Chapter 252: City in the House

A few months later, the four of them set out again.

This time, they moved much faster than before, and the strength of Menchi and the other two had improved significantly.

Especially after Oboro had taught the three of them proper Ten techniques and some basic martial arts. Of course, this growth alone could not play a decisive role in the Dark Continent. What was more important was the transformation of their Nen abilities, mentality, adaptability, and personal will.

Each area of the oasis seemed to have a unique food chain and ecology, completely different from the desert, so the four had to proceed with extreme caution each time they arrived at a new location. During this time, Oboro even used his Nen to control some life forms as mounts to carry the group as they traveled.

His abilities had not reached this level before, because his individual Nen could take over humans, but could not control the creatures here. Most of the creatures had enormous life energy and huge bodies, so it was extremely difficult for his Nen to control such large vessels.

The ability to possess someone else's body requires the Nen and the body to be in harmony and a certain balance before it can be controlled.

To put it bluntly, you can't use a small horse to pull a big cart.

And if too much Nen was forced into one body, rejection would occur, making control even more impossible.

But now, although there was no obvious change on his Hunter License system panel, his power was advancing by leaps and bounds. He could combine many Nen constructs into a single consciousness that could occupy a living body.

As a result, they sometimes rode beasts like ceratosaurs, hairless mammoths, or shell-like wildebeests galloping across the earth, and sometimes they sat cross-legged on the backs of a flock of birds soaring through the sky.

Even with these advantages, it took them a full year to completely leave the oasis.

All in all, more than three years had passed since they arrived on the Dark Continent, and they were still only at the edge of the continent.

This trip also proved once again that when Netero and the others explored the Dark Continent, they were only wandering around the edges.

It felt like it would be difficult to reach the heart of the Dark Continent without spending more than ten years, or even dozens of years.

However, human life cannot afford such consumption.

As time passed, they became more and more aware of the horrors of the Dark Continent.

It was not only the living things that were terrifying, but also the environment and climate.

For example, there was a rainstorm that came very quickly, without any warning, clouds, or fog. The rain was extremely corrosive, each drop as big as a fist. When it hit the ground, it would corrode a charred hole like a strong acid solution.

Luckily, Oboro used his condensed Nen Mist to form a large umbrella that covered the group's heads just in time.

After the raindrops hit the ground, they did not disperse, but remained in clumps of transparent substances. Later, they discovered that these "raindrops" were actually a kind of microorganism, also a kind of life form. They would appear in groups in certain areas, wandering in the sky, and when they found a large number of organisms, they would fall down, creating the illusion of "rain".

The hazy mist was Oboros Hatsu. With the current strength of his Nen, he could compensate for the energy destruction and loss caused by these organisms.

This was just one of many unique "climatic phenomena" in the Dark Continent.

They also encountered a kind of crystal-clear flower, with branches and leaves spread out like a futon, the leaves reflecting light like mirrors. But you must never look directly at it, for the "mirror leaves" of the flower would reflect certain desires hidden in people's hearts.

Gabwich saw the resurrected Fant in the "mirror" and wanted to get closer. Luckily, Menchi discovered the anomaly and pulled him back in time, otherwise he would have been paralyzed by the thorns hidden under the bottom of the mirror flower and become food.

They had encountered similar situations countless times throughout the year.

All kinds of strangeness and danger had given them a stronger insight into unknown dangers.

"At last I see a water source"

The next day, several bat-like butterflies descended from the sky.

When they landed, Oboro and the others jumped from their hosts' backs.

Menchi looked at the calm yet wide river before him and smiled.

The river was calm, sparkling, and blue.

There was a river on the Dark Continent, but the land on the other side was at the end of the horizon.

"I just looked down from the sky. On the other side of the river is the 'thatched house' you mentioned, Captain."

Anthony confirmed.

Those were the buildings that resembled human houses.

Menchi went to the river and waved her hand without saying a word. A sharp knife flashed out, instantly splitting the surface of the river in two and sending up large drops of water.

The woman's eyes glanced quickly at the depth of the river split by the blade, then at the drops of water falling under the sunlight, and then noticed a hint of crimson floating on the river's surface dozens of meters away.

"No problem," she said easily.

As soon as she finished speaking, the corpse of a water creature floated up from below, looking very strange.

But for the four of them, such sights had become normal.

What kind of "strange things" had they not seen in these years?

If there were living organisms in the water, then the water quality could generally be considered safe. If there were no living organisms in the water, then they really had to be careful!

Hearing Menchi's assessment, Oboro ordered several birds to approach the water and drink from it. After waiting a while, he confirmed that there were no abnormalities and nodded.

Although there were some water sources in the oasis, the four of them rarely dared to drink from them due to the strange ecological environment. In those situations, even drinking the blood of monsters was much safer than those questionable water sources.

Because some "water" might actually be "microorganisms" and not real water at all.

The water in front of them was undoubtedly a real source; this kind of reserve and area could not be created by monsters or microorganisms.

Of course, the special region and environment meant that there must be a food chain and ecological system within this river.

The four washed up briefly.

Refreshed.

Now when they saw water, they all felt a sense of strangeness.

As for the clothes they were wearing, they were also a kind of "hope" or "treasure.

They came from a monster in an oasis with a body as soft as a silkworm, but with the head of a baby. They called it a swaddling worm, and it wove clothes tightly with the silk it produced.

This silk was extremely hard and difficult to break or damage. The most interesting thing was that the silk became stronger or softer depending on the amplitude and strength of the individual's movements.

It felt light as a feather to wear.

The weaving process was not artificial. Instead, once the silk came in contact with the human body, it would automatically conform to their shape and even change to any color they wanted. Of course, the swaddling worm itself controlled all of this.

They were cute, but also dangerous. They hid in various vegetation and were not easy to find, and they also used that "silk thread" as a means of hunting.

The black clothes that Oboro was wearing now, as well as the combat uniforms that Menchi and the other two had wrapped themselves in, were all thanks to the existence of swaddling worms.

This silk texture could effectively prevent physical damage and increase their defensive capabilities.

Boom!

While the four people were cleaning, the river in the distance suddenly rolled up huge white waves. It was as if a huge whale had risen from the sea and then suddenly fallen down. The calm river suddenly had waves like a tsunami.

But Oboro and the others remained especially calm.

They just looked at them and continued with their work.

They didn't bother to pay attention to any living being that didn't emit "malice" towards them.

Oboro was the first to finish the dishes and activate his hunter system.

In a year, his ecological score had risen to 45.

Its position in the food chain remained unchanged.

This made Oboro realize something important. He had absorbed countless Nen energy this year, but even so, his growth was still slow. This meant that based on the Nen energy dropped by those species at the edge of the Dark Continent, no matter how much energy and armor he added, it would still have little effect.

In addition, the growth rate of the score had obviously slowed down. This was just like the human world. As the power increased, the role of the ordinary Nen also decreased.

It would become more difficult as time went on.

Unless he could enter a 'high level map', beyond the food chain level he was currently exposed to.

Oboro was now like a level 30 player, gaining experience in a level 20 map. If Menchi and the other two didn't follow him, Oboro believed that apart from some normal creatures, including the strange ones he had only encountered in the desert and the oasis so far, he was already a boss-level life form in these two areas.

With its appearance, many food chains would be ruthlessly destroyed and changed.

The river water gushed onto the shore, and the force of a tsunami-like natural disaster submerged everything.

Several mounts flew into the sky.

After a while, the waves receded, and Menchi and the other two broke out of the water and stepped onto land.

If this had happened three years ago when they first arrived on the Dark Continent, the three of them would probably have been washed away.

"Let's go," Oboro ordered.

The team jumped back on their mounts and flew high into the sky.

They headed straight for the other side.

A few hours later, it was dusk.

The four finally reached their destination.

A new area, an area with human buildings on the surface.

Actually, there were only more than ten buildings in this area, scattered across the land, and each building was very far apart.

The size of a single room was tens or even hundreds of times larger than a human palace. It felt like the space inside a house could accommodate a small city. From the outside, it resembled a majestic and magnificent labyrinth.

The main structure was made of mud and stones. The roof appeared to be covered with grass, but it was actually just a piece of land covered with trees and flowers, like a floating island.

Only when they flew high enough could they see the entire structure.

From the air, it resembled a mud house or a thatched hut.

After landing, Oboro's expression was solemn.

The appearance of such a building indicated that there must be traces of human civilization here.

Beside them, even the three experienced hunters, Menchi and the others, couldn't help but feel shocked.

It didn't look like much from the sky, but when they stood on the ground, they felt the impact deeply. They looked up and couldn't even see the top of the structure, it was like a huge wall connected to the sky standing in front of them. What was even more amazing was that the open door of this house alone was several kilometers long.

If they had not observed the shape of the whole building beforehand, they would not even have noticed that there was a "door" in front of them.

Because the door was so large, these little people could see everything without any obstruction.

"Is there a city in here?" Anthony's voice trembled.

As far as he could see, in the dark space inside the house, there were many buildings, high and low, all in the style of human architecture.

"Captain, when I flew down just now, I found that there seemed to be a lot of life forms moving around on the roof. They seemed to have lived on the roof for a long time, forming a unique ecology. Menchi looked serious.

The roof of this building was equivalent to an area of the oasis that was unimaginably large.

"It's a bit cold," Anthony remarked.

The place where they stood now was almost isolated from the sky. Without sunlight, the temperature naturally dropped sharply.

Moreover, the closer they got to the 'city in space', the more they felt a sense of contradiction, as if they were stepping from day into night.

"Some small ants have broken into the human's home," Oboro murmured.

"Follow me closely."

Saying this, he took the lead and walked ahead.

On the way, Oboro summoned several Nen spirits, including Meruem, and asked them to search the area.

Menchi and the other two also stayed alert and looked around.

As long as the scattered spirits weren't too far away, Oboro would be able to sense them as soon as they were discovered.

He and the spirits shared everything.

It took an hour just to get from the outside to the inside.

"No sign of life," Oboro frowned.

The four of them did not go directly into the 'room', but Oboro sent out a large number of Nen constructs beforehand, which roared into the air and poured into the dim room to search it.

But when those constructs spread out to the farthest distance and automatically turned into black aura and dissipated, he received no "feedback" at all.

"A dead city?" Oboro could see the cityscape in the room now.

It really was a cityscape, giving him the illusion of returning to the human world.

Because the buildings in the house were very small, just like in the human world, there was no proliferation.

It's just that the style of architecture was relatively old, and you could still see the streets and the lights.

This was quite strange. There were obviously various creatures on the roof, but there was no one in the room.

"Is it a ruin?" Menchi asked curiously.

This was similar to the information available to humans.

Some people had also discovered the "mysterious ruins of an ancient empty city," a labyrinth city, on the other side of the Dark Continent.

The environment was different.

And the plant weapons, gold and silver bars, among the five catastrophes are the 'guardians'.

Did that mean that there were some kind of 'guardians' here as well?

"This ancient labyrinth city once completely defeated the troops sent by the United States, leaving only two people alive From this, it can be seen that even if there are no living beings, there must be other dangers here." Oboro replied in a deep voice, "Not sensing life only means that it does not have a soul form yet Some microorganisms or oddities may still exist.

"This place is very similar to the Labyrinth City."

"It's a city within a house."