Eight stalks of Nitro Rice raised Morrow from Lv. 104 to Lv. 125.
Without considering the experience decay mechanism, each stalk of Nitro Rice raised Morrow's level by 2.5 on average.
Although Nitro Rice possessed a rich aura, Morrow still found this exaggerated.
But he hadn't expected something even more exaggerated.
The experience points from a single Gatekeeper had actually taken him directly from Lv. 125 to Lv. 141, a gain of 16 levels in one go.
It was a truly pleasant surprise.
The Gatekeeper's aura output level, if measured by human standards, it's probably over Lv. 200, right?
Having already experienced the rapid leveling from the Nitro Rice, Morrow wasn't overly excited at this moment. Instead, he was more concerned about the Gatekeeper's unfathomably high aura output level.
Could it be that the native Magical Beast races of the Dark Continent generally possess such a high ceiling? Or is it that the Gatekeeper accumulated such terrifying strength by periodically harvesting Nitro Rice?
His eyes lowered as he thought to himself, If the Gatekeeper truly relied on Nitro Rice to continuously extend its lifespan and accumulate aura amount, then after hundreds or even thousands of years of accumulation, reaching such a level wouldn't be surprising at all.
Across the entire Dark Continent, Nitro Rice was merely an object of hope nurtured in a small swamp.
Given the Gatekeeper's ability to manage calamities, it was highly likely that they consumed Nitro Rice regularly.
This would also explain why its aura output level was so high.
If the Gatekeeper were greedy enough, it could even actively intervene in the growth of Nitro Rice.
For instance, by hunting other creatures day after day and throwing their corpses into the swamp as fertilizer, it could drastically increase the yield of Nitro Rice.
In this way, the Gatekeeper could absorb its aura almost uninterruptedly, continuously accumulating that astonishing aura output level.
Moreover, even without Nitro Rice, on this vast and mysterious Dark Continent, there were bound to be other objects of hope that could enhance aura strength or expand a species' upper limits.
Morrow's surprise lasted only a moment.
However, the sheer strength of the Gatekeeper's aura still made him somewhat wary.
If he hadn't learned from the Entropy Bird that the Gatekeepers usually don't leave the Land of Walls, he probably wouldn't be so calm right now.
In reality, Morrow's speculation about the Gatekeeper was factually off, but his conclusion was more or less correct.
The Gatekeepers were indeed fully capable of periodically harvesting Nitro Rice.
But their own methods already allowed their lifespans to be extended almost infinitely, so they didn't have a great need for Nitro Rice.
With such a long period of accumulation, their aura output level naturally reached a height unimaginable to humans.
This was precisely the foundation that allowed the Gatekeepers to manage the various border regions of the Dark Continent by conjuring multiple Guides.
Just think about it, the Dark Continent was so vast. From the perspective of Conjuration alone, one had to ensure both the quantity and strength of the Guides, as well as maintain their stability over "ultra-long distances."
This point alone was enough to demonstrate the Gatekeepers' raw power.
It was just that the Gatekeepers had always used their conjured Guides to handle all matters throughout the long years.
Although this repetitive act of Conjuration could hone their ability to some extent, entrusting everything to the Guides also led to the Gatekeepers themselves being weak in the "hunting aspect."
In a sense, the Gatekeepers were no different from the King at the time of his birth.
Morrow stood on Chimera's back, looking in the direction of the Land of Walls.
Regardless, they would soon reach the coastline, officially begin their journey home, and conclude this trip to the Dark Continent.
—--
The next evening.
An orange-red glow dyed the clouds on the horizon.
At the edge of their vision, the sea level quietly appeared.
Morrow and his group had finally reached the coastline of the Dark Continent.
This area was relatively safe, but once they crossed the coast, they would have to face the unknown risks of the Dark Waters.
"Sha sha!"
Just then, amidst the whistling wind, a somewhat familiar cry suddenly rang out.
The group, who had been immersed in the twilight scenery of the sea and sky, turned their heads at the sound. They saw the Entropy Bird's figure shift from illusory to solid as it flew toward them.
Seeing this, Chimera considerately slowed down.
The Entropy Bird glided lightly through the air and landed steadily on Morrow's shoulder.
"Sha!"
The Entropy Bird raised its head, which was covered in a mosaic-like sheen, as if reporting its battle results.
Without the communication portal established by the Bru Tribe remains, Morrow naturally couldn't understand the Entropy Bird's words.
But the explosive increase in his level had already informed him that the Entropy Bird had completed its mission brilliantly.
After establishing a connection through the Bru Tribe remains, Morrow asked directly, "Entropy Bird, how did you 'take care of' the Gatekeeper?"
The Entropy Bird had been preparing to repeat what it had just said in the mental communication channel, but Morrow's question made it pause for a moment.
After coming to its senses, its first reaction was to answer, "I selected 'bad luck' for the Gatekeeper, and then he died."
Morrow fell silent for a moment, then asked in astonishment, "Just like that?"
"Mhm."
The Entropy Bird tilted its head slightly and added, "His body was suddenly flattened into a thin sheet. It floated to the ground first, and then his energy completely dissipated. He was thoroughly dead."
"A sheet?"
Hearing the Entropy Bird's description, Morrow's conditioned reflex was to think of the calamities.
To be able to crush a Gatekeeper with such a formidable aura output level into a thin sheet and kill it in an instant... the only things capable of that were likely those unreasonable calamities.
And the Entropy Bird's power of misfortune was precisely what could guide such an unreasonable disaster to befall a target.
As someone who had personally experienced it, Morrow had almost been killed by this power, so he had some right to speak on the matter.
The Entropy Bird's gaze suddenly shifted to the Surveillance Paper Doll on Morrow's collar. It flapped its wings gently and said, "Nuh, just like that."
Morrow followed its gesture and looked at Kalluto's paper doll.
So it was flattened into a sheet of paper...
An image of the Gatekeeper being violently pressed into a two-dimensional plane by a pair of invisible giant hands involuntarily appeared in his mind.
The thought of that scene sent a chill down Morrow's spine.
Even a being with the Gatekeeper's formidable aura output level had met a disastrous end in an instant.
Let alone them.
Fortunately, the calamity the Entropy Bird had drawn to them back then was the Zobae type, not the unreasonable, mechanics-based calamity that had attacked the Gatekeeper.
"You've worked hard, Entropy Bird."
Morrow extended his right hand, brought his index and middle fingers together, and gently tapped the Entropy Bird's head.
The Entropy Bird immediately shivered.
It was a shiver of excitement.
Morrow didn't keep it in suspense. As agreed beforehand, he straightforwardly transferred 40% of his Tree Rings energy to it.
The moment it received the energy, the mosaic-like sheen on the Entropy Bird's body suddenly became brighter and more substantial.
It was so excited that streams of light swirled around its entire body, an external manifestation of its emotional fluctuations.
After personally experiencing Morrow's habit of keeping his word, the Entropy Bird became even more determined to cling to this powerful backer.
In its view, as long as it continued to serve Morrow, it could ensure the completion of its mission while happily taking a small kickback.
This way, it would surely be able to completely break free from its fate of "inevitable dissipation" in the future.
The payment to the Entropy Bird, plus having it use its power of Luck once before they set off for the coastline, the Tree Rings energy had dropped directly from 22% of the sixth ring to 62% of the fifth ring.
Morrow didn't bother to calculate the difference in energy intensity between the rings; he simply transferred 20% of his energy to the Entropy Bird each time.
The Entropy Bird had no objection to this and was, in fact, mostly happy.
However, if he had the chance to expand the Tree Rings energy to the seventh ring in the future, he wouldn't give the Entropy Bird 20% anymore. He should lower the standard; 15% should be enough, for example.
As for the current Tree Rings energy reserve, it was one ring plus 62%, which should be enough to support the entire team in safely crossing the Dark Waters.
As for trading 40% of his Tree Rings energy for the Gatekeeper's life... Morrow felt it was an exceptionally good deal.
After all, it had directly raised his level by 16.
And as for something like Tree Rings energy, once he returned to the six continents, with his current strength and potential financial power, he would naturally find ways to replenish it quickly.
In contrast, at his current level, seeking further improvement on the six continents was almost impossible.
Only a place like the Dark Continent held opportunities for him to advance further.
However, the six continents were ultimately safe.
This was a point that the perilous Dark Continent could not compare to.
To allow Chimera to face the crossing of the Dark Waters starting tomorrow in better condition, the team set up camp at the edge of the coastline, preparing to rest and recuperate properly.
It was indeed much safer here.
Even as night fell, the surroundings remained calm and undisturbed.
The night soaked in the sound of the waves, the Milky Way brilliant overhead, and the moonlight like a bolt of silk.
Such tranquility made the group, sitting cross-legged around the campfire, involuntarily think of the Lakeside Tribe's settlement.
Under the premise of having sufficient Water Droplets, that was probably the only place that could be considered a truly safe zone.
And this coastline, in the end, still hid unknown risks.
So as the night deepened, the team still had to arrange for watch shifts.
"We... probably won't be coming back, will we?"
Ponzu hugged her knees, the faint light of the campfire dancing in her pupils, her tone tinged with a hint of emotion.
She remembered that the only place she could sleep soundly during this journey was the Lakeside Tribe's settlement. She also remembered the group of Lakeside Tribe children who had surrounded her, wanting to learn bee-taming techniques, and the small squad of giant hornets she had left there.
A few months.
It wasn't a long time.
But recalling it now, it felt like a dream.
"Maybe," Morrow said, thinking to himself that one could never be sure about such things.
Although he still harbored the thought of returning to the swamp to harvest Nitro Rice in the future, who could predict the future?
Perhaps after he returned to the six continents, with the push from the Entropy Bird's power of Luck, he could use the Alchemy Plant Metallion to transform the Nitro Rice's roots into an insect phase state and end up cultivating Nitro Rice directly on the six continents.
Such a thing was not impossible.
After all, the power of Luck, just like Nen, contained infinite possibilities.
It was just that humans themselves imposed a Limitation on the upper limits of their Nen, while the power of Luck seemed to have no such shackles.
It was like the Zoldyck Family's wishing machine, seemingly without an upper limit.
As for whether this power originated from the characteristics of Luck itself or because the Entropy Bird was special, it was hard to say.
Biscuit timely changed the subject, asking, "After we get back, what do you all plan to do with the spoils from this trip?"
When this question was thrown out, no one could answer immediately for a moment.
After all, during this period, they had to face various potential crises every day and simply didn't have the spare energy to think that far ahead.
Kalluto pondered for a moment and spoke softly, "My Nitro Rice... after sharing some with my family, I'll have one stalk left. I'll give it to Kurapika. As for the other gains, they're not important."
It was worth mentioning that the Nitro Rice Kalluto planned to share with his family did not include the long-unreachable Illumi.
Even if Illumi weren't out of contact, Kalluto had no intention of giving him Nitro Rice.
On the other hand, there was Alluka, whom Kalluto had never considered family.
Because of Killua's influence, Kalluto had decided to leave a stalk for Alluka as well.
And the reason for giving one to Kurapika was even simpler.
After the Phantom Troupe incident ended, Morrow had said he would help Kurapika retrieve the Scarlet Eyes, and Kalluto had also expressed his intention to participate at the time.
Unfortunately, he was constrained by his family and forced to return to Kukuroo Mountain, effectively breaking his promise to Kurapika.
So before following Morrow to the Dark Continent, Kalluto not only wanted to stay by Morrow's side but also harbored the thought of solving Kurapika's lifespan problem.
Ponzu glanced at Kalluto and sighed, "I'll have several stalks of Nitro Rice left over. If I ate them all myself, wouldn't I live for several hundred more years? But if possible, I'd rather trade a portion of my gains for a fortune that would mean I'd never have to worry about money again."
"Ponzu, you're quite frank," Menchi said, giving her a slight eye-roll.
Ponzu chuckled and asked, "What about you, Master? What do you plan to do?"
"I'll give my master two stalks of Nitro Rice. As for the rest, we'll see."
As Menchi spoke, she gently glanced at Morrow out of the corner of her eye.
She knew Morrow had eaten eight stalks, so she would probably eat the rest of her Nitro Rice herself.
"Ah!" Ponzu exclaimed upon hearing this, then quickly said, "Then I have to leave one for Grandmaster too!"
"You've never even met that old man. Just keep it for yourself," Menchi said, shaking her head.
But Ponzu insisted on giving it.
She acted as if Nitro Rice were just an ordinary bag of rice.
At this moment, Gel suddenly looked at Morrow.
Morrow noticed her gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"
"You led the team, and you handled most of the crises."
Gel's face still wore its usual indifference. She paused halfway through her sentence, then continued, "So, my share of the spoils, you can take another portion."
Beside her, Sanbica was still worrying about how to handle her gains from the trip. When she suddenly heard Gel say this, her beautiful, dark eyes lit up.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden, Gel?" Morrow chided with a laugh, then said with utmost seriousness, "Every single one of us deserves this distribution."
"Oh. Fine, if you don't want it."
Gel couldn't look Morrow in the eye at that moment and subconsciously turned her head away.
Morrow's gaze shifted, however, and he suddenly looked at the somewhat eager Sanbica beside him, sighing, "Don't you think about it either, Sanbica."
"O-Okay."
Her thoughts exposed, Sanbica lowered her head in embarrassment.
Just then, Chimera brought its bird head closer.
Its eyes seemed to say: What about me?
Morrow casually handed it a skewer of roasted meat.
Chimera happily snatched the skewer.
The amount of food wasn't important.
What was important was that Morrow had given it to him.