Blending into the hazy sunlight, completely dissipating.....
Roy quietly looked ahead, silent for a very long time....
He suddenly had a bit of understanding why there were so many tombstones in his great-grandfather's Dream Domain, perhaps,
for the owners of those tombstones, they would rather die a martyr than face the pain of a failed rebellion!
The vast forest stood timeless at this moment......
Roy lifted his head, pinched a ray of sunlight, sniffed it at the tip of his nose, and regained his senses. He raised his eyes towards Bandle City, established at the edge of the forest near the human kingdom, and the shantytown skewed all around it...Rubbing his thumb and forefinger, crushing that ray of sunlight, his entire being began to transform along with every part of his attire....
In the blink of an eye, using [Deception], he transformed into the appearance of Andrew Cooper and swiftly moved towards Bandle City.....
Getting closer...the trees thinned out...vast plains emerged in view...the horizon broadened...Roy had seen in the guide given by his father Silva that the Moonscape Forest was expansive enough to encompass all terrains, scenes like these where plains stood out in the forest were not uncommon, referred to by locals as "Oases", where crops were cultivated and humans nurtured.....
Yet, rather ironically,
these "Oases" appeared to nurture "humans," but in reality, they also indirectly cultivated "fodder" for Magical Beasts, after all,
whether it was the "Oases" or other terrains like "Swamps" or "Rivers," they still hadn't escaped the confines of the Moonscape Forest, subject to the control of "Magical Beasts" and "Disasters," even the [God] could not intervene.
"Tap...." His footsteps rose and fell, Roy melded into the light, his figure flashing...flashing...flashing, and finally, after about five minutes, he saw signs of human habitation, saw fertile fields, and also saw not far away the mismatched, disorganized, dilapidated and muddy shantytown......
He timely halted his steps, found a secluded corner, and walked out of the light, with a twitch of his nose, clearly sensing the pungent odor of manure mixed with mud, hearing vendors shouting, beggars praying, children frolicking, with the occasional sound of whip cracks, curses, and braying of cattle, horses, and mules, invoking a sudden illusion.....
As if he had fallen from the modern world into a barbaric and antiquated medieval era!
It brought him a strong feeling of "a backward journey through history"!
Completely in contrast to the mysterious, grand Dark Continent he had imagined...
The young man furrowed his brow, curbing the absurdity and disappointment that surged in his heart, slightly adjusted his clothing, and stepped into the shantytown.....
"Want some mushrooms? Freshly picked mushrooms today, fresh....."
"Want a child? Selling children here, the older one is two silver coins, the younger one is one....."
"Hey? Boss, how much for your dog?"
"Five silver coins for the male, three for the female..."
"Black market! How is it more expensive than a person? I ask you, dogs can eat shit, can people? Lower the price? Otherwise... I'll report you to the security team!"
"I...."
Bustling,
A tumultuous scene....
Upon entering, listening to the chatter around him, Roy observed that regardless of whether they were vendors, peddlers, farmers, or servants, they all appeared emaciated and sickly. The clothes they wore were generally patched, haggling over every bit of possession, quarreling until they were red in the face...
Additionally, the urine stench mingled with animal manure persisted at his nose, intensifying as if assaulting his nostrils... The young man held his breath, inexplicably feeling a tinge of sadness and anger!
'The Dark Continent shouldn't be like this,'
'It clearly has vast lands and resources far richer than the Lake Heart Island many times over,'
'Yet, it presents such a destitute, filthy, and muddy scene.....'
Even though Roy had gathered some intelligence in advance from the spirits of Old Mark and Lady Nora, and had prepared himself mentally, upon witnessing everything before him, Roy already understood where the problem lay—
[God],
or those "privileged classes" who established the "Rules" surrounding [God]!
They are the ones who divided people into high and low ranks, solidified class structures, and blocked upward mobility for the lower classes, also monopolizing "Nen" as a resource, further sealing off the slim chance ordinary people had of advancing to [Transcendent], and....
They don't treat people as human, but rather as consumables, concentrating resources and wealth for their own pleasure... Resulting in the Dark Continent, despite its abundant resources, being even more backward than Lake Heart Island, with only a few scattered lights to be seen, and the occasional whirring of old motorcycle engines... Making Roy reminisce about the Demon Slayer World.
At least, in the Demon Slayer World, Evil Ghosts only acted at night, whereas in the shantytown beneath his feet, in the nearby Bandle City, and in the human empire backing Bandle City, "Evil Ghosts" prowled indiscriminately day and night, unabashedly "devouring" people under the sunlight!
Roy gently stroked the "curse" concealed by [Deception] on the back of his hand and took a deep breath, unable to say whether he himself was also among those being "devoured" now.
The young man regained his composure, and casting a cold glance at the slave trader selling children nearby, he lifted his foot and stepped onto the muddied road....
"Splatter~" Dirty water splashed onto his pant leg, casting a shadow over his heart.
He walked, watching, with a faint red light flickering in his eyes—a long-unused ability, the [Eye of Truth] that could penetrate all illusions and falsehoods.
Perhaps due to the improvement in his Constitution, along with a deeper understanding of "Nen", his eyes, inspired by Tanjuro, and referencing the [Transparent World], had inadvertently strengthened his Pupil Power to a significant extent, so much so that...
Roy could vaguely see a person's current state through the naked eye, including their "vitality" and "Nen"....
'The shirtless man pulling the cart, his Constitution is about 0.3 (note: ordinary human is 1), Acupoints unopened, with Nen thinly dissipated from his crown, unable to become a Nen user....'
'The headscarf-wearing woman selling mushrooms, her Constitution is about 0.4 (note: ordinary human is 1), Acupoints unopened, with Nen also thin, similarly unable to become a Nen user. If placed on Lake Heart Island, her rating would be approximately 0.4F (note: ordinary human is F, prospective Nen users with opened Acupoints are E)'
'The child rummaging through the trash, his Constitution is about 0.1 (note: ordinary human is 1), Acupoints unopened, Nen thin to the point of near invisibility, in an extremely weakened state, clearly starving, and he is approaching.....'
Roy halted his steps, gazing down at a thin little beggar, dizzy with hunger, bumping into him with such force that he fell to the ground....
He clutched his head and looked up blankly, seeing Roy's face in a daze, and trembled in fear, frozen to the spot, while several children like him turned and fled, shouting as they ran... "Run~ Andrew is back....."
In an instant,
the central street of the shantytown fell silent!
The cart-pulling man, the mushroom-selling woman, even the slave traders selling children, their voices noticeably weakened, collectively turned towards him, hurriedly lowering their heads as his gaze swept over them, resuming their activities with haste....
Treating him like... a plague god!
Apparently, so feared that he could stop a child's night terrors!
"Ah~ The 4K Party truly has prestige....." A faint, weak murmur escaped from the slave trader's mouth....
Standing among numerous stares, Roy remained calm and unperturbed,
Suddenly, he was called out from behind, "Andrew, Lord Knight is looking for you."
The young man nodded softly, stepping past the now terrified little beggar, in his heart silently adding a thought....
'Nen thin, yet resilient. If carefully guided, perhaps he could try opening his Acupoints.......'