Ancient human ruins on the Dark Continent and those on the Six Continents were incomparable.
The exploration level and deciphering difficulty of the former far surpassed those of ancient ruins on the Six Continents.
Having Salin decipher the symbolic texts retrieved from the Ancient Labyrinth City was itself a task of immense scale.
Her ability to accomplish so much was already extremely remarkable.
However, such deciphering processes inevitably encounter dead ends.
People standing here, breathing the air of this moment, cannot completely reconstruct events from a thousand or even ten thousand years ago.
Therefore, it was expected that the progress in deciphering ancient texts would be blocked.
Salin didn't conceal her desire to go to the next ancient site, hoping to find a new breakthrough.
In her view, ancient human ruins might be interconnected.
Law understood Salin's current feelings, but he wouldn't rashly agree.
"Then our next destination..." Salin's eyes sparkled.
Law interrupted her, "You know the route is decided together by everyone."
Salin was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
Yes, she knew.
"Hmm, that's true."
She gave Law a helpless smile.
It wasn't a forced smile but an undisguised disappointment.
"Salin-nee."
Law was about to say something, but saw Salin raise a slender index finger to her rosy lips, softly going 'shh', then smiling, "I'm also a member of the team."
Law looked at Salin for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Salin didn't linger further and turned to leave.
With an attitude of not turning back until breaking through walls, perhaps there was a chance to break the dead end.
Watching Salin leave, Law retreated to a corner of Hide-and-Seek, flipping through the pages of his God Hand book.
He had recorded all the intelligence obtained from the skeleton in the book, word-for-word in dialogue form. So later, he needed to extract the more important text and discard the useless parts.
At such times, the small ability he had previously improved proved its worth.
The conjured quill pen could not only leave text on pages at will but also correct or erase as desired.
"Ruins..."
The pen tip paused above a lengthy passage.
Law's thoughts gradually settled into an imagined scene.
During the 'interrogation' of the skeleton, only when talking about humans did the skeleton's reaction become subtle, showing a hint of excitement.
This showed that although the skeleton claimed to be non-human, deep down, he still clung to the fact that he was born human.
"Humans in ancient times were once one of the dominant forces on the continent... Where exactly did they take a wrong step to evolve into the current situation?"
"Even calling the Six Continents the [Holy Land]… according to the skeleton, calling it Noah's Ark would be more fitting."
"But indeed, compared to the Dark Continent's environment, the Six Continents are simply paradise."
"That small group of humans still struggling to survive probably dreams of going to the Six Continents."
"So, where are you now?"
The paused pen tip began moving again.
The scattered thoughts slowly returned.
Ruins… not just two or three, but at least five or six.
After all, humans in ancient times also flourished.
"Speaking of which, where is his vital point...?"
A glint of something ineffable entered Law's eyes.
He was wondering where the skeleton's vital point was… the head or the red orb behind the ribcage?
In the room where he was sent to rest, the skeleton suddenly shuddered, feeling inexplicably strange.
...
Once a Hide-and-Seek entrance was established, dismantling it would consume some time.
Before that, Law's team could only stay here temporarily.
Today, he came to the skeleton's room.
"How many more questions do you have?"
The skeleton warily watched Law, who held a quill pen and book.
"This... I'm not sure myself. Anyway, I'll ask whatever comes to mind."
"Fine, just ask quickly." The skeleton resigned himself.
"Where is your vital point?" Law smiled.
"W-what do you mean?"
The skeleton looked at the smiling Law as if seeing a demon.
"Is it there?"
Law didn't clarify for the skeleton but pointed toward the red orb behind the skeleton's ribcage.
The red light in the skeleton's eye sockets suddenly flared, affecting the red orb behind his ribcage.
Instantly, the orb burst like a broken dam, with tangible Nen surging out, covering his small frame.
Being short had certain advantages, such as lowering the precision required to cover the body with Nen.
And don't forget, the skeleton was now free, not bound by a Nen net.
So when Law showed signs of breaking his promise, even though he considered Law too strong to oppose, he would still fight with all his might for survival.
"If you plan to break your word..."
After releasing his Nen, the skeleton didn't attack Law, who was right in front of him, but retreated to a corner.
"Then I can only seek other ways to ensure my survival!"
The nearly milky-white Nen cast a faint glow over the skeletal frame.
Law observed the skeleton's Nen coating with interest. It was his first time seeing Nen that had almost materialized.
Not too concerned with the skeleton's defensive stance, his gaze lingered on the skeleton's ribcage. He said seriously, "From your reaction, that red orb is your vital point, right?"
"..."
The skeleton moved his finger bones, already contemplating the upcoming fight.
Strength came in several forms.
It didn't mean there was no chance of winning.
Nor was there time to think about what came after. If this battle was inevitable, the focus should be on how to win.
The winner lives… the loser dies.
Such was the rule of the food chain.
The red light in the skeleton's eye sockets gradually dimmed, shrinking to nearly imperceptible needle-points.
The Aura emanating from him faintly carried a wild flavor.
"Nothing wrong with letting you know in advance: my team doesn't need a guide. But if it's you..."
Law put away the book and opened all his Aura Nodes simultaneously.
An Aura stronger than the skeleton's emanated from Law's body, instantly filling the small room.
It was... the Aura of a predator.
The skeleton instinctively retreated a step until his frame hit the wall. Realizing there was no further retreat, he could only face Law's predatory Aura head-on, feeling as if plunged into an icy wilderness.
In that instant, the scene of Don confronting the fluff monster group flashed in the skeleton's mind.
'Was this the feeling?'
'With such an Aura alone, ordinary creatures wouldn't even think of resisting, would they?'
The fighting spirit the skeleton mustered for survival was rapidly worn down by Law's Aura.
He knew he couldn't continue like this.
If he didn't take the initiative, the opponent wouldn't even need to move… he would lose on his own!