The idea of having Biscuit teach Kurapika Nen had been Morrow's brainchild.
Seeing Biscuit's unreservedly disdainful reaction now was hardly unexpected.
After all, Biscuit had already earned her two-star title and had no motivation to take on disciples…
But with the Corundum Heart and Dome Treasure Box as incentives, there was no need to worry about her refusing.
"If you've got the money, feel free to ignore my proposal."
Morrow's tone was completely nonchalant, as if to say, "It's your call."
Biscuit, meanwhile, slumped onto the sofa like she'd been shot, utterly drained.
Oh, right.
Even if Morrow honored their original agreement and sold her the Corundum Heart and Dome Treasure Box at a reasonable price, she was still far short on funds.
Truly, poverty was the bane of a beauty's existence.
Biscuit let out a mournful sigh.
She really didn't want to waste her youth on "teaching disciples," but to obtain the Corundum Heart and Dome Treasure Box, she had no choice.
"Fine, I accept your terms."
After an internal struggle, Biscuit reluctantly agreed to Morrow's proposal.
From a material standpoint, this exchange was actually a huge win for her.
"But you're really generous, aren't you?"
Leaning back on the sofa, Biscuit shot Morrow a sidelong glance. "Treasures like the Corundum Heart and Dome Treasure Box, yesterday you casually offered them to someone, and now you're doing this for Kurapika… Tch, how come you never just give them to me?"
"I could give them to you outright, but would you accept?"
Morrow looked at her calmly.
Biscuit didn't respond, merely letting out a cold snort.
"You wouldn't," Morrow asserted. "Because for you, the 'process' of obtaining a gem is just as essential as polishing and refining it. The only difference is the method you choose."
"What, are you subtly reminding me to put in my best effort?"
Another cold snort from Biscuit. Being seen through by some brat wasn't exactly flattering.
Morrow shook his head. "Not at all. You're the last person I'd ever need to worry about."
"Ehhh?!"
Biscuit's eyes slowly widened, her fair cheeks flushing pink before she covered her face with both hands, swaying back and forth.
"Ahhh, how mean~ Saying something like that out of nowhere~~ My poor heart's pounding like crazy~~"
( °_ °)
Morrow stared blankly at Biscuit's zero-frame acting debut.
It wasn't her cutesy antics that left him speechless, in a way, he was already used to that.
What truly baffled him was the sheer, practiced fluency of her bashful face-hiding routine.
—--
The next day.
Morrow went to collect his championship prize from the Battle Olympia organizers.
But after yesterday's abrupt departure, the organizers weren't about to hand it over so easily.
The staff member handling the matter presented Morrow with conditions; he'd have to cooperate with interviews and promotional events.
Morrow had no choice but to agree.
Over the following days, Morrow got a firsthand taste of the tedious life of a celebrity.
The spotlight felt like trading freedom for an invisible, intoxicating shackle.
During the promotional interviews, Biscuit noticed Morrow's impatience and took great delight in mercilessly gloating over it. After wasting about five or six days, the Battle Olympia organizers finally delivered the championship prizes to Morrow's top-floor room.
Seven prizes in total:
An unknown mythical beast egg, a golden astrolabe, an ancient creature claw fossil, Feihmeng's violin, The Dome Treasure Box, Corundum Heart Gem, and Selma's Golden Scepter.
Among them, the intricately handcrafted golden astrolabe and the violin of the late music master Feihmeng both carried a relatively distinct artisan Nen aura.
What surprised Morrow was that Feihmeng's violin had a trace of black mixed into its Nen.
Is this… Post-Mortem Will?
Morrow examined the violin closely; this was the first time he had encountered such a phenomenon.
Normally, objects bearing residual Nen only had two types:
One was the positive artisan Nen, and the other was the negative Post-Mortem Will.
These two forms of residual Nen were usually distinct and never blended.
Yet Feihmeng's violin broke this rule.
This oddity made Morrow realize that the violin's origins were likely more complicated than just being "a beloved possession of a late music master."
However, even after careful inspection, Morrow found nothing particularly unusual, so he simply absorbed the Nen attached to it.
Compared to unraveling the violin's secrets, charging the Tree Rings was far more important.
With that thought, the Nen on the violin was effortlessly drawn into the Tree Rings.
In an instant, the green energy ring rose from 60 % to around 63 %.
This was the norm for rings charge, getting even a 1 % boost from a single Nen-imbued object was already decent.
Feihmeng's violin had weaker artisan Nen than the golden astrolabe, yet it provided a 3 % gain, likely due to the Post-Mortem Will mixed in.
No memory fragments…?
Despite gaining roughly 3 % Tree Rings energy, Morrow received no mental information tied to the residual Nen.
Perhaps the Post-Mortem Will wasn't strong enough, or maybe it was because the two types of Nen were intertwined.
Setting the violin aside, Morrow picked up the meticulously crafted golden astrolabe and swiftly absorbed the artisan Nen surrounding it.
Immediately, the Tree Rings' green energy ring climbed another small increment, reaching around 64 %.
As expected, Post-Mortem Will has higher energy purity.
Between Feihmeng's violin and the golden astrolabe, they only contributed about 4 % Tree Rings energy.
Yet Orion's Post-Mortem Will alone had provided a 26 % energy conversion.
This made it clear, if Morrow wanted to complete the Second Circle Growth Ring charge quickly, he needed to specifically seek out Post-Mortem Will.
He still vividly remembered his previous trip to Yorknew to make money. Back then, he had absorbed Nen from twelve Nen-imbued objects in one go, only to gain a measly 8 %.
The only exception was that famous blade, Senro, which alone converted 4 % Tree Rings energy.
If he went by the baseline 1 % estimate, Morrow would need to find 34 more objects on par with the golden astrolabe to fully charge the Tree Rings.
But if he targeted Post-Mortem Will, even if not as potent as Orion's, just two or three would likely suffice to fill the remaining energy.
Unfortunately, Post-Mortem Will was inherently rare. If there's one place where Post-Mortem Will is most easily encountered, it would likely be in sunless tombs or ruins, or perhaps in Nen tools left behind after the death of a Conjurer.
A fresh, high-intensity Post-Mortem Will like Orion's is exceptionally rare.
After absorbing the aura from the two items, Morrow began tinkering with Feihmeng's violin.
Now he faced two choices.
Should he sell the violin outright, or dismantle it to uncover its secrets?
The former would earn him a tidy sum, while the latter might yield nothing at all.
After some thought, Morrow decided to dismantle the violin.
For him, absorbing the artisan Nen from this violin was already the greatest reward.
However, he proceeded with extreme caution during the disassembly.
As long as the body and other components remained undamaged, it could always be reassembled, though the traces of disassembly would affect its resale value.
Morrow carefully took apart the violin's body.
He had read before that the body of a violin is also called the soundbox.
Thus, in the Hunter world, certain trees used to craft high-quality violin bodies are nicknamed "Soundbox Trees."
After considerable effort, Morrow finally managed to dismantle the violin.
He removed the backplate and, under the light, peered inside, but found nothing unusual at first.
However, when he tilted the body, he noticed some script resembling Sanskrit in a hidden corner of the interior panel.
The writing was anything but neat, messy and crooked.
Morrow immediately placed the violin body on the table, snapped a photo of the text with his phone, and tried using translation software to decipher it.
To his surprise, the software failed to interpret the text.
Could it be ancient script?
The thought crossed his mind, but it also sapped his motivation to investigate further.
If the translation software had quickly decoded the text, he might have followed the clues.
But since it didn't, he decided to let it go.
He had no intention of going out of his way to consult a professional paleographer for this.
Maybe I can use this strange text as a selling point later to recoup some losses, Morrow mused.
Next, he turned his attention to the mythical beast egg.
The egg was about the size of a basketball, deep purple in color, and covered in diamond-shaped patterns.
Only up close could one truly sense the life force pulsing within it, like a heartbeat, faint but steady.
This sensation was something no photograph could capture.
No wonder this egg had passed the mythical beast detection standards of the equipment.
Just as Morrow was about to pick up the egg for a closer look, someone knocked on his door.
"Open up, open up!"
Biscuit's impatient voice rang out from the other side, clearly she had already heard that the Battle Olympia organizers had delivered the prizes to Morrow's room.
Morrow went to open the door.
Outside stood not just Biscuit, but Menchi and the others as well.
"You, Morrow, you actually… Wait, my Corundum Heart~!"
Biscuit was about to scold him when her gaze landed on the Dome Treasure Box placed on the wide coffee table, along with an open case beside it.
On the red velvet inside the case lay the Corundum Heart Gem she had been longing for.
Instantly, Biscuit's eyes lit up as she rushed toward the Corundum Heart.
"Come on in, everyone."
Morrow ignored Biscuit's antics and invited Menchi and the others inside.
A short while later.
The group gathered around the coffee table, each with different expressions as they admired the treasures within arm's reach.
The disassembled violin was naturally noticed, but no one asked about it.
Meanwhile, Biscuit had already taken the Corundum Heart into her hands, occasionally letting out eerie, unsettling giggles.
Wing's face twisted in discomfort as he debated whether to remind his master to maintain some decorum.
After a moment's hesitation, he cautiously spoke up, "Ahem, Master, your laughter is a bit too…"
But before he could finish, Biscuit seemed to anticipate his words.
"Before you say anything, tuck in your own shirt first."
Without even turning her head, Biscuit shut him down in an instant, leaving Wing utterly defeated.
Calista, on the other hand, appeared far more intrigued by the intricate hollow structure of the armillary sphere, leaning in for a closer inspection.
As for Menchi, unsurprisingly, her gaze was fixed on the mythical beast egg.
"What a remarkable thing."
Menchi gently ran her fingers over the egg's surface, feeling the pulsating Life Energy within through her palm.
Many Nen users with strong natural affinity could sense the Life Energy fluctuations within plants simply by touching them.
But when Menchi touched the mythical beast egg, she immediately realized that even those without strong natural affinity could easily perceive the Life Energy emanating from it.
Because its presence was overwhelmingly potent.
Hearing Menchi's awed remark, Morrow eagerly scooted closer, his face brimming with anticipation. "How should we cook this egg?"
"Hot spring egg style. This method preserves the Life Energy to the greatest extent. But we'll need some preparations before eating it to avoid any mishaps."
Menchi was visibly excited.
At this, Morrow recalled the hot spring egg he'd eaten with Kalluto last time; though the taste had been peculiar, it left a unique lingering sweetness afterward.
If this mythical beast egg were prepared the same way, perhaps that aftertaste would be replaced by a surge of vibrant Life Energy.
Just the thought made his anticipation grow.
"Can we have it tonight?"
The hope in Morrow's eyes intensified.
Menchi withdrew her hand but kept her eyes locked on the egg. "No. I need to prepare some medicinal ingredients first. It'll take about two or three days."
Morrow's face fell in disappointment.
"Guess we'll have to wait then."
As he spoke, Morrow mimicked Menchi, lightly brushing his fingers over the egg's surface. It had a faintly grainy texture.
But the next moment, his expression abruptly shifted. He noticed the Tree Rings energy gauge on the back of his hand was rapidly depleting, within the blink of an eye, it had dropped to around 50 %.
He yanked his hand away as if electrocuted.
This sudden movement naturally drew the others' attention.
Menchi, especially, glanced at the egg before turning a puzzled look toward Morrow.
But Morrow was fixated on the egg, his gaze unyielding.
Just a single touch, and the egg had drained nearly 15 % of his Tree Rings energy!
Just as Menchi and the others were wondering about Morrow's reaction, a crisp crack echoed from the egg.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw fine white fissures spreading across the egg's top. Instantly, they understood Morrow's strange behavior.
Crack.
Suddenly, a piece of eggshell about the size of an infant's fist was pushed upward. Beneath it emerged a small red head with a black pointed beak.
It's… hatching…?!
Menchi, Calista, and Wing all stared dumbfounded at the little red head.
Meanwhile, the small red head gazed excitedly at Morrow, imprinting his loving (egg-eating) expression into its memory.
Morrow pressed an index finger against the eggshell and slowly pushed the little red head back inside. Then he turned to Menchi and asked the question that mattered most to him:
"Menchi, if we cook it now, will it still boost aura?"
"Uh…"
Faced with Morrow's eager gaze, Menchi was momentarily speechless.
She hadn't expected the mythical beast egg to hatch so suddenly. When she'd touched it earlier, she could clearly sense that the Life Energy hadn't begun transforming yet.
But now it had suddenly broken out of its shell…
In terms of efficacy, it definitely wouldn't be as potent as before hatching.
She had a feeling that if she answered truthfully, Morrow would show an especially disappointed reaction.