New Potion X Aura Transformation

In his laboratory, Kevin sorted through the materials he currently had on hand.

B-Rank: Emerald Crystal Bone.

This was a material from the Dark Continent, gifted by Jin. It should have been among the finest B-Rank materials.

C-Rank: Moon Milk Opal, Jewel Fish scales, Two-headed Wolf Horn, Shadow Larva, Iron Turtle Shell.

The Moon Milk Opal had been purchased earlier. The Jewel Fish scales had been a Gift from Biscuit. The Two-headed Wolf Horn had been obtained when the Two-headed wolf died, while the Shadow Larva had been caught yesterday.

As for the Iron Turtle Shell, Kevin had "borrowed" it from Begel's warehouse.

Begel's personal warehouse held all sorts of strange biological materials, some of which were valuable collectibles.

But most were biological samples previously used for research records, which lost their value once the research was complete.

The Iron Turtle Shell was one such item. The faint craving it evoked was on the same level as the Moon Milk Opal.

Moreover, one country had Breeding Farms specifically for Iron Turtles, so it was not particularly precious. It could practically be called the cheapest material Kevin possessed.

Kevin classified all other materials that could be used in potions but could not trigger cravings as D-Rank.

With the Iron Turtle Shell, Kevin had finally found a material that matched the Jewel Fish scales.

If these two were made into a potion, then barring any surprises, it should enhance the body's defensive ability. The only uncertainty was how exactly the effect would manifest.

Previously, the experiments had been stalled due to a lack of the crucial Fusion Agent for the Bronze Scale.

But yesterday, Kevin had found an excellent choice—the acid from the Sulfuric Acid Pool. Testing had shown the results to be ideal.

After repeated ratios and research, Kevin discovered that this acid was practically a universal Fusion Agent for combinations of ores and hard materials.

The only problem was that this acid was extremely difficult to preserve. Kevin had obtained some previously collected, replaced acid from Professor Belut, but tests showed that its effects had been greatly reduced. It could even be said to have become almost useless.

Yet only a little over a week had passed since he last collected the acid. This meant that after leaving the acid pool, its shelf life might be only seven days.

Kevin materialized the Alchemy Table and placed the prepared materials on it.

Gold Scale: Jewel Fish scale (whole piece—10 grams)

Silver Scale: Iron Turtle Shell (small piece—25 grams)

Bronze Scale: Green Acid (one milliliter)

[Effect: Enhances the resistance to blows of Aura and skin.]

The effect was simple and direct. Kevin had actually made one yesterday, when he ground the two materials into powder. The description of the effect had been the same as this time.

Now, he wanted to see whether refining whole pieces of material would produce a different effect.

The form of the materials also affected the final product's effects.

Kevin took a deep breath and slowly placed his hand on the machine, entering a state of "Zetsu" as he felt his stamina and Aura gradually drain away.

About twenty minutes later, the Alchemy Table stopped operating, and a New Potion popped out.

There seemed to be something like "proficiency" involved in making potions. The more he made, the faster the process became, though the consumption remained unchanged.

This round of potion-making consumed roughly two to three thousand Aura from Kevin, a little more than yesterday's expenditure of around two thousand.

The potion's color was no different from before. Under the sunlight, hexagonal glimmers occasionally surfaced across it.

Once the Alchemy Table vanished, Kevin drank the potion in his hand without hesitation.

The potion took effect instantly.

"The effect is better than yesterday's." That was Kevin's immediate impression. It seemed these two materials should not be ground into powder when fused.

Kevin made his Aura flow through his body.

"It feels heavy, but the speed at which Aura circulates and changes hasn't slowed. It's just an illusion." Kevin recorded his observations as he felt it out.

Then he clenched his right fist and punched his left arm.

"Hm?"

After observing closely, Kevin noticed something unusual.

At the instant of impact and defense, the Aura collided with itself, causing its shape to become somewhat "solidified." It was as though, at the moment of impact, the Aura turned hexagonal.

To make sure he had not seen wrong, Kevin sped up, rapidly striking his hands against each other.

"I wasn't mistaken. It really is hexagonal."

This phenomenon greatly intrigued Kevin. It was the first time he had encountered anything like it.

At this moment, the Aura around his body had neither increased nor decreased, and its consumption had not risen either.

Then the only change behind the defensive boost granted by Aura was the hexagons that appeared when resisting blows. Their shape somewhat resembled the growth pattern on an Iron Turtle Shell.

After drinking the potion, Kevin did not need to consciously control this change. It appeared automatically whenever he was attacked, as though Aura would form a Barrier on its own.

If he used Aura to attack, the instant he struck an opponent, he would also be hit by the recoil. In that situation, the impact-resistant Traits would likewise manifest, and hexagons would appear as well.

"Really interesting."

Kevin became increasingly absorbed and began studying it carefully.

However, fifteen minutes quickly passed.

Fortunately, even while he was focused on research, his [Blank Meteor] remained active, and his body autonomously learned this change.

After studying it, Kevin reached a conclusion: his earlier thought had been correct. The hexagons formed by Aura were the key to the increased defense.

Furthermore, due to this Trait of Aura, not only would defense increase when he was struck, but his attack power would also rise.

Because when the Aura wrapped around an attack hit its target, it would harden and form hexagons.

"In that case, I'll call this potion the [Iron Wall Potion]."

Since that was so, there was nothing to hesitate over now.

Kevin had quite a stockpile of all three materials. If he used them all to make potions, he could produce at least twenty or so bottles.

The most expensive among them were naturally the Jewel Fish scales. These Jewel Fish were a special variant, something that could only be encountered by chance. Each scale used meant one less remaining.

But even so, making all the materials into more than twenty potions would definitely bring Kevin some gains.

At present, the Aura burst he had learned through the [Power Potion] had reached an efficiency of 25%. It was already infinitely close to the original effect produced by the [Power Potion].

Kevin could not help wondering: if he learned the same Aura transformation through both potions, could the two forms coexist at the same time?

While under the effects of the potions, the two buff states did not seem to conflict.

If it truly worked, then his frontal offense and defense would be enhanced once again, further strengthening the Traits of the Enhancement Type.

No matter what, he should make the potions first. After all, he still had a sufficient amount of materials on hand, and the [Iron Wall Potion] did not consume too much Aura.

By Kevin's own calculations, his current potential Aura capacity was around 13,000.

The improvement brought by the [Digestion Potion], along with the effects of Enhancement training, had contributed greatly to this.

At this stage, Kevin could use the [Digestion Potion] once every eight days, then undergo a day of high-intensity training.

His active Aura capacity was clearly above the average standard, at roughly 1,500. This was mainly thanks to the enhancement effect of the [Power Potion].

With [Blank Meteor] activated, his body would train itself during the learning process, strengthening its abilities in a targeted manner.

If he also activated the Aura burst he had already learned, his active Aura capacity could exceed 1,800. His offensive and defensive capabilities would be astonishing, certainly surpassing Nen users of the same level.

However, by the same token, his endurance in battle might be weaker than that of Enhancement Type users of equal rank.

After all, a greater burst of active Aura would lead to greater consumption of potential Aura and stamina.

Perhaps he could rely on potions to make up for this weakness.

Potions are also a manifestation of my Nen ability, and the result of my hard work!

Kevin thought that he now needed to develop a potion that could accelerate the recovery of stamina and Aura, or simply increase stamina and Aura directly, like the [Power Potion].