The door opened.
Two figures stepped inside.
A moment later, someone looked up.
A girl rushed straight toward Kaizen. She had long white hair tied up in a small topknot and wore a white training uniform.
"Tessia."
Kaizen gently ruffled her hair.
Tessia buried her face into his chest, took a deep breath, then finally let go.
She looked toward Ponzu, who stood nearby.
"Ponzu?"
Siper had arrived at Heavens Arena ahead of time and already introduced Ponzu to everyone, so Tessia recognized her right away.
They were about the same height.
Kaizen introduced them. "This is Tessia."
"Hi Tessia, I'm Ponzu," she said with a warm smile.
The two shook hands.
Kaizen studied Tessia.
She no longer had the appearance of a little girl. Now, she carried the poise and presence of a young woman. Beautiful and confident.
Kaizen couldn't help but think she reminded him of someone from another world—Mirajane, an S-class mage from Fairy Tail.
"Tessia, where are Nina and the others?"
He glanced around, noticing that Tessia had come alone.
He hadn't told anyone in advance that he was coming to Heavens Arena. If he had, Nina and the others might've met him at the airship terminal.
"Nina has a match today," Tessia said. "Sally took Siper out for training."
"And Shizuku's with them."
Kaizen nodded in understanding.
"Ponzu, go ahead and pick a room."
This entire floor belonged to Kaizen.
He had divided it into two areas—one for rooms, the other a spacious training ground. It was perfectly suited for most training needs, though maybe a bit small for long-range specialists like snipers.
"This is one of our team's bases."
"Yes, Captain."
Ponzu went to find an unoccupied room. The taken rooms were marked with signs on the doors.
Kaizen turned to Tessia. "Let's go to the training ground."
"Right!"
...
The two arrived at the training area. As they stepped in, Kaizen focused his thoughts—and a humanoid figure materialized beside him.
"Let's begin."
Tessia nodded. A powerful burst of aura erupted from her.
Over the years, Kaizen had steadily grown stronger—and so had the others. Tessia especially had grown remarkably.
Aside from Ponzu, who possessed the Queen Bee condition, Tessia had the highest natural talent among the members Kaizen had brought together.
Now, she had reached B-rank Nen level.
She had started learning aura techniques later than Nina and Sally, yet surpassed them both.
Shizuku had also reached B-rank.
Sally, however, had burned through her potential early. When Kaizen met her, she was already a C-rank user—and remained so.
This wasn't uncommon.
Not every Nen user could keep leveling up. Many hit their natural ceiling.
Like most of the rookie assassins in Heavens Arena, or the Shadow Beasts from the underworld—some were hardworking, but no matter how much effort they put in, they couldn't surpass their limits.
That's the reality of talent.
Nina was currently somewhere between C-rank and B-rank. She was close to breaking into true B-rank territory.
Her situation, however, differed from Sally's.
Sally was a combat-type Nen user, while Nina specialized in support-type abilities.
Even a lower-tier support-type user could still be extremely valuable.
...
Suddenly, Tessia's form began to change.
A sleek, blue-and-white battle suit wrapped around her, a black cape fluttering behind her. Her aura surged, becoming sharper and more dangerous.
Her long white hair flared out like real flame.
Two golden horns sprouted from her head, gleaming.
Her exposed skin shimmered with a metallic sheen.
Even her fingers had transformed—now claw-like.
And behind her, a tail lashed the air.
At the same time, her aura flared again, climbing even higher.
Boom!
Tessia's fist collided with the projection of Natsu's—a thunderous shockwave rang out across the training field.
Kaizen summoned another figure—Altan.
"Record Tessia's performance," he instructed. "Log everything. We'll analyze it later to improve her future training."
Tessia's Nen ability shared similarities with transformation abilities seen in places like the Beast Dojo or the Fiora Kingdom.
They were all transformations—some based on real-life creatures, others purely imaginary.
Tessia's clearly belonged to the latter.
...
"After activating her Nen, Tessia has two primary modes of attack," Kaizen noted aloud, reviewing the data streaming from Altan.
"One is pure physical—using overwhelming speed and power to dominate her opponent."
"The other—fire."
"White flames."
Tessia's hair wasn't just like fire—it was fire, burning brightly.
And it wasn't ordinary fire.
Its temperature far surpassed normal flames.
...
A massive shape approached Kaizen quietly—it was Polar Bear.
Unlike normal animals, Polar Bear had activated its Aura Nodes. Its very biology had evolved.
Its size had expanded beyond what should've been possible for a canine.
Shoulder height over a meter.
Weight nearly two hundred kilograms.
And with the activation of aura, it gained heightened strength, speed, and natural weapons—claws and fangs.
Even facing wild beasts, Polar Bear never faltered.
It dominated them.
Kaizen patted the bear's thick fur.
Polar Bear laid down calmly at his side.
...
"Captain, I've chosen my room!"
Ponzu came hurrying back, then froze when she saw the clash happening in the training field.
Her eyes widened in awe.
"Incredible…"
"Is she one of the captain's teammates too?"
She couldn't help but compare herself to Tessia—and quickly realized the gap was enormous.
They were in entirely different leagues.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)