The world is divided into two kinds.
One is the world within people's understanding, and the other is the world beyond it.
The Six Continents, the explored seas, the Uncharted Waters, the Imaginary Continent, the Dark Waters, and the Dark Continent.
These are the components that make up the true world.
But each 'part of the world' is separated by a boundary.
This kind of boundary can represent taboos, dangers, or even isolation...
Humanity's understanding of the current world is the result of these boundaries.
Boundaries can divide the world, and they can also divide regions.
Just like the Boundary-Guarding Plant before him, it is a manifestation of a certain boundary.
Does its existence...
serve a necessary purpose?
Don Freecss had pondered this question before, but he could never arrive at a conclusion.
Compared to the entire Dark Continent, he was far too insignificant.
As insignificant as an inconspicuous cell in a human body.
He couldn't determine the significance of the Boundary-Guarding Plant's existence, but he knew that the complexity of the Dark Continent's ecosystem was beyond imagination, and its level of chaos could not be explained by common sense.
Perhaps the purpose of the Boundary-Guarding Plant's existence was to bring a semblance of order to this chaos?
The answer remained unknown.
Don Freecss withdrew his gaze from a certain direction and instead focused on the thick root lying across the slope.
This boundary could divide regions and even ecosystems, but it couldn't stop the footsteps of humans or other intelligent creatures.
Tap tap tap-
Don Freecss walked up to the thick root, raised his hand and tore off a vine from the 'lichen' that parasitized his body. The vine pulsed steadily, like a heartbeat.
"…"
After standing in front of the tree roots for a few seconds, Don Freecss suddenly tossed the vine into the air.
In an instant, the root, which served as a boundary, began to churn and transform. Tendrils emerged from the boiling mass, stretching toward the vine that Don Freecss had thrown into the air.
Meanwhile, Don Freecss fearlessly walked toward the now-boiling liquid-like root.
The rising, churning root opened up a hole, allowing Don Freecss to step through.
At the same time.
The dense tendrils that had climbed upward swallowed the vine, then quickly retracted to the ground, returning to their original root-like form.
By this point, Don Freecss had already crossed the boundary, stepping into the area filled with coral-like rock formations.
He didn't look back at the Boundary-Guarding Plant, but instead walked forward with purpose, heading in a specific direction.
He wanted to meet the group of humans traveling along this path.
…
As they moved through the coral-like rock formations, the terrain's unpredictability became increasingly apparent.
Some paths were steep and difficult to traverse, while others sloped downward just a few hundred meters later.
This pattern repeated itself, like a constantly undulating wave.
Sunlight filtered through the hollowed-out caves in the coral rocks, casting bizarre patterns of light onto the rocky ground.
The team moved through this area without encountering any creatures.
Despite this, everyone remained vigilant while moving forward.
Having traversed multiple regions, they had gained a new appreciation for the concept of 'vastness'.
The coral-like rock area they were currently navigating was another region that might take at least half a month to cross.
Moses had already prepared himself mentally.
Now, all he hoped for was to encounter a creature capable of communication as soon as possible.
The team continued steadily.
As dusk approached, while passing by a hollowed-out coral rock formation dozens of meters high, they suddenly heard a faint ticking sound.
"Hmm?"
A strange look flashed in everyone's eyes, and they quickly exchanged glances.
Kanzai was the first to ask, "Did you all hear that?"
"Yes."
"It was a very faint sound, like the ticking of a pendulum clock."
"It does sound like a pendulum clock."
The group chimed in one after another.
They had all heard the faint ticking sound.
Moses frowned and said, "I can't tell where it's coming from. Stay alert."
"Got it. No need to remind us about something like this."
Kanzai's expression immediately turned serious.
For them, who have already witnessed the horrors of the Dark Continent, even the sound of a small pebble rolling down a slope was enough to warrant their attention and caution… let alone the ticking of a pendulum clock.
Biscuit thought for a moment and suggested, "To be on the safe side, let's plug your ears first, or go to the Nen Space to hide for now."
Suggesting such a course of action just because of a faint, unidentifiable ticking sound wasn't due to Biscuit being overly cautious.
Rather, it was because the Dark Continent itself was a place that defied logic, and it was essential to adhere to the principle of 'better safe than sorry'.
"Agreed. Let's head to the Nen Space. It's a good time to rest and regroup."
Moses fully supported Biscuit's suggestion.
Encountering an unexplained sound in a specific environment was something that required high alertness, even in the Six Continents.
After all, some Emitter or Manipulator could use sound as a trigger for their Nen Abilities...
Take Melody from the original work, for example.
She is a dual-type Nen User specializing in Emission and Manipulation, and her ability allowed her to create manipulation effects simply by playing musical instruments.
With such a clear reference in mind, it was necessary to be wary of the sudden appearance of the ticking sound.
With this thought, Moses quickly manipulated a shadow unit he had prepared earlier, and quickly conjured a passage leading to the Shadow World at his feet.
"Get in."
Moses urged quickly.
Upon hearing this, Sanbica immediately strode towards the Shadow World's passage.
She is the person who needs to be protected the most in the entire team, so every time there is an emergency, she is the first to enter the Shadow World.
But for some reason, after taking two steps, she suddenly stopped, standing still as if frozen.
At the same time, Moses noticed that the faint ticking sound, which had been unclear earlier, had become much more distinct. So when he saw Senbika's strange behavior, he felt a sense of foreboding.
'Is this some kind of Manipulation-Type Ability...'
The image of Melody flashed through Moses's mind quickly, his expression changed, and he quickly looked at others.
To his dismay, everyone else was in the same state as Sanbica, standing still with blank expressions.
This sight sent a shock through Moses.
'Just hearing the faint ticking sound was enough to plunge them into this state?'
'If that was the case, wasn't this ability way too overpowered?'
'Should I send them into the Nen Space, or should I find the source of the sound?'
'Or Nen Exorcism...?'
'No, I only had three Nen Exorcism chances, which wouldn't be enough.'
'And I still didn't know the full effects of this sound-based ability.'
Just as Moses rapidly considered his options, Kanzai, who was standing not far from him, suddenly fell to his knees and then slammed his head into the ground toward Moses!
Thud!
With a dull sound, the hard rock ground was cracked by Kanzai's headbutt.
"???"