The end of this game duel came much faster than expected.
In the end, it was all because Ging had played himself.
If he had also randomly drawn a Nen Ability from the start...
Then no matter what level of Nen Ability he got, he can rely on 'free editing' to utilize its full combat potential.
In this case, even if Moses had managed to win this duel, it would definitely not be something that could be done in a short period of time.
"What's the standard condition for the game to end?"
Moses simply chose to ignore what Ging mentioned and instead asked about the conditions for ending the game.
Since the outcome of the duel was already decided, there was no point in dragging it out any further.
Ging lay sprawled on the ground in a starfish position, staring blankly at the dark, starless sky, and sighed: "The ending condition for a character-versus-character game is to deplete the opponent's HP."
"What the hell? Are you kidding me?"
Moses was immediately shocked when he heard this.
HP stands for health points.
'Then, according to what Ging said, doesn't it mean that the game can only end by killing him?'
"I'm not joking. This is common knowledge for side-scrolling fighting games."
Ging's tone suddenly became extremely serious.
His reaction made it seem like this was a fight to the death, with either you die, or I die.
Moses frowned, realizing that Ging didn't seem to be joking.
Moreover, depleting the opponent's HP was indeed the victory condition for side-scrolling fighting games.
'No-'
'There is another factor that determines victory or defeat.'
'And that was-'
'Time.'
'Every side-scrolling fighting game had a time limit for each round.'
'If the time ran out before a winner was decided, the player with the higher remaining HP would win.'
'This guy Ging is really…'
Moses's frown eased as he felt a deep sense of speechlessness.
He strode over to Ging's side, then looked down at Ging's half-swollen face. He could see the other party's serious and fearless expression, and asked unhappily:
"Side-scrolling fighting games usually have round time limits of 1 to 2 minutes. So, what's the time limit for this game of yours?"
"Ah, I thought I could trick you for a second there."
The look of determination on Ging's face instantly vanished, replaced by a lazy, carefree expression.
Moses rolled his eyes and reminded him: "A loser should have the awareness of a loser. Spit it out."
"The time limit is twelve hours."
"Twelve hours?!"
"Yeah."
"Are you messing with me?"
"No. From the moment I accepted the special mission, I was seriously thinking about how to checkmate you from the very start."
"…"
Moses fell silent for a moment, then stared at Ging with a murderous gaze.
However, Ging's performance at this moment is just like his title of 'Pig' in the Zodiacs, with his face so thick that it is invulnerable to swords and guns.
"There is also a common sense in side-scrolling fighting games, which is to define the scope of the map. So, if you get what I..."
Ging glanced upward at Moses and said in a tone of desperation: "You should deplete my HP."
In other words, if Moses didn't reduce Ging's HP to zero, he'd have to wait twelve full hours within the map boundary.
By that time, Netero's duel would have long been over.
"Ging, there are so many people in the Association who call you a bastard, and it's not without reason."
Moses shook his head. Of course, he couldn't just kill Ging here, but he also wasn't going to waste twelve hours waiting.
"Besides, have you forgotten that I can exorcise Nen?"
"…"
Ging's eyelids twitched slightly and he pretended to be puzzled, "Didn't you always say you're not a Nen Exorcist?"
"I'm indeed not a Nen exorcist, but that doesn't mean I can't exorcise Nen."
"Alright, you win."
Ging let out a weak sigh.
In fact, his earlier claim about 'checkmating' Moses from the start had nothing to do with the twelve-hour game mechanic.
Winning the game duel had been his goal from the very beginning.
Because-
The player who lost the game duel would be forced into a seven-day Zetsu state as punishment.
But now, Ging lost.
And Moses is not someone who is so easily fooled.
So, from the results alone, the chance of completing the special mission was practically zero.
Seeing that Ging had admitted complete defeat but still hadn't lifted the Nen Ability's effect, Moses realized that what Ging had said about the game mechanics was true.
The character battle game would only end when the opponent's HP was depleted or when the time limit was reached.
'If I didn't know how to exorcise Nen, he really might have fallen for Ging's scheme.'
Thinking of this, Moses shook his head again, then turned and walked towards the park's entrance.
If he really encountered the game's map boundary, he'd just use his Nen Exorcism chance to break free.
There was no other way. After all, he can't really kill Ging.
'Wait… Ging knew from the start that I could exorcist Nen.'
'So there was no scheme to begin with.'
'Then why did Ging go through all this trouble?'
'Was it just to block off both paths of killing him or waiting twelve hours, and leave only the Nen Exorcism option?
Moses suddenly sensed something was off and abruptly stopped walking.
Ging, who had been secretly observing, felt a sudden premonition of danger when Moses stopped.
'I'm just a lazy bum. I'll keep staring blankly at the sky like this.'
Ging immediately hypnotized himself in his mind and pretended to look at the sky blankly.
Moses glanced back at Ging's completely resigned, give-up-on-life attitude and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I suddenly find myself curious about something..."
Staring at Ging's face, Moses said indifferently, "If I use my Nen Exorcism Ability to dispel the effects of [Ready Player One], will that bring you some kind of benefit?"
"…"
Ging didn't say anything, but just tilted his head with some effort and looked at Moses with a puzzled expression.
That gaze seemed to say: "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Ging, I didn't realize you were such a schemer."
Moses shook his head helplessly, and said with drooping eyelids: "Then let me put it another way. Does the loser of the game duel have to suffer some kind of penalty?"
"Yes."
Ging admitted it straightforwardly.
Seeing this, Moses let out a long sigh and roughly understood what was going on.
If he used his Nen Exorcism Ability to dispel the entire effect before the game duel officially ended, then as the loser, Ging will naturally not have to accept the penalty for failure.
This is probably the fundamental reason why Ging used words to guide Moses to exorcise his Nen Ability.
Moreover, given Ging's usual way of doing things, he probably hadn't lied about the game mechanics. It's just that if Moses doesn't ask about some things, Ging won't say them on his own initiative.
Just like when Moses had asked about the penalty mechanism, Ging had answered honestly, but if Moses hadn't been asked, Ging wouldn't have said it on his own initiative.
With this in mind, Moses carefully recalled their earlier conversation.
'Depleting HP. This was the first concept Ging planted in the conversation, which made me mistakenly believe that the game could only end after I killed him...'
'In fact, it is possible to end the game by clearing the opponent's HP, but the clearing of HP here refers to clearing the HP in the game, not in reality.'
'In other words, it is possible to reduce HP to zero without actually killing your opponent.'
'This bastard Ging... he never stops scheming for a second.'
Having sorted it all out, Moses was completely speechless.