It was a bit hot and stuffy in the oak forest that afternoon. A nearby group of elk had come to the lake to drink water. From time to time, they would lift their heads and look around, their small ears twitching occasionally.
The conversation between Germain and Saiyu continued.
"Germain, how much do you know about Chairman Netero?" Saiyu asked, placing his hands on his hips and closely watching Germain's reaction. "Did you know he has a son named Beyond?"
Germain's expression barely changed, but the Firearm in his hand lowered slightly.
Saiyu's approach was direct—mentioning "Beyond" without beating around the bush.
"So, you do know," Saiyu nodded. "That makes sense. While Chairman Netero's has classified his information, more than fifty years ago, he was more famous than anyone else."
"Beyond left behind many stories, and he's been mentioned in newspapers several times. Even now, he's considered one of the top hunters across the Six Continents."
"If you know about Beyond, then you've probably heard of the 'Dark Continent' that's connected to him, right?"
Germain neither confirmed nor denied.
Seeing he wouldn't get much out of Germain, Saiyu shook his head and spoke sincerely, "I'll assume you know about the Dark Continent, which will save me a lot of explaining."
"To sum it up, over three hundred years ago, there was a madman named Don Freecss who wrote a book called *Journey to the New World*, also known as *Journey to the New Continent*, describing what he saw and experienced in the 'Dark Continent.'"
The introduction felt a bit like the crazy Arab poet Abdullah Alhassad, who wrote the infamous *Book of the Dead* on parchment.
Saiyu continued.
"By the way, Don Freecss is an ancestor of Ging Freecss, the 'Boar.'"
"Whether you call it the 'New World' or 'New Continent,' both names refer to the 'Dark Continent.'"
"In his book, Don Freecss described many bizarre and unexplainable terrains and creatures. For a while, people thought it was just the wild imagination of a lunatic. The book was classified as science fiction, magic, or fantasy and wasn't taken seriously."
"However, the V5, who had truly studied ancient history, soon realized that the book's contents were more real than anyone expected. They quickly recalled most copies of *Journey to the New World* from the market."
"Their ancient history researchers soon uncovered the five most coveted hopes mentioned in the book. Each of these hopes had the potential to cause a massive shift in the world."
"Before that, V5 had launched countless expeditions to explore the Dark Continent aimlessly. All of these expeditions ended in failure, and not a single member returned."
"Due to these losses, V5 signed a treaty forbidding them from publicly venturing into the Dark Continent. But the discovery of the Journey to the New World reignited their hope."
"The five great powers sent different teams in secret to pursue the 'Five Great Hopes'."
"With the guidance of the Journey to the New World, their journeys started off smoothly, and casualties were minimal—until they reached the locations of the Five Great Hopes."
"Where there is hope, there is disaster."
"An investigation team of over 1,000 people from Begerossé Union entered the mountains in search of the 'Unmanned Rock.' They encountered the 'Human-Keeping Beast Pap,' and in the end, only seven people survived."
"A special forces unit from the United States of Saherta ventured into an ancient labyrinth city to find the 'Herb for All-illnesses,' but came across the 'Botanical Weapon Brion.' In the end, only two people survived."
"The Federation of Ochima sent an expedition team to a swamp in search of the 'Nitro Rice,' but they were attacked by the 'The Twin-Tailed Snake Hellbell.' Only 11 people survived."
"The Mimbo Republic, in cooperation with the Hunter Association, explored the Trinity Elixir and came into contact with mist-like creatures. Only three returned."
"Chairman Netero also explored the Dark Continent with his companions, but since they acted privately, no written records were kept. However, Netero had seen enough to understand the terror of the Dark Continent."
"He believed that the disastrous failures of the first four expeditions to capture the 'Five Great Hopes' proved that humanity wasn't strong enough to challenge the Dark Continent, and that each failure brought back a disaster capable of destroying the world."
"Chairman Netero used his own experiences to warn future generations not to tread on the Dark Continent lightly."
"However, this warning had the opposite effect. His son, Beyond Netero, became fascinated by the Dark Continent, and many members of the Hunter Association were eager to follow."
"So, more than 50 years ago, Beyond Netero gathered a group of ambitious hunters, and with support from the Kukan'yu Kingdom, set out to find the 'Alchemy Plant Metallion.'"
"This marked the last recorded 'Dark Continent Expedition' in history."
"Beyond Netero's expedition did manage to acquire the 'Alchemy Plant Metallion,' but during their return, they were infected by the 'The Immortality Disease Zobae.'"
"In the end, only six people returned from the Beyond's expedition. One of them was just an empty shell, infected by the 'Zobae Disease of Immortality,' and the 'Alchemy Plant Metallion' also withered halfway through..."
"All human efforts can be seen as complete failures."
********
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