The world of Hunter x Hunter is incredibly vast and mysterious. Ever since the beginning of the story, series author Yoshihiro Togashi has showcased the brilliance of the world with his incredible worldbuilding skills and his ability to add life to his manga.
Out of all the places that have been introduced to the fans in the story so far, one particular place piques the interest most: the Dark Continent. Being mentioned quite late into the series, the Dark Continent has already been established as quite a dangerous place that is soon to be explored in the coming future of the story.
8 Its Introduction
The Dark Continent was first introduced in the 13th Chairman Election arc, following the events of the Chimera Ant arc. After the death of Isaac Netero, The Zodiacs got together and this led Gon to meet his father, Ging.
It was Ging who introduced fans to the Dark Continent when the two met atop the World Tree. According to him, the Dark Continent is a mysterious place that humanity knows very little about and is intrigued with at the same time.
7
Its Location
The world of Hunter x Hunter is quite complex. The places that the fans have seen so far belong to the Known World, which is a giant mass of land hugged by Lake Mobius on all sides. This lake is known to be treacherous.
However, crossing Lake Mobius leads to a massive mass of land that is known as the Dark Continent. The Dark Continent is described to be a perilous land filled with all sorts of dangers that even the most seasoned hunters have trouble dealing with.
6 Humanity's Origin
While the history of humanity in the world of Hunter x Hunter hasn't been explored much, it is believed that humans first came to the Known World from the Dark Continent in the first place.
Why exactly they made this migration isn't known, but it could have something to do with the fact that the conditions in the place were way too harsh for them to survive. As such, they may have decided to move to the Known World where survival is much easier in comparison.
5 The Chimera Ants
Fans saw the Chimera Ants play a major role during the latter parts of the story. It all started with the Queen Ant, who somehow appeared in the Known World. There, she started to give birth to multiple ants, all in anticipation of the Chimera Ant King. While not confirmed, it is believed that the Chimera Ant Queen made her way to the Known World from the Dark Continent.
Meruem, the King of the Chimera Ants, was strong enough to bring the world to its heel which is just an example of how dangerous a species born on the Dark Continent can be. Surprisingly, though, the Chimera Ants are far from the most dangerous species on the Dark Continent.
4 Voyages
Humanity has always been described to be quite curious. Wherever they see unexplored lands full of mystery and danger, they get an urge to explore them. As such, it is no surprise that they attempted several voyages to the Dark Continent to explore and conquer it. It is believed that a total of 149 voyages have been made to this land over the last few centuries.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the majority of these voyages ended in immense failure, leading to the deaths of hundreds of people, with some suffering even worse fates. Others, however, did manage to live to tell the tale, which is rather interesting.
3 How To Get There
Not just anyone can get to the Dark Continent. While it is true that by crossing Lake Mobius one can reach the Dark Continent, there are also some steps that need to be taken in the first place. For one thing, a Guide is needed to successfully reach there.
Without a Guide, setting foot on this mass of land is impossible. At the same time, the Guide can only be summoned by the Gatekeeper. Evidently, both are incredibly important for any voyage to the Dark Continent. Without either of them, no Hunter can ever hope of reaching the treacherous land that is the Dark Continent.
2 Survival Rate
As mentioned before, the Dark Continent is a very dangerous place to visit with most voyages leading only to death. That said, five of the 149 voyages are noted to have been deemed successful, although still unofficial. Even on those five, quite a lot of people ended up dying, but a few survivors were left to tell the tale. As such, it is believed that the survival rate on this land for humanity is 0.04%, which is incredibly low. It is evident from these figures that going to the island means signing up for death itself in most cases.
1 The Five Threats
With each one of the five voyages that humanity made to the Dark Continent, they brought back one specimen that would prove to be disastrous for life itself. These are collectively known as the Five Threats. The Five Threats include the botanical weapon Brion, a snake with two tails called Hellbell, a gaseous lifeform called Ai, the pet-keeping Pap, and, finally, the Zobae Disease.
All of them are deemed to be destructive enough to wipe out humanity if not carefully dealt with. What's more, the danger level is known to be much higher than that presented by the Chimera Ants, which just goes to show that they are in a league of their own.