Awakening Nen basically happens in two ways:
1. Through meditation—sense the presence of aura and open it yourself;
2. By force—open the aura nodes so you can directly feel your aura.
Since there was a top-tier Nen user like Silva in the family, Roy was spared the trouble of meditating.
He sensed something unusual at once: a milky-white energy was constantly welling out from inside him, quickly wrapping his entire body.
The scene was both new and familiar—just like when Wing at Heaven's Arena forcibly awakened Gon and Killua's Nen. Roy hurriedly shut his eyes and, using a visualization that came easiest to him, slowly drew the leaking aura back and kept it inside.
Long before Silva decided to open his Nen, Gotoh had done the prep work—he'd told Roy everything he knew about Nen without holding back and patiently explained the dos and don'ts before and after opening the nodes.
But "knowing" isn't the same as "mastering." The moment his nodes opened, Roy was already able to slowly pull the aura flowing over his skin back inside… The speed made Silva spare him an extra glance.
But only one glance…
"Hss… hoo…"
In just a few seconds—one breath in, one breath out—Roy had drawn back all the aura that had been dissipating over his skin…
The boy opened his eyes again; with a soft "poof," it was as if two "Nen flames" kindled in his pupils. He had truly completed the shift from an ordinary person to a Nen user.
The feeling was uncanny, like a leap in the very tier of life itself. Looking back at the him from three seconds earlier, he now carried a higher-grade calm and confidence.
"So this is 'Nen'—a presence that fuses stamina, will, emotion, soul, and other vector elements."
Roy quietly felt the changes within him. As his thoughts churned, his panel pinged.
[Detected: Host has opened the aura nodes...]
[Nen Ability: "Door of Cognition" awakened...]
[By entering deep sleep, the host can descend into his own cerebral cortex, push open his "Door of Cognition," draw nourishment from the world of Cognition, and materialize it back in reality...]
So—
"I'm not an Enhancer—I'm a Conjurer?"
Roy was a little surprised…
Originally, he'd figured that given his intense wish to strengthen his physique, he'd awaken an Enhancer ability most suited to him. He hadn't expected this result.
Thinking it over now, he realized he'd ignored one thing—he was a transmigrator reborn into this world!
"Transmigration" itself was his deepest secret—and his biggest cheat!
Interesting… Was fate hinting, "instead of seeking outward, seek inward"?
Roy savored the four characters "Door of Cognition," and an urge flooded up—he wanted to lie down and explore it right now…
Too bad, first, he'd just awakened Nen and was still wired—who knew if he could even sleep? Second, Silva was right there watching; he couldn't very well sack out in a hall meant for sweat and grind and hand the man an excuse to call him lazy—otherwise the cracked wall behind him would be his fate.
Father sees the son still alive—time to whip out a pack of Seven Wolves…
Silva wasn't only good at killing; Roy had sampled his talent for torture too…
So he tamped down his excitement at once, and said respectfully, "Father, I'll head back for now. Good night."
Silva grunted noncommittally, said nothing, didn't ask whether Roy wanted to test his category or what Nen he planned to develop. He turned back to his stretches, as if he'd done something trivial.
Maybe, to a father, a child's "way of being" is something he's known the outcome of all along.
Why open Nen for "Roy" early? Because Silva had already seen through the child—his ceiling was limited…
In the future—never mind teaming up on jobs—whether he could keep himself from getting killed was a question…
So what difference did knowing or not knowing make?
Night. A midsummer breeze stirred the wall lamps, swaying out a sultry ribbon of light…
As the training-hall door opened and closed again, it divided father and son into two worlds…
On one side, Silva still in black training garb, muscles knotted, face impassive; on the other, Roy, steps light, the excitement at his lips no longer held down, hurrying toward his bedroom.
As he passed a dimly lit room, he gave a simple bow.
Inside, an old man sleeping in a rocking chair with a cartoon playing rolled over, muttered something, and slept even more soundly…
Yes—the night was made for sleep. Even if it wasn't Roy's usual bedtime, he had to sleep now.
Back in his room, he locked the door, flopped onto the bed, pulled out his phone, turned on a "white-noise sleep" track… and forced his eyes to close.
"Zee-zee"—cicadas outside. "Sss-sss"—leaves teased by the night wind…
After about ten minutes, he finally caught a thread of drowsiness and stepped alone into his dream…
Groggy, he felt himself float. Ahead was a multicolored corridor.
From somewhere near its end came the faint sound of waves breaking on rocks, tugging Roy forward.
One step, two steps—curiosity with a touch of ease—he soon walked out of the corridor and saw a vast ocean.
The sea stretched out of sight, blue as its base hue. Strangely, wooden doors stood on the surface—one after another. Some mottled, some new; some dim, some gleaming—as if they'd been here since time immemorial—but every single one was locked.
Except—
Closest to Roy on the right, a wooden door with a skull ornament above the lintel stood ajar, a thread of light leaking through.
Roy understood—it was waiting for him.
He didn't hesitate. He pushed it and strode in—
"Hiss—"
"So cold—"
In stark contrast to the sweltering Batokia Republic, snowflakes drifted across the sky of this cognitive world…
When Roy opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in an old-growth forest buried in deep snow.
A hoe lay to his left, a bamboo basket to his right, filled with coal.
So—
In his "cognitive world," he was… a coal digger?
Roy looked himself over, curious: a heavy Japanese-style cloak wrapped around him; thick socks with wooden clogs on his feet; deep red hair hanging to his lashes… he looked a lot like an anime character he knew from his previous life, yet something was different…
Luckily, he didn't have to wonder long—the panel popped up with the answer.
[Generating character...]
[Kamado Rōichirō… "Big Brother" Kamado Tanjiro...]
Only then did Roy realize—"So this is Demon Slayer's world!"