Early Morning
The sky was just beginning to brighten, the sun not yet over the mountain.
Dew still clung to the forest leaves, and light mist drifted through the dense canopy.
Even in the heat of summer, the air felt chilling.
Kevin Carpenberg shook the dew from his raincoat and sat cross-legged on a mat of weeds, watching ahead.
"Hey, little guy, don't run off. Let me check you over."
Jin Freecss smiled as he caught a little wolf pup that had darted past his leg. He gave it a playful rub before pulling at its fur and even tugging at its tongue, as if performing a health check.
The pup whimpered, but the two-headed wolf couple lying beside Jin didn't seem to mind. They lay quietly at his side.
Kevin sneered at the sight.
Tch, you two sure weren't this friendly last night.
Grrr~
The sudden sound turned all eyes—Jin's and the animals'—toward Kevin.
He didn't seem embarrassed at all. "Looks like I'm hungry."
"Time to eat then. Let's head back," Jin said, clapping the dirt from his hands.
"Owoo."
The two-headed wolves began to circle Jin, whining as if reluctant to part.
They're really intelligent, Kevin thought.
Then again, seeing the horn on one of the heads made it a little less surprising.
"Haha, don't worry. I'll come visit again soon."
Just as they were about to leave—
The larger two-headed wolf walked over to Kevin with a jet-black horn in its mouth, setting it gently by his feet.
"For me?" Kevin pointed at himself in confusion.
The horned head nodded.
Kevin picked up the black horn. It was surprisingly light, with spiral grooves along its length. The break was clean, and the inside hollow.
As he held it, he felt something strange—as if his body yearned for it. An odd sense of need, deep in his muscles.
Could it be…?
"Yup. That's one of their horns," Jin explained. "It didn't break off—it was shed naturally as they grew."
"A two-headed wolf sheds its horns four to five times in its life, usually every fifteen to twenty years."
Jin seemed to pick up on Kevin's doubt and continued, "Go ahead, take it. It's a gift."
He grinned smugly. "You only got it because you came with me. Don't underestimate its value. A shed two-headed wolf horn can go for fifty million Jenny at big auctions."
"If it were cut off, the price would multiply tenfold. That's why they were almost hunted to extinction."
Jin glanced out of the cave, toward a tree where a few people were tied up.
The poachers from last night. Jin hadn't killed them. They were bound hand and foot, socks stuffed in their mouths.
Kevin didn't quite grasp what fifty million Jenny could buy, but judging from Jin's tone and expression, it was clearly a fortune.
Still, what held his attention wasn't the price. It was the strange sensation he got when he first touched the horn.
Was it muscle memory? Kevin couldn't say. But the moment he picked it up, his body had reacted—something inside him stirred.
Why did it feel so familiar?
"Looks like you're pretty happy with that gift. Let's go."
Kevin snapped out of it and followed Jin silently.
Dragging four poachers along, they made their way back to camp.
A rugged off-road vehicle now sat there—one that hadn't been present when they'd left.
A burly man leaned against the car, smoking. He wore a camouflage vest, military pants, and heavy boots.
His unkempt face bore scars, and he radiated a sharp, dangerous aura.
"Went to check on them?"
The man asked casually.
Jin nodded and clapped the man's shoulder, giving a light kick to the poachers at his feet. "They're all yours. I'm guessing you were tracking them?"
The man gave a silent nod, his eyes settling on Kevin.
Sharp and probing, his gaze then shifted to Jin in clear question.
Jin responded with a slight nod.
"Beggar Laghort. Conservation Hunter."
That was all the man said in introduction, giving Kevin a short nod. Then, without waiting for a response, he dragged the poachers into the truck.
The poachers stared wide-eyed at Kevin, grunting desperately as if trying to say something.
Only once the car vanished from sight did Jin turn back to Kevin, who seemed lost in thought.
"Looks like you've got a lot of questions. Let's talk over food. Yesterday's deal still stands—ask anything you want."
Soon, they had simple self-heating meals set up on a portable table.
As Kevin ate, he pondered carefully.
Finally, he asked, "That power you used in yesterday's fight—what was it? I saw something coming off you and the leader. It was faint, but I'm sure I didn't imagine it."
It was the question he most wanted to ask—the supernatural force that set this world apart.
He added, "I have some memory fragments in my head, but… they're incomplete. I'm still missing something."
Jin ate from a can as he replied, "What you saw was 'Aura.' It's the life energy that leaks out from all living beings. Everyone has it."
Then why had Kevin only barely seen it from Jin and the gang leader?
"Ordinary people—or rather, ordinary lives—don't notice their Aura leaking. It seeps away naturally."
"But those trained in Nen can sense and control it. In battle, they release far more than what normally leaks out, which makes it easier to detect."
Life energy? Aura? Nen users?
The words echoed in Kevin's mind, unlocking more memories—fragmented bits of knowledge began to surface.
It wasn't structured, but it felt like the remnants of past experience.
"Looks like you're starting to remember. Take a good look at my hand. See anything?"
Jin suddenly held out his palm.
Kevin furrowed his brow and focused.
Faintly, he saw something—still blurry, but much clearer than last night. It was as if the memory had triggered muscle memory.
He was good at this kind of observation.
He felt something stirring within him. Energy… was that the Aura Jin spoke of?
It flowed to his eyes.
And then he saw it clearly.
"A 5?"
"That's right. The number five. You've already learned to use Gyo."
Another strange term…
But this one didn't unlock anything from his memory.