Chapter 23: Relocation

Boom—

A rock over a meter high exploded, shattering into fragments that scattered across the ground with a continuous clatter.

Moro watched the rock, pulverized by a single "Flying Star" strike, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Simply rising from Level 2 to Level 5 had increased the power of Flying Star by approximately 10%. This was beyond his expectations and could be called a pleasant surprise.

Moro retracted his Nen aura, his thoughts drifting to the Nen user’s "fireplace" ability from the previous night. Turning damage into fuel to enhance one's own power—that type of ability is far more difficult than merely redirecting damage and must inevitably come with at least two restrictions. For instance, the maximum amount of damage that could be absorbed was surely lower than his own defensive threshold.

Based on this, Moro believed that with his current Level 5 output, if he were to face that Nen user again, he would certainly not need to worry about his damage being absorbed. This was the absolute advantage brought by sheer aura output.

As his thoughts churned, Moro couldn't help but look at the tree-ring tattoo on the back of his hand, his mood momentarily complex. After dying and being reborn, he possessed a Nen ability that granted him the initiative at this point in time, standing at a brand-new crossroads of destiny.

He did not need to ponder which path to choose. Although he was grateful for Morena’s initial salvation and her subsequent unreserved help, he absolutely could not accept her goal of killing all of humanity and destroying the world. Thus, he had decided to have no further dealings with her.

However, as he intuitively felt the benefits of jumping several levels, the image of Morena inevitably surfaced in his mind. Moro did not know the origin of the tree-ring tattoo, but this leveling ability must have originated from Morena’s ability before his rebirth. It remained in this world like a soul imprint. Therefore, on the road to Level 10, Level 20, Level 30, and beyond, he would likely think of her involuntarily.

Moro sighed softly. If only—there were no "if onlys."

With different values, they were destined to never walk the same path. In the future, they would inevitably be strangers.

Moro shook his head, pushing thoughts of Morena aside, and turned his focus to the upgrade mechanism of the tree-ring tattoo. The original "Love Letter" ability allowed one to level up by killing a normal person, while killing a Nen user granted ten levels. The tree-ring tattoo was different; it could not be leveled up by killing normal people, and the levels gained from killing Nen users varied according to their strength. A standard Nen user only provided a single level. The difficulty of leveling the two was in entirely different leagues.

Conversely, the benefits of upgrading the tree-ring tattoo were incomparable to the original "Love Letter." Perhaps the difference lay in the core of the abilities: the original "Love Letter" was designed for proliferation, hence the lower difficulty for rapid promotion to level one hundred, allowing the user to develop a network of subordinates. The tree-ring tattoo, however, was centered on individual enhancement; the difficulty of leveling was extremely high, making it naturally difficult to reach level one hundred.

However, because the benefits of leveling were so high, it pushed the level cap itself much higher. Judging from this raised cap, it was almost certain that the higher the level, the greater the difficulty. It was possible that, in the end, only opponents like Netero would be able to provide further level increases. Furthermore, even if he reached level one hundred, he would likely be unable to develop a network of subordinates.

Having grasped the general mechanism of the tree-ring upgrades, Moro still held expectations for reaching Level 21. Perhaps, like the original "Love Letter," he could awaken a Nen ability tailored to his own needs once he exceeded level twenty. If that were not the case, he would not force it.

"I must reach Level 21 as soon as possible..." Moro rubbed the tree-ring tattoo with his fingertip.

In the matter of killing Feitan, he held the initiative, and the only burden was the pressure of time. Last night’s ambush, however, was a genuine crisis that had come knocking on his door. Although he already knew the forces and motives behind the attacker, given his current strength, he obviously could not do whatever he wanted. Even if he had the power to kill Nolan right now, he would not act immediately. He had to account for the subsequent retaliation from the Ten Dons. Therefore, what he needed to do was ensure that the moment he struck, he had the capital to wipe out the Ten Dons as well.

That’s right. After making the decision to kill Nolan, Moro had also factored the Ten Dons into the equation.

Buzz—

The phone in his pocket vibrated gently; it was no longer a ringtone. Moro took out the phone and pressed the answer button.

"Big spender, there’s a new development regarding the Phantom Troupe bounty."

Alga's voice came through the phone.

"Oh?" Moro waited for her to continue.

He had received the intelligence Alga had compiled and sent over the previous night. The man named Clyde was indeed connected to the blade, Senra. However, Moro didn't care much about that; in this incident, he had merely purchased the blade and sold it immediately, having nothing to do with the wealthy man’s murder. The other piece of information was the Phantom Troupe bounty Alga was now mentioning. She had identified the specific target of the bounty: the Troupe's member number 8. The bounty was open to many, and so far, several people had accepted it. If there was any new progress in the intel, it was likely that the Zoldyck family was involved.

"I found out that the person who posted the bounty hired an assassin from the Zoldyck family with a massive sum of money!"

Just as Moro had suspected, the new development Alga mentioned was that Silva Zoldyck had accepted the assassination contract.

"Hmm, I see." Moro said coolly.

Alga asked, perplexed, "Why don't you seem surprised at all?"

"Should I be surprised?"

"Uh..." Alga was momentarily speechless.

As Moro walked toward the SUV parked on the side of the wilderness road, he spoke into the phone: "Pay more attention in the near future. See if you can track the movements of the Phantom Troupe. If there are no accidents, the Phantom Troupe will have a collective action soon."

"Big spender, where... did you get this information?" Alga did not hide the astonishment in her tone. She couldn't help but suspect that Moro might have been spending money behind her back to find a new source. It wasn't about the money; she didn't care about that at all. It was the lack of trust—a slight against her abilities as an intelligence broker.

Moro, unaware of what Alga was thinking, sat in the driver's seat of the SUV and said casually: "You don't need to worry about that. Just contact me immediately when you find their movements."

"Yes, understood!" Alga responded in a slightly playful tone. She was about to press him for his source, but heard the line go dead.

Ah, this guy... Every time he hangs up, it's as decisive as if he were about to be late for a date. Alga stared at her phone with an expression of constipation.

On the endless road, Moro drove the SUV, moving along the straight path. After last night's events, he shifted his focus to increasing his strength, making it impossible to continue scavenging for opportunities in Yorknew City. He planned to head to Heavens Arena. That place was outside the Gambino family's sphere of influence, making it much easier to handle. More importantly, it was a place where he could increase his own strength.

However, Moro had no intention of disguising himself or hiding his identity. Once he arrived at Heavens Arena, he would show his face openly, thereby conveying a message to Nolan:

You want to kill me? Then come.

Moro wanted to see—whether the people Nolan sent could kill him, or if the people who couldn't defeat him would ultimately make him stronger!