The starting point for Chimera Ants is exceptionally high, and their upper limit is nearly unimaginable.
They're like a cheat code—a complete anomaly!
This species represents an advanced evolutionary step, merging human and animal traits to create a lifeform with energy far surpassing that of ordinary humans.
Fortunately, despite their deep foundations and exceptional learning abilities, their cognitive functions are still largely beast-like. Their instincts and behavior remain animalistic, which ultimately leads to their downfall.
And Ronnel didn't just extract a wealth of Nen essence from them—he also gained a variety of unique talents.
At this point, aside from Nen, specific skills, and a few special abilities, Ronnel had little use for other talents.
With Gravekeeper's Grasp, he could extract and absorb abilities that matched his needs.
Take martial arts talent, for example. Ever since Ronnel synthesized and integrated a perfect-level martial arts talent, he had never found another martial arts ability worth taking from anyone.
Not even Jade's body contained any innate talent or light clusters.
And yet, among these Chimera Ants, he had discovered an abundance of new talents!
Enhanced speed
Enhanced strength
Underwater breathing
Eagle-like eyesight
Superhuman hearing and smell
Advanced muscular development
Increased leg strength
Increased arm strength
These Chimera Ants, a fusion of human and animal DNA, were like a collection of missing evolutionary links—each one filling a different gap, enhancing Ronnel's body in ways he hadn't imagined possible!
Every one of these creatures possessed abilities and physical traits that were simply beyond human reach. And now, all those unique attributes were becoming part of Ronnel himself.
Not to mention, many of these abilities were high-tier or even perfect-level talents.
As he absorbed each powerful light cluster, Ronnel let out a deep breath, feeling the transformation taking place.
"So this is what nature has given to other creatures…"
Nature, in its balance, had gifted humanity with intelligence while bestowing other creatures with physical supremacy.
The keen eyes of a hawk, the raw strength of a bear, the lightning speed of a leopard, the predatory instincts of a tiger…
And now, as those abilities merged within him, Ronnel could truly grasp their power. It was the kind of raw physical prowess that humans could only dream of—one they had tried to replicate with technology but never truly attain.
"Is this… an alternative form of evolution?"
He could hear sounds from kilometers away with pinpoint accuracy. His vision was sharper than ever, and his body thrummed with a primal energy that felt utterly exhilarating.
Compared to the Chimera Ants, who gained strength through genetic fusion—essentially becoming hybrids—Ronnel's transformation was fundamentally different. His human essence remained unchanged. Instead, he had gained power while preserving his core identity, ascending to an even higher level of evolution.
Of course, sudden transformations always had their drawbacks.
His enhanced sense of smell picked up the lingering scent of blood from the battlefield, now amplified several times over. The overwhelming stench made him frown.
It would take some time to adjust to these newfound abilities.
But once he fully mastered them, Ronnel could hardly imagine the level of power he would achieve.
He turned his attention to the remaining light clusters, his mind processing the sheer variety of talents before him.
Even though he had gained an array of abilities, the two most fundamental aspects still stood out: Strength and Speed.
For a Chimera Ant, raw strength was staggering. An ordinary ant could lift objects over 400 times its own weight and drag items up to 1,700 times heavier.
For a Chimera Ant hybrid, those numbers were even more absurd.
Even the lowest-ranked army commanders had high-level strength talent.
As for the Squadron Leaders? They possessed something akin to Perfect Strength Talent (Pseudo).
It was similar to the Perfect Martial Arts Talent Ronnel had once extracted from Kastro—the warrior killed by Hisoka in Heavens Arena.
If he wanted to acquire a truly Perfect Strength Talent, there were only a few options:
Find the Chimera Ant King or one of his three Royal Guards.
…or focus on another exceptional candidate.
Ronnel's gaze shifted slightly toward a hulking figure standing in the corner.
This particular Chimera Ant, according to Hunter Association records, possessed unparalleled physical strength—second only to the King and his Royal Guards. Among all the Chimera Ants, Menthuthuyoupi was the strongest in raw power.
If a Perfect Strength Talent could be found anywhere, it would be inside him.
And Ronnel was confident in this assumption for a simple reason:
He had already extracted a Perfect Speed Talent from another source.
It had come from Cheetu, the leopard-like Chimera Ant.
Even though Cheetu had been completely overwhelmed by Morel and Knuckle, his speed was unmatched among all the Chimera Ants.
When he first encountered Morel and Knuckle, his sheer speed had momentarily put them on the defensive.
If not for Morel using Deep Purple to obscure his vision and Knuckle activating Hakoware in desperation, the battle could have gone very differently.
Since Cheetu had possessed a Perfect Speed Talent, it stood to reason that Menthuthuyoupi had a Perfect Strength Talent as well.
Not that Ronnel needed to confirm it firsthand—the strength and talent he had already extracted from the other ants were more than enough to synthesize a perfect-level ability.
And so, he made his decision.
A pair of glowing purple books materialized in his hands.
Without hesitation, he pressed them to his forehead.
A sudden sensation washed over him—his body felt weightless, as if he were drifting through the clouds.
The feeling lasted only a moment.
As he opened his eyes again, he felt an electric current coursing through his veins. His muscles twitched, his body adjusting to the new power surging within him.
A sharp, almost intoxicating euphoria threatened to escape his lips.
For the first time, Ronnel felt as if he were stepping beyond human limitations—into a realm of power few could even fathom.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)