"Crack!"
A crisp sound rang out, like a slot disengaging.
The pharmaceutical table, which had been materialized with its pan spinning rapidly, came to a complete stop.
At the same time, with that sound, the potion tube stored in the base popped out slightly.
With a thud, Kevin, who had been forced to stand the entire time, plopped down onto the ground.
"Whew!"
He was panting heavily.
"This is even more tiring than training with Wing."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. During that hour, his entire body had been drenched.
Throughout the pharmaceutical process, his aura had been continuously consumed. At first he hadn't felt much, but later, as his stamina and aura gradually became insufficient, it kept drawing from him.
This was different from the fatigue of battle. It was a sense of loss. Even while standing still, he could clearly feel something being drained away.
The physical sensation was far more uncomfortable than fighting.
He struggled to get up. He had to pull out the potion first. If it remained inserted, it would continue consuming his aura.
Once the potion was removed, the pharmaceutical table immediately disappeared.
Kevin slumped into a nearby chair, weakly shaking the potion in his hand.
Through the transparent glass bottle, he could see the orange-red liquid sloshing inside, like molten iron.
"Anyway, after training, I can finally create the theoretical potion."
Although the formula for this potion was etched in his mind, he had never seen a finished product in his memories.
Because this Nen Ability had a restriction.
When pharmaceutical production began, the output power depended on Kevin's manifest aura, and he would continuously enter a state close to Zetsu.
The greater his manifest aura, the stronger the output power, the shorter the refinement time, and the shorter the duration of that forced Zetsu-like state.
The total "electricity" consumed during the pharmaceutical process represented his latent aura.
What would happen if the conditions weren't met?
There would be a power outage.
The entire pharmaceutical process would stop, and everything previously invested would be wasted. A complete failure.
What was mainly wasted was the materials.
The more advanced the materials, the more powerful the potion. And the more powerful the potion, the more likely it required sufficient latent aura to sustain it.
Therefore, the stronger one became, the more painful failure might be.
Previously, Kevin had stopped experimenting after failing a few times. Now, with more knowledge to support him, he understood the mechanics clearly.
Kevin looked at the potion in his hand.
"Let's just call it the Strength Potion."
All potions produced only lasted for fifteen minutes. Whether poison or enhancement, the duration was fixed.
"So that's why it's called A Moment's Dream? How fitting."
He put the potion away, turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed.
Though his body was exhausted, he stared at the ceiling in the darkness.
"So, what about my own Nen Ability?"
He asked himself quietly.
As an Enhancement type, he couldn't think of anything flashy. Nor would flashy abilities suit him.
Enhancement was the most direct. The most offensive.
Simple and straightforward was best.
"Construct it based on your initial thoughts. Based on your most fundamental idea."
Biscuit's words echoed in his mind.
But how?
His initial thought was to create something that could cooperate with A Moment of Dream, with his powerful aura manipulation, and with the 80% efficiency of adjacent systems.
But he also had to consider a cost.
His terrible physical learning ability.
His mind was sharp. His academic learning was top-notch.
But his body learned painfully slowly.
As an Enhancement type, he would either enhance himself or enhance an object.
Enhance A Moment of Dream?
The idea surfaced and was immediately rejected.
That would limit him. It would turn him into a pure support.
And it would waste his monstrous aura control.
The more he understood Nen, the more he realized A Moment of Dream was not as overwhelmingly powerful as he had once believed. It had many restrictions.
It was auxiliary.
He was greedy.
He wanted everything.
His Nen Ability had to be a connector.
It had to link A Moment of Dream, his aura control, and his dual-system advantage.
Only by making all his talents complement each other could he truly become powerful.
How?
Sleepiness gradually crept in.
…
Sky Arena – 145th Floor
The next day.
Kevin sat in the spectator area of B Arena on the 145th floor.
He had bought a ticket and was watching the battle below as a member of the audience.
He had heard that today's fight was extremely popular, featuring a highly talked-about contestant. He had barely secured a ticket the day before.
To be honest, he was looking forward to it.
In his previous world, he had never watched real competitive fighting. Let alone fights where death was a possibility.
The spectator area was packed.
The host shouted passionately,
"Ladies and gentlemen! The eagerly awaited showdown is about to begin!
Let us first welcome the contestants!"
Cheers erupted throughout the arena.
One fighter's title received overwhelmingly louder applause, nearly 80% of the crowd, many of them women.
Although he hadn't checked statistics, Kevin estimated most of the audience in Sky Arena were male.
So this must be the talked-about contestant.
"First, at only sixteen years old, the new star of Hengwu Dojo, 'Torrent'—Augu Cheng!"
Polite applause followed.
A young man in a sky-blue martial arts uniform stepped onto the stage.
Young. Likely leg-focused attacks. Balanced stance.
Kevin analyzed from his seat.
"And his opponent, at only six years old, having reached the 140th floor in just two months, the young assassin of the famous Zoldyck Family, 'White Cat'—Killua Zoldyck!!"
Thunderous cheers exploded through the arena.
Kevin rubbed his ears.
Six years old?
Is that correct?
Amid his disbelief, a small boy walked onto the stage.
White, messy hair.
A delicate face.
An annoyed expression.
From Kevin's perspective, the child had no visible aura leakage beyond normal.
Not a Nen user.
That shocked him even more.
He had to completely discard his previous worldview and reassess this world's standards.
"What White Cat! It should at least be White Wolf! Or even Leopard!"
Killua shouted angrily at the crowd, clearly dissatisfied with his cute nickname.
When he leapt lightly onto the ring, his opponent was already in stance, fully focused, showing not the slightest hint of contempt.
Kevin leaned forward slightly.
This world.
Was far more interesting than he had imagined.