En is difficult to master. Although it varies from person to person, most Nen Users cannot expand the range of their En, and even releasing it poses a certain level of difficulty.
Among the three remaining soldier bodyguards, only the young man with the crew cut knew how to use En.
Under the circumstance where they couldn't turn on a light source, he suggested using En to scan the dark surroundings.
This wasn't a whim… he clearly felt certain gazes watching him from the darkness, and not just one or two.
Actually, while asking, he wondered if he was being oversensitive.
At least, before his teammates answered, he couldn't be sure his feeling was correct.
"I feel it too. And... many."
"Yeah, but we've been in here for a while. If there really were something here, it would have attacked us already, right?"
The other two bodyguards, as Nen Users, were also sensitive in this regard and could sense the multiple gazes from the darkness.
Their replies confirmed the crew-cut soldier's feeling. The chill rising from his spine intensified, instantly spreading throughout his body.
Kincaid and Norman were non-Nen Users and didn't sense anything unusual. Now, hearing the three soldiers' conversation, they felt panic even greater than that of those directly involved.
In such an environment, pitch black and utterly silent, what kind of situation was the most terrifying?
When you don't know what is watching you from the darkness.
And when you know something is watching you from the darkness, but you cannot sense its presence.
Cannot hear it, cannot see it.
But something that can threaten your life is truly around you.
Perhaps that thing is staring right at you, mere inches apart.
Yet, you are completely unaware of this.
Kincaid and Norman had no self-defense abilities. If something happened, their fate and outcome were obvious.
The former could barely maintain composure, while the latter, apart from clutching the glass chamber containing the Herb, was close to the brink of collapse.
Perhaps deep down, he clearly knew this grandly prepared expedition would end in failure.
Such a massive and formidable team… even if they obtained the Herb, what then? Only they were left alive, with only three could be considered combat-capable.
With just them, how could they cross the Sea of Trees that had taken the lives of hundreds of team members?
Without crossing that Sea of Trees, they couldn't return to the coastline. Without returning to the coastline, how could they talk about returning to the Six Continents?
"Failed, another failure. Humans... truly cannot obtain Hope..."
Norman's fingertips pressed against the glass chamber turned white. The fearful and despairing expression on his face was unseen by the others in the darkness.
In the history of expeditions, in every prosperous era, human nations gave their all, successively challenging the Dark Continent, yet all failed.
This expedition challenge gathered the strongest team condensed from five great nations, yet it still failed… failed when success was just within reach.
The documents of Dark Continent sealed in the International Permit Agencies' archives to this day record rows of cold numbers.
This operation would also become a number recorded there, right?
A new number filled with resentment and despair.
"This place... is not somewhere we... can touch."
"Any single possibility can trample countless lives like bugs on the ground."
Norman's eyes slowly widened. The light in his pupils flickered, appearing particularly hollow.
Being here, in darkness accompanied by unknown risks… and now, with his mind and body on the verge of collapse, he had completely given up resistance.
Only the hands tightly clutching the glass chamber perhaps still harbored a tiny, insignificant shred of hope.
Norman was an old man.
Not just in age, but also in the length of time he had been involved in research related to the Dark Continent.
As a researcher who wanted to uncover the true nature of so-called [Hope] and [Calamity] through study, the opportunity to freely research [Hope] was something he had always dreamed of.
Because he deeply understood the nation's strength, even though he was well aware of the threat ceiling of Calamities, he always believed humans would one day 'conquer' the Dark Continent, just like the Six Continents now...
Humans should rightfully reign at the top of the biological chain, freely enjoying all things within the chain that could bring benefits.
But now, he realized the thoughts long hidden in his heart were too naive.
The Dark Continent was indeed Pandora's Box to begin with. Humans were severely lacking even in the ability to open the box, let alone touch it.
"We are too insignificant here, truly too insignificant."
Norman's lips moved slightly, murmuring to himself in his heart.
On the verge of collapse, he was completely unaware that another human team in the Ancient Labyrinth City had not only obtained over four hundred leaves of Herb here but had also harvested the mature Nitro Rice from the swamp area.
Just as Norman's inner thoughts were extremely active, the three soldiers, while slowly moving inward, discussed and ultimately decided to let the crew-cut soldier use En to probe the surrounding environment.
With magical beast pursuers behind them, using En in the darkness easily exposed their position.
However, to seek peace of mind and to determine the source of the gazes in the darkness, they still decided to use En.
The crew-cut soldier focused his mind, controlled the Nen covering his body, imagined himself blowing bubbles, blowing Nen out into a membrane, expanding outward in all directions.
This technique, with its extremely demanding control requirements, was indeed difficult to master perfectly.
The crew-cut soldier could use En but required imagination to assist.
Therefore, during the process of using En, he was extremely vulnerable.
The membrane of En permeated the darkness, slowly pushing outward.
That glow was invisible to Kincaid and Norman, but in the eyes of the other two Nen User soldiers, it was like a lamp in the darkness, very conspicuous.
"How is it? Did you detect anything?"
The soldier carrying Norman asked in a low, tense voice. Actually, he hoped the crew-cut soldier could finish probing quickly, then retract En to avoid being detected by the pursuing magical beasts.
"Debris, tables, cabinets, many... jars."
The crew-cut soldier's facial features were scrunched together, trying hard to discern the shapes fed back by his En.
A mere ten seconds of probing caused his extended En to show signs of collapsing.
The good news was, he hadn't yet detected any creatures or shapes resembling human Brion hosts.
But before he could feel relieved, the three soldiers all shuddered.
When En's membrane slowly passed over the diagonally forward area, dozens of narrow, slit-like eyes... leaking faint white light, floated in mid-air, staring at them.
"!!!!!"
…
Ancient Labyrinth City, rooftop of a walled building.
Giles was pulled onto the rooftop by Machi's Nen Threads. Upon seeing Law's group, he spoke only one sentence before losing consciousness.
This immediately put Law in a difficult position.
He still wanted to get information from Giles, so he certainly couldn't wait for Giles to wake up naturally.
Shiro's [Fool's Method] could only summon the Archangel's Breath by sheer luck to instantly heal Giles… otherwise, it would take a considerable amount of time.
Therefore, to make Giles wake up immediately, there were only... Grass Jelly and Lichen.
The current stock of Grass Jelly was pitifully low. As a life-saving tool, it naturally couldn't be used on Giles.
If it were Lichen, they could weigh the options.