The risks of exploring the Dark Continent were plain to see. A mere request was hardly enough to move a fellow Pro Hunter.
Before Morrow went to see Gel, he had actually been leaning toward the outcome of her outright refusing him.
But he hadn't expected Gel herself to have a certain interest in the Dark Continent, nor that she still remembered how he had helped her remove the serpentine Nen beast's Post-Mortem Will.
Of course.
Gel's swift agreement was also likely related to their experience fighting side-by-side in the Chimera Ant subjugation campaign.
Among Nen users, once they had experienced life and death together, their relationships often grew closer at a rapid pace.
The most typical examples were none other than Knuckle and Shoot.
The two didn't usually get along well and even argued frequently.
But after fighting side-by-side, they were both willing to lay down their lives for the other in a life-or-death situation.
"The team could depart at any time. If it's convenient for you, it would be best to come with me now," Morrow immediately proposed upon seeing Gel agree to join.
Gel didn't respond right away. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, seriously recalling if she had any unfinished business.
"Give me ten minutes."
She did indeed have a few things to delegate and handle.
Morrow nodded.
Ten minutes passed quickly.
Gel swiftly dealt with the matters at hand, then left the office with Morrow.
The two walked down the hallway and arrived at the elevators.
Morrow reached out and pressed the "up" button.
Seeing this, Gel asked, "Besides me, who else are you planning to find?"
To leave the building, they should be going down, but now they were going up.
There could only be one reason: Morrow wanted to invite other Pro Hunters who had offices in the Hunter Association Headquarters.
"Loupe and Cluck," Morrow replied.
He believed Loupe's finding ability would be very useful, while Cluck, being both a Music and Botanical Hunter, would be a great help in exploring the Dark Continent with her extensive knowledge of plants.
Images of the two surfaced in Gel's mind. After a moment's thought, she understood Morrow's reasoning.
Cluck went without saying; her identity as a Botanical Hunter was reason enough.
And as for Loupe, a Lost Hunter, his ability would indeed be exceptionally important if they wanted to find a specific target in the vast expanse of the Dark Continent.
"Do you need me to step in?"
Having become a member of the team, Gel naturally began to consider the team's interests. "But even if they know I've joined, it might not make much of a difference."
"Let's give it a try. I wasn't holding out much hope to begin with," Morrow said with a smile.
Gel said coolly, "It would be best if they could join, of course. Setting aside Loupe's finding ability, Cluck's professional knowledge in botany would indeed be a great help to the team's exploration."
"Exactly," Morrow nodded. "In terms of professional knowledge alone, there might be many experts more capable than Cluck. But to be proficient in botany and also possess a solid foundation of combat strength, such candidates are few and far between. In that respect, you're the same, Gel."
Professional knowledge could play a key role in harsh natural environments, but in a place as perilous as the Dark Continent, strength was an indispensable guarantee.
If professional knowledge determined the upper limit of exploration, then foundational strength was the bottom line ensuring survival.
"That last addition was completely unnecessary."
Gel shot Morrow a sideways glance.
Just then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
After saying her piece, Gel walked straight in and then directly pressed the button for Cluck's floor, as she knew where it was.
Morrow followed her into the elevator, glanced at Gel's cold and beautiful profile, and said no more.
A short while later.
Morrow and Gel met Cluck in an office filled with potted plants.
"I have nothing to say to someone who dared to dismantle Feihmeng's violin."
Cluck didn't even give Morrow a chance to make his case, unceremoniously kicking the two of them out the door.
Bang!
The office door was slammed shut.
Gel silently looked at Morrow, a trace of surprise and doubt in her eyes, as if asking: Since your relationship is this bad, why would you even think of inviting her to the team?
Meeting Gel's gaze, Morrow sighed softly. "She really holds a grudge."
He and Cluck had first met precisely because of that Feihmeng's violin.
To be more precise, it was the Feihmeng's violin that he had dismantled.
Cluck had insisted on a face-to-face meeting back then, which was really just an excuse to scold him viciously in person.
That was years ago.
Morrow himself had almost forgotten, but clearly, Cluck remembered it very well.
After being rebuffed by Cluck, the two went to another floor to find Loupe.
Upon seeing them, Loupe was extremely enthusiastic.
He had originally thought Morrow had finally come to his senses and was willing to accept the olive branches he had extended multiple times before.
But when Morrow explained his true purpose, Loupe's disappointment was palpable, and he ultimately declined politely.
The reason he gave was very direct.
First, he felt the Dark Continent was too dangerous, and second, he didn't think his abilities were sufficient to gain a foothold in such an environment.
It could be said that Loupe's attitude toward the Dark Continent reflected the normal mentality of the vast majority of people.
Morrow wasn't surprised by this result.
Since he had failed to recruit the two talents, Cluck and Loupe, he didn't linger in Swardani City and departed directly with Gel.
—--
At noon on the second day after leaving Swardani City, Morrow received a message from Ging.
There had been a breakthrough in the research on the Klein Bottle.
This matter was key to landing on the Dark Continent. As soon as Morrow received the news, he immediately decided to drop Gel off midway and told her the location of the other team members.
"This is urgent, so I'll have to trouble you to travel a bit on your own, Gel."
"Heh."
Gel looked up at Morrow, who was standing on the edge of the Chimera's back. The corners of her mouth twitched into a stiff smile, and then her expression went blank as she enunciated each word, "It's no trouble at all."
"That's good."
Morrow nodded at her, then patted the Chimera's back.
Receiving the signal, the Chimera immediately beat its wings and soared into the air.
Whether it was intentional or it had sensed Morrow's urgency, its takeoff was particularly rough this time, and the strong winds it kicked up instantly blew Gel's long hair and dress into a mess.
After ascending, the Chimera even turned its bird-like head to glance down at Gel on the ground.
Gel remained impassive, but her hands involuntarily clenched into tight fists. From beginning to end, she was resisting the urge to punch Morrow.
She just stood there, watching as the Chimera carried Morrow away until he disappeared over the horizon. Only then did she turn, gritting her teeth, and set off alone on the road to meet the other team members.
—--
By the evening of the next day, she finally met Kalluto, Ponzu, and the others.
In preparation for the Dark Continent, the team was currently undergoing intensive special training under Biscuit's guidance, racing against time to improve their strength.
Gel immediately noticed their training state, her gaze instantly captivated by the changes in Ponzu and the others.
"You all...!?"
It had only been a little over a month since they parted ways after the Chimera Ant subjugation, yet the Kalluto, Ponzu, and even Menchi before her had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
The most obvious thing was the scale of the aura surrounding them; it was by no means a level that could be achieved in a short time through conventional training.
In her shock, Gel's thoughts suddenly turned to Morrow.
This phenomenon of drastically increasing one's strength in a very short time was something she had only witnessed multiple times in Morrow.
So, before she could even ask Kalluto and the others for the reason, the outline of an answer had already formed in her mind.
Could it be some kind of Nen ability that can "rapidly increase strength"? And, it can even affect others?
Gel's heart stirred with rising waves.
If it were just Morrow who was always able to greatly increase his strength in a short time, Gel would have attributed it to his extraordinary talent and hard work.
But now that even Ponzu and the others were suddenly displaying astonishing growth rates, she couldn't help but suspect that some special "Nen" effect was behind it.
She stared intently at the figures in the training ground, who were shrouded in dense aura. After her emotions settled slightly, she noticed that Sanbica was also among them.
I can't believe that guy... actually managed to convince Sanbica to join the team.
Seeing Sanbica's figure, Gel was truly surprised.
Her deepest impression of this Virus Hunter, who was quite popular in the Hunter Association, was that she was overly well-behaved and introverted.
To borrow a term often used by the internet-addicted girl Pyon, Sanbica could be described as the epitome of social anxiety.
It was difficult enough to have normal contact with someone like her, let alone build trust and a relationship.
Furthermore, Sanbica was the type to be completely absorbed in her professional field, oblivious to the world outside.
Gel really couldn't figure out what method Morrow had used to persuade such a purely academic Hunter.
However, when she thought about Sanbica's solid professional abilities, her confidence in this team, which would be in the same boat in the future, quietly grew.
I should first figure out what's going on...
Gel's gaze swept over the people on the field, finally settling on Ponzu.
As a teammate who had participated in the Chimera Ant subjugation with her, she was well aware of Ponzu's original strength level.
And right now, the significantly enhanced aura amount from her was undoubtedly the most astonishing change.
If this was truly the effect of some special Nen ability, then the power of this ability was definitely not to be underestimated.
However, even if this phenomenon was indeed Morrow's doing, Gel had no intention of using it to enhance her own strength.
Although her strength had been stagnant for quite a long time, she was well aware of the basic laws of the world of Nen.
The more powerful the effect, the stricter the Vows and Limitations required to balance it.
She was indeed shocked by this unknown ability that could cause one's strength to skyrocket in a short time, but precisely because of that, she understood even more clearly that it must be accompanied by a price that could not be ignored.
Gel's thoughts churned.
What she could never have imagined was that the Contagion, With Etude of Love ability bestowed by Morrow required no price at all.
—--
In an unremarkable mud-brick house in a remote village, Morrow met a disheveled Ging.
As the most carefree prodigal son in the Hunter Association, Ging had never cared about his appearance, always showing up with a messy head of hair and a face full of stubble.
Occasionally, when his hair got too messy, he would just grab a piece of cloth and wrap it up.
But his current sloppy appearance was clearly the result of him being completely engrossed in his research on the Klein Bottle.
Forget washing up and tidying himself; Morrow even suspected he hadn't had a proper meal in days.
"After I basically deconstructed the Divine Script, I tried to 'charge' this bottle; I have to apologize to you for this."
Ging gestured for Morrow to sit wherever he pleased, while he himself carefully cradled the Klein Bottle.
Despite the weariness on his face, his voice was steady and powerful. "Before charging it, I did consider that I might fail and destroy it, but I couldn't resist giving it a try. Fortunately, it was a success."
"Hm?"
Hearing that Ging had actually succeeded in charging the Klein Bottle, Morrow couldn't help but be stunned.
This bottle had been judged by the Kukan'yu Kingdom long ago as a completely defunct object.
For this very reason, it wasn't destroyed but instead became a burial good for the king due to its historical significance.
Although Morrow had previously confirmed that the energy from the Tree Rings could reactivate it.
But that was the Tree Rings, after all, a transcendent existence whose origin even he hadn't figured out yet.
And Ging had actually managed to do it with his own ability.
A genius among geniuses, indeed.
Setting aside his Nen proficiency, Ging was undoubtedly one of the handful of people at the pinnacle of humanity.
Thinking of this, Morrow felt nothing but admiration in his heart.
Ging paid no mind to Morrow's reaction and continued to explain, "After charging it, I quickly discovered an activated special character in the gaps of the Divine Script's arrangement. Judging from its form, it's likely some kind of coordinate."
As he spoke, he walked closer and handed the Klein Bottle directly to Morrow.
Without needing a reminder, Morrow took the Klein Bottle and immediately focused aura into his eyes, his gaze like a torch peering into the bottle.
A faint glimmer flickered in the depths, like a few stars echoing each other. Faint dotted lines shuttled between them, connecting them and outlining a mark resembling a constellation.
Other than that, the surroundings were just profound darkness, giving Morrow the direct sensation of gazing into the cosmos, along with a strange sense of déjà vu that it could seemingly contain everything.
"Ging, have you tried using its ability?" Morrow retracted his gaze and turned to Ging.
"No. I couldn't resist charging it, but as for using its ability, I'm not sure if it has a 'usage count' limit."
Ging shook his head and said, "If my recklessness affects your plan to go to the Dark Continent at the final step, then I'd be less than human. Besides, its current state is equivalent to about 5% battery; I really can't be reckless with it."
Hearing this, Morrow's eyes widened slightly.
It was as if he was truly getting to know Ging for the first time.
"...!"
Seeing his reaction, Ging's face immediately fell, his eyelids drooping. "What's with that 'I've seen a ghost' look on your face?"
"It's admiration."
Morrow quickly composed himself, his face full of sincerity.
Without another word, Ging raised his hand, grabbed a handful of dandruff, coated it with aura, and threw it at him.
Morrow sidestepped to dodge it, feeling speechless. He then remembered the 5% battery analogy Ging had just mentioned and immediately raised the bottle to ask, "Its charging limit, is it only 5%?"
"No."
Ging sighed. "It should be said that with my ability, this is all I can do."
"I see."
Morrow hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to truly activate the Klein Bottle in front of Ging.
He said nothing more, merely concentrating and drawing upon the Tree Rings energy, slowly infusing it into the bottle.
In an instant, a dense Post-Mortem Nen, like a black fog, wrapped around the bottle. The profound darkness inside the bottle's mouth suddenly transformed, faintly revealing a field of light points like a starry sky.
Seeing this, Ging's pupils contracted abruptly.
He immediately realized that this guy, Morrow, had probably known how to activate the Klein Bottle all along, but he had kept it from him, letting him toil away and study it painstakingly here!
What a detestable guy...