Inside the cup—
The originally still water began to boil, bubbling like it had been brought to a rolling boil on a stove.
Bubbles surfaced as steam wafted up.
The green leaf that had been floating on top mysteriously melted away in the heat, dissolving completely into the liquid. The once-clear water now had a faint green tint.
But the changes didn't stop there. Within the green-tinted liquid, tiny flecks of black began to float.
Then everything stilled.
Yungu, standing beside it, looked on with wide eyes. He knew the Nen ability system well.
This was something he had never heard of before. He turned toward Biscuit for clarification.
Without hesitation, Biscuit reached out a finger, dipped it into the water, sniffed, and then put it in her mouth.
"There's a grassy taste—sweet with a slight bitterness. The leaf has definitely dissolved into the water. This doesn't belong to any of the five known transformations."
Kevin Carpenberg understood—this was a Specialist ability.
Still not the Conjuration-type he had hoped for.
Looking back at his Nen ability, he considered how he used various materials to understand their properties and brew potions.
The resulting concoctions were like buffs in video games—enhancing his abilities.
Indeed, this didn't quite match any of the five standard Nen types.
Biscuit spoke again.
"Your Nen includes both Enhancement and Specialization—two completely opposite categories. And your aura behavior matches that assessment."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, confused.
"That ties into the part I didn't finish explaining earlier—the characteristics of the six Nen types."
As she spoke, a pointer appeared in her hand and she tapped it on the board.
"Even though each person has a dominant type, that doesn't mean they can't exhibit characteristics of other types.
It's just that other types aren't as effective.
Take a look at this hexagon.
If you're an Enhancer, you can use Enhancement to 100% of its potential.
The adjacent types—Emitter and Transmuter—can only be used at 80%.
Further away, Conjuration and Manipulation drop to 60%,
And the one directly opposite—Specialist—only functions at 40%."
Based on Biscuit's experience, Kevin was primarily an Enhancer leaning toward Transmutation. His Specialist traits, meanwhile, leaned slightly toward Conjuration.
Looking at the hex chart, Kevin noticed something odd.
From the top going clockwise:
Enhancement → Transmutation → Conjuration → Specialization → Manipulation → Emission → back to Enhancement.
A complete circle forming a perfect hexagon.
Kevin's eyes lit up. "Then that means, Specialization…"
"That's right. Specialization can't be trained—it simply doesn't exist in a person unless they are born with it.
That's why Specialists are so rare and their abilities are so bizarre."
"So those two adjacent types are always stuck at a lower max potential than others?"
That seems unfair.
Biscuit nodded, but added:
"Although Specialization is innate, that doesn't mean it's impossible to acquire later. There are rare cases of people changing into a Specialist.
Among these, Conjurers and Manipulators have the highest likelihood."
From the sound of it, Specialization seemed quite powerful.
Suddenly, a realization hit Kevin.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "So I've got two 100% affinities and four at 80%? Nothing lower?"
That kind of boost—wouldn't it count as a cheat ability?
Biscuit nodded. That was exactly what she meant.
Everything about Kevin Carpenberg was so out of the ordinary, it made sense that Jin Freecss would go to the trouble and cost of arranging for her to train him.
Not to brag, but very few people in the world could properly teach someone with Kevin's special conditions.
Her experience let her quickly pinpoint the unusual traits and problems.
But seeing Kevin's hopeful expression, Biscuit poured a bit of cold water on his enthusiasm.
"Don't get too excited. Most Nen users stick to the type they're best at.
They only begin to train adjacent types when they hit a bottleneck."
Kevin nodded humbly. He understood that much.
Don't bite off more than you can chew. Human energy is limited.
If you try to be good at everything, you'll end up being good at nothing.
However, Biscuit added:
"Our school follows the Shingen-ryu style and uses the 'Mountain Character' training method."
"Mountain Character?"
"Yes. Focus on your main type, with the two adjacent types as support.
Train all three simultaneously.
For you, that means making Enhancement your core, with Transmutation and Emission as supports.
As for the others—leave them until you hit a plateau."
She had already seen that Specialization wasn't Kevin's natural affinity—Enhancement was.
Kevin nodded in agreement.
Biscuit's expression turned calm again.
Her earlier surprise wasn't just due to Kevin having both Enhancement and Specialization, rare as that was.
It was the deeper issue—Posthumous Nen.
If someone dies with a powerful obsession or resentment, they can generate Posthumous Nen.
For Nen users, their ability lingers on and strengthens—often creating unpredictable consequences.
This kind of Nen is deeply tied to the user's regrets or obsessions.
And it's never a good sign.
But now, a living person was displaying Posthumous Nen—wielding it with ease, as if it were their own.
Even more baffling—it had fully fused with his body and affected his Nen category.
If Biscuit hadn't been so experienced, she wouldn't have noticed anything was off.
This was a first for her.
Kevin wasn't ready to know any of this yet.
Such knowledge could destabilize his control over his Nen.
She needed to observe him longer through training before drawing any conclusions.
Because she couldn't yet determine how this Posthumous Nen had formed—or what obsession powered it.
The conditions for such a phenomenon were extremely rare.
And when you combined it with Kevin's strange physical condition and the countless other illogical things about him,
peeling back the layers hinted at a shocking truth.
Biscuit felt like she was starting to uncover a secret—and that made her even more curious.
With that thought, she said aloud,
"That's it for today's lesson. Let's pack up and move out. Save your deep thinking for the road."
"The road? Where are we going?"
Kevin asked while naturally tidying up the hotel room.
"Don't ask so much. A disciple just needs to do what their master says," Biscuit scolded with hands on her hips.
Kevin sighed, "Yes, Master."
"Hmm hmm!" Biscuit grinned smugly.
Smart kid. He caught on fast.
Soon they left straight for the airport.
Everything was already arranged—even the airship ticket had been booked before Biscuit arrived, including Kevin's.
On the way, Biscuit explained the plan.
"Your case is special.
You're like a normal person in terms of knowledge, experience, and combat instinct—
But your use of aura is already at a professional level, and you've even developed your own Nen ability.
And with your amnesia, we need to start your training with rehab therapy."
Kevin nodded. Jin Freecss had said the same.
To be honest, he was kind of looking forward to it.
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