Leorio the Shadow Monarch - Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Island Survival & Shadow Network
Zevil Island wasn’t just a jungle; it was an assault on the senses. The moment Leorio stepped off the established path from the landing zone, the humidity clamped down like a wet shroud, amplifying the rich, loamy scent of decay and the dizzying perfume of unseen tropical flowers. Gigantic trees, draped in thick vines, blotted out the sky, casting the forest floor in a perpetual twilight. Strange bird calls echoed, punctuated by the rustling of unseen things in the dense undergrowth and the incessant drone of insects. Every shadow seemed deeper here, every rustle potentially hostile.
Leorio moved cautiously, his senses on high alert (SEN 43 providing a significant advantage). He activated `Observe Lv1` frequently, scanning trees for hidden predators, checking the ground for tracks, confirming that the rustling noise was just an oversized rodent and not one of the Amori brothers preparing an embarrassingly clumsy ambush. His current objective wasn’t hunting yet; it was finding a place to hole up, a temporary sanctuary in this green hell.
After nearly an hour of careful trekking away from the likely dispersal paths of other applicants, he found a promising spot. A small clearing, almost entirely screened by a thick wall of bamboo and dominated by a cluster of large, moss-covered boulders, offered both concealment and decent defensibility. A narrow stream trickled nearby, providing fresh water. It wasn’t a fortress, but it was secluded and offered limited approach vectors. “Home sweet temporary home,” Leorio muttered dryly, dropping his non-existent pack (he really only had his briefcase, which felt increasingly inadequate). “Hope the locals don’t mind me squatting.”
With basic shelter secured, his thoughts turned immediately to the glaring gap in his arsenal: Nen. His massive stats (STR 70!) and burgeoning shadow army felt impressive, but the raw pressure he’d felt from Hisoka, the `FATAL ERROR` warning from his own system… that was Nen. The true power system of this world. Waiting for official Hunter training felt foolishly passive. He had the knowledge from his past life, fragmented as it might be, and now, he had the time and the raw potential (INT 44, VIT 47, AP 48k!). He had to try.
He sat cross-legged near the largest boulder, mimicking meditative poses he remembered from countless anime. Okay, Nen basics. Ten: shroud the body in aura, stop it leaking. Zetsu: shut off aura completely. Ren: project aura outwards. Simple concepts, devilishly hard execution without a teacher.
First, Ten. ‘Feel your life energy,’ he recalled the vague instructions. ‘Visualize it flowing from your nodes, then contain it around your body like a second skin.’ He closed his eyes, focused inward, trying to perceive this ‘aura’. He felt… his heartbeat, the humidity on his skin, the rumble in his stomach reminding him he hadn’t eaten properly since the pig roast.
Was that a faint warmth spreading through him? Or just blood flow? He visualized a shimmering coating around himself, pushing imaginary energy outwards then pulling it back into a tight layer.
Nothing felt different. He tried for almost an hour, growing increasingly frustrated.
“Damn it! I have 48,000 AP! That’s gotta be aura, right? Why can’t I feel it properly?! Is there an ‘Aura for Dummies’ section in the system Mall I missed?”
Next, Zetsu. ‘Close your aura nodes.’ Great. Where were his aura nodes? He didn’t have an anatomical chart. He tried focusing on suppressing his presence, holding his breath, making himself ‘small’. He just felt… constricted and slightly light-headed from lack of oxygen. This felt even more impossible than Ten.
Finally, Ren. ‘Forcefully project your aura outwards.’ He remembered characters flaring their power, intimidating opponents. He focused, visualized his energy exploding outwards, gritted his teeth, pushed with his will… He felt a slight throbbing in his temples, a bead of sweat trickled down, but the surrounding air remained stubbornly un-flared. No pressure wave, no intimidating aura. Just Leorio, sitting cross-legged, potentially giving himself an aneurysm from effort.
“Maybe I need to dramatically announce my attack name first?” he thought with grim humor. “Shadow Monarch’s… Mildly Concentrated Effort Wave?”
He spent hours cycling through these attempts, frustration mounting. Was his anime knowledge too superficial? Was his body fundamentally incompatible despite the system? Was he just… bad at it? The initial confidence from his stats began to erode, replaced by the nagging fear that he was just a system anomaly, unable to access the world’s core power.
Just as he was about to give up for the day, feeling defeated, something shifted. He’d been focusing intensely on the concept of Ten, pouring his mental energy (fueled by INT 44) into visualizing that protective shroud, willing his massive AP pool to do something, when a faint chime echoed in his mind, accompanied by system notifications.
`[System detects focused, repeated attempts to manipulate internal energy based on Host’s conceptual understanding.]`
`[Sufficient latent potential detected (High INT, VIT, Level). Analyzing Host’s intent…]`
`[Attempting to codify Host’s conceptual goal into recognizable skill format…]`
`[New Active Skill Learned: Ten Lv1 (0%)]`
`Description: Maintain a basic shroud of aura around the body by controlling its flow from aura nodes. Prevents excessive leakage of life energy (AP) and offers defense against Nen-based attacks. Constant low-level AP drain while active.`
`Current Cost: 5 AP per minute.`
`[New Active Skill Learned: Zetsu Lv1 (0%)]`
`Description: Consciously close all aura nodes, completely halting the flow of aura from the body. Conceals presence from Nen users and accelerates natural stamina/AP recovery. Renders user highly vulnerable to attack. Requires focus to maintain.`
`Cost: 1 AP to activate/deactivate.`
`[New Active Skill Learned: Ren Lv1 (0%)]`
`Description: Forcefully project a significant amount of aura outwards from the body. Temporarily increases physical power output and creates an intimidating presence (Bloodlust). Significant active AP drain.`
`Current Cost: 100 AP per minute (Active).`
Leorio stared at the notifications, disbelief warring with elation. It… it worked? The system had recognized his pathetic attempts, cross-referenced them with his knowledge, and created skills based on the core Nen techniques? It wasn’t true mastery, not the nuanced control learned through years of training, but it was a bridge! A way for his system-based existence to interact with the world’s fundamental power!
He immediately activated `[Ten Lv1]`. `[-5 AP/min]` The drain was tiny compared to his pool and regeneration. He felt… something subtle this time. Not a visible shield, but an almost imperceptible tightening of energy around him, a feeling of containment. It felt… right. Stable.
He tried `[Zetsu Lv1]`. `[-1 AP]` The feeling of Ten vanished instantly. He felt… lighter? Quieter? Almost invisible, even to himself. He deactivated it. `[-1 AP]` The subtle feeling of Ten wasn’t there anymore either; he’d have to reactivate it manually. Useful for hiding or recovery, but definitely not for combat.
He hesitated, then activated `[Ren Lv1]`. `[-100 AP/min]` A noticeable drain, though still manageable. He felt a definite surge this time, energy pushing outwards from him, making the air feel slightly thick around him. His muscles tensed, feeling primed for action. There was a faint sense of pressure, of presence, emanating from him. He quickly deactivated it. Okay, powerful, but costly. Definitely not something to keep active constantly at Level 1.
He let out a long breath, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Nen basics, unlocked! They were Lv 1, likely crude and inefficient compared to someone like Hisoka (whose Ren probably felt like a physical blow), but it was a start. A massive start.
Feeling significantly more secure, Leorio turned his attention to physical security. He needed eyes and ears beyond his own senses. He summoned six of his `[Shadow Pig Lv8]` soldiers. `[Arise]`. The smoky shapes materialized silently around him.
“Alright, listen up, bacon brigade,” he commanded mentally, projecting clear intent. “Spread out. Form a perimeter around this clearing. Go out about thirty-five meters, hide behind trees, in bushes, whatever looks natural. Stay absolutely still unless someone or something bigger than a rabbit enters the perimeter. Link your senses to me.”
He preserved the shadows but kept the sensory link active, a function of `[Shadow Preservation Lv1]`. Six new viewpoints flickered into his mental landscape – low-angle, monochrome views of muddy ground, tree bark, rustling leaves. He could feel the vibrations through their shadowy forms, hear the amplified forest sounds. It was like having half a dozen blurry, somewhat unreliable security cameras feeding directly into his brain. He mentally assigned them designations – North Boar, South Boar, East Crawlers 1 & 2, West Pickets 1 & 2. Maintaining the sensory links cost a tiny bit of passive AP, maybe 1 AP per shadow per minute, negligible for now. His 43-meter command bubble was now a monitored security zone. Anyone approaching would be detected.
With his base secured and the first steps into Nen taken, Leorio established a routine for the next couple of days. During daylight hours, hidden within his porcine perimeter, he practiced. He focused on maintaining `[Ten]` constantly, getting used to the feel of it, the minimal drain. He practiced switching quickly to `[Zetsu]` and back. He experimented with short bursts of `[Ren]`, trying to control the output, feeling its effect on his physical strength (it seemed to add a noticeable ‘oomph’ to hypothetical punches thrown at the air). He also diligently worked through his `[Path to Strength]` exercises, determined to keep grinding those stat points.
As dusk began to settle each evening, painting the dense canopy in shades of orange and purple, he’d recall most of his shadow guards, leaving just two on high alert near his shelter. Then, under the cloak of twilight, he’d venture out. His target was Ponzu. His strategy: reconnaissance. He moved silently, using his `[Observe]` skill on any tracks he found (mostly unidentifiable animal prints), scanning cliff faces for cave mouths, sniffing the air for unnatural chemical scents. He found a promising area with several small caves on the second evening, but a quick `Observe` scan from a distance revealed nothing conclusive, and he wasn’t willing to approach closely without more information, wary of traps. The island was large, and finding one specific girl playing hide-and-seek with chemical weapons wasn’t going to be quick.
He’d return to his shelter before full darkness descended, reactivate his full shadow perimeter, and settle down for the night.