Chapter 8: Goodbye (Part 2)
There is no truly unsolvable Nen Ability.
...
Looking at the bullet-damaged rose-gold Star Mark on Musse's left temple in the room, Arthur immediately thought of this saying.
He examined Musse's gunshot wound.
The rose-gold Star Mark originally on the left temple had disappeared, and the edges of the gunshot wound showed no remaining Pentagram, indicating that the Star Mark had completely dissipated the moment it was destroyed, similar to how it automatically deactivated when Arthur touched it.
Moreover, the wound showed no signs of healing, and the body temperature was below that of a living person, all indicating that Musse was indeed dead.
Arthur vaguely remembered that before waking up, upon hearing the gunshot, he seemed to have felt a familiar "Death Aura" seep into his heart.
He didn't know how many more Death Auras his little heart could endure before it would give out again...
Nor did he know how much his body would inexplicably grow the next time it couldn't take it...
Arthur temporarily set aside these troubling thoughts, muttering to himself, "When a Star Mark carrier is injured, the Star Mark automatically activates, drawing on the carrier's own aura or some deeper life energy for healing... This triggered self-healing effect is powerful, but if the Star Mark itself is destroyed, I lose a controllable Star Mark, and the carrier loses the healing effect granted by the Star Mark..."
In other words, if he wanted to kill someone under his Star Mark's control, he just needed to target the Star Mark, right?
Not exactly...
This required a premise: he had to place the Star Mark on a vital part of the opponent beforehand.
Otherwise, if the Star Mark was placed on the opponent's palm, even if he blew the hand to bits, it wouldn't be a one-hit kill. The healing ability granted by the Star Mark would be nullified, but the opponent would also be freed from the Star Mark's control, and that momentary lapse might give the enemy a chance to counterattack...
As Arthur pondered his Nen Ability, he signaled Lumin, who was peeking in from the doorway, to help.
Although Lumin still had the rose-gold Star Mark on its belly, as long as the Star Mark remained dormant and wasn't actively activated by Arthur, it wouldn't trigger the control mechanism.
In other words, it wasn't under the Star Mark's control but was willing to help. Hearing Arthur's call, Lumin trotted into the room, picked up Musse's body, and followed Arthur out.
Meanwhile, "Wolf Arthur" cleaned up the bloodstains along the way.
Exiting the cabin to the breezy deck, they noticed the distant horizon was already turning white.
Just as Lumin was about to push Musse's body into the sea, Arthur suddenly said, "Wait."
The tiger stopped, flicked its tail, and looked back at him.
"Wolf Arthur" also came running out, dragging a heavy object. Arthur tied the heavy object to Musse's body with a rope, then had Lumin push it all into the sea. With a "thud," the body sank with the weight. The waves rose and fell, everything as usual. Arthur leaned on the railing, gazing at the sea, wondering if he had become so calm in handling a corpse due to the constant shocks since his transmigration, which was indeed a bit strong.
With little sleepiness left, and seeing it was already dawn, Arthur decided against going back to sleep, preparing for departure instead.
Normally, his not-so-strong five-year-old body, after a night of exertion fighting wolves and Musse, should be utterly exhausted. Based on his past life's experience, sudden intense exercise followed by a deep sleep usually resulted in severe muscle soreness the next day, making it hard to even get up...
Arthur touched the Star Mark on his neck. Thanks to this thing's healing ability, he woke up without any soreness, feeling not just refreshed but incredibly invigorated.
If used for training...
Arthur couldn't help but laugh. Wasn't this like carrying a low-budget version of Biscuit Krueger's "massage lady" with him?
Fortunately, he remembered this place wasn't safe to linger, otherwise, he'd be tempted to start systematic Nen Ability training right there.
"Let's see what I need to prepare... Rope, a bundle, fuel, just a bottle, several lighters, and a roll of coarse cloth, a kitchen knife, Lumin, help me reach, yes, a kitchen knife. Is there a shovel? Yes, good. And... water, the food is just some leftover compressed biscuits, that'll have to do."
Arthur, along with Lumin and "Wolf Arthur," split up to search the ship inside and out. There were many useful supplies, but they were inconvenient to carry, so he had to leave them behind, ultimately choosing only the essentials. Bottles and bags, like the rope, were hung on the big tiger, making Lumin look at Arthur with an innocent expression.
"Those who can, do more." Arthur patted the tiger's head, then took a moment to visit the ship's bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face while sitting on the wolf. Looking at his new self in the mirror, he said, "Let's go!"
...
A tiger and a wolf leaped ashore.
Arthur stood at the bow, confirming he had the Hunter License and cash with him.
He looked towards the shore, "Hope we find a town soon... Lumin, can you stop staring at the shore and come back to carry me up?"
As the sky brightened, the stripes on the Canyue Tiger's body no longer glowed with that jade-like light, seemingly only visible at night. Hearing Arthur, it leaped down again, and once Arthur climbed onto its back, it lightly bounded back to the shore. Arthur recalled the direction of the gunshot he first heard last night, signaling Lumin to head that way.
...
With the help of the wolf's nose, Arthur quickly followed the scent of blood to his target, the person likely killed by Musse.
A flock of black crows gathered around the body, and upon noticing Arthur and the tiger and wolf approaching, they took flight.
"Birds? Birds are good..." Arthur muttered to himself, watching the crows fly away, then rode the tiger closer to the body, observing for a while. He still couldn't tell if this deceased person was the owner of the Hunter License he had acquired. But one thing was certain: since Musse was the antagonist pursuing "his side," the person killed by Musse was evidently a "friendly" who had sacrificed themselves.
Arthur had Lumin help move the body onto the Wild Wolf's back, then used the position of the small yacht on the shore to determine direction, heading towards where he had woken up yesterday.
...
Upon reaching the spot, Arthur grabbed a kitchen knife and began cutting down the tall, strange grass that looked out of place. "Wolf Arthur" dragged the bodies out of the grass one by one, and with Lumin's help, they tied the bodies together in a bundle, then the two animals worked together to drag the large mass of bodies to the nearby sea and dump them in.
Returning, "Wolf Arthur" and Lumin used the coarse cloth brought from the ship to violently scrub away the obvious bloodstains along the way, deliberately leaving marks in other places as well.
Arthur wasn't sure if this would help or if he was just outsmarting himself, but he decided to do his best and leave the rest to fate.
After cutting down most of the grass, Arthur was exhausted, leaving the rest for Lumin to handle with its claws.
Sitting on the ground, watching Lumin cut the grass, Arthur suddenly said, "Lumin, you were around when this grass grew crazily because I absorbed the Death Aura, right?"
Lumin finished cutting the grass, growling softly as it approached, nudging him with its big head.
"No, if you just witnessed it, there's no reason for you, the king of beasts, to be so good to me, right?" Arthur petted the tiger's head, suddenly scrutinizing it, "Did you get injured yesterday? And your wounds healed because of the energy I released after absorbing the Death Aura?"
"Roar~" Lumin, of course, couldn't speak, just affectionately rubbing against Arthur.
Arthur thought for a moment, then shrugged, deciding not to worry about it.
He had "Wolf Arthur" gather all the grass into a pile, dousing it with fuel.
Arthur took out a lighter, suddenly having a thought about something he had overlooked.
His Nen Ability, clearly allowing him to control targets after applying the "Star Mark," but why... could he control hair and blood with Nen?
Hair and blood didn't have the Star Mark.
"The four major practices of Nen Ability, Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, from start to finish, what I've been using is actually just Hatsu..." Arthur pondered, "I don't know Zetsu, and I certainly don't know Ren. My ability to sense aura is vague and unreliable, but I'm quite good at the practical application of Nen Ability's Hatsu..."
What does this mean? Am I naturally gifted, learning to fly before I can walk?
If that's the case, controlling hair and blood... is essentially an extension of my Manipulation Type Nen Ability. In other words, it's also part of my Manipulation Type Nen Ability!
It's like two sides of the same coin.
The front is the rose-gold Pentagram, marking for control; the back is pure Nen Aura, controlling things by enveloping them...
Arthur tried to recall the sensation of controlling hair with Nen Aura, enveloping the lighter in his hand with the warm, intangible liquid-like aura. Soon, the lighter floated from his hand, but before it could wobble a few centimeters away, it fell to the ground with a clatter. Arthur felt as if he had been drained in an instant, his arm limp.
He rubbed his hand, picked up the fallen lighter, and pondered, understanding the difference between the two control abilities.
① Star Mark Control: Only consumes Nen Aura once when applying the mark to the target. Subsequent operations consume the target's energy.
② Nen Aura Enveloping Control: This method requires outputting Nen Aura based on the volume and mass of the object being controlled. When controlling hair and blood droplets before, it wasn't noticeable, but controlling a lighter just now left him feeling drained... This operation seems to be a continuous consumption type, but after canceling control, some of the unused Nen Aura returns to him, allowing him to recover a bit of energy.
Given this, calling my Manipulation Type Nen Ability "Star Mark" isn't quite accurate... I should give it a new name...
Arthur manually lit the grass pile with the lighter, watching the flames roar as they met the fuel, contemplating a new name for his Nen Ability. He thought of making it something like "Golden Spirit" or "Dark Will," but decided against it. Ultimately, he settled on naming his Manipulation Type ability "Song of the Earth."
Putting away the lighter, he tossed the coarse cloth into the fire, then turned to have the Wild Wolf carry the body of the suspected professional hunter, as well as...
Arthur looked at the last remaining body, likely that of his current body's biological mother.
"I can't just leave you exposed to the elements, that wouldn't sit right with me," he said. "You deserve a proper burial."
Arthur had the woman's body carried by Lumin, along with the other body carried by the Wild Wolf, and they left, the fire still burning behind them.
After moving a bit further from the "crime scene," Arthur had the Wild Wolf wield the shovel to dig a pit. After all, it wasn't tiring for him... When the Wild Wolf got tired, Lumin would help. Honestly, having two wild animals use a shovel, even with Arthur's assistance, was quite challenging, but it was still more efficient than doing it himself.
After nearly an hour, they finally dug a pit, placing the suspected professional hunter's body inside, then covering it with soil, trying to press and smooth the surface as much as possible.
Then, carrying the shovel, carried by the Wild Wolf, they randomly chose another direction, walked a bit, and repeated the process, spending nearly another hour digging a deeper pit.
They placed the woman's body at the bottom of the pit, covered it with soil, and smoothed the surface. Arthur was covered in sweat, dirt, and grime, utterly exhausted.
He patted the ground, muttering, "Asking me to treat you as my real mom is a bit much."
"But... recognizing you as a godmother is no problem!"
Arthur knelt and knocked his head on the ground three times, nearly collapsing from exhaustion, leaning on Lumin's back to catch his breath.
Looking up at the sun, possibly already seven or eight in the morning, the morning breeze, along with the sea breeze, brought a refreshing coolness. Behind him was the sea, in front of him the forest, seagulls, early birds, their calls echoing near and far... Arthur took a deep breath, smiling, "Goodbye, I'm leaving!"
With that, he climbed onto the tiger's back, riding away, with a Wild Wolf following closely behind.