MTLNOVEL Chapter 135: There's still one!
Rugal's huge vessel was called the Black Noah.
Modelled on an aircraft carrier, it nevertheless fell well short of the real thing. Even so, for a mere arms‑dealer to control military hardware on this scale was already frightening.
Xiang Nan walked up to a tightly sealed hatch.
Summoning his Nen—reinforced both by the Orochi Power and by Nen techniques—he punched straight through the heavy metal plating with a resounding boom, then tore the entire door off its hinges as though it were paper and stepped inside.
…
"Physical body, mind, energy, combat skills and tactics… these are the main building blocks of any world's power system.
If I compare two worlds, King of Fighters unquestionably surpasses Hunter × Hunter in raw energy output, yet its physical stats are far too low. Because of that, everything that relies on the body—basic attributes, fighting techniques, even standard combat approaches—ends up mediocre."
As he moved deeper into the ship, Xiang Nan pondered.
This was his first trip to another universe, so he instinctively used Hunter × Hunter as his baseline.
In most anime worlds he knew, the body and the mind are the absolute core— the prime movers of every other power rule. If either level is weak, every subsequent expression of power is crippled. It is like a tree whose roots are poor; the trunk can never grow tall.
Give the same skill to someone with a Body stat of 10 and to someone at 100, and the difference in impact—whether in potency or visual spectacle—is absolute.
By that measure, the Hunter × Hunter system really does deserve its reputation as an industry benchmark: its strength, spirit and auxiliary mechanics are all nicely balanced.
"Rugal still hasn't fully mastered the Orochi Power—he only dares draw on the tiniest fraction.
Kyo Kusanagi hasn't 'awakened' yet either, so his Crimson Flame is limited. I should be able to take him out."
KOF '94 marks the very start of the King‑of‑Fighters storyline; Xiang Nan's timing was perfect. Several plot‑critical "monsters" had yet to grow to full strength, giving him the chance to make his move.
Mature and Vice were members of the Hakkeshu, but throughout the series they never carried that much weight. Removing them would nudge the plot, yet not shatter it—hence the "strategy completion" for each was only 1 %.
But if the protagonist Kyo Kusanagi were to die, the timeline of KOF would unravel and the world's fate line would rupture beyond repair. For players hailing from the "main" world, that could be fatal.
"If I can push strategy completion to 100 %, KOF might become a subsidiary dimension of Hunter × Hunter—basically a resource farm that H×H players can enter at will, collect loot and farm dimension coins through system quests."
Xiang Nan's pulse raced. The system's balance was relative, not absolute. Ordinarily, even during an invasion, a dimension as weak as KOF would not be seeded with overly powerful outsiders.
Because KOF's native cast is still young, the only reason he got in was that this is the Reincarnation Dimension's placement round and he is still a "rookie." Balance is only relative—variables exist. Right now, he is that variable.
Once his level rises, matchmaking will certainly drop him into stronger worlds; so he had to seize this window to harvest as much benefit as possible for Hunter × Hunter.
…
BOOM… BOOM…
Just as he was about to proceed deeper, the passageway ahead was savaged by brute force—something enormous was charging through, the racket deafening. The bulkhead at the far end exploded and a gigantic head thrust out of the debris.
The interior of the ship was more fragile than its hull, yet the space within was vast—over 200 m long and nearly 100 m wide, the equivalent of two football pitches, subdivided into multiple zones. Merely to stroll once around the perimeter took the better part of half an hour, so even a colossal living "object" could fit inside.
A giant?
That giant!
Xiang Nan's first glance pegged the newcomer: another player like himself.
If he was here, he too must have unlocked a hidden quest—though what kind, Xiang Nan did not know.
The nearly ten‑metre‑tall giant barreled along, pulverising fittings and bulkheads. His speed and agility were astounding. He didn't just sprint—he bounded like a beast, leaping onto metal walls and flat surfaces, using both hands and feet to scamper and vault. The scene was almost surreal.
Giants and pursuers flashed through Xiang Nan's field of view. The giant plainly wanted to flee the ship; he had no time for Xiang Nan and shot past him, a gust of wind whipping Xiang Nan's tattered coat.
"Stop him! He's an intruder!"
Moments later two other KOF players—a pair who had made the tournament's top eight and received a bye in the prelims—came tearing after the giant. Xiang Nan recognised them from the boarding queue.
"Damn it, are you deaf?"
Seeing Xiang Nan motionless, one cursed and dashed past. Yet after another burst of crashes, the hull fell silent. The two KOF players trudged back, faces dark.
"The bastard jumped overboard!"
"&@#! Couldn't finish him—bloody unlucky…
That's the Jaw Titan from Attack on Titan. When the Howard Group went belly‑up we thought he got killed—big mistake."
"What's his hidden quest? Looks like he was after Howard's weapons cache. He got the loot, didn't exit to the main world and even boarded the ship. Our world's resources were stolen—but at least he didn't murder any story characters."
"From the AoT perspective, high‑tech arms are indeed something that the world lacks."
"Most contestants this year are around level 7—rookies with little Reincarnation Dimension experience, so they're not sensitive enough to poachers. No quest obliges us, but to keep the timeline intact we veterans have to stop them. Trouble is, invitations aren't easy to obtain; the only rat we netted has slipped away…"
"Huh? Where's that guy just now? He's gone."
They meant Xiang Nan.
"That man's from the Flying Brigands!"
"I missed it? He's from China—the Flying Brigands' captain Wang asked about him. All the details match. He shouldn't be—" The speaker shivered mid‑sentence, recalling the man's look: clearly he'd come from outside the hull, yet the ship's interior was sealed, and his shredded coat screamed battle. His appearance point was downright fishy…
"Shit! There's another one!"
"You check the deck—I'll chase him!"
At once the two Extinction 9 of KOF players bolted in opposite directions, shouting to each other as they went.
~~~
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