also enhance his strength. Perhaps he could enhance his lightsaber’s ability to cut. It was already quite good at cutting, but what if it could be better? Netero had stopped it with a rubber ball after all. There was certainly room for improvement.

In order to accomplish any of that, he had to bring out the Enhancer property of his aura to its fullest.

Rayleigh checked out his Easy Masteries and re-confirmed one he always had but had never understood how to use.

[Enhancer Proficiency: Speeds up the advancement of the Enhancer Training regimen. Requires greater Ren and Shū Proficiency to Unlock.]

What irked Rayleigh a bit was that it was still locked. So his Ren was not good enough for Enhancer training? Maybe augmenting the effect of Water Divination was not even considered Enhancer training. And what was Shū?

Rayleigh opened up the Point Store and scrolled down to the Hunter Section.

[En Proficiency: 1500 Mission Points

Shū Proficiency: 500 Mission Points

Kō Proficiency: 2000 Mission Points

Ken and Ryū Proficiency: 3000 Mission Points]

Rayleigh had no idea what any of it meant except for Kō which was basically Gyō on your fist. If you purchased an Easy Mastery Technique, you would have the knowledge to learn and practice the technique. But that only happened after you unlocked it. That meant if Rayleigh learned Shū and rose it with his Ren, eventually that Enhancer Proficiency would unlock and he would know what the Enhancer Training regimen was.

The problem was that, even though 500 was actually quite cheap, he really should not waste his points on something if he didn’t even know what it was. He saved about 830 points but was reluctant to spend them. He decided to write the terms down and go back the next day to ask Wing what they all were. Maybe he could ask what the Enhancer Training regimen was as well.

In any case, it was time to start practicing. He could not hold Ren for longer than 20 seconds at the moment, so he would also be using this time to practice prolonging how long he could hold his Ren. He had a long way to go, but at least he had a direction.

*Author’s Note*

Rayleigh was an Enhancer type in his previous life. Not like Gon, but closer to Wing. That’s why he knew to get Enhancer Easy Mastery but didn’t purchase the ability to choose what category he is. I did my best to write his personality to be like an enhancer, so it wouldn’t just seem like I was cheating. Some have been saying he is good at plotting, and although he is good at short-term plans, he never makes long-term plans, so you can’t really consider him the plotting, manipulative, and calculating type as those are NEVER without long-term plans. He is just really smart from his Jedi training, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is simple and direct.