Arteum steadied his breathing and slowly adjusted his stance.
The atmosphere around him became noticeably heavier as his aura condensed around his body in a far more focused manner than before.
After taking a deep breath, he quietly whispered,
"Veto."
The moment Conrad heard the word, his eyes sharpened slightly.
There was no possibility of misunderstanding the implication behind that name.
"Veto Power."
A concept tied to rejection, cancellation, and absolute denial. The complete nullification of a decision or action.
Just from the name alone, Conrad could already tell that Arteum's ability was not a straightforward destructive technique. It likely possessed a conceptual structure behind it, one built around conditions and rules rather than pure explosive force.
The instant Arteum finished whispering, the Nen bullet shot through the inside of the Tube with terrifying speed.
A sharp sound exploded throughout the training room.
The projectile accelerated like a streak of compressed light and headed directly toward Conrad.
Its speed was absurd.
Far beyond the velocity of ordinary firearms.
Even experienced Nen users would struggle to react to such a projectile without preparation.
If Conrad had not already known he was the designated target beforehand, avoiding an attack like that would have required his En to actively warn him in advance. At the very least, the bullet would have needed to enter the territory covered by Obelisk for him to comfortably respond.
Yet Conrad remained completely calm.
At the final possible moment, he simply shifted his body.
One small step backward.
One slight movement toward the left.
That was all.
The bullet passed beside him cleanly.
It continued forward and struck the reinforced wall behind him. However, instead of causing destruction, piercing through the structure, or exploding outward, the projectile vanished instantly upon impact as though it had never existed in the first place.
"Hmmm..." Conrad murmured quietly.
"It doesn't produce destructive force against the environment."
"That means the attack itself is fundamentally linked to a selected target."
"The fact that it affects nobody except the chosen target... even excluding the surroundings entirely... changes the nature of the ability quite a bit."
Conrad's understanding of the ability deepened almost immediately.
Meanwhile, Arteum stood frozen.
Shock filled his eyes.
For nearly two entire seconds, his mind completely blanked out.
This was the first time in his life that someone had successfully dodged his bullet after he had completed all of his required conditions.
Conrad could practically read the thoughts moving through Arteum's head.
If their positions had been reversed, even Conrad would have been surprised.
"There's no need to look so shocked," Conrad said calmly.
Arteum frowned slightly and stared directly into Conrad's eyes. He remained silent, but his expression clearly demanded an explanation.
Under normal circumstances, Conrad would never bother explaining anything to an opponent.
But right now, this was a form of evaluation.
More importantly, he wanted to leave an impression.
"Conditions and limitations," Conrad began calmly, "function as leverage."
"They amplify a person's existing raw power."
"Physical strength."
"Speed."
"Aura quantity."
"Reaction speed."
"Destructive force."
"You already know this, right?"
Arteum nodded immediately.
Any experienced Nen user understood that fundamental principle.
Conrad smiled slightly.
"And yet, despite all those conditions, I still dodged your attack."
"That only means one thing."
"The amplification granted by your conditions and limitations was not enough to surpass my raw capability."
Arteum's expression darkened slightly as he listened.
Conrad raised a finger.
"If you want, we can stop treating this like a normal sparring session."
"And instead turn this into an actual lesson."
Arteum remained silent for several seconds.
At this point, he understood something very clearly.
Continuing a simple exchange against Conrad no longer held much meaning.
"If someone can dodge my Nen ability even after I complete all my conditions..." Arteum thought quietly, "then there's barely any point in fighting."
Conrad looked directly into Arteum's eyes before speaking again.
"First, let me ask you something simple."
"When you created your ability..."
"Did you focus your conditions on guaranteeing that the bullet lands?"
"Or did you focus them on maximizing the effects after impact?"
The instant those words entered Arteum's ears, his heartbeat accelerated.
Only two seconds later, sweat began running down the side of his forehead.
"My conditions..." he muttered slowly.
"Are they tied to the result... rather than the process itself?"
Conrad grinned.
"Bingo."
"The bullet you create."
"The speed."
"The force."
"The effect you want it to produce after impact."
"All of those things are heavily amplified through your conditions and limitations."
"But none of your conditions actually guarantee the bullet will reach the target."
"Nor do they significantly increase the probability of landing the hit."
"That's why your mind immediately asks, 'I completed all my conditions, so why didn't it hit?'"
"But the answer is simple."
"The chain of rules and actions created by your conditions only affects what happens after impact."
"They do not affect the certainty of impact itself."
Arteum's breathing slowed.
His mind rapidly replayed every battle he had experienced until now.
Every successful shot.
And for the first time, he realized something terrifying.
Most of them had simply never been strong enough to expose the flaw in his ability.
Conrad continued calmly.
"You've never encountered a Nen user with enough raw speed and overwhelming physical ability to reveal this weakness."
"That's why you unconsciously fell into an illusion."
"And once you believed in that illusion long enough, you trapped yourself inside it."
The words struck Arteum heavily.
Within seconds, the aura around him began fading away.
His Tube disappeared.
His battle stance relaxed completely as he returned to his normal cold and calm demeanor.
"…Yeah," Arteum admitted quietly.
"I really didn't expect that."
Conrad spread his hands slightly.
"Most people don't expect these things."
"Especially in Nen battles."
"People rarely die because of the situations they prepared themselves for."
"They die because of possibilities they never even imagined."
Conrad's eyes sharpened slightly as he continued.
"If you and I were actual enemies right now, you would have already realized that your Nen ability doesn't work against me."
"And the moment you realized that…"
"You would immediately understand that your only remaining option is direct physical combat."
"But at the same time, you'd also realize that defeating me physically is nearly impossible for you."
"And once both of those realizations settle into your mind…"
"The battle is already over."