The moment those peculiar, strangely patterned butterflies with spiral markings flew out of the training ground, Kevin noticed them. They were simply too strange—right beside them, a butterfly appeared without warning. This wasn't an ordinary butterfly; Kevin could clearly feel Nen emanating from its body. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly a Nen Beast.
The others noticed too.
"How is there a butterfly? Where did it come from?" Kurapika asked warily, frowning.
Pairo, however, stared at the butterfly, and for some reason, his eyes suddenly became somewhat dazed. He even slightly extended his hand. The butterfly actually landed gently on his finger, and then another butterfly appeared. The two rested quietly on his fingertips like exquisite sculptures.
Without doubt, these two butterflies were Nen Beasts.
Kevin's brows furrowed as he observed carefully. First, the appearance: the butterfly's wings were covered in spiral patterns. For Kevin and everyone present, these patterns were incredibly familiar—the unique characteristic patterns found on their Kurta ethnic clothing. They wore clothes with such patterns every day. These spiral patterns interconnected on the wings, forming a pattern that slightly resembled an eye.
The two butterflies were different. The spiral patterns on their wings were visually divided into left and right styles. All patterns on one butterfly biased toward the left, making the overall appearance asymmetrical; all patterns on the other biased toward the right, corresponding exactly to the first.
"So, what is this?" Kevin asked, looking at Pairo. In his heart, he already had a basic answer. This butterfly should be Pairo's Nen Beast—part of Pairo's Nen ability. Though unclear on the specific ability, based on the current situation, it was consistent with the Specialization ability Kevin had envisioned.
Without Scarlet Eyes enhancement, Pairo's Nen ability couldn't really be considered powerful. It could only be said that, depending on the person, it might produce good effects. If it could be further expanded and extended, it seemed to fit the image of a powerful Specialization ability Kevin imagined. The key was: what exactly was this butterfly's ability?
"They are... they are Funeral Butterflies," Pairo said slowly.
"Funeral Butterflies?!" Kurapika and Rosana exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing their surprised calls, Neon and Kevin turned toward them—clearly, the two knew about this.
Rosana calmed down a bit and explained, "This is a kind of... a kind of totem of our Kurta. According to legend, the spiral patterns on our bodies originated from this type of butterfly. When a tribesperson passes away, the funeral butterflies guide our souls, allowing us to enter reincarnation in peace. Such butterflies are usually a pair. Legend says they will rest on the eyes of the deceased—one on the left, one on the right—and then flutter away, as if truly leading the soul away."
This was an ancient legend passed down through generations of Kurta. Every child in the tribe heard it when young. Especially when a tribesperson passed away, similar rituals were held, so for them, this legend left a deep impression—everyone was familiar with it. This could be considered their unique funeral culture. For ethnic minorities like them, such funeral culture was of extraordinary significance.
Kevin nodded slightly. Hearing it was related to funeral culture, he could probably guess the purpose of this Nen ability. He looked at Pairo.
Pairo didn't speak, just gazed at the butterflies, then turned his eyes to his father's eyes in the glass jar. He murmured, "Can... can I take my father's eyes out?"
Kevin nodded slightly, indicating he could proceed.
In front of everyone, Pairo opened the glass jar lid and tremblingly reached into the viscous liquid. The liquid served as protection, preventing the eyes from being eroded by time. It took Pairo quite a while just to scoop the eyes out.
After a long moment, he finally completed the action. Pairo held his father's eyes in his hands, tears streaming down his face, arms trembling—but his palms were surprisingly steady.
"Dad, I will definitely avenge you. I will also live well... So, so don't hold any resentment, don't have any grudges. Go in peace under the guidance of the butterflies," Pairo murmured softly.
Saying this, he held the eyes upward, directly knelt down, and lowered his head. He began to chant something—listening carefully, it seemed a heartfelt eulogy, full of rich ethnic characteristics.
Seeing Pairo's actions, Rosana and Kurapika also knelt behind Pairo, bowed their heads, and clasped their hands before their chests. This seemed to be some kind of funeral ritual of their tribe, currently being performed in this simple training ground.
Kevin pulled Neon aside, giving them enough space.
Pairo was like the officiant of this funeral ceremony.
After finishing the eulogy, the butterflies that had rested on him flew up. Under everyone's gaze, they landed on the eyeballs—one on the left, one on the right.
Kevin had been observing carefully using Spirit. He saw it very clearly: the resentment on the eyes gradually disappeared, absorbed by the spiral patterns on the butterfly wings. Soon, these eyes returned to their normal appearance.
The butterflies flapped their wings, slowly carrying the eyeballs toward the sky. But this was an indoor training ground—there was only the ceiling above. In everyone's gaze, the butterflies flew higher and higher, and as they approached the ceiling, they gradually disappeared. They vanished into the air along with the eyeballs.
Pairo wiped away his tears and composed himself. Rosana and Kurapika still stared blankly upward, but all they saw was the training facility's ceiling.
Only after the three had fully recovered did Kevin bring Neon over.
Pairo spoke softly, almost to himself. "The butterflies will take away the resentment from the eyes and carry my father's eyes to a place of peace." This was one of his Nen abilities—the Funeral Butterflies.
"So your Nen ability is used to help bury your tribespeople?" Kevin asked.
Pairo nodded. "Yes, but after the burial, there should be other abilities."
Everyone turned their gaze to him. Kevin suppressed the urge to complain.
At this moment, a pair of butterflies appeared beside Pairo. Everyone looked at this new pair. Compared to the previous butterflies, this pair looked much more terrifying. The shape of eyeballs appeared on the butterfly wings, colored bright red—just like Scarlet Eyes. If one didn't look closely, they might mistake them for a pair of eyes floating in the sky.
Seeing this scene, Kevin roughly guessed what would happen next.
"It's like giving me an extra pair of eyes, and it can achieve the same effect as my previous Nen ability," Pairo explained simply.
After hearing Pairo's words, Kevin understood. Previously, the biggest limitation of Pairo's Nen ability was that he only had one pair of eyes. He could only choose to either connect to one target with both eyes to achieve maximum control and modification, or have one eye correspond to one target—though modification authenticity greatly reduced, he could obtain more information. Such a Nen ability could only be considered relatively ordinary.
To be honest, in Kevin's opinion, even for a non-Specialization Nen user, constructing a similar ability wasn't difficult. If not for the Scarlet Eyes state increasing Pairo's power standard, the situation would probably remain the same.
But now that such a Nen beast had appeared, it fit the ideal form of a Nen ability in Kevin's mind. The Nen beast could gain the ability of a pair of eyes by burying tribespeople's eyes. This pair of Nen beasts could observe for him, just as if he had an extra pair of eyes. Though the effect sounded a bit strange, it could indeed allow him to see more situations and scenes.
However, the first stage of activating the Nen ability still had to be completed through his own eyes. It's just that his "eye" quota for marking targets had changed from two to four. He could simultaneously maintain connections with two pairs of eyes of two people. But when activating the second stage—stealing the opponent's vision and creating illusions—he could still only focus on one person. He could just switch between the two.
But no matter what, the number of selectable targets had increased—undoubtedly significant enhancement. And the real key was that such a Nen ability still had potential for continuous upward development.
To materialize a pair of butterflies to help observe or switch targets, Pairo would need to constantly maintain the butterflies' existence. In simple terms: his eyes connect to one target, and a pair of butterflies connect to another. As long as the target and ability related to the butterfly eyes were involved, the butterflies must appear. This would consume significant Nen—and according to him, the amount consumed was not small.
In Kevin's opinion, Pairo's potential Nen at this stage was roughly between four and five thousand. Pairo said a pair of butterflies would take away more than half his potential Nen. In other words, a pair of butterflies required consumption of about three thousand potential Nen. With his current total Nen, maintaining a pair of butterflies would likely overwhelm him in direct combat. Though Nen could be trained and improved by everyone, it must be admitted that Enhancement had a unique advantage here.
Therefore, the butterflies' role currently reflected more in support—but when his strength grew, they could play greater roles in direct combat.
The upgrade mechanism Kevin spoke of lay in the fact that the number of such butterflies could continue to increase. The premise: Pairo could find more clan members' eyes and hold funeral ceremonies for these eyes. Each time a pair of eyes was successfully buried, he would gain an additional pair of "eyes" quota for marking.
Currently, 33 pairs of eyes were scattered outside. In other words, if all were collected and successfully buried, Pairo's connection quota would reach an astonishing 35 pairs.
This was truly outrageous. Because in Kevin's opinion, collecting all the eyes wasn't difficult—it could be done with money. As long as sufficient channels and funds existed, they should be able to get their hands on them smoothly.
If they encountered stubborn individuals unwilling to return the eyes, Kevin believed there was no need to show mercy—methods like stealing, robbing, and threatening could all be used. However, Kevin did not intend to participate in such actions; collecting the eyes should be left to them. In Kevin's opinion, given the three's potential and their future status in the team, collecting eyeballs was not difficult for them.
Moreover, perhaps only by personally reclaiming their clan members' eyes and performing the funeral rites could such an upgrade be completed. After all, looking at the conditions for Nen ability upgrades, it was very likely closely related to this. He didn't know if Pairo had this awareness, but Pairo hadn't asked for his help until now—clearly, he must have such awareness and thoughts.
It must be said that Pairo's potential had increased significantly. Even without considering the Scarlet Eyes state, Pairo's original Nen ability had become extremely strategically significant. Especially in team battles where the enemy was in the open and they were hidden, its role would be significantly enhanced. It could cooperate well with the team, and even individually, it wasn't bad. In Kevin's eyes, this could be considered a qualified Specialization Nen ability.
But the Scarlet Eyes state was simply too powerful a trump card to ignore. Combining the two, Pairo's ability had reached an heaven-defying level. Of course, this level of intensity was life-consuming. It was best to use it sparingly; otherwise, an early death would be the inevitable outcome.
Kevin patted Pairo's shoulder. "I believe you yourself are aware of this ability's function. Make good use of it. Don't let it down."
Pairo nodded, clenched his fist tightly, and murmured, "This is a gift from my father and my clan."
Indeed, the appearance of the Funeral Butterflies was closely related to his clan members—especially since they could purify the resentment already present on the eyes, allowing the clan members to depart peacefully. After the funeral completed, the butterflies would return and become his power. In a sense, this process and meaning was indeed a precious gift from the Kurta to him, who was still alive. Moreover, the resentment on the eyeballs was essentially triggered by his father's experiences. So he was indeed correct. Perhaps it was also his father's expectation of him.
Kevin didn't understand this aspect—the world of Nen ability was too profound.
They had received too much information today, and their emotions had fluctuated accordingly. The three Kurta all seemed a bit tired. After the group dispersed, Kevin returned to his room.
Next to his room was his pharmaceutical laboratory. Walking in, various pharmaceutical materials of different shapes and colors were displayed in the windows. On the desk in the middle of the laboratory, materials left over from last night's experiment remained, with papers recording data scattered everywhere across the table, and a tablet computer next to them.
To be honest, in a world where most people still used bulky desktop computers, the appearance of a tablet computer was truly a rare sight. But they did exist—only the price was extremely high. Those qualified to purchase and use them were either rich or noble.
Kevin walked over and sat at the desk. He raised his hand and materialized the pharmaceutical station.
"Following yesterday's experimental process, it should be almost successful today. I feel today is my lucky day." Kevin muttered to himself, shaking his clasped hands gently, as if praying for blessing.
Efficacy, materials, texture, dosage—these were all factors needing careful consideration when making potions. Especially when three materials needed blending together, even a slight error was unacceptable. A very slight difference could lead to completely different effects. Particularly when making more advanced potions, the requirements became more stringent—it wasn't just about materials being strong enough. Whether the material was one gram more or less, whether made into powder or kept whole—all these details needed careful consideration.
Kevin took a deep breath, focused his energy, and began meticulously mixing. The notebook beside him was densely marked with various dosage and texture parameters. Most previous records were marked with "×"—these were failed dosage indicators. Some were circled and marked in detail afterward. Due to differences in dosage and preparation methods, the effects of produced potions varied; the circled ones were directions worth further experimentation and improvement.
Time flew by during the focused mixing. In the blink of an eye, it was evening. Kevin rubbed his brow.
"Could it be that I'm unlucky today? Is it because I touched the eyes?" Kevin muttered to himself. "Let's try one more time."
This time, the attempt was finally successful.
"Phew, finally successful—it wasn't easy." A pleased smile appeared on Kevin's face.
If it were just a regular potion, he naturally wouldn't be this happy. The reason he'd spent so much time was because the materials for this potion were the highest strength available at this stage—all top-tier C-rank materials.
[Gold Scale: Double-Headed Wolf Horn (Powder - 25 grams)]
[Silver Scale: Conspiracy Raven Brain (Ground Powder - 100 grams)]
[Bronze Scale: Gold-patterned Flower Petals (Dried - 10 grams)]
[Effect: After the user takes the potion, their Nen will react and change according to the will of good and evil, whether it belongs to others or themselves.]
Kevin couldn't yet determine whether this potion's strength was at C-rank peak or had already reached early B-rank. Material quality could be judged by touch perception, while potion strength could only be inferred by considering the materials, refining time, and Nen consumed.
However, this potion's effect sounded very abstract. But this was the effect these materials could produce when combined—previous attempts, whether failed or successful, had more or less leaned toward this direction based on good and evil will.
This was actually easy to understand. The main material was Double-Headed Wolf Horn—not an empty shell merely for show, but one that had genuinely shed, and was even gifted by its owner. Considering the Double-Headed Wolf's legend, it wasn't difficult to understand why such an effect would appear.
The same went for auxiliary materials. The Conspiracy Raven was a magical beast with extremely high intelligence. It looked like a raven, could imitate humans by making strange sounds, and could even control animals in the forest—and even some small magical beasts. It could read books, learn knowledge, then drive animals to set traps, carry out kidnappings, and other activities. Moreover, it harbored extreme malice toward humans because they were simply too easy to prey upon. It was a highly dangerous magical beast—not within protection range, and absolutely no problem to eliminate upon encounter.
The combination of several materials made the potion's effect somewhat abstract and difficult to understand.