Mandatory X Scarlet

Sss-

In an instant, as though he were about to be drained dry, Baishi discovered to his astonishment that even without deliberately maintaining the simplest Zetsu, not a trace of Nen Aura escaped him. It was as if his Aura Nodes had closed on their own.

His aura and presence became exceedingly faint!

For a moment, all the Nen Aura in his body truly was like a rushing river flowing toward the sea, surging toward the illusory Talisman!

Countless aura channels were forcibly expanded with brutal violence, leaving Baishi both delighted and barely able to endure the intense, stabbing pain.

Crack, crack, rip!

Thick, rough bark was torn away by his clawing hands. Veins bulged all over Baishi's body, as though he were being subjected to constant torture.

Before long, the translucent purple Talisman fully solidified!

Huff, huff, huff~~

Unable to stop himself from gasping for breath, Baishi felt utterly exhausted in both body and mind. His legs gave out, and he plopped down beside the tree, leaning against it as he wearily steadied his breathing.

With the Nen Aura in his body almost completely drained, Baishi didn't dare release Zetsu in the slightest, afraid that losing even a trace of Nen Aura would cause him to faint on the spot.

Only by maintaining Zetsu could he recover his energy faster, heal his fatigue faster, and restore his Nen Aura reserves.

Huff, huff, wheeze~

"I hope I'm not too late..."

He glanced wearily through the gap and saw that the examination at the warehouse was still going on. Then Baishi slowly closed his eyes and focused entirely on recovering.

The burden from this purple Advent Emulation was simply too great. When he had first emulated Needle-Person Control, the expenditure hadn't been nearly so extreme. For an instant, he had even thought his muscles, blood, and bone marrow were about to be completely drained.

More than ten minutes passed.

Whew~

Once his rapid breathing gradually steadied, Baishi opened his eyes. His gradually replenishing energy had finally eased some of his fatigue.

Even purple was that extreme. With my current amount of Nen Aura, I definitely couldn't withstand gold...

Unsure whether he should feel relieved or something else, Baishi had somewhat mixed feelings. After confirming that his potential Aura reserves had recovered considerably, he immediately extended his right hand and opened only the Aura Nodes in his arm, gathering Nen Aura around his hand to conjure the Talisman Wheel.

A blessing in disguise, or perhaps fortune and misfortune went hand in hand!

Having all his Aura Nodes forcibly closed against his will just now had given him a spontaneous insight into Zetsu.

Opening and closing individual Aura Nodes had originally been extremely awkward, but now it was as natural as drinking water, displaying an almost instinctive control. Even the remaining Aura Nodes he hadn't been able to pay attention to before could now be controlled freely, like his own limbs.

Hum!

Amid a faint hum, the black iron-colored wheel materialized.

Once it had materialized, the three socketed Advent Emulation Talismans were still inactive. Baishi wasn't surprised. He quickly ran his gaze over the three Talismans, then, with a thought, removed the Talisman - Dynamic Simulation. It dropped out and socketed itself into a slot on the back of the wheel.

Turning the wheel over, Baishi removed the Talisman - Scarlet Eyes from one of the eight inner sockets. He then placed it in the twelve o'clock position and channeled Nen Aura into it to activate it.

Boom-

As though something had exploded, the emotions deep inside the previously calm Baishi surged and boiled, rising and falling the instant Scarlet Eyes empowered him.

All sorts of emotions-evil, desire, sage-like detachment, coldness, joy, abandon, surging battle intent, and many others-flashed through Baishi's mind, forming obsessive thoughts he could feel distinctly, one after another.

At that moment, faced with such complex emotional changes, Baishi gradually felt as though his "spirit" had been stripped of all emotion. It was a pure sense of absolute rationality, as though it stood apart from and above every emotion, and no change in emotion could stir him in the slightest.

The world seemed to grow unusually silent.

Baishi's gaze turned utterly indifferent. With a single thought, he instantly suppressed every emotional fluctuation beneath his absolutely rational thinking.

His black-and-white eyes seemed to be deeply dyed, covered in a flowing shade of scarlet.

No wonder the information in the prompt described it as an emotional switch...

Baishi's expression was rational and indifferent. By now, he had finished analyzing and piecing together the state of empowerment granted by Scarlet Eyes.

Unlike Kurapika's uncontrollable Scarlet Eyes, caused by his obsession with revenge, Baishi had absolute control over the Talisman - Scarlet Eyes. Even though his proficiency in Scarlet Eyes was only at the beginner level, he could still exercise specific control over his own emotions.

Anger, joy, desire...

Any one of them could increase the temporary boost Scarlet Eyes granted to all categories!

But a single emotion was far too dull. Even the absolutely rational Baishi, after experimenting with emotional control for a while, deliberately removed Scarlet Eyes with a thought and swapped Dynamic Simulation back into its socket.

Whew~~

Baishi slowly exhaled. His emotions returning to normal, he glanced at Scarlet Eyes with a slight chill in his heart.

That indifferent, rational state, in which nothing stirred him, was simply like a monster, utterly devoid of humanity. It was as though everything would be done in the most rational way.

Even changes in emotion were under the control of absolute rationality at all times.

Why was it so strange...

If Kurapika's Scarlet Eyes were like a flame because of his obsession with revenge, then his own were more like flowing water, utterly calm when undisturbed.

Is it because it became a Talisman? Since their natures are different... I'll call mine the Scarlet Eyes from now on, to distinguish them from the burning Scarlet Eyes...

Unfortunately, conditions here are limited, so I can't test it with Water Divination...

With that thought, Baishi channeled Nen Aura into the wheel and summoned his analysis panel.

[Talisman Wheel (Conjuration)]

[Quality: black iron]

[Bound host: Baishi]

[Restriction - Digitized Attributes: Vitality: 7 / Aura: 100-200 / Spirit: 7-8]

[Restriction - Advent Emulation Talisman: Scarlet Eyes (purple / beginner 1%), Needle-Person Control (purple / proficient 13%), Dynamic Simulation (blue / proficient 15%), Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory (green / proficient 1%)]

[Restriction - Advent Emulation Count: 1 purple]

[Restriction - Wheel Primary Socket (3/3): Talisman - Needle-Person Control, Talisman - Dynamic Simulation, Talisman - Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory]

[Restriction - Wheel Secondary Socket (1/32): Scarlet Eyes]

[Restriction - Mandatory Main Quest: Retrieve the Lost Talisman (0/12)]

[Restriction - Temporary Weighting Task: not triggered]

Huh!

Both Spirit and Aura had increased!

When had that happened?!

Surprise appeared on Baishi's face. When he glanced at the proficiency of Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory, his surprise became even more apparent. He quickly scrolled back through the panel's previous messages.

[Ding! Talisman - Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory proficiency increased to proficient... Spirit x1...]

[Note: aura channels doubled in capacity due to an Advent Emulation Talisman... Error, error... Underlying restriction triggered error correction... Equivalence enforced, aura channels forcibly stabilized and maintained...]

[Ding! Advent Emulation of four Talismans complete... Triggering Talisman Wheel... Evolution restriction...]