Conrad had developed a habit of interpreting everything he heard and learned through the logic of Nen.
If what Nelera had told him was true, and such a Nen artifact really existed, then the fact that only Kurta Clan members with Scarlet Eyes generally became Nen users would create a meaningful conclusion.
After a while, Nelera's curiosity got the better of her.
"How can you still tell that there's some kind of dark Nen lingering around here?" she asked.
Conrad looked at her and smiled.
"You know the concept of Nen becoming stronger after death, right?"
Nelera nodded.
Any sufficiently experienced Nen user would have encountered that information at least once in their life, either directly or through stories from others.
"If you know that, then it's easier to explain."
"When the members of the Kurta Clan were killed, or while they were being killed, they were most likely experiencing extremely intense emotions."
"That emotional state strengthened their Nen, and even after their deaths it continued spreading into the surrounding area."
"A long time has passed since the incident, so the dark and aggressive Nen I can currently see isn't particularly strong anymore."
"Of course, that's only from the perspective of Nen users. If an ordinary person spent enough time in this area and became a target of it, the best-case scenario would be permanent injury."
"More likely, they would simply be crushed by the attack and die."
Nelera nodded and looked around for several seconds.
"Is there anywhere else you want to check?"
Conrad began walking.
"Give me some time. I want to investigate the area."
Nelera said nothing and simply followed.
The situation was becoming more interesting even for her. She was beginning to realize that she enjoyed this kind of investigation.
Conrad moved through the area, examining the ground and paying close attention to places where the dark Nen aura appeared more concentrated.
For ten minutes he slowly followed the traces.
He continuously maintained Gyo while also using Ken.
Even though he wasn't particularly afraid of the lingering negative Nen, exposing himself to a sudden Nen attack without protection would be foolish.
Protecting himself was worth the aura expenditure.
After another fifteen minutes of searching, Conrad slowly lifted his head and stood up from where he had been crouching.
Nelera followed his gaze.
"Look..."
"That's strange," Conrad said.
Nelera swallowed.
There was something in his tone that she found unsettling.
"What do you mean?"
Conrad pointed toward a distant hill.
"A thread-like stream of dark aura is extending through the ground from where we're standing."
"It's leading directly toward that hill."
"And at the top of the hill, the concentration of Nen is much higher than anywhere else in the area."
"Honestly, especially for someone like you, it could be dangerous if you're not careful."
"If you don't want to continue past this point, I'd understand."
Nelera took a deep breath and thought about it.
Part of her wanted to continue and learn where this was leading.
Another part of her simply didn't want to die.
"What about the debt I owe you?" she asked.
Conrad shook his head.
"We can settle that with another task in the future."
Nelera released a cold breath.
"Alright."
"In that case, I'll wait here for a while."
Conrad smiled and immediately began moving toward the hill.
Roughly five minutes later, he arrived.
"Well..."
"I wasn't expecting this."
At the top of the hill stood something resembling a monument.
It was clearly man-made.
Mounted on a metal plaque was a symbol identical to the one that had once appeared on Kurta Clan clothing.
That symbol...
"Lake Mobius..."
"It should be the symbol of Lake Mobius."
"There's another name for it as well, but I can't quite remember it," Conrad thought.
Just as he was trying to recall it, a massive wave of dark Nen energy began emerging directly from the metal monument.
The aura gathered in front of him.
Conrad immediately drew his cane from his waist and prepared for combat.
His aura surged as he focused entirely on defense and being ready to battle.
Two or three seconds later, the dark Nen began taking human form.
After another five seconds, it had become the shape of an old man.
Conrad looked at the elderly figure made entirely of Nen and let out a slow breath.
At that moment, the old man's eyes opened.
His skin was dark and faded.
Overall, he resembled a corpse more than a living person, which gave him an unsettling appearance.
"Why are you here... outsider?" the old man asked in a trembling, unnatural voice.
Conrad answered calmly.
"I'm investigating the Kurta Clan."
"My goal is to learn more about Nen and gather information regarding the Kurta Clan and its destruction."
The old man remained silent for a while before speaking again.
"There is nothing here for you to find..."
"It would be better for you to leave."
Conrad thought for a moment.
"Honestly, I don't like the idea of taking orders from a dead man."
The old man paused again.
"Life and death are not as different as you think, young man."
"Especially when the proper conditions are met."
"Since you wish to learn about Nen, I'll tell you what you need to do."
"Of course, I want something in return."
Conrad nodded.
"Go on."
"I'm listening."
The old man smiled.
"I can teach you how Nen can multiply its strength, I can also explain Nen after death in detail."
"and much more, I can also tell you how the understanding of Nen differs between races and regions."
"In exchange, I want you to deliver the Kurta Staff to a member of the Kurta Clan."
"This Kurta Clan member must possess the Guardian Eyes."
Conrad took a deep breath and stepped back.
"Guardian Eyes?" he asked.
The old man smiled.
"What you call Scarlet Eyes, we call Guardian Eyes."
"They possess the ability to reach places that people are not meant to enter."
"In truth, one of the reasons behind the destruction of the Kurta Clan was this very fact."
"After all... we were one of the three families entrusted with the Guardian Duty within the human world."
Conrad felt his heartbeat quicken.
He wasn't entirely sure what to say.
But it was impossible not to realize that the situation had suddenly become far deeper and far larger than he had originally imagined.