Temptation X Enticement

Time slowly passed.

Morning.

The clock had reached eight, and its hands continued to move clockwise, second by second.

Section D cafeteria.

Chomp, chomp, chomp! Gulp, gulp~

Quite a few examinees were eating breakfast in the cafeteria, enjoying a moment's rest.

Ah~

Baishi was no exception. He gulped down a full two liters of high-energy beast milk, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Last night's chase had continued into the small hours. Even after Gon and Killua had fallen fast asleep from exhaustion, Baishi had kept Netero company, sticking to his strategy of wearing the old man out.

The chance to obtain a gold or red Advent Emulation quality was simply too rare. So Baishi had gritted his teeth and pushed himself, switching to Zetsu whenever he exhausted his Nen Aura. Once it recovered, he used his greater mobility to keep satisfying Netero's desire to play.

It wasn't until the sky began to lighten.

Even Netero had felt a touch of fatigue, and to avoid delaying Baishi's upcoming test, he had called an end to the ball-snatching chase himself.

Thanks to that, Baishi had become thoroughly practiced in assassination techniques such as Rhythm Echo, Shadow Step, and Snake Awakens.

As for the all-important Advent Emulation quality...

Hehehe!

Baishi chuckled and narrowed his eyes as he ate, casting his attention toward his sea of consciousness.

Ding!

[Temporary Weighting Task complete!]

[Restriction - Forced Equivalence: Advent Emulation count obtained x2 (1 gold, 1 blue)]

Hehehehehe!

Even as he enjoyed his food, Baishi could barely contain his smile-or rather, he had no intention of containing it.

After working so hard all night and getting results like these, wasn't he allowed to be happy?

Yawn~~~

With his fill of food and drink, Baishi couldn't help yawning.

The game had ended too late, leaving him with less than two hours of sleep. He would have to catch up when he had the chance.

As he pondered, Baishi pulled up his panel and glanced at it.

[Talisman Wheel (Conjuration)]

[Quality: black iron]

[Host: Baishi]

[Restriction - Digitized Attributes: Vitality: 8~12 / Aura: 300~330 / Spirit: 9~12]

[Restriction - Advent Emulation Talisman: Scarlet Eyes (purple / beginner 11%), Bungee Gum (purple / proficient 46%), Needle-Person Control (purple / proficient 19%), Reflex Nerves (blue / mastery 5%), Dynamic Simulation (blue / mastery 13%), Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory (green / mastery 91%)]

[Restriction - Advent Emulation Count: 1 gold / 1 purple / 1 blue / 1 green]

[Restriction - Wheel Primary Socket (3/3): Reflex Nerves, Dynamic Simulation, Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory]

[Restriction - Wheel Secondary Socket (3/32): Scarlet Eyes...]

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

[Restriction - Temporary Weighting Task: none]

Hmm~~~

As he mentally browsed the panel, he found several notifications he hadn't had time to read yesterday.

All three Talismans had reached mastery. Reflex Nerves still added two points each to Vitality and Spirit, while Dynamic Simulation added two points to Vitality. Extensive Knowledge and Strong Memory had been the first to reach mastery, but it still added only one point to Spirit.

Clearly, the increase from raising a Talisman's proficiency differed depending on its quality.

Of the six Talismans, Scarlet Eyes had improved the slowest and was still at the beginner level. The main reason was that, at his current stage, there were few opportunities to make use of it.

I'll think about improving Scarlet Eyes after I've mastered the Four Major Principles and the advanced application techniques...

With that thought, Baishi pulled up the information on the panel concerning the evolution restrictions.

He had already fulfilled the second restriction, mastering any three Talismans. As for the first, using Advent Emulation on an Enhancement Talisman, he had already settled on a target.

And the third restriction, the requirement to collect copper metal...

After searching the airship without success, Baishi could only restrain himself and plan to look for the most suitable evolution material after the test.

Hum!

With a turn of his left hand, Baishi conjured the wheel, narrowed his eyes slightly, and fed Nen Aura into its center.

At once, signals like specks of starlight appeared in Baishi's perception, marking the possible locations of the lost Twelve Talismans.

Perhaps because of the distance, the signals from most of those star-like Talismans were unusually faint.

Only one had a powerful presence, growing clearer and clearer as the airship seemed to draw closer.

It's getting closer and closer...

Thoughtful, Baishi turned to look out the window, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

He looked forward to the moment he could recover one of the Twelve Talismans. He wondered which of the twelve it would be.

Tap, tap, tap!

"Huh~ Baishi..."

Just then, Kurapika and Leorio, who had recently woken up, entered the cafeteria yawning. Seeing the plates piled up in front of Baishi and that he looked ready to leave, they gave him a casual greeting before hurrying off to line up for food.

Seeing this,

Baishi rose slowly, smiled, and grabbed a large bottle of beast milk and his black cane before quickly and silently slipping out of the cafeteria.

Seeing examinees approaching the cafeteria one after another, Baishi thought for a moment. When he reached Section B, he slipped straight into an empty room while no one was looking.

Click!

He fastened the lock.

After carefully checking the room and confirming that there were no surveillance devices or the like, Baishi took Netero's bloodstained strand of snow-white hair from his pocket and dismissed the conjured wheel. Then he pulled up Netero's gold-tier talents and abilities and gazed at them.

[Heart of Sincerity (gold): A pure state of mind that unites extreme emotion with the pursuit of martial arts. Through day after day of wholehearted training in punches of gratitude, will, body, and Aura have been honed into a seamless whole, breaking through humanity's ordinary limits...]

[Transcendent Body (gold): An inhuman body tempered through repeated training at the limits, possessing monstrous strength, flexibility, and recovery. The total volume, density, and recovery speed of its life energy are unfathomable. It is currently in continuous decline due to extreme old age...]

[100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva (gold/red): A Specialization-type Enhancement Nen Ability that can condense the user's vast Nen Aura into a gigantic, multi-armed Guanyin thought-form in an instant. It possesses ultimate speed, attacks without blind spots, and the absolute domain of a prayer ritual. Wherever the heart directs it, the attack will surely reach...]

This was all the information Baishi could see apart from Zero Hand (red). Heart of Sincerity represented Netero's mental traits, while Transcendent Body represented his physical potential.

Either one was immensely tempting!

But...

For Baishi, who had only one gold, the choice had long been decided.

What worried him most now was whether his current amount of Nen Aura could support using Advent Emulation on 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva!

His first Advent Emulation of a purple-tier Talisman had put him through plenty of hardship!

I've only got 330 Nen Aura in total. Don't go absorbing too much...

Having mentally prepared himself, Baishi held his breath and concentrated, fixing his gaze on the target identified by the panel.

[Advent Emulation - 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva]!

Ding!