Game Crash!

Long used abdominal breathing from his breathing exercises, putting his internal organs to work overtime. He was determined to kill the old man once more and then find a way to prevent his rebirth.

He had just tried to break the ritual skull, but it didn't work.

This thing is exceptionally hard; even with his strength and Nen power, he cannot destroy it in a short time, so it is impossible to do anything to it.

Oboro believed it was likely due to the rules of the ritual, and that it could be easily destroyed after the ritual ended.

Long's body temperature was rising, his eyes were cold, and his speed was so fast that the old man of the Botswa Tribe could not lock on to him at all. He only saw a black shadow sweep up in front of a row of stone figures, and the next second, all the puppets were blown to dust.

Several enormous stone figures, some large and imposing, struck or slammed down, but all missed.

The man's fighting prowess reached an overwhelming level...

No wonder he said he wanted to kill himself.

The old man was taken aback by Long's performance, but quickly regained his composure.

During the ceremony, he was invincible!

They won't die.

Boom! The stone figures nearby approached the dark shadow, and just as they were about to attack, their bodies exploded...

A surge of energy followed, blowing the old man's eyebrows and hair, along with a large amount of pebbles and fine powder. He continued to use his Nen to reassemble the broken stones, his expression calm and unhurried... He leaned back, preparing to retreat.

But before he could even blink, Oboro's face was already less than twenty centimeters away from him...

"It's useless... If it's just this kind of power, I can surpass you even if I die again."

The old man gave a cold laugh.

Without uttering a sound, Long raised his hand and brought down his knife. His sharp fingernails lashed out with astonishing speed, so fast that there was no trace of the attack's trajectory; only a sharp sound was heard.

Immediately afterwards, blood spurted from the old man's neck... as it was smoothly sliced open.

However, this attempt did not sever the wound... the old man's head, which fell to the ground, still had a sliver of flesh clinging to it.

It healed at a speed far exceeding the previous times, instantly returning to its original state.

The latter's improved strength, especially the increase in Nen power skills and energy, made it impossible for Oboro, who used Breath Control Technique, to easily kill him as before.

Oboro observed differences in the speed of resurrection and self-healing.

But I didn't expect it to happen this fast.

Even if you sever someone's head, it will probably grow back in an instant...

"Hahahaha... Every time I die, my regeneration speed increases, and I evolve. In this ritual, I am God!" The old man's dazed pupils instantly regained their light, and he arrogantly declared.

The time between death and resurrection has been shortened infinitely!

If the target is killed again, the old man will revive even faster.

It might not even take a second.

In other words, I need to react in less than a second... The recovery of mind and body has a momentary pause, just like a disconnected server reconnecting. I just need to seize the moment when the old man's consciousness recovers and kill him when his strength is weakest, thus disconnecting the server.

The problem is that every death accelerates this time interval... It's one second now, but what about the next time?

Millisecond?

Or... faster than signal Transmission in neurons?

Can I do it?

During this period, one cannot make a mistake, for a mistake means death. The ritual continues until all the Botswa Tribe acted as substitutes for the old man have been sacrificed, and the ritual is considered complete.

You need to kill the target at least ten times in a row...

It's too difficult... so difficult that it makes you despair.

A thought flashed through Oboro's mind.

But he didn't hesitate, because he had no way out!

Thinking this, Long's arm, like a giant spear, pierced towards the old man.

Snap! What happened next caused Oboro's mind to go blank for a moment.

The old man gripped his wrist tightly.

"I was just killed by you..." A sinister voice entered his ears. When Long looked up, he saw the old man's face, which was as ferocious as a demon.

With a snap, the old man exerted force, and Long, who had always been confident in the strength of his flesh and blood, was defeated for the first time.

His thoughts... his martial arts technique, Iron Shirt, were as fragile as a blank sheet of paper.

It was easily breached and broken! The old man's strength has increased at least tenfold, evolving more and more terrifyingly each time, and... it's comprehensive.

Crushing... simply crushing.

Without any skill or trickery, at this moment, Long realized that... in terms of pure physical strength, his opponent far surpassed him.

Before she could even process what was happening, Oboro felt dizzy.

There was no pain, no feedback, and he couldn't process anything... His brain was like a computer that had stopped working and had been disconnected from its power source.

The body only trembled slightly...

He became just an ordinary person.

I heard a cracking sound in my ears...

His eyes unconsciously glanced at his chest, and his thoughts... began to dissipate.

His chest wasn't pierced by the old man's fist, but it shrunk down as if it had been hit by a rock.

Something was flowing from his eye sockets... and from his mouth and nose as well.

Is it blood? I must look terrible right now...

I can't let Hisoka see this...

In that instant, a series of absurd and comical thoughts surfaced in his stagnant mind... not fear or dread of death.

"You're right! I do want to live... Everyone's selfish. If I had any guts, I could have gone to the capital to find that bastard king. Even though I'd die after the ceremony... Botswa Tribe would cease to exist, at least we'd have gotten our revenge! But... that's something only a fool would do. I can live a long time..."

The old man grabbed Long's broken arm, lifted him up, and dragged him in front of him.

He looked at him with a satisfied expression as his breathing gradually Exhaust.

Even though they were so close, Long could no longer hear what the former was saying... She could only vaguely sense an arrogant face waving in front of her.

The Hunter World is indeed too dangerous...

I've done so much... isn't that enough? I've clearly tried my best.

So this is what death feels like. I should be terrified of death, but I'm not panicking at all.

As a time traveler, I'm such a failure...

Even on his deathbed, Oboro was still mocking himself.

"I can be resurrected after I die, but can you? People always have to pay the price for their ignorance and recklessness!"

Suddenly, as if in a final burst of energy, Long's five senses became clear again.

He heard the old man, who had been babbling on and on, say his last words to him.

Then, they threw him into the air like trash.

Below, a group of stone figures who had been standing in position raised their weapons and pierced through Long, hanging from his deformed, bleeding body.

Resurrection?

Unfortunately... I didn't draw any equipment or heroes, and I even lost two Rune Skills in a row. Otherwise, I would still have a life left...

With this thought in mind, Oboro's consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness.

The elder of the Botswa Tribe, also known as Chief Ike, gazed at the stone golems scattered across the ground before him, and at the endless surge of Nen energy within his own body. This boundless power fascinated and captivated him... It was simply wonderful.

As an ordinary Nen user, for the first time he felt... looking down on everything in the world, as if he were the creator of the world.

Unfortunately, this is the effect of the ritual, and it will disappear once the ritual is over.

He can only enjoy the experience to the fullest within this limited time.

"Too weak..." Ike glanced at the lifeless Oboro and said disdainfully.

There is no denying the man's power. If it weren't for the ritual, he would have been killed in a single encounter in the past.

And that was indeed the case; the first time the other party killed him, it was effortless.

But now, even experts of this level pose no threat to him...

It was really awesome.

Ike was immersed in pleasure when a noise suddenly came from afar.

Looking up, they saw a hole that had been blocked open, violently broken open, revealing two figures.

It was Hisoka and Kaji.

"They didn't run away?"

Ike stared at Kaji, somewhat surprised, then smiled, "Great... you two, you should let me play a little longer, right..."

As soon as Hisoka and his companion rushed into the underground, they saw Oboro being held aloft by the stone weapon.

The drops of blood that splattered from his own body formed streaks of glaring red...

The presence... was almost imperceptible.

"Dead..."

Kaji opened his eyes wide, slumped to the ground, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

They arrived as quickly as possible... but they were still too late.

As for Hisoka ... his expression had frozen.

Then, his expression turned gloomy... his eyes turned crazed as he stared intently at the old man.

It kept grinding its teeth, making a terrifying sound...

His expression was twisted, filled with a chilling killing intent...

Despite clearly feeling the terrifying pressure from the other party, Hisoka remained unconcerned.

His fruit... was picked.

And it's the very top of the tree! Hisoka has been suppressing his desire to pluck the 'Oboro' fruit as much as possible because it's different for him! Oboro's existence can stimulate his own potential and make him stronger... Hisoka wants to see how strong Oboro can become, and how much he can improve under this pressure.

Then, everything was prepared before going on stage... for the most magnificent and grand 'performance'.

It belongs only to him and Oboro, just the two of them.

It doesn't matter who dies in the end.

The fruit Oboro has a value and significance that no other fruit can replace.

The process of Oboro's transformation from naivety to maturity is so pleasing to the eye, making people especially look forward to his 'deliciousness'. Oboro is also the driving force that inspires him. Everyone else is just a side dish, only Oboro is the main course.

Two people, growing up together...

Even if there's only one Oboro fruit on the entire tree, that's enough!

Hisoka's fantasy stage, his dream of tasting the fruit of 'Oboro', collapsed at this moment! He unleashed his ki without regard for the consequences... with only one thought in his mind: to kill the old man.

Kill this bastard who destroyed his 'dream'!

Kaji, standing to the side, was completely terrified by Hisoka's appearance. He felt that Hisoka had become another kind of creature... like a demon.

Whoosh! Hisoka dashed away like a mad dog.

Head straight for Ike.

He destroyed some of the stone figures along the way... Even when weapons came at him, Hisoka did not dodge.

Seemingly reckless, he was actually pursuing speed when he attacked the old man... His intuition told him that the enemy was far stronger than him.

He must proactively create opportunities...

Within the most extreme time limit.

Bang! But then, Hisoka changed drastically... The old man he had been staring at suddenly appeared beside him and kicked him in the stomach.

Hisoka coughed up blood, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Like a kite with a broken string, he was sent flying backward at an even greater speed than when he came, crashing into the stone wall.

Ike slowly lowered his foot, controlling his strength, not intending to kill his opponent with a single blow...

Because he wanted to play, he wanted to continue experiencing this surging power.

This person, who looks like a madman, is about as strong as the one he just killed.

It's a nice toy.

"As for the other one..."

The old man's gaze fell on Kaji, who was sitting at the entrance of the cave.

Suddenly, a stone figure leaped into the air and landed on top of Kaji's head, slashing down with its longsword, splitting the latter in two with a single move.

Splash!

Stones fell from the rock wall that had been smashed into a crater.

Ike stared calmly at the ground, a Nen power had already stuck his feet to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

"Was it a response made in that split second?"

The old man suddenly realized something.

Using Nen power Hisoka burst through the air as if flying, his speed increasing once again.

But... when you get close to the enemy, preparing to attack with cards.

The sticky Nen power beneath Ike's feet was easily broken free, and the latter's large hand pressed down on the back of Hisoka's head, gathering its strength to push downwards.

Hisoka's entire upper body immediately smashed through the bricks and sank into the mud.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The old man laughed heartily.

Despite being severely injured and still not fully up from the ground, Hisoka swung one arm, holding a playing card, and slashed at the enemy's knees.

But the old man stepped on his palm.

However, Ike didn't exert any force. Instead, he took a few steps back and said mockingly, "Go on, let me see what you're capable of..."

Time passed slowly, and in less than ten minutes, Hisoka fell down again and again, but no matter how many times he was attacked or how much the old man mocked him, he would get up again.

Even Ike had to praise him.

Although Hisoka and Oboro gave him similar feelings, Hisoka seemed to be slightly stronger in terms of willpower, but that was all.

Humans have their limits...

Hisoka too.

He's only in his early twenties, and he was already carrying an injury...

After a futile struggle, it finally collapsed.

This was only because Ike held back; otherwise... Hisoka would have been instantly killed as well.

"You and him, you are what you call geniuses, right? I know there are many people like you outside of East Gorteau. You have a talent and understanding of Nen that far surpasses ordinary people, and your cultivation speed is terrifyingly fast. It's really enviable."

Ike bent down, reached out and grabbed Hisoka's Shanks, pulling him up from the ground.

Hisoka was severely exhausted and covered in wounds, but he was still conscious... Hearing the old man's words, his slightly open eyes revealed naked mockery.

This made Ike's expression darken.

"The weak... are... pitiful..."

Hisoka's lips moved slightly as he uttered a few words.

The old man felt as if he had been stung by those words.

His fingers immediately pinched Hisoka's cheek, intending to crush his head.

"Game progress error!"

"Unable to... repair..."

"The game... crashed... crashed..."

Suddenly, intermittent sounds rang out from the quiet underground.

Ike immediately looked toward the source of the sound and saw a button with a human face in the air, appearing and disappearing intermittently, constantly trying to manifest but failing.

And eventually, it dissipated into individual pixel blocks...

"Um?"

The old man was startled, dropped Hisoka, and looked at the corpse that was still impaled by weapons and should have been dead long ago.

Only then did he realize that the body had stopped bleeding long ago...

"Prepare to... your... death."

As Hisoka fell to the ground, a surge of Nen power, burning like a raging flame, appeared in his field of vision, its aura extremely ominous.

Beneath my closing eyelids, a familiar figure, shrouded in black Nen power, landed with several broken weapons stuck in its body, and gradually straightened up.

Hisoka saw the man's eyes... they were a fiery red, like torches.

He uttered a soft sentence, his heart filled with excitement at the sight, but unfortunately his physical condition was too poor... otherwise, he would have been even more 'pleasant'.

Hisoka closed his eyes in satisfaction.