Conrad approached Arteum in much the same way and invited him to the training room in order to persuade him as well.
Unlike Valian, Arteum was far more cold-blooded, quiet, and not particularly interested in talking or casual conversation.
Still, the fact that he possessed a specialized long-range Nen ability while also being known as a capable close-combat fighter made him important in Conrad's eyes and placed him in a valuable position.
"Yeah..." Conrad said as he looked at Arteum.
Arteum was relatively short, around 170 centimeters tall, with a lean but athletic build. He appeared to be around the same age as Valian. His hair was short and brownish, while his eyes were a dark shade of brown.
"You really... feel strange," Arteum said in a cold tone.
"I can tell you're stronger than me, but I can't understand why."
"Nen doesn't work very logically when it comes to things like this," he added.
Conrad smiled at those words. Honestly, experienced Nen users generally disliked trying to measure another Nen user's strength purely based on aura or instinct. It was often considered a sign of inexperience.
It was similar to what Morel had implied back when he first arrived in NGL and responded to Killua's comments about the overwhelming power he felt from Neferpitou.
To Morel and many veteran Nen users, judging a Nen battle solely based on aura quantity was foolish. Anything could happen in a Nen fight. Constantly making intelligent decisions and building the right strategy was what truly mattered.
Of course, back then, Morel had not yet directly encountered the Royal Guards or understood just how monstrous and terrifying their aura truly was.
Knov had practically become unable to fight after coming into contact with Pouf's En without protecting himself with Nen, collapsing under sheer fear and stress.
"In a Nen battle, judging the opponent solely by their aura and quantity is usually the wrong approach," Conrad said as he looked directly into Arteum's eyes.
"Of course, that doesn't mean such evaluations are always meaningless."
Arteum continued listening calmly without letting his ego interfere.
When Conrad had invited him, Arteum had stated that he was willing to consider joining, but his most important condition was fighting Conrad personally and seeing where he truly stood.
For Conrad, that had been one of the best responses he could have received. At this point, there were perhaps fewer than ten Nen users alive who could defeat him in a true one-on-one Nen battle, especially among humans.
"If you're ready, let's begin," Conrad said as he lightly picked up his cane, spinning it a few times before smiling.
Arteum simply nodded slightly. After taking a deep breath, powerful Nen began wrapping around his body, and only a second later, he shifted from Ten into Ren before whispering,
"Veto Point: Absolute Enforcement."
The moment he whispered those words, a simple tube made entirely out of Nen began forming in his hand. It was roughly 1.5 meters long and about three centimeters wide.
It did not resemble anything other than a Nen tube. If Arteum had not whispered the activation phrase, from the outside it would have simply looked like an emitter shaping an aura into the form of a tube.
Since Conrad had not officially invited him into the group yet and Arteum was not yet a member, he knew nothing about the group's conditions. Because of that, Conrad realized this was also a good opportunity for him to enjoy himself a little.
"Let's see what you can do," Conrad thought.
A second later, Arteum suddenly began running rapidly, tracing circular geometric patterns as he moved.
Conrad carefully observed every single movement.
His superiority in Nen control and aura quantity was so overwhelming that if he became serious, he could simply crush most opponents with brute force. But there was no point in doing that right now.
After three or four seconds, Arteum exhaled lightly, and the aura around his free left hand suddenly intensified, almost as if he were using Gyo.
"Hm..."
"Not bad at all," Conrad commented internally. He could already understand exactly what Arteum was trying to do.
While Arteum controlled the "tube" with his right hand, he was simultaneously using Gyo with his left hand to form the projectile that needed to be created. In that sense, the method resembled Anisa's fighting style quite a bit.
Conrad chose not to interfere, wanting to fully understand the ability first.
Three seconds later, a bullet formed in Arteum's left hand.
"My target... is you," Arteum said.
Conrad calmly took a single step forward.
Arteum quickly inserted the bullet into the tube and immediately aimed it directly at Conrad.
"How many of my conditions did you figure out?" he asked.
Conrad smiled.
"First of all, one of your limitations is that after activating your ability, you can only hold the tube in your right hand, while the bullets can only be created with your left hand. Even though it almost looks like you're using conjuration to create the bullets, it's more accurate to describe it as emission rather than creation."
"You're not randomly running around either. You're forming geometric symbols and patterns. Creating those symbols is likely one of the conditions you must fulfill before selecting your target, almost like a ritual or dance."
"And after completing that condition, you declared, 'My target is you.' That statement was unnecessary. We both already knew that."
"That means your second condition is probably making the target aware that they have been designated as your target, or at the very least clearly declaring it to yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't make for a very practical sniper."
After listening to everything, Arteum grinned in genuine amusement.
"You really are an impressive man, Conrad," he said.
Conrad laughed at this comment and nodded.
"Enough talk."
"Show me the power of your bullet; of course it would be best if you were not targeting to kill me with it."
"Not that you could..." Conrad added.
Arteum nodded at the words of Conrad and then crouched down for a moment.
"Hmmm."
"So, he needs to stop movement and crouch to fire the bullet..."
"All these conditions are hard to fulfill when encountering a proactive enemy; it is really true that he is a 'sniper' that targets enemies long-range instead of trying to fulfill his conditions in front of the enemies," Conrad thought.