New Potion X Ranking System

Kevin busied himself in the laboratory.

After obtaining the materials he had wanted from Mito yesterday, he had thrown himself into the experiment.

The experiment proceeded very smoothly. This material truly was an extraordinarily peculiar and precious substance.

Moreover, it was an exceptional Fusion Agent, as though it had been made specifically for the Bronze Scale.

If he used this material as a Fusion Agent, at least half the potion types Kevin had on hand could be improved in quality to varying degrees.

And the two materials that had previously failed to produce ideal results due to the lack of suitable Fusion Agents, yet could likewise inspire desire, finally had the potential to become satisfactory finished products.

Today, after getting sufficient rest, Kevin adjusted himself to his best condition.

The Alchemy Table appeared before him.

He placed the materials he had prepared long ago on it.

Gold Scale: Two-headed wolf Shedding Horn

Silver Scale: Moon Milk Opal

Bronze Scale: Unknown petals (dried and crushed)

[Effect: Aura becomes more sensitive to emotions and willpower, and can provide subtle feedback.]

The Aura I've trained up should be enough to serve as energy now, Kevin judged silently.

This time, every material he used was extremely rare. He possessed only one each of the Shedding Horn and the unknown petals.

If the experiment failed, the losses would be far too great.

However, based on his understanding and use of Nen abilities over the past few months, he felt that his current Aura should be enough to meet the requirements.

Even if there were slight fluctuations during the process, they should remain within a tolerable range.

Kevin took a deep breath. His Aura erupted violently, then he instantly entered a state of Zetsu.

All of his Aura poured into the potion-making machine.

The scales spun at a frantic speed, so fast that they were impossible to see clearly. Only a blurred ring of afterimages remained visible.

Half an hour passed, and sweat began to bead on Kevin's forehead.

An hour passed. Kevin's face had gone pale, and he was drenched in sweat.

An hour and a half passed. Weakness covered Kevin's face. His eyes were half-lidded, and he had to brace one hand against the nearby table to support himself.

I can't do this much longer.

The troublesome part was that Kevin had no way of judging how much longer the potion would take to brew.

During the brewing process, unless it reached the final moment of success, the entire Alchemy Table would continue operating at full speed without providing any feedback.

Kevin's vision kept darkening. He could only rely on sheer willpower to force himself to stay awake.

Hold on. Just a little longer.

By his calculations, even if it required more Aura than expected, it should not have exceeded his estimates by this much. It ought to be nearly finished.

Just hold on a little longer. If it fails now, the loss will be devastating.

Crack!

The instant the crisp sound rang out, Kevin used his final shred of strength without hesitation and pulled out the potion.

"Thud..."

Kevin had exhausted every last bit of strength. His body went limp, and he collapsed unconscious onto the floor with a heavy crash.

As Kevin lost consciousness, the Alchemy Table vanished as well, and the potion he had pulled out fell from his hand.

Kevin carried these potions with him, so the bottles were made of exceptionally sturdy material. He had paid a hefty sum to have them custom-made.

It was not until nightfall that Kevin slowly regained consciousness.

His entire body was overwhelmed by weakness and exhaustion. The feeling of being utterly drained was truly unpleasant.

Trembling, he pushed himself up. Moving sluggishly, he took several steps before finally reaching the cabinet beside him.

He took out several bottles of potion from the cabinet and poured them all into his mouth at once. As the liquid flowed down his throat, his body rapidly began to recover.

These few potions were nothing high-grade, merely concentrated versions of medicines commonly used in modern medicine.

Some treated fevers, some provided nutrients, and some balanced physiological conditions.

Fifteen minutes later, the effects of the medicine had run their course.

Only then did Kevin stand up again. His condition was finally somewhat better than before.

He picked up the fallen potion from the floor.

The finished product was a pinkish-purple liquid, speckled with glimmering starlight. It looked dreamlike and ethereal.

Kevin sat down on the sofa.

"Good thing it succeeded in the end. That process was far too dangerous... Still, this potion should only be C-Rank. This is probably the limit of this rank."

In Kevin's system for evaluating potions, they were ranked not only according to their ingredients and effects. More importantly, the key criteria were the time and Nen Aura he expended while brewing them.

Take D-Rank and C-Rank potions, for example. The difference in consumption between them was qualitative.

Over a month ago, Kevin needed no more than ten minutes to make a D-Rank potion.

At that time, brewing a C-Rank potion took Kevin an average of more than an hour.

If the amount of Nen in his body were quantified as data,

A D-Rank potion consumed no more than 1,000 points of Nen.

A C-Rank potion, meanwhile, required an average of over 5,000 points of Nen. The stronger the potion's effect, the more Nen it required.

Kevin estimated that this New Potion had consumed nearly 10,000 Nen points in total.

According to his previous classification standards, if the consumption exceeded 10,000 points, he would consider the potion to have reached B-Rank.

But he felt that the total Nen in his body had probably not even surpassed that figure yet, so the potion he brewed naturally could not meet B-Rank standards.

Fortunately, the New Potion had not exceeded that threshold either, so he had barely managed to complete it after all.

Looking at the potion in his hand, just how powerful was it?

Kevin could not judge with certainty, but it was undoubtedly unique. It could make his Aura react to emotions and willpower.

Aura already possessed such effects by nature. He simply did not know exactly how much this potion had enhanced them.

Still, one thing was certain: when it involved Nen, the potion's effects did indeed correspond with its main and supplementary ingredients.

As for its use... Could he use his own Aura to probe another person's emotions? Or sense their hostility toward him through it?

But considering that the effect lasted only fifteen minutes, perhaps this potion could only prove useful under certain special circumstances.

"This potion will be called the [Sense Potion]," Kevin murmured.

No matter what, he had successfully created a New Potion and clarified the kind of potion effects Moment's Dream could achieve.

That alone was enough to satisfy Kevin.

"Now that it's confirmed, it's time to try constructing my own Nen ability."

His primary reason for striving to use these materials to create finished products with the intended effects had always been to explore the limits of his own Nen ability.

That was, whether he could grant his Aura certain Traits or produce some form of Transformation.

This kind of functional Nen ability would not tell him about itself. The surviving experimental records and the fragmented memories in his mind contained absolutely no relevant knowledge.

The only possibility was that his original body, which had not been trained enough, was incapable of brewing high-rank potions.

And the Power Potion did not fulfill his idea, because its effects could essentially be considered stimulation and enhancement of the body.

Whether he could alter Aura was the answer he wanted for the time being.

This was of vital importance to him.

During these three months at Sky Arena, aside from fighting, training, and studying, the thing Kevin did most often was watch battles.

And they were all battles above the 200th Floor.

The battles above the 200th Floor were all duels between Nen users, though they did not occur frequently. Usually, there was only one every few days.

Kevin attended almost every match.

His sole reason for doing so was to use his Ren from the stands, relying on his exceptional control over Nen to closely observe both combatants.

He judged which Nen category they belonged to and inferred the specific effects of their Nen abilities.

Then, combining that with the battle's outcome, he further deepened his understanding of the various kinds of Nen abilities he had previously learned from Biscuit.

This allowed his understanding of Nen abilities to advance by leaps and bounds in only three short months, and he had developed his own insights.

Observe, analyze, summarize.

Those three things seemed engraved into his mind.

His understanding of Nen abilities, his insight into himself, and his familiarity with his cheat ability.

The three intertwined, helping Kevin construct the Nen ability he had always dreamed of—one that matched his original goal.

It would perfectly combine his talent with his Nen ability, bypass the shortcomings of his body, and create such a Nen ability.

And now, the final crucial step had been determined.

He had already clarified the direction for constructing his Nen ability and formed an initial framework.