They stayed for half an hour.
Rita pulled out a box of seeds from her pack, took a few and placed them in the palm of her hand to activate her Hatsu. Even without soil, the seeds quickly took root and sprouted, growing into a substantial tree trunk within moments. The dense roots penetrated the flesh and blood of the octopus, absorbing nutrients to fuel its unnatural growth.
Although the original expedition team consisted of twenty-three people, the six members of Oboro's team had made preparations for various situations that might arise in the Dark Continent. In other words, even with only six of them remaining, they were well equipped to deal with emergencies. Over the past year, Oboro had helped them develop their Nen skills to ensure that they would be prepared for this moment.
Once the trees were fully grown, several members of the team constructed a simple wooden canoe and continued their journey. The trunk formed the main body, while the branches served as ropes to hold it together. The sea had calmed considerably since the death of the octopus, and there were no more dangerous undercurrents to threaten their makeshift vessel.
Before leaving, Menchi had cut off a generous portion of the octopus's flesh as a food source. Although they were relatively close to the Dark Continent, their speed had slowed considerably after they lost their ship. They couldn't predict when they would reach land, and the rations in their packs were severely limited.
Fortunately, they encountered no further danger for several days. But then, one night, as they drifted with the sea currents, flickering lights suddenly appeared in the darkness around them. They resembled human lights, warm and inviting.
You know how ordinary people who drift in the ocean for too long inevitably become mentally unbalanced, developing anxiety and hallucinations. At this critical point, seeing familiar lights like candles burning in the darkness filled them with desperate hope.
Accompanying the lights were seductive cries that reached their ears, haunting and mesmerizing. Everyone on the boat except Oboro fell into a daze. Fant and Anthony unconsciously began rowing towards the lights, drawn by some primal instinct.
They were protected just in time by the black mist Oboro emitted, which completely enveloped them and isolated them from the hypnotic sounds. Through his enhanced perception, Oboro saw that the flashing lights were actually a species of sea creature similar to the octopus they had fought earlier, though many times smaller and far more numerous. They resembled lantern fish, with bioluminescent organs that pulsed rhythmically. Though many days had passed since they'd killed the giant octopus, and they'd traveled quite a distance, it was clear that these creatures had followed in the wake of their larger cousin.
What remained unclear was whether they were prey or hunters.
"Similar to the two-tailed snake hellbell, the sound is highly penetrating and can interfere with the spiritual will of other species," Oboro frowned. "Fortunately, it is not as dangerous as that creature and does not directly affect the soul."
These monsters did not approach the raft, but circled around it cautiously. They kept their distance because of the black ghost mist that hovered around the raft, saturated with Oboros Nen's aura, warning of all dangers hidden in the darkness and demonstrating his power. It was a hidden protection, a territorial marker.
If they had been on land, Oboro would have already eliminated these creatures. But out at sea, they had to conserve their strength. The team lacked food and, most importantly, fresh water. Oboro's body was strong enough to endure these hardships, but Menchi and his companions couldn't maintain the same resilience.
"Team leader," several voices shouted as the hypnotic sounds faded and they regained their senses.
"Don't worry, just keep rowing," Oboro ordered calmly.
Though their progress was slow, they were close enough to the Dark Continent that the natural ocean currents would gradually wash the raft ashore. After giving the command, an idea formed in Oboro's mind. Out of the ghostly mist that surrounded them, ghostly shapes suddenly flew outward, roaring and howling in all directions, their screams filled with shocking intensity and predatory aggression.
Sure enough, within moments, the lights on the sea disappeared and the enchanting screams stopped abruptly.
A few days later, around noon, the six explorers finally saw a dark shadow appear on the horizon. The Dark Continent they had arrived at!
The team looked a little embarrassed at their obvious relief, but they didn't dare relax. Instead, they became even more vigilant. According to their captain, the landmass of the Dark Continent was the central breeding ground for truly terrifying existences.
"According to the reports from Netero and Beyond, the coastline they arrived at was a lush and spectacular jungle," Fant stood up, squinting against the harsh light. "On our side, however, there seemed to be no vegetation on the distant continent, only what appeared to be a barren desert wasteland stretching endlessly inland.
"Even though we've arrived, we seem to have deviated significantly from the planned route," Menchi added with a note of concern.
There was nothing they could do about it. In the days following the octopus attack, they had been drifting with the ocean currents, with no means of holding their course.
"At least we made it here alive," Anthony said with forced optimism. Their journey had been extremely dangerous. If it weren't for the abilities of their captain, they probably wouldn't have even qualified to set foot on the Dark Continent.
The land visible on the horizon seemed deceptively close, but in reality, it remained far away. It only seemed within reach because the sheer size of the continent was so immense that it distorted normal distance perception.
After drifting with the waves for more than ten hours, they finally walked onto the beach around midnight. As soon as they set foot on land, they discovered something strange: it was indeed a beach, but on this vast coastline, every grain of sand was about the size of a human fist, and the larger ones were complete pebbles.
Oboro immediately dispelled his mist and expanded his senses. After closing his eyes for a minute, he exhaled deeply and said, "There is no immediate danger. Let's get organized first."
Despite his assurance, Oboro did not deactivate his Nen ability. He knew that now that they had set foot on the Dark Continent, his aura would have to be released almost constantly, which would prove to be extremely exhausting in terms of energy consumption. What Oboro could do was to minimize the area covered by his Ghost Mist while maintaining their safety.
He instructed Menchi and the others to stay where they were and deal with the immediate problems, while he walked around to inspect their surroundings. There was nothing to see beyond the beach, an endless expanse of the Gobi Desert. Yet the air temperature was even colder than the sea, with a bone-chilling quality that seemed to penetrate their clothing.
Oboro lifted his head and looked at the night sky. At first glance, it looked no different from the human world, except for one glaring absence: there were no stars at all, as if the heavens were blocked by an invisible barrier. The farther he looked towards the skyline, the more the night sky changed from pitch black to a disturbing layer of blood red.
It became vaguely clear that while this desert seemed boundless from their perspective, it was actually only a tiny area of the entire edge of the Dark Continent.
"Giant pink octopus, mind-altering schools of lantern fish," Oboro raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. It all seemed strangely familiar.
He accessed the system and opened the information panel. Sure enough, the system displayed an image based on his memories from his previous life - it was one of the illustrations from the original book.
The fact that he recognized the Kraken was already a significant clue. The place where they had landed was most likely one of the coordinates marked on this illustration.
In the image, symbols such as a pink octopus, patches of seaweed, a spouting whale, a green dragon, and a roaring tsunami were marked in the sea area. Next to the adjacent land was a sinkhole, with a crab-like creature with a white skull crawling in the middle. In addition, a creature resembling a sandworm emerged from a corner of the pit, and three dark purple trees stood nearby.
But these weren't the most compelling elements for Oboro. What caught his attention was the vegetation deep in the center of the Dark Continent. There was a massive tree whose branches covered the entire sky, reminiscent of a World Tree. The only difference was that, perhaps due to the tree's influence, the 'heartland' of the Dark Continent was suffused with a dark red light, like an asura purgatory, dark and oppressive.
As for the sky, it was completely obscured by the tree's canopy, creating a vortex-like pattern that swirled ominously.
"Beneath this tree, there are three giants almost as tall as the branches," Oboro mentally noted. "I can't make out their appearance clearly, but their body proportions seem roughly humanoid. On the left, there's a mushroom field next to a volcano. On the right, primitive creatures resembling dinosaurs roam, along with areas that appear strangely distorted."
"If our landing site really corresponds to a point on this map, then this information will prove invaluable!" Oboro wasn't entirely sure, so he meticulously documented everything on the image.
If his suspicions were correct, the information on this image might only cover the periphery of the Dark Continent, not its core regions. After all, he couldn't see the 'door' anywhere on this image.
Then Oboro's gaze shifted down to his own attribute label:
Combat Power Class: Dark Continent A-level life and consciousness. (No rules).
Comprehensive attribute score: Super-dimensional life in the human world.
Ecosystem score: 25.
Food chain position: Downstream.
The panel had changed and added two new metrics: ecological chain and food chain position. The word "downstream" was especially annoying. Before coming here, Oboro had been the undisputed number one in the human world. In the absence of East Fulishi, Oboro stood alone at the top.
After completing his reconnaissance, Oboro returned the same way. Menchi and the others had not made a fire. She had simply prepared the ingredients, mostly octopus meat, and several people were eating quietly.
"Captain, the compass is malfunctioning," Fant reported gravely.
At sea, determining direction had been a challenge, and they could only rely on the currents. But when they reached land, they discovered that their compass was completely useless - a potentially fatal setback for their expedition. Once they ventured deeper inland, retracing their steps would become nearly impossible.
"That is to be expected," Oboro replied calmly. "The life energy on this land is extraordinarily powerful. The unique environment and ecology create magnetic fields that are chaotic and violent beyond anything on our world."
"It appears that Netero and his team did not encounter this problem," Anthony observed curiously.
"Their route and landing site were considerably safer," Oboro explained matter-of-factly.
After these words, several moments of tense silence fell over the group.
"Simply put," Oboro continued, "the overwhelming life energy here is distorting the magnetic field. This indicates that there may be several terrifying creatures nearby. Although we can't see them, and they may seem far away, remember that they are only "far away" from our perspective. To them, we may be right in front of them. We cannot perceive them, but they can potentially perceive us at any moment. The question is whether or not they perceive us.
"Besides, the natural magnetic field of this world is fundamentally different from that of the human world."
Oboro held up a finger and said firmly, "Remember what I told you before we left. When you set foot on this continent, you must abandon the inherent patterns of human thought."
"You cannot judge anything here with the common sense of our world.
"I will stand guard tonight. The rest of you should get some sleep," Oboro crouched down and spoke with grave seriousness. "After daybreak, everyone must remain vigilant. We have certain advantages: our small size makes us difficult to detect. Our first priority is to secure resources and establish a permanent hiding place, a residence. We must adapt to this environment before attempting deeper exploration.
"Remember the purpose of our mission. Don't worry about immediate gains. Everything begins with understanding.
"Yes, Captain," several voices replied in unison.