Gains x Hatching

Asking Biscuit to teach Kurapika Nen had been one of Moro's earlier ideas.

So seeing Biscuit's completely undisguised expression of disdain now came as no surprise.

After all, she had already earned her two-star title and had little reason to train disciples anymore…

Still, with the Jade Heart and the Dome Jewel Box serving as motivators, Moro wasn't worried she'd refuse.

"If you're rich, feel free to ignore my proposal."

Moro made it clear he was leaving the choice up to her.

Biscuit slumped weakly into the sofa, as if she'd been shot.

Right. Even if Moro sold her the Jade Heart and Dome Jewel Box at a fair price as promised, she still couldn't afford them right now.

Truly, even beautiful girls are powerless without money.

She let out a dramatic sigh.

She really didn't want to waste her youth teaching, but for the sake of those treasures, she had no choice.

"Fine, I accept the condition."

After a brief internal struggle, Biscuit reluctantly agreed.

If we're talking material value, she was actually getting quite the deal.

"But you're awfully generous."

Biscuit shot him a sidelong glance from the sofa. "You just give away top-tier treasures like the Jade Heart and the Dome Jewel Box—first to that person yesterday, and now basically for Kurapika's sake. So why not just give them to me?"

"I could, but would you take them if I did?"

Moro replied calmly.

Biscuit didn't answer—just scoffed.

"You wouldn't," he said flatly. "Because to you, the process of obtaining these gems is as important as the gems themselves. That effort is part of the polishing. The only difference is which path you choose."

"Oh? Is that your way of subtly reminding me to take this seriously?"

Another scoff from Biscuit. It was annoying being seen through by some brat.

Moro shook his head. "Not at all. You're the one person I never have to worry about."

"…Huh?"

Biscuit's eyes widened slightly, and her fair cheeks flushed. She quickly covered her face and began to sway.

"Ugh, don't say stuff like that out of nowhere~~ you'll make my heart race~~"

"(=_=)"

Moro stared, expressionless.

He wasn't thrown off by her childish antics—he was used to Biscuit's bizarre behavior by now.

No, what unsettled him was how unnervingly fluent her flustered-girl performance had become.

The next day, Moro went to claim his championship rewards from the Fight Olympics organizers.

But after his dramatic exit from the arena the day before, the committee was reluctant to hand over the prizes so easily.

Instead, they requested that Moro participate in promotional interviews and events.

He reluctantly agreed.

Over the next few days, Moro gained a firsthand experience of how exhausting a celebrity's daily routine could be.

Being in the spotlight felt like trading freedom for a kind of alluring, invisible shackle.

During these promo events, Biscuit could see how annoyed he was—and she delighted in his misery.

Finally, after five or six days, the organizers delivered the championship prizes to his top-floor room.

Seven items:

An unidentified Phantom Beast egg

A golden armillary sphere

A fossilized claw from an ancient beast

Fehormon's violin

The Dome Jewel Box from the lost kingdom

The Jade Heart gemstone from Pombo Ancient City

The Selma Golden Scepter from the Desert Kingdom

Among them, both the hand-crafted golden armillary sphere and Fehormon's violin carried a notable amount of artisan Nen.

What surprised Moro most was that Fehormon's violin had a trace of black Nen—clearly post-mortem Nen.

"That's… post-mortem Nen?"

It was his first time encountering such a thing.

Typically, objects carry either positive artisan Nen or negative post-mortem Nen—but never both.

Fehormon's violin broke that rule.

Which made Moro suspect its history was more complicated than "a late master's beloved instrument."

But despite examining it carefully, he found nothing unusual—so he simply absorbed the Nen into his Year Wheel.

Better to charge the wheel than dwell on a mystery.

As the Nen flowed in, the Year Wheel's green ring jumped from 60% to about 63%.

That's about right—1% is a decent yield for any Nen-charged item.

The violin's 3% yield likely came from its mix of artisan and post-mortem Nen.

"…No memory fragment?"

He'd received no emotional echo or vision from the absorbed Nen.

Possibly because the post-mortem element wasn't strong enough—or maybe the mixed types disrupted the signal.

He set the violin aside and picked up the golden armillary sphere, absorbing its Nen just as cleanly.

The green energy climbed to 64%.

"Yeah, post-mortem Nen definitely has higher energy purity."

Two items, only 4% of Year Wheel charge gained.

By contrast, O'Laine's post-mortem Nen alone had given him 26%.

To complete the second loop of the wheel, Moro would need dozens of lesser Nen items—or just two or three powerful post-mortem sources.

But such high-grade death Nen was rare.

Tombs, ruins, or objects left behind by deceased conjurers might carry it…

Still, O'Laine's Nen had been unusually potent. Most wouldn't compare.

Having finished absorbing Nen from the two items, Moro returned to the violin.

He had two choices:

Sell it as-is for a nice profit, or crack it open to see if it hid something more.

He chose the latter.

He already got its Nen—anything else would be a bonus.

He carefully dismantled the violin, knowing he could reassemble it if nothing came of it.

Inside, in a hard-to-see corner, he found some scrawled, rune-like text.

Slanted and crude—clearly not decorative.

He took a photo and tried translating it with his phone.

No luck.

"Old language?"

With no easy answer, he lost interest. He wasn't about to hunt down a linguist for one mystery phrase.

Maybe he could hype it as a selling point later.

Turning his attention to the Phantom Beast egg:

It was basketball-sized, deep purple, with diamond-like markings. Up close, it pulsed gently, like a heartbeat.

You couldn't feel that through photos, which was why it had passed as a real beast egg during testing.

Just as he reached to pick it up—

Knock knock knock!

"Open up!"

Biscuit's voice rang out. She'd clearly heard the prizes had arrived.

Moro opened the door to find Biscuit and the others—Menchi included.

"Moro, how dare you—oh, my Jade Heart~!"

Biscuit's eyes lit up, spotting the jewel and Dome Jewel Box on the coffee table.

She rushed forward like a missile.

"Come on in," Moro said to the others.

Everyone gathered around the table, marveling at the treasures.

No one questioned the dismantled violin.

Biscuit clutched the Jade Heart, making unsettling giggles. Her disciple Yun Gu hesitated, then nervously tried to intervene:

"Uh, Master, your laugh is kind of—"

"Fix your own shirt first."

Biscuit shut him down without even turning around.

Callista was fascinated by the intricate gears of the armillary sphere.

Menchi, unsurprisingly, focused on the beast egg.

"What a wonderful specimen."

She gently stroked it, noting the rich vitality inside.

Even those without strong affinity for nature could sense it—that's how strong its presence was.

Seeing her awe, Moro leaned closer.

"So… how do you want to cook it?"

"Soft-boiled, like a hot spring egg," Menchi replied, intrigued. "That preserves the life energy best, though I'll need a few days to prepare ingredients."

Moro's excitement dimmed.

"Ah, so we wait."

He touched the egg—its surface had a slight texture.

Suddenly, he stiffened.

His Year Wheel energy gauge was dropping—fast.

In a blink, it dropped from around 65% to 50%.

He yanked his hand away.

Everyone noticed.

Menchi looked concerned. Moro just stared at the egg.

Just that brief contact had drained nearly 15% of his energy?

Then—

Crack.

A sharp sound.

They turned to see white cracks forming on the egg's surface.

Another second later, a chunk of shell lifted—and a tiny red head with a black beak poked out.

It had hatched…!?

Everyone froze.

The red chick stared at Moro, wide-eyed.

Moro calmly reached out and gently pushed its head back into the egg.

Then he turned to Menchi.

"…If we boil it now, will it still boost Nen?"

"Uh…"

Menchi hesitated, caught off guard.

She'd felt no signs of imminent hatching when she touched it just moments ago.

But now… it was too late.

The energy effect would definitely be weaker post-hatching.

And she had the sinking feeling that if she told Moro that, he'd be very disappointed.

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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)

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