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Chapter 549
🕑 Added 2025-05-14 15:09:33 +0000 UTCChapter 549
"Ron, thanks. I'll take this guy back first."
"Alright."
Ron watched as Menchi left with the middle-aged man before returning to the dining hall. At that moment, Misty and the others hadn’t started eating yet. The food was already served.
"Didn't I tell you all to start first?"
"We were waiting for you, big brother."
Ron sat down and said, "Start eating now, otherwise it'll cool down and won’t taste as good." Only then did everyone pick up their utensils. After finishing the meal, Menchi called again.
As night fell, Ron’s group returned to the garden where Menchi and Buhara resided. Both Menchi and Buhara were there, and it seemed they had deliberately come back. Over the past few days, both had been away at other locations and had not returned.
"Ron."
"Senior Menchi, Senior Buhara."
"Come sit over here for a chat?"
"Of course."
The six of them went to the lounge, a tearoom. They sat around a long table while Menchi brewed tea, the aroma quickly spreading through the room.
As she poured, Menchi spoke. "Incidents involving the Cursed Silver Coin have actually happened multiple times in Gourmet Paradise. After obtaining the coin, there are two outcomes. One: if you find the coin’s owner within the specified time, you’ll receive wealth from the coin-bearer's clan. Two: if not, you’ll die suddenly. Some call it the Evil God’s Coin."
"But this world doesn’t have any evil gods—it’s just the work of a Nen user who has become an anomaly."
"Senior Linne once said that person was actually a former member of Gourmet Paradise. Like Senior Linne, he went to the Dark Continent. But after returning to the Human World, he fell into corruption. No one knows where he is now. But the incidents involving the Cursed Silver Coin are certainly connected to him. The symbol on the coin is one he liked. And the Nen aura on the coin matches his."
Ron’s pupils narrowed slightly.
A fallen one from the Dark Continent?
The words "Dark Continent" felt both unfamiliar and familiar to Ron. In his previous life, when he followed the Hunter × Hunter story, it had not yet concluded. The arc still ongoing at that time was the Black Whale voyage.
The Black Whale was an enormous ship built by the Kakin Empire, aimed at reaching the Dark Continent.
Though not much intel about the Dark Continent had been revealed, even the scant information was enough to show that it was a deeply mysterious place. The Human World was merely a tiny island on a lake.
The real continent—was the Dark Continent.
Ron was deeply curious and concerned about the Dark Continent. What he knew so far was this: long ago, humans had launched multiple expeditions into the Dark Continent. The so-called Five Great Calamities were all problems and threats encountered during attempts to retrieve valuable resources there. And the Dark Continent held far more than those five. It was just that most of those threats, creatures, and disasters hadn’t clashed directly with humanity.
Moreover, in this world, Ron had also learned that the Kurta Clan’s Scarlet Eyes were connected to the Dark Continent. It was a kind of illness.
Then there were the Chimera Ants.
"Senior Menchi, could you explain more about it?" Ron immediately perked up with interest.
Menchi nodded. "Sure, but I don’t know that much. I’ve never been to the Dark Continent myself—I only heard a few things from Senior Linne."
"That person apparently suffered a serious injury on the Dark Continent. By the time he returned to the Human World, he could no longer function normally. He stayed in the hospital for a very long time. His physical condition was bizarre—half alive, half dead. He even gave birth to something like a death-type Nen. Then one day, he suddenly disappeared. Not long after, the incidents involving the Cursed Silver Coin began. Many people died."
"Senior Linne personally stepped in to investigate and eventually put an end to it. The identity of the mastermind was deduced by her based on the Nen aura on the coins. Since then, similar incidents have occurred several more times, though it hasn’t happened for over a decade—until now."
Ron asked, "Senior Menchi, did Senior Linne ever say what the person’s motive was for creating the Cursed Silver Coin?"
"To become stronger."
"To become stronger?"
"Yes."
Menchi explained, "Senior Linne said that the Cursed Silver Coin carries powerful Nen. The cursing process is actually a form of contract. Once the contract is fulfilled, the user receives Nen as a reward."
The word “contract” was not unfamiliar to Ron. It was a commonly used term. But hearing it in direct connection with Nen was unusual. What he’d encountered more often were the terms vows and limitations.
What is a limitation? It means setting strict conditions on one’s own ability—stronger limitations yield stronger enhancements.
What is a vow? It’s a mental or spiritual pledge—essentially the power of belief or will.
Ron’s Nen abilities already involved many elements of vows and limitations. For instance, to create a Nen Beast, he had to first observe and absorb the traits. Another ability, the pain split function of Lampent, required four preconditions to activate.
His "Second Shadow" ability would grow more powerful the more it spread, strengthening his Nen Beasts in turn. However, some of his powers didn’t quite fit the mold of limitation or vow.
Hearing Menchi mention “contract” suddenly made Ron realize that many of his abilities were better described in terms of completing a contract rather than making a limitation or a vow. In a broad sense, contracts could be seen as a subtype of limitation and vow—just more precisely described.
"Ron, this time, Senior Linne intends to take full action and eliminate this fallen one from the Dark Continent."
"Before she personally acts, Gourmet Paradise will form a small team to locate the target. Ron, are you interested in joining?"
"The reward will be generous—guaranteed!"
Menchi knew that Ron was from the Zoldyck family. And members of the Zoldycks adhered strictly to one rule: commission. Without a reward, they would not take action.
