BOSS Appears

"You can't possibly do it. Once you've been hit by my Dark Grief, forget killing anyone—even maintaining a standing posture will be extremely difficult." Maha's old, hoarse voice rang out once more. For the first time, the alien-like old man revealed a confident smile.

"In my dictionary, there is no such thing as impossible. I'm going to cripple both your arms." Meruem covered his wound and clenched his lips tightly. A black crystalline substance had already appeared over the earlier injury.

So this was the Dark Grief Maha had mentioned? Meruem could sense, however, that despite Maha making it sound so sinister, this thing had no power to kill him.

The moment Meruem finished speaking, he attacked Maha with incredible speed.

"Then let's see whether you can do it." At the same time, Maha's figure vanished into thin air. I may not be able to confront you head-on, but if it's merely evasion, as the world's strongest assassin, I'm confident I can manage that much. Die in endless humiliation, monster.

Was this the Shadow Escape ability that legendary assassins possessed?

"Nothing but a cheap trick. Besides, even if I can't kill you, do you not care about Zeno and Silva's lives?" Meruem continuously searched for Maha's trace. The instant he found even the slightest sign of Maha, he would be dead.

Yet Meruem's threat received no answer. Maha seemed to have truly vanished.

"For so-called assassins and killers, every mission is carried out with the mindset that we might be killed at any moment. As long as we can complete the mission, trading our lives for yours is not a bad deal." Hearing Meruem's threat, Zeno spoke mockingly.

They would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives as long as they could finish the mission? He might have believed that from an assassin family in another world, but the Zoldyck Family had the nerve to say that with their reputation? If their integrity were worth trusting, they would not have assassinated their own employers, the Ten Elders, during the Phantom Troupe incident.

"Found you." Meruem pushed his five senses to their limit and vaguely sensed a hint of disordered breathing near his shadow.

In the end, this so-called world's greatest assassin was like Netero—old. His strength was not even half of what it had been in his prime.

"I'll take your two arms." Meruem drifted down beside Maha like the wind and tore off both his arms with lightning speed. "I said I would cripple both your arms. I keep my word."

"Ancestor! Watch out!" Only after it was over did Zeno's cry reach them. But it was already too late.

"Old man, you've got some backbone." Even after Meruem tore off both his hands, Maha did not make a sound. He merely stared fixedly at Meruem. If looks could kill, Meruem might already have died N times over.

"I should finish you all sooner. This has dragged on far too long." Afraid that something unexpected might happen again, Meruem finally decided to stop playing around. Villains were often overturned in the end because they talked too much and dragged things out. He should have done this long ago.

Meruem's figure darted continuously among them. Their arms and legs had all been crippled, and they were barely clinging to life, incapable of launching another attack. Meruem fighting at full power was simply terrifying.

"Die beneath Netero's signature technique—100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Ninety-Ninth Hand!" The enormous Guanyin Statue appeared once again, countless giant palms crashing down without end. This time, their targets were Zeno and the others. Meruem had truly gone for the kill. As the Buddhist palms descended, their lives finally came to an end. Simple and brutal—the lives of several of the world's strongest had finally ended at Meruem's hands.

"Finally dealt with." After doing all that, Meruem let out a long breath. Then he suddenly felt as though something was missing. He seemed to have forgotten something important.

"Yo, kid. You finally noticed? Remember now?" A Bearded Uncle wearing a top hat walked toward Meruem, his frivolous voice sounding at the same time.

"This guy was the one with Beyond and the others! Strange, why hadn't I noticed him before? It was like I'd subconsciously ignored him." Only then did Meruem remember the strange man who had faced off against Pitou while he fought Beyond and the others.

"Right, Pitou!" Meruem hurriedly looked around and finally spotted Pitou not far away. But Pitou looked strange. Why was she standing there without moving?

"You're the one behind this. What exactly did you do?" Meruem frowned and stared at the Bearded Uncle. This guy was definitely not simple. Not only Meruem, but even Zeno and the others who had arrived with him seemed to have subconsciously ignored this man in the end. What kind of ability was this? So bizarre.

"Kid, don't be so fierce. I only came here to borrow something from you." At some point, the Bearded Uncle had changed into a pitch-black evening dress. Even his image had transformed from a lewd, worn-out middle-aged man into a handsome uncle.

A disguise? This appearance felt familiar somehow. And why could Meruem not sense the slightest trace of Nen from him? No, not just Nen—even the man himself gave him an ethereal, nonexistent feeling. As though he did not exist at all.

Meruem could not figure out the strange man before him. There had not seemed to be anyone like this in the original story, had there? Could he be a hidden character FJ had yet to draw?

"What do you want to borrow? Don't tell me your next sentence will be that you want my life?" Meruem sounded relaxed, but he had already secretly gone on guard. This man's allegiance was unclear. Still, he probably was not a member of that so-called Chimera Ant extermination force. Even after Zeno and the others had been taken out, this guy had said nothing. Damn it, Pouf and the others' battle should be nearing its end too. He hoped he had not lost too many subordinates.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't do something so tasteless." The Bearded Uncle chuckled and pulled his top hat down slightly, just enough to cover his eyes. Meruem could not see his expression at all or tell what he was thinking.

"Then what do you want?"

"Something you don't need—the treasure that can let you leave this world!" As the Bearded Uncle spoke, an inexplicable chill made every hair on Meruem's body stand on end. He had never told this matter to a single outsider.

Not even the Royal Guards knew. This was his greatest secret. Why did this man know? Though he called it a treasure, anyone would understand that he was talking about the system!

"Who exactly are you?" Meruem said in a low voice. But before his words had even faded, he launched an attack on the Bearded Uncle. Whoever he was, however he had learned of it, he had to die after discovering Meruem's secret. This man was far too great a threat.

"Oh my, kid, you're far too savage." As though he had foreseen Meruem's attack, the Bearded Uncle dodged it with ease.

"I'm only borrowing something from you. If you won't lend it to me..."

The Bearded Uncle tilted his top hat slightly to the left, revealing his red-glowing right eye and a mouth full of shark-like teeth.

"Then I'll just take it myself." A clawed arm reached for Meruem.

The Bearded Uncle was incredibly fast as well, though Meruem narrowly avoided the attack. Still, five bloody gashes were torn across his chest. Even Netero at full strength had been unable to break through Meruem's defenses, yet the Bearded Uncle had injured him so easily.

This speed, this attack power... this guy was probably not human.

"No matter who you are! You die today! Hundred Demons Parade—Lord of Monsters and Demons." A hundred ghosts and monsters of different kinds appeared behind Meruem. They then fused together, becoming that enormous shadow with only its eyes exposed.

Meruem immediately attacked the Bearded Uncle again. This time, he was going all out.

"Wow, wow, wow! I thought this move looked super cool just now, but seeing it up close makes it even cooler." The Bearded Uncle exclaimed as he inspected the enormous black shadow. But the instant the shadow attacked him, it passed through his body as though it had struck an illusion.

Then that phantom-like figure gradually vanished from Meruem's sight.

"Where are you aiming, kid?" The Bearded Uncle's voice came from another direction as his figure appeared there.

It was not a Spatial Ability. Meruem had sensed no fluctuation in space whatsoever. What kind of move was this? His mind raced as he searched for a countermeasure. But how could he respond when he did not even know what the other party's ability was? For a moment, Meruem and the Bearded Uncle were locked in a standoff.

"Ticktock, ticktock, ticktock. Kid, since you're not attacking, then it's my turn, right?" The Bearded Uncle gave Meruem a wicked smile.

Damn it, who exactly is this guy? Why does he always feel familiar somehow? And I have a bad feeling about this. Damn it, how much longer until I can travel to another world? For the first time in this world, Meruem felt danger—an extreme danger.

"Move, move, move already. The King is in danger!" Not far away, Pitou felt the same as Meruem. She too sensed the danger the Bearded Uncle posed to Meruem. She desperately tried to reclaim control over her body, and at last, through her efforts, her fingers regained the faintest trace of sensation.

"Good, then! Puppet Master's Serenade!" A demon-clown-like figure appeared behind Pitou. Numerous black threads emerged like puppet strings and stuck to Pitou's body. This was Pitou's Nen ability—Puppet Master's Serenade.

Arthur was thoroughly stunned.

What's the situation here?

He couldn't help but look at the system panel again.

Name: Arthur
Race: Human
Talent: Absolute Extraction
Title: None
Level: 1
HP: 10/10
Mana: 10/10
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Stamina: 10
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Skills: None
Available Attribute Points: 0

Except for the addition of "Talent," the rest of his data was identical to his previous stats as a normal human.

"System, what is this Absolute Extraction?" Arthur asked tentatively in his mind.

A cold, mechanical voice immediately echoed in his head.

[Absolute Extraction: A unique talent that allows the host to extract the attributes, skills, and bloodlines of any target, merging them into oneself.]

Arthur's breathing instantly hitched.

Extract attributes, skills, and bloodlines of any target?

And merge them into oneself?!

What kind of overpowered cheat ability was this?

Before he could process the sheer magnitude of the revelation, the cold system prompt sounded once more.

[Newcomer gift pack detected. Would the host like to open it?]

"Open it!" Arthur responded without hesitation.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Skill Extraction Voucher (One-Time Use) x1!]

A shimmering, illusory golden ticket appeared silently in Arthur's hand.

[Skill Extraction Voucher]: A special item that allows the host to instantly extract a skill from any target within a three-meter radius, with a 100% success rate.

"A hundred percent success rate?"

Arthur gripped the golden ticket, his heart pounding wildly.

"This is completely rigged!"

PS2: The usual request for votes! =￣ω￣=