Although Morel's abilities were diverse, they could only be activated by relying on his pipe.
This restriction could be considered a manifestation of Limitation and Vow.
Morrow merely taking away the pipe could be considered a gentle approach.
Then showing his Hunter License further clarified his attitude and stance.
Despite this, Morel's tense nerves remained unrelaxed, and his attention returned to Chimera.
Magical beasts had always held hostility toward humans.
Throughout the long course of history, although there had been rare cases where magical beasts communicated with humans and even established trust, there had only been one such instance in thousands of years.
And that legendary Magical Beast Hunter who pioneered this precedent had long turned to dust in history.
But she left one sentence in the records:
"The origin of magical beasts remains a mystery to this day, but one thing is certain: humans can never truly tame magical beasts."
Morel was aware of this information and had once witnessed the shocking scene of an aquatic magical beast hunting a whale pod while completely destroying an illegal whaling fleet.
So he clearly understood that magical beasts themselves were extremely unstable and dangerous existences.
Even if a magical beast could establish some connection with humans, without ensuring true domestication, no one could guarantee whether it might suddenly attack humans according to its instincts, or even the possibility of losing control.
The fishing boat sunk by Chimera was the freshest proof.
At this moment.
Chimera was consciously avoiding the remaining Deep Purple in the air. After discovering Morrow's teleportation to the sea vessel, it immediately changed direction and flew toward the ship.
Under Morel's astonished gaze, Chimera approached the side of the ship, deliberately controlling the strength and frequency of its fleshy wings to allow its massive body, far larger than a blue whale, to slowly descend onto the sea surface without creating huge waves.
This human-like action was undoubtedly to avoid affecting the ship they were on.
Morel felt that this scene completely overturned his basic understanding, even his perception, of magical beasts.
These visibly perplexed reactions of his were all seen by Morrow, who couldn't help but feel puzzled inside.
Given Morel's knowledge and ability, he should be able to determine that Chimera had never displayed a predatory posture from the beginning; at least in terms of aggression and threat, it was far less dangerous than its ferocious appearance suggested.
Yet even so, Morel's reaction toward Chimera was as if he were looking at a bomb that could explode at any moment.
So much so that when Chimera made submissive gestures, he showed an incredulous reaction.
There seemed to be a cognitive difference here that Morrow didn't understand.
"My name is Morrow, a professional magical beast Hunter."
Morrow put away his Hunter License while extending his right hand toward the ship's side, watching Morel's reaction as he calmly said: "Can you tell me your reason for pursuing Chimera?"
Hunters themselves could hold multiple professions simultaneously. Morrow could claim to be a Treasure Hunter to outsiders, or he could declare himself a magical beast Hunter with Chimera as proof.
As he asked Morel for the reason, his right hand extended toward the sea acted like a magnet, drawing Chimera's head toward it. Chimera twisted its long neck, bringing its massive bird-like head onto the deck. It narrowed its eyes slightly and gently rubbed against Morrow's palm.
Seeing this, even if Morel found it utterly unbelievable, he had to accept that this young man had truly tamed a magical beast.
How did you do it...
Suppressing the urge to ask this question, Morel glanced at the exceptionally docile Chimera and spoke truthfully: "It attacked a fishing boat, but we don't intend to take its life. We're only considering safety and planned to restrain it first."
Currently, the international biological database only has complete records of two magical beasts.
As for the aquatic magical beast he had encountered before, there was never any possibility of close contact, let alone understanding or investigating it.
In fact, most magical beasts that have appeared before humans have been like this, never giving humans an easy chance to approach.
Given the rarity of magical beasts, although Morel isn't a magical beast Hunter or Beast Hunter, he wouldn't lightly harm a magical beast's life. From start to finish, his goal has been "restraint."
Hearing Morel say that Chimera attacked a fishing boat, Morrow's first reaction was that there might be some misunderstanding.
"Under my command, Chimera wouldn't actively attack or approach humans. What I mean is... could there be some misunderstanding?"
"..."
Morel fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.
If he hadn't witnessed Chimera's docility and its obedient response to Morrow with his own eyes, based on his understanding of magical beasts, he would never believe there could be any misunderstanding.
Historical records show that magical beasts actively attacking humans, even devouring them, is the most normal occurrence.
Or rather, magical beasts reign at the top of the ecological chain, viewing all other creatures besides themselves as food.
As for why magical beasts show stronger hostility toward humans, like their origins, it remains an unsolved mystery.
After a moment of silence, Morel frowned and said, "But it sank a fishing boat; that's an indisputable fact."
"Could you provide specific details about the incident?"
Morrow still refused to believe that Chimera would actively attack humans.
Because his commands could reach the soul level, even completely suppressing Chimera's primal biological instincts.
This level of obedience might be a result of the Tree Rings energy.
Morel then relayed the details he knew to Morrow.
Hearing that there were no casualties, Morrow breathed a slight sigh of relief and also understood why Chimera had sunk the fishing boat.
"So that's how it is. If I'm not mistaken..."
Morrow raised his hand and gave Chimera's head a firm pat, sighing:
"This guy didn't intend to attack the fishing boat. While hunting underwater, it happened to target the catch in the fishing net. But regardless, allowing it to hunt freely was the root cause of the boat sinking. I'm willing to fully compensate the fishermen for their losses."
At this, Morrow withdrew his hand, looked at Morel, and said seriously, "Can you accept this explanation of mine?"
"Of course."
Morel had noticed Morrow's reaction upon hearing about the casualties. Combined with Morrow's extreme self-restraint in the earlier situation, these two points alone made him willing to trust Morrow's judgment.
Most importantly, he adhered to the principle of believing only what he saw with his own eyes.
Morrow was quite surprised by Morel's straightforwardness, having expected to need more persuasion.
But upon second thought, this was precisely reflective of the Sea Hunter's forthright character.
"I'll trouble you to contact the group of fishermen."
Morrow nodded toward Morel and said, "Once the specific losses are confirmed, I can transfer the payment immediately."
Just then, Grachan leaped onto the deck.
He had already withdrawn his Ken state, returning to his usual Ten.
When Morrow teleported onto the deck earlier, Grachan had indeed been startled, his heart leaping into his throat.
But what followed was even more beyond his expectations.
So much so that after boarding the deck, he refrained from asking questions and instead cast strange glances back and forth between Morrow and Chimera.
Morel looked at him, took out his phone to dial the fishermen's number, while briefly explaining the situation.
Hearing this, Grachan's expression grew even more peculiar.
Like Morel, had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would find it hard to believe a magical beast could display such obedience.
Could it really be some kind of Manipulation ability?
Although this young man possessed a powerful Emission ability, the possibility of multiple abilities couldn't be ruled out. Moreover, Manipulation was adjacent to Emission on the Nen chart.
However, judging by Chimera's reactions, it didn't seem to be under ability control.
And the most subtle hint-based Manipulation abilities, given the magical beast's strong hostility toward humans, would basically be impossible to take effect.
As Grachan was lost in thought, Morel had quickly contacted the affected fishermen.
Through his coordination, the compensation matter was swiftly resolved.
It was then that Morrow remembered he was still holding the pipe. After exchanging a look with Morel, he casually tossed the pipe over.
Morel raised his hand and caught it steadily. Recalling the strength Morrow displayed during their earlier confrontation, he couldn't help but feel a trace of admiration.
"My apologies, I haven't formally introduced myself. I'm Morel, a Single Star professional Sea Hunter."
Morel habitually rested the pipe on his shoulder, then pointed with his thumb at his companion beside him: "This is Grachan, also a Sea Hunter."
"Though I'm not Single Star yet, I will be soon."
Grachan shot a sidelong glance at Morel and deliberately added.
Morel was amused and chuckled.
Morrow looked at the two, thought for a moment, and asked, "There's something I'm quite curious about. You seem very knowledgeable about magical beasts, yet particularly surprised by Chimera's behavior."
"..."
Morel and Grachan instinctively exchanged glances, both seeing a flicker of surprise in each other's eyes.
"How could we not be surprised..."
Grachan's gaze shifted, glancing at Chimera who was lazily resting its head on the deck, and said:
"Based on current human records of magical beasts and those we've encountered, they're never this docile and obedient. On the contrary, they're highly aggressive. Even when not hunting, they frequently initiate attacks on humans."
"Is that so..."
Morrow tilted his head to look at Chimera, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
Come to think of it, his understanding of magical beasts wasn't deep.
He simply thought that creatures like these, which only appear in fabricated myths, most likely came from the Dark Continent.
Now it seemed magical beasts were particularly aggressive beings.
But after using Tree Rings energy to hatch the Chimera, he had never sensed even a trace of hostility or aggression from it.
Let alone realizing the so-called difficulty of taming magical beasts.
Grachan, observing Morrow's reaction, couldn't help but ask, "I'm more curious about how you actually 'tamed' the Chimera. According to historical records, even that legendary magical beast Hunter only managed to establish a relationship of mutual trust and equality with the 'Pegasus' magical beast."
"Grachan."
Morel timely tapped his companion's shoulder with his pipe. Asking such a core secret to someone they had just met was truly inappropriate.
Grachan paused briefly, then smoothly covered up, "Suddenly, I'm not curious anymore."
"..."
Morel raised a hand to his forehead, speechless.
Morrow could understand Morel's character based on the original work, but he knew nothing about Grachan, so naturally, he couldn't reveal these matters.
He simply smiled and didn't respond.
Grachan, unable to satisfy his curiosity, felt somewhat disappointed but didn't press further.
Morel, however, suddenly thought of something and reminded, "Morrow, although the Chimera is indeed unique, I suggest you try to avoid exposing it to the public eye as much as possible."
"Oh?"
Morrow raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"This isn't an exaggeration. As a Sea Hunter responsible for ecological protection, I'm well aware of some trends in the black market."
Morel retrieved his pipe and rested it on his shoulder again, speaking seriously, "In that place, bounties related to magical beasts have long been at the top of the list. Some buyers might just want to preserve them as specimens, but many more want to eat them."
"Understood, thanks for the reminder."
Morrow nodded in realization but inexplicably recalled the time he had brought the Chimera to Yorknew.
Back then, many auction attendees and mafia members must have seen the Chimera.
After leaving Yorknew, he followed Ging to a ruin and then devoted himself to training for a year until the Hunter Exam ended. Until now, he hadn't encountered anyone targeting the magical beast.
But thinking carefully, with Ging's intelligence and secrecy capabilities, even if someone had their eyes on the Chimera, it would be nearly impossible for them to track his and the Chimera's movements.
Morrow's speculation was correct.
All actions within the ruin had been under strict confidentiality.
As for the previous Yorknew incident, the Ten Dons and the Hunters in the black market who had their eyes on the magical beast, regardless of their motives, had indeed considered making a move against Morrow.
They were just hindered by their inability to track his whereabouts.
In contrast, Kurapika, who left the ruin half a year earlier, was quickly targeted by people from Meteor City while dedicating himself to searching for his clansmen's eyes.
So theoretically, as long as Morrow used common transportation like airships or trains, or appeared in crowded urban areas, the Ten Dons and others could very likely track his movements in a very short time.
Morrow was unaware of these potential threats from the Ten Dons, and even if he knew, he wouldn't pay them much mind.
However, Morrow took Morel's advice to heart and didn't linger much longer afterward.
After exchanging contact information with Morel and Grachan, he left with the Chimera, flying toward Whale Island.
—--
Two days later.
Morrow arrived at Whale Island.
True to its name, Whale Island looked like a whale from a distance.
At the head, there stood an active volcano.
The Divine Script Codex strategy guide that Ging had mentioned was located in an inconspicuous cave on the cliff face at Whale Island's tail.
Upon arriving at Whale Island, Morrow immediately sent Chimera to the active volcano.
That area was largely uninhabited, making it suitable for Chimera to hide.
After settling Chimera, Morrow headed alone toward the tail of Whale Island.
When he arrived, however, he saw a woman standing at the edge of the cliff, facing the sea breeze.
The wind tousled her beautiful short hair.
The woman seemed unaware of Morrow's arrival behind her, raising a hand to tuck a stray lock behind her ear.