The number of rotting corpses was abnormally high, surging forward like waves of foul-smelling tides.
They crawled across the grassland, emitting an incessant rustling sound.
This noise gave the impression of danger steadily closing in—just the sound of their movement alone was enough to make one's hair stand on end.
Though Decidueye could take down quite a few in a short time,
the rotting corpses showed no signs of dwindling, as if they were endless like the vast ocean.
Moreover, their movement speed wasn't slow either, leaving behind only streaks of afterimages as they crawled.
In the blink of an eye, the horde of corpses closed in on the group, making their hearts leap into their throats as they focused intently.
Strangely, the fast-moving horde inexplicably split into two streams, detouring around one spot before continuing forward.
The place they avoided was none other than where Akira stood!
Akira stood still with his arms crossed, motionless like a boulder standing firm in the middle of a raging river.
If anyone had approached him, they would have noticed faint wisps of energy seeping from his shadow.
It was precisely because of Marshadow's presence that all the rotting corpses instinctively avoided Akira, not daring to confront him directly.
Akira remained indifferent, continuing his train of thought.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about these corpses—that there was still some hidden aspect he hadn't realized.
While Akira remained unbothered, the same couldn't be said for the others.
"Pekotero!"
Beyond's eyes widened as he stared intently at the relentless horde of corpses, suddenly shouting.
"Got it!"
Pekotero—the mushroom-haired child who had invited Akira to play a game—suddenly sprang up, responding loudly.
The moment he leaped into the air, his aura surged violently, the previously smooth flow suddenly erupting with intense fluctuations.
His petite body was instantly enveloped in a radiant light, casting a pure white glow over the violet-lit forest.
After a flash comparable to a stun grenade, Pekotero aura transformed into strands of glowing green data.
These data streams spread outward from him, covering an area of several hundred meters in radius.
My Game World: By overlaying aura onto the surrounding environment, the real world can be transformed into a game world.
The effect resembles a digital display.
Within this domain, creatures are divided into two types: players and monsters.
This classification is determined by the user's subjective judgment.
The user is always designated as a player.
In other words, if Pekotero considers himself and his teammates as players and the rotting corpses as monsters, then that's how it is.
But if Pekotero believes he is the only player while everyone else is a monster, that would also hold true.
Both players and monsters have visible HP bars and MP bars, but only players can see information about themselves and the monsters.
The HP bar simply represents vitality.
The MP bar can be understood as a Nen User's aura or an animal's stamina.
Whether player or monster, taking damage reduces HP, and HP reaching zero means death.
Players are digitized—taking damage doesn't impair movement.
Even if limbs or other body parts suffer severe injuries, they won't be disabled; only HP will be deducted.
Restriction and Vow: The cost is remaining eternally childlike and forever locked in the form of a child.
The effect obtained allows him to enhance his strength by defeating wild monsters.
Although Pekotero appears to have the appearance of a child, his ability to join Beyond's team proves he is no ordinary kid.
His true age is nearly thirty years old.
The reason he can achieve the "eternal youth" that Biscuit Krueger envies is due to the Restriction and Vow he established.
This Restriction and Vow is related to his innate talent, but also to his personal experiences.
Pekotero was exposed to games from a young age and developed a deep love for them, even encountering games imbued with aura.
Of course, this doesn't refer to Greed Island but to other games.
Across the six continents, many objects carry Aura.
For example, a certain middle-aged woman adored a painting and observed it for years.
Over time, her emotions became deeply attached to the painting.
Even if she wasn't a Nen User, the painting could still become infused with aura.
Pekotero's case was similar, except what he inherited was a game passed down from his father.
As he grew older, he naturally developed the Nen ability "My Game World."
He wanted to turn his world into a game!
Because he was older and had grown up with classic single-player digital games, his Nen ability manifested as a digital world.
Somewhat like the pixelated aesthetics of Cairo games or Minecraft on Earth, everything appeared in blocky forms.
If he had simply loved games, he wouldn't have needed to establish this Restriction and Vow.
But as he matured, he also encountered the concept of Nen abilities.
Thus, he understood clearly that the most important thing in this world is strength!
Combined with the game world's mechanics of leveling up by defeating monsters, he logically established this Restriction and Vow.
So far, he is extremely satisfied.
Not only has he gained formidable strength through his Nen ability, but he has also fulfilled his wish of turning reality into a game.
As for the restriction, it means nothing to him.
It only affects his physical form, keeping him childlike while his mind remains that of an adult.
Just because he speaks like a child doesn't mean he truly is one.
Despite Pekotero's childlike appearance, within the team, aside from Akira, Beyond, and Ging, he ranks as the strongest after Marione and Pariston!
That is, currently the sixth strongest in the team.
This is all thanks to his relentless "grinding" over the years, accumulating his strength.
Beyond recruited him not just for his combat prowess but also for his Nen ability.
Two aspects of his Nen ability stood out to Beyond.
First, he could see the HP and MP bars of allies and enemies, which was immensely useful in battle.
The simplest example was never having to worry about opponents faking death.
With clear HP bars displayed, it was obvious whether they were truly defeated.
Second, he could digitize the bodies of his allies.
No matter how much damage they took on the battlefield, their condition wouldn't deteriorate—only their HP would decrease.
This was identical to characters in a video game.
This was what Beyond valued most.
This ability was practically bug-tier.
If two opponents of equal strength fought, the one with a digitized body would undoubtedly win.
Because as the battle progresses, more and more injuries will inevitably form, all of which affect combat performance.
Severed limbs would have an even greater impact.
But the person who's been digitized doesn't need to worry at all—as long as their health bar isn't depleted, they can continue fighting in perfect condition.
Although aura still gradually depletes during combat, remaining unaffected by injuries is already quite impressive.
Most crucially, this is a group support ability that can turn multiple allies into "players."
However, this also means Pekotero's consumption will be much higher.
So Beyond only has Pekotero use this Nen ability during particularly difficult battles.
In an instant, the scenery before everyone's eyes changed completely.
The once-clear environment suddenly took on the aesthetic of a single-player game, and even the repulsive rotting corpses now looked somewhat cute at first glance.
"A game-like art style?"
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