Post-Mortem Entity

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Cheadle never hid her disgust toward Hawk.

That was because Hawk had once been a "tomb raider" who roamed ruins and tombs across the land.

It was also because that "tomb raider" she loathed had stolen away the "best friend" she cherished most.

That alone would have been bad enough, but the damned bastard had not only failed to give her "best friend" happiness, he had also made her pay with her life for consequences she never should have had to bear.

Cheadle had never understood why her "best friend" had fallen for a man like Hawk.

So ever since that "incident" had ended, she had often felt that it was such a waste for her "best friend."

Now—

After only one formal meeting, Cheadle could no longer suppress the urge to take Moyu away.

The surging memories in her mind were also stirring up her emotions.

That was why she had failed to control herself and blurted out what was on her mind.

"Uh."

Moyu was startled by Cheadle's words and did not know what to say for a moment.

He could vaguely sense—

That something must have happened in the past between Hawk, Cheadle, and the mother from his previous life whose memories had left behind nothing at all.

However,

Regardless of why Cheadle wanted to take him away, he had no intention of leaving the Temple for the time being.

The location here was remote and quiet enough, making it an excellent training environment for him.

His current plan was to quickly consolidate his foundation in the Four Major Principles, then master the two advanced applications, Gyo and Ken.

Only after reaching that level would he consider leaving the Temple.

Even if he did leave, he most likely would not choose to go with Cheadle.

Who knew how many enemies a Two-Star Professional Hunter might have?

More importantly, Heavens Arena, where he could gain combat experience, was the place he wanted to go in the future.

As for that—

He had actually planned it all out already. Once he became proficient enough with Nen techniques, he would fight the floor masters of Heavens Arena using only Nen techniques, without using his Nen Ability.

He did not want to use his Nen Ability because he did not want to expose it pointlessly in public. Using only Nen techniques was so he could build up his strength more quickly.

Naturally, Cheadle had no idea what Moyu was thinking.

Watching the silent Moyu, she wanted to further explain that she was not joking.

But the reason that returned at the right moment stopped her.

The highest-priority matter right now was not taking Moyu away from here, but completely eradicating the Power of Price that could threaten his life.

"What I mean is—"

Cheadle calmed down and spoke softly in the tone of an elder. "The city where I live is very prosperous and lively. If you have time later, you can come back with me, stay at my place for a few days, and then return here."

"Sure. I've never seen a 'big city' in all my life."

With the help of fragmented memories from his previous life, Moyu showed an appropriately expectant and excited expression.

Cheadle smiled faintly, then raised an index finger. "There's one more thing."

"Hmm?"

Moyu looked at Cheadle in confusion.

Cheadle emphasized, "Don't use honorifics when speaking to me from now on."

"..."

Moyu felt that something was off, but he chose to go along with it.

After that—

Cheadle took the initiative to start chatting with Moyu.

Calling it a chat was not quite accurate. It was more like Cheadle questioning him one-sidedly.

Things like...

Had Hawk ever hit him? What did Hawk usually feed him? Did Hawk make him take odd jobs to help support the household? And all sorts of other questions.

Who knew how Cheadle had come up with so many questions? She asked from morning until noon, covering every tiny detail...

Moyu was nearly overwhelmed. Seeing that it was already noon, he hurriedly used making lunch as an excuse to escape Cheadle's practically inhumane "concern."

However, the moment he stood up, Cheadle pressed him back into his seat.

"Sit still. I'll do it."

Cheadle took over without hesitation, her tone leaving no room for objection.

That forceful and confident attitude made Moyu comply once again, obediently sitting still in his chair.

Cheadle, meanwhile, headed straight for the kitchen.

"..."

As she entered the kitchen, Cheadle lowered her head slightly.

The reflection on her glasses concealed her eyes.

After several seconds of silence, Cheadle gently pushed up her glasses and began cooking.

Half an hour later.

Thick black smoke poured from the chimney above the kitchen, accompanied by a heavy burnt smell.

"?"

Looking at the black smoke wafting from the kitchen, mixed with the smell of something scorched, Moyu could not help recalling Cheadle's confident expression when she had pressed him back into the chair.

A Two-Star Disease Hunter who specialized in solving all kinds of difficult problems could not cook?

What a classic setup.

Too exhausted to mock it, Moyu passed through the black smoke and entered the kitchen. At a glance, he saw an unidentifiable black mass inside the iron pot. It was so charred that he could no longer tell what ingredients had been used.

Looking lower, he saw that the firebox had been stuffed with plenty of firewood. The raging flames looked as if they were trying to break free from the stove, continuously surging out through the opening.

Cheadle stood beside the stove with a spatula in hand, looking somewhat at a loss.

"Let me do it."

Moyu glanced at Cheadle and suggested it.

"O-okay."

Cheadle left the kitchen in embarrassment.

Before long.

Moyu cooked a pot of noodles. He could not guarantee they tasted amazing, but there was certainly enough to eat.

When they ate, Cheadle perhaps felt embarrassed. She kept her head lowered as she ate and stopped asking Moyu so many questions about his daily life.

That made Moyu feel much more at ease.

After simply filling his stomach, Moyu went straight to clean the guest room so Cheadle could stay more comfortably that night.

"She spent half the day asking me so many trivial questions... yet she never once asked about Nen. What reason did she have for selectively turning a blind eye to it?"

Moyu swept the floor with a broom while lowering his head in thought.

"Forget it. I'll wait until Hawk comes back."

Swish, swish—

The broom trembled, sending dust drifting through the room.

Night fell.

After dinner, Moyu returned to his room to practice the foundations of the Four Major Principles.

He usually trained in the courtyard, but now that there was another person in the Temple, he could only continue practicing in his own room.

The night deepened, quiet and still.

Cheadle slowly walked out of her room and came to the Release Pond in the courtyard.

"So quiet."

Cheadle lowered her head and gazed at the Release Pond.

It was utterly ordinary, with nothing remarkable about it.

If one were not an "informed person," how could one know—

That beneath this ordinary Release Pond was sealed a Post-Mortem Entity that even Professional Hunters had to treat with caution.

Normally, items materialized by Nen users would disappear without leaving the slightest trace when their creators died.

But Nen...

Under certain conditions, it could grow stronger through death and remain in the world as an independent entity.

The so-called "Post-Mortem Entity" was actually a special object left behind after something materialized by Nen had been nourished through death.

It also had another name: Nen Artifact.

Because they were objects created by Nen, the vast majority of Nen Artifacts possessed at least one special ability.

However, the conditions required for a Nen Artifact to be born were extremely harsh, so Nen users who possessed one were exceedingly rare.

It was worth mentioning—

Since modern times, new Nen Artifacts had rarely appeared.

The Nen Artifacts currently controlled by Nen users had mostly been discovered in various ruins or royal tombs.

The Post-Mortem Entity sealed beneath the Release Pond had likewise been stolen by Hawk from some ruin.

However, the Post-Mortem Entity Hawk had brought out was the kind with extremely poor controllability and exceptionally high risk and threat.

What it could bring was not some ability that might have once shone brilliantly hundreds or even thousands of years ago, but utter disaster...

"How should I—"

Cheadle's gaze at the Release Pond suddenly turned icy as she said in a low voice, "Completely remove you...?"

As an "informed person," she had witnessed the terrifying nature of this Post-Mortem Entity with her own eyes, and she had even unconsciously formed a suspicion—

Could such a terrifying existence have come from the Dark Continent beyond the world map? Could it be some as-yet-unconfirmed Calamity?

When Cheadle formed that suspicion, as a member of the Hunter Association's Zodiacs, she should have reported all known information to Netero from the very beginning.

But she had not done so.

Between her "admiration" for Netero and her own "selfishness."

She had chosen "selfishness" with almost no hesitation.

Because—

At the time, she did not want to see a newborn baby hypothesized to be some unknown Calamity from the Dark Continent and then taken into custody by an international organization.

Cheadle stood by the pond for a long time before silently withdrawing her gaze and heading outside the Temple.

Once outside the Temple, Cheadle, already thoroughly familiar with the mountain's terrain, determined her direction with only a casual glance.

She followed the steep slope and gradually made her way into the forest.

"Rip—"

Moving through the trees, Cheadle's expression remained calm. As she pulled her hands apart, she drew out a thin thread that glimmered faintly.

At first glance, it looked exactly like Machi of the Phantom Troupe's Nen Thread Stitching ability.

In theory, Nen Abilities were not unique.

Under equal conditions, two different people had a chance of developing the same Nen Ability.

However, the Nen Thread materialized by Cheadle was far inferior to Machi's Nen Thread in both functionality and extensibility.

They were not on the same level at all.

Strictly speaking, Cheadle's Nen Thread was no different from sewing thread in either quality or strength.

Why develop an ability that appeared to have so little use?

If someone asked Cheadle that, her answer would only be—I thought it would come in handy.

Cheadle moved back and forth through the forest, laying down strands of seemingly ordinary Nen Thread in every corner.

She was setting up a warning net to guard against potential enemies.

The reason she was being so cautious was, one could say, entirely thanks to Hawk.

"Bzz..."

The phone in her pocket vibrated faintly.

Cheadle took out her phone. The caller was Hawk.

At the same time.

Inside a room in the Temple.

Moyu stared at his shadow.

He was thinking—

Whether it was necessary to first develop the Vision Sharing ability.

This book has entered the recommendation process. It feels like it will be put on the shelves soon, so starting tomorrow, I have to increase my update word count. Otherwise, the free period will be too short... Every single one of my books has been crushed during recommendation PKs by works released at the same time, especially with such a niche Hunter subject matter... But my mindset is pretty laid-back now. Compared to how well the recommendation period performs, I care more about the number of updates... I'll do my best to improve in the future. I want to become a pig that works absolutely hard after going premium!