Chapter 161: Fusion of Three Traits
The three traits fused instantly, and Riku's entire body underwent a drastic change. His left arm suddenly expanded, bone density multiplying, and the epidermis turned black-gold, bearing an enhancement layer like the cracks of a ferocious beast. At the same time, the lightning current on the surface of his body continuously surged, isolating the external mental impact.
"If you want to shatter the door of rules, you have to crush over my body first." Riku grinned, his eyes cold.
He raised his right hand, and the Lightning Core activated once again—but this time it was not an attack, but directly poured into the earth beneath his feet!
"Thunder God Seal: Domain Lock!"
With a rumble, the entire ground was covered with bizarre electric patterns. Rings of silver-blue lightning runes frantically expanded outward, instantly forming an anti-dimensional spatial prison domain!
Ging's phantom finally moved. He brought his fingers together like a blade and slashed through the air, tearing through the lightning domain. His movements seemed simple, but every wave caused spatial tremors at the edge of the lightning domain.
Blood trickled from the corner of Riku's mouth, but he adamantly refused to retreat. He abruptly crossed his arms for a strike:
"Thunder God's Wrath: Judgment Domain!"
Ten thousand bolts of lightning condensed into a cross, violently blasting toward the chest of Ging's phantom! But the next second, the phantom seemed to pass through the lightning completely unaffected, and instead slowly walked out from within it!
"Lightning... is useless?" Riku was startled and immediately flipped backward to retreat.
"You are using the rules of your world to fight an existence outside the rules." Ging's phantom whispered. His palm suddenly exerted a suction force, actually drawing the surrounding shattered system data streams into his body!
—Sizzle!
Riku only felt a severe pain in his mind; countless traits in the system panel were actually forcibly compressed, the data corrupted!
[System core subjected to unknown interference, trait identification restricted...]
"No, if this drags on, even my Lightning Core will be extracted!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Riku's eyes as he quickly glanced at the remaining battlefield nearby. Behind the broken stone pillar, Gotoh's remains were almost completely cold. He immediately gritted his teeth and activated another dangerous trait sealed within the system:
[Forbidden Trait Activated: Mind Pollution Plunder]
Description: In extreme situations, deep mental devouring can be executed on targets who are not dead but whose consciousness has collapsed, forcibly tearing away their residual memories and Nen ability tags.
Riku roared, and the Lightning Core blasted out with full force—a blinding blue light pierced through Gotoh's skull, and the residual Nen was forcibly dragged out!
[Plunder Successful: S-Rank · Nen Skill · Heart-Piercing Poison Flame Claw]
[Plunder Successful: A-Rank · Shadow Dive · Shadow Step Rend Kill]
[Plunder Successful: A-Rank · Lightning Spirit Qualitative Change · Detonate Core]
"System, fuse the last two for me, forcefully break through the current identification lock!"
[Fusion initiated... Successful!]
Riku's body underwent a qualitative change once again. The lightning on his body surface turned into a liquid qualitative state. The core of the Lightning Core formed a secondary oscillation core. All Nen circulated at high speed, making him look exactly like a descending Thunder God!
"You want to witness the Dark Continent?" Riku's right arm instantly pierced through space, locking onto the core of Ging's phantom.
"Then I will let you... taste the anger—of fighting our way up from our world!"
"Lightning Rend's End: Heavenly Retribution Fall!"
BOOM!!
The entire space let out a shattering wail like a torn eardrum. That ultimate lightning storm, blasted out by the fusion of all of Riku's traits, pierced through the heart of Ging's phantom! The phantom's figure trembled violently, the dark aura within beginning to evaporate frantically. Countless shattered figures and memory fragments surfaced in the lightning; it seemed Ging's polluted will also showed cracks!
But this was not the end.
After the lightning dissipated, the phantom still hadn't completely vanished. It merely became weaker, laughing with a low voice:
"Very good... very good... you are the first Hunter who could touch the power of the 'End' before the rules collapse..."
"Then let us..." He raised his finger and tapped the void.
BOOM!!
The dome of the entire arena suddenly burst open, and a broken spatial door slowly emerged. Behind that door was an incomparably deep, chaotic land—seemingly connecting to another world.
The Dark Continent... had truly appeared!
"The real game begins now."
The phantom's figure completely dissipated, leaving behind a pitch-black swirling portal. Riku's Lightning Core also dimmed rapidly after the forced bombardment, and the system prompt quietly sounded:
[S-Rank Special Trait Plunder Complete]
[Unlocked Domain: Cross-Realm Perception Lv1]
[You sensed the gaze of an existence from a super-dimension...]
Riku lowered his head and glanced at a new golden trait slowly emerging in his hand—
[Vestige of the End's Will (???)]
His eyes became profound and cold.
"Dark Continent? Heh." He muttered to himself softly, the Lightning Core flashing a faint light.
"Then... bring it on."
The dark vortex remained suspended in mid-air, slowly rotating like an eye spying on all living beings.
Riku stood in the center of the ruins. The system interface hovered in the corner of his vision, the golden trait [Vestige of the End's Will (???)] slowly flashing with incomprehensible flowing light. He took a deep breath and temporarily sealed the trait within the system's core module; that unknown aura made him instinctively sense a hint of danger.
"Riku!"
Gon and Killua rushed over, covered in dirt and looking wretched, their expressions complex. That lightning bombardment, which seemed to come from hell just now, shocked everyone. Even someone as experienced in combat as Biscuit was speechless for a moment.
Riku nodded, suppressing the surging restlessness of the Lightning Core within his body, and cast his gaze toward the ruined walls of the arena that were still continuing to collapse.
Just at this moment, the system prompt sounded again:
[Corpse Energy Remaining: 31%]
[Target: Dark Pollutant · Elena (Administrator Mutant)]
[Forcefully plunder residual core? (Requires 50 system energy points)]
"Elena..." Riku's eyes shifted. Although that woman was one of the administrators, she had long been controlled by the pollution. Her abilities had once suppressed the entire field. If he could acquire her residual traits, it might be helpful for the impending changes.
"Initiate plunder."
He issued the command without hesitation. The lightning transformed into silk threads, piercing through the area that had already become ashes.
[Plunder Successful]
[Acquired Special Trait · Privilege Residue: Data Rewrite (A-Rank)]
[Acquired Special Trait · Forbidden Nen Fragment · Eye of Bizarre Construction (S-Rank · Unstable)]
Riku raised an eyebrow. This "Eye of Bizarre Construction" was not a Nen ability, but a conceptual fragment extending from something like the Dark Domain. It possessed extremely strong power to interfere with reality's rules, but was simultaneously highly unstable.
He swiftly sealed it away, only keeping the "Data Rewrite" trait as an immediate support ability to prevent the system from collapsing again.
However—before the group could take a brief breather, a low rumbling from deep underground quietly sounded.
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
The foundation of the entire Arena Island shook. Long-sealed stone pillars cracked open on their own, the roar of sliding metal mechanisms mingling with whisper-like incantations. The air became heavy, and even light seemed to be compressed.
"...This isn't an earthquake." Biscuit muttered.
"Someone... is summoning something." Killua's expression changed drastically, the electric arcs on his fingers jumping involuntarily.
Suddenly, a rust-mottled stone pillar completely collapsed, revealing the entrance to a secret chamber below. That blockade, which originally belonged to the administrator team's classified area, was forcibly destroyed by some power!
Riku instantly flashed over, protected by lightning, and stepped into the entrance.
The passage was deep and dark. The air was filled with the smell of stale rust and rotting corpses, as well as an even more ancient—aura of death.
"System, scan below."
[High-density Death Nen fluctuation detected]
[Warning: Traces of high-level Death Nen Entity activation exist within the area]
[Suggestion: Eliminate the pollution source]
"Death Nen Entities?" Riku frowned. In the Hunter world, the existence of "Death Nen" was akin to an aggregation of resentment polluted by killing intent and obsession. They were not Nen Beasts, but possessed sustained combat capabilities approaching the level of Nen Beasts.
At the end of the passage, a stone door boomed open. Over ten figures wearing archaic Hunter uniforms slowly stood up from stone sarcophagi—their faces had long since rotted, but Nen light flickered in their eyes.
"Welcome, intruder." A leader spoke in a low voice, his tone like scraping scrap metal. "We are the discarded test subjects—the dead, who also thirst for revenge."
Riku's gaze hardened.
"System, prepare combat log."
[Target identification in progress...]
[Enemy Units: Hunter Remains Number 14-A to 14-N]
[Average Trait Level: B to A Rank]
[Some possess S-Rank Nen Skill fragments; possesses trait plunder value]
"Excellent." Battle intent soared in Riku's eyes.
In an instant, those Death Nen Hunters attacked in unison with astonishing speed, rolling in black mist of Nen. The leader formed his five fingers into claws, sweeping a "Soul-Devouring Nen Breaker" across Riku's chest!
Riku advanced instead of retreating, his figure flashing into close combat range like lightning. The Lightning Core in his right arm surged, and his fist, fused with "Lightning Spirit Qualitative Change · Detonate Core," smashed ruthlessly into the entity's chest!
Bang!!
The Death Nen Hunter's upper body exploded, shredded meat splattering!
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Soul-Devouring Nen Breaker (A-Rank · Specialization Type)]
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Combat Backtrack (A-Rank · Manipulation Type)]
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Crimson Gaze (B-Rank · Interference Type)]
He had no time to check the details. Behind him, two other Death Nen entities had already attacked at close range. One transformed its Nen shadow into claws, while the other's dual fists surged with pale ash flames.
Riku spun violently, instantly activating the "Combat Backtrack" trait. A bizarre afterimage flashed from behind him, striking right on the Death Nen entity's shoulder, interrupting its movements!
He then vaulted and spun, his right leg transforming into a lightning whip that swept across, sending the other entity flying horizontally!
Within a few seconds, two Death Nen entities were crushed, their remains splattering and the black mist dispersing.
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Ash Flame Prairie Fire (A-Rank · Conjuration Type)]
[Plunder Successful: Trait · Reverse Breath Body Manipulation (B-Rank · Manipulation Type)]
[System Energy Recovery: +14%]
"Excellent... I can keep going!"
Lightning currents flowed over Riku's entire body like water. The combat rhythm grew faster and faster, as traits continuously flowed into the system like a waterfall—fusing, reconstructing, and evolving!
"Lightning: Ash Flame Chain!"
He abruptly triggered the fused trait. A pale ash-colored lightning flame chain spewed from his body, directly binding the remaining four Death Nen entities, and then detonated!
BOOM!!
Black flames swept up. Amidst the firelight, Riku swung his fist and smashed the skull of the final Death Nen entity!