Chapter 14: Jade and Flaws
Hunter x Hunter: Infinite Growth
By: Sky-High Sprite
No expectations at all.
So-called training? Just getting beaten up.
And it wasn't even Biscuit herself doing it, but her apprentice—the bespectacled Yun Gu—sparring with Kevin.
As Biscuit put it: "In terms of Nen familiarity, Yun Gu is on par with you. The only thing he has over you is combat skill and awareness."
So, in her eyes, even if Kevin was getting pummeled, at least he could dodge and block a bit—not just get completely steamrolled.
"Stop!"
By a creek in the wilderness.
Kevin raised his hand and shouted.
Yun Gu, mid-swing with a punch, paused.
Kevin flopped onto the grass in a starfish shape, panting—both his stamina and aura were completely drained from the fight.
"You're improving fast." Yun Gu walked over and handed him a towel.
Kevin took it and slapped it straight over his face.
"No, I know myself. I'm just reacquainting with this body. What looks like fast improvement is just muscle memory kicking back in."
"Yeah? Can't say I've ever felt that."
Yun Gu shrugged and tapped his cheek with a finger.
"But your combat technique… is definitely improving slowly."
"No need to sugarcoat it. You can just say I haven't improved at all."
Kevin replied flatly from the ground.
It had been a week since they started training out here.
And during that week, the only real progress Kevin felt was regaining that sense of bodily ease.
Everything else—stuff this body never had and had to learn from scratch—was progressing at a crawl.
Like focus, combat technique.
Especially combat technique—how to punch with more efficiency and power, how to redirect force…
It seemed simple to him, but his body just refused to learn.
"Seems like you've got a decent amount of self-awareness."
Biscuit had somehow returned without anyone noticing, now standing with her hands on her hips beside Kevin.
Her expression showed irritation, but her eyes revealed undeniable frustration.
Her expectations for Kevin had arced like a parabola—and she hated that her keen judgment had been wrong.
When she took the assignment, she'd had moderate expectations for Kevin.
Part of that was because of Jin Freecss.
Before she took him on, she'd dug up all kinds of information through various channels.
Clearly, Kevin was an academic type.
Top student, obsessed with alchemy, funneled most of his wealth into chasing rare ingredients. He wasn't above shady shortcuts to gather funds and had a rap sheet of crimes committed in pursuit of materials.
A profile that screamed "Hunter."
Biscuit didn't hate people like that—but she sure didn't like them either.
Especially since Kevin's original self had a whole list of villainy behind him.
Even though his features were actually quite handsome, the overall vibe he gave off was always… shadowy.
But on day one, Biscuit noticed something that didn't match the reports.
Kevin's personality didn't sync with a criminal's. He even seemed to hold a certain discomfort about killing.
As she observed further, her expectations rose again. His unique physique and Nen category, plus the post-mortem aura lingering in him—
These traits gave him the potential to grow far beyond the average person.
But as training went on, those hopes steadily crumbled.
Learning ability and focus—two traits essential to Nen growth—Kevin either lacked or was severely deficient in.
That made him gifted… yet not.
And it drove Biscuit up the wall.
He was like a chunk of top-grade jade hidden inside a massive rock, buried in the mountains. To get it to shine, you had to locate, extract, and identify it, crack open the layers of stone, and finally reveal the jade.
Even then, the raw jade would need long, meticulous polishing and grinding before it could gleam.
It was a challenge.
"Hmph!"
"Come at me! I will make you shine!"
Biscuit declared boldly, pointing at the sprawled-out Kevin.
Kevin just stared in confusion.
Yun Gu, on the side, couldn't help but smile.
"You've rested enough! Time for physical training!" Biscuit hoisted Kevin up and barked.
The real pain was about to start.
If it weren't for Nen, Kevin figured this body might not even beat a normal person.
Since parting with Jin, Kevin had kept up a training regimen—but compared to this current hell, his past efforts were child's play.
…
Another week passed.
Kevin and Yun Gu remained by the creek, living on a cycle of training, sparring, and crashing.
Biscuit only showed up occasionally; otherwise, who knew where she went.
As she said: "How could a cute girl like me stay in the wild every day?"
"Huff…"
In the training field, Kevin collapsed once more.
Hand over his eyes, lying like a corpse.
"Don't feel bad. I'm a slow learner too," Yun Gu said beside him.
Kevin waved him off, signaling he was fine.
Sitting on a rock nearby and observing their match, Biscuit finally stood up.
"Your learning ability is downright awful. I used to think Yun Gu was slow."
Hearing this, Yun Gu gave an awkward chuckle and glanced at Kevin with a bit of gratitude.
Back when he was the student, Biscuit constantly nagged him for being a slowpoke.
Now, thanks to Kevin, all that heat was off his back.
"But maybe… that's your only flaw."
Kevin gave Biscuit a puzzled look.
Undeniably, Kevin was like a top-grade piece of jade—flawed, but exceptional.
And it was her job to turn this jade into a masterpiece—either by eliminating the flaws, or making them part of the beauty.
Biscuit smiled: "You seem to have an innate understanding of aura, using it instinctively. You also have an unbelievable passion for Nen—and that passion keeps you from giving up."
A rare and precious combination of will and talent—not something you could just see at a glance.
As she finished, Biscuit snapped her fingers midair.
Kevin rolled instinctively to the side—and the spot where he had just lain exploded into a small crater.
"AHH!"
Yun Gu screamed, now flat on the ground.
"You see? From the first time I met you, you've been using Ren instinctively. You practically treat it like a lifestyle habit."
Yun Gu had climbed back up, sitting with wide eyes locked on Kevin. He hadn't known that.
Using Ren required mental effort to control your aura. It was an advanced combat skill—how could someone keep it up constantly?
Biscuit walked over and tapped his forehead, exasperated.
"Because your combat style is so straightforward—and you're an Enhancer—his strength hasn't really shown in your battles.
If you were a Transmuter or Emitter, things would've gone very differently."
Basically, in Biscuit's view, these two were still in the "rookie slap fight" phase.
As she spoke, Biscuit flicked her finger again.
Yun Gu howled once more—flat on his back again.
"You should've been on guard the moment I raised my hand! Two hundred push-ups, now!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Yun Gu groaned, adjusted his posture, and started pushing up.
Kevin, snickering on the side, suddenly dodged.
When it came to using Ren? Kevin didn't need training at all.
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