One day.
In a completely dark maze.
Oboro stood alone. He could not see anything now, only darkness.
Even his Nen could not be sensed.
To be more precise, his ability had 'disappeared'.
Temporarily suppressed by some kind of rule force.
This is the scary thing about the rules. Once triggered, they will happen without any reason or sign, just like a bug You can only deal with them according to their 'prescribed rules'.
A few minutes ago, he encountered a magical beast that was very similar to the magical beasts in the human world and was a small life form.
More importantly, after all these years of traveling, he encountered another intelligent creature besides the skeleton in the city in the house. The creature could even speak human language. It approached him actively and asked where he wanted to go. It could lead the way.
Oboro noticed something unusual at that time, but he still responded.
If he doesn't respond, the rules won't be triggered and he won't enter the game.
When the two sides communicated, the "game" was formed. The next second, everything around disappeared, and it changed like a mirage. There seemed to be several high walls in the void, gathering together. Then, a magnificent building was constructed. When his Aura was "erased", in the last moment of darkness, Oboro saw the stairs and corridors built layer by layer inside the building, which looked like a maze.
After thinking about it, Oboro raised his head and looked upwards. There was a golden clock, the only one that appeared in the dark space. The pointer on it began to move, as if it was counting time.
"It was made by humans" he smiled vaguely.
Along the way, he encountered too many rule-based life forms, and the ways of playing by the rules were also very strange.
Some require you to jump through boxes according to numbers to enter the survival zone, and some require you to judge whether a product is real or fake, causing the danger index to fluctuate, becoming larger or smaller there are countless options.
He is now familiar with dealing with the power of rules.
"Sowhat kind of gameplay is this?" Oboro stared at the golden clock.
Don't think about it, this thing cannot be destroyed. It is just a hint given to the participants in the game.
The best way to break the rules is to understand them and find loopholes in the way they work.
This is the case with Alluka's wishand the egg in the pot of the Kakin Empire, including the game that Oboro played back then.
"I'm here."
"Don't you want to know where that door is? Catch me and I'll tell you."
In the darkness, a sound kept coming from all directions, confusing everyone.
However, Oboro couldn't see anything at all, and he only had physical strength left.
"Hide and seek?" He didn't quite understand.
The next second, he rushed towards the source of the sound.
His body hit a hard object, and the huge force caused it to collapse like a wall.
Using energy to create a real maze out of thin air, the method used is the same as the Conjuration system. If it were in the human world, this would be unthinkable, and the consumption of Nen alone would be endless. But in the Dark Continent, this level of energy can be found everywhere.
"The darkness is not empty, there are real shelters, which makes it more difficult to catch the target." Oboro nodded.
He could kill the instigator, that is, the magical beast that spoke human language, before this rule field unfolded.
The premise is not to communicate.
The monster should be able to sense the expectation in his heart and find itself through the source of desire of the "door".
This is also the hunting method of this creature. Even if it was not him that was encountered today, but some other creature, it is estimated that the other party would also be able to communicate with the target and bring the items or information that the target wants.
"Let me play with you for a while."
Then, Oboro began to capture. As long as there was a little unusual sound in the dark space, he could rush over in an instant with pure explosive power. But firstly, he couldn't see things because of the interference of walls and corridors. Secondly, the opponent was very flexible. His originally weak strength seemed to be strengthened by the rules, which made Oboro exhausted and his strength was constantly depleted.
After an hour, the golden bell hanging above the head suddenly rang, deafeningly.
As soon as Oboro raised his head, his brows frowned and his sense of smell disappeared.
"Deprivation of the five senses?" Oboro smiled.
Continue the game.
Every hour, the bell will ring.
First the sense of smell, then the sense of taste, touch, sight, and hearing.
As time goes by, the deprived senses become more and more critical. When hearing is erased, it means that Oboro has failed.
Because in this dark space, if he wants to catch his target, the most important thing he needs to rely on is hearing.
When the monster lost its hearing, it had been hiding in the darkness. It showed up in a provocative manner, wandered around Oboro, and even flicked the human's forehead with its finger, but Oboro didn't react at all.
Looks like a stone sculpture.
The golden bell did not disappear, which means the game is still going on.
But Oboro was no longer able to move. He could not feel anything except his inner thoughts.
Another hour passed, and one of Oboro's arms was suddenly dismembered with the sound of a bell. His pain did not disappear, so Oboro knew clearly that he had lost an arm.
A monster with white fur, sharp fangs and rabbit ears jumped back and forth in front of Oboro, and then rolled on the ground, laughing.
It seemed that he enjoyed the scene happening before his eyes.
Another arm, plus two legs
Only half of Oboro's body was left lying flat on the ground in the darkness. The monster was surprised. Even so, this human was not dead yet. The flesh and blood life was so powerful that it seemed that the body could control cells, so as long as the wound muscles were contracted, it could still survive.
Of course, this magical sight is not considered outrageous in the Dark Continent.
The monster yawned and felt sleepy, so he lay down next to Oboro, wanting to see how long the human could last.
It becomes more and more relaxed, because humans have no room for resistance The latter cannot sense the 'outside world' at all, let alone its existence.
After a long time, blood began to flow out of Oboro's mouth and nose, and his internal organs suffered serious injuries over time.
"Almost," Oboro's heart moved.
Next, in the darkness.
The monster, which was originally sitting on tiptoes with its legs crossed like a human, was about to fall asleep on the ground when it opened its eyes to collect Oboro's body.
Suddenly, it saw a human with only half of his body left. Blood suddenly spurted out of his body and spurted out from his pores.
In an instant, a hail of bullets formed around them.
The terrifying thing was that these blood beads did not splash very far, but they destroyed all the shelters within a radius of several thousand meters in the darkness.
Even the nearby monster was pierced through and turned into a sieve in an instant.
This rule-based life form had difficulty escaping, and before it died, it looked at Oboro with great fear in its eyes.
This was itsfirst hunting failure!
As soon as the monster died, the entire dark space was like a torn piece of cloth that was blown away by the wind, and the golden bell also disintegrated like broken glass.
The surroundings returned to their original state.
The clear sky, the shade of the trees, and the grass appeared one by one.
The Nen of the 'monster' entered his body, and all his perceptions returned to their original positions. The blood that had flown out also gathered after a short pause in the air, and then flowed back into his body. Then, buds sprouted from the wounds all over his body, and limbs grew out. In just a few minutes, he was completely healed.
Standing still.
Oboro walked forward, kicked a piece of meat, and said lightly: "Too naive"
This place is not close to the core area of the Dark Continent, and there are even fewer intelligent creatures. Therefore this "monster" must have never dealt with intelligent creatures, and its hunting experience is based on other simple-minded life forms. How can it understand the evil of human hearts?
First the five senses, then the limbs, and then the internal organs
Oboro judged that this rule game would last for twenty-four hours, and only at the last moment would the 'brain' be destroyed.
The living being that imposes the rules is aware of the rules, and the power of the rules will inevitably benefit him.
But it is not absolute.
As participants, although one is active and the other is passive, there is always a certain "potential" balance hidden.
When he entered the maze, it was not all his abilities that disappeared, but the abilities that were judged to be the 'strongest'. Therefore, he temporarily lost only the power of his Nen, but Senna and Ekko's additional means were still there, namely area attacks and time reversal.
The rules are that the opponent is the home court. After playing for a few hours, Oboro knew that it was impossible for him to catch it in a sense!
So, instead of wasting energy, it is better to create an illusion and lure the target to take the bait.
The rules of hide-and-seek, in contact with both parties, his blood is also a part of himself.
Oboro guessed that after he was no longer a threat, the monster would definitely let down its guard. It might come closer, or it might keep a distance but it shouldn't be too far. Senna's attack range was still there, and Oboro could exert its ability effect even with the help of blood drops.
The range of the attack he could create in the blink of an eye was extremely wide.
If the other party wants to observe you, you can't escape.
Understand the rules, be familiar with the rules, break the rulesthat's all.
Of course, the first step is the most critical.
This is the rule, not a pure fight. Simply releasing blood drops cannot kill the monster Before the hearing, the monster has been shouting "Come and catch me". This is not its own call, but it has to do so based on the rules.
Therefore, when making a killing move, Oboro would silently say "I got you" in his heart.
Otherwise, the monster would probably be resurrected and the dark space would not be lifted.
"There are obvious signs."
Oboro spread out his palms, and a ball of Nen floated up like a bubble. He felt it and murmured.
He didn't fall into the trap just for fun. He didn't have the time or the leisure nor could he take the risk.
But it was because he had discovered a long time ago that absorbing the Nen of a rule-based life form seemed to allow him to possess a trace of the 'power of rules'.
But it's not very obvious.
Need to accumulate little by little.
At present, of all the life forms he has encountered so far, no matter whether they are extraordinary or strange, the strongest is still the rules.
"Other creatures are born from the environment, all kinds of elements, mortal bodies Only the life forms of the rule system seem to be born because of the influence of the 'power of rules' The conductivity and compatibility of their energy in time and space, and the changes they create, are far beyond the reach of other life forms. The changes of various energies, like the properties of the Nen system, can be easily achieved in terms of manifestation, change, enhancement, characteristics, etc. They are closer to the origin of heaven and earth, and they are more like a medium of origin."
Oboro slowly bent down and squatted, extending his hand.
The energy containing the force of rules in the palm of his hand enveloped a blade of grass in front of him.
Then he stretched out his fingertips to cut the grass branches.
But I can't do it no matter what.
The few rules he imposed were extremely simple and pure.
"Nothing can be destroyed except fire elements."
Sure enough, that's it.
"Because it's just a blade of grass, the rules and effects applied are not complicated, so it's easy to succeed But if it's a living thing, the difficulty will undoubtedly increase. The stronger the external factors, the stronger the rule power required. Simply put, it's no different from Nen, and it also needs to include personal will."
"Nen a 'power system' that is higher up the life energy?"
The power of rules is also a kind of energy.
"So, Alluka can make the spaceship suddenly appear over the base of the Zoldyck family and sprinkle a large amount of cash There are too many factors involved. The first is the range that the energy can affect. Because of the special nature of the power of rules, the area of the human world is actually not that large when placed in the Dark Continent. Even if she can't cover the entire area, at least one-third of it will be no problem. Then first find a target carrying a large amount of cash, or directly use other substances to turn it into money, and then control the spirits and things of the relevant individuals, change according to the 'trajectory', travel through space, change the speed of time, so that a series of actions are completed at the same time as the wish is fulfilled. The power of operation, change, and characteristics all exist."
"It seems that there is a reason why the ability of Nen appears in the human world."
After Oboro finished speaking, he stood up again.
Let's accumulate it first The power of rules he possesses now is still relatively weak.
When he thought of Alluka, Oboro's eyes flickered.
Although he didn't remember it clearly, he vaguely calculated the situation.
It should have been more than ten years since Menchi and the other two left
Even with his current strength, he only climbed over a few volcanoes on the map from the sinkhole at the beginning, and ahead was another group of buildings and three human statues as tall as the sky!
Because his physical body's blood and energy were too strong, his life span was constantly increasing, and he had eaten countless 'Fruits of Hope' over the years, so his appearance had not changed.
He has become accustomed to life in the Dark Continent.
The only discomfort
Maybe it's time.
Heretime seems to have no meaning.
It feels a bit like there is no time in the mountains.
"Clear sky."
Oboro looked up at the dark red sky. The further he went into the mainland, the darker and redder the sky became. Now he could even see a hint of white light leaking through the clouds. It could be called a 'sunny day'.
Let's keep going
I don't know how long I have to go on.
To find that door.
At least this dead monster doesn't know.
Everything the other party said was a lie.
Just because I sensed his thoughts.
This thing is not a truly intelligent life form, and its thinking maturity is slightly stronger than the one in Nanika's body.
It's not that strong.