A few hours later, in the exclusive patient room for Heavens Arena fighters, Hisoka finally regained consciousness and woke up from his coma.
The moment he opened his eyes, he immediately saw Illumi Zoldyck's expressionless face. He instantly teased in a semi-joking tone, "I finally know what it feels like to be hit by the speed of sound. If I'm not mistaken, Allen treated me again afterward, correct?"
"Yes. He fed you a potion that looked like blood, and then your body went from being tattered and near-death to fully recovered in just a few seconds. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe such a miraculous thing existed in this world." Illumi replied, his hands crossed, supporting his chin.
It was apparent that he was in a rather good mood today; a hint of a smile even briefly appeared on his usually cold face.
"Potion? Is it something created by a Nen ability?"
Hisoka slowly sat up in bed and began examining his body. He found that, apart from a few lingering aches, all the broken bones, torn muscles, and internal organs had returned to their pre-battle state.
If it weren't for the residual, excruciating pain from the final moments, pain that surpassed the limits of human endurance, and the memory of the indescribably fast assault, he might have thought everything that happened was his own hallucination.
But unfortunately, it was certainly not a hallucination; it was a real event, and it had happened more than once.
"I don't know, but I can feel the powerful life force contained within it. It might be related to that red Nen Beast that looks like a dragon. Based on my observations, it consumes more than just Nen and abilities; it also consumes the target's physical body." As he spoke, Illumi took out a vial of Major Healing Potion, which shimmered with a mesmerizing ethereal glow, from his inner pocket.
Hisoka undoubtedly sensed the astonishing life energy contained within the potion's scarlet liquid, and his eyes immediately burst with curious light. He asked meaningfully, "You must have paid a considerable price to get this from Allen, right?"
"It wasn't much of a price. I only promised him that no matter who hires the Zoldyck Family to assassinate him or those around him in the future, I would send him a notification before accepting the request. However, given the power he has displayed and his incredible growth rate, I don't think anyone can afford the price." Illumi shrugged indifferently.
It was important to note that he only needed to strictly adhere to the professional ethics of a killer and keep secrets for the client after the client confirmed the target and wired the down payment into the specified account.
Before that, he could completely have his younger brothers or the butlers transmit the information as a third party.
If he was not the one accepting the assassination mission, there was even less need to abide by any rules; a simple phone call would suffice.
"Hmm, he truly is deeply hidden. He hasn't shown his real trump card to anyone from beginning to end. I'm starting to understand why, upon hearing that the Floor Masters were secretly planning an ambush, he didn't show the slightest panic. Instead, he flashed an excited and joyful smile. Perhaps in his eyes, these guys are like food that can provide him with nourishment." Hisoka analyzed seriously, staring at the Major Healing Potion.
"Are you suggesting... these potions are made from the life force, or life essence, of those Nen users?" Illumi was clearly quite interested in the topic.
"Perhaps, perhaps not, but I guarantee this potion will drive many people mad. By the way, where is Allen?"
Hisoka looked up and scanned the surroundings, finding that the entire empty room contained only him and Illumi.
"I don't know. He seems to be plotting something. Also, he asked me to give you a message: don't interfere with this pleasant hunt, just help him block the paths back to Heavens Arena." Illumi casually slipped the Major Healing Potion into his most secure pocket.
As someone who had witnessed the incredible effect of this potion firsthand, he knew that possessing it was equivalent to having an extra life, allowing him to trade blows with an opponent at a crucial moment.
As long as he wasn't killed instantly, a single gulp could rapidly restore any wound.
"Block the paths back to Heavens Arena? It seems Allen is preparing for a massive slaughter! If you don't mind, could I trouble you to complete this task for me?" Hisoka subconsciously licked his lips.
Illumi nodded without hesitation: "No problem. You've already paid the price anyway. But I'm curious, you're not actually planning to get involved, are you?"
"No. I just want to admire this magnificent hunting performance up close. Don't you think this is an opportunity to re-examine Allen and his true capabilities?"
As Hisoka spoke, he stood up from the bed and meticulously put on the clothes that had been placed nearby.
As for his original outfit, it had been completely shredded into worthless scraps by the destructive power of the supersonic punches.
…
Meanwhile, Allen and Bodoro were undergoing their daily training in the dungeon—the Sunken Temple.
The martial artist had immediately sought out the Trolls in the upper areas for a spar the moment he entered the dungeon, while Allen, as usual, remained at the entrance, attempting to train his abilities in the Manipulation and Conjuration Nen categories.
He was holding a Lava Core and a Conjured Red Philosopher's Stone, into which he injected a large amount of Nen.
Gradually, the two items began to slowly merge, finally transforming, with a tremendous roar, into a gigantic fireball over three meters tall.
However, the biggest difference between it and an ordinary fireball was that it seemed to possess life, constantly changing its shape and slowly growing two upper limbs that resembled arms.
"Hmm, shaping the form doesn't seem to be too much of an issue for me anymore.
"The next challenge is control.
"Or rather, how to endow this thing in front of me with the ability for friend-or-foe recognition, automatic judgment, and attack.
"It doesn't need to be too complex; as simple and direct as possible will suffice.
"Furthermore, I can design some interesting abilities for it.
"For instance, casting Fireball, Scorch, Blast Wave, reducing the target's Fire Resistance, or, for example, exploding upon destruction to cause widespread damage.
"Of course, to strengthen the ability, a prerequisite must be added: the stronger the elemental creation, the more mediums it will require..."
Following this somewhat nervous self-muttering, Allen quickly outlined the general concept of his new ability.
Undoubtedly, this was an ability very similar to a Summon, and also a classic "money sink" ability.
Because every use would inevitably waste large amounts of materials dropped by various elemental creatures acquired in the dungeon.
Upon realizing this, the image of the Phantom Troupe's least noticeable member, Kortopi, instantly surfaced in his mind.
As a Conjuration-type Nen user, the small man possessed an astonishing ability: Gallery Fake.
He could perfectly duplicate any non-living object by touch in just a few seconds, and the copies could last for a full twenty-four hours.
If Allen were to steal this ability, he could duplicate massive amounts of materials and, in one fell swoop, create a literal army of elementals to overwhelm his enemies.
What was even more intriguing was the uncertain paradox presented by Gallery Fake.
If the duplicated item was used up, for instance, if an Arcane Crystal was smelted into an Arcanite Bar, or if an Arcanite Bar was forged into a weapon, would these objects, after being processed two, three, or even four times, still exist after twenty-four hours?
If they didn't exist, how would the crafted object revert?
If they did exist, wouldn't that be tantamount to gaining infinite resources?
And if a copied healing potion was drunk and cured a fatal wound, would the wound reappear after twenty-four hours, killing the person?
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]