Baptism X Fiery Red Eyes

Kevin looked at Mito, recalling his earlier conversation with Kite.

He had never been to the 200th Floor himself, so he did not know the specific situation there very well. Still, he had heard plenty of related information from Kite.

For someone like Mito, who knew absolutely nothing about Nen abilities and entered the 200th Floor in complete ignorance, there were usually two possible outcomes: one, they were severely injured and died in battle; two, they survived the fight and learned a Nen ability.

Whether out of friendship or reason, Kevin could not just watch Mito go up there to fight without understanding anything. Emotionally speaking, they were friends, and Kevin still owed him a favor. Logically speaking, Kevin needed the unique special petal material known in Mito's hometown, an exceptionally rare Fusion Agent.

"What you felt is called Nen Aura." As he spoke, Kevin quietly watched him and slowly raised his hand.

Mito immediately lowered his head, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Did you feel it?"

Mito stiffly nodded. "It was like an oppressive force pressing down on me, just like what I felt on the 200th Floor, except it didn't have that bone-chilling malice."

"How about now?"

Kevin released an overwhelming malice, mixing it with his Nen Aura as it spread outward.

In an instant, Mito's face turned deathly pale. Fortunately, that malice lasted only a moment.

Kevin had already sat back down and picked up a skewer of meat to eat.

It took Mito quite a while to recover from the pressure. Leaning back in his chair, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

As he ate, Kevin said, "If you go into the arena in that muddled state, you'll receive a Gift from the newcomers above the 200th Floor."

"A newcomer Gift?" Mito looked puzzled.

"Yeah. They call it Baptism." That was what Kevin had heard from Kite.

"So-called Baptism means that, during a fight, they hit you with attacks wrapped in Nen Aura. For someone like you, who has not yet learned to control your own Nen Aura, those attacks are incredibly dangerous. Then you'll face one of two outcomes."

As Kevin spoke, he held out two fingers.

"First, severe injury and death. Second, severe injury, then learning a Nen ability."

"You can learn a Nen ability after being attacked?" Mito was somewhat surprised. He had thought he could only sit there and await his fate.

Kevin nodded. "Otherwise, why do you think there are so many fighters above the 200th Floor? You should have seen the other competitors, right? The ones who paid the price during Baptism."

Hearing that, Mito recalled them.

He had indeed seen some disabled people: some blind, some missing an arm, some limping.

"The price is severe, right? Of course, if you're lucky or physically tough enough, you might still be able to recover." Kevin smiled.

Mito thought for a while, then raised his head and stared intently at Kevin. A little nervously, he asked, "You... can do it too, right? Since those people can help others complete Baptism during a fight, you can definitely do it too, can't you?"

Compared with the opponents in the arena, Mito honestly trusted Kevin more.

After all, the two of them had already established a certain level of trust.

"I can. Of course I can. After all, I still owe you a favor, and I'll need your help in the future too."

The more friends one had, the more paths opened up. Besides, in Kevin's eyes, Mito was clearly someone with potential.

Or rather, anyone who could make it to the 200th Floor had more or less some potential.

Helping him undergo Initiation was no difficult task.

Although Kevin did not count as a particularly strong fighter, the Nen ability he possessed was not some half-baked, self-taught skill. It came from proper formal training.

Kevin had not personally experienced Initiation, but Yungu had told him about it, and Biscuit had also explained the methods to him.

One method was to undergo long-term specialized training and awaken Nen on one's own over several months to a year or two. Its advantage was that it was safe and reliable, with no side effects.

The other was forced Initiation: injecting one's own Nen Aura into the other person's body and forcibly opening all of their Aura Nodes.

During this process, the other person had to try to control their own Nen Aura. Only once they completed Ken would they be considered to have learned a Nen ability.

Of course, forced Initiation came at a price. If they failed to learn it, their body's Nen Aura would continue leaking out, leaving them extremely weak and drained.

If they failed to learn it for a long time, the damage to their body would be immense.

"I have two methods here. One is to train step by step, slowly. The other carries a certain amount of Danger, but it can guarantee rapid results.

"The second method is similar to the Baptism I just mentioned, except it has no offensive nature, so it's much safer by comparison." Kevin did not beat around the bush and explained the situation directly.

"Then I'll choose the second method." Mito answered without hesitation.

"Since you've decided, eat first."

And so, the meal ended with Kevin wolfing down food while Mito worried anxiously.

Afterward, the two went to Mito's residence. As expected, it was inside Sky Arena's resting quarters, furnished as luxuriously as Kite's room had been.

"Are you ready?" Kevin asked.

Mito, wearing only a thin tank top, nodded.

Kevin placed his palm on Mito's shoulder. With his precise control over Nen Aura, he easily sent his own Nen Aura into Mito's body and smoothly opened his Aura Nodes.

"This is?!" Mito instantly noticed something unusual in his body.

"Calm down. Control the Nen Aura erupting from your body. Imagine it around your body..."

Under Kevin's guidance, Mito closed his eyes and began to sense it carefully.

To Kevin's perception, Mito's Nen Aura began to twist and wobble. Clearly, a force of will was trying to control it.

However, nearly half an hour passed, and that Nen Aura still had not fully reached the state of Ken.

The prolonged eruption of Nen Aura made Mito clearly sense the Danger. He could feel his body gradually becoming weak.

Suddenly, the Nen Aura inside Mito's body erupted violently, surging out in even greater amounts than before.

? Kevin was puzzled.

But he quickly reacted. This was similar to what had happened in the arena before.

"Don't let your emotions control you. Calm down and do as I just told you."

However, before Kevin could finish speaking, under the influence of that sudden eruption of Nen Aura, the Nen Aura around Mito's body began to contract. It then coiled around and bound itself to his body, no longer spilling out in every direction as before.

What was going on? Could an emotional outburst actually make it easier to control Nen Aura?

Clearly, Mito realized that he had succeeded as well.

He opened his eyes in delight.

Kevin looked at his eyes and asked, "Hey, what's going on with your eyes?"

At that moment, Mito's eyes were like dazzling gemstones, shining with an incredibly vivid red.

It was a beautiful color.

Mito's expression changed drastically, and he rushed into the bathroom.

Not long after, he walked back out with a calm expression. His eyes had returned to their normal color as well.

He looked at Kevin.

Kevin more or less understood what was going on. He waved a hand and said, "Don't worry. I don't know anything."

Since it was a secret Mito wanted to hide, Kevin had no intention of digging deeper.

He was curious by nature, but not to the point where he would forcefully pry into a friend's privacy.

In fact, combining Mito's previous behavior and words, it was not difficult to infer one possibility.

The nomadic people he spoke of might all have similar traits.

Their eyes turning Fiery Red Eyes when they became emotional might be a characteristic of their clan.

Their frequent migrations and deliberate concealment might all have been to avoid certain dangers.

"Thank you."