Gifts and Unanswered Questions

The two chatted happily outside the cave.

Jin was mainly eager to share, talking endlessly about all sorts of things he had seen and heard.

Kevin chimed in from time to time. Though his responses were simple, he was actually listening with rapt attention and great interest.

Previously, Kevin had received a brief introduction to Jin from Biscuit.

This was how Biscuit had put it: "In the old man's words, he's one of the Five Great Nen Users in the world."

The old man she referred to was Netero, the current Chairman of the Hunter Association. In Biscuit's eyes, the Chairman possessed terrifying strength. As for Jin, he ranked among the top five Nen users in the world.

When Kevin had first heard that title, he could not help scratching his head.

For a moment, he found himself conflicted over the circumstances of his transmigration, unable to decide whether it had been lucky or unlucky.

The lucky part was that Jin had noticed the entire transmigration process. Yet that was also precisely the unfortunate part.

What Jin was sharing now was immensely fascinating to Kevin.

From the unique systems of certain ancient kingdoms, to all manner of festival rites, to miraculous unearthed artifacts and grand sacrificial scenes... these were all things Kevin had been quite interested in in his original world. After coming to a world where Nen abilities existed, they became even more captivating.

After all, this was a world with supernatural powers. Anything bearing supernatural qualities held enormous Attraction for Kevin.

Because Kevin occasionally offered rather professional insights, Jin began to view him in a new light, and his urge to share only grew stronger.

So this was what a Hunter was like?

Watching Jin now, Kevin seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of the profession of Hunter.

Just then, the wolves' collective howls sounded from inside the cave.

"Let's go in," Jin suddenly suggested.

The two entered the cave.

Sure enough, the Male Wolf inside had already stopped breathing. Only the horn atop its head still emitted a faint glow.

With a snap, the entire Sharp horn slid smoothly from its head and fell to the ground.

Then, the remaining bones melted at a rate visible to the naked eye, turning into something like liquid that slowly seeped into the earth and vanished without a trace.

"This..."

"It's rare to see a scene like this. I'd wager that fewer than ten people in this world have witnessed a Two-headed wolf die naturally," Jin explained from the side.

The Wolf cubs and the She-wolf circled the spot where the bones had dissolved, whimpering.

Only after quite a while did the She-wolf stop. Using the head without a horn, she picked up the fallen Unicorn Horn and slowly walked over.

Yet to Kevin's surprise, the She-wolf did not go to Jin's feet. Instead, she came before Kevin.

"Tch."

Seeing this, Jin clicked his tongue in displeasure, his face full of regret.

The She-wolf placed the horn by Kevin's feet and whined twice.

"This... is for me?" Kevin could hardly believe it.

The She-wolf nodded in an almost human manner, then turned around to tend to the Wolf cubs.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have brought you," Jin said, scratching his hedgehog-like hair. His regret did not seem feigned.

"Why give it to me?" Kevin asked as he picked up the Unicorn Horn.

The instant he touched it, that yearning surged up within him again.

Compared with the Crystal Bone he had seen before, this yearning was weaker, but it was still slightly stronger than what he felt toward ordinary materials.

This Unicorn Horn should count as a C-grade Material, one at the very top of C-Rank.

More importantly, there was a lot of it.

"You can feel yearning toward this thing too?" Jin asked with a frown.

Kevin nodded.

Jin did not ask further, instead explaining what had just happened. "This is for you. You must be wondering why. Like I told you before about the history of Two-headed wolves, they admire those with justice and kindness in their hearts. I'm not a bad person, but compared to you, I really can't be considered a good one either."

As he spoke, Jin began explaining again. "In ancient times, monarchs who were gifted a Unicorn Horn by a Two-headed wolf would be honored as Benevolent Monarchs."

Oh, so this was getting a good-person card.

"Still, it's only seen you twice, yet it gave you its horn after death instead of giving it to me. That means it sensed nobler qualities in you."

As he spoke, Jin looked at Kevin and patted him on the shoulder.

"If this were ancient times, you'd already have been given the title of benevolent."

The two talked as they walked out of the cave.

After bidding farewell to the wolf pack, they returned to camp.

By then, the sky had gone completely dark, with the moon and stars glittering across the night.

By the campfire, amid the crackling of burning wood, each held a can of beer as they drank and chatted idly.

Looking at Kevin, Jin suddenly asked, "What do you think about that yearning you feel toward materials?"

"Yearning? Oh, I think it might be an inherent Trait of a Specialization Type Nen ability, or perhaps an effect produced by my subconscious when the Nen ability was formed," Kevin voiced his thoughts.

After all, the original owner had been obsessed with potions. Under the influence of that subconscious obsession, it made sense for the Nen ability he formed to yearn for materials, unwilling to miss any good ones.

Jin did not refute him and instead asked, "Would it be convenient to let me see your original Nen ability?"

Kevin did not feel there was anything to hide. In any case, his Nen ability was not very useful in combat.

He materialized [Moment's Dream].

Jin took only one look before frowning. "This is an Alchemy Table, right? Do the things it produces have side effects?"

Impressive.

Kevin was once again amazed by the sharp insight of these experts.

He nodded. "That's right. Just as you said, if anyone other than me consumes the potions it produces, they'll suffer certain side effects."

"This has the nature of post-mortem Nen, but it isn't entirely that," Jin said as he examined it on his own.

"Do you have any finished potions you developed? Something with less intense effects."

Kevin nodded and casually took a bottle of [Bone Setting Potion] from his waist pouch, handing it over.

Jin took one look and drank it immediately.

"The taste is passable. Hmm... it heals fractures? The side effect is that, while the medicine lasts, Aura control in the treated area becomes uncontrollable."

Jin quickly analyzed the potion's effects and side effects.

After the medicine's effects had completely faded, he sat properly again and began explaining his opinion. "The side effects caused by the potions you make will, barring anything unexpected, all affect the use of Aura. At their core, it's because the products you create carry the malice unique to post-mortem Nen."

As he spoke, he pointed at Kevin and recalled, "When you had just possessed this body, I didn't think Kevin at that time had the ability to turn his Nen ability into Post-mortem Nen.

That kind of obsession runs too deep. Only people who grew up in special environments and possess extremely obsessive wills could possibly achieve it. So the formation of this post-mortem Nen is closely tied to the process by which you possessed this corpse."

Jin understood Kevin's entire transmigration and possession process even better than Kevin himself, since Jin had been observing and studying him from the side the entire time.

"And that inexplicable yearning inside your body. Let me put it this way: among the overwhelming majority of Nen abilities, it's rare for a Nen ability to influence its user's own will in turn.

Though post-mortem Nen can explain part of it, the real situation is far more complicated than that."