"Whoosh—" Kevin stood in the center of the training ground, slowly exhaling a breath. The effect of the potion had already ended, but he didn't stop immediately. Instead, he stood still and entered a meditative state, carefully savoring the feeling he had experienced when the potion was active.
Menchi and Buhara sat in the viewing stands. "If we see Kevin use this move in a future battle, then we can be certain. So this is what his Nen ability is like." The two of them were quite familiar with Kevin and were also quite knowledgeable about Nen abilities. They had been curious about Kevin's Nen ability and his rapid growth for a long time.
Kevin's rapid growth might be explained by taking potions and his extraordinary talent, but his strange manifestations of Nen abilities were truly baffling. For example, the sudden burst of Nen was clearly different from ordinary people; it could form sturdy hexagonal defenses and also refine Enhancement-type potions. All of this was very strange. They had more or less guessed some clues. After witnessing it again today, they felt they had probably figured out Kevin's true Nen ability: a peculiar and difficult-to-understand imprinting ability. Being able to learn external forces that didn't belong to him and imprint them into his body, thus allowing himself to learn and use these forces. This was their understanding.
In their opinion, the best medium for imprinting was potions. As for why Kevin could also make potions, that was unknown; perhaps that was his secret. However, the two of them had no intention of prying into their friend's secrets. Analyzing Kevin's Nen ability was actually an instinctive reaction for every Nen user.
At this moment, Kevin, standing in the center of the training ground, didn't pay attention to their thoughts. He hadn't expected that a sudden thought today would open up a completely new path for him—form and intent. The potion test just now validated this idea. Though it couldn't be fully confirmed yet, it was undoubtedly a great direction.
Using the actions of the main ingredient's original object to simulate an attack, just like he imitated the dragon tongue's thrust earlier, the power was astonishing. Because he had fought with that dragon and personally felt the power of its tongue thrust, he was able to imitate some of its essence with his limbs, and the power brought by the potion happened to echo this imitation, allowing the power to be fully unleashed. Of course, this method wasn't applicable to all potions, but as long as it could achieve significant results with a few types of potions, it would be a breakthrough.
As his thoughts gradually calmed down, Kevin exited the meditative state, a smile appearing on his face. Regardless, the ability brought by this potion could be learned, and it was a gradual process. Let's name it [Thrust Potion]. This potion didn't cause too much burden on his body, and Kevin felt he was in a good state right now. Since that was the case, he might as well strike while the iron was hot and try another potion.
Kevin injected himself with a potion again. Seeing Kevin use a new potion, Menchi and Buhara, who were in the resting area, immediately focused their attention and looked over.
As the potion was injected into his body, Kevin's physical reaction became very strong. His heart began to beat violently.
"Thump thump!"
"I didn't mishear, did I?" Menchi was stunned for a moment and looked at Buhara next to her.
Buhara shook his head. "You didn't mishear. I heard it too—it's his heartbeat." It was the sound of a powerful heart beating, one beat after another.
"Thump thump!" His heart rate began to speed up, and it got faster and faster.
"Hey, hey, are you really okay? His heart rate must be over two hundred by now, and it's still climbing!" Menchi couldn't help frowning. This heartbeat was clearly abnormal—so fast it was worrying. And the sound was also very loud, no longer sounding like a normal heartbeat. So, the effect of the potion was related to the heart?
At this moment, Kevin's entire skin turned red, and blood circulated rapidly within his body. He breathed in large gulps, oxygen pouring into his body like a flood. He looked like a cooked shrimp, steam even starting to rise from his body, and his body temperature rose sharply. This didn't look like the effect a normal potion should bring.
"Hey, are you really okay?!" Menchi's worried shout came from the viewing area. At this moment, Kevin's heartbeat was loud and fast, and it carried a kind of fluctuation that made both Menchi and Buhara feel a bit arrhythmic.
Kevin raised his hand and gave an OK gesture. "Don't worry." After all, this was the effect of the potion, so there was no need to worry for now, and with his current physique, he could still withstand it. His physique, bordering on the limit, wasn't just for show. Kevin even felt that his heart could beat faster, but the potion seemed not to allow it. When his heart rate exceeded three hundred beats per minute, it gradually stabilized.
At this moment, Kevin's blood was flowing wildly within his body, and his body was burning hot like a raging fire.
He began to run, punch, and strike. It was clear that the changes brought by this potion were very easy to perceive. The powerful pumping of his heart caused blood to flow rapidly, which in turn led to a rise in body temperature and a feverish head. However, his body was undoubtedly strengthened, and it was the most basic, all-around enhancement.
The thirty-minute effect of the potion quickly passed. As the potion's effect faded, Kevin's heartbeat could be clearly heard gradually weakening, returning to its normal state. His burning hot body also began to cool down slowly. Let's call this potion [Heart Strengthening Potion]. Similarly, the ability brought by this potion could also be learned. It belonged to the type where progress accumulated; you either knew it or you didn't.
Kevin gained a deeper understanding of this potion. Even if he learned it, he couldn't reach the perfect state presented by the potion. In other words, the effect of strengthening the heart in the potion was a special change brought about by the potion's ingredients, which he wouldn't possess after learning it. However, the ability to accelerate heart rate and blood flow could be remembered by the body. This meant that after Kevin learned it, he could enter a similar state, but without the heart protection provided by the potion.
With his current physical fitness, entering this state on his own could last a maximum of fifteen minutes. Exceeding fifteen minutes would cause damage to his body. Exceeding thirty minutes would cause irreversible damage to his body. It was simply 'burning his life force'—truly not worth it. Therefore, though this ability could be learned, Kevin felt it was still more recommended to use the potion for enhancement. However, learning it first was always correct. Having one more ability meant one more option, and since this was an ability that benefited his own state, the more the better.
Thinking about the various added states on his body now—these states didn't have limitations on stacking. These powers stacked together. He didn't dare to think about it. Absolute violence was about to be produced.
Time flowed like water, and before he knew it, it was the end of August. The hot summer was gradually fading, but Nostra Manor was still enveloped in heat.
In the swimming pool at Nostra Manor, Menchi was boredly floating on the surface of the water, slowly drifting along with the pool's current. Suddenly, she shouted in frustration, "Ahhhhhh!" She suddenly leaped out of the water into the air, and the water balloon she was holding at some point was also thrown into the air.
"Bang!" She struck it hard, and the water balloon shot out like a cannonball.
At this moment, Kevin, who was lying on a beach chair by the shore, silently raised his left hand, his right hand still holding a drink. With a muffled thud, he steadily caught the flying water balloon.
"Kevin!! How much longer are you going to make us wait?!" Back in June, Kevin said he would act with them and asked them to wait a little, but this wait had been for over two months, and September was just around the corner. Though a leisurely life was pleasant, after a while, it inevitably became boring.
"Buhara! Say something too! You lazy fellow!" Menchi shouted again at Buhara, who was rolling like a ball in the water.
Buhara, however, looked indifferent. Waiting one more month or one less month made no difference to him. "I'm fine with anything," Buhara replied.
Hearing that reply, Menchi was so angry the veins on her forehead throbbed. She picked up another water balloon and threw it forcefully toward Buhara. The water balloon hit his stomach like a cannonball and then bounced back. Buhara's belly rippled from the impact, but he still rolled in the water as if nothing happened. It seemed this kind of life had its own charm, and it was nice to enjoy a leisurely time for a while longer.
Seeing that neither of them reacted, Menchi instantly deflated and silently submerged herself in the water again. Because things were indeed good right now. The hot weather made her somewhat disinclined to move. She was just complaining and urging them on.
Kurapika, Pairo, and Neon, who were also swimming in the pool, were already used to such scenes. Since entering August, the weather had been continuously hot and dry, and Menchi's temper had become increasingly irritable. She even dragged Pairo and Kurapika for sparring sessions from time to time. This made both of them miserable. Though they yearned to quickly improve their strength and didn't reject sparring, Menchi hit with no regard for strength when she was angry, and it hurt a lot. Especially after knowing that Kevin would use potions to help them recover and ensure they stayed in good condition, Menchi became even more unrestrained with her attacks. Even broken bones were not uncommon.
After all, Kevin's potions could heal a simple fracture within fifteen minutes. Besides the pain at the moment, there were no other major issues. Menchi even claimed it was to prevent them from having their combat strength excessively weakened by injuries and pain in real combat. The reasoning was correct, but the feeling of being hit was not pleasant. At times like these, both of them tacitly remained silent, just swimming quietly in the water. They even quietly moved out of each other's sight.
"Pairo, you're too slack! Come here!" Menchi suddenly popped her head out of the water and waved toward Pairo in the distance.
"Huh!?" Pairo looked innocent, thinking to himself: I didn't say anything! How did she get angry at me?
Seeing this, Kurapika nearby quietly changed direction and swam away, ignoring Pairo's pleading gaze. "Neon, let's go play over there," Kurapika called out.
"Okay!" Neon responded, and the two quietly swam away. Everything looked so normal.
"Damn it! Kurapika, I'm so heartbroken that you've become like this." Pairo complained inwardly, helplessly casting his gaze toward Kevin under the sun umbrella on the shore. Kevin just smiled and raised the drink in his hand, gesturing to Pairo as if to say: Keep it up!
"Damn it, who do you think caused this!" Pairo grumbled softly, helplessly following Menchi toward the training ground. To some extent, Kevin was almost like half of Pairo's father now. If Kevin made the other person angry at a time like this, it was only natural that he should pay some interest.
Just then, Buhara swam to the shore. "Don't you have anything going on lately? Why haven't you set off yet?" Buhara asked curiously. He knew that though Kevin enjoyed a leisurely life, he was not a lazy person. They had already guessed Kevin's Nen ability. They also saw Kevin exhibiting the effects of using potions even when he wasn't using them. This indicated that the other person had learned the ability of the potions, meaning the preparations were complete. Logically, he should have started taking action by now.
"The weather is too hot. I checked, and the area where [Village of Food] is located is especially hot in the summer. It won't be too late to go when the weather cools down," Kevin replied.
Hearing this explanation, Buhara surprisingly nodded in agreement. He was obese, which was related to his Nen ability, but such hot weather was truly unbearable for him, and he couldn't muster any energy. This was also the reason he spent the entire summer leisurely at Nostra Manor. For him, summer was not a suitable season for work.
"Acting outside in the summer, aren't you afraid of getting a tan? Menchi is still a girl," Buhara grumbled.
In reality, Kevin knew that this was just an excuse. The real reason was that he had Neon do a divination for him. It wasn't done using the Nen ability [Automatic Writing of Angels], but through a formal divination method. You should know that Neon was an enthusiast in this field, and her techniques and judgment were absolutely professional. Plus, with the manifestation of her Nen ability, perhaps regular divination was also useful?
The divination result showed that Kevin's luck was mediocre in these few months. Hot weather easily made people irritable, things wouldn't go smoothly, and it was not advisable to take major actions. It was best to just get through it peacefully. Kevin asked Neon when the suitable time would be. Neon replied that it would be when the hot weather passed and the harvest season arrived.
Though this sounded a bit mystical, in this world already full of fantasy, and given that Neon was indeed a famous divination master, Kevin believed it. Coupled with the fact that he was already a bit lazy in the summer, he peacefully enjoyed his leisurely life. It wasn't that he wouldn't go—just that he would wait a bit longer.
"However, it's not good to keep being so leisurely. We can start making preparations. We'll set off when the weather cools down," Kevin said.
Buhara nodded, indicating that he would tell Menchi later.
During this period of leisure, Kevin happened to successfully imprint the abilities brought by the potions into his body, and his Nen volume also reached the 40,000 mark. At this moment, he felt his strength had greatly increased and felt it was time to safely go out and take action. The Phantom Beast Hunter was finally about to officially embark on the journey of hunting phantom beasts.
Hearing that Kevin was leaving the manor again to attend to his own matters, Kurapika and the others put away their leisurely mindset. At this stage, when Kevin was not present, the strongest people in the manor were Pairo and Kurapika. They were the absolute main force for the manor's defense. With Rosana's ability, Kevin could also leave with peace of mind. After all, fighting inside a building like the manor was undoubtedly Rosana's home ground. Even if the opponent was strong, sending out Pairo, Kurapika, and a few others, they wouldn't necessarily lose.
To be honest, even if it were Kevin, fighting them inside the building without understanding their Nen abilities, his chances of winning wouldn't be high. Especially Pairo's Nen ability—once activated, it was hard to guard against. What was even more terrifying was that the three of them possessed Scarlet Eyes, an ability that could be called a "cheat." In Kevin's opinion, the power of Scarlet Eyes could rival his own extra Nen ability. With three people here possessing powerful "cheats," he naturally had nothing to worry about.
During the preparation period, Dazarn found Kevin.
"If you leave, the manor's security level will drop by at least two levels." He needed to inform his employer of some risky situations. How to judge them required the boss to personally make a conclusion. Though he wasn't sure how Dazarn assessed such levels, Kevin still nodded.
"Don't worry, it's time for you to play your part. Feel free to use the potions I gave you when work requires it. If used for work, I will reimburse you for the potions."
Dazarn nodded. He wasn't worried about this aspect. Moreover, the other party's potions were truly outrageous and could greatly enhance his combat power. Not to mention how much he had been training during this time—his strength had also increased somewhat.
"I think we can recruit more people. There are quite a few good people outside. Forming a security team should be no problem. Though they may not be completely trustworthy, many people still have a sense of contract, and I will conduct background checks on them, and even set up tasks to observe them."
Hearing this, Kevin pondered for a moment. He indeed didn't know or interact much in this area, while Dazarn was clearly experienced in this regard.
"Then let's give it a try. You should be clear about my requirements. Don't recruit just anyone. First, screen some suitable candidates, and then I'll make a decision when I return. I should be back before the end of the year. Before that, Light's safety and the manor's safety will be temporarily entrusted to you."
"This is my duty." Dazarn nodded with a serious expression.
Kevin smiled with satisfaction. Though Dazarn's strength was average, his work attitude was commendable. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. At worst, he could slowly train and improve his strength later. After all, in Kevin's view, while strength was important, it wasn't everything.