"Total Concentration!"
"Sun Breathing, Third Form: Raging Sun... Fifth Form: Setting Sun... Ninth Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance..."
With Crimson Swords in hand, he linked a flurry of firelight...—
The heavily injured Pig-headed Man, Sajin, endured the pain and picked up his hand axe, attacking Roy from both sides with Gordian.
From the nearby trees, two [Scouts] and one [Rogue] would also fire potshots from time to time... Roy "Appraised" them through his panel, identifying their roles in this elite squad. He held his cane sword with both hands to deal with Sajin and Gordian's attacks, while magnetically controlling his short-hilt to intercept the incoming arrows...
His mind remained highly focused, constantly wary of "the one" deep in the jungle.
At a certain moment, he used [Ten] to brace his back, taking a blow from Gordian head-on. "Poof!" Two suns ignited in his pupils. Using the [Eye of Delusion Breaking], he predicted Sajin's attack 0.1 seconds in advance. Brushing past his chopping axe, he fiercely stabbed his sword into Sajin's bleeding neck!
'Pig-headed Men are tough, relying on their "Enhancer" type for high attack and defense, fighting recklessly... then don't mind if Roy "hits you while you're down"!'
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust"—it was the fastest "thrust" among all the sword techniques Roy had mastered!
'Even faster than "Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Droplet Ripple Thrust"!'
A distant point of firelight suddenly brightened... A spray of blood erupted from Roy's back as he lightning-fast stabbed into the wound already opened in Gordian's neck. The wound was instantly pierced, and Roy's blade ran straight through his throat!
"Aargh..." Sajin wanted to howl in pain, but though he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He reached up, wanting to pull out the blade...
...his body suddenly lost all strength. His vision began to blur. His head lolled, and he collapsed to the ground with a "boom"!
[Tip: "Swordsmanship" +50]
["Life Energy" +10]
'A pity it's not a real person. No, wait, where did "Life Energy" come from?'
Roy froze!
'This is clearly Grandfather Zigg's memory, not the real Dark Continent. The panel's detection also said "consciousness." How did "Life Energy" get in here?'
The young man stood on the Pig-headed Man's chest, his sword still stuck in Sajin's neck!
And in that brief moment of distraction...
He suddenly heard several loud roars: "Sajin!"
A broadsword, arrows, and a spiked mace came whistling, carrying a monstrous fury, instantly overwhelming the young man.
Roy's vision went black. The "memory" "saved" at "three minutes and seventeen seconds," the moment of Sajin's death.
"Splash." The waves crashed against the reef, shattering into fine spray....
In Roy's world of cognition.
Specks of light gathered into a human form.
Exiting [re: The Game of the Dead], just as the panel had tipped, Roy did not return to the real world after "dying" like the other examinees. Instead, he had connected to the illusion through the "Gate of Darkness," and his consciousness had "revived" on the soft sand of the sea of cognition.
He opened his eyes, spread-eagled, and stared blankly at the azure sky...
He opened his panel, confirming the [Life Energy +10]. For a moment, he couldn't tell the difference between "illusion" and "reality."
'One thing is for sure... when Great-grandfather told me to pay respects to Grandfather Zigg, he must have known. There is no better "training ground" for "growth" than [The Game of the Dead]!'
'He must have known from the beginning that this was just a false scene "replayed" by Grandfather Zigg's Nen ability. Besides honing "skills" like "combat," "swordsmanship," the "Four Major Principles," and other advanced Nen applications...'
'...there were no "physical entities" that could be seen, touched, smelled, or even brought into the real world!'
'But... the ten points of "Life Energy" from killing Sajin... were displayed right there in the panel....'
'Constantly reminding Roy... this was not an "illusory" memory, but a "real" world.'
'So... is it "illusion" or "reality"?'
'Or "Schrödinger's Reality"? Somewhere between "illusion" and "reality"?'
'Headache...' His thoughts were a tangled mess... Roy rolled over and got up, deciding not to think about it...
'Since there's "Life Energy" to be had, who cares if it's "illusion" or "reality"? I'll just take it first!'
The young man took a deep breath and walked over to the "Gate to the Dark Continent" floating by the "Gate of Demon Slayer"... He gripped his cane sword in his left hand, conjured the "Asauchi" with his right, and plunged headfirst... into the "fissure" connecting to Grandfather Zigg's memory!
[re: The Game of the Dead] continues!
Time, which had stopped, began to move.
After Sajin's fall, there were three left on the field. The "Barbarian" Gordian, the "Scout" Dasuo, the "Rogue" Walun.
And... the "big guy" "holed up" deep in the jungle, who had yet to show himself!
The Crimson Swords were dyed red again, the bright blades shining so brightly it was hard to look...
A shallow arc formed on Roy's lips: "Again!"
He flashed forward, slashing at Dasuo... 'A guy who only knows how to shoot arrows from the back? Young Master will chop your pig head off first!'
"Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh..." Several arrows, enhanced with [Shu], flew straight at Roy's face.
The battle ignited instantly!
"Ding... ding... ding..."
"Cuckoo... cuckoo... cuckoo..."
Four minutes... five minutes... six minutes... seven minutes...
Outside.
In the underground passage.
As time ticked by, the few people waiting for the result had different expressions.
Gotoh stood guard by Roy's side, not moving an inch... Kurajing massaged Xiao Jin, soothing the confusion and anxiety it felt from being "disconnected" from Roy....
Kite and Illumi each found a corner. One dug a hole and buried himself, leaving only his head exposed. The other leaned against the passage wall, arms crossed, not saying a word....
Only Kanzai was left, impatiently pulling his hair, pacing back and forth... He really couldn't take it anymore and went up to Geru. "Did you make a mistake?"
The yellow-haired man pointed at Roy. "Is that guy not facing the Pig-headed Men?"
Kanzai didn't disbelieve that someone was stronger than him. He just couldn't accept the reality that Roy, who looked so young, had lasted this long, far longer than him!
"You're an Enhancer, right?" Geru glanced at Kanzai.
Kanzai nodded honestly. "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"No wonder you have no brain." Geru didn't hold back her disdain for Kanzai, saying lazily: "The scent of the 'Bewildering Fir' has been in the air the whole time. If you don't believe it, just open your mind and go back in. Then you'll know, won't you?"
"Anyway, there's only one film. Everyone is watching the same 'movie'."
"For real?"
"Try it and see."
Kanzai looked at Geru suspiciously. He actually "voluntarily" opened his "mind," absorbed the scent of the "Bewildering Fir," and entered the illusion for a second time... This time, however, he didn't even last fourteen seconds before Sajin, wielding two axes, hacked him back out!
"Don't cause trouble." Botobai, who had been silent, reached out a large hand, picked him up, and tossed him aside.
The future "Tiger" of the Zodiac struggled, shouting: "Let me go! Haven't you ever heard of 'try, try again'?"
He took a punch from Botobai and promptly passed out.
The "Dragon" glared at Geru and lectured: "For troublemakers like this, one beating is all it takes to make them behave. There's no need to make an exception for him."
Geru looked at the time and answered tangentially: "It's been ten minutes."
The future "Snake" of the Zodiac stared at Roy and took a breath. "Botobai, your record has been broken."