It took nearly three months.
The shortcomings affecting his combat system had been reinforced.
With the objective completed, there was no reason to stay at Heavens Arena any longer.
Morrow gazed at the distant sky.
The airship carrying Biscuit away had become a tiny black dot.
Only when the airship disappeared from view did Morrow lower his gaze, his eyes briefly glancing at the red "X" Death Mark on his left hand.
Less than half a year remained.
With Kalluto's tracking ability, there was no need to waste too much time on "finding Feitan."
In other words, with such confidence, time was actually still plentiful.
The real question now was whether his current overall strength could guarantee a 100 percent victory against Feitan.
The key to victory lay in… successfully planting the Star Mark.
But the process leading up to planting the Star Mark would be the most perilous battle Morrow had faced since his Death Rewind.
A single misstep, and Feitan could instantly kill him with a single sword strike.
So the problem remained the same.
The real challenge had never been Feitan's Nen ability; it was his ghostly speed and his ability to swiftly shift aura between his sword skill and feet, in other words, his mastery of Ryu.
This profound mastery of Ryu was the foundation of Feitan's combat system.
It was also the ten-year advantage Feitan had over Morrow from the very beginning.
To bridge this gap forged by time, the ability Starlight Convergence was born.
Therefore, to increase the margin for error before planting the Star Mark, two things needed to be done.
Continue leveling up, at least breaking through Level 50, ideally reaching between Level 55 and 60. The difference in aura output strength determined the number of evasions required to meet the Star Mark's conditions, as well as the duration of the golden chains' restraint when the ability was activated.
Against an opponent like Feitan, the fewer evasions needed, the lower the risk, and the longer the golden chains could restrain him, the more control Morrow would have in creating distance and launching a full counterattack.
This was crucial.
Complete the charging of the Second Circle Growth Ring. Though Morrow couldn't confirm whether the Second Circle Growth Ring still possessed the Death Rewind effect, he had personally experienced the first ring's power, so his preference was obvious.
Thus, as long as he fully charged the Second Circle Growth Ring before reaching the Death Threshold, it would be equivalent to obtaining an extra life.
Originally, the Tree Rings energy had already reached about 64 percent, leaving only a third of the progress.
But then Chimera drained roughly 15 percent of it.
Now, the Tree Rings energy was only halfway charged. Filling it up, much like leveling up, would require considerable time.
Leveling up meant spending time and effort hunting prey that met the experience requirements, while charging the ring meant spending time and effort searching for objects imbued with residual Nen.
In any case, there were still over five months left…
If there wasn't enough time to accomplish both, he would have to choose one.
Such was life.
Often, one had to face choices, to go through one either-or decision after another, and the key to making the least regrettable decision was what one had to consider before making that choice.
Morrow steadied his thoughts and turned to leave the airport.
—--
Returning to his residence at Heavens Arena, Morrow saw Menchi diligently trying to feed Chimera.
Yet Chimera still ignored the food Menchi offered. The moment it noticed Morrow entering, it immediately flapped its bizarre, branch-like flesh wings and scurried toward him on stubby little legs.
This sudden shift in attitude made Menchi roll her eyes in exasperation.
Morrow looked down at Chimera, which was rubbing its small head against his pant leg, then bent over to pick it up and placed it in front of the assortment of delicious food Menchi had laid out on the floor.
This action essentially conveyed a signal.
Chimera let out an excited roar, acknowledging the signal, and finally gave in to its hunger, ravenously devouring the spread of delicacies.
Truth be told, it had been starving for a while.
Morrow and Menchi simply watched as Chimera wolfed down the food.
"I get it now."
Menchi suddenly smacked her fist into her palm and sighed, "Chimera wasn't refusing to eat. It was waiting for your command, Morrow. Or rather, it needed your permission."
"Is that so?"
Morrow stared at Chimera, which was now stuffing its face.
Perhaps because it had absorbed 15 percent of his Tree Rings energy, some kind of master-servant bond had formed between them.
But to Menchi and the others, it just seemed like Chimera saw him as a father figure.
Before long, Chimera had completely cleaned out the feast Menchi had painstakingly prepared.
Judging by how spotless the plates were, Menchi could fully grasp just how famished Chimera had been. Yet without Morrow's intervention, the little creature wouldn't have touched even a drop of broth.
She even had reason to suspect that without Morrow's approval, Chimera might have starved itself to death.
At first, Menchi had thought the little thing was a bit dim-witted, but after spending time with it, she realized that wasn't the case.
Chimera was actually quite cunning.
It could instantly understand Morrow's intentions from a single gesture and adjust its behavior based on his reactions.
Reading the room… that was one trait Menchi observed in Chimera.
Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would've struggled to believe a newborn creature could possess such ability.
Once she grasped the key to the feeding issue, the solution became simple.
—--
Two days later, Chimera finally accepted Menchi's care.
This depended entirely on Morrow's permission.
That's right.
It really was that straightforward.
As long as Morrow gave the green light, Chimera would lift its self-imposed restrictions. Not only was it willing to eat the food Menchi provided, it also grew affectionate toward her.
With the feeding problem resolved, Morrow could now leave Chimera entirely in Menchi's hands.
The hatching of the mythical beast egg had been entirely unexpected, but through this, Morrow discovered another use for Tree Rings energy.
He could use it to hatch mythical beast eggs and establish a master-servant relationship. In other words, as long as he had enough Tree Rings energy and a sufficient number of mythical beast eggs, he could hatch an army of mythical beasts that obeyed only his commands.
From this perspective, he was practically the chosen mythical beast Hunter.
However, mythical beast eggs were exceedingly rare. More importantly, mythical beasts seemed to have bottomless stomachs, yet their growth rate was painfully slow.
The reasons for this remained unknown, but this drawback alone was enough to make Morrow abandon such ambitions.
Rather than being a chosen mythical beast Hunter, it would be better to become a Treasure Hunter like Kanzai, searching for treasures imbued with residual Nen.
After handing Chimera over to Menchi, Morrow felt much more at ease. Before leaving Heavens Arena, he planned to first resolve the issue of selling the championship prizes.
After all, the funds in his account were nearly depleted.
Borrowing Menchi's Hunter License, he listed Feihmeng's Violin, engraved with what appeared to be Ancient Script, on the Hunter website's trading platform. This was the best damage control he could think of. A Pro Hunter with an interest in such artifacts would likely be willing to pay a high price for it, even if the violin had already been disassembled…
Later, Morrow contacted Aksel, an appraiser from Yorknew's largest auction house, Southernpiece Auction House, to discuss the auction of three rare treasures: the golden astrolabe, the ancient creature claw fossil, and Selma's Golden Scepter.
Aksel was thrilled by Morrow's call and displayed an unprecedented level of respect.
The reason wasn't anything particularly special; it was simply because Aksel knew Morrow was now the ruler of Heavens Arena's top floor.
Southernpiece Auction House acted swiftly, quickly dispatching a team to Heavens Arena to retrieve the golden astrolabe and the other two treasures. The auction house then promised to organize a grand auction for these three treasures, aiming to fetch the highest possible prices.
With that, Morrow resolved the issue of selling the golden astrolabe and the other valuables.
—--
January 15.
Morrow, Calista, Menchi and a few others gathered in Kastro's hospital room.
"Kastro, focus on recovering."
Before his departure, Morrow came to visit Kastro and bid farewell.
Both Kastro and Calista had long known that a place like Heavens Arena could never hold someone as formidable as their master, thus they had already mentally prepared for this parting.
"Master, I'll do my best to catch up to you."
Leaning against the hospital bed, Kastro's earnest face revealed a trace of longing.
To witness monsters, to face them, and then to become one.
Kastro firmly believed that with relentless effort, he could undoubtedly achieve this.
"You absolutely have the ability, Kastro."
Morrow expressed absolute confidence in Kastro's goal.
Feeling this trust, Kastro couldn't help but smile his usual gentle smile.
There was no need to repeat such words, but to have encountered a guide like Morrow, Kastro considered himself truly fortunate.
Beside him, Calista glanced at Kastro, then at Morrow, and also smiled.
Only Menchi, holding Chimera, muttered something under her breath; she seemed to be complaining about her own master, with faint mentions of words like "discouragement" and "dismissal."
After visiting Kastro, Morrow left Heavens Arena without letting Calista see him off.
Like Kastro, Calista had decided to stay at Heavens Arena to continue her training.
For Morrow, Heavens Arena might have been just a stepping stone, but for Calista and Kastro, it was a thorny path they had to traverse; they were determined to overcome those thorns here.
Though Morrow didn't let Calista accompany him, Wing came instead.
"Wing, you're choosing to stay as well?"
Leaning slightly, Morrow looked at Wing standing at the entrance of Heavens Arena.
Wing nodded. "Yes, after all, I still have many shortcomings."
"Didn't notice any," Morrow said with a smile.
Wing paused briefly, then also smiled. "I'm glad to have your approval, Morrow, but it's precisely by taking you as my benchmark that I realize how much more I need to improve."
"Wing, you overestimate me and underestimate yourself."
Morrow shook his head slightly.
Wing didn't respond to that, instead offering sincere well-wishes. "Have a safe journey."
Seeing the genuine expression on Wing's face, Morrow nodded lightly before walking toward Menchi, who was waiting ahead.
—--
Night fell.
The airship carrying Morrow and Menchi ascended into the sky.
"Are you sure you want me to raise Chimera?"
Onboard the airship, Menchi asked this question. Since the airship would land at a transfer station tomorrow, she would temporarily part ways with Morrow to search for a weapon that would suit his preferences, but Morrow's intention was for her to take Chimera along.
Menchi wouldn't refuse this request, of course, but she needed Morrow to understand certain issues first.
"Absolutely. The real question is, are you sure you want to take care of this bottomless pit?"
Morrow had no desire to drag around an insatiable glutton.
Menchi replied without hesitation, "Of course I'm willing. And don't call Chimera a bottomless pit—it just has a slightly bigger appetite." As she spoke, Menchi glanced at Chimera curled up by Morrow's feet and warned, "But let me say this upfront—Chimera has just been born. If I take it away now, by the next time we meet, it might have forgotten you."
"That's fine."
Morrow also looked down at the peacefully sleeping Chimera.
This would be a good opportunity to verify whether the master-servant relationship granted by Tree Rings energy could be affected by factors like separation or different caretakers. If Chimera still recognized him as its master when they next met, he would need to reevaluate the value of Tree Rings energy in hatching mythical beast eggs.
"You said it yourself. Don't blame me when the time comes if I didn't warn you."
Menchi bent down to pick up Chimera. "I'm going to sleep now. We'll disembark early tomorrow, so I'll say goodbye here."
With that, she quickly headed toward the cabin door with Chimera in her arms.
"Wait."
Morrow suddenly called out to her.
Menchi stopped abruptly but didn't turn around, afraid Morrow might see the tension on her face.
"What, are you having second thoughts about letting me take Chimera?"
"No."
Morrow's gaze shifted to Menchi's waist, where just a hint of red gleam peeked out from beneath her coat. It was the pommel of the Poultry Scarlet Knife.
Hearing Morrow's denial, Menchi thought he'd noticed after all, but she still wanted to make a last-ditch effort: "Then what? It can't be that you want me to stay with you tonight~!"
"You're not Biscuit," Morrow said impassively.
"Huh???"
Menchi froze. Were those tabloid rumors actually true?
Morrow looked at Menchi's back and said calmly, "So don't imitate Biscuit's nonsense. Leave the Poultry Scarlet Knife before you go."
Menchi fell silent for a moment. After a moment, she let out a heavy snort and unbuckled the Poultry Scarlet Knife, placing it on the cabinet table near the door.
"Here, take it!"
With that, Menchi forcefully swung the door open.
"Menchi."
"What?"
"Your cooking is delicious. Thank you for everything these past few days."
Menchi's urge to slam the door in frustration suddenly vanished.
"Hmph! Starting tomorrow, you won't get to eat it anymore. Better cherish the memory!"
Leaving those words behind, Menchi closed the door and left, only her movements as she shut the door were unexpectedly gentle.
—--
Early the next morning, Menchi and Chimera disembarked from the airship.
Not long after, the airship took off, heading toward the Dentora Region where Kukuroo Mountain stood.
Holding Chimera in her arms, Menchi stood still, watching as the airship faded into the distance.
The next time they met would be when she had found a weapon that truly suited him.
After seeing off the departing airship, Menchi turned and booked a ticket to Jappon.
Morrow's destination was Kukuroo Mountain, hers was the blade-forging nation renowned for its craftsmanship, Jappon.
--------
Bonus chapter for the 100 power stones.