Chapter 358: Episode 15

Honestly, I once despised humans.

This continent is a harsh environment where humans have survived for a long time. Even with the body of Quinn, I understand this. He has been resurrected many times due to his ability, but usually, once killed, his life ends there.

The annihilation of the investigation team's elite unit does not mean they were weak. On the other hand, I had a sense of superiority somewhere within me. I was obsessed with the preconceived notion that I was superior to humans, superior to mankind.

But I discovered that this feeling did not align with my goals. I should want to understand humans and live like them. Separating "myself" from "humans" and looking down on them was actually moving away from my goal.

We must stand on equal footing. At the very least, the four people here can honestly admit that they are worthy of recognition. He uses his mind well.

Such an extensive enemy search capability is completely beyond my range. If there is anything I can do at most, it is to teach them the biological ecology they should pay attention to in this regard. Without me, they could have been on their own.

On the contrary, I learned more from them. In particular, it is a group of experts dealing with "just in case." Naturally, he trains himself better than I do with vague memories. Especially the foundation of Nen combat, the technique known as the secret art of "Ryu," can be called a peerless masterpiece.

During a break, a young man named Tokunosuke showed me a little, and I had to admit that my practice until now was no different from a boy's game. It was so bright and smooth. The human body harmoniously blends with the Aura filling the blood vessels, flowing through the whole body as naturally as blood.

"Mr. Cartley is better at this kind of thing than I am."

According to Tokunosuke, Cartley is the best at close-quarters combat among the members. Seeing Cartley deny this, shaking his body so violently that I thought he might be decapitated, I simply couldn't believe it.

However, Shingen-ryu is the main school of Nen methods, and I have always been interested in its techniques. I would be happy to take a look.

"Impossible! There are no masters in the world! The value of me showing off my skills is..."

"It's fine, show me. You don't need to worry about those guards. If it's just 'Evasion' techniques, this guy is a substitute instructor. Look, Quinn, you can hit him however you like."

"Stop it!?"

I received permission to do Kumite. There were no signs coming from the opponent; it could only be seen as being frightened. For now, I tried to approach and hit him lightly.

"Hey! Stop!"

Even though I closed my eyes and cried out, I still dodged the attack. I kept hitting, but it wasn't easy to land a blow. Just one step away.

The opponent was clearly shaken, running around ruthlessly. Thinking that even if he dodged, he could turn quickly, the next move was dodged again. It was a terrifying move that could have been avoided by Coincidence, but this Coincidence continued dozens of times.

It was not a Coincidence. Pretending to be prey that could only be teased, he had the excellent ability to seriously parry attacks. Although I knew it, I was confused. He was exhausted and looked desperate.

Provoked by his foolish attitude, he clenched his fists. At first, the slightly strengthened Aura gradually intensified, and in the end, a rain of punches poured down with almost full force.

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

But that was not the case. I was frustrated and almost used "Heavy," but as expected, I restrained myself. Deep breath, take a moment to calm down. Cartley fell to the ground like a broken puppet, but that must have been a bluff. I decided to avoid it even if I hit here.

"Well, I said it, but it's a Demon."

"You live quite well."

If I hadn't been told about his ability in advance, it would have heated up even more. Realizing the trouble again. His ability is called "Allergy Incense."

He has an innate quality of Aura. Aura has subtle different attributes depending on the owner, and one's personality can be reflected in the atmosphere.

In his case, he is a bit special, possessing an Aura that "irritates others." I don't know if it's because of this quality that his personality became servile, or if it's because of his servility that the quality of his Aura became twisted.

"Snake Demon Essence Incense" is an Emitter-type ability that amplifies the nature of this Aura and radiates it to the surroundings. It has no direct attack power, but it has the effect of inducing the enemy's thoughts and provoking their emotions.

However, this effect is not very strong. Even if it affects emotions, it cannot control one's own will; it can only irritate the enemy and rub their nerves in the opposite direction. If you are an inexperienced user, you might get angry and frustrated, but the stronger you are, the more capable you are of controlling your thoughts, so it won't work.

At first glance, this ability seems useless, but combined with his extraordinary combat skills, it shows great power. He has the ability to perceive killing intent that is very sensitive to others. By triggering the enemy's killing intent through "Snake Demon Essence Incense," he highlights the trajectory of the enemy's next attack.

When people consciously try to attack others, they have more or less killing intent. A good Assassin can suppress this killing intent to the limit, but it still cannot be zero. As long as the intention to attack is at work, some kind of sign will appear there.

If you are a veteran martial artist, even if you receive "Snake Demon Essence Incense," you can immediately restore peace to your mind. However, this always requires a lot of effort. An additional process of "calming the mind," which is usually unnecessary, intervenes.

The greater their influence, the more accurately they can grasp their own mental fluctuations and strive to keep their spirit strong to Eliminate their hesitation. There is a slight "force" there. It is a tiny difference that an ordinary person cannot even identify, but Cartley cleverly sniffs out the enemy's killing intent from that extra force and finds the trajectory of the attack, as if predicting it.

In the previous Kumite, he dodged all my attacks. From the outside, it seemed like I continued to attack him unilaterally and didn't let him attack. However, the essence is completely opposite. In terms of interpersonal combat skills, Cartley won.

Combat is usually an Exchange of offense and defense. For people with equal abilities, the boundary between defense and offense becomes blurred. Attacking blocks the enemy's actions and creates a favorable situation for oneself, which can be called "defense." Through defense, one can block the enemy's attack and use this opportunity to prepare for the next step.

But if you argue which one is more favorable, it is offensive. The defensive side can only defend at this time, while the offensive side has both offense and defense. "Offense is the best defense." The leader has an overwhelming advantage.

Just as an army needs a lot of energy to recover from a disadvantage, individual combat is the same. Therefore, first of all, the posture of "attacking without being attacked by the enemy" is basic. In battle, agility is superior to technique.

Of course, being fast doesn't mean everything will be solved. Especially in battles between Nen users, there are many developments you cannot predict, and there are times when you should not attack blindly.

However, even considering this, "staying in evasion" is far more difficult than staying in attack. Forgiving the enemy's attack and continuing to deal with it without doing anything can only be done by someone who is much stronger than the enemy.

Because he is a first-class warrior, he can do this. It's frustrating, but I can understand it now because I actually did Kumite. Although I knew the details of his ability in advance, I didn't expect to be tossed around like this. I want you to play with me again.

"Don't play anymore!!"

Kumite was refused, but I was taught various body arts. I could only see it during short breaks, but I learned a lot.

I am of the Boxing style, so I can't change to the Shingen style now, and Cartley doesn't seem to be familiar with Boxing either. However, as long as it is martial arts, there are some commonalities in basic limb movements. I want to absorb anything I can learn on this occasion.

"Tell me about your limbs."

"You know a skill!? Impossible, because it's not Heart Source... but that's right... then I'll teach you a move that can be used in boxing. It's a bit too small, no users, but..."

It seems the name of the technique is "Yangkyaku." Shingen-ryu basically puts your feet on the ground and has a solid stance, but this technique requires steps. Lift your toes with a unique pace and feel the vibration when the soles of your feet touch the ground.

This makes it possible to accurately grasp the position of the enemy in contact with the ground, just like acoustic positioning. It seems that if you can master this, it will be easier to deal with even if you use a technique that deceives your Sight Vision, such as melody.

"No, no matter how you look at it, this is not a technique that a layman can imitate."

"Ah, right... sorry!"

Of course it's difficult. This is not a technique that can be used immediately just by looking at it. However, while testing, I came up with an idea.

This is not a technique for attacking, but a technique for "reading" and seeing through the enemy's movements. Strengthen the feeling of the soles of your feet and feel the vibration. Enhancing this feeling is my specialty. If you apply it "together," it is not impossible.

"Done."

"..."

Cartley and the others were stunned, as if looking at something frightened, but it doesn't matter. All I did was use my Nen Ability to perform a fake Copy of the technique called "Sheep Foot," which is nothing compared to Cartley, who can do it on his own.

Indeed, if you use "together," you can do something similar, but the problem is the situation where it is assumed to be used. "Combined force" is a technique that requires extreme concentration, so it cannot be easily used in battle. In this regard, it can be said that "Sheep Foot" is a technique based on being used in battle.

However, when you are actually facing an enemy, there is no need to go out of your way to find them. Since you can see the enemy's figure, it is useless to go to the trouble of strengthening the feeling of the soles of your feet. It makes sense that there are no users.

However, I don't think this is a technique that cannot be used at all. As a test, I let Chell and Tokunosuke attack me for a while to see how it felt when I used it, and I realized that the true value of this technique is something else.

Human senses can be divided into five main categories. Among the so-called five senses, Sight Vision has the greatest impact on cognition. In other words, due to Sight Vision misdirection, identification differences are likely to occur.

One of the Assassin's secret arts is called "Limping," which is said to create an Illusion by using a special gait to confuse the enemy, a gait that slows down and slows down. This is an extreme example, but hallucinations occur naturally even in daily life. Sight Vision does not produce identification, but the reality that the brain arbitrarily interprets is output as visual information. Not everything you see is real.

This is just a small difference, but in a battle where the moment determines Fate, the difference is huge. It is important to have a way to identify accurate information.

At first, I thought it would be good to strengthen my eyes using "En," but the result was counterproductive. By enhancing my vision, the illusions that serve as the basis for visual function also intensified. Hallucinations are not defects; they are simply normal brain functions.

Gaze is an essential technique for judging an opponent's abilities in a battle with a Nen user, but it should not be used too much. If you rely on it too heavily, the danger of being caught in an enemy's tactics increases.

Sensitive senses in a state of extreme concentration sometimes manifest hallucinations that do not exist. In a deadly battle, when you land a heart-stopping punch that even the enemy thinks you cannot dodge, it often gets dodged. I am sure it should have hit, but it closes off as if some strange technique was used.

If I split my consciousness with "Thought Manipulation" and observe my actions objectively, I can immediately see that this is no trick, just that I am not strong enough. The problem is not here, but that he cannot recognize his own mistakes and replaces them with selfish imagination instead of reality.

This phenomenon is similar to the judgment of a sports camera. Both players gave it their all, and I had no doubt they won, but if you actually check the footage, one of them should have lost. As you can see, the human brain is an unreliable organ that rewrites perception to suit its own convenience.

As for me, I can examine myself from a third-person perspective through "Thought Calculation," but this can only be done during training. In a life-or-death battle, there is no time to slowly observe yourself and correct your actions.

In this regard, "Together" can be said to be a good way of recognition. The shared intuition that intertwines the five senses sometimes produces a super-sense similar to that of an insect. By perceiving reality from multiple angles using not only sight but also various other senses, more accurate information can be obtained. However, as I mentioned before, this is not a technique that can be used in battle. It is not a technique that can simultaneously use Aura to strengthen the body or move attack and defense power at high speed with "Flow."

The technical ability to handle Aura is also limited. For example, "En" would be useful if it could be used in battle, but it is also a skill that consumes a lot of attention and Qi. If you are going to spare your ability for this, it is better to put all your strength into strengthening your body.

This is a cost-benefit issue. Since there is a limit to the manifestation amount of Aura, if you use "En," you must reduce the amount of Aura applied to "Ren" and "Ken." There is more work to be done than using an absurd proportion of Aura to correct a small misunderstanding.

"Goat Foot" can compensate for this dilemma. It can only be used against enemies in contact with the ground, and compared to "Together" and "Quan," the accuracy drops significantly, but you don't have to worry about the proportion of Aura used. By capturing the enemy with sight and supplementing information with the tactile sensation of the soles of the feet, more accurate identification becomes possible.

The difference in perception caused by this subtle illusion is a real problem for me. Boxing utilizes its light footwork and plays with the opponent with flexible movements. However, its weakness also lies in the footwork. The steps, which have a low center of gravity and frequently lift the feet, become difficult to deal with when targeted at this time. When your feet are not on the ground, you are exposed to being defenseless.

Therefore, if you ask me to stand firmly and fight, that is not always the right thing to do. A low center of gravity makes it easier to deal with incoming enemies and release powerful blows, but it loses agility. This is a "waiting" posture, which also has its own drawbacks. It is a question of pros and cons.

When I practiced these steps, I somehow understood the importance of reading the enemy's movements. The more irregular the steps, the greater the gap. Consciousness has waves, and its fluctuations are like the rhythm of breathing. It is important to read the breathing of yourself and the other party, move your feet, and weave through the gaps in their consciousness. For this, it is better to be able to perceive more detailed information than what is simply seen by the naked eye.

This breathing cannot be seen unless you actually observe the enemy. This is not something I can do now unless I use "Together." However, when he saw a technique called "Goat Foot," he had an epiphany. If I could master this without the help of "Together," wouldn't it be easier to read the enemy's breathing than it is now?

This is a Shingen-ryu technique, but it might be incorporated into boxing steps. The ability to perceive the enemy and move at the same time is simple but useful. This is not just a technique aimed at finding the enemy. I wonder if the developer of this technique had such an intention. I try to talk to Katlai about these considerations.

"Uh... no, I didn't get such a lesson from my teacher... but there is definitely a point. Although I have been using it, I have never thought about it. I am still very immature...."

Don't be humble. I reached this conclusion by using a foul technique called "Together," but he acquired this technique through proper training. You should already be familiar with the essence from experience rather than theory.

"What kind of conversation is this? It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, you two seem to be having fun, it's fine."

After that, Katlai and I had a discussion about some topics related to martial arts. However, the quality of the aura he emitted was somewhat unpleasant (as if it couldn't be completely suppressed unless you Extinguish it), but I wanted to gain knowledge and become a little stronger than that, so I didn't pay too much attention. I didn't.

He usually stutters and doesn't talk much, but he seems very interested in topics like samurai. Sure enough, only Shingen-ryu is familiar with the training methods of the mind, and I heard many useful stories.

Cher also suggested that I become Katlai's disciple. This is also not bad. As for martial arts, he is someone far above me. If you can study seriously, you can learn deeper.

However, this matter was rejected. He is also busy. He probably doesn't have enough free time to take care of an amateur who has only started boxing for a few weeks. I'm sorry, but I can't help it.

Three days later, we finally arrived at our destination. You can see a hill with exposed rock surfaces in the distance. Among the dense forest, only the top of the mountain is bald, revealing the color of the soil.

In fact, I have been to this place before. But I didn't intervene. Something was happening, and you could consider it an anomaly.

On the top of the mountain, I saw a giant rock moving slowly. Because of the distance, I don't know the specific size, but it is a giant rock that even a few people gathering together could not move. The rock began to move on its own, floating as if resisting gravity, and was blown away by the Wind.

Rocks of all sizes floated up from the mountain as if they were releasing helium balloons. There is no doubt that there is something there, but he is too lazy to go forward and confirm.

Tokunosuke's Nen-bori had already scouted this hill in advance. Some floating rocks have already been brought back to the research ship for detailed inspection. As a result, nothing special was found in the composition. It is an ordinary Stone. However, only the mass is abnormally light.

This Stone is not the reward. An object whose mass has changed due to some factor. In other words, the thing that produces these factors is likely the reward. Kanuli's investigation has such prospects.

At the center of the mountain, mineral Crystals have been confirmed at the bottom of a basin that sinks like a crater. It is large and sturdy, and I cannot take it out with Nen-tsu. The Crystal itself seems to have some weight. Therefore, it is necessary to go to the site to collect it directly.

There are still many unknowns about the effect of this mineral on surrounding Materials. Its danger has not been clarified, but after some verification, it seems that even if you get close, the mass will not change immediately. These floating rocks are thought to have gradually changed their weight over many years.

This is all we know about the reward, but what we are worried about is the risk. I actually know something about this. When Quantum discovered this place, there were already a large number of casualties, but the total was still ninety-seven people.

The troops, which were originally divided into several groups and scattered for exploration, gathered together and fully explored, with this small mountain as the center of gravity. Among them, 89 people died in risk encounters.

The investigation team gave this risk the pseudonym "Parasite." As the name suggests, the shape is similar to a caterpillar. However, its total length easily exceeds 20 meters. Its legs are long and sharp like a centipede, and it moves quickly.

Many butterfly and moth larvae have large eyeball-like markings on their heads, which is an evolution to escape their natural enemy, birds. This "wurm" has a similar eyeball, but it is not a pattern. It has a real, huge eyeball.

Just because it is soft like a caterpillar does not mean it is easily injured. Skin with tough elasticity like rubber does not take half-hearted attacks. It has a chimney-like vent on the top of its head, from which it releases a large amount of poisonous gas. It even spits out thin strings from its mouth at high speed to attack.

It is a creature similar to a Demon, but in fact, I was not that cautious when I first encountered it. There is no doubt that it is definitely not an opponent that humans can defeat, and although several people were killed or injured, the damage did not expand.

Its movement speed is fast, but not so fast that a Nen user cannot escape at full sprint. Wearing a mask can also prevent poisonous gas. As long as I handle the strings carefully, it is not such a difficult enemy to deal with. Instead, during the operation, a large dinosaur-like creature was about to invade from outside the area, so it was decided to retreat temporarily, just in case.

Through several contacts, I have gained a certain understanding of the ecology of the Parasite. They live in large numbers in the forest around the hill. The ground of the habitat is covered with a safety net made of strings, which has no adhesive force, but if you step on it, the intrusion will be detected immediately.

This is a troublesome existence, but if you know the story, there is a countermeasure. Due to the excitement of the return, the morale of the members was higher than the fear of the Parasite.

But the risk did not rage during the engagement, but when they retreated and regrouped. Some members began to complain of eye pain. By the time the doctor started checking her, it was too late. People died one after another in a very short period of time.

A request was made to determine the cause of death immediately. An autopsy immediately revealed an abnormality. Parasites were confirmed in the brains of the deceased. From its shape, it was identified as a larva of the Parasite.

How were you infected with this parasite? Its route is unknown. According to the investigation, no member had direct contact with the Parasite. It is possible that the members who had already died touched it, but even so, there were too many infected people. As the interviews progressed, many people began to complain of eye pain.

Assuming it appeared, the forest where the Parasite lives was itself contaminated, and as long as you stepped into it, you would be infected. If so, destruction is inevitable. Isolating patients is not enough. Despair spread in the forest camp.

However, as information was collected, it became clear that the infected had something in common. First, there were always two parasites in the corpse. Not more, not less. The two of them were produced in the eyeball and reached the brain while devouring the optic nerve.

Secondly, many patients felt discomfort in their eyes while fighting the Parasite. Symptoms of eye fatigue such as blurred vision, tired eyes, and mild headaches. Muscle spasms around the eyes. Some people felt unexpected eyeball movements.

The triggers for these patients' symptoms were also common. Just then, I saw the huge eyeball on the head of the Parasite I was fighting. Many members of the anti-infection group said that the moment their eyes met, they felt as if something was pouncing on them. It was really a feeling without pain for a moment, a trivial discomfort, I thought it was just my imagination.

When their eyes met, the eggs might have already been planted. This is a very unrealistic reasoning, but no one can deny this possibility. In this place, the unreal is taken for granted.

What is scary is that even the members who had been supporting them from the rear began to have eye pain. They had never seen a Dragon. However, when he joined the retreating members, or rather, when they came back, when he saw their eyes, he said he had a feeling as if something was jumping at him.

By the time the truth came to light, more than 50 people had died. What happened to the remaining 40 survivors later? And now, why are there only four Quantums left?

I can't get it out.