"Captain, should we go find them?" Anthony asked, surveying the modern cityscape that stood in stark contrast to NGL's rugged environment. The streets bustled with people going about their daily lives, seemingly untouched by the Chimera Ant crisis happening just miles away.
Despite its proximity to NGL, this city remained peaceful. The combined protection of the human military forces and support from the Hunter Association had maintained a fragile bubble of normalcy amidst the growing chaos.
"No," Oboro replied with a firm shake of his head.
Anthony coughed lightly. "I hope we won't run into each other"
There was nothing truly awkward about encountering the other Hunters. Their presence could easily be justified under the pretext of studying creatures from the Dark Continent, using the Chimera Ants as research subjects. This aligned perfectly with Oboro's long-held ambition to explore the Dark Continent.
Moreover, even if they crossed paths with Chairman Netero, the old man wouldn't force Oboro to join their operation. With V5's involvement looming over everything, Netero preferred to keep Oboro at a distance. Besides, the Chairman still had something to prove to his former pupil.
Despite being over a hundred years old, whenever Netero found himself alongside younger Hunters like Oboro, he couldn't help but push boundaries, always testing the limits of what was possible.
After this brief exchange, the three of them checked into a nearby hotel. The Ant King now controlled East Gorteau, and the Hunter Association's expeditionary team would inevitably head there, making their current location a temporary refuge at best.
Host: Oboro
Age: 27
Profession: Three-star Ancient Text Hunter
Combat Ranking: Martial arts master, world-class hunter (ranked 3rd)
Comprehensive Attribute Evaluation: Level 3 superhuman (in progress)
Nen Abilities:
Time and Space Rupture Thresh's passive skill: Hell's Curse Senna's passive skill: Absolution
Pardon Effect: (Attack range +215 meters, critical strike chance 100%, life steal 100%)
Hell Curse Effect: Armor and Aura capacity have both exceeded 100,000.
The following morning, Oboro found a quaint juice shop, settling himself at an outdoor table where he could leisurely examine his attribute panel.
So far, his plans had progressed smoothly. The only deviation had been his elimination of Neferpitou, which had somewhat altered the expected flow of events. Yet this hardly concerned him now his foresight of the Hunter world was nearly exhausted at this point in the timeline.
All that remained was a loose thread involving the Kakin Empire and the Black Whale. He had secured all his desired benefits, with his Pardon effects reaching maximum capacity in nearly every category except attack range. Both critical strike and life steal had peaked at 100%, leaving no room for further growth.
As for his armor and Aura capacity values, they had reached astonishing heights during this NGL expedition. With the help of his team members, he'd harvested nearly 100,000 ant souls including Neferpitou, several Squadron Leaders, and numerous Officers. While most souls provided negligible improvements to his baseline attributes, Neferpitou's contribution had been truly transformative.
Those two points of armor and Aura capacity had triggered the potential for a "qualitative change" in his being.
His physical strength evaluation had recently updated to include the notation "in progress" after "third-level superhuman." This confirmed his earlier suspicions the astronomical increase in his armor attribute was catalyzing physical changes within his body.
He might be evolving toward fourth-level superhuman status
A fourth-order superhuman represented a realm beyond Oboro's natural life dimension. This metamorphosis, brought about by his passive attributes, would have remained forever unattainable through conventional means. The Chimera Ant incident had presented a rare opportunity, and he had seized it without hesitation.
"Level 4 equivalent to Netero at his peak, or Gon after his dark transformation," Oboro mused, sipping his juice with a satisfied smile.
Although the notation was simple just "evolving" he knew with certainty that his defensive attributes now likely made his physical capabilities unmatched in the human world.
Beyond Netero.
Next would come improvements to his Aura capacity.
His combat power ranking had already climbed from 4th to 3rd place.
"Don Isaac Netero"
Oboro had now deduced who held the top position, since his system only recognized entities from his memories and encountered information. Considering the entire history of human Nen users, the undisputed champion could only be the mysterious Don Freecss.
Perhaps somewhere in the Dark Continent, creatures existed that surpassed even Don Freecss in power including sub-human species but due to Oboro's limited knowledge, the system didn't account for them.
From his restricted perspective, Don Freecss reigned supreme.
The system essentially an intelligent AI ranking Don Freecss in first place suggested that, after careful calculation and analysis, it believed this legendary human was still alive
The enhancements to his Aura capacity had triggered changes in Oboro's mental abilities as well. His power now far exceeded what he had gained from absorbing Neferpitou's soul alone.
Those Squadron Leaders and Officers had proven to be surprisingly valuable sources of nourishment.
"The body comes first Nen ability comes third" he murmured thoughtfully.
Chimera Ants like Meruem and Neferpitou were destined for extinction, which was why the system excluded these species from its rankings.
"With my current strength, aside from Don Freecss, I should solidly rank first among humans in combat power," Oboro contemplated.
This wasn't arrogance he fully understood Netero's capabilities.
Regarding mental rankings, though he placed third, his raw Nen potential certainly surpassed the old man's. However, this ranking encompassed all aspects of mentality, not just raw power leaving him slightly behind. Oboro guessed that Netero held second place.
He lagged behind in one crucial factor: time. Or more precisely, age.
Even with all his shortcuts, the old man had lived nearly a century longer than him.
Oboro finished his juice in one last swallow.
His decade-long journey through time and space had been entirely focused on securing his future
Take Thresh's mind-reading ability, for instance. Beyond its soul-related applications, he had developed it foreseeing the stagnation of his growth and anticipating the Chimera Ant crisis. Any other mind-reading ability, regardless of its power, wouldn't have enabled him to eliminate so many ants with such efficiency.
The ants' territory was vast and constantly expanding conventional hunting methods would have proven woefully inadequate, no matter his personal strength.
He needed range, lethality, and efficiency.
With these requirements in mind, combined with Thresh's inherent advantages, he had crafted his current arsenal of abilities.
Everything Oboro had prepared served a specific purpose.
His rapid growth wasn't merely a product of his Nen abilities even leveraging the Chimera Ant incident alone, his development wouldn't have accelerated so dramatically.
"But even with my current physical condition and Nen foundation, dealing with him remains challenging."
A memory flashed through Oboro's mind a distant black speck as Meruem, the Ant King, departed from the nest.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, his cell phone rang, interrupting his contemplation.
"Hello?" Oboro answered.
"Master, our people have entered NGL," David's voice came through from the other end.
"Excellent," Oboro nodded slightly. "NGL has become a no-man's land now. V5 is monitoring it closely. Once the situation resolves and the ants within NGL territory are eliminated, they'll undoubtedly take control without hesitation Some civilians are still surviving in the region. Find them, organize them, and help them elect a leader. Encourage all nations to express solidarity and assist with reconstruction, emphasizing humanitarian principles."
By taking initiative with a humanitarian approach, they could prevent V5's interference.
Most importantly, this land rightfully belonged to those survivors.
They were the true owners.
"Yes, sir," David responded.
After exchanging a few more words, Oboro ended the call.
Meruem, Netero, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi these four would be the main course. As for Knov's disciple, Palm.
The scattered lesser ants no longer concerned him.
Once he absorbed the souls of these individuals one human and three Royal Guards his work would be complete.
The Fells family, the Hunter Association, NGL, and East Gorteau all potential entanglements would soon become irrelevant.
Though he disliked wielding power, Oboro recognized its necessity. If he wished to move through this world unimpeded, power remained an unavoidable requirement.
With absolute strength at his command, he would finally obtain the 'freedom' he had always desired.