Chapter 323

After reminding Kagura and Kanna to give the harvest a try, Haruto finally began making his own move.

His gaze swept across the rows of Surprise Apple trees before settling on the top of a particularly tall one nearby.

The apple growing there was noticeably plumper than the others around it. Its skin had ripened to a deep, enticing red, gleaming softly beneath the sunlight.

"You’ll do."

A faint smile appeared on Haruto’s face.

He casually brought out his staff and cast a flight spell.

Gentle magical energy flowed from the staff, lifting his body from the ground and carrying him toward the top of the tree.

The sudden sight caused quite a few nearby Gourmet Hunters to stop what they were doing and look up in surprise.

"Whoa! That guy can fly?"

"How’s he doing that?"

"Never seen that Gourmet Hunter before. Looks like he’s not someone to underestimate."

A wave of discussion spread through the orchard, though it did not cause much of a commotion.

After all, Gourmet Hunters with strange abilities were hardly rare in this world.

Tina immediately aimed her camera at Haruto, excitedly narrating into her microphone while keeping the lens fixed tightly on him, unwilling to miss even a second.

Toriko looked up as well, curiosity flashing through his eyes.

"Oh? I didn’t know Haruto could do something like that."

"Being able to fly would make a lot of ingredients much easier to capture."

Haruto ignored the chatter below and came to a steady stop in front of his chosen Surprise Apple.

For a moment, man and apple stared at each other from less than half a meter away.

The Surprise Apple already looked somewhat frightened, clearly startled by the fact that Haruto had simply flown up to it.

That level of fear was nowhere near enough, however, so Haruto did not pick it yet.

He studied the apple for a moment, then decided to begin with the most straightforward method.

Tightening his grip on the staff, Haruto drew his arm back slightly before suddenly swinging it down.

The staff tore through the air with a sharp whistle and stopped barely a centimeter from the apple.

Although it never actually made contact, the force generated by the swing exploded outward like a small tornado.

The entire Surprise Apple tree shook violently.

Countless leaves were ripped free and scattered through the air, while several nearby trees were affected as well, their branches whipping back and forth as the apples hanging from them screamed in terror.

The apple Haruto had targeted naturally received the worst of it.

The blast of wind struck it head-on, making it swing wildly on its stem. Its eyes bulged wide, while its mouth stretched into a perfect O.

Now!

Haruto reacted instantly.

He grabbed the apple and plucked it from the branch.

The moment it came free, the terrified expression on its face froze permanently.

Satisfied, Haruto nodded and slowly descended to the ground.

The instant his feet touched down, Apollon appeared in front of him.

Haruto simply handed over the apple.

Apollon accepted it and examined the frozen expression carefully.

A few seconds later, he raised his head.

"Surprise Level~ Thirty-One~"

"Only thirty-one?"

Haruto frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

He had expected that with his current strength, even without going all out, he could at least reach the forties.

Then again, that first swing had been fairly ordinary.

Because he had been hovering in midair without anything to brace against, most of the force had come from his arm alone.

Under those circumstances, Level Thirty-One was actually a reasonable result.

"Huge news!"

Tina rushed over with her camera raised.

"Right after Gourmet Hunter Toriko’s Level Twenty-Seven apple, Haruto has captured a Level Thirty-One Surprise Apple, making it the highest Surprise Level harvested so far today!"

She practically shoved the camera into the apple’s face.

"Everyone, look at this perfect expression of terror! That full, beautiful shape—"

"Thirty-one, huh?"

Toriko walked over and glanced at the apple in Haruto’s hand before rolling his wrist.

"Looks like I need to step things up."

"I’m not losing that easily. Time to get serious!"

He turned toward another Surprise Apple nearby and drew in a deep breath.

The muscles in his right arm swelled.

"Seventeen-Ren Kugi Punch!"

Toriko drove his fist forward.

A tremendous blast of wind erupted from the punch and swept across the orchard like a violent typhoon.

Several nearby Gourmet Hunters were actually blown off their feet.

Unfortunately, Toriko had been standing too close, and the force of the strike was far too intense.

The poor Surprise Apple he had targeted wore a look of absolute horror for one brief instant before simply fainting from the shock.

"My, what a shame~"

Apollon looked at the unconscious apple regretfully.

"That one had already exceeded Surprise Level Fifty~ but it fainted before it could be harvested."

"Ah... really?"

Toriko scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.

"Guess I was a little too close."

"Then I’ll try again too."

Haruto put away his Level Thirty-One apple.

After surveying the orchard for a moment, he quickly selected another target.

This time, he raised his staff and gathered Nen around it.

"Hah!"

With a sharp shout, Haruto swung the staff down.

The resulting blast of wind was even stronger than the one created by Toriko’s Seventeen-Ren Kugi Punch.

Violent currents swept forward like a tidal wave.

Shallow trenches were carved into the ground, and several nearby Surprise Apple trees bent sharply beneath the force.

Unfortunately, too much power could be just as bad as too little.

The apple Haruto had targeted could not withstand the impact at all.

It was ripped straight from its branch and sent flying.

"Damn!"

Haruto’s expression changed.

He vanished from where he stood and shot after it.

Fortunately, he was fast enough to catch the apple just before it smashed into the ground.

Relieved, Haruto brought it over to Apollon.

The G7 taste master examined the apple carefully before speaking with some regret.

"Surprise Level~ Fifty-Four~"

"The power of that attack itself~ should have produced an even higher result."

"Unfortunately~ the apple was blown off at the most important moment. If it had remained on the tree, the final level would definitely have been higher~"

Haruto found that frustrating as well.

He had not expected excessive force to send the apple flying straight off the branch.

Still, Level Fifty-Four was a respectable result.

It was far better than his first attempt.

Tina, meanwhile, was practically glowing with excitement.

She circled the Level Fifty-Four apple repeatedly with her camera.

"Amazing! This is massive news! A Level Fifty-Four Surprise Apple!"

"Mr. Haruto, how do you feel about this result?"

Haruto merely smiled and waved off the question.

He moved aside and leaned against an apple tree, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

’So brute force really isn’t the best way to reach the highest Surprise Levels.’

’Use too much power and the apple either faints or gets blown away.’

’Hold back too much and the Surprise Level stays low.’

’So how did Ichiryu and the others harvest extremely high-level apples?’

Haruto thought for a moment.

’Maybe using pure presence and pressure would work better.’

That seemed worth trying.

He walked toward another Surprise Apple.

Then an immense presence erupted from his body.

It was a fusion of the overwhelming appetite of his Gourmet Cells, Nen filled with malicious intent, and Conqueror’s Haki.

For an instant, the very air seemed to freeze.

The Surprise Apple directly in front of him bore the full force of the pressure.

Its eyes opened so wide they nearly bulged from their sockets, while its mouth stretched to the limit in sheer terror.

The nearby apples were affected as well, their faces twisting with fear.

And they were not the only ones.

Several weaker Gourmet Hunters caught in the edge of Haruto’s aura went pale.

Their eyes rolled back, foam spilled from their mouths, and they collapsed unconscious.

Even the stronger hunters found it difficult to breathe.

It felt as though an invisible hand had closed around their hearts, leaving them barely able to move a finger.

"Surprise Level Seventy-Five!"

Apollon’s voice rang out.

The announcement snapped everyone back to their senses.

The entire orchard erupted.

People stared at Haruto and the apple in his hand with open shock.

"Only seventy-five?"

Haruto withdrew his aura and looked at the frozen expression on the apple with mild disappointment.

He shook his head.

"Still not as good as Zonge."

Zonge could harvest a Surprise Apple at Level Eighty, a degree of fear comparable to the terror caused by a volcanic eruption.

For Haruto to reach that level through sheer strength alone, his current power was still not quite enough.

At the very least, his Gourmet Cells would probably need to undergo another major evolution first.

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