It took them a full two days to escape the treants' seeding range.
During the day, the tree powder fell like snow, beautiful under the sunlight's refraction, but only the four of them knew the danger lurking beneath this beauty.
After escaping a certain distance, Oboro saw some creatures infested by saplings, their life energy completely drained, growing to over ten meters tall in less than two days.
Most miraculously, these newborn tree seeds seemed to have inherited some kind of will, consciously attacking Oboro and the others.
Normally, these treants would attack nearby life forms, but if there were no living beings around, they would likely disperse aimlessly rather than intentionally search for them.
It was as if Oboro were their sworn enemy.
This will was not inherited through the soul.
Oboro could only interpret it as a latent memory etched into their genes.
More profound than the soul...
Also, those scarecrows had nothing to do with the treants...
Treants were not advanced life forms. If they were, their souls would be extraordinary.
At the very least, they could communicate with Oboro.
...
Under his protection, the group finally reached the shaded side of a hillside.
The powdery substance from the sky finally disappeared.
Thanks to the 'power' of the tree powder, they had encountered almost no other creatures along the way, allowing them to proceed unimpeded.
All the oasis areas where the dust had fallen had their life forms infested and killed without exception.
"Different..."
Anthony collapsed onto the ground, his voice trembling with the relief of survival.
These treants, compared to the desert creatures, seemed similar at first glance, possessing immense life force and exaggerated size.
However, besides being the first time they encountered a gregarious species, the treants' abilities were not as direct and easy to understand as those of the desert creatures.
If not for the captain's abilities, they would likely have ended up like those victims, reduced to mere skin and bones, forever remaining there.
Then, before the three could catch their breath.
Their hearts leaped into their throats again.
Because on the other side of the hill, before them, lay a sea of vibrant flowers.
The flowers were colorful, emitting a refreshing fragrance.
Upon seeing this scene, Gebuwich's face turned ashen, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
They had escaped one danger only to fall into another.
As they gradually came to understand this continent, they had learned to judge that this sea of flowers was unusual and might hide the next crisis.
This succession of dangers was far more intense than in the desert, leaving them with no escape.
Before reaching the oasis, the three had thought the harsh desert environment was torturous enough, but now they realized that compared to this oasis, the desert was practically paradise.
Without Oboro's reminder, the three held their breath and stopped breathing.
They were afraid that the pervasive floral scent... might be a deadly poison.
"It's okay." Oboro stood in front, sniffing the air, and said calmly.
Hearing him, the three dared to take deep breaths.
There's something!
Then, Oboro narrowed his eyes.
He saw flower buds opening in the sea of flowers, and small, fist-sized luminous bodies with transparent wings flew towards them.
Elves?
Fairies?
Upon seeing the appearance of those beings, Oboro's heart stirred.
They were tiny, naked figures, exactly like the elves from anime and movies from his past life, with exquisite features.
The only difference was that the elves' bodies didn't seem to be composed of flesh and blood but rather like carved from some kind of crystal. Their smiles appeared incredibly stiff, as if they only had one expression.
A dozen or so elves flew towards them.
They stopped in front of Oboro.
"Yes or no?"
"Yes or no?"
"Yes or no?"
Then, the group of elves simultaneously uttered a strange, inexplicable question.
As they spoke, their mouths opened and closed stiffly.
Their expressions remained unchanged, their smiles constant.
Not only Oboro heard it, but Menchi and the other two also heard it clearly.
This sound didn't come from the elves' mouths but was a mental transmission, a natural Nen ability.
It was similar to Gebuwich's telepathic communication.
In other words, they didn't understand human language.
"Yes or no?"
The elves, like wind-up toys, repeatedly asked this question.
The sun was shining brightly, yet Anthony and the other two felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, losing their voices, afraid to answer.
They were utterly bewildered, not understanding the situation.
"Captain..."
Gebuwich cautiously spoke through telepathic communication.
"Don't answer. It's a rule."
Oboro said sternly.
Immediately after, he swung his hand forcefully.
The afterimage of his arm instantly struck the space where the group of elves was located.
Strangely, with his current strength, he couldn't shatter these seemingly weak elves. The small elves were merely knocked to the ground, unharmed, and quickly flew back up, continuing their questioning.
Oboro observed through his soul and discovered that the souls within these elves were very weak, not much stronger than the small saplings before. However, he now understood that the strength of the soul was also part of life energy, and the amount of life energy did not determine the level of danger.
Even when he unleashed his soul's pressure, it failed to shake the soul fire within the elves.
Just like his attack, it caused no damage.
"Rule protection."
Oboro guessed.
"Yes or no?"
A female elf pressed close to Oboro's nose and continued to ask.
From this angle, Oboro could clearly see that beneath the woman's glossy hair, at the back of her head, there was a protrusion. Through a gap in her hair, a skull was revealed, seemingly forming the back of her head. It appeared the elf was asking the questions, but the mental transmission was actually coming from the skull hidden beneath her hair.
"This thing's head is actually composed of two parts, front and back. The front is the elf's appearance, and the back is a skull... And the skull is the true front. What's facing me now is the back." Oboro instantly understood and raised his hand to grasp the elf, beginning to apply pressure, intending to crush it.
But no matter how much force he exerted, even causing the elf's limbs to bend slightly, the small elf continued to repeat its question, completely unaffected.
Oboro observed again that the skull on the elf's back began to glow red from its eye sockets, as if some consciousness was about to be awakened.
"It seems there's a time limit. Staying silent won't work either; if the time exceeds, the danger will likely double!"
Oboro analyzed and then suddenly spoke, "Yes."
Whether it was "yes" or "no," there were only two options. This meant that choosing either answer had a fifty percent chance.
As for what each fifty percent chance represented, and how great the danger was, remained unknown.
Oboro could only observe for the time being.
As soon as he spoke, a strange energy immediately acted upon him.
To the shocked gazes of Menchi and the other two, they saw their captain's body gradually shrink and grow wings... His facial features also began to stiffen, and the bone plate on the back of his head protruded, tearing through his skin and forming the shape of a white skull face.
Oboro... was about to become an elf!
"Captain!"
Anthony exclaimed in shock and roared.
He immediately charged towards the flying dozen or so elves. However, if even Oboro couldn't harm them, let alone Anthony, who now only had one arm.
The man's eyes widened in fury as he repeatedly swung his arm towards the small creatures in the air. The elves didn't dodge, allowing themselves to be firmly gripped by the human's large hand. Whether thrown, stomped, or squeezed... it was all useless.
Anthony channeled all his Nen, roaring and cursing, trying to destroy these seemingly cute little things.
But... it was completely ineffective.
A few elves turned their eyes towards him and continued to ask, "Yes or no?"
"Die!"
Anthony's rage boiled over, and he cursed.
It seemed Oboro was bound by a powerful rule-based force and was undergoing a transformation. Once he fully became an elf... Oboro's soul and true form might completely disappear from this world.
Their exploration of the Dark Continent would end here!
"So that's how it is..."
Oboro's body wasn't shrinking instantly. The transformation into an elf was a process. At this speed, it might take half a minute or a full minute before his consciousness was completely taken over... transforming from a human into this mechanical, bizarre creature.
Sensing this, Oboro suddenly smiled. Before he completely transformed, he looked at the dozen or so elves in the air and suddenly asked with a smile, "Yes or no?"
Hearing his words, the constantly chirping elves immediately became like deactivated toys; the smiles on their faces vanished.
Their stiff mouths opened and closed... but no sound came out.
No more mental waves were transmitted.
"Yes or no?"
Oboro's tone became forceful.
"...Yes..."
"No..."
The elves became flustered and suddenly changed their answers, giving various responses.
Immediately after, Menchi and the others watched in astonishment as the dozen or so elves, from childlike forms, rapidly aged, then seemed unable to flap their wings, falling to the ground one after another, lifeless.
And the rule-based force that had been imposed on Oboro was suddenly lifted.
Oboro returned to his original form.
Anthony's eyes widened, his expression bewildered.
Oboro sat calmly on the ground, twisting his neck, looking as if he hadn't just escaped from the brink of death. "The question and the answer, affirmation and negation, and immutability – these three points are the mechanics of this rule."
"???"
Menchi and the other two were speechless, completely unable to understand what Oboro was saying.
"The elves are the questioners, and I am the answerer. The question can be anything, but only by answering first can I know the question on the test paper. If I don't answer, they are 'immutable' within the rules. Immutability means remaining unchanged, so any attack would be ineffective against them... including against their souls. The elf's question to me was likely close to asking if I was one of them... By answering 'yes,' I naturally became an elf. If I had answered 'no,' then there would have been no danger..."
"Unfortunately... I answered 'yes.'"
"And I'm not entirely sure if the question is continuous."
"They probably use this rule to turn other humans into elves, thus increasing their numbers... These elves have likely existed for an unimaginably long time. For some reason, they want to assimilate humans, so the first question would definitely be this one... If it were other questions, I might have truly died... Their previous assimilations were likely successful, which is why the question has never changed."
"Hiss..."
Anthony, seeing that Oboro was unharmed and had regained his composure.
But after hearing the captain's explanation, he gasped.
Oboro had deduced this so quickly?
He hadn't even captured any useful information, and judging by Menchi and Gebuwich's expressions, they were likely in the same state.
The three of them were mentally blank.
In such a short time, Oboro had analyzed the rule and even counterattacked?
"The moment I transformed into an elf, it meant I also gained the qualification to pose a question. The answerer doesn't know what the question is, so they can only gamble..."
"Then... what was your question?"
"The question must relate to affirmation and negation, otherwise the rule would be useless. My question was simple: I asked these elves, 'Are you dead?'" Oboro smiled slightly.
"Ah?"
Gebuwich's mouth fell open.
Some elves answered 'yes,' and some answered 'no.'
According to that logic, why would those who answered 'no' still die?
"Among them, those who answered 'no' had their soul fire extinguished by my pressure, not by the rule. Because after I answered the question, their 'immutable' rule disappeared, making them vulnerable to damage. The reason for asking the question was that this rule forms a closed loop. If I had simply killed them, I would still have become an elf. Only by having them answer the question could I return to my original form." Oboro explained.
He had to make Menchi and the other two familiar with and gradually understand 'rule-based power.'
The mechanics and conditions of rules have signs and indications; one must observe and analyze carefully.
Otherwise... resistance would be difficult.
If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, even a human expert of his level would have been stopped here.
Menchi's mouth felt dry. Even though Oboro had explained it very clearly, if she were to face such a creature again, she wouldn't dare to guarantee her survival.
"Let's rest for a bit."
Oboro said to the three, who were still shaken.
Afterward, he picked up the corpse of a dead elf, parted its hair, and observed it carefully.
He discovered that the skull embedded in the back of the elf's head was not a result of some acquired ability but was innate.
This small skull was their true brain.
And the power of the rule emanated from the skull.
But now that it was dead, that energy had also disappeared...
"It's quite marvelous... The rule is simple, but the constraints and variations it imposes are extremely strong, very similar to Alluka's ability, but less complex. The reason it's not as heaven-defying as Alluka's is that the strength of the rule is proportional to the energy... Since they are part of the food chain, what is their method of feeding? By assimilating humans into elves, do they gain some compensation? Or a way to become stronger? Hmm... their lifespan is already not short, and increasing their numbers is itself a way to become stronger..."
"Why target humans specifically?"
Oboro mused, gently applying pressure to the elf's skull. With a slight exertion, the body, which had been indestructible moments ago, crumbled like tofu.
This elf... was not the advanced life form he had imagined.
"The Dark Continent... Heh heh... This is getting interesting."
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"