The indoor training dojo at Nostra Mansion was incredibly spacious, resembling a medium-sized indoor sports arena. In essence, perhaps they weren't all that different.
It was a two-story building, located within the mansion grounds, adjacent to a patch of woods. After all, a 'mansion' was a regional complex covering a vast area, situated within a private, small forest bordering a city. This oval-shaped building lay quietly on the ground.
If placed in a city, it would be a standard small gymnasium, but now, built within the Nostra Mansion, it became a private exclusive venue. For the Nostra Mansion, constructing such a place was not difficult, as they were the underground kings of this city. Moreover, they were now gradually stepping into the light, striving to wash away the stains upon them. The company had been established, and though the pharmaceuticals were not yet fully distributed for sale, their position remained as solid as a rock, unshakeable.
This double-story training dojo had a lower level used for combat and various training activities requiring open space, while the upper level was equipped with all sorts of training equipment, aimed at helping people strengthen their abilities. This building was constructed rapidly in the months after Kevin and Light began their collaboration and was officially put into use at the beginning of this month.
Currently, within the training dojo, the three Kurutas, Neon, and Kevin were all training.
"That's amazing. When will I be able to reach that level?" Kurapika, who was resting on a stool, looked at Kevin, who stood tall and straight in the center of the field, and couldn't help but exclaim.
Since 'opening Nen', their eyes could clearly see the existence of Nen. Since then, in their eyes, the world seemed to have gained many different colors. Just like Kevin, who was currently training, he was performing the most basic 'Training', bursting out the Nen within his body. Continuously maintaining this state of extreme outburst could effectively train the Nen within the body, making it more abundant. It could also significantly increase both potential Nen capacity and manifest Nen capacity, which were important indicators for combat.
As for controlling Nen, Kevin was extraordinarily gifted, naturally possessing a high degree of control, requiring no extra effort. So, in everyone's eyes, Kevin at this moment was like a Saiyan from an anime; the Nen surrounding him was like a fiercely burning flame, constantly rising upwards.
Hearing Kurapika's words full of envy, Pairo next to him rolled his eyes: "No chance. Master Bisky said that Uncle Kevin's basic ability growth speed is incredibly difficult to comprehend." He specifically emphasized: "Master Bisky is Master Mori's Master, and also Uncle Kevin's Master. She must be very powerful."
Upon hearing this, Kurapika's expression was slightly strange, and he couldn't help but say: "But Master Bisky doesn't look much older than us, similar to Neon."
Pairo pouted, instinctively glancing left and right, then remembered that Bisky had already left. He lowered his voice and whispered: "I heard Master Mori say that Master Bisky is over fifty years old. Her current appearance is definitely changed using Nen Ability. She's just a liar who likes to pretend to be young, and her personality is terrible."
"Ah? Is she that old? Then we should call her Grandma."
"Go ahead and call her if you dare," Pairo said indifferently. If someone really dared to call her that, he would be so happy.
Kurapika wasn't stupid. He smiled awkwardly and waved his hand; he didn't have the guts for that. It wasn't like he hadn't witnessed Bisky's somewhat terrible personality. She just liked to tease them, these little kids, from time to time. He was relatively lucky. Pairo had been teased by Bisky quite a bit recently, which was why he said Bisky had a terrible personality. This was actually related to Bisky's personality.
For someone as innocent as Kurapika is now, Bisky would tease him a couple of times and then find it boring, as it was too dull. But for children like Pairo, who acted like a little adult and had mature thoughts beyond his age, they were Bisky's favorite "pastimes." Teasing such children was only fun for her. Therefore, Pairo had completely become Bisky's entertainment object during her leisure time recently. As for whether Pairo himself was willing, that was unknown.
"Sister Bisky is very amazing! You're not allowed to say bad things about her, or I'll call and tell her." Neon, who was sitting next to Kurapika, suddenly said.
Pairo rolled his eyes helplessly. He wouldn't lower himself to her level. He casually added: "I was just talking about her personality, not her ability." Of course she's amazing, you don't need to tell me that.
"Hmph!" Neon snorted softly, tilted her head back, and then affectionately linked her arm with Kurapika's. She whispered: "Let me tell you, Sister Bisky is a Gem Hunter, super amazing! She also has lots and lots of beautiful gems!" As she spoke, Neon's eyes sparkled with excitement. What girl could resist the charm of beautiful, glittering gems?
Kurapika and Pairo really didn't know much about this. Pairo also leaned in curiously, pricking up his ears to listen.
"A Hunter, that's really amazing." Kurapika said with a look of longing.
They knew that Kevin had left before to participate in the Hunter Exam and had searched for a lot of related information online. Naturally, they knew how difficult the Hunter Exam was. And those very powerful privileges, just thinking about them made them realize how amazing they were.
"Gem Hunter? Do they specialize in collecting gems?" Pairo asked curiously. He wasn't very knowledgeable in this area.
Neon nodded.
Although Pairo didn't say it out loud, he found this rather boring. What was the point of collecting them? Couldn't you just buy them? Besides being pretty, they weren't very useful, and they were terribly expensive. Pairo adhered to a certain degree of pragmatism.
"She said Uncle Kevin is like an emerald," Neon excitedly shared what she knew with her two friends.
Recently, Bisky's favorite child was Neon. She took her out to wander around the mansion, and even on the streets, every day. She loved dressing her up and went shopping daily. On the surface, they looked like friends of the same age, but Bisky was psychologically over fifty years old. Women of this age tend to have overflowing maternal love. It was exactly the kind of companionship Neon had always longed for.
In just a few days, Bisky had almost replaced the position of mother in Neon's heart. Neon lost her mother at a young age. Her father doted on her, and coupled with his special job, she had almost no friends her age. Even if she had friends, others were always overly respectful to her.
Therefore, the arrival of Kurapika and Pairo made her very happy. Bisky's appearance made her even more delighted. And Bisky also really liked this child, so she kept her by her side every day.
Before Bisky left, she specifically told Neon in advance, and then quietly left on a morning when Neon was sound asleep. Otherwise, Neon would definitely have cried and fussed incessantly. Bisky was a very emotional person and couldn't stand such situations.
"Emerald? What's that?" Although Pairo usually read a lot of books, he really wasn't interested in this kind of thing and had no idea what an emerald was.
"I think I saw it in a book. It's a very expensive gem, right?" Kurapika scratched his head, trying hard to recall.
Neon nodded enthusiastically. "It's a very precious jade! In some ancient countries with long histories, it was even called the King of Jade! It is said that this stone is often used to symbolize a person's moral character, embodying the jade's wisdom, benevolence, righteousness, courage, and purity, symbolizing a person's integrity, tolerance, and self-cultivation. And you know, if you want to make it into expensive jewelry, it has to go through very complex processes."
Listening to Neon's account, the two boys listened attentively. With their intelligence, they immediately understood that Bisky seemed to be "using stones to describe people" based on her own perspective and experience. Kevin had shown them great kindness, so they were eager to learn more about this uncle and make the connections one by one.
Seeing the two of them looking like attentive listeners, Neon became even more enthusiastic. Usually, she couldn't keep up with training or studying, but now was a good opportunity to be ahead of the two of them.
"Emeralds are usually hidden inside some large stones, and it's hard to see them from the outside. You have to cut them open to see the emerald inside. Even cutting it open isn't enough; you still have to engrave and polish it, and the engraving needs to be 'tailored to the material'!"
"What does that mean?" Kurapika asked the question at the right time, acting as an excellent foil.
"I looked up information online and saw lots of pictures. They're really beautiful. After emeralds are mined and cut, there are different colors of 'fei' and 'cui'. The shades vary, and they will blend with each other, and they have clear natural patterns, not just simple colors. Excellent carvers will carve different works based on these colors to fully showcase the artistic conception that these different colors and patterns can express. Also, it's said that emeralds are prone to have inclusions and cracks, but for top sculptors, these inclusions and cracks can instead showcase a different kind of beauty."
When Bisky said this, she had a look of pride, because she was exactly that kind of top sculptor.
As she spoke, Neon deliberately twisted her waist, and only then did the two of them notice that she had a flat, round jade stone hanging from the belt of her inner lining, with a emerald green and a hint of pure white color, and a red tassel dangling from the end.
"Is this an emerald?" Pairo asked eagerly.
Neon nodded proudly. "This was given to me by Sister Bisky, and she carved it herself!" This was her big treasure recently, and she wore it on her body every day.
Carved on the jade stone was a bird they couldn't name, with long, beautiful tail feathers.
"So this is an emerald." Kurapika looked as if he had just learned this.
As he spoke, he actually pulled out a similar emerald ornament from his own inner pocket. Its shape was identical to Neon's.
"Ours are the same!" Neon excitedly hugged Kurapika's arm. Although she didn't know why she was happy, seeing that the two of them had the same thing just made her happy.
However, the emerald ornament on Kurapika's was not a bird, but a long, strip-shaped animal.
"I know this, it's a type of totem, I think it's called a dragon," Pairo said directly.
"A giant dragon?" Neon asked. As soon as she mentioned dragons, she thought of the image of an evil dragon stealing a princess.
Pairo shook his head. "No, it's just a dragon, not a giant dragon, evil dragon, or anything like that."
At this moment, Kevin, who was standing in the center of the dojo, although he had been maintaining the bursting state of his Nen, his perception of the surrounding movements had not decreased at all.
He clearly heard the conversation of the three children and rolled his eyes helplessly. How could he not understand Bisky's intention in giving these two things? She was just trying to force a couple. He didn't know where she came up with these symbolic meanings, but Kevin had to admit they were quite fitting and even made him feel a sense of nostalgia.
At this time, Pairo fell into contemplation. The conversation between his two friends made him feel uneasy. Undoubtedly, both of their gifts were from Bisky. Now that both of them had one, guess who didn't?
It wasn't that he cared about the gift from Bisky, but mainly because Bisky used emerald, this kind of jade stone, to compare Kevin, which made him want one too. Damn it, this vengeful old woman. I'll buy one myself later.
"Bisky said you are like a blood diamond," Neon said, looking at Kurapika. She continued the previous topic.
Hearing another "comparing people to stones," and this time it was Kurapika, Pairo immediately perked up his ears, his attention instantly drawn over. Comparing his brother, he had to listen carefully—after all, Bisky should be very skilled.
"What is a blood diamond? Is it a red diamond?" Kurapika asked, and thinking of red, his mood inexplicably became a little low.
Neon had clearly done thorough research and understanding in this area and said without hesitation: "It's a red gem—or rather a diamond—very rare. It symbolizes blood, passion, and burning. Its surface hardness is very high—after all, it's a diamond—but if there are cracks inside, it will become extremely fragile. This rare gem is also called the 'Stone of Love and Courage,' symbolizing purity, as well as the will and character to persevere."
As Neon spoke, she added a little bit of her own interpretation. She was a diviner, and she was most interested in such mysterious things. There were also methods of divination using gems and various stones in divination. She was quite interested in the symbolic metaphors represented by various stones. However, she knew when to stop and wouldn't make rash judgments—this was her professional ethics as a diviner.
Kurapika fell into contemplation. He didn't know what he had realized, but looking at his expression, it seemed this metaphor was very fitting for him.
Pairo, listening nearby, had to admit that Bisky's way of comparing people was quite unique. He understood Kurapika very well. The characteristics and expressions represented by each stone seemed to be very close to the person being compared.
"What about Pairo? Did she say what kind of stone Pairo is like?" Kurapika perked up again and asked curiously.
"Yes, yes, let me think—what stone did she say it was?" Neon fell into memory.
Pairo had silently changed from sitting to squatting on the chair, his eyes turning into dead fish eyes, staring straight at Neon. Damn it, you remember clearly what's related to Kurapika, but you don't even bother to remember what's related to me, right? You're too obvious!
Thinking this, he silently looked at Kurapika again.
"Hmm?" Kurapika looked at Pairo with clear eyes, as if asking what he wanted to say.
Pairo sighed helplessly, looking like he was disappointed. Idiot Kurapika, when you still don't understand anything, the "enemy" has already started to "attack"! You're hopeless in this life. Neon, this woman, looks innocent, but in reality, she's full of little tricks.
Thinking of this, he inexplicably thought of Bisky again. Damn it, is it true that birds of a feather flock together? Natural masters of disguise—it's too terrifying. It's over, my poor dear friend Kurapika, this woman Neon will cling to you like an octopus, sucking you tightly. By the time you react, you'll have fallen into her trap and won't be able to break free. How tragic!
Pairo sighed silently again, looking at Kurapika with pity, as if saying that his life was over.
Kurapika looked bewildered, completely not understanding what was wrong with Pairo. Is Pairo trying to say something?
"I remember now—it's also a diamond, a black diamond."
"A black diamond?" Pairo quickly shifted his attention.
"Yeah, but I didn't look into it in detail. If you're interested, you can look it up yourself." Neon said this casually, still holding Kurapika's hand.
Pairo's face, which he was trying so hard to keep calm, finally started to crack a little.
"Pfft."
"Mommy knows—do you want to ask Mommy?" Rosana, who had just finished exercising and still had sweat on her face, suddenly leaned in front of Kurapika and asked with a smile.
"What is it, Mommy?" Kurapika asked curiously.
However, Rosana's gaze was not on Kurapika's face at all, but silently fell on Neon's hand holding Kurapika's. Even in front of Kurapika's mother, Neon still held his hand calmly and naturally. Judging by her expression, it was as if she didn't even realize there was anything inappropriate about her actions. She fully utilized her age advantage.
A strange yet brilliant smile appeared on Rosana's face.
It's too terrifying—this woman, could she have used some Nen ability? Pairo remained outwardly calm, but his mind was in turmoil. Neon had Nen ability from the beginning, but they didn't know what her specific ability was.
Rosana spoke: "Black diamonds are also a very rare type of diamond. Their hardness is even higher than Kurapika's blood diamond. Unlike ordinary diamonds, their internal structure is not transparent crystal. Special elements inside make them appear black, and only the core part will have crystal flashes. They naturally contain more impurities and cracks. The cutting technique requires extremely high skill—if there is even a slight mistake, it can cause it to shatter."
Rosana didn't give too much interpretation; she simply stated the information she knew.
After listening, the three of them fell into silent thought. Pairo was also a little silent.
Rosana smiled, squatting in front of them with her knees hugged. Suddenly she asked: "Then did she say what kind of gem I am?"
Although her knowledge and experience were not extensive, she understood her only two relatives very well. She had to admit that these metaphors were very accurate. This also piqued her curiosity.
Neon immediately looked up and replied: "It's a pearl, it's a pearl! I've always remembered it."
Is it because she's Kurapika's mother? My poor brother, now he's even more unable to escape. Pairo secretly complained in his heart, but outwardly he remained calm and kept a serene expression.
"What about yourself?" he asked.
"I am a diviner. I don't do divination for myself, and I don't listen to other people's metaphors about me." Neon said this very seriously, firmly adhering to her principles as a diviner. She was very persistent in this regard.