Chapter 15: Assigning Tasks
While heading towards the amusement park in the eastern coastal town, Arthur conducted a simple review of his first real Nen Ability battle.
He was well aware of his disadvantages.
Being a Manipulation Type, he avoided close combat with the enemy as much as possible.
With limited total aura, even after ensuring distance from the enemy and maintaining Ken for defense, he minimized the use of other derivative techniques like Gyo, only activating them when necessary, reducing aura consumption per second.
Despite this, a short three-minute battle consumed over a third of his total aura, nearly 400 aura.
Arthur estimated that each successful application of a Star Mark consumed about 60 aura.
For a Nen Ability, this was already a relatively low consumption.
But for Arthur, with limited total aura, the two Star Marks applied during the battle cost him around 130 aura, which was painful.
Then there was the "Finger Flick Technique."
His Ken output was 80-90 aura, and as a Manipulation Type, the actual attack and defense were only 48-54 aura. The "Finger Flick Technique," with its implicit restrictions, started at a minimum of 100 aura, increasing by 10 aura for each second of charge. Although the actual power was reduced by 20% due to his Manipulation Type, it was already quite satisfactory as his main ranged attack skill.
He used the Finger Flick Technique three times in total.
The first two shots, one breaking the hand of the big man shooting at Lumin, and the other grazing the one-eyed man who mentioned Heaven's Arena, didn't involve much charging, consuming less than 110 aura. But the third shot, charged for a full 10 seconds, cost him 200 aura, further depleting his already limited aura...
Fortunately, the final 10-second Finger Flick Technique was effective, successfully taking down the opponent. Otherwise, he would have had to consider riding Lumin to escape, waiting for his aura to recover before returning to battle.
All in all, a low-intensity battle lasting about three minutes consumed nearly 90% of his aura!
Almost 900 aura!
Even though he still had over 100 aura left, better than before formal training, he felt weak and exhausted. It's easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go back... Fortunately, during the chat with Menchi and the recovery effect of the Star Mark on his neck, he had regained some strength.
Arthur summarized the lessons from this battle. The most profound one was, without sufficient aura, don't act like a big shot!
With only 1000 aura, why maintain Ken the whole time?
He had deliberately kept his distance from the enemy, so he only needed to maintain Ten for basic defense, minimizing self-consumption per second! Over a third of his aura was wasted, just evaporated, and it was heartbreaking.
"But this means I need to train my perception and Ryu to a high level, so I can seamlessly switch from Ten to Ken when danger arises. Otherwise, saving aura would be pointless if it costs my life, which would be counterproductive..."
Arthur laughed aloud on the tiger's back. Nen Ability battles were challenging but exhilarating!
In this world, it's hard to imagine battles lasting ten days and nights like in One Piece... In real combat, one must stay clear-headed, strategizing. The longer the fight, the more aura is wasted, and the stronger the moves, the more aura is consumed.
Every bit of aura needs to be carefully calculated.
Thinking about it, his fighting spirit ignited, eager to continue training!
"Oh, are we almost there?"
With the help of the five birds overhead, Arthur saw the eastern coastal town and the large amusement park on the far left. Even from a distance, he could see the bustling crowds, modern and lively.
"Finally, I can live like a human! I've been living like a wild man these past few days..."
Arthur jumped off the tiger's back, feeling almost half-recovered. The Star Mark was truly helpful.
Of course, his stomach was even hungrier because of it.
Arthur waved to the sky, and the five birds flew down, lining up on Lumin's head. The gray one was particularly mischievous, almost knocking another bird off.
"You, and you," Arthur pointed to two birds, "go to the abandoned small boat on the north coast and keep watch. If you see humans, peck your skin to activate the Star Mark and notify me."
The two green-feathered birds nodded, spreading their wings and flying toward the north coast where Arthur had come from.
"As for the other two..." Arthur considered, "stay with Lumin. One patrols the sky, the other stays on Lumin, listening to him. Switch when tired. You too, if you see humans, peck your skin to notify me, understood?"
"Chirp chirp!" "Chirp chirp!"
The two white-feathered birds nodded energetically, one even saluting with its wing, once again reminding Arthur of the uniqueness of Hunter World's animals.
Flap flap, one white bird flew up, circling in patrol.
"As for you, Lumin..." Arthur patted the moonlit tiger's big head, "You know you're a protected endangered species, and with your size, I can't take you with me everywhere."
Lumin remained silent, just nuzzling Arthur's hand, then stepped back a few paces, watching him.
Arthur smiled, "Don't think about slacking off, you have a task too."
"You stay in the forest between the reserve and the eastern coastal town, looking for a place with water, flat ground, and stones, suitable for training." He rubbed the tiger's head and chin vigorously; while he used the Star Mark to command the birds, he was simply asking Lumin for help. "I still need to continue training! My strength is still weak..."
After experiencing a real battle, he felt that 1000 aura was far from enough, and various Nen Ability techniques needed constant practice.
No wonder even a master like Biscuit Krueger listed Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu as daily essential training.
The philosophy of Shingen-ryu, taught by her master Netero, emphasized that flashy Nen Abilities were rare and elusive, while a solid foundation was the real deal.
"Roar~" Lumin played with him for a while, then raised its head, energetically heading into the forest with a white bird on its back.
Arthur watched for a while until the chirping on his shoulder caught his attention.
"You're noisy, chirping like a sparrow."
Arthur flicked the gray bird with his finger, heading toward the bustling amusement park ahead, "I'll call you Taliyah, but that's too long, so let's go with Tali..."
He checked the cash in his pocket and the Hunter License he had picked up.
First things first, get a good meal!