Manipulation X Cane

Why was the gap between physique, spirit, and aura so enormous?

Was it because of the unique nature of awakened supernatural powers?

Or was [aura] directly tied to Nen aura, putting it above an ordinary physique and spirit from the moment it awakened?

How much aura had Gon and Killua possessed when they first awakened?

No wonder controlling Nen aura was so difficult after awakening. Was it because the gap between physique, spirit, and aura was too extreme? I can't quite figure it out...

Baishi could only glean that much for now, and he couldn't help sighing softly. After all, the forced loading of the world's rules had generated numerous restrictions that formed the panel's underlying code. He could no longer tell what circumstances the panel used to calculate its figures.

Still, at least it's a good thing...

Feeling the black-purple Nen aura coiled around him continuously suffusing his body, Baishi pressed his lips together and set his doubts aside for the time being.

Next, I need to test the [Needle-Person Control] Talisman...

First, the wheel couldn't be put away separately from him. That meant Baishi had to hold it or keep it close to his body. Otherwise, once the wheel disappeared, the activated Hatsu Talisman would lose its special effects along with it. He had established that in his earlier tests.

So, after feeding Nen aura into the wheel and shrinking it into a palm-sized form he could hold in his hand, Baishi turned his attention to [Needle-Person Control].

The defining trait of Manipulation was controlling external objects. Of course, the prerequisite was injecting one's own [Nen] into the target.

To try manipulating an external object, he first needed a medium that could hold [Nen]: a specially made Nen Needle like Illumi's. Only then could he preset the conditions that would trigger the manipulation in the Nen Needle.

If he divided the external objects he could manipulate into specific categories, Baishi suspected they could be separated into matter and living beings-in simple terms, nonliving and living things.

The [Needle-Person Control] Talisman he had emulated from Illumi was primarily geared toward manipulating living beings. By enveloping specially made needles in Nen aura, he could preset trigger conditions and thereby achieve an exceptionally ruthless form of absolute control!

A medium... a target...

With that in mind, Baishi looked around.

Rustle, rustle!

Strange-looking birds and beasts occasionally took flight from high among the forest's dense trees.

Oink! Deep in the distant forest, an enormous porcine beast barreled through the trees, flashing past before disappearing from sight.

A pig?

Baishi's eyes lit up.

If Menchi and Buhara were still in charge of the next Hunter Exam test, it might involve hunting Great Stamps, just as it had in the original story. As living creatures, pigs might be reckless, but their intelligence was usually not too low. Perhaps he could use them to train [Needle-Person Control].

Then what I need to do now is find a medium capable of carrying the properties of the [Needle-Person Control] Talisman...

Hmm...

Surely I can't use grass roots or twigs instead, can I? When it comes to nonliving objects, [Needle-Person Control] can't directly control matter in flight like sword flight or object manipulation, can it?

His mouth twitched. Baishi picked up a fairly straight twig and tried wrapping it in black-purple Nen aura, then using his mind to make it fly.

The result...

No response!

Shrugging in understanding, Baishi drew on the fragments of memory he had previously absorbed and reluctantly attached Nen aura manipulation conditions to the twig using the preset manipulation method. Then he aimed at a thick tree trunk two or three meters away and swiftly flicked the Nen-wrapped twig straight at it, as though throwing a needle-shaped hidden weapon.

Pfft!

It sank into the wood like a needle into tofu. Wrapped in Nen aura, even an ordinary twig had extraordinary penetrating power. However, the Nen-wrapped twig, now buried completely in the trunk, was of no use whatsoever.

The instant it struck the target, Baishi had clearly sensed the preset manipulation Nen aura activate. Unfortunately, the giant tree was merely an inanimate object without the slightest trace of intelligence, and [Needle-Person Control] had no effect at all on that sort of target.

[Talisman Needle-Person Control proficiency +1]!

Huh?!

Catching sight of a flash of information projected above the wheel, Baishi looked surprised, a little taken aback.

"That works too?!"

The increase in proficiency seemed a little different from what he had expected.

Does performing a corresponding act of manipulation increase the proficiency of an emulated Talisman?

Or is it only this simple because I'm still at the beginner stage...?

As he pondered, Baishi picked up several more fairly straight, dead twigs from the grass. Then he caught sight of the sword cane hanging at his left hip, and an idea suddenly struck him.

Since wrapping a twig in Nen aura gave it such sharp penetrating power, could he enhance the sword cane the same way, without using preset manipulation?

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he acted.

He casually dropped the fragile dead twigs, unclipped the black sword cane from his belt, and studied it closely.

It was a gentleman's cosplay prop he had ordered online before transmigrating, originally intended to complement his elegant bearing when cosplaying Sebastian Michaelis. He hadn't expected it to come with him when he transmigrated.

The sword cane was 95 centimeters long, a straight, metal-clad hardwood cane with no curve. Its shaft was made primarily of dark, matte hardwood, wrapped with black metal strips bearing a fine, non-slip texture.

At the end of the grip was a simple spherical sword hilt and cane handle, forged from black-bronze metal with a slightly frosted texture. Understated and elegant overall, it also housed the sword cane's main mechanism.

Click~

Baishi turned the simple spherical handle ninety degrees counterclockwise to unlock it, then slowly drew the blade hidden inside the shaft.

Not counting the hilt, the dark silver blade alone was 70 centimeters long and one finger wide, with a four-edged thrusting design. According to the seller, it had been forged from high-manganese steel alloy, with a deep fuller running along the slender, resilient blade.

If I get the chance, I'll have to sharpen it first...

Baishi ran the pad of his finger along the seamless edges on either side and smiled helplessly. It was a prop sword made specifically for cosplay, after all. Even though he had paid extra for it to be forged from better materials, they still wouldn't sharpen it.

If it really had been sharpened, never mind whether he could have gotten through the doors of a convention-he probably would have ended up spending some time in jail.

Baishi touched the sharp point with his fingertip and chuckled. Although the edges hadn't been sharpened, the point had at least been left more or less intact rather than deliberately ground flat.

The technique of wrapping external objects in Nen aura should be called [Shu], right?