Conrad said he would be there tomorrow, but that did not mean his day was over.
Before anything else, he wanted to properly test Twin Orb's Aura Blast Orb.
To do that, he needed a suitable location.
Somewhere he would not need to worry about destroying the surroundings.
"A forest should work."
"If I accidentally start a fire, I can put it out."
A small smile appeared on his face as he left the training facility.
He took a bus from the outskirts of York New City and traveled for roughly four hours before arriving at a small town. From there, he entered the forest behind it.
After moving deep enough into the wilderness, he whispered,
"Twin Orb."
The moment he spoke, White Death and Aura Blast Orb appeared beside him.
He noticed that activating the ability consumed a small amount of Nen each time, but he had already accepted that cost.
Focusing on Aura Blast Orb, he walked forward until he found a suitable target.
A large boulder stood ahead.
He sent the orb toward it.
When the orb reached a point roughly five meters from the rock, it detonated in a cone-shaped explosion.
"BOOM!"
The blast shattered the gray boulder instantly.
The rock had been nearly three meters tall and four meters wide.
After the explosion, only tiny fragments remained. Most pieces were less than a centimeter in size. The boulder had effectively been reduced to dust.
"This explosion..."
"It is at least three or four times stronger than the Super Bazooka that Uvogin blocked with Ren."
Conrad examined the results carefully.
"If Uvogin took this attack from five meters away, he would suffer moderate injuries."
"If he were prepared and within two meters, it would still be enough to kill him."
"As for the Royal Guards, only Neferpitou and Youpi could survive it without dying. Even then, they would receive noticeable injuries."
Conrad had not come all this way for a single test.
As he thought about his next experiment, the words of the old Kurta Clan leader resurfaced in his mind.
"Hmm..."
"Speaking of the old man, I should remember to pass his message to Kurapika."
He mentally called Aura Blast Orb back and caught it in his hand.
Although it was a conjured object, it still possessed physical form.
Without that weakness, destroying it would have been nearly impossible.
Holding the orb, Conrad smiled.
"What happens if I pour additional Nen into the Aura Blast Orb before firing it?"
The idea immediately interested him.
He began channeling aura into the orb.
At first, he transferred only a small amount.
Then he pushed further.
Eventually, he managed to store roughly one percent of his total Nen reserves inside it.
When he attempted to add more, the process stopped.
No matter what he tried, the orb refused additional energy.
"So the current conditions allow it to accept approximately one percent of my total nen."
"If I reduced the daily usage limit from seven shots to five, I could probably increase the storage capacity to two or three percent."
"But there is no need for that right now."
Using En, he searched the surrounding area.
Soon, he found another suitable target.
This time, the rock was larger.
Roughly four meters tall and four meters thick.
He sent the Aura Blast Orb toward it.
When it reached five meters from the target, he gave the command.
"Boom."
The resulting explosion was significantly larger.
Birds scattered from nearby trees.
Small animals fled in every direction.
The blast completely erased the boulder.
Nothing recognizable remained.
Some fragments had melted into glowing material.
The heat generated by the detonation briefly raised the surrounding temperature.
Dust filled the area.
Conrad observed the destruction for several moments before speaking.
"It is extremely powerful because it focuses entirely on explosive force."
"The range is limited."
"But almost nobody could directly withstand this blast at five meters using Nen alone."
"Among humans, the number is practically zero."
"Only the Royal Guards and Meruem could survive it."
"The Royal Guards would suffer moderate injuries."
"Meruem would probably receive only light damage."
"As for Uvogin, distance would not matter."
"He dies."
Conrad slowly nodded.
The test had confirmed several assumptions.
"Aura Blast consumes its internal aura whenever it detonates."
"If I have supplied additional Nen, it uses that energy first."
"If I haven't, it relies entirely on its own reserves."
"The first three explosions are the strongest."
"After the fourth shot, power drops by roughly thirty percent."
"After the fifth, the reduction reaches around sixty percent."
"By the seventh shot, the explosion is only one-third as powerful as the first."
He immediately understood what that meant.
"Supplying extra aura acts like an additional condition."
"It technically isn't a condition."
"But it requires extra effort and preparation."
"My subconscious interprets it the same way."
"That increases the effectiveness."
Conrad smiled.
"The same principle should apply to White Death."
"If I transfer Nen into it beforehand, its range and penetration should increase significantly."
"It would become even more effective against durable opponents."
After looking around one final time, Conrad decided the testing session was complete.
Without wasting any more time, he returned to Yorknew City.
After arriving at the hotel, he took a shower and sat down at his desk.
Before entering Hunter Association Headquarters tomorrow, there were preparations he wanted to complete.
"I should create two Ancient Script papers."
"One defensive."
"One focused on escape."
Conrad began considering possible designs.
"If things don't go the way I want, I may need a way to retreat."
"Against someone like Netero, preparation is essential."
That did not mean he intended to start a fight.
Far from it.
Attacking Isaac Netero would be complete stupidity.
Conrad had no intention of doing something that reckless.
Still, there was nothing wrong with preparing for unexpected outcomes.
He was strong.
Strong enough to handle most situations he encountered.
But Netero existed on an entirely different level.
A direct fight against the chairman of the Hunter Association was not something Conrad could win at this stage; it would be suicide.
Because of that, he focused on practical preparations instead.
Simply to ensure that if the situation became dangerous, he would still have options available.
With that decision made, Conrad pulled out several sheets of paper, uncapped his pen, and began planning the two Ancient Scripts he would carry with him the following day.