Click!
As the sound of the door locking echoed, Allen's entire demeanor shifted. He immediately used a Hunter ability to summon Lupos from the kitchen to his side, and then activated his Teleport to enter the dungeon where the time flow was only one-tenth that of the real world.
"Woo?"
The silver giant wolf swallowed the food in its mouth and looked up at its master with a bewildered expression, as if asking what was happening.
"Apologies for interrupting your meal. But time is pressing. I think we should enter the final stage of Nen development—the creation of specific abilities."
Saying this, Allen placed a glass filled with water on the ground and floated a green leaf on the surface.
Water Divination!
The quickest and simplest way to determine a person's Nen category.
"Come on. You first."
He pushed the glass toward his pet.
Lupos didn't hesitate for a moment regarding its master's command, immediately extending its front paws and activating its Aura.
Instantly, the clear water in the glass abruptly transformed into a blackish-purple, unknown energy, while the leaf remained floating above this energy, and numerous silver hairs materialized out of thin air around it. The feeling of extreme darkness and malice was enough to cause a deep, chilling sense of fear and trembling from the soul.
"This is… Shadow Energy!" Allen's pupils instantly dilated, and a look of disbelief crossed his face.
However, he quickly regained his composure.
On second thought, it wasn't surprising.
As the once-glorious Shadow Wolf Alpha that had been drastically nerfed by the official game, the strongest pet in the minds of countless Hunters, Lupos must have intensely desired in its dreams to return to its most powerful form. Thus, it used Nen to reproduce Shadow Energy.
As for the floating leaf and the surrounding silver hair, they were likely a form of Specialization or Manipulation ability, stemming from its desire to command a pack of wolves.
"Interesting. I've thought of an ability combination that suits you perfectly. Do you want to try it?"
Allen transmitted his idea to his pet through the Spirit Bond.
"Awoo!"
Lupos let out an excited long howl, and the Aura throughout its body began to convert into Shadow Energy. Within a short time, it transformed from a handsome silver giant wolf into a Shadow Wolf covered in black energy. Because it had once possessed this power, it encountered virtually no obstacles when converting its Nen nature; it was as easy and natural as breathing.
Seeing this, Allen nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Next, you need to try and use the Shadow Energy to create a wolf pack of your own, and then learn to manipulate them. Remember what I told you: strengthen your Nen ability by creating Vows and Limitations in your heart."
"Woo woo woo…"
Lupos made a muffled sound, indicating it understood, and went off to a corner of the dungeon to practice by itself.
It was important to note that creating and manipulating a living Nen Beast was no simple task. So, for the current stage, it was sufficient for it to use Shadow Energy to reinforce its teeth and claws to tear enemies apart, while covering its body to enhance its defense.
Allen was undoubtedly more interested in his own Nen nature than his pet's, so he immediately pulled out another glass and activated his Nen.
First, the amount of water in the glass began to increase, continuously spilling out. This was proof of the Enhancement category and was caused by the residual memories and Obsession of the body's original owner.
Next, he tasted the water in the glass and found it was extremely salty and acrid, like seawater. This was proof of the Transmutation category and reflected his usual personality: fickle, often lying and deceiving, and always hiding his true intentions from everyone.
Finally, upon channeling the Nen with his Hunter character fully in mind, the perfectly green leaf immediately turned pale yellow, and the chlorophyll mysteriously appeared on the skin of his hand, forming the pattern of a leaf. However, it quickly faded as a result of metabolism, eventually vanishing without a trace.
"Huh? What kind of ability is this? Plunder? Absorption?"
Undeniably, the phenomenon that just occurred left Allen utterly confused. Especially the instant the Nen was activated, the leaf's most valuable chlorophyll was extracted and then injected into his body.
To figure out the truth, he repeated the Water Divination several times, finding that he didn't always seize chlorophyll. Sometimes, it was plant fiber, or even the water in the cup itself.
All the materials that were seized immediately fused perfectly with his body. Chlorophyll and water were fine, causing no harm to his body, but the plant fiber connected to the surrounding nerves, muscles, and blood vessels, making him feel awkward and uncomfortable. Fortunately, the plant fiber in the leaf was minimal, and he could remove it from his body with a bit of effort using Nen. Otherwise, it might have impacted his normal movements.
"Alright, I can basically confirm this is some kind of Specialization with a plundering attribute," Allen finally concluded.
After all, the Hunter class itself existed to hunt dangerous, powerful beasts in remote, uninhabited areas like jungles and wilderness, acquiring meat and hides as loot. They weren't Druids who lived in harmony with animals and nature, but ruthless predators and killers. They consumed the prey's meat for sustenance and used the hides, teeth, and bones to craft various weapons, defenses, and items to arm themselves.
Having figured this out, Allen immediately began considering how to develop this Nen ability with a plundering nature.
It was clearly unrealistic to simply and brutally define it as Plunder and attempt to seize the enemy's Aura or Nen ability through killing. Aside from the difficulty, the sheer danger was enough to deter anyone; he might end up absorbing too much and literally exploding due to the limits of his body's capacity.
Therefore, he needed an intermediary, a storage vessel, to slowly erase the traces of the original owner's existence from the seized Aura and Nen, and then establish Vows and Limitations to reinforce the Nen, much like Chrollo Lucilfer, the leader of the Phantom Troupe, did.
But what could serve as an intermediary and storage vessel?
Creating a Nen Beast?
Or creating a symbolically significant item?
Suddenly, Allen remembered that he had a Red Dragon Egg in his bag. He had stumbled upon it while wandering and questing in the Wetlands, having killed a Crimson Whelp that dropped it. He had always intended to sell it for a high price but hadn't succeeded yet.
According to the game's lore, the Red Dragons are the guardians of life, possessing stronger bodies and more vibrant vitality than the other four Dragonflights.
If he infused his Nen into the Red Dragon Egg, using this creature with astonishing vitality, he could surely create the perfect intermediary storage vessel. He could even use the plundered Aura and Nen to turn it into a terrifying Nen Beast to assist him in combat.
"You have to succeed! Come forth! My Red Dragon!"
Muttering this, Allen poured all his Nen into the egg in one go.
After a short while, the Dragon Egg emitted a series of crackling sounds, followed by numerous web-like fissures appearing on the shell's surface.
Finally…
Bang!
The entire Dragon Egg burst open, and a whelp covered in red scales flapped its wings, floating in mid-air. It had no physical form; it was composed entirely of Nen, and its eyes flashed with golden light. Although it looked small and frail, it radiated a powerful surge of heat and vitality, exactly like a truly living Red Dragon, and not merely a Nen Beast.