Oboro's Ability: Nen Hunter

Oboro's Ability × Nen × Hunter

The next day, in his room.

Oboro sat on the bed, Nen radiating from his entire body.

His eyes were closed... as though he were meditating in deep concentration.

Then, a Face Button suddenly appeared in midair above his head—the game's power button.

*Loading the game...*

*Loading modules... Please wait.*

*Update progress: 100%. Update complete!*

The Face Button delivered its mechanical notification, then turned into a cloud of white vapor and vanished.

Oboro opened his eyes as well... wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.

Developing Nen... was no simple matter.

Generally speaking, in the Hunter world, fast Nen users could determine their abilities within a few months. Slow ones would take about a year. That was excluding particularly exceptional existences, such as Hisoka and Netero.

After spending half a year shut away in the mountains working things out for himself, Oboro had spent another year gradually developing his ability during breaks from training.

Although he was a Conjuration user, the angle and method behind his development differed from ordinary people.

He had made use of a little of the properties of other Nen types. Since the system had provided the optimal ability plan, it meant his Nen possessed a certain degree of both Specialization and Transmutation traits.

Of course, he could not use those two adjacent attributes like a pure Specialization or Transmutation user... he could only do his best to mix and fuse them in.

After all, even if you specialized in mathematics and understood a little language arts... you still could not compare with a professional in that field.

He could only use them as much as possible within limited bounds.

In order to transform his attributes and construct his Nen ability more effectively, Oboro had put in no small amount of effort.

He had contemplated nature and observed the life energy of all kinds of creatures, all to lay the groundwork before developing his ability.

Otherwise, his vision for his Nen ability would have been nothing but a pipe dream... If he used Conjuration Nen alone to create it, the Game Treasury of the Endless Dreamer would become a watered-down version! What he needed to do was simple.

First, he used conjured Nen to create a physical object.

That was the Face Button—the power button.

Then, he gave that power button a certain function and effect. That was the key to the ability.

Connecting dimensions.

In fact, this effect had already appeared among Hunters' abilities. Shizuku's Blinky was one example. Her vacuum could absorb all matter that was not "living life" and process it like garbage, which meant it stored enormous amounts of things in another space.

Otherwise, how could Blinky possibly accomplish such a thing with its size?

Owl of the Shadow Beasts also had an ability along those lines... with nothing more than a small piece of cloth, he could store the contents of an entire warehouse.

And then there was Knov's Four-Dimensional Mansion, which appeared later in the Chimera Ant Arc.

They were all Conjuration users.

They shared strong similarities.

The difference between Oboro and them was that, in a sense, the alternate space connected by his power button was not passive... it could be actively modified. He could create his own Game World within it!

The Game Treasury of the Endless Dreamer had two true sources of power!

First, everything in the game—resources, equipment, skills, maps, and so on.

That was the obvious part.

Second, the game rules. That was the hidden part.

Ordinary Nen users would find it hard to notice. It was rather underhanded!

But his current strength was limited, so... his Game World, including its rules, had yet to be fully created. When he fought Echimilu before, his ability had activated randomly and summoned minions... he still could not choose according to his own wishes.

He had drawn the resource category and gotten minions because, in the Game World, the only resource types he had constructed so far were minions, Scuttle Crab, Murk Wolves, Raptors, and Gromp. Monsters with the strength of an Elemental Drake or Baron Nashor could not be made overnight.

The same went for the game rules.

There was still much missing.

He needed to completely reproduce all five major categories—maps, equipment, skills, and more—down to the finest details. That was why he said his Nen ability was a vast undertaking.

It was also why the ability was so complex and enormous!

Nen abilities could be simple or profound... simple abilities had simple uses, while profound ones had profound principles. It all depended on the individual.

Clearly... Oboro had embarked on a path unlike anyone else's.

Moreover, the reason he could make the Game Treasury of the Endless Dreamer active, continuously enrich the Game World later on, and achieve things other Conjuration users could not was precisely because he had harmonized the attributes of Specialization and Transmutation.

Ordinary Nen abilities were, in truth, created when Nen users resonated their own will with their Nen through a form of spiritual projection. They might also have to go through all kinds of processes involving conditions, goals, adjustments, and direction. This was easy to see from the ability Kurapika awakened under his master's guidance specifically for the Phantom Troupe.

Nen abilities were balanced.

There were no useless Nen abilities, only useless users.

The stronger the Nen ability one developed, the greater the price naturally became... Kurapika was a fine example. Under normal circumstances, at his level during the Yorknew period, he should not have been able to contend with the Spiders... because he had had far too little time to grow.

The reason his ability countered the Phantom Troupe was the power granted by Nen. As for the cost... that was obvious enough.

Oboro's ability was the same.

If he wanted an endless upper limit... he had to consume massive amounts of Nen and possess immense computational ability for the Game World.

And... he had to devote an exceedingly long amount of time.

Unlike Kurapika, he was in no hurry... and he had plenty of time. He could take it slow...

So, aside from the extremely high demands on his aura reserves, the cost of his ability was practically negligible.

As for mental capacity, it was required for controlling the Game World and understanding all its values. Since he had copied games from his previous life and fully taken advantage of the benefits of being a transmigrator, he already knew these games inside and out after playing them for so many years. That allowed him to take a shortcut.

The system could search through his memories and help him fill in settings and data as well.

In short, what Oboro wanted to say about Nen as a power system was, "Nen is merely a way of fighting. Physical fitness and intelligence are the proper ways to strengthen this energy known as Nen!"

His goal was to one day manifest the entire Game World and create an effect similar to a domain.

If possible, the worlds he created would not be limited to just one, either.

Of course, even one world would be incredibly difficult... As for the future, Oboro did not know whether he would ever reach that level...

Although he was a transmigrator and had a system.

He could not deny that... in any world, there was always someone stronger.

Even someone as powerful as Netero or Ging Freecss might not be capable of that... so what made him think he could?

Oboro still knew the difference between confidence and arrogance.

For now, he would wait and see...

The future could be left to the future. No one could say for sure.

"Zalon... a mercenary, huh... After reaching the 200th floor, he won nine consecutive matches without a single loss or point conceded."

"I thought no one would challenge me for a while..."

A moment later, Oboro sat in a chair, sampling pastries delivered by the staff. He picked up a dossier, looked it over, and smiled faintly.

Another formidable opponent!

"How is it... Did you watch the match footage I sent you?"

In another room, Wing trained in Nen at Biscuit's instruction.

The girl held a phone and asked the person on the other end of the call.

"Ho ho ho... I watched it."

A hearty yet gentle, highly distinctive laugh came from the phone.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Biscuit wore a grave expression.

"Hmm..."

The person on the other end fell silent in thought.

Biscuit's face darkened. Just as she was about to lose her temper, the other party finally spoke. "All I can say is... young people these days are truly frightening... The younger generation is to be feared!"

"It seems... an old man like me... should retire from the stage."

"Chairman, I didn't call you to hear you sigh over things like that! At his age, it is impossible for him to have such a deep understanding of Nen... Judging from the way he fought, he is clearly a new face... It makes no sense. The more I think about it these past few days, the more terrifying it feels. How could someone like that possibly appear..."

"Since becoming a Nen user, this is the first time I've ever seen someone like him!"

"To put it simply, even if it were someone like you, would you be confident in raising another person like him?"

Biscuit asked.

That was right. The person she was speaking with was none other than Isaac Netero, Chairman of the Hunter Association.

"The world is always changing, and life itself undergoes all kinds of changes. Just because you cannot do something does not mean others cannot... People are different. Changes are what make things interesting!"

The old man on the phone laughed.

"Aren't you curious?"

Biscuit glared. "Don't you want to come see for yourself? If he can enter the Association..."

"If someone with his talent cannot be guided onto the right path, the consequences are easy to imagine... Besides, it would be a painful loss. I only reminded you out of kindness!"

The girl put her hands on her hips and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"If he does not want to join, you cannot force him..."

"..."

"Learning Nen is the key to becoming a Hunter... that is the core of it. Ordinary people rarely come into contact with Nen. Generally speaking, they need an opportunity—they have to meet another Hunter who can pass Nen on to them. Passing it on is also one of a Hunter's duties... So where did he learn Nen, and who taught him?"

Biscuit said.

"Well..."

The old man did not answer immediately. Instead, he seemed to smack his lips.

Was he drinking tea? A vein bulged on Biscuit's forehead.

Was he even listening to her seriously?! "The kid's background is very clean..."

Netero seemed to know exactly what expression Biscuit wore on the other end. Every time, he waited until she was on the verge of exploding before answering slowly and cheerfully. After offering that remark, he changed the subject. "By the way, how is your little disciple doing?"

"Very well, thank you for your concern!"

Biscuit could not take it anymore. After saying that, she hung up directly.

She snorted through her nostrils, looking as though she wanted to kill someone.

Wing, standing nearby, swallowed and did not dare make a sound.

"Tch! What is that supposed to mean... He is obviously very interested, yet he insists on acting like he doesn't care... Since you refuse to show up, then I won't bother either!" After sulking to herself for a while, Biscuit calmed down. She reminded Wing not to slack off and to continue training properly in the room.

Then, she skipped out through the door.

"Girls should be pretty... Why should I worry myself over something like this..."

"I heard an auction house has recently been displaying quite a few expensive gemstones... How exciting. I cannot miss an opportunity like this. It would be even better if I could buy them!"

Before leaving, Biscuit looked somewhat excited.

It had to be said, the old woman's ability to regulate her mood was truly unparalleled.