Bisky snapped photos of the scenery on her phone as they journeyed, then scrolled through them, grumbling, "Guess I need a phone with more storage. Running out of space."
"Delete some old ones?" Shizuku suggested.
Bisky shook her head, showing her collection, "Nah, these are my treasures." She shared the album, starting with shots from their trip.
Then came selfies of Bisky in different outfits, some of handsome guys (including Germain), but mostly pictures of various gems from every angle.
Shizuku pointed out a few she found dull, "None of these?"
"Nope," Bisky clasped her hands together like a nun, resolute, "Can't sleep without them."
"If it helps you sleep," Shizuku shrugged, accepting it.
Suddenly, Germain, up ahead, warned, "Watch out, something's coming."
Bisky and Shizuku glanced ahead, spotting the source of Germain's alert.
In the Dark Continent, many creatures are born with instincts like "In" and "En", guiding their hunting. But when they're about to strike, they emit strong killing intent, enough for Germain and his two allies to react swiftly.
So, when a flower bud with pink petals and green leaves suddenly peeked from the bushes, the trio swiftly retreated, appearing safe in the distance with a whoosh.
"It's back again," Bisky remarked, her lips curling in disdain as if she'd encountered a particularly bothersome acquaintance.
A flower bud, resembling a cannonball, pierced the ground where the trio had been standing, creating a deep hole three meters down.
With a sharp "puff," branches like spears plucked the buried bud from the earth, releasing a cloud of dust.
Then, the bud slowly unfurled, revealing a mouth bristling with serrated edges, akin to a lamprey's, oozing disgusting mucus.
More buds emerged from the surrounding woods, blooming in unison as their sharp mouths swiftly blocked the path ahead.
"Is this our first encounter with these plant attackers?" Bisky mused aloud, snapping a quick photo. "Have we stumbled into their nest?"
Germán tallied the encounters and replied, "We've been walking for over 40 minutes, and they've attacked us eleven times."
"Shall we exterminate them?" Shizuku adjusted her glasses eagerly. "I can use my 'Blinky' to gobble them up."
"Perhaps," Bisky chuckled, "or we could preserve them as specimens. Plant hunters would likely be intrigued."
"I know someone who'd be interested in this sort of thing, but she's one of the 'Twelve Zodiacs of the Hunter Association,'" Bisky added.
"Telling her would be like telling the old man what went down here, breaking the 'deal' I made with you two. I don't want to kick things off on the wrong foot."
The 'deal' Germain referred to was keeping this journey, Germain and Shizuku's Nen abilities, and the spoils after the journey a secret.
"Let's get to it," Germain declared firmly, "Whether it's valuable or not, we'll feed it to the 'Blinky' first."
Germain aimed to delve deeper into the Dark Continent, Bisky wanted to verify Germain's previous claims, and Shizuku chased after tangible gains.
He needed to fulfill Bisky and Shizuku's objectives to reach his own.
Bisky and Shizuku hadn't voiced their intentions before.
However, as Germain held the teleportation lantern and led the way, he naturally became the de facto leader of the team, and his decisions carried weight.
So, they began hunting the carnivorous flower bud, with Shizuku proving the most nimble and adept.
For Shizuku, these were cash cows.
With just her youthful stance, Bisky's punches and kicks were enough to dispatch the carnivorous flower buds.
She delivered another powerful Ko punch, toppling yet another flower bud, then abruptly halted, gazing in Germain's direction.
"Germain, are you up to something?"
"Why do you ask?" Germain turned to face Bisky.
"Obviously, it's because your 'Aura,' your Aura, is a bit different from the usual combat, and this difference is growing. I can only assume you're up to something."
Bisky placed her hands on her hips, speaking with authority.
A carnivorous flower bud suddenly lunged from behind, attacking her. She spun around without even looking, shattering the bud with a perfectly executed kick.
"I'm definitely giving it a shot," Germain said, holding just a Cleaver, its teeth coated with purple flower bud mucus, "Trying to evolve my Nen ability."
"Evolve?" Bisky grasped the concept quickly, being an expert in the field, "So, you mean learning abilities from neighboring systems around the original Nen ability system?"
"You should've asked sooner! I'm a Transmutation Type Nen User. Due to my beliefs, I've developed a Nen ability like 'Magic Beautician Miss Cookie'."
"But, I've learned Chairman Netero's Nen of the Flame, honed my body for decades, and even trained in the Enhancement system."
"You're a Conjurer, aiming for a Nen ability where Conjuration is primary and Transmutation is secondary, right?"
"Yes," Germain admitted, "Unless under special circumstances, I can't master the Specialist system, so I'm stuck developing towards the Transmutation system."
"True," Bisky nodded, proud as if she had figured Germain out, "But thinking about it, I know someone similar to you. Maybe you can take cues from them."
Germain listened attentively.
"Bisky continued, "Have you heard of Kite, Ging's disciple?"
"Kite is also a Conjurer. Though 'Crazy Slots' differs from your 'Hunter Badge,' they both conjure weapons for combat."
"But simply conjuring weapons isn't enough for Kite. Each weapon needs unique abilities for different situations."
"Hence, Kite relies on 'Vows and Limitations'—letting 'Crazy Slots' decide which weapons he'll use."
"His nine weapons boast powerful special abilities."
"Similarly, there's Kurapika, also a Conjurer from the future."
"Kurapika imposed various 'Vows and Limitations,' gambling his life, so his conjured finger chains possess diverse abilities."
"But Kurapika did it for revenge against the Phantom Troupe, sacrificing his future for present strength."
"Germain didn't need to go to Kurapika's extremes; he chose a stable path like Kite's."
"Simultaneously, it mirrored Chrollo's, a Specilization type."
"To overcome the need to hold a materialized book, Chrollo set 'Vows and Limitations,' developing new abilities like 'bookmarks'."
"Germain's 'Hunter Badge' already had 'Vows and Limitations.' To evolve, he needed more."
"Initially, he planned to enhance existing weapons. But what 'Vows and Limitations' were required for this?"
"Germain pondered as Bisky left him to clean up carnivorous flower buds along the path."
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