Inside the training ground, Kevin stood in the center, holding a syringe in his hand, adjusting his state to achieve perfect balance. The first attempt was crucial, and maintaining a good state would help him better understand and experience the changes brought by the potion.
He completely relaxed his body control, not even maintaining [Ten], letting Nen drift out from the top of his head. He inserted the syringe needle, and the light golden liquid in the potion tube slowly injected into his body through the syringe until it disappeared. The liquid medicine surged into his body. It instantly integrated, and the effect was immediate.
"Bang!" A powerful air pressure suddenly exploded, and the resulting impact wind pressure spread outward in a circular ripple. The break out was extremely exaggerated.
Kurapika, who was resting in the rest area in the distance, instantly flashed in front of Neon and hugged her tightly. Pairo took a step back, dodging the impact. However, Kurapika, who was standing in front of Neon and holding her, was still blown away by the impact. After spinning in the air, Kurapika landed steadily on the ground. Neon in his arms was also safe and sound.
"Nen? Why is there such an exaggerated Nen?!" Pairo was full of confusion, finding the situation before him truly difficult to understand.
Kurapika didn't let go of Neon in his arms until he confirmed the impact was over. Though the omnidirectional and unconscious impact just now had blown him away, it didn't seem to cause substantial damage in essence. Any movement generated by Kevin, as long as it would cause damage, would change according to his will. This was the change brought about by good and evil. Even this kind of unconsciously released impact, as long as Kevin had no intention of causing harm, would not harm the three little ones. In other words, Kevin's power had friendly protection. Nen ability—wasn't it amazing?
The few of them turned their gaze toward the central area where Kevin was located. In their eyes, the Nen around Kevin was erupting outward like a raging fire.
Kevin slowly opened his eyes, raised his hands, and at this moment, he only felt the surging Nen in his body gushing outward uncontrollably. The medicinal effect was too strong.
This potion, refined from a golden egg and a growth organ, came with surging vitality. This was not vitality used for healing or repair, but pure—something akin to physical energy. The effect produced through the fusion of the potion was just as everyone saw at this moment. It caused the body's Nen to gush outward uncontrollably. A part of it was Kevin's original Nen, and the other part was the extra Nen brought by the potion. It was the effect of the medicine within the potion.
Kevin felt that his Nen had at least doubled, but due to the overly violent fluctuations of Nen, he found it difficult to judge accurately for a moment. In this state, even though Kevin had absolute control over his Nen, he couldn't completely control the gushing Nen. Because a part of the Nen was not inherently his own, but extra Nen produced by the potion's effect.
Kevin's perfect control over his own Nen was not because he truly had extremely powerful control abilities; in essence, his control ability was only slightly better than that of an ordinary Nen user. But it definitely didn't reach the exaggerated level of being able to command it like an arm. It was only because of his special state that the Nen generated within his body could be absolutely controlled by him.
Though his own Nen increased under the stimulation of the potion, and the Nen he could control also increased accordingly, mixing with this uncontrollable Nen instead significantly reduced his control over Nen. All Kevin could do was try his best not to let this Nen spray out wildly and uncontrollably.
This made Kevin frown slightly. "Could it be that this potion can only exert its maximum effect in an offensive state?" At this time, he could only perform some basic operations with Nen, such as forming a hexagonal defense with Nen, or condensing Nen. As for more intricate operations, he was completely unable to do them.
Kevin raised his hand, clenched his fist, and punched the sandbag in the distance with all his might. The fist compressed and struck the Nen. "Bang!" A dull sound like compressed air came, and the air was visibly distorted. A surge of Nen swiftly struck out with Kevin's punch. Accompanied by the loud noise, the sandbag, which was more than twenty meters away from Kevin, instantly exploded. This was just an ordinary punch, but because there was too much Nen, every punch felt like using the skill of [Ko].
"Kurapika, come hit me!" Kevin turned around and shouted at Kurapika.
Facing this situation, Kurapika hardly hesitated, directly jumped over, and threw a punch at Kevin. He wasn't blindly impulsive; he clearly saw the surging Nen erupting from Kevin's body and knew in his heart that if he punched, the one likely to get hurt would not be the other party.
As expected, after throwing a punch, Kurapika couldn't help crying out in pain and took several steps back. He reached out and held his right fist that he had just swung. At this moment, his fist and wrist were slightly red and swollen.
Not only did his punch fail to harm Kevin, but it was also repelled by the power on the other party's body. Kurapika felt like an idiot, punching an iron plate. Fortunately, this result was somewhat anticipated, so he had some control over the rebound force. Otherwise, if he had foolishly punched with full force, his hand might have fractured just now.
"Your fist isn't hard enough, Kurapika—you need to train more!" Kevin said with a laugh.
Hearing this, Kurapika rolled his eyes and turned back to his position. Neon was rubbing Kurapika's hand next to him, feeling distressed.
Kevin began to carefully examine the effect of this potion in the center of the field. First was the potential Nen capacity. His current potential Nen capacity was about 27,000, and after injecting this potion, it directly increased to about 60,000.
"It's not a percentage increase? So that's it—it's a fixed increase amount." After some examination, Kevin came to a conclusion. The increase in potential Nen capacity brought by the [Surge Potion] should have a fixed value. This fixed value was probably around 30,000. The excess potential Nen capacity was Nen that was additionally excavated from the body based on individual physique differences and stimulated by the potion's effect. This indicated that this potion could have a training effect on potential Nen capacity.
The medicinal effect was clearly stronger than the Strength Potion. Because its stimulation was stronger, the surging Nen would stimulate the body and make the body remember. And this stimulation was a process of excavating Nen. Moreover, according to such growth values, the training effect of the [Surge Potion] on Kevin's Nen capacity growth might continue throughout the entire B-level stage, which was below 100,000 Nen capacity. This meant that Kevin would not need to worry about this aspect of improvement for a long time. This was undoubtedly a good thing.
This potion could also promote the recovery of potential Nen capacity and enhance combat endurance during the potion's duration. In other words, when the potion's effect ended, excluding accidents such as injury, Kevin might still be able to return to battle with full Nen capacity. If Nen was compared to mana, using this potion, the mana bar would increase for half an hour, and after the potion ended, the original mana bar would be restored to full value. However, control was weakened during the potion's duration.
Next was the apparent Nen capacity that increased offensive and defensive capabilities, which had truly doubled. Therefore, for others, the effect of the [Surge Potion] in combat might be very significant, and the stronger their strength, the more exaggerated the effect. But for Kevin, the effect might not be as prominent. Because Kevin himself had extremely strong control over Nen, and the Nen capacity increased by this potion was an external additional increase. Though this could reduce the physical burden to a certain extent, it also weakened Kevin's control over Nen, preventing him from controlling Nen as freely as before in combat.
However, if he encountered an enemy like the Calamity Dragon, this potion could exert a good effect. In that situation, he would need to rely on surging Nen for numerical combat—punching and kicking. Simply put, this potion was suitable for numerical combat scenarios, but not very suitable for mechanism combat scenarios.
But for Kevin, none of this mattered. The effect he needed from this potion was to use it to continue training his Nen. After all, the speed of his potential Nen capacity increase had already begun to gradually slow down.
After half an hour, the uncontrollably gushing Nen from Kevin's body gradually disappeared, and all the Nen returned to its original state, forming a thin coating that clung tightly to Kevin's body.
"Hoo—" Kevin let out a long breath, feeling his physical condition after the potion's effect ended. To his surprise, his body did not feel exhausted or muscle fatigue, but was in excellent condition. There was a refreshing and comfortable feeling.
"As expected, it's the effect of the potion's own materials." Kevin muttered to himself. That Nen was an additional boost brought by the potion's own materials. When the potion's effect ended, Kevin's body not only did not feel the fatigue of overuse, but was refreshed. This was the wonderful change brought about by the temporary integration of surging vitality into the body. After all, Nen was life energy, and Nen ability was a mix of spirit and life energy.
"It's a shame the yield is too low. Otherwise, if I kept using it, my body's Nen capacity might reach 100,000 in just one or two years." Kevin said with a hint of regret. This speed of progress could definitely be called rapid. However, it was precisely because the materials were difficult to obtain that the potion's effect was so potent.
Moreover, Kevin had an unexpected gain. He clenched his fist and unleashed some power. This was the amplification effect previously brought by the Strength Potion—when entering the "Strength" state, the output Nen would increase by an additional thirty percent.
But now, this extra boost had changed, seemingly increasing. This was clearly the effect brought by the Surging Potion. Though the effects of the two potions had similarities, they were fundamentally different. However, both would increase Kevin's output Nen. It was just unclear at the moment what the limit of this increase would be. But this change had pushed Kevin one step further toward the direction of violent output.
After Kevin finished his training, he looked at Kurapika and the other two. "Get ready."
The three silently began preparing, and a large pile of food was pushed over. This time it was Pairo's turn for the relevant training.
"You prepared the energy food yourself, so it should be a taste you can accept, right?" Pairo swallowed and nodded. After the training ended, he also gained some weight.
In mid-June, the weather gradually became hot. The manor's construction finally came to an end, and the most important major project was also successfully completed—that was the large warehouse originally located on the empty ground in the backyard. Though called a warehouse, it was actually divided into rooms of various sizes and functions. Various functional furniture and equipment were also installed in the corresponding rooms.
"If the entire building were turned into a 'home,' would that be possible?" Though Kevin knew it was unlikely, he couldn't help asking Rosana. Rosana just smiled and shook her head.
Based on the current situation, this kind of thing was indeed impossible. After experimentation, training, and comprehensive consideration, the most reasonable standard was that Rosana would need to spend about forty percent of her potential Nen capacity to anchor the "home," and this was in a home state. If she were in an away state, then Rosana should ideally use twenty percent of her Nen to anchor, in order to leave more Nen to deal with possible unexpected situations.
"So I'll anchor these few rooms now?" Rosana said. Kevin nodded.
Rosana's Nen was seen spreading and moving across the floor, connecting the surrounding rooms together before fixing them in place. This area thus became the "home." This "home" was temporarily composed of four functional areas: storage area, medical area, rest area, and pharmacy area.
The Nen space extended in this way could provide the most basic safety guarantee for everyone. This was because Rosana's forced pull ability could only be triggered when a family member was in mortal danger. When pulling family members back, they were likely to be injured, so it must be ensured that there was a medical area. Therefore, various healing potions and some emergency medical tools were stored inside. Rosana also taught herself first aid. The other areas were to meet occasional needs.
The entire large warehouse certainly had more than just these four areas—there were various functional areas—but currently, these four areas were sufficient to meet the needs. If there were more needs in the future, or if Rosana's strength further increased, it wouldn't be too late to expand outward. In any case, various supporting functional areas were already prepared.
Kevin walked into the Nen space and looked around for a while, then looked at the painting hanging on the wall. On the "family portrait," Light's figure was still absent. The identification of "family member" was not dominated by Rosana's subjective will, but depended on her subconscious. Therefore, this kind of thing could not be forced.
"I'm sorry," Rosana said softly, seemingly sensing Kevin's thoughts. Hearing this, Kevin shook his head. "No, this is nothing to apologize for."
Kurapika and the others also came in and looked around for a while, then left separately. Kevin did not leave but stayed in the pharmacy room.
After this period of careful formulation, he finally developed a suitable potion recipe. His previous experiences allowed him to obtain many precious materials, especially those acquired from the Calamity Dragon: dragon tongue, dragon blood, dragon scales, dragon heart, dragon tendons. Unfortunately, except for the dragon tongue which reached B-grade, the other parts did not reach this level. However, even if they didn't reach B-grade, these materials were considered of good quality among C-grade materials. Among them, the more abundant dragon blood and dragon scales, though relatively common among C-grade materials, had the advantage of sufficient quantity and were perfectly fine to use as secondary ingredients. The quantity was truly large because the size of that dragon was simply too enormous. Just from that tongue alone, Kevin felt he could refine at least fifty bottles of potion. This was the good thing about large monsters—just one, even if the material was unique, was enough for Kevin to squander. Indeed, big was good.
During this time, Kevin had been using these dragon materials as the main components for potion pairing and experimentation. He roughly derived three promising recipe directions.
The first type used the dragon heart as the main ingredient. After all, this was the heart of a mountain-sized dragon-shaped monster, containing vigorous vitality and powerful driving force. So, in this recipe direction, Kevin was committed to physical enhancement—a kind of internal strengthening centered around the heart.
The second type used dragon tendons as the main ingredient.
The goal focused on the flexible characteristics of dragon tendons, planning research in that direction. It was currently uncertain what kind of changes it would ultimately bring. But making potions was like this—except for a very few materials with extremely obvious medicinal properties, many materials when combined only had a general direction. Sometimes it was even like drawing lots or a lottery; you could only find a feasible direction by constantly trying various combinations.
The third type was naturally based on the sole B-grade material—the dragon tongue. The goal of this recipe was very clear: it was based on the characteristics displayed when attacking with the dragon tongue at that time—extreme speed and powerful force. This material undoubtedly possessed such characteristics. Kevin had also been focusing on research in this area and had already made some progress. He was already impatient; an offensive ability was about to be produced.
Thanks to the various materials exchanged from Begetto, these strange and unusual materials could always find suitable auxiliary materials to be used as ingredients. Of course, thanks also to the only B-grade fusion agent—the golden-veined petals.
As the company got on track, Kevin had already purchased that mountainous area in the company's name. And with that valley as the core, a very strict protection base was established. The only requirement was to fully protect the ecological environment there. He even hired a professional Hunter to take a look and plan the ecological base's construction. In terms of a Hunter's professionalism, you could completely place your trust.
"I feel lucky today. I should be able to formulate the potion I want." Kevin muttered to himself, then silently washed his hands and began to focus on the experiment. Though he said this sentence every day, it was as if it would add luck to him in the unseen.
Reducing the amount of materials, adjusting the ratio of materials, or simply changing materials—this tedious pairing work could only be tested repeatedly through such mechanical operations until the desired effect appeared on the potion stand.
Like now.
[Gold Scale: Dragon Tongue (Thousand-made - 150 grams)]
[Silver Scale: Snake Arrow (Ground Powder - 50 grams)]
[Bronze Scale: Golden-veined Petals (Fresh - 15 grams)]
[Result: Attachment of user's Nen can strengthen the speed of the attached object and give the attached Nen attack penetrative properties]
This was exactly the effect he had dreamed of. Kevin looked at the result presented on the potion stand and showed a satisfied smile. "It wasn't easy, but I finally found the recipe."
As for how this effect would specifically manifest, it could only be personally experienced after the potion was made and used. The problem was, with Kevin's current Nen capacity, he felt he might not be able to successfully make this potion. The standard requirements for mixing these materials were relatively high. Kevin felt his Nen capacity was still a bit short. He had always trusted his intuition, and potion making itself carried some uncertainty. This was his Nen ability—if it wasn't going to work, it would give him an unseen premonition. Just trust this point; no need to force it.
Therefore, he decided to wait a while. After his Nen capacity further increased, he would start making it. While waiting, Kevin planned to train more. With the Surging Potion, it wouldn't take much time. At the same time, he would shift his attention to the research of other potions.