A C-class Chimera Ant Squadron Leader already outclasses most ordinary Nen users.
Without being an elite Hunter or one of the freaks in the Spiders, most people simply can't handle that level.
And right now, what was surging toward them was a sea of C-class Rampage Lice.
"Hoho… looks like it's time to get serious."
At this point in his life, Netero was at his absolute peak. This Dark Continent trip had two goals: first, to fulfill the Kukan'yu Kingdom's request to seek out Trinity Elixir; second—and far more important—to challenge his own limits, to plunge into the Dark Continent and trade blows with stronger foes.
"They're coming!" Linne braced herself, pot in one hand as a shield, spatula in the other as a blade, eyes fixed on the front.
Next to her, Zigg was relaxed and composed. He tilted his head toward Roy. "Kid, you're not running?"
The sandworm alone had already scared many half to death. Those who'd just managed to steady their nerves took one look at the endless tide of giant lice—gnashing mandibles, thunderous footsteps—and their resolve shattered. Some rolled their eyes back and simply fainted.
But where could they run even if they wanted to?
The landing ship was already smashed to pieces by the sandworm's tail. Otherwise why would there be so many stray boards and ship parts flying around?
In the end, they still had to face reality.
Roy said nothing. His right hand opened, and he conjured his short blade into his grip. Instead of retreating, he charged head-on toward the lice swarm, leading with a flaming flying slash.
His great-grandfather's words that morning still echoed in his mind: "the Great Way is simple." The kid had a stomach full of ideas with nowhere to use them; he chased that slash straight into the lice mass and drew his blade for close combat.
"Hoho… he's a little overeager."
"Or just very brave."
"I'd say his sword work is pretty decent,"
Netero, Linne, and Zigg traded a quick look. One bathed himself in Buddha's light, one spun the pot and spatula, one hefted his weapon. Together they dove into the lice horde. From above, four people cut four sharp lines through the swarm.
Clang…
Hard shells.
Roy's slash landed clean on a lice's head and rang out sharp and bright, like steel hitting steel—like cutting into a plate of refined metal fully coated in Ken.
The rebound nearly tore the blade from his hand; he twisted his wrist and caught the hilt again mid-air, but inwardly he whistled.
Each one of these lice was no weaker than Sagin or Guldun, the pig-head warriors he'd faced in the Hunter Exam's illusion. Maybe they weren't as smart, but in terms of full-body armor Ken and brute-force charges, a regular Nen user wouldn't stand a chance.
"Carapace-type bugs usually have weak spots in the belly or the mouth. If the shell doesn't cut, then hit the soft parts instead."
Zigg drove an enhanced Snake Bite straight through a lice's skull, then summoned a squad of "Biscuit Soldiers"—beefy brutes with horned helmets, greatswords on their shoulders, and thick beards. They stayed low and tore along the ground, stabbing straight into exposed bellies.
Pitiful screams rang out in rapid succession.
Roy watched and got the idea. Beneath his feet, a patch of swamp spread out; he sank into it and vanished underground.
That made Zigg, Netero, and Linne all narrow their eyes in surprise.
Space-type Nen. Not common at all.
Netero swatted one lice away with a palm strike, then shoved another aside with a kick. His fists, palms, elbows, and legs ignored the hard shells completely, relying purely on overwhelming force to blast a bloody corridor through the swarm.
He glanced Roy's way—and blinked.
The kid's progress was actually faster than his.
Riding his Swamp Space, Roy traveled underground, using En to track the lice positions. Just like the Biscuit Soldiers, he specialized in stabbing the bellies. Pop up, stab, vanish. Pop up, stab, vanish. Compared to Netero's "smash it till it dies" method, Roy's approach—the combination of space tricks and precision stabbing—was far more efficient.
Pretty soon, six or seven lice were dead at his hands.
[Notice: Life Energy +5 +5 +5… (Note: Non-sapient species; Life Energy halved)]
"This kid is absolutely the natural predator of these shell-type monsters," Linne muttered. She knocked one lice skyward with her pot and smashed another's mandibles with a snap of her spatula. Even as she fought, her eyes stayed glued to Roy, their glow deepening.
Slice—
White steel in, red gore out. Wherever a patch of swamp appeared, Death followed.
Standing closest, Zigg saw more clearly than anyone. While Netero and Linne were focused on the swarm, he watched the boy. The kid's strikes looked like "tricks"—dodging the hard parts, going for weak spots—but there was clearly thought behind every cut.
He was thinking, experimenting.
He was trying to fuse Swamp Space with his sword, creating a technique that was uniquely his.
If pure "Heat's True Meaning" plus blade plus Ken could become Residual Flame Blade, and magnetism plus blade plus Ken could become Gravity Blade, then there was no reason Swamp Space and the sword couldn't merge too.
Roy brooded over it as he fought.
But his "cleverness" eventually provoked the monsters' fury.
With a deafening roar, the sandworm shook its body—and the instant Roy sank into the swamp again, dozens of lice bunched up and dove after him.
[Shared Earth-Burrow]
[Shared Symbiosis]
As host, the sandworm could lend its innate ability to the lice. It seized Roy's timing, lending them its earth-burrow technique, and drove them underground with him.
The swamp closed and vanished.
The surface was suddenly empty—no sign of the boy. Zigg frowned, summoned a spiked club—a game item noted as a "twin-ogre's personal weapon," with a "+50% critical smash" effect—and spun it in a full arc, cracking skulls left and right.
He used the breathing room to spread out his En, searching for Roy.
"Hoho… the boy's not that fragile. Focus," Netero called out lazily. His fists moved even faster, exploding one lice after another. He slapped down several that had tried to sneak up behind Linne.
Her twin tails bounced with the shockwave as she panted, pot and spatula still in hand.
"Space-type Nen really is rare. Zigg's right to be protective; we might be relying on that kid later," she said.
"Can't beat it? Run. That's Rule One."
That motto—if you can't win, run—was exactly how Linne had survived so many years as a frontline Hunter. She wasn't here for a "limit challenge." She was here to see the legendary Three-Star Water, and more importantly—
To find ingredients.
For a gourmet Hunter, nothing outranks food.
"If I'd known the kid could do this, I would've cooked more and bribed him earlier," she thought, regretful.
Zigg suddenly said, "Not too late."
He felt something with his En. A moment later, Netero and Linne sensed it too and turned—
The ground exploded.
Dozens of lice were skewered on a single infinitely extended katana, like strings of candied hawthorns on a stick, and the "stick" was jammed into the earth like a flagpole. Its presence alone radiated a crushing pressure, forcing the entire swarm to a halt.
"What kind of move is that?" Linne swallowed. She stared up at the katana that pierced all the way into the sky, clearly hundreds of meters long. "It looks more impressive than your Buddha hands, old man."
Of course, Hyakushiki Kannon could manifest a hundred hands. One blade, no matter how long, was still just one blade. In pure numbers, Netero had the advantage.
And in fact, Roy couldn't sustain it.
The swamp opened once more. Roy crawled up from underground, clearly exhausted. The "hundred-meter katana" winked out as his nen drained away; the blade shrank back into the short sword that fell into his grip. He drove it into the ground and stood there, gasping for air.
Thud, thud, thud…
The skewered lice lost their support and crashed to the earth.
Standing closest, Zigg had the best view of Roy's condition. Through En, he could tell the boy's nen was almost bottomed out. But he'd done it: he'd fused his space ability with the sword and forged a monstrous technique.
"What do you call that?" Zigg asked, genuinely impressed.
Roy leaned on the short blade, catching his breath. "God-Spear," he said.
"Use space's extension to stretch the sword into a spear and shoot it in one motion," Zigg murmured, tasting the words. "A good name."
This was exactly the sort of thing a conjuration type excels at—wild, creative, and deadly.
After all, under Zigg's guidance and with his own intent to merge Swamp Space and sword as the base, Roy had followed a clear process: "borrow, mimic, then create."
When he thought of space abilities, the first person that came to mind was Nob and his 4-Dimensional Mansion. Nob would open doors wherever he liked, pull people into pocket dimensions, and use the flexibility of space itself.
Roy knew he wasn't Nob. His own focus was the sun, not space. His understanding of space couldn't match Nob's. But that didn't stop him from borrowing one quality:
extension.
Stretch the blade into a spear and impale the swarm.
And clearly, it worked. The heap of smashed lice was the proof.
"You've done very well. But…"
Another earth-shaking roar split the air, and the stunned lice stirred again.
The sandworm itself swung its massive tail down at them.
Zigg stepped forward, lifting the spiked club to shield the boy behind him. He drew a deep breath. "The big one's coming in person," he said.
~~~
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