A person without goals? Where did she get that idea?
Hearing Bisky's sharp assessment, Liam immediately protested. "Who told you I don't have any goals? I definitely do!"
"Oh?" Bisky raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Then tell me. What are they?"
"I..." Liam opened his mouth, fully intending to say his goal was to explore the Dark Continent. But as he met Bisky's clear, piercing, jewel-like eyes, the words caught in his throat. He fell silent for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh. He decided to answer honestly. "I want to explore the absolute ultimate limits of Nen. I actually set a goal for myself a long time ago. Regardless of whether it is actually achievable or not, I figured I would never lose out as long as I kept actively pursuing it. That goal is immortality."
Shizuku watched Bisky closely, noticing that the older woman did not seem the least bit surprised or put off by such a blatant, arrogant goal.
And honestly, it made sense. Almost anyone who had been exposed to the terrifying, life-altering power of Nen had entertained fantasies of becoming invincible and immortal at some point. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for a talented Nen user like Liam to voice such desires.
Bisky kept her voice perfectly calm and measured. "You claim your pursuit is the ultimate pinnacle of Nen. You claim you want immortality. But tell me, Liam, what have you actually done to achieve this? Over a hundred years ago, Chairman Netero decided he wanted to pursue the absolute ultimate in martial arts. From that moment on, he practiced relentlessly. He immersed himself entirely in his training, completely ignoring the freezing cold of winter and the blistering heat of summer. He threw himself into the deep, isolated mountains and trained like a madman for five, six, seven, sometimes eight years straight without even realizing how much time had passed."
She took a step closer, her voice growing firmer. "When other people were sleeping, he was practicing. When other people were out enjoying their comfortable, secular lives, he was still practicing. Netero never once felt like he was making a sacrifice or paying a terrible price. In fact, even when decades flashed by in the blink of an eye, as long as he could feel his martial arts improving even a fraction, he was happier than anyone else on the planet."
"Or, let's just take me as an example," Bisky continued, tapping her chest. "I am also deeply obsessed with the martial arts. When I was just a few years old, I joined the Shingen-ryu dojo to begin my training. After I successfully awakened my Nen in my teens, I immediately went into total seclusion for several years. I completely ignored all mundane chores, distractions, and social obligations. I lived only to train! It wasn't until I reached middle age and realized that my physical and mental practice had finally reached its absolute peak that I stepped out and started traveling the world."
Liam couldn't help but interject. "But aren't you technically a Gem Hunter?"
"That is just a hobby," Bisky said dismissively. "Martial arts is my true, lifelong pursuit. Now, stop interrupting me."
She locked eyes with him. "Let's look at you. Based on my observations over the past few weeks, you spend no more than ten hours a day practicing your Nen. And whenever you get distracted or tied up by other things, you completely drop your training. You don't even think about practicing for a single second."
"You have to relax in moderation," Liam offered with a weak, dry laugh.
"But have you ever truly stretched yourself to your maximum absolute limit? Have you completely squeezed out every last drop of your energy and your natural talent?" Bisky's tone was not aggressive or mean, but the words hit Liam hard. A heavy wave of guilt washed over him.
Setting everything else aside, there was the incredible, broken cheat of his Death Energy panel. He had to admit, he was absolutely failing to utilize it to its full potential.
In fact, if he heavily utilized the automated functions of his Star Marks, he could easily practice for over twenty hours a day without mental fatigue.
If he truly pushed his limits and maintained strict control, he could theoretically practice twenty-four hours a day, effectively training even while he was resting or standing completely idle.
"Look at your own actions. You claim you want to pursue the ultimate peak of Nen, but you don't actually take that pursuit to heart," Bisky said gently. "You claimed you formed this The Ten with the grand intention of recruiting powerful companions to go explore the Dark Continent. However, you have only bothered to recruit two people so far. And when you invited me, you freely admitted you only did it on a whim. That alone shows me you don't take the goal of exploring the Dark Continent very seriously either."
Liam felt compelled to defend himself. "How can you just recruit people casually for something like that? I would much rather prioritize quality over quantity."
Bisky offered a sharp, knowing smile. "If someone of my caliber is what barely meets your so-called standard of 'quality over quantity,' then I am afraid you will never recruit enough members, even if you spend the rest of your life traveling all over the world."
It was an insane standard to hold. But neither Liam nor Shizuku could think of a single argument to refute her point.
Bisky did not let up. "You also said that when you first entered Greed Island, your primary goal was to track down all the mediocre hunters hired by Battera and force them to leave the game. But since arriving, you have barely mentioned it. Then, you kept insisting that you needed to find this man named Razor to seek revenge. Well, Razor is literally right in front of you, and yet you are still procrastinating and acting careless. Let's not even pretend you need to be 'fully prepared.' I think you actually understand Razor's abilities very well. Furthermore, I can personally guarantee that your current level of power is already significantly higher than the vast majority of Nen users in the entire world."
"He just lost to you this morning," Shizuku pointed out softly.
"He lost because I happen to be better than the vast majority of Nen users in the world," Bisky stated calmly, without a trace of arrogance. "Losing to me doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. You also mentioned you planned to take the official Hunter Exam, but based on your actions, you don't seem to be keeping that goal in mind either. You already know so many Professional Hunters. If you really wanted a license, there are obviously plenty of alternative ways for you to get one, right?"
Liam had been entirely silent through her lecture. He finally let out a long, wry smile. "You are making it sound like I am completely useless."
Bisky sighed, her strict demeanor softening slightly. She waved her hand. "I still admire your potential very much. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bothered saying any of this to you. But when I look at you, I sense a deep, fundamental confusion. As I get older, I can't help but nag when I see a kid wandering without a path."
Does he really have no path? Shizuku turned her head, studying Liam's face.
"Is that the real reason why you declined my invitation?" Liam asked quietly. "What happens if I figure things out and I am not confused anymore?"
Bisky just looked at him, waiting.
Liam let out a heavy sigh and sat back down on the grass. He stared into the dying embers of the campfire, pondering for a long moment. "I want to go home."
Shizuku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. This was the very first time she had ever heard the word "home" cross Liam's lips.
"And," Liam continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "I want to know the absolute truth and the falsehood of this world."
He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together tightly. After a long, heavy silence, he spoke again. "If I can actually reach the absolute extreme pinnacle of Nen, maybe I can finally get the answers I want, right? Or, even if it takes decades or a hundred years, even if I eventually die without accomplishing a single thing, at the very least, I will finally be able to see the end result."
"I see." Bisky's frown deepened, then slowly relaxed. She spoke slowly, weighing her words. "Pursuing the ultimate extreme of Nen is simply the only method you can think of to achieve your true wish. But at the same time, you feel that even if you sit back and do absolutely nothing, the very moment of your death will finally provide the answers to the doubts lingering in your heart. That is exactly why you look so confused. You are torn between fighting for an answer and waiting for the inevitable one."
Liam stared at the glowing coals. "Maybe."
Shizuku leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "You want to know whether this world is true or false? What exactly does that mean?"
"The mere existence of a magical, reality-bending power like Nen naturally makes people doubt whether the world they live in is actually real," Liam lied smoothly. It was infinitely better than trying to explain the plot of the Hunter x Hunter manga to Shizuku and Bisky outright. He might be perfectly happy to explain the concept of living in a fictional comic book, but they certainly would not be happy to listen to it.
To cover his tracks, Liam quickly summarized the basic plot of the movie The Matrix.
Shizuku listened with intense interest, occasionally interrupting to ask specific questions about the movie's logic and details. Bisky, however, kept her eyes locked on Liam as he spoke eloquently about simulated realities.
She analyzed him calmly. This kid is hiding a terrifyingly strong urge to self-destruct. He has completely isolated himself from normal social relationships. He fundamentally doubts the authenticity of the very world he lives in. He doesn't actually have anything he truly wants to do with his life. Deep down, he probably feels that regardless of whether his Nen reaches perfection or if he cultivates his skills to the absolute extreme, it still might not be enough to explain the deep doubts in his heart.
To him, only death is guaranteed to provide the final answer.
What on earth has this boy experienced to make him think this way? Bisky had met thousands of people in her life, but she had never seen a kid quite like him.
"Anyway, moving past all that," Liam said, suddenly turning around with a brighter expression. "As long as I can actually defeat you in a fight, Bisky, you will be willing to accept my invitation to join the Ten, right?"
Bisky couldn't help but smile at the sudden shift in energy. "Alright. If you can beat me, I have no objections."
"Just wait!" Liam's competitive fighting spirit instantly ignited. He let out a determined grunt and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. The ambient aura drifting around his body suddenly froze, pulling inward. "Time to practice. Practice!"
Death Energy: 5 points.
Watching Liam's dense aura suddenly begin to violently bubble and churn like boiling water, as if undergoing some sort of rapid, qualitative mutation, Bisky couldn't help but marvel.
She muttered to herself, "This kid. No wonder he has the sheer audacity to talk about pursuing the ultimate limits of Nen. There really is something extraordinary hidden inside him. He is probably relying on some incredibly powerful, secret Nen ability to force this kind of growth."
She clapped her hands together and turned away. "Alright, Shizuku, don't just sit there being idle. Come on. Let's run through a few tricks."
Bisky waved her hand invitingly. Shizuku immediately stood up, materialized her massive, roaring vacuum-chainsaw, Blinky, and lunged directly at the older hunter.
The aura radiating from Bisky's body instantly shifted, turning into the strange, viscous Nen oil. She moved calmly and gracefully, weaving effortlessly through the deadly, roaring net of rusted teeth swung by the chainsaw.
...
In the blink of an eye, half a month flew by.
Swish.
An invisible blade of pressurized air cut sharply through the forest clearing. The jade-faced Taoist nun hovered gracefully a few inches above the grass. Gripped tightly in her right hand was a polished mahogany sword. She thrust the wooden blade forward, executed two rapid, complex sword flourishes, and then smoothly swung the weapon behind her back in a perfect defensive posture.
"Tsk, tsk. The sheer aura consumption required to maintain your Nen beast has increased significantly," Bisky noted, walking a slow circle around the floating figure. "I am guessing you need to burn at least ten thousand units of aura just to release her now." She stopped and pointed at the weapon. "Is that wooden sword the new ability for her right hand?"
Liam glanced mentally at his updated Death Energy panel.
Total Aura: 38,897
Liam offered a satisfied smile. "Strictly speaking, the complete new ability is the combination of this wooden sword and the wide sleeve on her right arm."
He raised two fingers, pointing them directly at the jade-faced Taoist nun.
The Nen beast smoothly extended her right hand, offering the polished mahogany sword to Liam.
Without a sound, the wooden blade slid smoothly, hilt-deep, directly into the center of Liam's chest.
Both Bisky and Shizuku stepped closer, their eyes wide. They could clearly see that the vast majority of the long wooden sword had penetrated straight through Liam's chest cavity. Yet, strangely, not a single bloody inch of the blade protruded from his back.
They stood in silence for exactly five full minutes.
Suddenly, the tip of the wooden sword pushed out from between Liam's shoulder blades. At the exact same moment, a small slip of yellow talisman paper materialized, hanging delicately from the very tip of the blade.
Curious, Shizuku reached out to grab it, but her fingers passed cleanly through the yellow paper as if it were a hologram. She couldn't touch it at all. However, she could clearly see the intricate pattern drawn in red ink on the surface. It was a perfect replica of the rose-gold, five-pointed Star Mark.
"That is a Star Mark talisman," Liam explained calmly.
The jade-faced Taoist nun stepped forward and smoothly retracted the wooden sword from Liam's chest. She raised her wide right sleeve in a sweeping motion. The glowing yellow talisman paper peeled off the wooden blade and flew directly into the dark folds of her sleeve, vanishing from sight.
Without pausing, the Taoist nun thrust the wooden sword directly into Liam's chest a second time.
Another five minutes passed in silence before the wooden blade emerged from his back once more. Again, a fresh piece of yellow talisman paper had condensed on the tip.
This time, however, the red ink on the talisman paper clearly spelled out the characters for "Nine Suns."
The Nine Suns Talisman detached itself and floated smoothly into the Taoist nun's waiting right sleeve.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, the Taoist nun snapped her right sleeve outward. The original Star Mark talisman shot out from the fabric and fluttered directly toward Bisky.
Bisky raised her hand and caught the physical paper easily between her index and middle fingers. She examined it closely. "Are you saying that your Nen beast can not only store copies of your personal Nen abilities, but she can also lend those abilities out to other people?"
Shizuku leaned in, equally curious. "How do you actually use it?"
"You will feel an instinctual intuition the moment you hold it in your hand," Liam said with a wide smile. "All you have to do is concentrate a small burst of aura into your hand and make a crushing motion to activate the spell. And it isn't just for other people. The Nen beast herself can also use these talismans in combat."
He paused, his smile turning slightly wicked. "Besides, Bisky, she isn't limited to just storing my personal Nen abilities. For example, she can also do this."
He snapped his fingers sharply.
The jade-faced Taoist nun floated away from Liam and drifted over to where Lumos was resting. She hovered directly in front of the massive, confused white tiger. Without hesitation, she drove the wooden sword straight into Lumos's thick chest. The blade sank in without meeting any resistance.
Five minutes later, the blade emerged, and a new talisman paper reading "Seventy-Two Transformations" had condensed on the tip. The nun smoothly plucked it off and stored it in her raised right sleeve.
"Any Nen ability that was successfully developed by a target while they were actively under the control of my Star Mark can also be extracted, made into a talisman, and stored for later use," Liam added proudly. "Of course, this means I cannot extract or copy Nen abilities that a target had already fully developed before I marked them."
In other words, the process only worked if Liam, or the influence of his Star Mark, had directly participated in the target's ability development phase.
Hearing this restriction, Shizuku turned slowly to look at Liam. "Does that mean my 'Chainsaw Woman' ability..."
Liam's smile widened. "Yep. And let's not forget about Kurapika. If I remember correctly, when he first developed his unique Nen chains, he had an active Star Mark resting on his shoulder. The next time we run into him, we can definitely borrow a few of his chains to play around with."
It was a terrifying prospect. One of Kurapika's unique Nen chains was essentially a lethal, unbreakable Noble Phantasm designed specifically to slaughter members of the Phantom Troupe.
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