**HP: 47% → 52% (Regeneration Active)**
**SP: 2000**
**Current Objective: [Reach East Goruto - 00:15:00]**
**Warning: [Royal Guard Patrol Detected]**
Loki flipped onto his knees, coughing up swamp water. "Next time, I pick the exit strategy."
Dean didn't answer. His Absolute Calculation was tracking the heat signatures converging from three directions—too fast, too coordinated. The ants had adapted.
The tablet vibrated.
**STATUS SCREEN UPDATE**
**Enemy Tactics Analyzed: [Chimera Ant Pack Hunting Patterns]**
**Recommended Purchase: [Nen Cloak - 1500 SP]**
Dean swiped **Confirm** just as the first ant lunged from the water. His aura flared, bending light around them like a mirage. The ant's mandibles snapped empty air.
Loki's dagger found its brainstem. "Cheap trick."
"Effective trick," Dean corrected, dragging him toward the treeline. The **STATUS SCREEN** updated:
**SP: 2000 → 500**
**Ability Acquired: [Nen Cloak - Tier 2]**
**Duration: 00:07:30**
The river exploded behind them. A seven-foot mantis-type ant screeched, wings vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies. Dean's NZT-enhanced ears bled.
**WARNING: [Pitou's Envoy Detected]**
Dean's laugh was a grenade pin pulled. "We're so fucked."
—
The drone's wreckage made a decent bomb. Dean rigged the remaining fuel cells with a Nen-charged detonator, Loki's illusions herding the ants into the blast radius. The **STATUS SCREEN** counted down:
**Nen Cloak Duration: 00:01:17**
The mantis ant skittered sideways, compound eyes tracking distortions in the air. Too smart. Too fast.
Dean's finger hovered over the tablet.
**EMERGENCY PURCHASE: [Nen Overdrive - 500 SP]**
**CONFIRM? Y/N**
The mantis pounced.
Dean hit **Y**.
—
Reality twisted. His aura detonated outward in a shockwave of pure calculation—every ant's trajectory, every weakness, every kill angle mapped in nanoseconds. Dean moved like a glitch in the system.
The mantis died mid-leap, spine severed by a rock thrown at Mach 3.
Loki whistled. "Overkill."
Dean collapsed, blood streaming from his nose. The **STATUS SCREEN** glitched:
**ABILITY OVERLOAD: [Nen Burnout]**
**COOLDOWN: 00:30:00**
The surviving ants circled.
Then the sky caught fire.
—
The fire wasn't metaphorical. A dragon—actual, fucking *dragon*—descended in a maelstrom of blue flame, reducing ants to charcoal. Its rider leapt down, boots crunching embers.
**STATUS SCREEN**
**New Entity: [Netero's Backup - ???]**
The man removed his sunglasses. "You're not Hunters."
Dean grinned. "We're worse."
The dragon sneezed, igniting another ant squadron.
Loki sighed. "I *hate* this continent."