"An ability to control the heartbeat? That sounds quite interesting," Allen said, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression.
Undoubtedly, the Heartbeat Watch must be a Conjuration-type ability that incorporates a significant number of activation conditions.
Especially the final hour hand condition—if she can survive one hour in combat, she essentially wins, making the ability both powerful and niche, highly characteristic of a lower-category Nen user.
After all, whether the hand is adjusted to 'heart stop' or 'burst,' it is catastrophic for most living beings.
Unless the target possesses the formidable recovery power of a 'Ghoul' like Zebulun, they will fall into unconsciousness within a few to a dozen seconds, then await death.
The problem, however, is: how many battles between Nen users last for over an hour?
"I'm glad you're satisfied."
Reese shrugged carelessly, as if she felt no regret or heartache over the impending loss of her ability.
Or rather, this woman had long since made the necessary mental preparation and resolve, focused only on completing her revenge against the assassin group, The Raven.
In contrast, Luna appeared slightly more nervous. Before introducing her abilities, she cautiously probed: "When you take someone's ability, you don't have to kill the person and turn them into a cocoon for that giant Nen Beast to devour, do you?"
"Hmm, that's correct. If it's merely to take the ability, all you need to do is sign a contract with me, actively attack me once, and then immediately concede," Allen nodded with a smile.
After all, compared to the Heartbeat Watch, he was far more interested in acquiring the Hunting Map and Eyes of the Dead.
"Phew, I'm relieved to hear you say that."
Luna instantly relaxed, feeling much lighter.
"Reese has already made my two abilities very clear.
"Now let me explain the activation conditions and limitations.
"First, for the Hunting Map, I must have touched the Hunter beforehand, and I must have personally seen the target (prey); photos and video footage are also acceptable.
"The maximum number of Hunting Maps that can exist is three. If a fourth one needs to be created, the first map will instantly disappear.
"Also, the Hunting Map actually comes in two copies. The one I gave you is merely a duplicate, while the one I hold is the original. The original does not disappear after the hunt is completed, unless I create a new map that replaces the old one.
"As for Eyes of the Dead, there is only one mandatory condition: I must never get involved in any form of combat, whether actively or passively. Otherwise, all records retained by the Eyes of the Dead will be instantly wiped clean."
"I see. That's why you could accurately track my location and why, when you first called me, you specifically emphasized that you wouldn't participate in combat. If you had, the information—the appearance and abilities of The Raven members—stored in Eyes of the Dead would have vanished instantly."
Allen clarified the previously confusing details in just a few seconds.
Undoubtedly, Luna's ability is one hundred percent a Specialization type, and it is a purely auxiliary Nen ability with virtually zero combat capability.
Reese's Heartbeat Watch is similar; judging by the intensity of her Aura, she's not the type who excels at head-on confrontation. She's the kind of disruptor who has a little fighting power but is primarily responsible for neutralizing and restraining the enemy.
This means that during the battle with The Raven organization members that year, the combat personnel in their squad were completely wiped out.
Luna was clearly unaware that Allen had internally classified her as worthless in a fight. She adjusted her glasses and asked, "Your guess is entirely correct. Now tell us, what is your answer to this transaction?"
"Does that even need asking? Of course, I agree! Come on, let's sign a contract, and then tell me the appearance and abilities of all The Raven members. The rest is just creating a Hunting Map and finding them one by one to take them down."
The moment the words left his mouth, the Red Dragon Vaelstrasz instantly appeared in her physical form.
Her immense size and the imposing aura she unconsciously emitted instantly startled the two women, freezing their breath for several seconds.
Luckily, there were no passersby around, or it would certainly have caused chaos and pandemonium.
"Is this your Nen Beast? It looks even more powerful and magnificent than it did through the Eyes of the Dead!"
Reese muttered in awe, instinctively reaching out a hand to touch the Red Dragon's head.
But before she could get close, she was driven back by a puff of sparks the dragon snorted from its nostrils. At the same time, Vaelstrasz assumed a proud stance, two golden vertical pupils radiating light filled with greed and yearning.
There was no need to ask: the creature had already mentally tagged the two women in front of it as potential food.
Allen bit his finger, inserted it into the Red Dragon's mouth, and asked directly: "Are you willing to bet all of your Nen?"
"Yes, we are!"
"Me too!"
Luna and Reese gave affirmative replies without hesitation.
"Contract established! Now, you can show me the contents recorded by the Eyes of the Dead that day."
As the contract was signed, Allen quickly entered his Hunter persona, even appearing slightly eager to hunt this mysterious assassin group, which the Hunter website rated as highly elusive.
After all, one should deliver when accepting payment for a service; he maintained that level of professional ethics.
Furthermore, the payment they were offering was not merely money, but the far more precious Nen abilities.
"Come. Stare into my eyes."
Luna placed her hands on Allen's shoulders and instantly activated her ability, Eyes of the Dead.
In the next second...
A massive stream of silent visual data rushed through her pupils and into his optic nerves like a rapid-fire slideshow, continually assaulting his brain.
In just a short moment, large beads of sweat had broken out on both of their foreheads.
About half an hour later, Luna finally finished her work and slumped to the ground with a thump, breathing heavily and raggedly, completely exhausted.
Allen was not faring any better; in fact, he was arguably worse off, immediately covering his mouth and retching violently behind the bench, vomiting up all the juice and snacks he had consumed earlier.
There was no way not to vomit.
This method of visual information transfer was akin to sitting in a chair playing a 3D action game with ultra-realistic VR equipment, except the images were violently shaking and spinning non-stop. Any person would feel dizzy, nauseous, and headachy.
Compounding this, his neural response speed is tens of times faster than a normal person's, making the feeling of vertigo exceptionally strong.
After vomiting everything clean, Allen wiped the corner of his mouth and couldn't help but complain: "What made you think of this 'genius' method for transmitting what the dead's eyes saw? Didn't you know that a person's optic nerves, motor nerves, and brain processor are all connected? Overly intense and realistic imagery causes the brain and nerves to make erroneous judgments, leading to a series of severe discomforts."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that far ahead at the time; I just thought this way would be more convenient," Luna said with an embarrassed expression.
Clearly, this wasn't the first time she had heard such a complaint or critique; she had heard it countless times.
Unfortunately, the ability had already been developed to a quite mature stage and could not be revised retroactively.
"Forget it. I roughly know the names, appearances, and abilities of these guys now. Start making the map. If all goes well, we should have results soon..."
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]