As Sylas descended deeper into the abyss, he continued refining his Nen along the way.
He began with the fundamentals—Ten, Ren, Zetsu, and Hatsu.
By the end of the first day, he could activate each one at will. It took less than a second to draw his aura out—or suppress it completely.
With the basics mastered, it was time to move on to the advanced principles of Nen.
They were as follows:
Gyo (Focus): An advanced application of Ren that concentrates a large portion of aura into a specific body part.
In (Conceal): An advanced form of Zetsu that renders aura nearly invisible. Unlike Zetsu, it does not halt the flow of aura—it merely hides it from perception.
En (Circle): A combination of Ten and Ren. Aura is extended outward into a spherical field, allowing the user to sense everything within its range.
Shu (Enfold): An advanced use of Ten that extends aura to an object, turning it into an extension of the user's body while increasing its strength and durability.
Ken (Fortify): A defensive technique that merges Ten and Ren, maintaining a constant layer of aura over the entire body to provide balanced protection from all directions.
Ko (Temper): A high-risk, high-reward technique that combines Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Gyo, and Hatsu. All aura is concentrated into a single body part while Zetsu nullifies aura everywhere else—creating devastating power at the cost of total vulnerability.
Ryu (Flow): The pinnacle of aura control. It involves dynamically adjusting the distribution of aura across the body in real time, allowing seamless transitions between offense and defense.
Sylas already had experience with some of these techniques. He had used Ko when he struck down the Abyss Bear. And earlier, while digging through the tunnel, he had unknowingly applied a crude form of Ryu and Gyo—shifting aura into his hands and legs while leaving the rest of his body exposed.
***
Three days.
That was all it took for Sylas to become decently proficient in every advanced principle of Nen.
At first, he could only maintain Ren for about thirty minutes at a time while distributing his aura to specific parts of his body. Even that level of control and endurance was only possible thanks to the boost his body had received after transforming from consuming monster meat.
But as the days passed—and as he continued eating meat from different monsters while tempering his Ren and other skills—his endurance skyrocketed. Soon, he could maintain it for over ninety minutes straight. More than enough for his current needs.
At the moment, Sylas wore only a pair of black pants—no shirt, no shoes. After his transformation, his old clothes no longer fit him. He'd tried forcing them on once before leaving the tunnel.
Never again.
"I'll find something to wear later," he muttered, currently using the bear's pelt as a makeshift coat.
Picking up a stone about the size of a baseball, he infused it with Nen, making it far more powerful than any ordinary rock.
"En."
His aura expanded outward in a perfect circle, extending thirty meters in every direction as he scanned for nearby life.
Soon enough—
Zmmm
Sylas vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of an Abyss Rabbit, catching it completely off guard. Without hesitation, he hurled the Nen-infused stone.
The impact was instantaneous. The rabbit never had a chance.
A clean hole pierced straight through its head. Sylas picked up the corpse and continued onward.
One minute later, his En detected three Abyss Wolves nearby.
"A group, huh?"
A small red orb formed in his palm. This wasn't an ability gained from consuming monster meat—it was his own technique, inspired by Razor, the game master from the Greed Island Arc of Hunter x Hunter.
Drawing his arm back—just as he had when throwing the stone—Sylas released it.
The orb shot forward at incredible speed.
The moment it struck the ground—
Boom
The explosion tore through the cavern, obliterating everything within its radius. The wolves that had existed moments ago were reduced to dust.
"That'll do," Sylas muttered, continuing his descent into the depths of the Abyss.
***
Elsewhere—
Nagumo's classmates were facing problems of their own.
After what had happened in the Labyrinth, fear spread throughout the group. Some students openly voiced concerns for their safety, while others admitted they never wanted to fight in the first place. They had only gone along because that's what everyone else did.
Now that people were backing out, they took the opportunity to do the same.
In the end, less than half the class continued exploring the dungeon, training their abilities in preparation for the looming threat of the demon race.
"Dammit!" Kouki slammed his fist into the wall of the training grounds. Despite bearing the title of Hero, he had been powerless to protect his classmates.
"Kouki, you can't blame yourself," Shizuku said, trying to calm him. "There was nothing we could do. Even if we'd chased after Nagumo, no one could've survived that fall. You saw how deep it was."
Kouki remained silent, his clenched fists slowly relaxing.
"…Thanks, Shizuku," he said quietly. "I needed that."
She nodded, then turned her gaze toward the infirmary. Kaori still hadn't woken up. Concern tightening in her chest, as she headed down the hallway.
That was when she heard a quiet voice muttering to itself.
"No one's gonna find out… no one's gonna find out…"
"Daisuke?" Shizuku called. "Are you okay?" Daisuke didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked away, pretending he hadn't heard her.
"…What's wrong with him?" she murmured, frowning.
Moments later, Shizuku reached Kaori's room and noticed movement inside. Slowly, she opened the door.
Kaori was awake, staring out the window at the star-filled night sky.
"Kaori…" Shizuku said softly.
"Shizuku," Kaori replied hesitantly. "Is Nagumo…?"
Shizuku lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. We couldn't save him."
Kaori was silent for a moment before tears began to fall.
"I promised him…" she whispered, her voice breaking. "I said I'd protect him… I failed him."
Shizuku said nothing, allowing her to release her emotions.
After a while, she spoke gently. "You did everything you could. No one could've saved him. All we can do now is get stronger—so this never happens again."
Kaori wiped her tears, a new resolve flashing in her eyes. "You're right," she said softly. "Let's get stronger. So we don't lose anyone else."
They clasped hands, silently making a vow.
***
Meanwhile, Nagumo was deep within the abyss, collecting different types of rocks to build himself a weapon.
After Sylas left without looking back, Nagumo hesitated for over a day before finally deciding to eat the monster meat that had been given to him.
He mimicked what Sylas had done—bracing himself for the pain as he moved closer to the remaining holy water, now contained in a tub he had created using Transmute.
The moment he swallowed the meat, the pain that followed was far worse than when the bear had torn his arm from his body. The agony lasted for a little over five minutes—the same duration Sylas had endured.
When he woke up, his hair had turned white, and his eyes had become red.
He had thought his hair would remain the same color. Apparently, he was wrong.
Sylas was the only reference he had—and that didn't leave him with much to go on.
On the second day, Nagumo used his Transmute ability to prepare a trap within the tunnel.
He positioned himself near the entrance, acting as bait to lure an Abyss Wolf inside. Once it entered, the creature fell into a pit trap and was crushed by rocks raining down from above.
On the third day, he ate the wolf's meat, gaining its lightning mana manipulation ability.
That was what gave him the idea.
If he could gather the right materials… he could create a gun powerful enough to kill monsters in a single shot.
To Be Continued…