It only took a few seconds.
After being transformed by that strange plant, a single water droplet had turned into a gemstone of the highest quality.
Biscuit witnessed this scene, utterly astonished.
But she didn't let the surprise go to her head.
Even in the Dark Continent, a place filled with infinite possibilities, she didn't believe in windfalls.
The more enchanting the appearance, the more likely it was to hide a deadly trap.
Camouflage, bait.
These were common hunting tactics, whether on the Six Continents or the Dark Continent.
Many things that seemed to promise immense rewards were, in reality, calamities cloaked in alluring disguises, quietly waiting for their prey to walk right into them.
Biscuit suppressed the blazing soul of a Stone Hunter within her heart and arduously tore her gaze away from the stunningly high-quality sapphire, turning instead to look at Morrow.
Morrow met her inquisitive gaze and said thoughtfully, "It looks a lot like material transmutation from alchemy, but conventional alchemy techniques could never achieve this."
Judging from Biscuit's reaction, he didn't even need to ask to be certain that the sapphire on the ground was absolutely real, and of extremely high quality at that.
Biscuit nodded.
Beside her, Gel looked at her and asked with a hint of surprise, "So that gem... it's real?"
"It's more than just real..."
Biscuit's eyes lit up, her tone fervent. "Even without appraising it up close, I can say with certainty that this gem's quality is the highest I've ever seen in my career, bar none. If I weren't worried about the risks, I wouldn't want to leave it on the ground for even a second."
"So you're saying that plant took just a few seconds to turn a drop of water into a priceless, high-quality gem?"
Ponzu gently stroked the agitated bee swarm in her hat-nest, her eyes wide as she stared at the gem on the ground.
They had no doubt about Biscuit's judgment as a Two-Star Stone Hunter, which was precisely why they were so shocked.
Although the Dark Continent could turn many impossibilities of common knowledge into possibilities, this phenomenon of rapid, high-value material transmutation was still staggering.
It meant that if the team could bring this strange plant back to the Six Continents, they could easily join the ranks of the ultra-wealthy by leveraging its highly efficient material transmutation properties.
Just imagine...
Other Pro Hunters had to constantly take on high-risk contracts and teeter on the brink of life and death just to earn enough wealth to live worry-free for a lifetime.
They might have to complete countless missions and endure innumerable dangers to finally accumulate a fortune comparable to that of a top-tier Pro Hunter like Ging Freecss.
The hardship and risk involved were plain to see.
But with this plant, all that risk and effort would become meaningless.
You would no longer need to put yourself in harm's way. You could even do nothing at all and still easily obtain a colossal fortune that would take even a top Hunter like Ging years to accumulate.
It was all too surreal.
"Don't oversimplify things, Ponzu."
Menchi saw through Ponzu's thoughts. Her gaze fell on the strange plant, which had yet to show any threat, as she reminded her, "Until we've completely ruled out the potential risks it might pose, it's nothing more than a potentially high-risk item to us."
"Yes, I understand."
Ponzu nodded seriously.
As Morrow listened to his teammates' discussion, a name surfaced in his mind.
The Alchemy Plant Metallion.
It was the object of hope that Beyond had once found in the Dark Continent. However, he had deviated from his original route on the return journey, causing a delay that ultimately led to the Metallion withering and dying on the way back.
Morrow wasn't sure if the plant before him was the Metallion, but its material-transmuting properties had indeed made him think of alchemy right away.
However, given the current situation, rather than delving into the plant's origins...
"Did you guys see a feather next to me just now?"
Morrow suddenly turned to the group on Chimera's back, asking about the feather that had abruptly appeared and vanished.
"A feather?"
"No."
Everyone shook their heads.
Morrow raised a hand to his chin, guessing that the feather's appearance and disappearance might have been too sudden for his teammates to notice, or perhaps only he could see it.
A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes, and he immediately asked another question, "Then, did any of you feel, a gaze suddenly sweep over us just now?"
"No."
This time, the group once again gave a firm negative reply.
Seeing Morrow ask two strange questions in a row, Gel frowned. "What's wrong?"
Morrow then briefly explained the feather he had glimpsed and the fleeting sensation of being watched to his teammates.
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression immediately turned grave.
A feather that appeared and vanished out of thin air, a faint sense of being spied on...
Regardless of whether this phenomenon was currently exclusive to Morrow, these two characteristics were enough to warrant high alert within the Nen system, let alone here in the Dark Continent.
If it was some bizarre ability with a mechanism they hadn't yet perceived...
Then the situation would be truly tricky.
"The gaze appeared right when I threw the water droplet, and as for the feather, it was at the moment the plant spat out the gem."
Morrow analyzed calmly, then looked up at the dense mass of mangled creatures under the canopy above.
Even facing this strange situation full of unknowns, his tone remained steady and powerful. "So, I want to try one more time. What do you think?"
"I have no objection, but should I give it a try this time?"
Biscuit stood at the edge of Chimera's back, already prepared to leap to the ground.
Morrow shook his head. "Not yet."
Biscuit gave him an 'okay' gesture.
The others had no objections to the proposal of 'testing again' either.
In any case, it was a necessary step to figure out the situation.
"Hoot hoot!"
Just then, Chimera's bird head suddenly leaned in, raising its chin and letting out two low hoots, its eyes showing a human-like look of surprise and doubt.
Morrow had a soul-level connection with it and could roughly grasp its meaning from the hoots.
"Chimera, you're saying, you also felt an unknown gaze when you tried to fly out of here just now?"
"Hoot!"
Chimera nodded its head twice, quickly.
Morrow's eyes narrowed. He immediately thought of the meteorite that had struck Chimera earlier and pressed on, "What about the feather? Did you see it?"
"Hoot, hoot–"
Chimera hooted while shaking its head.
Seeing this, Morrow speculated that a feather might have appeared near Chimera as well.
But given its massive size and the fact that it was trying its best to escape danger at the time, it was indeed unlikely to have noticed a normal-sized feather.
Is this phenomenon currently only happening to me and Chimera...
Morrow's eyelids lowered, his gaze sweeping over the motionless, strange plant.
In any case, let's confirm it first.
With a thought, he suddenly pointed upward and shot an extremely weak Nen bullet at the dense mass of mangled creatures in the canopy.
Swish...
The Nen bullet cut through the gloom, accurately hitting an insect-like mangled creature.
With a soft thud, the insect's body fell, landing on the ground not far from the plant.
Within seconds of it landing, countless fine roots burst from the earth and swiftly entangled it.
And at that very instant, Morrow once again felt that brief gaze upon him.
Prepared this time, he reacted with extreme speed, instantly locking onto the source of the gaze.
It was on his own right shoulder!
Without the slightest hesitation, Morrow's left palm rapidly gathered a mass of Nen.
As for the Gyo on his eyes, that went without saying.
From the moment he had stepped into this place, he had not relaxed the flow of aura to his eyes.
Although his Gyo-enhanced vision showed nothing above his right shoulder, the moment he finished gathering his aura, Morrow fiercely swung his hand, stabbing toward the source of the gaze.
Swish!
The attack hit nothing but air.
No physical form?
Morrow was certain the source of the gaze had been on his right shoulder just now. He couldn't help but frown.
Just then, a black feather materialized out of thin air, slowly drifting down from the corner of his eye.
Hm?!
Morrow's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately focused his gaze on the black feather.
But in the next instant, the feather vanished into thin air.
At almost the same time, the strange plant that had absorbed the mangled creature lifted the lid of its Plant Cage again.
But this time, it didn't spit out another object, but a puff of foul gas.
Seeing this, Morrow was instantly on high alert. He unhesitatingly activated his 'Astral Step' ability, his figure teleporting in front of Chimera.
"Kalluto."
He called out with his back to Chimera.
Kalluto, who was at the edge of Chimera's back, had also seen the foul gas. He understood immediately, unfurling his purple bamboo fan and, with a surge of aura, swinging it forcefully.
Whoosh!
A strong gust of wind suddenly whipped up, blowing the foul gas far away before it could spread.
Seeing the crisis temporarily averted, Morrow turned back to his teammates and asked, "Did you see a feather just now?"
"No."
The group replied.
Morrow was still frowning. "So only I can see it. But the first feather was white, and this time it was black. And that gaze, it appeared again, right on my shoulder."
"What!?"
Hearing this, everyone's expression tightened, and they all looked at Morrow's right shoulder.
Only now did they understand why Morrow had suddenly struck at that spot with a hand chop.
Morrow turned his head, looking at the foul gas dissipating in the distant gloom. He thought back to the meteorite that had hit Chimera, and a guess began to form in his mind.
White and black feathers...
Plus the two different products the plant had spat out...
"I think I have an idea of what's going on."
Morrow's eyes were calm. As he spoke, he took a piece of jerky from his backpack and threw it toward the plant again.
The jerky landed nearby.
Hiss hiss.
Fine roots burst from the ground and quickly wrapped around the jerky.
This time, Morrow was prepared to strike in advance.
The instant the gaze appeared again, his palm-strike shot out with piercing speed.
However, even though his attack was as fast as lightning, it still made no contact with anything physical.
It seems it really has no physical form...
Morrow withdrew his hand, simultaneously glancing sideways.
As expected...
Another feather materialized out of thin air, slowly drifting down before disappearing.
But this time, it was white.
—--
At the same time, the Plant Cage ahead lifted its lid again, spitting out a palm-sized, diamond-shaped crystal that landed on the ground with a thud.
Perhaps due to the impact, the inside of the crystal suddenly lit up like a wick, emitting a brilliant light.
The light cut through the surrounding gloom like a blade.
The mangled creatures that had been constantly lingering nearby were instantly agitated, retreating a certain distance in unease.
—--
On Chimera's back, Biscuit and the others looked at the radiant crystal, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
The results of several consecutive tests had allowed them to faintly perceive a pattern.
"Did the feather appear again?"
Gel's gaze shifted to Morrow's back as she asked.
"Yes."
Morrow replied.
Gel seemed to understand. She then asked, "So it was white, right?"
"Mhm."
Morrow stared at the crystal, which was like a light source, and said calmly, "Although it's still unclear what that 'gaze' is, the appearance of the feather each time is likely a manifestation of 'Luck.' A white feather represents good luck, while a black one symbolizes bad luck."
At this point, Morrow turned to look at Kalluto.
"Kalluto, have your familiar spirit pick up the gem and the crystal."
"Okay."
Kalluto immediately directed his familiar spirit, Neferpitou, to walk toward the gem and crystal on the ground.
Morrow watched Neferpitou's actions and said, "The feather's color represents luck, and this plant, which seems to possess alchemical abilities, is essentially acting as a slot machine. It's the external condition that triggers a 'Luck Event.'"
"Morrow, I'm afraid, it's not just this plant that can trigger what you're calling a Luck Event."
Biscuit now also connected this to the meteorite that had hit Chimera earlier, her tone extremely grave as she spoke.
"That's right."
Morrow nodded. "It's possible that every single thing Chimera and I do from now on, even every movement, could trigger this manifestation of luck. I just don't know when or how this phenomenon attached itself to us."
"Luck, huh..."
Gel raised a hand to rub her smooth forehead, feeling helpless against the strange and bizarre existences of the Dark Continent. She sighed softly, "If your theory is correct, then as long as a white feather appears when we leave this place, it should mean there's no problem, right?"
"Theoretically, yes."
Morrow replied. Seeing that Neferpitou already had the gem and crystal in hand, he then instructed Kalluto, "Have the familiar spirit dig up that plant and give it to me."
After giving the order, Morrow walked straight ahead, returning to his original position.
Under Kalluto's control, the familiar spirit Neferpitou, like a robot, completely extracted the strange plant along with a tangled mass of roots.
Once the plant was out of the ground, Neferpitou walked straight toward Morrow.
And at that very moment...
The gaze briefly fell upon him again, and another white feather silently drifted down.
Morrow watched the feather disappear, then took the plant, gem, and crystal from the familiar spirit's hands.
Everything was normal, with no abnormalities.
Just as I thought...
He muttered to himself, stuffing the three items back into Neferpitou's hands. He then took off his backpack and pulled out the Nitro Rice wrapped in the Toothed Leaf.
Having confirmed the luck mechanism represented by the feather colors, he immediately thought of the potential risks of continuously consuming Nitro Rice.
If even this kind of 'external conditional action' could trigger a luck judgment, then...
Morrow took out a Nitro Rice and, without hesitation, brought it to his lips.
Just then...
The gaze arrived as expected.
The feather also appeared again.
It was still white.
Morrow's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately consumed the Nitro Rice.
A rich surge of aura flooded his body, and his aura output level climbed rapidly.
[Lv.107 → Lv.110]
He then repeated the process, eating one Nitro Rice after another.
After eating a total of eight Nitro Rice, Morrow's aura output soared all the way to Lv.125.
And there were no side effects.
He had effectively used the manifestation of luck to dispel a concern that might not have even been a risk or problem to begin with.
And this power of luck came from the Entropy Bird released by the Gatekeeper.
Currently, two of them had attached themselves to Morrow and Chimera, respectively.
However, while the Gatekeeper had anticipated that the Entropy Bird would bring Morrow and his team good luck, he had never imagined that Morrow would figure out the mechanism so easily and have the audacity to test and exploit it.
Even if he knew...
Aside from being surprised, he probably wouldn't care too much.
In the Gatekeeper's view, this human team could happily enjoy good luck time and time again.
But just one trigger of maximum 'bad luck' would be enough to ensure they would be infected with the Immortality Disease, one hundred percent.
That was enough.
It was also an expected outcome for the Gatekeeper.