Omokage's matter didn't really concern Xiang Nan much.
For now, the other party was merely a tool he could use.
He would let the fellow "act arrogant" under him for a while.
He could guess that even if Omokage agreed to join Pandora's Box, he'd still be difficult to manage in the short term.
So Xiang Nan planned to ignore him until the Reincarnation Dimension mission began.
If there was a chance, maybe he'd send Omokage to the Heavens Arena, to help train the three Pandora's Box Nen users, including Garo.
If that didn't work out—
Then the fellow would have no more "value" to keep around.
After Xiang Nan and Manman both completed the Extinction Games rounds and dealt with Omokage, Xiang Nan intended to continue searching for precious gems while touring the human world, experiencing the cultures and local customs everywhere.
You had to understand, up until now, aside from Azian Continent, Yorbian Continent, the Balsa Islands of the Mitene Union, and outside of the Republic of Padokea, there were plenty of other places he hadn't been to yet.
For instance, there was another domain adjacent to Azian, plus a massive landmass that bordered Whale Island—where the main character Gon lived—up above the Yorbian Continent.
Or beyond the Mitene Union across the sea, to the east, there was yet another continent.
Besides these enormous continental areas, there were also many archipelagos or scattered landmasses throughout the human world.
The world setting depicted in the original storyline was just part of it.
As a player and traveler, Xiang Nan still had far too many regions to explore.
In the Hunter Association, Ging Freecss, representing the "ruins hunters," was qualified to be a three-star hunter. This fact showed that even though human society's civilization had developed to this day, the entire "Lake Island" world still retained considerable mystery.
Many ruins were still undiscovered.
Besides the map itself, there were still many other aspects Xiang Nan needed to comprehend.
For example, among the creatures inhabiting the human world—magical beasts included—many beings, though not magical beasts, still belonged to the category of "rare beasts." Their body structures and physiology, even appearances, were things none of them had seen in their previous life.
In addition, hidden in every corner of the world were minority ethnic groups…with different ways of life and social customs, and so forth.
Xiang Nan just happened to have this free time to learn all that thoroughly.
In a few months, before the sixth round's mission began, he ought to be able to adapt himself further to this world.
It's worth mentioning that Ging Freecss had enough credentials and capability to become a three-star hunter, but simply didn't want the promotion.
Otherwise, there's no way he'd remain just a two-star.
In the field of ruin exploration—studying all kinds of ruins—Ging's achievements stood at the apex.
His contributions and merits could be considered top-notch, to the point you could call him a leading figure.
It's just that his personality and style, plus his very low-key approach, meant that people outside the field of ruin studies barely knew of him.
Within the Hunter Association itself, although he later became one of the Twelve Zodiacs, he didn't carry much prestige either. Mainly because he was lazy, rarely involved himself in the association's internal management or affairs, showing up and disappearing unpredictably.
Hardly anyone ever saw him.
Initially, Xiang Nan wanted to spend a few months traveling around the world with Manman.
But…things never went as one wished.
Some news arrived from the Heavens Arena.
A peculiar incident forced Xiang Nan to pay attention.
…
"What did you say?!"
On a day when Xiang Nan sat on a beach beneath a parasol, eyes closed for a rare moment of leisure—
He got a phone call from Garo.
Usually unflappable, Xiang Nan showed rare gravity upon hearing the contents.
"I heard it from a member of that 'Star Group'—still not sure if it's true, but it's highly likely.
"Some Nameless Town people discovered a special item on a place called 'Mustang Island,' setting off a fierce scramble… Word has it that the item holds an unknown power, seemingly…a damaged statue, connected to the Dark Continent. Word spread, and many from the Heavens Arena have already rushed there. But according to that source, the casualties are significant.
"And he also said…those who died were all high-level players."
Garo was Xiang Nan's agent keeping tabs on the Star Group and other player factions.
So while training himself, climbing the arena, he never forgot that mission.
Of course, Star Group had no idea about his true identity.
Relying on personal skill, Garo soon got acquainted with some of them.
Xiang Nan clutched the phone, silent for a while.
The Dark Continent…
Those four words carried too much weight for a player!
Looking at the original storyline in Hunter x Hunter, indeed, the human realm had a lot of hints connected to the Dark Continent.
That didn't refer to just the "disasters" V5 had once brought back from the Dark Continent, but also the deep-rooted clues from ages past.
For instance, Kakin Empire's Seed Urn Ceremony, the "Dark Sonata" mentioned by Melody the Music Hunter, or the mysterious culture of Kurta Clan, from which Kurapika hails, with totemic patterns and murals of unknown origin.
Even Kurapika's tribal garb bore patterns resembling certain Dark Continent references—like that gate leading inside the Dark Continent.
Xiang Nan even suspected the Kurta Clan's Scarlet Eyes—capable of changing Nen types—faintly pointed to some mysterious power of the Dark Continent.
What's more, Xiang Nan had secretly been gathering intelligence.
He heard that the elders of Meteor City possessed certain strange objects…some of them possibly tied to post-"five calamities."
In the original storyline, Gon and Killua once used the Nen technique "Gyo" to find and flip items for sale at an antique shop, some old relics harboring faint, inexplicable 'aura'—life forces that had detached from living processes.
That aura seemed to cling to the object for a very long time, never dispersing.
Recalling also the Hunter x Hunter movie version, about Jed and Netero, with Jed's power conflicting with Nen as "Grudge."
Putting it all together suggests that not only leftover relics themselves might be linked to the Dark Continent, but also some as-yet unrecognized energy within the current world.
Possibly, it's all entangled with the Dark Continent in ways beyond imagination.
You also had to remember, based on the existing world lore, a portion of humanity might have migrated here from the Dark Continent long ago, for some reason.
Given that humans still hadn't fully uncovered Lake Island's mysteries…
It really wouldn't be surprising if something from the Dark Continent turned up.
Just…
Xiang Nan narrowed his eyes.
The Dark Continent—these words were far too sensitive.
In those earlier years, V5 had deliberately obscured everything.
Whether V5 or the Hunter Association, these were the real natives of Hunter x Hunter, possessing means far exceeding those of the players.
And yet now, a clue related to the Dark Continent was first discovered by the players?
That was…intriguing.
"All right. Got it. Keep digging, let me know as soon as there's an update."
Xiang Nan muttered.
"Yes, sir."
Garo responded.
~~~
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