Inside the training ground, Kevin kept experimenting with the potion's effects, and half an hour quickly passed. Because he was so engrossed in his experiments, his Enhancement fists swung everywhere. The entire training ground became a mess—sandbags flying everywhere, a scene of complete chaos.
"Uncle's ability has grown stronger again. As expected, Enhancement abilities look powerful." Kurapika watched Kevin's series of actions from the rest area and couldn't help commenting. He still couldn't forget about Enhancement.
Pairo nodded in agreement. In terms of explosive power and visual effect, Kevin's Enhancement attacks were indeed very impactful—possessing an intuitive sense of power and beauty. Pure strength.
Looking at the mess he'd made of the training ground, as the potion's effects gradually faded, Kevin stretched his limbs, then took out his phone. "Hello? Hawa, send someone to clean up the training ground and repair it." After giving the notice, he hung up.
Having experienced the potion's effects, it was time to consider other issues. Kevin stood in place, arms crossed, lost in thought. He was carefully sensing changes in his body. After all, strictly speaking, this was his first time using the [Syringe] in conjunction with a potion for experimentation, and using [Blank Meteor] to assist learning. What changes would longer experimentation, deeper understanding, and different methods than before bring? These questions would be answered during this trial.
Moreover, the biggest change this time was that the potion's strength reached "B-Grade." This was Kevin's first time creating a potion of this grade. Just from the most basic aspect—the amount of Nen required for crafting—this potion consumed several times more Nen than [Strength Potion] and [Iron Wall Potion].
First, the potion's type needed determination. Learnable potions divided into two types. Unfortunately, this wasn't a state-adding potion like [Strength Potion]. That meant the effect wouldn't incrementally increase with each potion consumed for learning and "memorization" until reaching the potion's effect level. It belonged to the same type of ability-altering potion as [Iron Wall Potion]—either you knew it or you didn't. There was a progress bar during learning, and when it reached 100%, it was considered learned. At that time, you could exert the same effect as the potion.
And the learning progress this time was only 5%? Based on this calculation, would it take twenty bottles total to learn this ability?
When this thought arose, Kevin shook his head. He couldn't calculate simply based on this data. No, according to previous experience, learning progress would likely decrease slightly in the future. Learning progress each time couldn't be exactly the same. He was human, not a machine—his body wasn't balanced mechanical equipment. It would fluctuate based on factors like daily state and familiarity with the ability. Perhaps future daily progress might even increase faster.
However, it was certain that after exceeding 75%, the learning progress bar's growth trend would gradually decrease. This was experience gained from previous potion types—he didn't know if it applied this time. Logically, it should be the same. But considering one was C-Grade and one was B-Grade made his head hurt. Conservatively estimated, at least five additional potion bottles were needed for possible mastery.
"Does the lowest B-Grade potion require so many uses to learn?" Kevin muttered.
The number of times needed for memorization was directly double that of C-Grade potions. Because his current potion usage situation differed from before—he already had a new Nen ability to assist. Kevin used the [Syringe], which made the memorization experience better and doubled learning time. Without the [Syringe], it might require around sixty bottles or even more to complete learning and memorization.
With his current materials, the Double-Headed Wolf horns definitely weren't enough to make that many potions.
"Good, good." Kevin patted his chest and sighed.
Just as he'd anticipated and prepared for—the higher the potion grade, the greater the learning difficulty, and the more materials required. But the problem was, the more advanced the potion materials, the harder they were to obtain. Each stage of improvement increased both material acquisition difficulty and learning level.
Especially those materials with a certain uniqueness—they were extremely difficult to obtain. Moreover, when combining materials into different potions, there would also be some subtle losses, and these were all problems. Thinking of this, Kevin couldn't help but get a headache.
Let's worry about future matters later. At least now, the combination of my Nen abilities has perfectly met my expectations. Though many problems were avoided by combining Nen abilities, Nen abilities were Nen abilities after all—they came with a price. The more powerful the ability, the more you had to pay.
As for naming this potion, since it was B-Grade, five characters would determine it. D-Grade had three characters, C-Grade had four. The naming method would follow this pattern in the future.
[Adjudicator Potion]
Yes, that name would do.
At this time, Kevin contemplated the knowledge, while Pairo and the others chatted in the rest area.
"Have you thought about what you want to materialize?" Pairo asked curiously. Though Kevin hadn't allowed Kurapika to construct his Nen ability this year, he permitted advance preparation. After all, Materialization was quite troublesome—familiarity with the object you wanted to materialize took considerable time. That's why Pairo asked.
Kurapika nodded. "I've thought about it. After learning Nen ability characteristics, I had an idea."
"What is it?"
"Chains!"
"Chains?" Rosana looked at her son.
Kurapika nodded firmly. "Those villains should be bound with chains and face judgment. No—not just those villains, all villains in the world should be bound by chains." He clenched his hands tightly, tone firm, as if upholding his beliefs.
Listening to her son's words, Rosana felt relief for some reason. Not a knife, not a sword, not sharp weapons—but chains. This showed her son hadn't become extreme or radical due to hatred, as she'd feared. Thinking this, she couldn't help hugging Kurapika, pulling him into her arms. "Good boy."
"Mom?" Kurapika was confused.
Pairo listened, lost in thought. If it were him, what would he materialize? Without doubt, a spear. Villains like them should suffer impalement punishment. He didn't want binding for judgment—he wanted to kill them directly, or even torture them. Compared to Kurapika, he'd changed too much. But he didn't regret it, nor was he ashamed. Since Kurapika wanted to bind enemies for judgment, then he would be the one to judge and execute them. He'd be very happy to take this step.
Kurapika finally broke free from his mother's embrace and smiled at Pairo. "And aren't chains good? They can help control enemies, so your Nen ability can be used more easily, right?"
These words made Pairo pause. He looked at Kurapika, a smile on his face, and punched him. "You guy."
"What's wrong? Isn't it good?"
"No, it's great!"
Rosana smiled watching this scene. Wonderful to see her son grow up with his best friend beside him.
"Mom, what about you? You can construct your Nen ability directly—what are you thinking?" Kurapika asked, holding Rosana's hand.
Rosana had a playful smile and poked Kurapika's nose. "Hmph, I won't tell you, because you look down on Mom." She pulled her hand from Kurapika's embrace and crossed her arms.
"I didn't," Kurapika quickly said. He was already so big—his mother still pulled him into her arms. So embarrassing—he had his pride too.
"Hehe, I can tell you. It's home."
"Home?" Kurapika and Pairo were confused. Rosana just smiled and nodded, not explaining further.
More than two months had passed since Kevin obtained his hunter license.
In the small conference room of the Nostra Family mansion, Kevin and Light sat facing each other, chatting and drinking tea.
Light said with excitement, "The approval results came down this week. Our medicine can be successfully launched." This meant the Nostra Family would take another step forward, ushering in broader development prospects and future. How could this not excite Light? He felt he'd taken a big step, leading the family toward a higher goal.
Seeing Light's excitement, Kevin smiled. "You should be more composed. This is just the beginning. Our goal is to become the pharmaceutical industry's overlord—to become the leading enterprise in medicine."
Listening to Kevin's confident words, Light licked his dry lips, swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded vigorously. Thinking of several other drugs currently under review made it difficult to suppress his excitement.
"You're right. I'm still not composed enough." It was somewhat strange for a man in his forties to say he wasn't steady enough to Kevin in his twenties. But this drug's launch was too important for Light. In recent months, he'd devoted himself entirely to company affairs and drug approval work. He spent most of his time dealing with various complex matters—as if he'd found the passion for developing his family business back in the day.
Kevin leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
Suddenly, Kevin asked in a low voice, "Have all the things that need to be dealt with been taken care of? Don't cling to the past anymore."
Hearing this, Light immediately calmed down, looked at Kevin, frowned, and nodded seriously. "Of course. You don't need to worry about that at all. From the moment I partnered with you, I started working on it."
After several months of effort, Light, despite opposition from most family subordinates, had resolutely cleaned out those in the family who were out of control and still engaged in illegal industries under the ban. He sold off all illegal industries he held, completely cleaned up related loose ends, and properly whitewashed all evidence and relevant personnel. It looked as if he was going to abandon the family and make a quick buck. Under such circumstances, it was natural for those below to worry.
Compared to establishing the pharmaceutical company and drug launch review, this aspect of work was where Light truly spent significant time and energy. Fortunately, small gangs in the city, seeing the Nostra Family's actions, scrambled to seize abandoned industries—which helped a lot. However, most watched, observing what the Nostra Family head would do next. They had, of course, discovered the Nostra Family invested in a pharmaceutical company, with all money from selling industries poured into it.
Though many didn't understand Nostra's madness, at this point they didn't dare truly target him for elimination. Those ambitious individuals waited for his final move—to see if this guy was really going to wash ashore and go legit. That wasn't so easy. It wasn't just a problem with gangs; government officials operating openly wouldn't easily allow such behavior either.
Light picked up reports from the table. "I've safely disposed of the family's illegal firearms and re-established a security company. The original thugs loyal to the family, as well as weapons and equipment, have all been incorporated into this company."
Kevin nodded and asked, "So, have you encountered any difficulties in company development so far?"
Light thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, there are." He explained in detail. "There's a shortage of management talent. As you know, the Nostra Family used to be just a gang. Except for Tebi, most others are just reckless thugs. Even Tebi, and even myself, tend to be too direct when dealing with problems—more or less used to solving things with violence."
At this point, Light sighed helplessly. The gang imprint of the Nostra Family was indeed difficult to erase. Both their way of doing things and way of thinking were deeply influenced by it. Simply put, the company's development prospects were foreseeable, but currently lacked suitable staff.
Hearing this, Kevin smiled helplessly and shook his head. "Your idea is too old-fashioned. You're running a legitimate company now. You should post commissions at talent agencies and put up recruitment notices. Clearly state what kind of personnel are needed, what specific requirements there are, what regulations there are for education, and so on. If that doesn't work, you can directly post a commission on the Hunter website—there will be specialized talent Hunters to solve this problem for you."
That's right—there was even a special profession called "Talent Hunter" in the Hunter Association. They were closely connected with major companies and powers, specializing in finding various talented individuals with special abilities. To be honest, every time Kevin saw these various Hunters, he found it quite novel. It seemed anything could be considered "prey."
"Also, you need to completely change your gang mindset. Since you've started a company, you can't use those so-called concepts of loyalty and bloody rules from the past to establish authority anymore. A complete system, reasonable benefits, and generous compensation are the key elements for running a company. As long as the company has a bright future, countless talents will naturally want to join. After our drug launches, the company will definitely become famous—it'll be easier to recruit people then."
Kevin spoke non-stop, sharing experiences from his previous world one by one. For Light, who had spent half his life struggling in the city's dark side, it was indeed difficult to completely rid himself of violent and dark elements. It required time to slowly wash them away.
"It's almost April 1st. If nothing unexpected happens, our drug will launch in the first week of April," Light finally said.
Kevin looked at him and nodded slightly. "At this time, it's indeed a good idea to ask Neon for a fortune-telling."
Though Neon possessed the ability to predict the next month's situation, Kevin always maintained a serious attitude toward using her ability and never had the idea of abusing it. His behavior influenced Light. Therefore, they usually discussed using Neon's Nen ability. Though no formal rule existed, both tacitly followed this unwritten understanding. Of course, if truly necessary, having Neon do a reading would be no problem.
However, it was foreseeable that whenever they encountered important matters, they would first ask Neon for a reading—just in case.
After reaching an agreement, the two left the conference room.
The next day, near noon, Kevin and Light arrived at the living room.
Rosana sat on the sofa, several books on the coffee table before her. She flipped through them while working on her laptop. With the company's first drug about to launch, Rosana had temporarily shifted focus to company affairs, becoming busy.
Light had to admit that in business management experience and learning ability, Rosana was surpassing him at an extremely fast pace. After all, he himself didn't have much experience in this area. It was truly the right decision to rescue those people back then. At that time, he had just gently extended a helping hand, and a few months later, these people gave him unimaginable returns. Divination and prophecy were truly amazing.
"Where's Neon?" Light asked.
The maid standing in the living room immediately replied, "Miss is in the training ground with Young Master Kurapika and Young Master Pairo."
Light nodded. "Go and call her over."
Kevin added, "Call Kurapika and Pairo over too."
Light glanced at Kevin, understanding the meaning behind these words. Kevin simply nodded. "It's about time."
Light nodded in response and said nothing more. After all, this was something they would have to face sooner or later.
Rosana watched their exchange. Her earlier movement to get up halted, and she sat back down. After learning about Nen ability, she had guessed that Neon's ability might be crucial and highly confidential. So, at necessary times, she would avoid. That's when she understood why Kevin included Neon when he said the six of them were a team. At the time, she thought it was because of Light, but later, after careful consideration, it was likely due to some special ability of Neon herself.
After being rescued by Kevin, she had observed carefully along the way. She clearly felt Kevin and Light were very unfamiliar at first—their relationship only slightly more familiar than strangers. But in the short month that followed, their relationship quickly warmed, and they became closely bound together. At that time, she didn't understand the reason, but now, as she learned more about the outside world, she gradually understood these changes. However, out of trust in Kevin, she never proactively inquired about this matter. Like her two sons, she was obedient to Kevin and simply acted according to his instructions.
But judging from today's situation, perhaps that secret was about to be revealed.
Not long after, the three children walked over together, still talking in low voices along the way. Neon happily linked arms with Kurapika, whose face was slightly red and seemed a bit uncomfortable. Pairo remained outwardly calm, but the mischievous grin in his eyes couldn't be hidden.
Kevin looked at Light.
Light just rubbed his forehead and didn't speak. Though he doted on his daughter, he also knew her thoughts. Moreover, he was a very realistic person. In his opinion, Kurapika was undoubtedly a very good choice. He had no sons, only one daughter, Neon. And Kurapika had already begun to show excellent qualities.
Now, Kurapika had suffered the tragedy of his clan's destruction, with only his mother beside him. Kevin was nominally his uncle but in reality more like a direct master, and was in deep cooperation with him. The six of them were already closely connected through various relationships.
Light was very happy to see this relationship become more stable. Therefore, he was happy to see his daughter's actions succeed. Besides, this was his daughter's own will, and it benefited both sides. It would be good if he didn't add fuel to the fire—so how could he stop it?