Sophia followed Leo to his Room 2079.
Leo picked up an ordinary sheet of paper from the table, infused it with Nen Aura, and casually flung it at the wall.
The paper shot out like a throwing knife, half of it instantly sinking into the wall.
Sophia's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This is Nen." Leo turned around.
"Every fighter on the 200th floor knows it. The only difference is how well they have mastered it."
A fervent light flared in Sophia's eyes, and she nodded excitedly.
Leo walked to the center of the training area and began explaining in a calm, clear voice.
"Nen is the ability to freely control the life energy—Aura—that flows out of the body. Although everyone slowly releases a small amount of life energy, most people cannot control its loss."
He raised one finger. "The technique of keeping Aura inside the body is called Ten. Once you learn Ten, your body becomes stronger, and it can even slow aging."
Leo paused, his expression turning serious.
"Aura is energy emitted by the human body, so it is especially effective when used on people. Regardless of whether one's motives are good or bad—if you attack someone who is completely defenseless with malicious intent, Aura alone can kill."
He lightly stomped his foot.
"Bang!"
Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the floor from beneath his right foot, reaching a radius of one meter.
Sophia swallowed.
"The only way to fight someone who uses Nen," Leo continued, "is to learn Nen yourself and defend with Ten. Use your own Aura to defend against your opponent's Aura. Otherwise, your body will be crushed."
Sophia took a deep breath and asked the most crucial question.
"Then is there any way for me to learn Nen too?"
Leo smiled faintly.
"There are two ways. Awaken it slowly, or awaken it by force."
"The first requires years of training—using meditation, seated practice, and similar methods to sense the existence of Aura, then gradually learning to control it step by step. Whether you can learn it, and how long it takes, depends on your individual talent."
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
"And you... if you do not register for the 200th floor before midnight tonight, you will lose your qualification and have to start again from the first floor."
Sophia's expression changed.
"The second way."
Leo's voice turned cold.
"Is to come into direct contact with an attack infused with Nen from a Nen user. Many fighters on the 200th floor learned Nen this way—the price is broken arms and legs. Those who are hit are either killed or injured. They call it the 'Baptism.'"
Sophia's face went pale, and cold sweat seeped down her back.
She recalled the terrifying pressure she had felt in the hallway earlier—if that had been an attack...
She stood and bowed deeply to Leo.
"Master, thank you! If it hadn't been for your warning, I might have..."
"Stop."
Leo cut her off.
"First of all, I will not take you as my disciple. I warned you only because I did not want to watch you throw your life away."
Sophia grew anxious.
"Master, I truly want to become your disciple and learn from you! Please give me a chance!"
Leo fell silent for a moment.
"Let's not talk about that yet. I can forcibly awaken your Nen. Choose for yourself—slow awakening or forced awakening?"
Sophia lowered her head and clenched her fists. Several seconds later, she looked up, her gaze resolute.
"I want forced awakening! I'm not afraid of failure!"
Leo nodded.
"Fine. Take off your top, turn around, and face away from me."
Without the slightest hesitation, Sophia quickly untied her martial arts uniform, took off her top and tossed it aside, then stood with her back to Leo.
She had a fine figure, with defined muscles along her back and several bruises and scars that had yet to fully heal.
Leo took a deep breath and cast aside all distracting thoughts. His gaze became focused and profound.
He raised both hands, his palms hovering roughly a palm's width from Sophia's back.
"Are you ready?"
Leo's voice was low and powerful.
"Here I come."
The moment he finished speaking, his hovering palms suddenly thrust forward!
Nen Aura pierced into Sophia's back!
"Mmph—!"
Sophia's body jolted violently!
Nen Aura penetrated her body, and an indescribable torrent from the very source of life burst wildly from every pore in her body like a breached dam!
In an instant, the entire room blazed with light!
Dense white streams of Aura surged from Sophia's body like boiling steam.
Her hair was blown upward by the current, and her entire body was enveloped in erupting radiance.
Sophia stared at her hands—countless wisps of white Aura were uncontrollably pouring from her fingertips and her entire body.
She felt as though a valve within her had opened. Power surged through her, yet also rapidly drained away!
"This is... Aura?!"
She cried out excitedly.
"That's right! This is life energy—Aura!"
There was a hint of amusement in Leo's voice.
"Every Aura pore in your body has now been forcibly pried open by me. Your life energy is spilling out like water from a burst dam. At the same time, the Aura pores in your eyes have also been opened, which is why you can 'see' this invisible energy!"
He immediately shouted, his voice carrying undeniable guidance.
"Don't just stare at it! Listen carefully! Focus at once! Think about keeping that leaking Aura inside while steadying your body. Don't panic! Close your eyes tight!"
Sophia immediately followed his instructions, shutting her eyes tightly and fighting against the weakness brought on by the loss of power.
Leo's voice was like a spring breeze, soothing Sophia.
"Picture yourself! Any pose will do, but you must clearly form the image in your mind!"
"Then picture your Aura circulating through your body like blood!"
Under Leo's guidance, Sophia furrowed her brow and immersed herself completely in her visualization.
She desperately tried to use her will to catch and guide that unruly life energy.
Time trickled away like sand through an hourglass.
Sophia's brows remained tightly knitted, sweat dripping continuously from her forehead like pearls from a broken string.
The white Aura around her body see-sawed between wildly erupting and desperately drawing back in.
Six minutes later.
The rate at which the wildly erupting Aura dissipated slowed, then receded!
The boiling mass of Aura gradually calmed, turning into a gauze-like white glow that evenly covered her body.
The glow clung tightly to her skin and flowed slowly, no longer leaking away.
Sophia opened her eyes and looked at the faint radiance surrounding her body. Her eyes were filled with incredulous delight as she felt this unprecedented power.
Leo withdrew his hands and silently assessed her.
It took her six minutes just to master Ten... Compared to Gon and Killua, who only needed a minute to gain control, this woman's talent is merely passable. But...
He looked at the near-burning determination in Sophia's eyes and finished the thought.
This willpower may be enough to make up for her lack of talent.
Sophia turned around and bowed deeply again—this time, the faint white radiance flowed with her movements, remaining steadily over her body.
"Thank you... Master Leo."
She lifted her head, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"I... I did it."
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