After the battle ended, Conrad stayed in his room and rested. His body recovered faster than his thoughts.
While lying on the bed and later sitting by the table, he kept replaying the fight in his mind.
This battle confirmed something important.
He had won, yes, but not as cleanly as he would have liked to win.
The ring that struck him had not carried any special Nen effect, yet it still hurt enough to knock him down.
If that hit had carried paralysis, poison, forced Zetsu, or any form of restriction, the fight could have ended right there.
Of course, Forced Zetsu would be too much, but still, his point stands.
Speed and planning would not matter if his body failed him in a single moment.
"That was unacceptable." Conrad said to himself.
"It seems that I need to start preparing for a third Nen ability," Conrad muttered, "before I go on to take more people."
He did not like relying on luck.
Offense and utility were now covered well enough with the orbs, but defense was still handled with advanced nen application.
Of course, if he was an ordinary Nen user with one or two hatsu, if he had upmost potential, that would be the norm.
But. Conrad knew that he was not ordinary, and he should have covered all the parts that he was lacking and kept on building hatsu that was worth it for him.
That was not enough anymore.
With this thought in mind, Conrad stood up and began pacing slowly across the room.
He was not rushing. Designing a Nen ability was not something to do carelessly, especially one meant to keep him alive.
"Now that I'm sure of it," he said quietly, "I need to decide what kind of defensive ability suits me."
First, he ruled things out.
A heavy, active shield that required constant attention was bad.
Something like a large Nen wall or barrier that needed direct control would clash with his fighting style.
He already managed multiple orbs and analysis in combat.
Adding another high-maintenance system would overload him.
Second, he rejected abilities with extreme conditions.
Sacrifices like self-harm, forced immobility, or delayed activation were not worth it. A defensive ability must be reliable at the worst possible moment, not something that worked only when circumstances aligned.
That left him with one clear direction.
"It would be best if it's passive," Conrad thought, "similar to Black Ring."
Black Ring—State of Calm
It did not require complex actions.
It did not distract him.
A defensive ability should do the same.
"Easy to use,"
He stopped to look at the mirror for a moment and then put his hands on his body in the mirror.
His reflection stared back at him faintly through the mirror.
Defense, in his case, did not need to be absolute.
He was not trying to become invincible.
He only needed something that reduced risk, something that turned fatal mistakes into survivable ones.
"If I take a hit," he thought, "I want to know I won't instantly lose."
The idea of stacking conditions began forming naturally.
"In this ability," he reasoned, "I might stack small conditions instead of one big one."
"A big condition, not that active, and then small conditions to help it out."
Instead of a single, powerful restriction, he could use multiple light limitations that together created a stable passive defense.
That suited his personality.
He began listing possibilities in his head.
The ability could activate automatically when he was under attack.
Or it could respond only to direct physical contact.
Or maybe it worked best against surprise attacks, ambushes, or blind spots.
Another thought crossed his mind.
"A defensive ability doesn't have to block everything," he said quietly. "It just needs to block one or two attacks that would kill me otherwise."
He returned to his desk and sat down, opening his notebook.
"Maybe a Nen layer that reacts instead of resists," he thought.
Instead of stopping attacks outright, it could soften them, redirect force, or disperse aura.
A partial defense, but always active.
He considered his Nen category.
As a manipulator with strong emission proficiency, he needed something that stayed within that framework.
Conjuration-based armor or complex constructs would stretch him thin and weaken the ability overall.
"That's not my path," he decided.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
A passive defensive Nen ability.
Low activation cost.
No extreme vows.
Stacked small conditions.
Always present once active.
Does not interfere with offense or orb control.
Those were his rules.
Conrad said. "I need insurance-type of defense for the start."
"If I need simple defenses in active combat, I can create them later in the future."
"For the time being, I should be cautious against ambushes, assassinations, and one-hit kills."
"All the power and potential I have could end if I get targeted by a high-level assassin that prepares to kill me."
"A stray bullet..."
Conrad did not want to die in vain at all.
This ability would not be rushed.
He would spend days, maybe weeks, testing concepts before committing.
But the direction was clear now.
And once that foundation was complete, Conrad knew he would be able to walk into far more dangerous battles without hesitation.