Ken is one of the key factors that determine the success or failure of Nen users.
Noah was not in a hurry when it came to Nen abilities.
He had a personality that favored a steady and solid approach.
Regardless of the type of ability, he believed that the foundation was the most important, much like building a house where a strong foundation determined how high the building could be constructed.
Noah firmly believed that only with a solid foundation could he go further in the world of Nen abilities.
First came Ten, then Zetsu, and after that Ren. At every step, Noah demanded that he master these techniques thoroughly.
Apart from Ken, Noah also remembered four other advanced application techniques.
They were Gyo, En, Ryu, and In.
Gyo, Noah had already mastered. It was a technique that allowed one to control their aura, concentrating it in a specific part of the body.
This could be used to focus aura into the eyes, enabling the user to see through some Nen attacks that were normally invisible. Learning to use Gyo effectively was crucial in battles against other Nen users.
En was another application technique of Ten and Ren. Unlike Ken, which was a defensive technique, En involved dispersing one's aura from their body in all directions, creating a large surveillance net.
Inside this net, no enemy could hide.
En was extremely useful for tracking and surveillance during various situations.
Ryu was a technique used to adjust the strength of Ken. In general, under the state of Ten, the aura coverage intensity on a Nen user's body would be around 50.
When two Nen users had similar aura levels, fighting with Ken at this strength wouldn't cause significant damage to either party.
In such situations, Ryu is used to change the aura intensity in specific parts of the body, thereby enhancing attack or defense.
For instance, when punching an opponent, one could divert some aura from their legs to concentrate it on their fist, reducing the aura coverage intensity on the legs to 20 while increasing it to 80 on the fist.
If the opponent couldn't adjust their aura coverage intensity to defend against this, they would suffer more damage.
Mastering Ryu required a high level of precision.
Skillful control of Ryu allowed one to change the aura coverage intensity throughout their body at will, giving them a significant advantage in combat.
Ko, on the other hand, was an application technique that combined Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, and Gyo.
It allowed a Nen user to concentrate all their aura into a specific body part, enhancing the damage caused by attacks or the effectiveness of defense. However, Ko had a significant drawback.
When using Ko, all of the user's aura was concentrated in that particular point, leaving the rest of their body without aura coverage.
This significantly reduced their defensive capabilities. If the opponent seized the opportunity to attack a part of the user's body with no aura defense, they would suffer significant damage.
Therefore, caution was essential when using Ko.
Having mastered Ken, Noah's next step was to become proficient in Ryu's application, allowing him to rapidly change the aura states in various parts of his body.
Early the next morning, someone knocked on Noah's door. When he opened it, Gatoh stood there with a serious expression.
"Illumi-sama has arrived; it's time to depart," Gatoh said.
So soon? This little brat really couldn't wait.
Noah responded with a nod, quickly tidied up, and then walked out of the butler's room. At the entrance, Illumi was already waiting.
"Illumi-sama, I've brought Noah," Gatoh said, bowing respectfully.
"Illumi-sama," despite his strong dislike for this brat, Noah forced a smile and greeted him with respect.
Glancing past Gatoh, Illumi gave Noah a smile, but in Noah's eyes, it was as fake as it could be.
Half an hour later, as the trial gate opened, two figures, one tall and one small, emerged from the darkness behind the gate. Under the watchful eyes of the gatekeeper, they left Kukuroku Mountain.
"This time, my target is a participant from Heaven's Arena. He's a skilled Nen user from above the 200th floor."
Sitting on the airship, Illumi's words reached Noah's ears without missing a beat.
"So, I need you to distract him and create an opportunity for me. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
This guy, even though he's not a Nen user himself, insisted on targeting a Nen user, and not just any, but one from Heaven's Arena. His intentions were truly dubious.
Noah had some impressions about Heaven's Arena. It was a renowned structure in the Hunter world, known as a sacred ground for combat, gathering numerous skilled fighters.
Those who achieved rankings above the 200th floor were all Nen users without exception.
For someone like Noah, who had self-taught Nen abilities and lacked any combat experience, taking on a "fighter" from Heaven's Arena was undeniably a dangerous endeavor.
Noah could guess Illumi's plan to some extent.
It was probably to make Noah engage in combat with another Nen user while he observed, gathering information about Nen.
The reason for choosing someone from Heaven's Arena might be to put pressure on Noah, forcing him to fight with all his might, leaving no room for deception.
"Yes, understood, Master Illumi."
Even though he was reluctant, in this situation, Noah could only reluctantly accept Illumi's request.
Upon receiving Noah's answer, Illumi smiled with satisfaction.
He didn't care whether Noah was willing or not; Illumi knew that even if Noah refused, he had to obey his orders. It was a duty that came with being a butler of the Zoldyck Family.
The airship was not slow, and by nightfall, it had arrived at the landing pad of Heaven's Arena.
"Meet me at the arena entrance at this time tomorrow." Leaving these words behind, Illumi left directly.
What a stubborn little brat.
Even though Noah thought that, he had no interest in chasing after Illumi. He wished to keep his distance from him.
Noah had considered the opportunity to escape during this journey, getting away from the Zoldyck Family.
He had been thinking about it since he walked out of the trial gate. However, in the end, Noah gave up on this idea.
Even if he managed to escape now, who knew how the Zoldyck Family would deal with traitors?
If they didn't care about him, it would be a good thing, but if they decided to eliminate traitors, Noah was as good as dead.
With his current strength, he might not even know how he would die.
Besides, even if the Zoldyck Family didn't mind, this action would surely anger Illumi, and being remembered by the eldest son of the Zoldyck Family was definitely not a good thing.
Sighing deeply, Noah resigned himself to being an obedient apprentice butler for now.
Looking at the towering 251-story building not far away, with a height of 991 meters, Noah's heart was filled with bitterness.