After separating from Biscuit and Wing.
Oboro continued to lead the team to start the mission.
During this period, after completing another three-star mission, he submitted an application to the Association for a Three-Star Hunter.
This three-star mission happened to meet Oboro's expectations.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't commissioned by the Association... But something that he had intentionally wanted to do a long time ago.
After laying the foundation for ancient texts from the beginning.
He relied on his professional knowledge to translate and interpret all of the stone tablet texts that had been excavated from an ancient ruin.
Given that the ancient text on this stone tablet had been unearthed for a very long time, and was very famous, but had never been conquered.
Therefore, when it was broadcast on television, scholars in the field of ancient texts unanimously believed that this was a historic step forward for mankind, and had world-class influence and significance.
Afterwards, it was recognized by the Association as a three-star.
As he had thought, it was unanimously approved within the Association, but it was stuck on V5's side, and they had to wait for a reply.
The time might be very long.
And in the long time, Oboro had finally officially completed the transformation of his Nen ability through 'Hero Island'.
Completely offline!
He had eliminated the hidden danger.
Now, the Feil Shi family was already reclaiming land from the sea to create new artificial islands, increasing the number of servers, and expanding the game world... Because Hero Island had become one of the main sources of income for the Feil Shi family, and had gradually opened up its reputation.
If the Heavens Arena was a paradise for martial artists, then Hero Island was a colosseum for Nen ability users.
Because of the pursuit of teamwork and competition, and everyone was at the same level in terms of level and strength after entering the game, it increased the playability, and it was easy to get addicted... Which led to more and more new players pouring in, including the Hunters of the Association.
Which made the management team of Hero Island, even if they had turned Oboro's small island, which had always been in training mode, into a battle mode... The number of players that could be accommodated was still limited.
Its popularity was unprecedented.
Thanks to this, the effect of the contract harvest had increased by leaps and bounds.
Now, the stability of this game and the ability to fix bugs... Had reached the point where even Oboro, the behind-the-scenes producer who had created it with his own hands, couldn't find any 'backdoors' from the perspective of an outsider.
As long as it didn't suffer unimaginable destruction, such as dropping a nuclear bomb on it, the game would basically not be shut down.
However, all of this had nothing to do with him anymore.
...
After a long time, Oboro, who was wearing a suit and leather shoes, and was covered in dust, returned to the Association headquarters.
A week ago, he had finally received a notice from the Association.
His application for a Three-Star Hunter had been approved by V5.
And his information had been filed.
He had returned this time... To participate in the Association's awarding ceremony.
Of course, it wasn't the kind of large-scale ceremony. It was just a notification within the Association, and would be personally commended by Chairman Netero.
It was just going through the motions.
After Saiyu died, Pariston and Beyond hadn't caused any more trouble.
One was that the price of dealing with Oboro was a bit too high, and the other was that the two of them had probably put their minds on the Chimera Ants, and didn't have time to care about him for the time being.
Becoming a Three-Star Hunter was still very memorable, but everyone was busy, and there weren't many people who had come back specifically to admire this scene. Only three of the Zodiacs congratulated Oboro, including Pariston, whom Oboro hated the most.
The remaining two were Gel and Yorkshire.
Although Yorkshire was still wary of Oboro, her hostility wasn't as great as it had been at first.
Because Oboro had been very calm in this past year after refusing to become the Monkey Zodiac...
There were no more than ten Three-Star Hunters in the entire Association now.
Even Morau in the future was only a Two-Star now. Most of the Zodiacs were also at the Two-Star level, except for the Dragon and the Rat.
Host: Oboro.
Age: 26 years old.
Specialty: Three-Star Ancient Text Hunter.
Combat Power Rank: Martial Arts Master, World-Class Hunter (Ranked 8th).
Comprehensive Attribute Evaluation: Three-Stage Superhuman.
At the moment he became a Three-Star Hunter, Oboro summoned the system panel.
He hadn't been slack this year, and had been growing all along... The increase in the effects of the two Nen abilities, ability power, critical strike, armor, life steal, attack range, etc., were all soaring.
In addition to being busy with missions, he had also been hunting magical beasts during the mission process...
It was just that after all aspects had been strengthened to a certain extent, the speed of breaking through had also begun to slow down.
The effects of souls and black mist were limited. It was the same as experience points. The higher his level, the slower the speed of leveling up would be... But there was still no bottleneck, and the harvest would continue to accumulate without limit, but if he wanted to have a qualitative transformation again, he would need to harvest more powerful life forms.
Master of Martial Arts had become Martial Arts Master because Oboro had been practicing some combat skills. He was now extremely fast at getting started, and could learn a new one in a few days, and had completely turned combat skills into 'warm-up exercises'.
He didn't need to deliberately use a certain move now. Instead, he had completely mastered them, and his every move was a martial arts routine.
The transformation from the second stage to the third stage was due to the effects of acupuncture and medicinal supplements.
However, in terms of physical strength alone, Oboro knew that he had reached the ceiling of what his human body could do.
The potential of his flesh and blood had been exhausted.
It was still with the help of the system that he had squeezed out the last bit of life function.
As early as half a month ago, he had discovered that acupuncture and medicinal supplements had become ineffective.
The panel also indicated that his martial arts rating had also reached its limit, and so had his human attributes. He couldn't actively promote them anymore, and no matter how much he cultivated, it would be useless... This was the shackle of this human body. Unless Oboro became another life species, such as a Chimera Ant.
He would let the ants eat him, and be reborn... And then, start from scratch.
He would have a longer lifespan and abilities. Chimera Ants were themselves life from the Dark Continent. Perhaps, if he became a Chimera Ant and accumulated for another ten years, Oboro would be more confident in going to the Dark Continent. This wasn't a bad idea.
However, this idea was rejected by Oboro. Although it was feasible... It was a waste of time.
Oboro didn't have that patience.
He also didn't want to become a mutant, and he wasn't sure if the system would be gone after he was killed.
Fortunately, he couldn't be proactive, but he could rely on the passive of his Nen ability to continue to improve the intensity of his Nen and the defensive nature of his body... Which meant that he was always growing, and wouldn't stop.
It was just that the speed was probably not as significant as before.
After all, he had been getting stronger comprehensively before, but now it would only be a part.
As for critical strike, life steal, and attack range, etc., they were ability additions.
The system panel couldn't give him a way to become stronger anymore. There was only one hint, hanging with a question mark.
It was... The Dark Continent.
He could only go to that place...
In that place, everything was possible.
"Ranked 8th, this only refers to the Nen level... Not the overall strength, but... There are actually seven people ranked ahead of me. Who? Netero, Zeno, Ging Freecss, Linnet, Maha, Beyond... Who's the other one..."
Oboro was a little surprised.
It wasn't Don Freecss.
Oboro had already figured out that after the system had been 'implanted' into this world, it only included the human realm. Based on his memories, the Dark Continent and Don Freecss were both in an unknown state.
In other words, there was still one person in the world who was higher than him in terms of Nen intensity alone.
Most of the previous few had been to the Dark Continent, and had undergone unknown baptisms... Being able to return from that land meant that their 'Nen' was definitely not weak.
The judgment of human attributes was the third stage.
"My current physical quality must have surpassed the old man's, but it still can't compare to his peak period. Netero when he was young and Gon after he turned dark were probably both at the fourth stage..."
Oboro also thought.
His current attack range had increased to nearly 7 meters.
The critical strike rate was still 100%, and had already reached its maximum. The subsequent increase had been converted into life steal, which had increased from 20% at the beginning to 35%, a little more than a third. It meant that every time he attacked, he would get a third of the damage restored when his life force was damaged, and came with a healing effect, which was heaven-defying.
After making a move, the greater the actual lethality, the stronger the recovery.
However... Oboro still didn't have the confidence to defeat Netero.
Now, apart from the intensity of Nen being about the same, the old man's various aspects might not be his opponent... But it was precisely Nen that was full of any possibilities.
Nen was subjective.
The old man's Hundred-Type Guanyin had reached the pinnacle!
And Oboro's three Nen abilities, two were used to break through, and didn't have active aggressiveness, and the other one was Time Reversal, which was strictly speaking, also to save his life. Although it would create a certain amount of area damage, its power was still different from the Hundred-Type Guanyin.
However, Oboro had anticipated this day a long time ago, and had found a path for himself, which was what Saiyu had seen before he died.
To continue to develop on top of the obtained Nen ability!
Hell Curse, Thresh's skills.
The other two, based on the principle and effect, didn't have the potential and value to be developed...
Only Hell Curse was the most compatible, and was also one of the reasons why Oboro had chosen it in the first place.
"What do you want to do next?"
Inside the room, Netero looked at Oboro, who was silent, with a smile, and asked.
The other few people standing around hadn't left.
"I feel like... I don't have a goal anymore..."
Oboro came back to his senses, turned off the system, and sighed.
He could hear that the old man's words had a deeper meaning.
There was no more room for Oboro to improve within the Association.
And once a person like Oboro lost his goal, and the strength he could pursue, he would inevitably switch tracks, and seek new hope... The two of them had once made an agreement that Netero would prohibit Oboro from getting his hands on the Dark Continent, and now that what should be done had been done, this day had still arrived.
Both of them had to face it.
Netero could feel that the junior in front of him had become so strong that even he had to take him seriously.
Perhaps, looking at the entire world, there weren't many people who could restrain Oboro.
He was the only one who was still confident in limiting Oboro's existence.
Even if Oboro suddenly said now that he would set off for the Dark Continent tomorrow, Netero wouldn't be surprised.
That meant... He was going to start a war with Oboro!
A duel in the true sense.
"Instead of running all the time, which is too tiring... Why not slow down, and look at the scenery?" The Chairman looked directly at Oboro, stroked his beard, and said lightly.
These words made the few people on the side change their expressions slightly.
"Alright."
Oboro smiled.
Botobai and the Rat Zodiac both sensed the Chairman's implication.
These words seemed to be advising Oboro, and had a meaning of request...
This... Was hard to imagine.
Although the Chairman usually looked amiable and playful, his actions and methods were very tough.
He had the posture of a strong person.
Right now... He was playing the emotional card.
This was a side that Pariston and Botobai had never seen and felt before.
Had Oboro... Reached the point where he could coerce the Chairman?
Seeing Netero smile again, Oboro casually found a reason, and left first.
For a person like Netero, pressure would only stimulate him to become more excited, and stimulate his desire to challenge... Therefore, Oboro didn't think that he had forced the old man.
The reason why Netero had backed down... Was indeed because of pressure, but the pressure didn't come from him, but from V5, from humans, and from the Dark Continent.
Oboro was essentially different from the Zodiacs.
It was because his goal was the Dark Continent... And for people like Pariston, no matter how much pressure was given, the Chairman would gladly accept the challenge.
As long as he was around, the Zodiacs wouldn't violate the taboo... They were all very obedient.
Oboro was different...
When people got old, and had experienced a lot, the way they handled things would also change.
If it was Netero when he was young, Oboro guessed... The old man would find an opportunity to fight him on the spot, and deter him with force... If it didn't work, he might even kill himself.
And when he was old, he knew that he couldn't completely suppress himself, and even if it was a death match, he didn't have a certain chance of winning... Therefore, he could only persuade him with kind words.
Oboro was also very respectful...
Out of respect for him and the agreement.
And also... Netero's cultivation of him and the privileges he had given were actually... So that they could be useful on this day.
It was a bargaining chip for the emotional card.
Oboro knew it in his heart.
He wasn't in a hurry either, because the plot had begun...
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