To survive, the skeleton would resort to any means.
However, facing Law, he truly felt unsure.
Fortunately, the room wasn't large, which actually worked to his advantage.
After all, he still had supreme confidence in his own hardness.
The fight was about to erupt, and the atmosphere in the room was extremely tense.
'I must... take the initiative!'
The skeleton's toe bone shifted forward ever so slightly.
In his vision, behind Law, there seemed to be a twisting Aura of ominous energy.
If he had sweat glands, his body might have been drenched in sweat.
Relying on this body, he had overcome many harsh environments. But he had never faced such a distinctly powerful individual head-on.
This was different from the natural environment... it was a different existence.
Just as the skeleton's thoughts, bound by the Aura, were about to break free, Law's nonchalant voice became the final straw pressing down on the skeleton.
"It's useless."
Law articulated each word slowly.
With each syllable, his Aura grew stronger.
By the final word, the skeleton was completely crushed.
'Damn it!'
'Why is this happening?'
Silently, the skeleton screamed inwardly.
'Why can't I move my feet?'
'Why am I afraid before even fighting?'
'Even though there's no way back, I can only fight to the end!'
"This isn't a fight of a cornered beast. Even if you don't want to admit it, you can't change the fact that you're in a dead end." Law suddenly took a step forward. "Since that's the case, there's no point in struggling. Moreover, and this is the most crucial point..."
"You know very well that I'm stronger than you, not just a little bit stronger."
"Now, your understanding should be clearer."
Law suddenly vanished from his spot, appearing in front of the skeleton in the next instant.
His right hand had already passed through the bone gaps, gripping the skeleton's lifeline.
Only then did the skeleton jolt back to awareness, but it was already too late to turn the tide.
"If I had known you were this kind of person..."
The skeleton's gaze at Law was filled with resentment.
Law didn't speak. Instead, he separated the area containing the red orb and stepped back.
When his lifeline was extracted, the skeleton's first thought was that he was doomed.
In despair, he was shocked to realize he wasn't dead yet.
He stared blankly at the red glow separated by Law.
Right in front of the skeleton, Law summoned his book, opened a page, feeling somewhat nostalgic.
Without further thought, he pressed the red orb toward the page. However, an insurmountable resistance arose from the gap between the red orb and the page.
'Not possible after all.'
Seeing this, Law sighed regretfully.
The red orb was the skeleton's lifeline but also the source of his Nen.
That's why it couldn't be sealed into the book page. If he tried to cut off the Aura and then seal it, the skeleton would die first.
When he saw the skeleton's Nen emanating from the red orb, Law had anticipated this, but he wanted to verify it firsthand. The result, of course, disappointed him.
"What exactly do you want to do?!"
Only then did the skeleton realize Law hadn't released any killing intent.
Earlier, intimidated by Law's Aura, he hadn't noticed.
Now, seeing Law's actions, the skeleton felt both fearful and confused.
He didn't know Law's Nen Ability, so he couldn't guess Law's intentions.
"Nothing much. Here, take it back."
Law simply extracted the skeleton's lifeline, then simply returned it.
By the time the skeleton reacted again, his life source was back inside him.
He looked down at the shimmering red orb, his feelings complex.
'I want to go home!'
"Alright, let's continue with the 'I ask, you answer' session."
After returning the red orb, Law summoned his book and quill again, sat on a chair, as if nothing had happened.
The skeleton looked up at him, his inner voice having only one thought.
'I really ******* want to flip the table!'
Afterward, the atmosphere gradually eased. Only Law's and the skeleton's voices remained in the room.
After this experience, the skeleton completely abandoned some hidden thoughts.
In the largest room of Hide-and-Seek, everyone was watching the situation between Law and the skeleton through the scene projected by the fox Nen Beast.
"A kind of indescribable discomfort."
Tonpa and Nique said in unison.
As soon as the words fell, they glanced at each other, then quickly looked away.
Earlier, Law's act of extracting the skeleton's lifeline had stirred their memories.
At that moment, Nique even instinctively touched his behind.
"It seems Law wants to absorb that skeleton into the team," Tonpa mused.
"Maybe killing him would be better."
Stargie, usually quiet, seemed to have a natural aversion to the skeleton.
Ging glanced at Stargie and said, "The skeleton is indeed an unstable factor, but we can't deny his value."
"I understand Law has needs regarding the skeleton, but that doesn't change my view." Stargie rarely engaged in conversation with Ging.
"I can see that." Ging nodded.
His senses were sharp; he noticed Stargie's attitude toward the skeleton was somewhat excessive, yet the skeleton was afraid of Stargie.
Upon reflection, Stargie and the skeleton were similar in a certain sense.
Using common gaming terminology, it would be... an Aura of the dead?
"Don't worry too much. Law won't do anything he's not confident about." Biscuit propped her chin, saying seriously, "If he believes the skeleton can become a teammate, then no matter what, the skeleton won't escape. If he believes the skeleton can't become a teammate, after squeezing out his value, he'll decisively let the skeleton go."
"From the skeleton's perspective, as long as he's sensible enough, he won't cause any trouble."
Ging and Stargie each looked at the calm Biscuit.
As a senior member of the team, regardless of strength, Biscuit's words always carried weight.
Afterward, the topic ended inconclusively.
Time passed peacefully. Under self-imposed pressure, Knov dismantled the entrance this time in only six days.
Thus, the team headed for the surface.
When leaving, the skeleton requested to replenish calcium.
Law naturally had no reason to refuse. After understanding what 'replenishing calcium' meant, he actively helped the skeleton hunt several Bone Clan's members. Then everyone watched as the skeleton absorbed the Bone Clan's corpses into the red orb inside him.
There was a clear digestion process, then feedback to the skeletal frame, which looked quite magical.
After the skeleton finished replenishing calcium, the team set off.
Since many creatures from the underground world moved to the surface, they left many passages.
Law's team took only three days to leave the underground world and reach the surface world.
Following the skeleton's directions, they spent another week arriving at a barren plain filled with strange rocks.
"This is the place."
Like a prisoner under escort, the skeleton arrived at a certain spot on the plain to identify the scene.
Law glanced at the surroundings, then asked, "Which direction?"
The skeleton pointed northeast.
Everyone looked in the direction the skeleton pointed.
'Going that way, was there a possibility of encountering Don?'
He could be called the most legendary human.
"If I remember correctly, going straight in that direction, about half a month's journey, you'll pass by a large-scale ruin."