Boom—
A rock over a meter high exploded with a roar, turning into fragments scattered on the ground, creating a continuous sound.
Moro looked at the rock shattered by a Fly-star attack, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Just by leveling up from Lv2 to Lv5, the power of Fly-star had increased by approximately 10%.
This was unexpected, and could be considered a pleasant surprise.
Moro retracted his Nen, thinking of the Nen ability user's fireplace ability from last night.
Converting damage into fuel that enhances one's own power, this type of ability is more difficult than simply transferring damage; it must bear at least two restrictions.
For example, the upper limit of damage that can be absorbed is definitely weaker than one's own defensive strength.
Based on this point—
Moro believed that with his current Lv5 performance, if he were to face that Nen ability user from last night again, he definitely wouldn't need to worry about the damage being absorbed.
This was the absolute advantage brought by manifesting his aura.
As his thoughts churned, Moro couldn't help but look at the annual ring tattoo on the back of his hand, his mood momentarily complex.
After dying and being reborn, he possessed Nen abilities that allowed him to take the initiative at this point in time, then stood at a new crossroads of fate.
How to choose a path, there was no need to overthink it.
Although he was very grateful for Mo Liana's initial rescue and subsequent unreserved help, he absolutely could not accept the goal of killing all humans and destroying the world.
Thus, he decided to no longer cross paths with Mo Liana.
However, when he directly felt the benefits brought by leveling up several times, Mo Liana's image inevitably surfaced in his mind.
Moro was unclear about the origin of the annual ring tattoo, but this leveling-up ability must have originated from Mo Liana's ability before his rebirth.
It remained in the world after his rebirth, like a brand on his soul.
Moro sighed softly.
If only—
There was no "if only."
Different values meant they were destined not to walk the same path; in the future, they would inevitably only be strangers.
Moro shook his head, no longer thinking of Mo Liana, and instead began to ponder the annual ring tattoo's leveling mechanism.
In the original "Love Etude" leveling conditions, killing an ordinary person granted one level, and killing a Nen ability user granted ten levels.
However, the annual ring tattoo was different; it couldn't be leveled up by killing ordinary people, and the level gained from killing Nen ability users would correspond to their strength.
A standard-level Nen ability user could only grant a one-level increase.
The difficulty of leveling up for both was completely on different scales.
But proportionally, the benefits after the annual ring tattoo leveled up were incomparable to the original "Love Etude."
Perhaps the difference between the two lay in—
The main purpose of the original "Love Etude" ability was proliferation, so the leveling difficulty was lower, allowing for quicker advancement to level one hundred, and then possessing the ability to develop another batch of subordinates.
The main purpose of the annual ring tattoo was individual enhancement, so the leveling difficulty was very high, and naturally, it would be difficult to reach level one hundred.
However, because the benefits of leveling up were very high, it also raised the level cap itself.
And judging from the raised cap, it could basically be confirmed that the further one leveled up, the higher the difficulty would be.
It's possible that in the end, only opponents like Netero could bring about a level increase.
Furthermore, even if he reached level one hundred, he probably wouldn't be able to develop a batch of subordinates.
Having figured out the general mechanism of the annual ring's leveling, Moro still held expectations for reaching Lv21.
Perhaps, like the original "Love Etude," when his level exceeded twenty, he would be able to awaken a Nen ability that suited his own needs.
If not, Moro wouldn't force it.
"I need to reach Lv21 as soon as possible…"
Moro rubbed the annual ring tattoo with his fingertips.
Regarding killing Feitan, he held the initiative, and all he had to bear was the urgency of time.
As for being ambushed last night, that was a real sense of crisis that had actively sought him out.
Although he already knew the power and motives behind the attackers, with his current strength, he obviously couldn't do whatever he wanted.
Even if he had the ability to kill Nolan right now, he wouldn't act immediately.
Because he had to consider the subsequent retaliation from the Ten Dons.
Therefore, what he needed to do was ensure that at the moment of action, he would possess the capital to eliminate the Ten Dons along with Nolan.
That's right.
After making the decision to kill Nolan, the Ten Dons were also included in Moro's calculations.
Buzzing—
The phone in his pocket vibrated gently, no longer a ringing call alert.
Moro took out his phone and pressed the answer button.
"Big Boss, there's new progress on the Phantom Troupe bounty matter."
Argo's voice came through the phone.
"Oh?"
Moro waited for her to continue.
Last night, he received relevant intelligence that Argo had compiled and sent.
The person named Clyde was indeed related to the blade Senra.
However, Moro didn't care much; in this incident, he had only acquired the blade and immediately resold it, unrelated to the wealthy man's murder.
The other piece of intelligence was the Phantom Troupe bounty that Argo was now mentioning.
She had already investigated the specific target of this bounty, which was the Troupe's member number 8.
Moreover, the bounty was open to multiple individuals, and so far, several people had accepted it.
If there was any new development in the intelligence, it was probably the Zoldyck family's involvement.
"I found out that the person who issued the bounty hired a Zoldyck family assassin with a hefty sum!"
Just as Moro had thought, Argo's new development was that Silva Zoldyck had taken on the assassination request.
"Mm, got it."
Moro said indifferently.
Argo asked curiously, "How come you don't seem surprised at all?"
"Should I be surprised then?"
"Uh…"
Argo was speechless for a moment.
Moro walked towards the off-road vehicle parked by the roadside in the wilderness, saying into his phone:
"Keep an eye out recently and see if you can find any movements of the Phantom Troupe. If there are no surprises, the Phantom Troupe will have a collective operation soon."
"Big Boss, where… where did you get this information?"
Argo made no attempt to hide the surprise in her tone.
She couldn't help but suspect that Moro might have secretly spent money to find someone new behind her back.
It wasn't about the money at all; she didn't care about that.
Mainly, this sense of distrust was a disregard for her intelligence gathering abilities.
Moro had no idea what Argo was thinking.
After getting into the driver's seat of the off-road vehicle, he casually said,
"You don't need to worry about that. Just contact me immediately once you find out their movements."
"Yes, understood!"
Argo responded playfully, then just as she was about to press for Moro's source of information, she heard the call disconnect.
Ah, that guy…
He hung up so decisively every time, as if he was going to be late for a date.
Argo stared at her phone with an expression like constipation.
On the seemingly endless road.
Moro drove the off-road vehicle, traveling along the straight road.
After last night's incident, he had shifted his focus to improving his strength, making it impossible to continue seeking opportunities in Yorknew City.
He was preparing to go to Heaven's Arena.
That place wasn't within the Gambino family's sphere of influence, making it much easier to deal with.
More importantly, it could enhance his own strength.
However, Moro had no intention of disguising himself or going by an alias.
Upon arriving at Heaven's Arena, he would openly show his face, thereby sending a message to Nolan:
Want to kill me?
Then come and get me.
Moro wanted to see—
Whether the people Nolan sent could kill him, or if those who couldn't defeat him would ultimately make him stronger!
(End of Chapter)
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