Of the three Nen abilities Ronnel acquired, two were already known:
[Beelzebub] and [Body Reconstruction], the latter having been used in his battle against the Ant King.
These two required no further introduction, as their practicality was undeniable.
Especially [Body Reconstruction]—when combined with [Doctor Blythe], it made Ronnel feel as if there was no wound in existence that he couldn't heal.
Of course, this applied only to himself. Healing others was another matter entirely.
And with these two Nen abilities, altering his own appearance became trivial. He could also enhance his physical abilities at will, much like a secondary-level enhancement. The benefits were endless.
Shaiapouf's [Spiritual Message] was out of reach—since the ability required scale powder and wings, neither of which Ronnel possessed.
Similarly, Yupi's abilities yielded little. Aside from raw aura, there was only a single light cluster to extract—hardly impressive.
This was all he had gained from the Royal Guards. But now came the real prize: the Ant King, Meruem.
As the strongest Chimera Ant, Meruem was already formidable. But after consuming the Royal Guards, he had become something even greater. Ronnel couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.
And when he checked—he found something unprecedented.
Six light clusters.
This had never happened before.
From Jed, from the Bone King—he had extracted at most five.
And now? Six.
Considering that Ronnel's power and body had no major weaknesses at this point, it was clear—whatever was hidden in these light clusters was going to be invaluable.
The spoils of this battle were beyond measure.
Among the six, the first was the usual—a pure cluster of aura. But the sheer volume of it was staggering.
Ronnel had never seen a Nen cluster of this magnitude before.
"He truly was the Ant King," he thought. Even the residual aura Meruem left behind dwarfed that of any other opponent.
With a sigh, Ronnel pressed his hand against his forehead.
Right now, with his current power—and this immense boost of aura—he was without equal across all six continents.
There was no "second place."
If someone claimed to be second-strongest, the gap between them and Ronnel would be unfathomable.
Then, he turned to the next five light clusters.
"Acquired Nen: [Aura Synthesis]""Acquired Ability: [Photon]""Acquired Ability: [Metamorphosis]""Acquired Talent: [Heavenly Posture]""Acquired Talent: [Reproductive Adaptability]"
[Aura Synthesis] was Meruem's original ability—allowing him to consume the flesh of Nen users to absorb their aura and abilities.
With this, Ronnel could steal abilities without killing his targets.
Of course, there were limits. The success rate wasn't guaranteed. Some abilities wouldn't transfer at all.
But with [Aura Synthesis], Ronnel could take whatever ability he wanted—so long as he had even a drop of his target's blood.
Human flesh? That wasn't necessary.
Just a single drop of blood would be enough.
Which meant… even without killing members of the Phantom Troupe, he could still take their abilities.
However, there were still unknown variables. Surely, the amount consumed would affect the outcome.
Would consuming an entire body yield a stronger enhancement than just drinking a drop of blood?
That would require extensive testing.
If a single drop was enough—great.
If not, and larger amounts were required...
Well. He'd cross that bridge when he got there.
The second ability—[Photon]—was intriguing.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this version of En was highly unique.
Unlike a standard Circle, it could be dispersed into fine particles, allowing Ronnel to read the emotions of anyone within its range.
A highly useful ability.
The third ability—[Metamorphosis]—was a fusion of Meruem's biology and Yupi's [Metamorphosis].
Yupi's body contained too many non-human genetic factors, which was likely why Ronnel had found nothing useful from him before.
Even Meruem, after absorbing Yupi, could only apply mutations in specific areas of his body.
Like… growing wings.
Now, Ronnel had that same power.
Without hesitation, he activated the ability.
With a sharp sound, a pair of dark purple, insect-like wings sprouted from his back.
"Not bad."
Now, he could fly freely—even in broad daylight—without relying on [Star Moon Night Walker].
And more importantly, his hands remained free.
He tested a few more mutations before turning his attention to the final two clusters—both of which contained innate talents rather than Nen abilities.
In the past, he had acquired talents like martial prowess, enhanced speed, and advanced perception. But ever since perfecting those, new talents had become increasingly rare.
Yet now, Meruem had given him two at once.
[Heavenly Posture]
No matter the skill, discipline, or game—this talent granted extraordinary learning capabilities.
So long as Ronnel could observe, understand, and internalize the rules, he would master them at an unmatched pace.
His eyes widened slightly as he processed this.
A talent for learning anything—to its absolute peak?
"The Ant King truly was nature's chosen."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)