Conrad stepped into a small coffee shop on one of Zaban City's side streets. Only a few customers were inside, mostly locals keeping out of the cold.
He had no money. No Jenny, as the currency was called here. For now, that didn't matter, and no one stopped him as he walked in.
He chose a seat beside the window and rested his back against the chair, watching the room for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Infinite Nen Memory."
The response was instant.
Infinite Nen Memory – Activated
There was only a subtle shift in his awareness. His thoughts felt cleaner and better organized, and the pressure he usually felt when thinking about Nen abilities was gone. This system was the reason he stayed so calm, and what it did was far more dangerous than it looked. It let him manage Nen without the natural limits of memory and mental load.
Normally a Nen user could maintain only a limited number of abilities. Each Hatsu took up space in the mind, and the more complex it was, the greater the strain.
Dividing aura between different abilities was hard enough on its own. Hisoka had explained it once in simple terms: Kastro hadn't failed for lack of talent.
He had tried to handle too much at once, and in doing so he had forgotten how to use Nen for anything else.
Conrad would not make that mistake.
His system let him separate every Nen ability from both his total aura pool and his mind space. Each ability existed as its own structure, independent of his core mental load, so he could create and refine abilities without overwhelming himself. That alone put him far ahead of most Nen users.
Still, he knew better than to rush. He opened his eyes and stared at the table in front of him.
Before I try for a Hatsu, I need mastery of the basics.
Without the fundamentals, even the strongest ability would fail.
He began with Ten.
Ten was the foundation, the act of keeping aura around the body. Conrad let it spread evenly across his skin and checked for leaks. There were none, and his Ten was clean.
Next came Ren.
I shouldn't train Ren here.
To train properly he needed a private place, and to get one he needed money. He stood, glanced once more at the window, and left the coffee shop.
Outside, the cold air met him again. Snow crunched under his boots as he walked aimlessly for a short distance, thinking. He needed a method that was fast, and he began listing options in his head.
The first was to work for it. He dismissed that quickly, since honest work took time. Yeah, that doesn't suit me at all.
The second was stealing. It was faster, but dangerous.
Robbing random people meant risk, because innocents would fight back, report him, or draw attention, and in a small city like Zaban that kind of attention spread quickly.
The third option made more sense to him: stealing from people who deserved it.
Gangs. Criminals. People who already lived outside the law.
Taking from them would solve his problem and reduce theirs. If he was careful, with no killing and no witnesses, it could be clean.
Conrad slowed his steps. This choice fit his situation best.
He didn't want to hurt innocent people, and he didn't want to play hero either. It was practical, and he wasn't a lunatic.
If he took down some gang members and relieved them of their money, it would be a net positive, and it would double as controlled practice.
He had already heard a name. Artek's gang. They were known for extorting traders and migrants.
Conrad adjusted his Ten slightly, reinforcing it just enough to protect him without making him noticeable.
So this will be my first hunt…
He couldn't help feeling excited, his eyes bright with power and with the wish to see what would happen. He wasn't planning a fight in the open, and he wasn't planning to kill. Only enough force to incapacitate.