Even in late June, the wind blowing from the mountains carried a slight chill.
Perhaps because of this, the skin pierced by the flying knife held a lingering coldness.
Too close...
If conditions had allowed, Morrow wouldn't have put himself on a high-wire act.
In the end, his strength was still too lacking.
So much so that, at the critical moment, he had no choice but to stake everything as a bargaining chip.
Morrow looked down at Zarzan, sprawled on the ground.
From the information he had gathered earlier, it was difficult to determine whether the flying knife was a conjured object.
He could only base his judgment on the opponent's decisions, placing the observed outcome above the speculative process.
Because he guessed correctly, he avoided taking damage from the flying knife.
Among the six Nen types, the Conjurer type was likely the one that demanded the most stability.
Whether it was conjured objects, Nen Beasts, or even clones—
All required intense focus and sustained concentration to maintain their existence.
An inexperienced Conjurer-type Nen user might lose their conjured object in an instant from a mere lapse in attention.
Let alone the excruciating pain inflicted when under attack.
Thus, Conjurer-type users with deep understanding of Nen usually worked hard on this aspect.
At the very least, they had to ensure that the pain from injuries wouldn't disrupt the form of their conjured objects.
But this guy...
Cold, cautious.
Yet when he realized that playing it safe wasn't working, he decisively changed tactics.
However, his Nen mastery was still lacking—when attacked, his conjured flying knife instantly dissipated.
If it had held for even half a second longer, Morrow might not have died on the spot, but he would've at least suffered severe injuries.
In that case, the opponent might still have had a chance to turn the tables.
Through this battle, Morrow gained a deeper understanding of the characteristics of the Conjurer type.
Absorbing it as part of his experience, Morrow stepped forward to where Zarzan lay. His right hand slowly gathered a mass of aura, aimed at Zarzan, who hadn't yet completely expired.
Though his body had just opened its aura nodes, allowing him to use Nen abilities directly due to his unique traits, his innate aura output couldn't be improved in a short time.
Thus, even after doubling the power of Deceptive Shooting Star, it still didn't kill Zarzan instantly.
But it didn't matter much.
Cough...
Zarzan's consciousness wavered between haziness and clarity, yet he could sense the blade looming above his head.
He was going to die.
The thought flashed through his mind naturally—fear and unwillingness churned in his heart.
He wanted to lift his head but lacked the strength.
Even his eyelids, half-raised, drooped weakly.
"You… monster…"
Zarzan murmured.
Even now, he couldn't comprehend the phenomenon that had occurred with Morrow.
So, in the final countdown to death, he felt a sense of this was fate.
If he hadn't taken this job, if there hadn't been a monster in the car who defied all logic, he wouldn't have—
Thud.
Morrow fired a Nen bullet, piercing straight through Zarzan's skull.
Zarzan's body jerked once, then went still.
"Hm?"
After killing Zarzan, Morrow immediately sensed a change in his body.
In that brief moment, his fatigue lessened slightly, and his vision seemed to sharpen a little. The most noticeable change was the increase in the aura output surrounding his body—it had actually grown slightly.
Noticing this change, Morrow instinctively looked at the back of his hand.
At the very center of the Tree Rings tattoo—
The level indicator, Lv.1, had changed to Lv.2.
"Etude of Love..."
Seeing the level-up and feeling the physical changes, a glint flashed in Morrow's eyes, followed by overwhelming joy.
Though he didn't understand how Morena's Etude of Love had extended to him or why it had fused with his Tree Rings tattoo…
The obvious improvement at this moment was enough to excite and delight him.
He had to kill Feitan within a year.
Even with an extra half-year of Nen cultivation experience, accomplishing such a feat was far from easy.
Setting aside Nen abilities—
Feitan's mobility, swordsmanship, and combat skills, all developed from his mastery of martial arts, were already gaps Morrow couldn't bridge in just a year.
Not to mention the combat experience built upon countless killings, as well as the total aura output and potential aura—both crucial in Nen combat.
Looking further: physical stamina, body strength, reaction speed, explosive thinking...
There were too many factors.
All these elements, deeply tied to overall combat strength, required time to accumulate.
And because of the Death Threshold, time was precisely what Morrow lacked the most.
For him, one year was far too short.
So short that no matter how hard he trained, he might never catch up to Feitan's over-a-decade of aura output and physical strength.
But now, with the Etude of Love fused with his Tree Rings tattoo, his efficiency in improving his strength could be greatly accelerated.
This made up for what he lacked most at the moment.
Morrow couldn't help but smile.
To the piglets sitting near the door of the train car, however, his reaction carried a different meaning.
Of course, Morrow paid them no mind. Calming his excitement, he turned his gaze to the middle-aged man impaled by the iron rod on the ground nearby.
The rod he had thrown earlier hadn't struck a vital spot, so the man still clung to life.
But it wouldn't be long before he bled to death.
Morrow walked over and looked down at the man's face, his eyes naturally turning cold.
Morena's Etude of Love granted one level per kill.
Each level increased both aura output and potential aura.
Once surpassing level 20, one could easily awaken a Nen ability tailored to their needs.
Judging by the ability's effects, the maximum level of Etude of Love was 100.
If Morrow reached max level, he could also grant others the "kill to level up" ability.
However, whether his version of the ability functioned exactly like Morena's remained unknown.
For now, Morrow cared more about leveling up.
Awakening a second ability was secondary.
The most important thing was the increase in aura output and potential aura.
With that in mind, Morrow reached out and gripped the man's neck, applying slight pressure.
Crack.
The man's head tilted to the side, dead on the spot.
Morrow stood up and checked the back of his hand—
Lv.2.
No level-up?
His expression shifted slightly. Drawing from experience, he quickly realized the issue.
Did he have to kill a Nen user to level up?
Morrow felt a pang of disappointment but quickly let it go.
If simply killing ordinary people could level him up, he would have to consider the potential unknown risks of Limitation.
Only by killing Nen users could he level up.
At least that gave him some peace of mind.
However, small details could reveal broader truths—perhaps as his level increased, the difficulty of leveling up would rise accordingly.
"By the way..."
Looking at the middle-aged man's corpse, Morrow suddenly thought of a method.
"What if I forcibly gave an ordinary person a Nen awakening? Wouldn't that turn them into a Nen user?"
"I can just find some wanted criminal or scumbag to test it on... Hmm?"
Suddenly, a noise came from the hillside path behind him.
Alerted, Morrow swiftly shifted into combat stance and turned toward the sound.
Amidst the thickets and grass, a slender figure came into view.
Morrow raised an eyebrow.