Kevin arrived at the breeding farm behind the manor.
The Charge Armor still lived here.
"You've done a good job." Looking at the well-organized breeding farm, Kevin patted Skuwala's shoulder next to him and praised him.
"This isn't easy," Skuwala muttered to himself, his mind recalling the past.
Although working and living here was quite good, raising these Charge Armor posed a considerable danger for a weaker Nen user like him. Just a while ago, he suffered a work injury. In one instance where he couldn't dodge in time, one of his legs was snapped. Fortunately, with the miraculous potion, his leg recovered in less than a day. However, ever since that hit, he felt less worried. Using his Nen ability, he successfully calmed these Charge Armor. It could only be said that the help of the environment and economy rapidly improved Skuwala's understanding of his own Nen ability.
"Oh right, Mr. Pairo and the others sent an egg before. To be honest, I have no idea how to hatch it."
"An egg?"
Skuwala nodded and led Kevin to a nest he had built nearby.
A huge, pale golden egg lay quietly there. The egg was as large as an adult's head, and its pale golden shell had faint red patterns. Just by its appearance, it looked more like an exquisite work of art than an ordinary creature's egg.
"Mr. Pairo said someone sent it."
Kevin remembered this. If nothing unexpected, it should have been sent by Begel. At that time, he was in the Secret Realm, so he asked Pairo to help receive it. He remembered Begel saying that this egg was a mutant in the breeding farm, and only after careful searching was it found to be a hidden species. It was speculated that some kind of bird with parasitic habits secretly laid its egg inside a Golden Rooster's egg. Subsequently, this egg self-simulated and disguised itself as a golden egg. However, before the Golden Rooster could hatch it, it was taken away along with the then-Spiral organization.
Perhaps by luck, this egg never hatched until Begel began comprehensive hatching work. Begel found that his equipment couldn't hatch this egg, so he simply sent it to Kevin, letting him worry about it.
"I'll deal with it later. I'm too busy right now."
Returning to the manor, Kevin found Melusine chatting with Neon and the others.
"Starting now, I'm going to treat your leg."
"Mm!" Melusine nodded excitedly, full of anticipation at being able to walk freely again.
Kevin led Melusine into the infirmary and examined her again. Her leg was still very sensitive—blushing was inevitable.
"Indeed. After the curse is lifted, the Nen on her leg is not as stubborn as before, and the recovery time will be faster than expected."
"Really?" Melusine could not hide her excitement. This was undoubtedly good news.
Kevin nodded.
Yesterday, he had seen in detail in the record book the process by which Vipere designed and constructed the entire sacrificial ritual. From some details, he learned about the scale of sacrificial rituals in other countries. Kevin could only say that those rituals were unimaginably dark and utterly inhumane. They could even reach tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands in number.
In this sacrificial ritual, after the first ritual succeeded, the Saintess and the snake became closely linked. This led to a situation: that the Saintess must possess Specialization-type abilities. This was due to the snake's influence and also caused the Saintess to be crippled in both legs. Therefore, in the village, there was an arrangement to raise white snakes to move in place of the Saintess.
The reason for the disability was that the snake's power acted on the Saintess's body, and under some unknown circumstances, the two influenced each other. As the snake's power continuously strengthened, it gradually overwhelmed the Saintess's power. Kevin knew very little about rituals and sacrifices, almost nothing at all, and could only infer some possible reasons from the records in the notebook.
The special connection between the two caused the Saintess's legs to undergo a "snake transformation" phenomenon. Snakes are legless. The part of the Saintess's Nen influenced by the snake caused her legs to be weak and unable to stand, but still retain sensation.
Now the snake had disappeared, the curse was lifted, the sacrificial ritual had been destroyed, and this connection no longer existed. Even without Kevin's help, after a year or two, the Nen on Melusine's leg would naturally return to her control, and her legs would no longer be affected.
As for the strange power added at the end, which caused Melusine to gain an additional Nen ability, Kevin had no idea. This part was too profound and beyond his understanding. According to Melusine, she saw the souls of the previous Saintesses. Perhaps the special connection of the sacrificial ritual prevented these souls from becoming evil spirits; or perhaps due to the Saintesses' unique nature, their wills were stronger, allowing their souls to be preserved. The mysteries in this area were too deep, so this was merely speculation.
Melusine also said that when Kevin began making the potion, she felt that power and, based on the situation at the time, independently constructed her Nen ability. In other words, this power was likely transmitted from the dead snake's body to the Saintess through the connection generated by the ritual that was about to be destroyed at the time. It was also possible that the dissipated Saintesses added their own power. In a sense, this could also be called post-mortem Nen. Because the entire world's sacrificial rituals, from their very design, were fundamentally meant to use post-mortem Nen.
It's even possible that both situations occurred. However, since this situation cannot be replicated, its origin cannot be investigated. But no matter what, the outcome was good.
Kevin withdrew his thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.
Speaking of which, Melusine's two legs really resembled two white snakes. If they were wrapped around—ahem, focus, focus.
At this moment, Melusine's face was flushed. Although she didn't know exactly what Kevin was thinking, the two were in a passionate relationship. Kevin's Nen was still inside her legs, and both their Nen could sense and transmit emotions, which caused her to vaguely feel the subtle desire that Kevin was currently emitting.
So, he liked legs?
Melusine gained some insight today.
Night.
Kevin sat at his desk again, immersed in the ocean of knowledge in the record book. He couldn't help it; the knowledge within was simply too captivating.
If Kevin had just arrived in this world, he would have scoffed at the knowledge in the record book. Because at that time, he couldn't understand it at all. But now it was different. He had gained a deep understanding of Nen ability and possessed a considerable foundation of knowledge. Therefore, he could read and comprehend some of the information recorded in the notebook.
The preciousness of this record book lay in the fact that it not only documented Vipere's travel experiences in the Dark Continent and the various things he encountered. More importantly, it recorded his analysis and insights into Nen ability. There were even three pages detailing how Vipere used basic Nen ability to create gourmet food. Through his Nen ability, he made the food not only delicious but also possess various special effects, turning it into a Nen product.
If Menchi and the others saw these three pages of information, they would surely go crazy. Kevin also benefited greatly from it. Although he didn't need to cook, one of his Nen abilities was making potions, which also involved the processing and blending of ingredients. It had to be said, this helped him a lot.
And the Dark Continent section, which occupied the most space, truly opened Kevin's eyes.
He didn't know how powerful this Vipere was, but in terms of strength, skill, and knowledge, he was certainly far superior to himself. At that time, Vipere assembled a suitable team of eleven people. Following a sea route they learned from an ancient ruin, they crossed the boundless sea and finally reached the shore.
The record book emphasized: Successors must not venture forth rashly; they must ensure a confirmed safe route. Otherwise, the sea alone is enough to cause their downfall.
Then came the situation after landing. The actual danger level was lower than they expected—not full of crises as imagined. As long as they weren't unlucky and didn't casually trespass into the territories of dangerous creatures, the danger level here was similar to some dangerous wilderness areas in the human world. Because the Dark Continent was ridiculously large. And they were just an eleven-person team, so their range of action was extremely limited, and the dangers they could encounter were also limited.
But the danger also lay precisely here. They lacked sufficient understanding of the surrounding environment and insufficient knowledge of the local ecology. This led to them easily and unknowingly entering extremely dangerous areas, resulting in their mysterious demise.
The first crisis they encountered occurred a month after landing. In the month before that, their exploration range was small, and human world experience could also be applied here. They stayed in a relatively safe area for a full month, encountering almost no danger. During this time, they often saw some unimaginably huge creatures flying overhead, but these creatures were not interested in them, these "little ants."
However, the crisis a month later was not caused by them actively entering a dangerous area. Instead, a teammate brought back the crisis when he returned from an outdoor exploration. An inconspicuous butterfly. In their sleep, this butterfly took the lives of three teammates. And this butterfly—they could have crushed with a gentle slap.
This crisis greatly shocked them. Vipere even conducted research on it. He discovered it was the result of the butterfly's dust combined with a trace of invisible Nen. If they had been vigilant enough at the time, they would have been able to discover it. It was truly a pity.
From then on, their vigilance was raised to the highest level, and their exploration steps outward from the safe zone became increasingly cautious. Thus, they persevered with difficulty for two months, with no further casualties. Afterward, they drew a regional map radiating outwards from their landing point. Until they finally left, they never left the territory of a certain "Overlord" creature. Just like in the human world's wilderness, some fierce beasts delineate their territory as hunting grounds. Within this area, various creatures coexist, and humans like them are like insignificant ants; the fierce beasts don't even notice them. So they wouldn't encounter unwarranted fatal dangers.
Three months later, they found the Grudge-Eating Snake, and after adventurously stealing an egg, they fled. In this process, they lost four more members. Finally, two more members fell ill. Ultimately, only three of them returned with the egg.
Their lessons learned were: to truly gain a foothold in the Dark Continent, or to explore outwards, they must go in groups like ants, with complete logistical support and various facilities. Otherwise, they would be like them, constantly losing members due to various accidents, and facing an irreversible situation due to logistical problems.
"According to Jin, major countries have organized large teams to explore, but the losses have been extremely heavy."
Kevin didn't know much about this information, nor did he pay special attention to it. So he wasn't quite sure what accidents these countries encountered during their exploration. But he somewhat understood Jin's reason for wanting to go to the Dark Continent through official channels. When he first chatted with Jin, he was still very confused: the world is so vast, just find a place to sneak in—who can control it?
After reading Vipere's records, he had to admit that he really had to go through official channels. Otherwise, just organizing complete logistical support would be enough to give him a headache. The household registration system showed that these major countries had extreme control over the world. But if it wasn't a long-term, systematic exploration, just a simple trip to experience the dangers firsthand—perhaps a small team would be better.
"In other words, extrapolating from this situation, the authorities at least possess an absolutely safe sea route."
He just didn't know if this route was the one recorded in Vipere's notebook. If not, had he inadvertently acquired a safe smuggling route? And the landing point of the smuggling route also had relatively detailed records for reference or use.
Forget it. It was too early to think about these things; he probably wasn't qualified to get involved yet.
Kevin withdrew his thoughts.
He closed the notebook and placed it aside, then arranged the three items in front of him.
Through the records in the notebook, he roughly figured out the respective functions of the three items left by Vipere.
First, there was the gem that had already been given to Bisky. That was found in the mouth of a giant bird after Vipere and his team collectively killed it. At the time, they didn't know its origin, but because it was beautiful and small, they kept it as a souvenir. The reason it was considered a relic was, of course, because this gem had its unique qualities. The galaxy-like light points in the middle of the gem, resembling the rhythm of life, were actually genuine life. When the gem was placed on a corpse, it would slowly devour life force, causing the corpse to gradually dry up. At the same time, the light points within the gem would become more sparkling and beautiful. Therefore, Vipere named this gem the "Blood-Sucking Star." And Vipere had indeed checked; apart from becoming more beautiful in appearance, it seemed to have no other practical use.
Next was the smooth little marble. Kevin felt a faint longing from it; it was a C-rank item, relatively ordinary. But through the notebook, he learned that this marble was similar to a seed and could be planted. However, it needed Nen to grow, and Nen was its nutrient. What kind of plant would ultimately grow would vary depending on each person's Nen. It was quite interesting; the notebook's record of this part showed a hint of pride between the lines. It said that after growth, there would be different harvests depending on the individual. Vipere and his team named it the "Individuality Seed."
Then there was the bone plate. Holding it would slightly improve learning ability. The degree of improvement varied from person to person and was difficult to judge. It was named the "Learning Bone Shard."
Finally, there was the dagger—Vipere's most cherished item, not brought back from the Dark Continent. It was originally the materialized Nen ability item of one of their teammates, who unfortunately died on the way back from stealing the egg. He died from the snake venom of the Grudge-Eating Snake. Although he had no lingering regrets when he died, post-mortem Nen was directly generated, forming this golden dagger.
Later, after understanding the juvenile stage of this snake, Vipere confirmed that the snake venom at the time had played a role. It was a mysterious, resentful snake venom. And this dagger's ability was very peculiar; it was the effect of his teammate's Nen ability at the time, but it had gained a slight enhancement, though it also became more obsessive. It could easily cut through anything, like cutting a piece of cloth. There wasn't much description of it, but from this point alone, Kevin couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle.
No wonder this relic of post-mortem Nen was so beloved by Vipere.
Kevin picked up the dagger and swiped it across the table in front of him. The table was instantly cut open, but it wasn't damaged like a normal cut; it was as if a piece of cloth had been cut. Through the cut gap, Kevin's feet could be seen under the table. He then made two more cuts on each side of the gap, opening the tabletop like a window. A black hole appeared, and the table was pierced through. But the cut tabletop looked as if only a layer of cloth had been cut.
"How amazing."
At the end of the dagger, there was a small gem, like a button. Kevin gently pressed it. The large hole in the table instantly disappeared, and the table returned to its undamaged original state.
This dagger could not cause substantial "damage."