"Let's leave it like this for now. If new abilities come up later, they can be added."
Ron didn't leave the ark. Instead, he moved toward another sector.
First was the outer perimeter of the ark. Previously, when a person selected the identities of guard or administrator, they would be brought here, have their consciousness erased, and become machine-like beings that attacked intruders indiscriminately. But now, this function was useless—because the ark existed within Sumas's space, there would be no external intruders.
Turning captured people into robots no longer held meaning for Ron. He would either execute them and throw them into the Trial Grounds, or imprison them.
So Ron directly merged this perimeter sector into Sumas's space, increasing its total area and fusing it with the desert zone. This way, when facing enemies, he could open a door leading to the desert region.
The consciousness-erasing function could still be used here. Though it was weaker than before—because the selection rules were gone and the ability had been transplanted—it could still have a significant effect. It worked much like a spiritual attack, and in battles between experts, even the smallest interference could decide the outcome.
The first floor of the ark also held no meaning for Ron, so he fused it with the forest sector. The forest was home to Sheila, as well as several magical beasts Ron had captured. The larger the area, the more beasts it could house.
Sheila sensed the changes in the forest. Her once-dull eyes lit up with anticipation, but in the end, she was disappointed—nothing new had come.
Ron then merged the pyramid sector with the grassland sector. The pyramid had once been used to house prisoners, but now Ron had a better choice. By slightly modifying the library sector, he could create a much stronger prison.
The pyramid relied on its physical durability. But the library possessed a nen entity capable of actively suppressing targets. In terms of raw nen strength, the ark's entity wasn't necessarily stronger than Sumas, especially after being split into several parts. But just as with nen users, nen entities had different specialities. Some were aid or support types, weaker in direct combat compared to even the lowest-ranked battle-type nen entities.
The cultivation chamber, Ron decided not to modify for now.
Currently, Sumas's space looked like this:
* Forest Sector: 3 square kilometers, housing magical beasts and Sheila.
* Warehouse Sector: 1 square kilometer, for storage.
* Desert Sector: 2 square kilometers, used for traps.
* Grassland Sector: 2 square kilometers, Park's living area.
* Library Sector: a prison.
* Cultivation Chamber: unknown function.
* Trial Grounds: 1 square kilometer, for extraction and inheritance.
* Ark Core: produces cards.
Absorbing the ark had significantly enhanced Sumas, providing Ron with far greater support.
After completing a circuit, Ron returned to the ark's core. The space wasn't large—just two to three hundred square meters—surrounded by walls with two doors. One led outside, the other to the desert sector. The desert door could only be opened from the core, not from the desert side.
In a corner sat a cube—Chii's crafted computer and the ark's nen entity housed within. The location was hidden, its appearance camouflaged, and the outer shell was incredibly durable. Ron tested it: even with a full-strength punch, he couldn't damage it—and his strength was already enough to push open the Seventh Gate of the Trial Grounds.
Returning to Greed Island, Ron glanced at the crystal ball in front of him. Its progress had climbed to twenty percent. At this point, he had already explored over half of the island's main regions.
"It seems reaching one hundred percent absorption of Greed Island's traits isn't just about traveling the map. The story itself matters too. After all, for a game, the map is only one part—the process of playing is what's essential."
Still, Ron had no interest in participating in Gon's challenges.
The entire Greed Island was created by Ging Freecss for Gon's growth and transformation. By completing it, Gon would undergo a massive leap in strength.
But for Ron, the game was too "simple." He couldn't muster the slightest interest—and certainly had no intention of playing along with a child.
"However, I can observe from a distance. The Essence of the Observer—by watching, I can absorb traits. I don't need full participation. I can research Greed Island while observing."
"I wonder how far Gon and Killua have progressed."
With a thought, Ron activated his card.
"Use Accompany. Destination: Antokiba!"
Nen energy enveloped him, and when he landed, he was already in Antokiba.
Ron disguised himself slightly while waiting for Gon and Killua's arrival. In the meantime, he pulled out a card—a designated card.
Greed Island's cards fell into three categories: designated cards, spell cards, and others.
Ron had nearly finished researching spell cards. They came in two types: one derived from card slots, and the other from the character—transfer—based spells. He had thoroughly studied both.
As for the "other" cards, many were monster-related—Emission and Conjuration types. As a nen beast user, Ron was already well-versed in handling them.
That left only the designated cards.
"No. 0: Blessing of the Ruler—a castle and a village of ten thousand living under your laws and rules. Useless to me."
"No. 1: One tsubo of dense forest." (Note: tsubo = a Japanese unit of area equal to 35.58 square feet, 3,3 square meters)
"No. 2: One tsubo of coastline."
"Both the same as No. 0."
"No. 3: Pitcher of Eternal Water (Pot of Spring Water)—able to produce endless water. A simple Enhancement application. In the Water Divination test, Enhancement users can wrap aura around a cup, causing the water inside to increase continuously. The Fountain Jug works the same way."
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