Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 200 (Patreon)

Chapter 200: Testing Effects

The solo piece has three movements.

In the original, Melody’s friend only played the first movement of the flute version of the solo piece, paying with her life as the cost. The harp version of the solo piece, on the other hand, is gentler and does not require the sacrifice of life.

However, even Stajy, who has played it many times regardless of the cost, has never completed all three movements. She has played at most two movements, and even that, only a handful of times, mostly just one movement.

This means that even Stajy herself does not know what would happen if the entire piece were played, nor does she know whether it would cost her life.

With Stajy's experiences to guide him, Luo wanted to try the effects of the Dark Sonata, but he would only touch the first movement.

Among the four versions of the Dark Sonata, Luo is already familiar with the abilities of the flute and harp versions. They share a subtle commonality, that is, equivalent exchange and wish power.

"Master, plug your ears."

Luo put down the True Master, took the small harp transformed from the black cat, and stood in front of the closed relief stone door.

The way he held the harp seemed awkward and incorrect, clearly showing that he was a novice.

"What are you trying to do?" Bisky asked solemnly, not knowing Luo’s intentions when he turned the black cat into a harp, but when Luo asked her to plug her ears, she vaguely guessed what he intended.

Luo turned his head and smiled at Bisky, saying, "Let's try the effect of the piece."

"You’re crazy!" Bisky stepped forward, standing in front of Luo with a very serious tone.

Luo shook his head. He wasn’t crazy; because he knew what the cost was, he dared to do this. Compared to the flute version of the solo piece, the harp version was much gentler and, if used properly, could be a boon.

Bisky raised her hand to the harp and stopped him, saying, "The consequences could be unimaginable. You cannot play."

"I know what I’m doing, trust me," Luo said seriously.

Facing Luo’s unyielding and serious gaze, Bisky frowned slightly. She knew she could not dissuade him once he had made up his mind, which was backed by an unyielding will.

Such a gaze, Bisky had seen in many people. Those with such a gaze, regardless of thorns or treacherous paths ahead, would steadfastly move toward their goal.

No one has the right to be an obstacle.

Bisky sighed softly, stepped aside, plugged her ears, and focused her eyes, maintaining a state of Gyo. If anything went wrong, she would forcibly stop Luo.

"Did you learn to play just by looking at the score?"

How could Bisky have imagined Luo had this skill?

Nearby, Antomu silently plugged his ears.

Luo knew that the harp version of the piece targeted specific objectives, and his current target was the relief stone door. To prevent accidents, he still asked Bisky to plug her ears.

His right hand touched the strings. It was his first time playing the harp, but when playing the harp solo, his memory guided his plucking of the strings, the only piece he knew how to play.

Zing...

The clear and cool sound of the strings resonated.

Luo’s plucking was clumsy, but his steps were not wrong, showing a contradictory feeling of discordance.

The first movement’s sound was slow, gentle yet with a hint of clarity and coldness.

Bisky and Antomu couldn’t hear the sound of the strings, but they both saw thread-like auras peeling from Luo’s body, moving toward the relief stone door.

The threads were thin but numerous, turning black as they floated toward the relief stone door and eventually adhering to it.

Given Luo’s current state, he should not have been able to separate so much aura.

Bisky was too busy observing the stone door to pay much attention, but she closely watched Luo’s condition and, seeing nothing unusual, slightly relaxed her tense nerves.

The sound of the strings continued for a while, and at the end, Luo stopped, and the room fell silent.

"The cost really is life; while playing, it felt like something was being peeled from my body," Luo thought quietly, observing the stone door to confirm the effect and gaining a deeper understanding of the solo piece.

The effect of this piece, based on wish power, indeed had unique aspects.

Luo played one movement, with the control target set as the relief stone door, issuing a command that only he could open the relief stone door.

This was equivalent to a prohibition, and ordinary Nen users could not open the relief stone door due to the Dark Sonata, only Exorcists could.

The cost for Luo was two years of life

, but the White Smoke Font gave him a 70% resistance, so he only bore 30% of the cost, something he was unaware of.

After playing, he did not feel any pain, just a slight sense of something draining from his body, similar to the feeling of casually firing a Nen bullet.

If used wisely, the solo piece could produce more benefits than drawbacks, with the only downside being that it couldn’t be practiced and had to be sight-read, which meant playing it correctly after just one glance at the score.

Without adequate skill, one might fail to master the piece and doom oneself.

Having confirmed what he wanted, Luo threw the black harp, which then turned back into a black cat.

Bisky approached and scrutinized Luo.

"I’m fine," Luo spread his hands.

"Could the rumors be false?" Bisky felt puzzled as she turned to look at the many black auras on the relief stone door, yet felt it wasn’t so simple.

"It’s not false; this piece really shouldn’t be touched lightly."

"But you don’t look affected."

"There is a cost, but it’s minimal," Luo replied.

Bisky’s gaze sharpened, not asking what the cost was, but she reminded him again, "Better to touch it less."

"Okay."

Luo nodded. The harp version of the solo piece was more like a Manipulator type of Nen ability, paying with life to then control the target, with the best manipulation target being humans.

In theory, controlling ordinary people could instantly turn them into Nen users, but the cost would be the ordinary person’s death.

This ability’s effect was somewhat similar to the Seven-Injury Fist, rarely used in ordinary times, but could be spectacularly effective when needed.

Later, Luo had Bisky help push the stone back to block the entrance to the relief stone door, ignoring Antomu, and they descended the mountain.

Luo was injured, and with his aura depleted, it was very difficult to come up from the tomb, and descending was impossible, so he had Bisky carry him down, while the black cat followed behind, carrying crab claw meat.

The two and the Nen beast headed toward the lake residential area of Babson Forest.

The trip was fruitful; Luo obtained the score and discovered those murals.

On the way back, Luo and Bisky chatted, and he learned that Bisky’s involvement was due to a request from Chairman Netero.

As Bisky put it, it was a chance encounter, then she took the opportunity to observe, not taking it seriously at first.

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