Chapter 163: The Call of the Dark Continent
From the other end of the rift, a massive wave of negative energy faintly transmitted over. Riku knew that this battle was merely the prologue; the true test had only just begun.
"Gon, Killua." Riku turned his head, seeing the two of them, though exhausted from the battle, still nervously surveying their surroundings. Biscuit and List had also steadied their breathing by now, but their guarded expressions hadn't relaxed in the slightest.
"Are you guys alright?" Riku asked.
"We're fine." Gon wiped the sweat from his face, forcing back his fatigue, his eyes remaining resolute. "As long as you're okay, but... what exactly was that thing?"
"A vanguard entity from the Dark Continent," Riku replied, his tone laced with calmness and deep thought. "It wasn't a complete lifeform, but more like a consciousness projection of the Dark Continent. Perhaps the enemies we face next will all be extensions of these 'consciousness entities'."
"The Dark Continent..." Killua's eyes flickered, clearly interested in this unfamiliar term. "It sounds like a very terrifying place."
"It is." Riku nodded. "The stronger the enemies we encounter, the more it proves that the power of the Dark Continent goes far beyond this."
"So next..." Biscuit frowned. "Are we going to directly face the 'true power' of that Dark Continent?"
Riku didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out that new trait from the system interface—"Domain Guidance: Dark Sacrificial Right"—and attempted to activate it.
[Activating "Domain Guidance: Dark Sacrificial Right"]
Suddenly, the surrounding void began to tremble, and an icy, corrupting dark power instantly enveloped them. Riku even felt a tremor within the system itself. This power had formed some sort of "resonance" with the system's fusion mechanism. He could almost feel his internal Lightning Core and this dark power undergoing a bizarre transformation.
"Get close to me!" Riku roared in a low voice.
Biscuit, Gon, and Killua immediately closed in, while List stood on the periphery of the group, vigilantly observing their surroundings. In the next moment, the surrounding dark aura suddenly erupted, condensing into a massive pressure that swept towards them.
"What is this?!" Gon asked in surprise.
"Don't be afraid, stay calm," Riku replied composedly. He felt the dark aura gradually expanding, and the lightning within him was undergoing a subtle resonance with the dark power, as if they were both adapting to each other to some extent.
"Roar—!!!"
Suddenly, a massive roar echoed through the void. Then, a giant, bizarre eye revealed itself at the other end of the rift. That eye was not a normal biological eye, but a pure rift of darkness, rippling internally with an endless abyssal aura.
"An emissary of the Dark Continent..." Riku took a deep breath, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "It's finally here."
With the appearance of that eye, the surrounding dark energy began to swell like a surging abyss. In the next moment, a massive black hand reached out from the void, carrying a suffocating oppressive feeling, and slapped fiercely towards them.
"Dodge!" Riku instantly judged the enemy's intent. With a wave of his right hand, lightning erupted, instantly wrapping the four of them together.
BOOM!!!
The black hand brought with it terrifying oppressive force, nearly tearing apart the surrounding space. Even though Riku had activated all his defensive traits, he still felt a massive force blow them away.
"What's going on?" Killua gritted his teeth, the electric current within his body surging frantically, but he distinctly felt the energy flow throughout his body imprisoned by some bizarre power.
"This power..." Riku said solemnly, "is more than just Nen. It's more like the power of 'rules', capable of interfering with and even suppressing the Nen within our bodies."
"The power of rules?" A flash of understanding crossed Biscuit's eyes. "No wonder you activated the 'Dark Sacrificial Right' just now."
"Sacrificial Right?" Riku's gaze darkened. "This power itself is the embodiment of a sacrificial rule. It can combine 'Nen' with 'Rules' to form a new restricting ability."
"What should we do?" Gon asked eagerly, clearly full of apprehension about the impending battle.
"Keep your distance for now," Riku said in a deep voice. "I'll go shatter that dark eye first to buy you guys some time."
As his words fell, he quickly bounded forward, lightning surging, drawing a very fast arc in the air as he lunged straight for that eye.
Unidentified red light flickered within the eye, as if a consciousness was slowly condensing. Riku's actions did not slow down because of the massive pressure before him; instead, he became more decisive.
Just then, that black eye suddenly cracked open, and a strong dark vortex erupted from within, lunging at Riku. A look of determination flashed in Riku's eyes; he knew this strike would determine the course of the subsequent battle.
"Thunder God's Wrath: Lightning Strike Cyclone!"
He activated the Lightning Core with all his might. Electric arcs erupted from his body, transforming into a lightning whirlwind that smashed fiercely into the black eye.
"Break!"
Rumble!!!
The lightning and the dark vortex collided violently. The darkness in space seemed to be torn apart, and the scene before them instantly blurred.
Riku felt the power within his body abruptly sucked away, nearly losing the ability to move.
[Warning: Dark Sacrificial Right interference entering critical stage!]
The corners of Riku's mouth curled up slightly, a bolt of lightning flashing in his eyes. "Come on, let's witness the true face of the Dark Continent together!"
The dark vortex was like an endless abyss, violently devouring the power within Riku's body. That bizarre energy of the "Dark Sacrificial Right" seemed to have touched some taboo rule, attempting to distort and absorb his Nen fluctuations. The system continuously warned that trait fusion and the state of the Lightning Core were fluctuating violently.
Riku forced himself to resist the dark corruption. Using the super-anticipation ability of "Phantom Mirror Consecutive Breath," he abruptly opened the distance. His figure suddenly shifted into a series of afterimages, his footsteps carving trails of lightning in the air.
"System, switch combat mode, activate 'Trait Protective Shield: Core Stabilization'."
[Trait Protective Shield: Core Stabilization Activated]
A pale golden energy shield instantly wrapped around his entire body, temporarily isolating the corruption of the dark energy on the outer layer.
He clearly felt the repulsion from the power of the dark rules, but this did not make him retreat.
"That dark eyeball opposite..." In Riku's vision, bizarre runes flickered within that massive "Eye of Rules," as if prying into his mind, attempting to pierce his mental barrier.
"It's not a simple enemy," Riku said in a low voice. "It's the embodiment of the Dark Continent's will, the materialized form of its rules."
Gon, Killua, and Biscuit were still vigilantly watching their surroundings. Although Riku had temporarily withstood the pressure, this battle had clearly not reached its end.
"Damn it..." Riku quickly browsed the latest trait data in the system.
['Dark Sacrificial Right' additional status activated] [Hint: Rule suppression phase, the effects of some traits are reduced by 30%]
"What should I do about this?" Riku's heart tightened. The system's rule suppression was truly severe, limiting the power of many of his moves.
"I have to shatter its 'Rule Node' first." He whispered, abruptly focusing his gaze on a faintly flickering point within the dark eyeball.
A new target marker appeared on the system interface:
[Target: Rule Node "Abyssal Pupil"] [Task: Destroy the node within 30 seconds, otherwise rule suppression will fully activate~]
"There's not much time left!" Riku quickly adjusted the Lightning Core's frequency, gathering momentum, ready to strike.
Suddenly, that "Eye of Rules" in the void abruptly enlarged several times. Seemingly sensing the threat, the rune light within it burst, whipping up monstrous Nen waves.
"Lightning Flame: Burst Blade!"
Riku let out a low roar. His right hand transformed into a giant lightning blade, charging straight for the rule node.
In an instant, the lightning collided with the dark runes. Spatial tremors spread outward like an earthquake, the surrounding air twisted, and a tearing sensation of rules struck him.
"BOOM!!!"
The node was broken. The dark eyeball twisted in pain, and the dense dark energy suddenly dissipated by a fraction.
But the price was heavy. The Lightning Core within Riku's body also suffered a backlash, vibrating violently, feeling as if it were about to collapse.
[Lightning Core stability plummeted to 50%] [Core Defense activated, entering forced repair mode]
"Careful!" Gon exclaimed, feeling the shockwaves from the ground tremors.
Although in pain, the dark eyeball's fury soared. It suddenly released a black Nen blade, sweeping down like a sharp edge, carrying intense rule suppression energy.
Riku spun around sharply, his shield and Lightning Core weaving into a gold-blue light curtain, barely blocking it.
"Next..." His eyes shone as he whispered to summon a fused trait.
"Phantom Mirror Consecutive Breath: Burst Form Activated!"
A stronger wave of mental perception erupted from his body, helping him capture the subtle operational patterns of the dark eyeball.
He discovered that hiding within the opponent's rule node were countless fragmented data streams, extremely susceptible to being exploited by the "Trait Armament" system.
"System, begin 'Trait Armament: Data Infiltration'!"
[Infiltration success rate: 78%] [Infiltration Target: Rule Node Deep Data Stream] [Infiltration will unlock hidden traits and weaknesses]
Riku's fingers drew complex Nen patterns in the air. Lightning and data streams intertwined, beginning to forcefully input his own trait code into the rule node.
The dark eyeball struggled violently, nearly collapsing, and the spatial tremors grew even stronger.
"Is this... the resistance of rules?"
System warnings continued to sound; the trait armament entered a critical state.
Simultaneously, the "Infinite Trait Plunder System" within Riku's body unexpectedly released a mysterious prompt that had never appeared before:
[Discovered "Dark Continent: Core Rule Fragment"] [Fragment Activation: Can temporarily reverse the rule suppression state] [Activation Condition: Pay an equivalent amount of system stability as a price]
"Use it!" Riku chose to activate it without hesitation.
A blazing white light erupted from the Lightning Core, instantly offsetting a portion of the dark rule suppression, and the system core stability recovered to 80%.
At the same time, the "Infinite Trait Plunder System" within his body underwent an unprecedented sublimation, the number of traits skyrocketing to 108.
"Trait Armament Complete!"
The system prompt was deafening. Riku felt a powerful force inject into his body, his Nen fluctuations instantly doubling.
"Now!"
Riku gathered his power, focusing all his energy into his right fist.
"Thunder God: Ultimate Final Chapter!"
The lightning condensed into a giant sword shining with electricity and data streams, seemingly connecting the boundary between reality and rules. He charged straight at the dark eyeball, unleashing a lightning sword slash that tore through space.
The dark eyeball let out a tragic shriek. The rule node was completely pulverized, the intense feeling of rule suppression vanished, and space returned to calm.
"The Eye of Rules has been shattered!"
Amidst the system prompts, Riku's Lightning Core reached 95% stability, and the trait fusion efficiency reached its absolute peak.
Simultaneously, the Dark Continent deep within the rift seemed to be shaken. The massive slumbering consciousness seemed to have noticed his existence.
"Dark Continent... the real challenge has only just begun."
Riku gazed at the slowly closing rift in the distance, a firmer resolve igniting in his heart.
"I will let you know what true Infinite Plunder is!"
Author: Yafeng Chenxi
The instant the dark eyeball was completely shattered, the aftershocks of the spatial tremors gradually dissipated. Riku felt the energy of the Lightning Core within his body stabilize again, and the trait system also ushered in an unprecedented explosion.
But there was no time to relax. A low rumbling came from deep within the rift, as if a slumbering behemoth were slowly awakening.
"This is only the beginning..." Riku muttered to himself.
He looked up into the distance. The edge of the dark rift seemed to tremble slightly, exuding an even thicker, chilling aura.
"Gon, Killua, get ready. We still have to keep fighting." Riku's tone was firm.
"Understood!" Gon and Killua exchanged a glance, battle intent igniting in both their eyes.
Biscuit and List quickly adjusted their battle formation, staring vigilantly at the rift's movements.
Just then, a blurry human figure slowly emerged from the rift, wearing a worn jacket, with messy black hair and a cynical smile. His eyes were profound and bright, as if able to pierce through all darkness.
"Yo, people messing with my son's game... are you ready to face the real 'Dark Continent'?" His voice echoed in the air, carrying a hint of provocation and excitement.
Riku's gaze focused, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating.
"That voice... could it be—" Gon froze. "The summoner of the Dark Continent..." Riku said in a low voice.
The phantom of this person gradually solidified, actually forming the image of a tall man, mysterious and powerful.
"Who are you? Why are you obstructing me?" Riku looked straight at the phantom, his gaze full of wariness.
The phantom chuckled lightly, his tone cold and stern: "I am a pioneer of the Dark Continent, an apostle of the rules. What you destroyed was merely one of my pawns."
"A pawn?" Riku responded coldly. "Then what is your true purpose?"
"To control everything, master the ultimate form of rules, and let the Dark Continent rule all worlds." The phantom's voice gradually deepened, his figure rapidly expanding, transforming into a dark swirling vortex.
"Come, let me see if your Infinite Trait Plunder System can truly control the rules!"
Riku knew this true contest was about to arrive.
"System, switch to full-power combat mode, activate trait fusion limit."
[Trait Fusion Limit Activated] [Number of traits skyrockets to 115] [Core Lightning Core energy increased by 20%]
Lightning swirled violently around Riku's body. The aura of the dark summoner was suffocating.
"Killua, Gon, Biscuit, cover me!"