'I originally wanted to use the game mechanics to catch him off guard...'
'But instead, I ended up digging my own grave.'
As his body was sent flying backward, Ging thought to himself.
One misstep led to a series of mistakes.
That was exactly his current situation.
And now, his biggest problem was...
Moses clearly wouldn't let him easily receive the random skill reward.
So he had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Under the premise of lacking Nen Ability, he had to find a way to create an opportunity in this confrontation.
Otherwise, he'd just keep getting suppressed and was forced to swallow the bitter consequences of his initial refusal to accept the random skill reward.
As his thoughts raced, Ging adjusted his posture mid-air and landed steadily on the ground.
There was a burning pain in his cheek, it was probably swollen.
Ging paid little attention to the injury on his face and instead looked toward Moses in the distance, replaying their earlier exchange in his mind.
He had originally adapted to the negative effects brought by Ring Chime, but Moses's decision to deactivate the ability outright nullified the results of his hard-earned adaptation.
This brilliantly executed move left him no choice but to take the hit.
If not for his experience and solid basic skills...
That single strike could have ended the fight right then and there.
"The activation condition for the ability is 'sound,' right…?"
Ging casually tore off a piece of cloth and stuffed it into his ears.
He saw that the conjured object Moses used relied on sound to trigger its effect. Therefore, blocking his hearing should nullify the ability's influence on him.
In order to enhance the effectiveness of the makeshift earplugs, Ging even wrapped a small amount of Aura around the cloth.
For someone like him, such a precise and minor manipulation was as easy as drinking water.
However, whether plugging his ears would completely block Ring Chime's ability remained to be tested.
Seeing Ging's action of stuffing his ears with cloth, Moses wasn't particularly surprised.
In terms of ability strength, Ring Chime can only have a disruptive effect at most.
But it couldn't be denied that the activation condition for this ability was extremely simple.
And as a trade-off under the influence of Vows and Restrictions, the conditions to counter the ability would also be straightforward.
Plugging one's ears was one such method.
In Nen Battles, most of the time, there was no room for trial and error.
But for an ability like Ring Chime, which lacked direct lethality, it naturally gave the opponent plenty of chances to experiment.
So, even if the 'earplugging' method didn't work, Ging wouldn't suffer any substantial damage.
That was the luxury of trial and error.
'What a shame…'
Moses sighed inwardly.
The punch he had landed on Ging earlier might have been his only chance to decisively end the fight.
But this battle wasn't a life-or-death struggle after all.
Therefore, he couldn't possibly aim for Ging's vital points and go for the kill even when he had the opportunity.
It's this kind of ideological constraint that gave Ging an invisible opportunity to breathe.
And Ging is one of the world's top five Nen Users, so it goes without saying that he is very capable of seizing opportunities.
As a result, the payoff from that punch wasn't as high as he had hoped.
Moreover, after missing that opportunity, the three-strike nature of Ring Chime was inevitably exposed.
If three strikes couldn't finish the opponent…
Then its combat value would plummet afterward.
'My current Conjuration Conversion Rate is 96%... There might still be room for further adjustments, but given the current situation, it's better to hold back on using Ring Chime for now."
Moses's thoughts moved swiftly as he kept his gaze locked onto Ging, choosing not to conjure the Ring Chime.
It wasn't that he believed Ring Chime had lost all combat value, rather, he was deliberately withholding it.
In this way, Ging wouldn't be able to verify whether 'plugging his ears' could suppress the Ring Chime's ability.
In other words-
Ging wanted to try and make mistakes.
But Moses refused to give him the chance to make mistakes.
As long as this dynamic persisted, Ging would have to remain in his current state of hearing loss.
For Moses, this outcome was a slight advantage at the very least.
But it still wasn't enough…
Moses suddenly smirked, and then condensed a small Nen Sphere at his fingertip.
Seeing Moses's actions, Ging's brows twitched slightly.
The next moment-
Ging saw Moses shooting Nen Spheres at the surrounding streetlights.
When these Nen Spheres hit a Nen User, it's just a tickle at best, but it's already more than enough to destroy street lights.
With a series of shattering sounds, the surrounding light sources were obliterated by Moses.
The vast plaza was instantly plunged into darkness, with only the flame-like Aura representing the random skill reward still blazing conspicuously.
'Damn, this guy…'
Seeing Moses destroy the surrounding lights, Ging immediately understood his intention.
This was a blatant refusal to let him verify anything, while also amplifying the disadvantages of his 'plugged ears' in the darkness.
And all these targeted maneuvers stemmed solely from him tearing off a piece of cloth to pluck his ears...
But Ging is very experienced and is not affected at all.
After all, in the world of Nen, many Nen Users are associated with the word 'shrewd'.
Compared to this, the truly frustrating ones were those associated with the word 'sinister'.
'I need to find a way to receive that skill reward… Otherwise, there's no chance of winning.'
Ging's eyes quickly swept across the flame-like Aura, that was still a long distance away from him.
His Nen Ability, Ready Player One-
If the opponent invited was inferior to Ging in terms of Nen techniques and overall combat ability, then Ging's chances of winning are an absolute 100%.
Even against opponents of similar skill, Ging's deep understanding of the Nen System would push his odds infinitely close to 100%.
That was Ging's greatest strength.
But if the opponent was someone like Moses, a monster with overwhelming raw power and an equally profound grasp of the Nen System-
Then relying solely on comprehensive skill wouldn't be enough to secure victory.
Luck-
Had become the more critical factor instead.
Therefore, with all other aspects working against him, the only thing Ging could pin his hopes on was the unknown Nen Ability hidden within that flame-like Aura.
Only by drawing a reliable Nen Ability would he have a chance to turn the tables.
Therefore, for Ging, receiving the skill reward was the top priority at this moment.
Conversely, Moses was well aware that he couldn't let Ging claim that reward.
After all, there was no guarantee Ging wouldn't pull out some overpowered ability.
If Ging randomly drew a strong Manipulation-Type Ability, the situation could become dire in an instant.
Ging had said that the randomness is the most interesting aspect of Ready Player One.
Moses agreed with this statement.
It is indeed interesting to apply randomness to abilities, as it is hard to predict whether a delicious candy or a pile of hot shit will appear in the next second.
But in some cases, randomness also represented unknown risks.
Moses had no intention of gambling on luck, so his goal was simple, which is to strangle those unknown risks in the cradle.