Equivalence X Target

Whoosh-

The force of the powerful updraft far exceeded Baishi's expectations.

The fierce column of wind spiraled upward, threatening to throw him out at any moment.

Adjust... twist... ride the momentum...

Only now did Baishi truly realize how dangerous riding the wind could be.

Fortunately,

the upward blast traveled only a short distance. In the space of a few blinks, it carried him straight out of the dark canyon.

Whoosh!

As he was blasted above the cliff, the confinement imposed by the canyon's unusual terrain vanished. The powerful updraft carried Baishi into the air with its last burst of momentum before raging outward and dispersing into a gale.

Whoa~~~

His body fell toward the ground, somewhat out of control. Baishi glanced at Menchi and the others watching him, then copied Menchi's posture and flipped over, landing lightly and steadily.

"Hee hee hee, you've got talent, Baishi, kid..."

Seeing the large bundle of grape spider eggs in Baishi's hands, Menchi's beautiful eyes lit up. She pointed to a large pot already prepared nearby and turned her head with a chuckle.

"You rejects are in for a treat!"

"Oh, right! You don't mind, do you, Baishi, kid...?"

Ahem!

"As long as you don't add 'kid' when you say my name." Rolling his eyes, Baishi saw no sign that the weighting task had been completed. He raised an eyebrow, walked over to the pot, and untied more than a dozen grape spider eggs from the webbing, placing them all carefully inside.

Then he stepped aside and waited quietly for the other examinees to return.

He didn't know what conditions had to be met for the weighting task to show as complete, but when all the examinees returned and Menchi announced the end of the test, he expected something to be triggered.

What he was most looking forward to now was the quality of Advent Emulation he would obtain.

Judging by the equivalent rewards from the previous weighting tasks, there was a chance it depended on the quality of the talent belonging to whoever triggered the weighting.

But those were only conclusions he had reached on his own. He would need extensive testing to verify how it actually worked.

As Baishi waited and pondered,

time passed bit by bit.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaah! Aaaaaaah!"

Amid a rising and falling chorus of screams and cries, examinees came shooting up from below the cliff, one after another.

Some were disheveled, some excited, and some had come perilously close to disaster... but without exception, every examinee who could time the powerful updraft correctly had extraordinary skills.

"Baishi-"

At that moment, Kurapika and the others all shot up over the cliff.

But the tall figure following close behind them made Baishi's pupils narrow slightly.

"Heh heh heh heh~~"

A delighted chuckle rang out. Hisoka landed with supple elegance and met Baishi's gaze with pleasure, the tip of his tongue tracing his lips as if filled with immense anticipation.

Tch~~

Seeing this, Baishi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He understood that his earlier provocation had made this guy even more excited.

It seemed the time for their battle wasn't far off!

"Heh heh heh heh~~"

Staring at Baishi's expressionless face, Hisoka grew even more delighted.

Subarashii! Ah~~~ I so want to add those eyes to my collection!

Before long,

clap, clap, clap!

"Since no one else is coming up..."

After more than ten minutes had passed and she had confirmed that no more examinees were shooting up over the cliff, Menchi clapped her hands. Looking at the remaining examinees, she calmly announced the result.

"The second half of the second test... is now over! Forty-four examinees have passed!"

With that, Menchi pointed to the cooked grape spider eggs in the pot, signaling for all the examinees, both those who had passed and those who had failed, to help themselves.

"Don't just stand there. Have a taste of the ingredients you caught..."

Ding!

[Temporary Weighting Task completed!]

[Note: Forced equivalence in progress based on speed... ranking... time...]

[Restriction - Forced Equivalence: Advent Emulation x1 (purple)]

What a pity...

Baishi shook his head slightly.

He had been just a little short of [gold]-quality Advent Emulation, but that small gap seemed impossibly distant, visible yet out of reach.

Still, obtaining another [purple] Advent Emulation was a pleasant surprise!

If he wanted to deal with Hisoka, using it on the Nen Ability Talisman was undoubtedly the best choice!

But...

A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes as Baishi glanced out of the corner of his eye, seemingly casually sweeping his gaze over Netero and Buhara.

The former's Nen Abilities and talents were unknown, apart from [100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva]. Could he possess some [purple]-level talent ability that would be enormously helpful to Baishi?

The latter's Nen Ability was [Metabolism Paradise].

Though it was a food-oriented Conjuration ability, it could use nutrients to rapidly repair cells and restore stamina in exchange for Nen Aura...

For Baishi, whose Nen Aura reserves and healing ability were currently severely lacking, it might be an excellent supplement!

The only difficulty now was how to touch them again.

The best and only opportunity to touch Netero would be to take part in the ball-stealing game, just as in the original story. During the struggle for the ball, Baishi could take the opportunity to analyze him again and again.

Buhara was harder to deal with. Baishi thought for a long time, but couldn't find a way to handle it properly without arousing anyone's suspicion...

Forget it... I'd better figure out Netero's abilities first!

Otherwise, once a purple-level Advent Emulation is wasted, there'll be less and less information left to analyze...

At that thought, Baishi's gaze swept over Hisoka's back as he took a grape spider egg from the pot, and a playful smile curved his lips.

Come to think of it, he currently had three Advent Emulation chances: [one purple, one blue, and one green]. Of the talent abilities he had analyzed so far, those associated with blue-level Advent Emulation that ranked highest in his mind were

Gon's [Wild Instinct], Killua's [Reflex Nerves], and Hisoka's [Texture Surprise]!

Judging by the analysis information,

the first provided a beastlike all-around ability to sense danger and give warning.

The second provided monstrous nerve conduction speed and dynamic vision.

The third had extremely powerful disguising properties and paired exceptionally well with [Talisman - Bungee Gum]. Judging by its [blue/purple] quality, it also seemed to have purple-level potential.

Hmm...

It was a difficult choice.

Baishi's eyes flickered.

But right now, he only had Killua's hair. He had already used up Gon's, though given how familiar the two of them were now, asking for a few strands shouldn't be much of a problem.

Hisoka was more troublesome. It was utterly impossible to get close enough to touch him without being noticed, unless Hisoka touched him of his own accord, as he had before.

Of course, there was another option: use Advent Emulation during a fight!

But with his current Nen Aura reserves, even a few minutes of intense combat would be a serious stretch, let alone the large amount of Nen Aura that would be passively drawn out during Advent Emulation.

Tch~~

He'd better wait for an opportunity!

First, he would turn what he could emulate into Talismans.

With that thought, Baishi stopped pondering and calmly followed the others, taking a goose-egg-sized grape spider egg from the pot.

The grape spider egg, which should originally have been pale purple, had lost its purple color after being boiled and taken on a jade-like hue.

Curious, Baishi cracked open the top of the shell and took a bite while it was still hot.

Hiss-

His eyes widened in an instant.

How could it be-so delicious?!