The hatching of the mythical beast egg was far too sudden.
Apart from Biscuit, who was engrossed in the gemstones, everyone else in the room was fixated on the Egg.
The small red head that Morrow had pressed back with his Index Finger earlier suddenly broke through the shell from another spot, then turned to look at Morrow with excited, eager eyes.
The others noticed this immediately and realized that the newly hatched creature had already recognized Morrow as its father.
Menchi glanced at Morrow, then at the little red head bobbing around like a rattle drum, and sighed regretfully:
"It's hatched. The life energy inside the Egg must have been completely depleted. If you still want to eat it, you'll have to wait until it grows up."
As she spoke, Menchi remained puzzled.
With her natural affinity, she had clearly sensed that the Life Energy within the Egg hadn't been ready to hatch just moments ago...
Meaning, in just a few seconds, the Life Energy inside had completed the entire embryonic development stage?
Something like this was simply too unbelievable.
Unless she had misjudged, or perhaps this was just how mythical beasts hatched?
Menchi rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought as she observed the little red head.
Among the many uninhabited Evil Enclaves, the most mysterious creatures were undoubtedly the exceedingly rare mythical beasts.
They were even scarcer and more elusive than other mythical beasts.
Compared to the vast diversity of other species, human understanding of mythical beasts was practically nonexistent.
Hearing Menchi's explanation, Morrow had no choice but to shelve his plans for now.
He noticed Menchi's visible confusion and could roughly guess the reason, she was likely baffled by the Egg's abrupt hatching.
Truthfully, he was just as puzzled.
But what perplexed him was why the Egg had been able to absorb Tree Rings energy.
And after absorbing it, how it had hatched instantly...
After all, despite humanity's best efforts, no stable method for hatching mythical beast Eggs had ever been discovered.
Yet here he was, somehow having hatched one inexplicably.
But rather than investigating the reasons, Morrow was more distressed about the 15% Tree Rings energy he'd lost.
"Rawr rawr!"
The little red head let out a few cries.
Whether by sudden exertion or not, the already cracked shell collapsed like a stack of toppled blocks, scattering across the table.
Then, everyone got a full view of the newborn mythical beast.
A bird-like head covered in red down, with a black beak and a single feather crown atop its head.
Below its slender neck, however, was a somewhat bloated body, completely devoid of feathers but dotted with faint, barely noticeable scales.
Equally featherless were the Flesh Wings on either side of its plump torso, resembling forked branches.
More striking were the short limbs beneath its bulky body, ending in sharp black talons.
And its tail was even stranger, smooth and supple like a serpent's, with a bud-like appendage at the tip.
The group examined the newly hatched mythical beast, their eyes widening in astonishment.
Because its appearance was utterly bizarre.
Looking at just its head, one might assume it was the elegant fledgling of some avian species.
Especially with that single red feather crown arching backward, even in its underdeveloped state, it carried an inexplicable grace.
But from the neck down, the creature's form clashed violently with that impression.
Its bloated torso and abnormal wing structure were nothing like a bird's anatomy. Not to mention that slippery tail with an unidentified bud-like protrusion.
If one had to describe the feeling...
Morrow couldn't help but think this mythical beast looked like some cosmic joke, as if the creator had casually picked several completely mismatched parts and haphazardly assembled them together.
If he had to sum up the creature's appearance in one word, it would be...
Hodgepodge.
"It looks... so strange."
Calista's face was full of wonder.
Wing beside her had the same reaction.
Only Menchi, having seen plenty of bizarre species, didn't find anything particularly unusual about this mythical beast's appearance.
"Mythical beasts defy conventional logic, but its appearance..."
Menchi studied the creature and murmured, "Reminds me of Chimera Ants."
"Chimera Ants? What are those?"
Calista asked in confusion.
Menchi glanced at her and explained, "Chimera Ants, also known as Gourmet Ants, possess an ability called Phagogenesis. Through this ability, they can incorporate the genetic traits of organisms they consume into their offspring."
"I see."
Calista nodded half-understandingly.
This so-called phagogenesis essentially meant blending characteristics from various creatures together.
Hearing Menchi mention Chimera Ants, Morrow instinctively looked at the mythical beast's four clawed limbs. After careful examination, they didn't match the characteristics of Chimera Ant claws he remembered.
This was enough to prove this mythical beast had nothing to do with Chimera Ants.
Though purely based on appearance, it would indeed make people immediately think of them.
"Let's call it Chimera then."
Morrow decided to name the newly hatched mythical beast after the Chimera Ant.
Chimera paid no attention to the scrutinizing gazes around it. Lowering its head, it pecked at a piece of eggshell, then tilted its head back to swallow it.
"Grooowl..."
Suddenly, it let out an uncomfortable cry and spat out the recently consumed shell.
There was something distinctly unnatural about its vocalizations.
After spitting out the shell, Chimera hesitated before selecting a smaller fragment.
Soon it rejected this piece too, finally realizing eggshells weren't edible.
Then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, Chimera began wobbling toward Morrow on its strange branch-like flesh wings, its bloated body swaying unsteadily.
Reaching the edge of the coffee table, it stretched its slender neck toward Morrow, opening and closing its sharp beak repeatedly in a clear display of begging for food.
Seeing Chimera go straight to Morrow for sustenance, Menchi struggled to suppress her amusement.
Had this been an unhatched mythical beast egg, her mind would have been wholly occupied with how to achieve the first culinary preparation of such an egg.
But since it had hatched, she'd much rather see the newborn creature grow and eventually become part of humanity's biological database.
"I'll get it something to eat."
Masking her smile, Menchi stood and left. Moments later, she returned with a webbed leg segment—one of tonight's ingredients sourced from an amphibious creature called Skipping Fish.
Taking out her Poultry Scarlet Knife, she sliced off a small piece of meat and placed it before Chimera.
Chimera's red eyes fixed on the meat as its gaping beak slowly approached. Just before contact, it suddenly withdrew, instead stretching its neck toward Morrow while keeping its beak open. "Morrow, you feed it."
Menchi noticed the situation and handed the Poultry Scarlet Knife along with the leg meat to Morrow.
Morrow frowned slightly but took them anyway, then sliced a small piece of meat for Chimera.
As he placed the meat down, Chimera acted as if it hadn't eaten for days; its sharp beak swept over and swallowed the meat in one go, then immediately opened its beak toward Morrow again.
"Pfft."
Calista couldn't help but laugh, though she quickly covered her mouth the next second.
Morrow shook his head slightly and carved a few more pieces for Chimera.
Chimera devoured everything without hesitation.
In no time at all,
the leg meat, which was twice Chimera's size, had been completely eaten.
"Rooow~"
Chimera seemed full now, letting out a lazy sound before flopping onto Morrow's lap, curling up and falling fast asleep.
Wing looked at the deeply sleeping Chimera and praised, "This little one's quite spirited."
"Yeah, just a bit ugly."
Calista sighed.
Menchi, however, was more concerned about how to raise Chimera going forward, as well as recording its biological data into the archives.
But that would require Morrow's approval first.
That night, everyone gathered for dinner.
—--
Chimera seemed to have been roused by the aroma, it stared at the steaming dishes on the table from a distance before suddenly snapping out of it, hopping off the sofa and darting toward the table.
Once it reached Morrow's leg, Chimera craned its neck and let out a series of chaotic chirps.
When Morrow didn't respond immediately, it anxiously circled his legs, still screeching.
Everyone turned their attention to Chimera.
Calista tossed a piece of meat its way.
Chimera barely glanced at it before continuing to screech at Morrow.
Clearly, it would only eat if Morrow fed it.
Morrow smiled helplessly and casually threw down a few pieces of meat.
Chimera immediately gobbled them up happily.
Its eating speed was astonishing, in the blink of an eye, the food vanished into its sharp beak.
Seeing this, Morrow deliberately tossed a leaf in front of Chimera.
To his surprise, Chimera had no qualms about eating anything; it happily munched on the leaf, indifferent to whether it was meat or vegetables, raw or cooked.
Morrow then tried throwing some bone fragments its way.
Chimera ate even more enthusiastically, pecking at them like a chick devouring grains, leaving not a single crumb behind.
Biscuit, sitting beside Morrow, leaned over to look at Chimera and remarked in surprise, "Omnivorous, huh? That should make it easy to raise."
"Oh? Then you can take care of it."
Morrow seized the opportunity.
Biscuit rolled her eyes at him and didn't bother responding.
This mythical beast wouldn't eat from anyone else even when starving; how could anyone else raise it?
After dinner,
Chimera, now full and content, fell back into a deep sleep.
Biscuit and the others left one after another, and soon, only Morrow and Chimera remained in the room.
What exactly is the connection between Tree Rings energy and mythical beasts?
Morrow gazed at the curled-up Chimera, pondering the reason.
Tree Rings energy came from residual Nen; in a sense, it was the spiritual energy left behind in the world after a human's death.
So,
if Chimera absorbed 15% of the Tree Rings energy before hatching, did that mean it used spiritual energy to complete its incubation?
Morrow then thought about his own Death Rewind, which also originated from the spiritual energy within the Tree Rings.
Was there a common thread between the two?
Rebirth?Reincarnation? Morrow frowned.
There was still too little information about mythical beasts.
Moreover, judging from Chimera's appearance, it was difficult to discern any evolutionary biological traits.
It seemed more like...
A strange creature irresponsibly fabricated purely from human imagination.
Morrow lowered his head to gaze at the sleeping Chimera, feeling that raising a mythical beast would be quite troublesome.
Besides, he had many things to attend to later; how could he spare the time to take care of Chimera?
—--
Early the next morning.
Menchi, unusually, woke up early and came to Morrow's place, bringing some raw meat with her.
Clearly, it was prepared for Chimera.
"Chimera must be hungry, Morrow. Hurry up and feed it."
"..."
Morrow held the raw meat that Menchi had forcefully shoved into his hands, rendered speechless.
In no time at all.
A piece of meat roughly the size of a lamb leg was completely devoured by Chimera.
From the time it hatched yesterday until now, the amount of food Chimera had eaten was at least ten times its own volume.
Yet, this creature neither excreted nor showed any signs of growth.
It was truly baffling where all that food went.
After eating its fill, Chimera crawled back onto the sofa to sleep.
It seemed to understand that Morrow didn't like it sleeping on his lap, so it wisely made the sofa its nest.
Taking advantage of Chimera's slumber, Menchi crouched beside the sofa, poking and prodding at its body.
"Chimera has an astonishing appetite, but its growth rate is incredibly slow."
As she fiddled with Chimera, Menchi carefully observed its physical characteristics.
Generally speaking, creatures like Chimera that exhibit abnormal eating habits from birth tend to show rapid growth during their juvenile stages.
Yet, this biological phenomenon didn't seem to apply to Chimera.
"Menchi, you seem to really like Chimera."
Watching Menchi play with Chimera, Morrow could easily see her affection for the creature.
"Of course."
Menchi glanced back at Morrow and said earnestly, "This is a living mythical beast; it has great observational value."
"I almost thought you said 'edible value'."
Morrow remarked casually.
Menchi's right hand, which had been reaching for Chimera's head, froze mid-air.
Seeing this, Morrow chuckled. Then it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps he could leave Chimera for Menchi to raise.
The only issue was getting Chimera to accept food from her.
As for whether it could survive under her care...
Yesterday, Chimera had even devoured bone fragments without issue, so there was no need to worry.
—--
Over the next few days.
Menchi accepted the proposal to take care of Chimera.
To earn Chimera's acceptance, she spent most of her time interacting with it.
She even specially prepared nutritionally balanced meals for Chimera.
Chimera loved them.
It would express its delight for the food with excited roars.
Unfortunately,
Despite clearly knowing that these meals were prepared by Menchi, it would only eat them if fed by Morrow's own hand.
This made Morrow suspect that Chimera's behavior wasn't because it saw him as a father figure, but rather due to the Tree Rings energy.
Time passed slowly.
—--
January 10th.
Morrow received a short message from Kurapika.
The message briefly explained that Kurapika had passed the Hunter Exam. Morrow only sent Kurapika a brief congratulatory message.
—--
That evening.
Biscuit left Heavens Arena.
She was about to fulfill her promise and take the initiative to teach Kurapika Nen.
Morrow accompanied Biscuit all the way to the airport, then watched as the airship carrying her slowly ascended and disappeared into the distance.
It seemed he should leave this place too.