Cicada's Molt

Nen inscriptions were things similar to talismans or magic circles, inscribed with Nen.

They were usually used to assist Nen abilities and could also be used for amplification and sealing.

However, Nen inscriptions were obscure and difficult to learn, and the preparation involved was overly complicated and time-consuming. Few were willing to spend the time and effort to study them.

But once mastered, the combination of Nen inscriptions and Nen abilities could accomplish many things that would otherwise be impossible.

For example, the Greed Island game in the original story used a vast number of Nen inscriptions to expand the limits of various abilities, allowing it to conjure countless NPCs and objects with all kinds of special abilities within the range affected by the inscriptions.

Without Nen inscriptions, eleven Nen users alone would never have been able to create a game as massive as Greed Island. Even its daily maintenance and operation would have been difficult to manage.

It could be said that the release of Greed Island best demonstrated the value and effectiveness of Nen inscriptions.

Yet throughout the original plot, Nen inscriptions had an extremely weak presence, and their usage was barely ever seen.

This showed that very few Nen users were willing to learn Nen inscriptions.

Or perhaps factors such as the transmission of knowledge meant that few Nen users ever had the chance to encounter them...

Moro did not understand Nen inscriptions, but as a transmigrator, he had a general grasp of the various information surrounding them.

In his view, one reason Nen inscriptions saw so little use was the limitation of "range."

For example—

You painstakingly prepared a magic circle, hoping it would prove highly effective against an enemy, only for the enemy to simply refuse to enter it.

Not only would all your effort be wasted, but you would also have to find a way to destroy the Nen inscriptions you had set up in advance.

Every Nen inscription you drew took away a portion of your manifested aura limit.

Since the prepared Nen inscriptions were no longer useful, naturally you had to reclaim the manifested aura that had been diverted into them. Otherwise, before the battle even began, it would be like cutting off one of your own arms.

Such limitations meant that Nen inscriptions held little combat value.

Their usefulness lay more in strategy.

For Nen users, the time and effort needed to master Nen inscriptions would be better spent on advanced Nen techniques.

At that moment.

Moro accidentally detected a Nen inscription in the corner of the observation deck and was immediately surprised.

Why was there a Nen inscription here?

The first people Moro thought of were the unidentified Nen user targeting him and the enemy Kang Jae was currently facing.

They were the only ones who could have possibly inscribed a Nen inscription here.

As for why he had not considered Kang Jae...

In Moro's opinion, Kang Jae was poor at mathematics and language arts, and he was also carrying out a bodyguard assignment, so he could basically be ruled out.

As for the muscular female bodyguard traveling with Kang Jae, it was not impossible that she had done it, but the possibility was extremely low.

Moro stared at the Nen inscription glowing with aura. Based on his earlier deductions, he naturally had the urge to destroy it.

He was not sure what consequences destroying the Nen inscription would bring.

But he was certain that doing so would benefit him.

The surrounding scenery, even the air itself, was dyed with a layer of yellow.

Looking around, it was like a faded photograph.

"Cicada's Molt."

This was Muer's counterattack-type Conjuration ability.

When Muer was injured by an enemy, she could immediately activate her ability, dragging the enemy into a mirror-like Nen space that reflected reality and distributing the damage she had suffered evenly onto the enemy.

This Nen space lasted for sixty seconds.

If the total damage she had taken before activating the ability was treated as A.

Then before the Nen space disappeared, Muer had to deal damage exceeding A to the enemy.

As long as she fulfilled that condition, all the damage Muer had suffered throughout the ability's entire process would be healed the instant the Nen space vanished.

But if she failed to meet that condition, Muer would be forcibly placed in Zetsu for sixty minutes after the Nen space disappeared.

"Unfortunately, I only crippled one of your arms."

Within the faded mirror space, Muer showed a hint of regret. But then she shook her head to herself and looked at the tightly frowning Kang Jae with a light laugh.

"No, I shouldn't find it unfortunate. I should say... that crippling one of your arms despite you being on guard was already the best possible outcome."

"..."

Kang Jae glanced at Muer's limp right arm and said nothing.

Muer raised her hand and crooked a finger. "What, aren't you going to attack?"

"Your activation condition... is too easy."

After being dragged into the Nen space, Kang Jae had confirmed the effect of the damage-sharing ability, so he did not attack recklessly.

Although he was worried about his client's safety, he was not so worried that he became panicked or anxious.

"Oh?"

Hearing Kang Jae's words, the frivolity on Muer's face deepened. She nodded in agreement.

"It is easy. As long as I create an opportunity where you have no choice but to strike back, I'll inevitably drag you into the Nen space. If you had held back just now, I would have attacked directly into the room and forced you to act. So the outcome wouldn't have changed in any way, unless... hmm."

At that point, Muer shifted the topic with interest.

"How strange. Not only are you refusing to attack, you're letting me stand here and talk big? Aren't you worried at all about that esteemed Princess? Or are you afraid... that the damage will be shared again?"

"Stop putting on an act. Simple activation conditions, a damage-sharing effect against an enemy, and a forced Nen space..."

Kang Jae's gaze suddenly turned fierce as he said coldly.

"Judging by the equivalent exchange of Vow and Restriction, I don't know what price you have to pay, but this Nen space can last no more than thirty to sixty seconds. If it still hasn't disappeared after that limit, it means your subsequent ability no longer has the damage-sharing effect."

"..."

Muer's expression changed.

It was an act.

"As expected of one of the Twelve Zodiacs. Your experience is truly extensive."

Muer put away her frivolous smile, extended her left hand before her immobile right palm, and awkwardly applauded Kang Jae once.

The moment the Nen space came into being, it had already lost the ability to share damage.

And sixty seconds was precisely the duration of "Cicada's Molt."

Once the Nen space disappeared, there was naturally no need to worry about the damage-sharing effect.

Therefore, Kang Jae's judgment was essentially flawless.

Under normal circumstances, Kang Jae was indeed the one who had the least reason to be anxious.

Even if the client outside the Nen space was under attack, Kang Jae did not lose his composure. Instead, relying on his extensive experience, he saw through the nature of Muer's Nen ability at a glance.

In this battle determined by their abilities, the one who should have been anxious was Muer, who needed to fulfill the condition within sixty seconds.

Normally, that was how it should have been—

But Muer had used seven Nen inscriptions arranged in advance to amplify the Nen space's duration to three hundred seconds.

And from the very beginning, Muer had never intended to fulfill the ability's condition.

She had staked her life solely to keep Kang Jae tied down for more than sixty seconds...