The closer he got, the more Kurapika began to shrink back.
He feared hearing words he didn't want to hear from Brother Luo Ning's mouth, and he found the smile Luo Ning wore on the promotional posters to be almost blindingly painful. Having reached the 50th floor, he had already heard the news of Luo Ning obtaining another victory with overwhelming, crushing power.
Yet, the fact that such formidable strength had failed to stop the Phantom Troupe's massacre of the Kurta Clan inevitably caused a trace of resentment to stir in his heart. However, reason told him that Brother Luo Ning might have been away from the village at the time, just as he had been.
Cruel images of the village flashed through Kurapika's mind, and his heart began to feel a strange sense of relief that Brother Luo Ning hadn't been there. If he had been, the death toll he received might have been 128 bodies instead of 127.
'Perhaps Brother Luo Ning is too focused on his battles at Heaven's Arena and doesn't even know about the massacre of the Kurta Clan yet?'
'If that's the case, then for me to be the one to bring him such tragic news...'
Kurapika fell into a state of deep internal conflict, and tears began to flow unconsciously from his eyes. Could Brother Luo Ning become someone he could rely on?
No, he had to grow strong on his own. He had to avenge his clansmen and kill every single one of those bastards who had so cruelly murdered his people.
...
Luo Ning had no idea that Kurapika had arrived. At that moment, he and Milia were in a pre-booked private room at a restaurant, where the waiter had already served all the dishes. The two of them chatted while they ate.
"You want to fight the Phantom Troupe by augmenting your combat power?" Milia asked, skillfully cutting her steak.
"Yes. Based purely on my current aura capacity and mastery of Nen, I don't have enough to defeat a member of the Phantom Troupe on stage," Luo Ning said bluntly.
He had a clear plan for his Nen cultivation. Currently, he was still focused on learning basic techniques. Among the Four Major Principles, Luo Ning was only practicing [TEN], [ZETSU], and [REN]. He had not yet begun creating his [HATSU], his finishing move.
As an Enhancer, he had excellent role models to aim for. There was Chairman Netero and the adult version of Gon. Chairman Netero pursued the pinnacle of martial arts; in that process, he combined gratitude with his punches and strengthened that concept to the limit, forming his unique [100-TYPE GUANYIN BODHISATTVA]. Gon, on the other hand, pushed the charging burst style of Jajanken to the extreme, creating a devastating one-hit-kill effect.
Furthermore, there were those like Uvogin, who focused on strengthening their physical bodies to the absolute limit, or someone like Komugi, who pushed her skill in Gungi to the ultimate peak. The point was that all powerful individuals shared a common trait: specialized reinforcement of a single discipline.
Luo Ning was currently in a period of accumulation, contemplating his own path of specialized reinforcement. He wasn't in a hurry. Since he had only recently awakened his Nen, he had plenty of time to broaden his horizons and understand himself better to confirm his future direction. Especially since he had Ninjutsu and the Sharingan as his ultimate safeguards, he felt even more reason to be cautious about his choice of path.
Therefore, if he wanted to face Uvogin on stage without using Ninjutsu, Milia—the external force that had practically delivered herself to him—was the best option.
Milia gracefully ate a piece of steak before looking seriously at Luo Ning. "I can lease my aura to you."
"Your conditions?" Luo Ning asked calmly.
A small, pitch-black demon with bat-like wings appeared silently behind Milia. It was a very abstract little demon, looking almost like a simple line drawing. After it appeared, Milia's face flushed slightly red, as if she felt a bit embarrassed.
However, she continued, "This is the Rental Demon. We will write down how much aura you need and when you intend to use it in a rental contract. Once both parties sign and confirm, the Rental Demon will follow you until you return the borrowed aura to me. Then, it will disappear. If the return deadline arrives and you haven't returned the aura, the Rental Demon will forcibly extract your own aura to pay me back."
As she spoke, a contract appeared in Milia's hand.
"The contract includes interest for the rental period. For using my aura, you must pay me 5% of the total amount of borrowed aura as interest for every minute used. If the Rental Demon determines that you cannot afford to pay, it will likewise rapidly extract your remaining aura to prioritize repayment to me." Milia pushed the contract toward Luo Ning, explaining the terms as she did.
Luo Ning took the contract and voiced the doubt in his mind. "According to what you're saying, you can lease me three or even five times my own current aura capacity?"
"Yes," Milia nodded seriously. "That was based on a numerical evaluation of the aura you held back then. However, since you returned from the Ochima Federation, the amount of aura I can lend you is no longer triple your capacity, though I can still manage double. However, if you borrow double your capacity and can't finish the fight within ten minutes, the Rental Demon might judge that you can't afford the repayment. It would then drain you into a state where you're barely clinging to life before you even win the match."
"In that case, is your strength actually greater than mine?" Luo Ning was somewhat surprised.
Normally, Milia didn't give off much of a sense of pressure, but hearing her speak now, she really was a hidden talent.
"You could put it that way. Oh, I forgot to mention, I was actually a Floor Master for a while," Milia said with a proud smile.
"So, after you lease out your aura, do you enter a state of [ZETSU]?" Luo Ning asked curiously.
Milia pushed up her glasses. "If you borrow too much, I might enter a state of [ZETSU]. My only worry is that you won't be able to pay! So, are you considering the lease?"
Luo Ning nodded in agreement. If safety couldn't be guaranteed, then lending out Nen was a risky move. Luo Ning was also considering a question: if he borrowed aura from Milia and then got rid of her, would the Rental Demon continue to collect interest, or what would happen? Until he understood the nature of the Rental Demon, attacking Milia would be an unwise choice. In fact, protecting her might be the correct course of action.
"I'd like to ask one more thing. Quantifying the aura I currently possess, roughly what is the number?" Luo Ning didn't hand the contract back; he was deep in thought.
Renting Nen from Milia carried a certain risk. However, compared to the potential gains, that risk was certainly within an acceptable range. Furthermore, it seemed Milia had sought him out specifically because of the Enhancer abilities he had displayed. Her method of leasing aura was clearly more enticing to Enhancers. Only an Enhancer could truly make the most of such a massive influx of aura in a burst of power. As for Milia's reward for the lease, it was simple: interest!