Chapter 132: Schrödinger's Reality x Botobai's Record is Broken
"Total Concentration!"
"Sun Breathing, Third Form: Raging Sun... Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation... Ninth Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!"
The Crimson Blade in hand, he unleashed a flurry of fire. The heavily wounded Pigman, Sagin, painfully retrieved his hand axe, joining Gordan to flank Roy. From the trees, two "Scouts" and one "Rogue" periodically fired cheap shots. Roy, using his panel's "Appraisal," identified each of their roles. He gripped his cane sword to deal with Sagin and Gordan, while magnetically controlling his training blade to intercept the incoming arrows, his mind at peak concentration, ever wary of the "presence" in the deep forest.
At one point, he used Ten to brace his back, taking a direct hit from Gordan's blade. Fwoosh! His eyes ignited, and with the [Eye of Revelation], he predicted Sagin's attack 0.1 seconds in advance. Ducking under the descending hand axe, he plunged his blade deep into Sagin's bleeding neck!
The Pigman was tough, relying on its Enhancer defenses to ignore the wound. But Roy wouldn't let him. 'While you're sick, I'll take your life!'
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust!" This was the fastest thrusting technique Roy had mastered, even faster than Water Breathing's "Piercing Rain Drop"!
A point of firelight suddenly flared. Blood sprayed from Roy's back as he simultaneously thrust the blade into the wound on Gordan's neck... No, it was Sagin. The wound was instantly torn open as Roy's blade pierced his throat!
"Aargh..." Sagin tried to roar in agony, but his mouth wouldn't make a sound. He reached up to pull the blade out... but his body suddenly lost all strength. His vision blurred, his head tilted, and he collapsed, dead.
[Notification: "Swordsmanship" +50]
[Notification: "Life Energy" +10]
Pity it's not real. Wait, where did 'Life Energy' come from?
Roy froze. This was clearly Grandpa Zzigg's memory, not the real Dark Continent. The panel had even identified it as a "consciousness." How could he be getting "Life Energy" from it?
The boy stood with his foot on the Pigman's chest, his blade still embedded in Sagin's neck. In that brief moment of stunned confusion...
"SAGIN!" Several roars echoed. The broadsword, arrows, and a spiked mace whistled through the air, burying the boy in a storm of furious attacks.
Roy's vision went black. The "memory" "saved" at "Three minutes, seventeen seconds," the moment of Sagin's death.
Splash. Waves crashed against the shore, dissolving into fine spray.
In Roy's world of cognition, specks of light gathered, reforming his human shape. He had exited [Re: Game of the Dead]. As the panel had hinted, he hadn't "died" and returned to the real world like the other candidates. Instead, he had used the "Dark Continent Gate" to connect to the illusion, allowing his consciousness to "re-spawn" on the soft sands of the Sea of Cognition.
He opened his eyes, splayed out, staring blankly at the azure sky. He opened his panel and confirmed it: [Life Energy +10]. For a moment, he couldn't distinguish "illusion" from "reality."
One thing was certain: Great-Great-Grandfather Maha had told him to pay his respects, likely knowing that [Game of the Dead] was the perfect "training ground" for growth. He must have known all along that this was just a false scenario "replayed" by Zzigg's Nen ability, a place to hone "skills"—combat, swordsmanship, the Four Major Principles—but that it lacked any "physical substance" that could be seen, touched, smelled, or brought into the real world.
But... that 10 points of "Life Energy" from killing Sagin... it was sitting right there on his panel, a constant reminder that this was not an "illusory" memory, but a "real" world.
So... was it "illusion" or "reality"? Or... "Schrödinger's Reality"? Something existing between the two?
Headache. His thoughts were a tangled mess. Roy scrambled to his feet, deciding not to think about it. Since "Life Energy" was on the table, who cared if it was real or not? He'd just take it!
The boy took a deep breath, walked over to the "Dark Continent Gate," and, holding his cane sword in his left hand and conjuring his training blade in his right, he plunged back into the "fissure" of his grandfather's memory.
[Re: Game of the Dead]... continued!
Stagnant time leaped forward.
With Sagin dead, three remained: "Berserker" Gordan, "Scout" Dathos, "Rogue" Valen, and... the big one, still "dwelling" deep in the forest.
The Crimson Blade glowed anew, the blade's light blinding. A shallow arc pulled at Roy's lips. "Round two!" He flashed towards Dathos. You like firing cheap shots from the back? I'll take your pig's head first!
Swish, swish, swish! Several arrows, enhanced with Shu, flew at Roy's face. The battle re-ignited!
Clang... clang...
Cuckoo... cuckoo...
Four minutes... five... six... seven...
Outside, in the underground tunnel.
As time ticked by, the remaining few watched with different expressions. Gotoh guarded Roy, never moving an inch. Kurapika was massaging Goldie, trying to soothe the confusion and anxiety it felt from being "disconnected" from Roy. Kite and Illumi had each found a corner. One had dug a hole and buried himself up to his neck; the other leaned against the wall, arms crossed, silent.
Only Kanzai was left, pacing anxiously, ripping at his hair. He couldn't take it anymore and stomped over to Geru. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? That guy... he's not fighting the same Pigmen, is he?" Kanzai didn't disbelieve that someone could be stronger than him; he just couldn't accept the reality that Roy, who looked so young, had lasted this long.
"You're an Enhancer, aren't you?" Geru glanced at Kanzai.
Kanzai nodded honestly. "Yeah, why?"
"No wonder you're so brainless," Geru said, not bothering to hide her contempt. "The 'Bewitching Cypress' scent is still in the air. If you don't believe me, open your mind and go back in. You'll see."
"In any case, there's only one film. Everyone is watching the same 'movie'."
"Really?"
"Why don't you try?"
Kanzai looked at her suspiciously, then "voluntarily" opened his mind, breathed in the scent, and re-entered the illusion. This time, he didn't even last fourteen seconds before Sagin, dual-wielding axes, sent him flying back out.
"Stop messing around." Botobai, who had been silent, reached out a large hand and dragged Kanzai to the side.
The future "Tiger" Zodiac struggled. "Let go of me! Haven't you ever heard of 'perseverance'?!" He was immediately knocked unconscious by a punch from Botobai.
The Dragon glared at Geru. "With troublemakers like this, you just need to beat them until they're quiet. No need to make exceptions."
Geru glanced at the time, ignoring his comment. "Ten minutes." The future "Snake" Zodiac stared at Roy, her voice low. "Botobai, your record has been broken."
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