How far one can go and how high one can climb on the path of life often depends on their initial choices and the way they proceed.
And being down-to-earth, taking one step at a time, always allows one to go further.
Sanbica was such a person.
She was always rooted in the domain of Virus Hunters, and her eyes only ever saw the solid path beneath her feet.
She was exceptionally talented in this field, and moreover, possessed the pure and flawless benevolent heart of a healer.
Therefore, despite her youth, she had already achieved dazzling and remarkable accomplishments in this field.
In Morrow's eyes, both now and in the future, Sanbica was the most elite of Virus Hunters.
This view had been deeply rooted in his heart ever since he first heard Sanbica describe her "Pathogen Decoder" ability.
Now, with Zobae, the Immortality Disease, transferred by Sanbica into her own body, Morrow still believed without reservation that Sanbica could solve this problem that had left everyone else powerless.
After informing Biscuit and the others of the general situation, Morrow cleared a quiet space for Sanbica.
This was also the only thing they, as laymen, could do.
It was the same old saying.
Professional matters could only be left to professionals.
This was what it meant to be a Pro Hunter.
So, all Morrow and the others could do now was wait for Sanbica to single-handedly confront one of the Five Threats that had once forced even Beyond to retreat in defeat.
"Can Sanbica handle this?"
Under the flickering firelight, Ponzu's gaze passed over the dancing flames to Sanbica, who was confronting Zobae, the Immortality Disease, with her eyes closed in concentration. Her own eyes were filled with worry.
Gel glanced sideways at Ponzu, her voice calm and placid. "She's the most outstanding virus physician I've ever seen. If even she can't solve Zobae..."
She paused slightly, her tone still betraying no emotion. "Then the International Permit Agencies being helpless against Zobae for the past fifty years would be somewhat excusable."
"Uh, Gel..."
Ponzu withdrew her gaze from Sanbica and turned to Gel, who was having her injuries treated with Kalluto's help. She said cautiously, "For a moment, I couldn't tell if you were praising Sanbica or belittling the International Permit Agencies."
Gel didn't reply, simply staring into the flames in a daze.
The warm firelight danced across her face, reflecting her usual tranquility and indifference.
Kalluto's less-than-professional wound treatment was bound to cause sharp pangs of pain.
Yet Gel's expression remained completely unruffled, as if that horribly mangled arm wasn't hers at all.
But upon closer observation, one could glimpse a trace of concern for Sanbica in the depths of her eyes.
Biscuit, the most severely injured in the group, was being treated by Miss Cookie.
With a full supply of medical items, such injuries were not life-threatening. However, it takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal. Even for Nen users, who were different from ordinary people, it wasn't something that could be fully recovered from in a short time.
After confirming she wasn't needed here, Menchi went to the cave entrance. Accompanied by the howling wind outside, she began to prepare a meal for her teammates.
It was just that she had chosen a spot too close to the entrance, which made Chimera a little restless. It wanted to stick its tail in to see if it could scrounge some food.
Then it was slapped away by Menchi.
"Roar...!"
Chimera's aggrieved cry came from outside, quickly drowned out by the roar of the wind and rain.
Inside the cave, everyone seemed to be methodically handling their tasks, but in reality, most of their thoughts were fixated on the silent Sanbica.
Only Morrow, who had absolute faith in Sanbica, turned his attention back to the strange bird in his hand after she began to confront Zobae.
He took out the Bru Tribe remains, attempting to use them to communicate with the strange bird.
However, several attempts ended in failure.
He could touch the strange bird, but the tendrils extending from the remains always passed right through it, unable to establish a bridge for communication.
By now, the Entropy Bird had calmed down considerably.
Although it didn't understand Morrow's intentions, upon sensing that he seemed to want the remains to touch it, it hesitated for a moment before finally choosing to cooperate.
Only when it actively permitted it could any object, living or dead, establish a physical relationship with it that allowed for normal interaction.
But in essence, it had to maintain an 'invisible' state as much as possible.
Only then would the power of Luck it carried not weaken.
Simply put, the more real-world things that could see or touch it, the thinner its power would become.
And once this power weakened to a certain critical point, it meant the very foundation that sustained its existence would plummet.
That was not much different from the demise of a life coming to an end.
Therefore, for the Entropy Bird to be willing to establish a connection with a 'dead object' at this moment was, in essence, a gesture of goodwill and surrender.
It just didn't seem to realize that Morrow was completely unaware of these hidden rules and costs.
Perhaps Morrow could sense a hint of a fawning intent in its actions, but he could never understand the sacrifice it was making, a sacrifice concerning the very root of its existence.
But it was precisely this active permission that allowed the bridge of communication, spanning species and the boundary between reality and illusion, to be built at this moment.
"Sha, sha."
The Entropy Bird chirped softly twice at the Bru Tribe remains in Morrow's hand.
Morrow's brow twitched slightly as he instantly understood its meaning.
He once again tried to extend the remains' tendrils toward the Entropy Bird.
This time, the tendrils landed squarely on the Entropy Bird's forehead.
"Alright, now you can tell me what you are."
The moment the channel of communication was established, Morrow transmitted his thoughts.
However, he was met with silence.
If not for the blurry, mosaic-like light patterns flowing around the Entropy Bird, Morrow would have seen its almost frozen astonishment.
"What, can't even the Bru Tribe remains transmit 'words' to you?"
Seeing no response, Morrow asked again.
It was only after hearing this second sentence that the Entropy Bird seemed to jolt awake.
Its thoughts, steeped in shock, finally surged through the channel of consciousness. "This... how did you do that? It's amazing!"
This was, since the birth of its consciousness... No, to be more precise, since it became aware of its 'own existence,' its first true communication.
"Amazing?"
A strange look appeared in Morrow's eyes.
Speaking of amazing, a being like you that can manifest Luck should be the one truly deserving of that title.
Morrow didn't inject this thought into the conscious exchange, only reminding it coolly, "Answer my question."
Even though it was just a transmission of thought, the Entropy Bird instantly felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
After all, its continued existence was now held firmly in the other's hand.
"You... you asked me what I am..."
The Entropy Bird answered hesitantly, "Actually... I don't know what I am either."
"Is that so."
Hearing this answer, Morrow's reaction was calm. He changed his line of questioning. "The 'good things' and 'bad things' I encountered, were they all because of your 'ability'?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
The Entropy Bird's thoughts were tinged with obvious guilt.
"Can you control this ability?"
"No."
"Hm, then you're useless."
Morrow's right hand, holding the Entropy Bird, tightened slightly. The power of Tree Rings quietly circulated in his palm.
What was the use of keeping an uncontrollable ability?
Even though this mechanism of good luck accompanied by bad luck did indeed conform to the rules of Vows and Limitations.
But I'm absolutely unwilling to bear the risk of potentially fatal bad luck just for a bit of good luck.
As Morrow's thoughts turned, the Entropy Bird immediately sensed a chilling aura of destruction.
It didn't even need any extra confirmation.
The Entropy Bird could almost see itself being annihilated in the other's palm in the next second.
This human truly possesses the power to end me completely.
"I can control it, I can control it!"
In that life-or-death moment, the Entropy Bird hastily changed its tune, its thoughts filled with a desperate will to survive.
For it, there were only two fundamental threats to its 'continued existence.'
One was establishing connections with too many real-world things, and the other was actively manipulating the power of Luck.
The difference between the two was that the former would cause it to dissipate more slowly, while the latter would make it disappear rapidly.
But compared to disappearing right now, choosing to disappear sometime later due to actively controlling its power was, after all, a much friendlier option.
Conscious communication not only perfectly solved the language barrier but also allowed Morrow to capture the Entropy Bird's rushed and genuine will to survive.
"So, can you control it, or can't you?"
He deliberately asked again, letting the Entropy Bird clearly perceive his displeasure.
The Entropy Bird panicked at once. Like spilling beans, it hastily laid out all the costs and rules it had to bear, hoping to appease Morrow's anger.
Of course, Morrow wasn't truly angry, but he took this opportunity to understand the mechanics of the Entropy Bird's ability in one go.
As long as this power of Luck was indeed controllable, then the Entropy Bird had value in being kept alive.
As for the Entropy Bird's own continued existence?
He couldn't care less.
To him, the fact that manipulating the power of Luck would accelerate the Entropy Bird's demise was simply equivalent to it having 'limited uses.'
After all, the Entropy Bird had nearly gotten him killed and had now put Sanbica in a perilous situation.
Letting it live a while longer was already the greatest mercy he could offer.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, a thought struck Morrow.
Since this strange bird was formed from Post-Mortem Will, its ability to influence Luck must also originate from the power of Post-Mortem Will.
And since his Tree Rings could select the strange bird as a target for absorption, did that also mean he could potentially recharge it with Tree Rings energy?
Just like how he had used Post-Mortem Will to activate Chimera and the Klein Bottle before.
If this hypothesis was correct, then the Entropy Bird's power of Luck would, in theory, no longer have a 'limited number of uses.'
"Morrow, who are you communicating with?"
Just then, Biscuit's puzzled voice sounded.
The gazes of the other teammates also turned toward Morrow, and toward the tendrils of the Bru Tribe remains hovering in mid-air.
In fact, ever since Morrow had suddenly made a grasping motion toward his shoulder, Biscuit and the others had found it strange.
It was only now, after their injuries were treated, that they had the leisure to ask.
Meeting their questioning gazes, Morrow replied, "The culprit."
"What?!"
Biscuit instantly understood that Morrow was referring to the source of the gaze that could influence Luck. Her expression changed, and she said quickly, "You can see it? No, you can even touch it?"
"Yeah, it was an accident, I guess."
Morrow glanced at Sanbica, who was still focused on fighting Zobae, and explained, "When I was infected with Zobae, my consciousness felt like it was isolated in a blurry ripple of water. I could perceive the outside world but had lost control of my body; it was in that state that I could suddenly 'see' it."
At this point, Morrow's gaze shifted, landing on the swirling mosaic of light in his palm. "Coincidentally, no matter how you 'see' it, you can directly break through its ability to 'hide' its own existence."
"Then can you just erase it now?" Biscuit immediately asked from the most prudent angle.
Morrow nodded. "I can make it disappear at any time, but it still has its uses. Anyway, let's have you all see it first."
With that, he issued a command to the Entropy Bird in his mind, demanding it reveal its existence to the others present.
The Entropy Bird really wanted to say that this was completely unnecessary.
Being seen by more people was not only unhelpful but would also continuously weaken its existence and the strength of its power.
Morrow naturally knew this action was not conducive to its future use.
But allowing his teammates to actually see this strange bird was undoubtedly more important from the perspective of safety and teamwork.
Besides, he still needed to test the possibility of recharging the strange bird with Tree Rings energy later.
In the end, the Entropy Bird didn't dare say more and obediently revealed its existence before Biscuit and the others.
At the same time, the layer of mosaic-like light patterns around its body dimmed noticeably.
"This is the thing that can control luck?"
Everyone stared in amazement at the bird-shaped light form, like a mosaic, that had appeared out of thin air in Morrow's hand.
Morrow didn't explain further. Instead, under their watchful eyes, he walked straight to Sanbica's side.
"Now, I want you to bestow 'good luck' upon her."
Regardless of whether Tree Rings energy could recharge the Entropy Bird, now that it could be used, Morrow would naturally not hesitate to use the power of Luck to ensure Sanbica could flawlessly deal with Zobae.
The Entropy Bird had no choice.
Under Morrow's command, it actively selected good luck for Sanbica.
Instantly, a pure white feather quietly drifted down.
As its ability was used, the fluctuations of the light patterns on its body weakened by another large margin.
It felt that a few more times and it might be on the verge of dissipating.
However, just as it was silently feeling the depths of despair, a stream of energy from the same source suddenly flowed into its body.
It froze.
Looking in the direction the energy came from, the source was actually the human who held its life and death in his hands.
"You, you...?!"
Even in the channel of conscious communication, the Entropy Bird's emotions trembled so violently that for a moment, it couldn't even form a complete sentence.
At this moment, it realized that its most important continued existence would no longer be a problem.
And it couldn't help but think of the legend of the 'Pillars of Creation.'
If the Pillars of Creation truly existed... for it, it would absolutely be the human before it.
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Bonus chapter @400powerstones