Oboro vs. Sato (3)

Oboro vs. Sato (3)

Impressive!

Oboro had no choice but to praise Sato.

He was the first person to see through the "restrictions" of his Nen ability! Although, with the system's assistance, prolonged periods of time, and boundless aura... he had mitigated the effects of his Nen ability's "restrictions" by slowing things down, he still could not ignore the rules—the rules of Nen abilities... rules everyone had to obey.

First, the activation condition for his ability, the Game Treasury of the Endless Dreamer, was that someone had to harbor hostility and killing intent toward him, thereby being regarded as an "enemy player." After all, his ability was structured around a game, specifically a competitive battle game. Its prerequisite was an opponent!

Second, each of the five major game effects had different "drawbacks."

For resources, once a transportation passage was opened, it could not be moved... and minions and jungle monsters, just like in the game, had attack ranges.

For equipment, if Oboro was judged to have lost to his opponent, the equipment he wore would disappear, and he would have to recreate it.

Rune Skills had usage intervals. Once the same rune had been used in a battle, it could only be equipped again after seventy-two hours.

Heroes determined the amount of aura consumed based on the hero character's skills... and the consumption was generally quite high, especially for ultimate moves.

Maps could not be applied for the time being. He needed to complete the Game World to a certain extent first.

Oboro had already done everything he could to weaken the restrictions through his understanding of "Nen ability rules"... using the built-in game rules to exploit loopholes in the "ability rules" and avoid the most troublesome situations. For example, with resources, although jungle monsters could lose aggro once enough distance was created, the target would also be unable to effectively attack him at that distance... To defeat him, they had to step into range. It was practically mandatory.

Unless the enemy player already possessed long-range attack methods.

And they had to specialize in long-range combat, like the sniper he had killed... If it was merely an ordinary long-range move, its power would definitely be weakened over such a vast distance. Besides, Oboro had enough time to respond and counterattack, making it basically ineffective.

Although equipment would disappear, that would only happen after the battle ended. It had no impact whatsoever on Oboro's strength during the fight... Reforging equipment afterward would merely cost him some more time and effort.

The same was true for runes and heroes.

The "side effects" could almost all be ignored. That was why he wanted to bring the complete Game World into reality... His ability was still being perfected, and these shortcomings could be weakened endlessly... For example, although the transportation black hole for resources could not be moved, he could open two or even three of them to expand the area covered, extend the time before jungle monsters lost aggro, and so on. But truly violating the "rules of Nen abilities" was impossible! Even if his ability later grew to an utterly terrifying level and the restrictive effects became weaker, they would never be completely erased.

This was the foundation of the power system. It was the principle behind why this world—and "Nen abilities"—existed.

Feitan of the Phantom Troupe had Nen abilities called "Pain Packer" and "Rising Sun." Their activation condition required extreme anger, while their drawback was indiscriminate area damage that might even wipe out his companions. At the same time, the aura consumption was enormous.

The activation conditions for Chrollo's Nen ability, "Skill Hunter," were: he had to see the other person's Nen ability with his own eyes; he had to ask questions related to their Nen ability and receive answers; he had to make the other person place their hand on the handprint on the book's cover; and conditions one through three had to be completed within an hour.

Additionally, when using a stolen ability, he had to materialize the book in his right hand and turn to the page containing the Nen ability he wished to use.

A stolen Nen ability would automatically be erased from the book when the person it had been stolen from died, and it could no longer be used.

The latter two could both be regarded as "restrictions."

But there was another invisible "restriction." It was Oboro's speculation, not yet confirmed... namely, that everyone whose ability was recorded in Chrollo's book would die. It was a true book of death, including Shalnark and Kortopi, as well as Neon, the daughter of the Nostrade Family's boss.

That young lady with the prophecy ability.

It was as if they would be cursed.

However, there were also rumors that Neon was still alive and had undergone Exorcism... Owl of the Shadow Beasts might not have died either.

Because both abilities later disappeared from Chrollo's book.

Oboro was not entirely certain about that conclusion either.

By comparison, being able to reduce the "restrictions" to this extent and gain such a clear increase in strength was already the limit of what he could achieve! The price was what he had mentioned earlier... consuming unimaginable amounts of energy and time, while using data analyzed by the system as support.

The system's "dissection" of the power system known as "Nen abilities."

There was another point worth mentioning. In the original work, the old thief had clearly stated that the only Nen users bound by Vows and Restrictions were Kurapika and Gon; not all Nen users were affected by vows and restrictions. But after looking over the entire anime, Oboro had reached a conclusion... Some people indeed seemed unaffected by this rule, but that did not mean it was absent. Rather, their Nen ability development was more "balanced," making the rule less obvious... Kurapika wanted to kill the Spiders, so when facing the Phantom Troupe, his strength was multiplied and he was nearly invincible.

What he wanted was too great! And the time was too short, so naturally he had to make an "equivalent exchange"...

The same applied when Gon turned dark and killed the cat girl, Neferpitou.

What they pursued was invincibility over a short period—or in an instant. The consequences were self-evident.

The "restrictions and vows" they displayed were also the most obvious... That was why they became representative examples.

Most Nen users did not have the "patience" to waste on development. What they wanted was immediate combat power, and their choices tended to be more "stable"... Put plainly, they were unwilling to pay the price or take the risk.

To give a simple example, consider firing a gun. You needed bullets, your gun could not be broken, and you needed a direction to shoot in! Then you loaded the bullets, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger... You had to endure the recoil and kickback of the gun. Could you call that "restrictions and vows"?

Because the impact on the user was negligible.

Yet the first part was indeed a prerequisite for firing a gun, while the latter part was a restriction on the shooter. The vow was that if you wanted to hit the target and kill the other person, the gun's method of use and its bullets were the power granted to you... This was what it meant when most Nen users appeared unaffected by "restrictions and vows."

The core still revolved around "Nen abilities"! Many Nen users developed abilities based on their own combat styles and familiar methods, making them more practical... Also, Nen ability development required talent and skill. Even if you wanted to do something huge, it depended on whether you could pull it off and whether you had the ability and determination.

It was not as though you could possess invincible power just because you wanted it... To succeed like Kurapika and Gon, factors such as willpower, conviction, and resolve were all indispensable.

Otherwise, everyone would be strong.

Was Oboro's ability unsolvable? Obviously... no! When a Nen user became powerful enough, both their close-range and long-range methods would become unimaginable... Limitations of distance and range like these could practically be ignored! As for equipment, once Oboro was beaten badly enough to be recognized as the loser, and his opponent had enough strength to keep him from escaping... the outcome would be the same.

But Oboro was also growing stronger, still "patching up" his Nen ability...

Step by step, he was striving toward the summit...

He and the Game World were growing together...

As always, the self was the foundation. A big fist was what truly mattered.

Nen... was merely a means and method of putting one's combat ability into play.

There were no useless Nen abilities, only useless users.

Once one's own strength reached a certain realm, all those flashy techniques and moves were hollow.

The reason Oboro had never mentioned the drawbacks of his ability was because... until now, no one had truly seen the "weak point" of his ability.

Perhaps Biscuit had seen it, but the old woman had not said anything... because it was inevitable.

There was also his "restrictions"... At present, they had little impact on his own combat system and style, so there was no need to discuss them.

Sato was the first to clearly realize it and react.

No wonder Oboro considered him such a threatening opponent...

He had not disappointed him!...

Oboro glanced at the black speck standing atop the distant dome and smiled faintly.

Then, he instantly counterattacked Brown and the others nearby.

The returning Gromp and Raptor also shifted their targets to the Ten Dons and the group of mafia members.

Some among them likewise harbored hostility and killing intent toward Oboro, making them "enemy players"! Even those not judged to be "enemy players" and thus not attacked by the jungle monsters could be easily dealt with by Oboro himself.

Sure enough, the moment Sato noticed Oboro's intentions, he leaped down from above the palace and charged over at high speed.

He stepped into the "range" again.

Oboro had seized his vital weakness, leaving him no way to avoid it... Sato realized this was why Oboro had arranged the battlefield here... He could only face these "products of the game" head-on! The Nen users beside Brown immediately grabbed their boss and fled.

More than ten mafia bodyguards did not even have a chance to fire. In the blink of an eye, Oboro swept both hands across them in a heavy strike, knocking them to the ground.

"Take the boss and run! As long as you get far enough away, these monsters will lose their target!"

Sato's roar came from behind them as he closed in.

"Heh heh..."

With a thought from Oboro, Gromp and Raptor immediately chased after Brown and the other man.

Then he turned around and looked at the approaching Sato.

He walked to the black hole and thrust one hand into the "other dimension" of the Game World.

Sato's pupils contracted as he watched the aura erupting from Oboro surge into the black hole like a flood.

"The game... is only truly beginning... now."

Oboro spoke softly. After consuming a certain amount of aura, he withdrew his arm and stepped aside.

Then the ground of the plaza began to tremble.

As though an earthquake had struck...

The spatial gap created by the black hole was torn wider, and there was even the sound of space being stretched and crushed apart.

Under Sato's gaze, two enormous shadows emerged from the black hole one after the other... The reason they could be said to have "squeezed" out was that even after the black hole expanded, it still seemed somewhat too small for these two suddenly appearing beings.

One was a towering tree-like monster with a crimson body, its trunk and crown immense beyond measure.

The other was a horrifying stone statue, its skin covered in glowing blue patterns.

The forms and oppressive auras of these two suddenly appearing "colossi" were on an entirely different level from the previous jungle monsters.

Sato had to crane his neck all the way back just to take in their entire bodies.

They were at least nearly twenty meters tall!

The Red Brambleback and the Blue Sentinel.

Commonly known as the Red-Blue Buff.

They were the two largest jungle monsters Oboro had created so far.

Against these two jungle monsters, he and Sato seemed exceedingly small.

"You... can't run anymore."

Oboro stood before the two jungle monsters and spoke calmly.

The next second, the Tree Monster and the golem let out long howls together. The terrifying soundwaves stirred up massive currents of air, turning them into fierce winds.

Then the golem raised its two enormous arms. In Sato's upturned eyes, the shadow high above nearly covered half the sky as it gathered force and smashed down! The range affected by this attack was so vast... with his speed... could he dodge it? "Was it also a guaranteed hit?"

Sato's mind went temporarily blank.

Boom! The ground convulsed violently, and countless shattered stones flew into the air amid surging waves of dirt...