Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

At that moment, Germain felt the presence of Ging's En spreading outwards, scanning everything in the vicinity.

"Not this way," Ging said, pointing in a different direction. "There's a beast blocking this path. We'll take another route."

His En had detected a magical beast obstructing their original route.

Fortunately, Don Freecss had mapped out enough of the area that Ging only needed to double-check the paper map to make a quick decision on the new path.

The danger level of the "Botanical Weapon Brion" is rated at B+, which is quite close to the highest level of A.

Its destructive power is rated A-1 (with -1 and -2 indicating slight variations below the A standard), and it has an extremely high lethality and maiming rate. The brutality level is B, but under certain conditions, it can escalate to A-1.

One such condition is entering the ancient labyrinthine city. As long as Germain and his team remain within this Ancient Labyrinth City, they will be actively attacked by these creatures.

The ancient labyrinthine city is essentially their nest, and the "Herb for All-illnesses" represents their offspring. To nourish the "Herb for All-illnesses," they hunt intruders.

Their reproductive ability is rated B-2, which is stronger than humans rated at C, but their total population remains at C, meaning fewer than a hundred. This indicates that their reproduction process is different from that of humans.

The "Botanical Weapon Brion" reproduce by parasitism, wherein spores from one part of a living "Botanical Weapon Brion" transfer to another living organism.

They take control of the host's body, complete their cycle by bearing fruit and flowering, and thus conclude one cycle of reproduction.

A single "Botanical Weapon Brion" can split into multiple parts, parasitizing several living beings. Only after these divisions are completed does the original "Botanical Weapon Brion" perish.

However, their numbers have not explosively increased due to the existence of the "ancient labyrinthine city."

It seems they possess some instinct or purpose that keeps them confined within the city, and only in rare cases do they leave.

As such, only when living creatures are attracted by the "Herb for All-illnesses" or accidentally wander into the ancient labyrinthine city do they become hosts for the parasite.

This is how their population remains controlled under a hundred.

If the restriction of the "ancient labyrinthine city" were lifted, the reproductive ability of the "Botanical Weapon Brion" could potentially reach level A.

In such a scenario, their numbers would swell to terrifying levels, swarming from their nest like an overwhelming tide of cockroaches.

Considering this characteristic, Germain and his team had previously agreed that avoiding combat was the best strategy.

The low population level of C is the most significant weakness of the "Botanical Weapon Brion." In the vast expanse of the ancient labyrinthine city, their distribution and roaming patterns are scattered.

This implies that Germain and his team can avoid many unnecessary battles. With Ging's exceptional "En," and the four's outstanding "In," this possibility became a reality.

Germain's group remains focused on their primary goal: obtaining the "Herb for All-illnesses," one of the Five Great Hopes.

Minimizing combat as much as possible before reaching the core area is the most sensible choice for their four-person team.

If the content recorded in Journey to the New World • East Volume Fragment from two or three hundred years ago remains accurate, then when Germain and his team reach the core area, they will face a fierce battle.

Germain believed that all the textual information pointed to the existence of a champion-level monster in the core area.

After they passed another cubic stone pillar, Ging's En detected unusual biological activity.

"Be careful," he warned with a frown. "There's a monster that has noticed our presence and is heading toward us at high speed."

"If we advance quickly now, can we shake it off?" Bisky asked.

"Once it's aware of us, we can't shake it off," Ging replied. "You can consider all the parasitized creatures here as 'elite-level or higher Nen users,' just like Germain described."

"They can also use En, and their range is just as large. However, their En is often irregular, leaving certain gaps through which we can pass."

"The only reason we haven't been detected by many parasitized creatures is because we're using In."

"However, these creatures have strong wild instincts. Even if we use In, if we stay within their En for too long, they'll still sense us."

"Once we're detected, it's difficult to shake them off. And as it chases us, more parasitized creatures will be drawn to the disturbance, eventually forming an encirclement."

Shizuku adjusted her glasses and said, "But if we fight the monster here, won't that also attract other creatures?"

Germain roughly understood Ging's strategy and explained to Shizuku:

"That's why we need to finish this quickly and eliminate the pursuing enemy."

"Before the other parasitized creatures arrive, we must keep moving stealthily and break out of their encirclement."

In the air, he used Nen to draw a circle with several deliberate gaps and pointed at them for Shizuku to see.

Shizuku and Bisky used Gyo to observe Germain's diagram and understood. They both nodded.

Seeing Germain grasp his plan so quickly, Ging couldn't help but smile.

"A regular team of Nen users might not be able to pull this off, but the four of us can. Within five seconds of engagement, we need to finish the battle."

He thought to himself: Germain, in some ways, thinks very much like me… By the time he reaches my age, he might become a monster akin to Chairman Netero.

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