Abengane, drenched in sweat, drove the remaining Nen Beasts back into the campfire and extinguished it.
Meanwhile, Germain was staring at the "Positive Traits" projected from his Hunter's Badge.
Since his return from the Dark Continent, he had been relatively lucky. He had only had one "Positive Trait" and didn't have any "Negative Traits" or "Diseases."
"Hatred for Otherworldly Demons (Mutants)": Greatly increases damage when fighting otherworldly demons and significantly reduces the pressure accumulation effect.
It seemed even the Hunter's Badge could tell how much he truly "hated otherworldly demons." After all, he had directly or indirectly destroyed many large demons during this trip.
Considering that he would have to continue facing demons in the future, this "Positive Trait" was certainly valuable.
After bidding farewell to Abengane, Germain indeed sought out Hina and the Nen Exorcist from the Hunter Association.
This time, with the help of Hina and the Nen Exorcist's Nen abilities, Germain was able to remove two more "Negative Traits."
One was "Slow Reaction" which affected physical reactions and speed, and the other was "Frail," which greatly reduced resistance to diseases and made him more susceptible.
Now, Germain had three "Negative Traits" left.
"Pale," which slightly reduces resistance to bleeding and corrosion, could be covered by his monstrous "Champion Physique."
"Anxious," which increases a certain amount of pressure weekly in regions outside the Dark Continent, but many members on Greed Island could help alleviate this pressure for Germain.
For example, Granny Linne's delicious food, Melody's flute music, and Komugi's chess games, among others.
The last one was the "Obsessed with Supernatural," who was obsessed with supernatural anomalies.
Hmm... Germain suddenly felt that being "Obsessed with Supernatural" wasn't such a bad thing. Could this be the influence of being "Obsessed with Supernatural"?
Anyway, after staying for about half a month, Abengane could perform "Nen Exorcism" again. After more than a month, Hina could continue with "Nen Exorcism."
The remaining three "Negative Traits" wouldn't last much longer.
As for the Hunter Association's Nen Exorcists, they would, of course, follow the Hunter Association's Exploration Team and set sail on August 8th next month to head for the Dark Continent.
In the afternoon, when Morel met with Germain, he seemed to be in a distressed state.
It took him quite some time to calm down and stop messing with his dangerously receding hairline.
As one of the only two members of the Hunter Association's Exploration Team who had been to the Dark Continent, Morel had smoothly become the team leader, and he had been extremely busy as a result.
The pressure on him was heavy now. Even though he had been to the Dark Continent once, it was done through a shortcut, and the ones leading were Germain and Ging.
Although no one asked him to be responsible for the safety of all the members, with his personality, it was hard for him not to try to cover every base.
"Germain, this is the list of members for the Hunter Association's Exploration Team. Take a look and see if I've missed anything."
Morel subconsciously sought Germain's help. After all, this kind of pressure had always been carried by Germain, and one could say he was very experienced.
Germain looked over the list.
Chairman Netero, Morel, Cheadle and the other twelve members of the Zodiacs, Kite, Palm, Shoot, Meleoron, List, Melody, the Hunter Association's Nen Exorcists, and others were all listed.
On the long list, there were many familiar names, but also many unfamiliar names that he had never seen before.
"Very good, very thorough. There are talents from all sides and angles," Germain commented.
"Actually, it should be you and Ging leading the way." Morel still didn't feel very confident. "Or maybe you could have Bisky or Wing come and help me, that would work too."
But Morel also knew this wasn't possible. There's only one Germain; he can't be in multiple places at once.
If the goal was simply to obtain the "Five Great Hopes," they didn't need to follow this colonial expedition to the Dark Continent. They could just sit back and reap the benefits.
After all, Germain and Ging would handle everything else.
But, if they really wanted to return to the Dark Continent, the situation changed. They couldn't depend on Germain for everything.
Germain's team, the "Ancient Labyrinth Outpost Team," led by him, was a special forces unit. They had pierced through the enemy's defense lines and accurately taken down the target leader.
However, when it came to truly occupying, managing, and developing the area, there was no way around it.
They would need a large, well-equipped army with solid logistics and organizational structure.
Germain didn't try to comfort Morel much. Morel himself calmed down after a few deep breaths.
After a while, he suddenly remembered something. "I heard your disciple, Kurapika, wants to join the Hunter Association's exploration team. What do you think about that?"
Germain wasn't surprised by this.
"If he wants to go, let him. I promised him that once he became the Heavens Arena's Floor Master, he could participate directly in the Dark Continent matters."
"As long as you don't mind." Morel said, "It's for the best. Kurapika's talent and hard work are exceptional. Keeping him on Greed Island would be a waste."
"Germain, don't worry. While I may not have the skill of someone like Bisky, who can polish you and Wing into gems, none of the disciples I've guided have ever disappointed me."
"I have no doubt about that." Germain said sincerely. He could see Morel's teaching methods through disciples like Knuckle and Shoot.
Moreover, the Hunter Association's exploration team was filled with elites, from Chairman Netero to List and Melody.
With Kurapika among them, he was bound to learn a lot in the end.
Germain, like Ging, after teaching the basics and advanced Nen techniques to his disciples, left the rest to them.
Staying by the side of your disciples to protect their safety is indeed a responsible and commendable approach.
However, there is another imperfect choice.
It is precisely the "imperfect" nature of this choice that often pushes a person to their limits.
Before Morel got busy, he didn't forget to remind Germain repeatedly to help look after Knuckle, who was still at the Ancient Labyrinth Outpost Station.
Germain naturally agreed.
At dinner, since only a few days were left until August 8th, the topic everyone at the Limeiro Castle dining table was excitedly discussing was the Dark Continent.
Naturally, many people came to seek advice from Germain, Chairman Netero, Granny Linne, and Morel.
Among them, Germain was always the one surrounded by the most people.
After all, Germain was the one who had successfully retrieved "Hope" the most times, and he was the core pillar of the entire Hunter Association exploration team.
So much so that after the dinner, Germain didn't have the chance to return to his room for a long time. Instead, he was forced to exchange insights with many members of the Hunter Association exploration team.
Fortunately, Chairman Netero had seen enough of the show and helped him out, allowing Germain to return to his room at 11 PM.
At that point, he noticed that Ging's disciple, Kite, had been waiting for him by his door for quite some time.
"You're later than I expected," Kite said, adjusting his blue cap, revealing sharp eyes like an eagle's from the shadows.
"I was almost about to leave," Germain replied, opening the door and inviting him in. "You're also later than I expected to come find me."
He had been prepared for Kite to seek him out. After all, Ging was Kite's teacher, and Gon was Ging's son. Kite had also known Gon for many years.
In terms of both emotion and reason, Kite was bound to come find Germain and ask about Ging and Gon.
If we want to take it one step further, as a member of the Hunter Association exploration team, Kite would also come to Germain to ask some questions.
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