"He didn't even destroy the three cysts—he just blasted it to death outright. It didn't even get a chance to regenerate?"
"Germain must have reached an even higher stage… Can I still catch up to him?"
"But at the very least, I got to witness this moment. This is something you'd never see on the Six Continents..."
That was the voice of Ging Freecss.
"So beautiful... I wish I had a pair of silver wings like that. Like an angel..."
"No, wait, I am an angel. Yes, yes! I am an angel!"
That was Bisky Krueger's voice.
"Just now… it felt like Germain spoke directly into my heart. So strange… but so amazing."
"It felt really good. I want to try it again. Maybe when we're alone, I'll ask him."
That was the voice of Shizuku.
The halos above their heads and the glowing pillars around them had already vanished.
Germain lightly touched the ground with the tip of his foot.
His silver halo, silver wings, and dark robes turned into specks of black and white, fading into the night sky.
As he walked toward them, he suddenly noticed something strange.
As long as he focused, he could hear the inner thoughts of Ging, Bisky, and Shizuku, and sense the changes in their emotions.
At the same time, he realized he could communicate with them through the mind.
"Shizuku, even if we're not alone, you can still ask me. But if we are alone… do we still need to use telepathy?"
Halfway through listening, Shizuku's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly covered her mouth.
She thought she had accidentally spoken her thoughts out loud again.
But when she looked up and met Germain's eyes, she realized it wasn't what she had imagined.
Another possibility popped into her mind.
"That's right, Shizuku. It's just like you're thinking now. As long as we're close enough, we can talk without speaking—just through our minds."
"This seems to be an ability I can activate on my own."
Germain gave her a little wink.
Shizuku felt a kind of thrill, like she'd just been told a secret. Her cheeks turned a faint pink.
Germain figured this was probably one of the powers he gained after advancing to a "Legendary-Level Nen User."
And not just with Shizuku—he should be able to link minds with Ging and Bisky too.
Bisky had been about to praise Germain's earlier performance.
But seeing him and Shizuku exchanging glances made her suspicious.
"Wait a minute… were you two just talking with your eyes? Is there something going on that Ging and I aren't supposed to know?"
"Damn it, I wanna know too! You guys know how much I love gossip, and now you're giving each other those looks right in front of me?!"
Bisky put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot in frustration.
Germain paused, then decided to try something—forming a mind-link with all three of them at once.
"It's nothing too juicy… but can you all hear my voice right now?"
Bisky jumped in surprise. Ging's eyebrows shot up too. Both of them stared at Germain in shock.
"Yes, just like you're thinking—I can hear your thoughts, and I can talk to you directly through this mind-link."
"I'd been able to use it a little before, but after advancing just now, I finally got full control of it."
Bisky suddenly panicked.
"Wait—so from now on, we'll have zero privacy in front of you?!"
"What if I accidentally imagine you in a—ahhhh! Brain! Don't imagine that! No, no! Germain, it's not what you think!!"
Bisky's face turned bright red.
"Don't worry, I can't see your imagination."
Germain said half-truthfully. In reality, he could sense Bisky's emotional fluctuations and inner thoughts.
Plus, since she usually didn't bother hiding her fondness for handsome or effeminate men, Germain could more or less guess what was going on.
Anyway, it was better not to dig too deeply into that.
Bisky and Chairman Netero were surprisingly similar in this regard—one was a pervy old man, the other a pervy old lady.
Ging gave her a strange look. He could only hear Germain's voice in his mind, not Bisky's.
Still, he quickly figured out what was happening, and asked directly.
Germain answered Ging's question.
"Yeah, I'll get control over this power soon. I think it only activates when I'm focused and close enough to you all."
"Normally, I'll try to keep it sealed off."
Ging's usual lazy voice came through.
"Doesn't bother me... it's not like I'm thinking anything shady. But still, your ability is really convenient—and kind of amazing."
"So this is what a 'Legendary-level' power feels like? Anyway, back during that fight—was it your Nen that woke us up? And our Nen helped you evolve?"
Germain replied briefly.
"That's pretty much what happened."
That's when Bisky finally opened her mouth and said,
"We should just talk out loud. Four people standing here in silence, staring at each other—it's way too weird."
"And besides, I can only hear Germain's voice. I can't hear Ging's or Shizuku's. That makes communication harder."
Shizuku shook her head and said, "I wasn't talking just now."
Ging added, "I was the one talking to Germain earlier. So you really can only hear Germain's voice..."
"Germain and I were talking about whether our Nen helped push him to the 'Legendary' level."
In an instant, Bisky's tall figure shrank back down into her cute, petite form.
"I'm curious too... Unlike Chairman Netero, who advanced through long-term training, both Germain and you leveled up after defeating a Champion-level Mutant alone."
"Does that mean there are two paths to evolve? One is like Chairman Netero's, where you train your body and mind for years without rest..."
"Another method is the more special kind like yours—where you can quickly advance by defeating a 'Champion-class' opponent."
"Now that Germain has resonated with our minds and reached 'Legend-class', could this also be one of those fast-track methods?"
Ging scratched his scruffy beard and said, "That's an interesting idea. Worth thinking about."
Shizuku clasped her hands behind her back, leaned forward a little, and asked curiously:
"Germain, now that you've become 'Legend-class', are your only abilities the 'combat power' we just saw and 'mental resonance'?"
Ging and Bisky also looked at Germain with interest.
Germain said, "Let me check."
He pulled out his Hunter Badge and used 'Projection' to examine himself.
As always, the 'Projection' could only be seen by him.
When he looked, the first thing he noticed was the reward from defeating the two large-type Mutant beasts.
Their 'True Names' were now displayed in the 'Projection'—something that had never happened before.
"Gift of the Jealousy Red Serpent: Crimson Bow / Teleport Lantern"
"Gift of the Defamation Black Serpent: Black Arrow / Teleport Lantern"
With this, Germain had gained not only two conjured 'tools' that he could summon freely, but also two extra unused 'Teleport Lanterns'—bringing his total to seven.
Then, he noticed that the 'Champion Aura and Physique' had been replaced by a 'Legendary Aura and Physique'.
"Legendary Aura: Each activation reduces stress by 10 points."
"Legendary Physique: Normal Nen abilities, runes, traits, and diseases no longer affect you."
That had never been there before either.
Because 'Legend-class' and the system of ranks were things Germain created himself—it wasn't part of the world from the start.
His Nen abilities were evolving gradually in response to his own will.
In other words, after reaching 'Legend-class', it became easier for him to gain 'knowledge'—to understand, organize, and refine his own Nen.
After seeing the description of 'Legendary Physique', Germain looked down to the lower part of the 'Projection'—just as expected, the 'Rune', 'Trait', and 'Disease' sections had all disappeared.
Those familiar runes — like Blood's Intoxication and Great Lake—
They were gone.
Those familiar positive traits — like Hatred for Otherworldly Demons and Corruption Slayer—
Also vanished.
And those familiar negative traits — like Pale —
Disappeared as well.
Or rather, they were completely overwritten by his new Legendary Physique.
From this moment on, any cost associated with the Teleport Lantern — like diseases or negative traits — no longer applied to him.
Even more incredibly, ordinary Nen abilities would no longer affect him.
What counts as "ordinary" still needed further testing and confirmation.
But the buffs from runes and positive traits?
They were now completely overshadowed by the brilliance of the Legendary Constitution.
You could say this new physique was the ultimate fusion of all runes and positive traits — powerful enough to go beyond what you'd even call a "monster".
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