The three-day exam period passed in the blink of an eye.
Because of Yuu's earlier interference, Tonpa's group failed in their operation against the exhausted giant bear. So, even though there were only a few hours left before the exam ended, they were still running around exhausted...
Although there were excellent hunters among them who discovered that as long as they didn't touch the cubs while the Ice Crystal Bear was asleep, it wouldn't wake up.
It was a species that was easy to handle once its characteristics were understood.
However, Tonpa's group spent a full three days searching through more than a dozen caves. Every time they worked hard, they found that there were no gems left in the cave, as if someone had always stepped ahead of them and quietly stolen the extra gems.
Therefore, in order to pass the exam, they were forced to take risks, and most of them suffered a lot of injuries.
...
At this moment, in a remote cave.
Yuu, the culprit, was sitting beside a fire that had been extinguished for a long time, resting with his eyes closed.
In just three days, the amount of aura manifested around Yuu had improved significantly, and the state of "Ten" and the flow of aura had become smoother.
To achieve such improvement in a very short time.
Apart from Yuu's perception and understanding of "Nen" being higher than ordinary people, on the other hand, it was also closely related to his identity as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
As a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
The first thing Yuu did after birth was to learn to control his negative emotions, knowing how to clear the messy thoughts in his mind and reach a state of tranquility.
It was this point that gave him an innate advantage in the path of practicing "Nen."
...
Feeling that there was little time left before the end of the exam...
Yuu actively broke away from the state similar to "Zazen," let out a long breath, and then slowly stood up from the snow.
He casually brushed off the snow on his body, then looked at the two-tailed black cat lying beside the fire, thinking:
"Kuro has grown really fast. Compared to the size of a palm three days ago... now it looks no different from an ordinary adult cat."
However, thinking that this was an improvement exchanged for a full thirty gems, the joy in Yuu's heart was diluted a lot.
After three days of exploration, Yuu had a clearer understanding of the function of his Nen beast and systematically summarized the laws within.
At the same time, after careful consideration, Yuu named his Nen ability based on its characteristics—
[The Greedy Metamorphic Demon Cat]
[Effect 1: The Demon Cat can 'digest' and 'deconstruct' the matter in its stomach through eating, but it cannot swallow objects with an aura stronger than the Demon Cat itself, nor can it swallow living creatures larger than itself.]
Taking those Ice Crystal Bears as an example, both their aura and size far exceeded the Demon Cat itself, so unless the giant bear was killed and cut into small pieces, it could not be eaten.
[Effect 2: The Demon Cat can swallow objects and extract the energy contained within to nourish itself, growing by absorbing the 'Nen' contained in the matter. And after growing, it will gain an increase in 'appetite' and 'digestive ability'.]
Although ordinary food, such as sugar, protein, and fat, could also help the Demon Cat grow, the benefits were minimal, practically negligible.
As for swallowing matter that did not contain "Nen," that is, swallowing dead objects.
The Demon Cat could only achieve a storage effect, unable to digest, and it would reduce the Demon Cat's 'appetite' due to occupying part of the space.
During the process of studying this second effect, Yuu also discovered something interesting.
That is, this Demon Cat would only actively eat substances "it wanted to eat," but facing those "it didn't want to eat," even if they contained the "Nen" it needed, it would not actively approach.
In simple terms, this cat had a problem of being "picky."
Thinking of this, Yuu glanced at the sleeping black cat beside him with contempt, thinking:
"This problem... I'll find a way to fix you sooner or later."
Yuu didn't think much more, gently kicked the Demon Cat's round belly, and called out:
"Kuro, time to go."
Since Yuu fed a handful of gems to this black cat the night before for an experiment, he couldn't recall it into his body before it completely digested the gems in its stomach.
And this point was also the first restriction Yuu had discovered so far.
[Before digestion is complete, the Nen beast must maintain its physical form and remain in reality.]
And after thinking about it, Yuu interpreted it as—
"Before digestion ends, the Demon Cat will have a health bar. If the health bar hits bottom before digestion ends, digestion fails."
Obviously, this was not conducive to eating in actual combat.
Although the Demon Cat itself, as a biological body manifested by "Nen," could use "In" (Conceal) to make it invisible, which might be effective against some unskilled Nen users.
But facing masters, it was still a bit useless.
More likely, it would be used for "Nen Exorcism."
However, Yuu also discovered earlier... after the Demon Cat swallowed his own "Nen," it could turn it into marble-sized "Nen pills," which could restore aura by eating or crushing them.
If used properly, this would probably be a good "support skill."
As for whether it could swallow offensive "Nen" and turn it into "Nen pills" that could play an offensive role, it remained to be verified.
...
Half an hour later.
Yuu quickly returned to the exam site.
Unlike before, this time Bisky was waiting there early, with her dedicated rabbit-head airship behind her.
"To be injured so severely... I thought the exam question I set should be the simplest one in this exam."
Bisky looked at the scarred candidates in front of her and couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Because in her opinion, the Ice Crystal Bear should be a very lazy species. Taking gems from their caves, as long as you didn't hurt their cubs and left their territory in time, you generally wouldn't encounter any danger.
In this way, these injured guys must have tried to grab gems from the mouths of bear cubs, so they suffered fierce attacks from giant bears.
"What a group of overconfident guys..."
Bisky stood there with her hands on her hips, looking quite helpless.
Fortunately, she still found a few candidates in good condition among them, who obviously passed her test.
Excluding candidate No. 44, Hisoka, who had a very different temperament in the corner.
The one who caught her attention was candidate No. 672.
A white-haired boy with a black cat on his shoulder.
Although Bisky hadn't noticed him before, at this moment, the "Nen" surrounding the boy all indicated—
He was a Nen user.
Soon, the boy who caught Bisky's attention walked up to her with the blue gem required for this exam.
...
Yuu didn't care about Bisky's somewhat strange gaze, handed the blue gem he had prepared in advance to her, and waited quietly for Bisky's judgment.
However, what left Yuu speechless was...
After Bisky accepted the gem, her gaze still wandered over him from time to time, as if she wasn't examining the gem, but examining his body.
In fact, it was exactly as Yuu thought.
From beginning to end, Bisky was examining him with the attitude of treating him as a piece of precious jade.
"This boy looks about the same age as me, also twelve or thirteen. To have cultivated 'Ten' at such a young age.
"And the state of 'Ten'... is even more mellow than what that kid Wing showed when he was fifteen or sixteen, and his aura is also more stable. No matter how I look at it, he's a little guy with good aptitude..."
Unknowingly, Bisky didn't notice that her line of sight was no longer on the gem at all, but was staring at Yuu unabashedly from head to toe.
Moreover, Bisky noticed that the black cat on the boy's shoulder also had a "Nen volume" significantly different from ordinary wild cats.
"A Nen beast..."
Bisky's own Nen ability [Magical Esthetician] was similar to this, so she had this guess immediately.
"I just don't know if this boy reached this stage under the guidance of a 'master' or practiced 'alone'.
"If there is no master's guidance, as long as there is no problem with his character, maybe I can take another disciple after a long time."
"After all, 'raw gemstones' like this that can shine with just a little polishing are rare..."
...