Traveling Through Space-Time
The feeling of breaking through the barriers of time and space was like a dream.
No, it was a nightmare.
Various dimensional fragments forced their way into Oboro's brain, flashing like a kaleidoscope. Images emerged in rapid succession, some beautiful and some horrifying. It felt as though he existed both within the experience and outside of it simultaneously.
His soul in this 'dream' could clearly experience everything with terrifying clarity. Yet he couldn't control any of it. Only torture. Only pain. And he couldn't wake up.
Gradually, Oboro learned to accept his fate and allow his soul to flow freely through the currents of space-time. He had no idea how long it had been, but when his consciousness began to grow chaotic, he attempted to 'open' his eyes countless times. Finally, he felt the feedback of real strength flowing through him.
He had succeeded.
His eyes opened.
He was awake.
After regaining consciousness, the first thing Oboro noticed was the acrid smell of gunpowder that pierced his nose. The scent was slightly choking.
His upper body felt cold while his lower half was warm, protected by a thick quilt. He lay on a wooden couch with the planks of a shed visible above his head. The room had a distinctive character to it.
"I succeeded?" he mumbled, supporting himself with his hands as he sat up.
Looking around, he discovered that the decorations and furnishings were typical Japanese style. A wooden rack stood to one side with a samurai robe hanging from it. Several samurai swords adorned the wall. In the center of the hall hung a framed calligraphy painting of the character "Wu" written in elegant brushstrokes. Nearby, a stove burned coal, providing meager warmth.
A sense of foreboding settled in Oboro's heart.
He forced himself to calm down and quickly searched through the residual memories in his mind, integrating himself into the background of this body. Obviously, this person was dead otherwise, Oboro's soul would not have been able to occupy the body. The weak vessel sent out distress signals to its new inhabitant.
"Tsk this is terrible," Oboro complained after a moment, opening his eyes again.
Although his journey had taken him from a world with a high-level power system to one with a lower-level system, the gap was far greater than he'd anticipated. More importantly, he had planned this carefully. Even in this lower world, his goal remained to one day return to the world of Hunter x Hunter and complete his conquest of the Dark Continent. So, beyond merely "proving" his will, he also needed to gather as many beneficial resources as possible.
In other words, as he descended from a higher world to this lower one, he needed to prepare for the journey back. No matter how many worlds he had to traverse, he would need to enrich his strength and abilities along the way.
Traveling from high to low required reducing his burden due to the peculiarities of space-time barriers. But moving from low to high would demand an increasing reserve of power for the upward 'journey.'
Even in lower worlds, certain special dimensions contained extraordinary "resources" that aligned with particular supernatural settings. But since he couldn't make a designated crossing and could only 'land' randomly, he had no control over his destination.
He never expected to arrive in a world where resources were nearly worthless to him. Resources existed here, certainly, but they held little value for someone of his capabilities.
"That would be manageable but in this world, it will be difficult for my will of inheritance to take root," Oboro lamented, slapping his forehead. "Two completely different wills of inheritance have already set the main tone here, leaving no room for anything else."
For now, it would be impossible for his soul to travel through time a second time. The stabilization process would take time, and the loss of power had been too great.
He stood unsteadily, wearing a simple suit, and walked to the front door. When he opened it, a gust of cold air carrying snowflakes rushed into the room.
Beyond the doorway stretched a mansion of considerable size. Heavy snow was falling, blanketing the landscape in pristine silver.
"Sir why are you up?" came concerned voices. Hearing the noise from the adjacent room, two maids rushed out, their expressions a mixture of surprise and worry.
"My Lord you're still ill and shouldn't risk catching a cold," one of the women advised.
Oboro regarded them calmly. "From now on, I will no longer be called Musashirou. Call me Oboro."
"Master?" The two maids exchanged confused glances before bowing respectfully. "Yes, sir."
"Open the door wider I want to see the snow."
With that, Oboro turned and went back inside, sitting cross-legged beside the fire.
The background and family status of this body was far superior to his circumstances in the world of Hunter x Hunter. There, he had been an orphan. Even after becoming a Nen user, he'd had to find ways to make money to support his growth. In this life, it seemed financial problems would not be a concern.
But a more troublesome issue remained: the condition of this body.
"When transitioning between worlds, your power becomes assimilated," he mused. "Simply put, some techniques I used as a Hunter aren't supported by the natural laws here. After all, this is a lower-level world that cannot accommodate higher powers. Some martial arts can still be used, but their effectiveness is greatly diminished. The breathing techniques yield far weaker results than before."
He stared into the dancing flames. "This body is critically ill like a candle flame in the wind. Even though my soul temporarily sustains its vitality, I'll still die if I don't find a solution soon. It's impossible to repair this physique through simple breathing exercises or physical training Time is running out."
After contemplating in silence, Oboro called forth his system panel.
Host: Oboro
Age: 20
Status: Honorable samurai
Comprehensive attribute evaluation: Ordinary person
Skills: Iron Shirt, Vajra Finger, Stepping, Magic Fist, Acupoint Pressing, Pulse Diagnosis (can be used)
He gazed at the display with a frown. Due to the power limitations of this lower world, certain 'energies' that exceeded this reality's capabilities remained frozen.
"Because of my soul, my 'skills' still exist at their godly level. Unfortunately, my 'strength' is pitiful because my physical fitness is so poor," Oboro observed. "There's little to be done about that. Only my soul traveled through time, not my body."
He was essentially a gamer with maxed-out skills but at level zero, with no attributes to support them.
"The game treasure house of Endless Fantasy is opening Updating system, please wait."
Suddenly, the system interface transformed. A familiar notification chimed in Oboro's mind.
Before crossing over, he had merged his Nen ability with the system to prevent separation by space-time barriers. Since the system was part of his soul, it had accompanied him through the transition. This integration allowed for expanded functionality.
"Connected successfully, powered on."
The interface of a storage inventory materialized before him. Oboro smiled as he surveyed the items filling the small squares inside.
After completing his inspection, he closed the system.
He tapped the ground rhythmically with his fingers and whispered, "First, I must find a way to strengthen this fragile body It's the end of the Edo period, soon to be the Taisho era I'll need to obtain that specific 'blood,' and then locate the blue spider lily."
"While I'm not particularly satisfied with this world since I'm here, I might as well explore."
"Let's see if there's any soil here that can nurture my will"