Leira hesitates for a moment before finally speaking, while Auren, Goreinu, and Zepile stare at her with interest.
"It's priceless..." Leira finally declares. "You can't buy something like that. Even if you offered billions, you wouldn't be able to find anything comparable. Money can't influence what simply isn't available. This item is unknown, unique, and has an endless amount of potential. Not only its usefulness in battle, but also other uses can be considered. If the metal could be studied—maybe replicated, or copied in the form of an alloy, even at reduced quality—the applications could be endless. Maybe the fur can be analysed and replicated as well, using synthetic material. I heard your friend, whom I met at the trade fair, has her own company creating nanofibres? Analysing the fur might be worth it, if you have the funds to pay for the research."
She continues, her voice turning more serious, "More importantly, besides the superior materials, they seem to be crafted in a way that amplifies their reaction to Aura. It's quite extraordinary."
"Is that the reason you want to go to the Dark Continent, Auren?" Leira finally asks. "It looks like resources of that level could only truly be obtained there. I'm not quite sure whether ores and animals like that even exist in our known world."
"Not really, but there is certainly some truth there," Auren says. "However, I want more of these items, I admit that. Do you think they're really from the Dark Continent? Couldn't a Nen user have created these metals with a Hatsu? Or the items themselves? Conjuration seems like a way to enhance—or fully create—these things if the limitations are strict enough, and a large enough price is paid. Let's just say he was inspired by a game and managed to somehow create those metals."
Greed Island also rewards its eventual winner with three incredible items that can be kept and used even outside the game. It should be possible... or am I wrong?
"Impossible," Leira states decisively, cutting him off. "Nen can't do that. You can't conjure or create unknown metals from your fantasy with Nen. As a Conjurer, I know how hard it is to conjure something. You need months just to get the base form down. It requires careful study, analysis, and a real, realistic image, which takes a lot to create. Conjuring something that does not exist is almost impossible—especially if the materials are permanent and don't simply disappear after a set duration. Even if you added limitations, you'd only be able to enhance known items. If that were the case, I could have identified these items, because the materials used to create them wouldn't have changed. Since I can't… they're made out of unknown resources. Even for a Specialist, a feat like that sounds extremely implausible."
"I see..." Auren replies, the words coming out quieter than he intends. "Then there's no other possibility. These items… or at least the resources they're made out of. They came from the outside. The V5's official explorations weren't the only ones, after all. Who knows how many people have set out on their own. Since most of them died, nothing is really known—but it's not inconceivable that a few succeeded. Of course, there's also a scarier explanation...."
"Indeed," Leira comments, her expression tightening a little. "It's possible that the unknown resources weren't taken from the outside and brought back. There's also the possibility that they were willingly brought into our world… by someone—or something—from the outside."
She shares my opinion... interesting. It's certainly as likely as the other explanation.
"Indeed," Auren replies, nodding along. "Anyway, I learned something valuable, and I'm truly glad you joined us."
"How about you analyse one more item for me?" Auren suggests, stretching out his hand.
Leira stares at the empty hand and instinctively pulls back as Auren suddenly materialises Eternity in it.
"A conjured item?" she asks, visibly thrown off. "My ability does not work on Aura constructs. Conjuration merely mimics real things. Despite how closely conjured items resemble original ones, they are still made of Aura. That Aura might be eerily close to real things, but it is ultimately that... Aura. Oculus won't be able to tell you a thing."
She would be right... ordinarily. However, Eternity is anything but ordinary.
"Just give it a try," Auren urges her.
Oculus gets back to work and carefully studies the black katana, its eyes locked onto its target without blinking.
Thirty seconds later, Leira speaks with obvious confusion. "A small part of it is from a meteor made of unknown metal, along with a large amount of Black Crystal. It's not an exact match for the meteor, but close enough at ninety-three percent. Each meteor has differences, so this is not unexpected. The Black Crystal is a full match. Despite the name, Black Crystal is actually a deep black ore that merely shimmers like a crystal. Apart from that, I detect a large amount, more than fifty percent of the total material is steel with an extremely high rate of carbon—almost at three percent—which would lead to extreme hardness. Usually, the sword would become brittle with such a ridiculous rate of carbon, but it seems the Black Crystal and the meteor ore prevent that. Apart from those three main materials, I detect a minuscule amount of supplementary ingredients, typically used in high-quality forging work. However, that does not explain why you were able to conjure this object. The limitations of Oculus are obvious. It can merely detect and analyse materials, not Aura. Do you have a Hatsu that allows you to store and conjure real objects?"
"Close enough. Anyway, you did fine," Auren says. "The analysis is helpful enough. At least I learned something new. Can you write down the exact ratio? This is useful information—I might need it later down the road."
"I'll write down an exact formula," Leira says, instantly agreeing. "Though, as I said, while I can name you all materials, the meteor ore can't be reliably obtained, and it will always vary in composition."
"That's fine," Auren replies. "Thank you. If you have any problems here, please tell me. I need you for my future plans... more than you might know."
"It's been my life's goal to explore the unknown world and the lost history it has to offer, to broaden my horizon. You are the first person with the skills, the ambition, and the resources to back up their claims. I'll fully pledge my services to you, Auren," Leira says, her eyes serious, her tone steady, and without hesitation.
"I'll make sure you don't regret your decision, you can trust me... and soon you'll be able to take the first half step out of this world," Auren states, his words sincere.
With everything discussed, the conversation dies down quickly.
The same day, Auren asks everyone else to eat dinner together so they can talk in peace.
After enjoying a luxurious dinner with an obscene amount of food, prepared by Marsha, his maids—and even Goreinu's new maid, who seems bored and likes to hang around with the others—Auren prepares to speak.
He briefly narrates his own plans that he has finalised after his talk with Rakshala.
"So in short, I'll be leaving in around a week. If anyone wants to come along, you have a week to make up your mind. Jolt, I'm not forcing you to stay there for months on end, but I need you to at least fly me there."
"Marsha and I will come along. Life on the airship is pretty comfortable, and you might want to leave on short notice or travel within the territory. It would be awkward and annoying if you needed to call me to pick you up. It takes me at least 4 days to make it there. Surely, the effort to colonise that area is not focused on just one place."
"That is true," Auren admits. "Thank you."
"We'll stay here," Jean says, speaking for both herself and her twin sister. "That mysterious leader actually wants to get to know sis and me a little. One of her assistants mentioned lessons a few times every week. We are also... not fighters, and the outdoors doesn't sound appealing. I like luxurious baths, comfortable beds, and shopping. Joanne likes books. This might sound selfish, but we are pretty happy here, and we want to focus on our own training."
"Good," Auren nods, agreeing with their decision. "It isn't selfish, it's reasonable and in your best interest. I'm not urging or begging you—I'm asking everyone if they want to come along. Frankly, only those who actually want to, and have a valid reason, are welcome. This isn't a camping trip after all. This will be a serious and dangerous expedition."
"The kids stay here as well; that is not up for debate," Auren quickly adds, glancing towards them to make sure they get the message. "You should focus on school and training."
Killi, Ella, Mio, and Kai look a little dissatisfied. "You are not even two years older than us," Killi comments, sounding mildly annoyed, trying to act and look mature.
"Heh, but my Aura is twenty times larger than yours. Get on my level, and we can talk, pipsqueak," Auren says, brushing off the complaint like it's nothing.
"You...!" Killi stares, glaring at Auren, but her eyes quickly grow weak upon seeing Auren's amused smile.
"Killi... he is right. I know you want to help and thank Auren, but we will be a liability to him. The best thing we can do is train hard, learn something unique, and then use our new abilities to thank and help him," Ella reasons, smiling.
"Good girl," Auren says. "You are exactly right. I didn't save you two for you to recklessly risk your lives for me. Train, study, play, and enjoy life! When you get there, you can help me out, but joining me now would be throwing your lives away for nothing. I also can't babysit you there. Maybe in a few years. Why don't you aim for the Hunter Exam in a few years? I acknowledge your skills if you pass before you are 16."
"16?" Killi asks. "Two years, that's all I need! You'll see."
"He is right," Konrad says, chiming in, backing Auren up without hesitation. "As for me... I'll need to focus on business a little. Dad is complaining. There is only so much I can do remotely."
"Sounds about right," Auren nods. "You've been with us the entire time; it's time to take care of your job. You are always welcome back here, and I might need your help. Your Hatsu is really helpful. Will you be working from Yorknew? It's not even two days away with an airship, so this isn't goodbye for long. I'll also frequently visit the city."
"That is true, and yes, I'll be staying in Yorknew," Konrad replies, looking relieved.
"I'll come along, though," Vanessa says, smiling widely. "Not like I was helping the family much anyway. I want to finalise my Hatsu, and a little combat might help me out."
"The same for me," Eren adds. "My siblings are having a wonderful time here, and they're safe—and they even have two new friends now. I can focus on myself."
"Should I come along as well?" Goreinu asks. "I don't care either way."
"I don't think you need to," Auren replies, shaking his head slightly, "at least not for now. Focus on training Zepile. When he's ready, you might want to help Ura and Oron acquire more items for me. Should the situation change, I'll call you. Zepile—your job, after learning the basics from Goreinu, is to help the two partners I just mentioned identify expensive items. I only need weapons, armour, clothes, and a few trinkets for my collection. Anything else you can identify, and if it isn't needed, resell for profit, or save for the next trade fair that will happen in about a year. On the side, you can take care of your personal things."
"Okay," Goreinu replies, satisfied with his role.
"I'll do my best to justify my high salary—and thank you for taking me in," Zepile notes, sounding earnest, displaying a relieved expression.
"That means Jolt and Marsha will be in charge of transportation, and Leira, Vanessa, Eren, Neffi, and I will travel there. At least I assume Neffi wants to come along," Auren summarises.
"The countdown is one week!" he announces. "Prepare yourselves."
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