Outside the cave, the two chatted happily.
Mainly, it was because Jin Freecss was overflowing with the urge to share and spoke endlessly about various experiences and stories.
Kevin Carpenberg occasionally chimed in with a few words. Though his responses were simple, he was actually listening intently and with great interest.
Previously, Kevin had gotten a brief understanding of Jin from Biscuit.
At the time, Biscuit had said: "In the old man's words, he's one of the top five Nen users in the world."
The "old man" she referred to was none other than the current Chairman of the Hunter Association—Isaac Netero. In Biscuit's eyes, the Chairman possessed terrifying strength. And Jin, to be ranked among the world's top five Nen users…
Upon hearing this title back then, Kevin had scratched his head.
He'd been unsure whether his situation of being transmigrated into this world counted as lucky or unlucky.
Lucky, because Jin had noticed the entire transmigration process; unlucky, because that attention brought its own risks.
At this moment, everything Jin shared was absolutely fascinating to Kevin.
From the unique systems of ancient kingdoms, to the various ceremonial festivals, to mysterious artifacts unearthed, and those grand sacrificial scenes… these were all things Kevin had already found intriguing in his original world. In a world where Nen existed, they became all the more captivating.
After all, this was a world imbued with supernatural power, and anything extraordinary naturally drew Kevin in.
Due to Kevin's occasional professional-sounding insights, Jin began to see him in a new light, and his desire to share only intensified.
So this is what it means to be a Hunter?
Seeing Jin like this, Kevin began to gain a deeper understanding of what it meant to hold the title of "Hunter."
Just then, the sound of a chorus of wolves howling echoed from inside the cave.
"Let's head in," Jin suggested suddenly.
The two entered the cave.
Sure enough, the male twin-headed wolf was no longer breathing, its head horn still emitting a faint glow.
With a soft "clink," the sharp horn slipped off its head and landed on the ground.
Immediately after, the remaining skeleton began to dissolve at a visible speed, transforming into a liquid-like substance that slowly sank into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
"What the…"
"This kind of scene is extremely rare," Jin explained. "I'd wager less than ten people in this world have seen a twin-headed wolf die of natural causes."
The wolf pups and the mother wolf circled the spot where the remains had dissolved, howling softly.
After a long moment, the mother wolf stopped, then picked up the fallen horn with the head that lacked a horn, and began walking over.
However, to Kevin's surprise, the mother wolf didn't head toward Jin's feet but instead approached Kevin.
"Tch."
Seeing this, Jin clicked his tongue in annoyance, his face full of regret.
The mother wolf placed the horn gently at Kevin's feet and let out a couple of low cries.
"This… is for me?" Kevin asked, hardly able to believe it.
The mother wolf nodded in a very human-like manner before turning away to tend to her pups.
"Had I known, I wouldn't have brought you along," Jin muttered, scratching his hedgehog-like hair. His regret didn't seem fake.
"Why give it to me?" Kevin asked, picking up the horn.
The moment he touched it, that familiar sense of longing surged up again.
Compared to the crystal bone he had seen before, this feeling was weaker, but still far stronger than with ordinary materials.
This horn could be considered a C-grade material—near the top of C-grade, in fact.
More importantly, it had a substantial quantity.
"You can feel the desire for this too?" Jin asked, frowning.
Kevin nodded.
Jin didn't press further and instead explained the situation: "It's yours now, but you're probably wondering why. Like I mentioned before about the history of twin-headed wolves, they respect those with justice and kindness in their hearts.
"I'm not a bad guy, but compared to you… I wouldn't call myself a good guy either."
He continued educating, "In ancient times, monarchs who received the horn of a twin-headed wolf were honored with the title 'Merciful King.'"
Oh great, I've been given a good-guy badge.
"Still, the fact that it gave you its horn after only meeting you twice means it sensed something even nobler in you than in me," Jin said, patting Kevin's shoulder.
"In ancient times, you'd already be labeled a benevolent ruler."
They spoke as they walked out of the cave.
After bidding farewell to the wolf pack, they returned to camp.
By now, night had fully fallen. The moon and stars shimmered against the dark sky.
Beside the crackling campfire, each with a can of beer in hand, the two chatted casually.
Jin suddenly looked at Kevin and asked, "How do you feel about that material longing of yours?"
"That desire? Hmm… I think it might be a trait of Enhancement-type Nen abilities, or perhaps something that resulted subconsciously when the Nen ability was created."
After all, the original Kevin had an intense obsession with alchemy. Under subconscious influence, his Nen ability developed a desire to absorb good materials. It made sense.
Jin didn't argue but continued, "Mind letting me see your original Nen ability?"
Kevin didn't see any reason to hide it. His Nen wasn't that effective in combat anyway.
He materialized A Moment's Dream.
Jin took one look and frowned. "It's an alchemy table, right? The things you make from it… they all come with side effects, don't they?"
Impressive.
Once again, Kevin was amazed by the insight of seasoned pros.
He nodded. "Yes, just like you said. If someone other than me uses the potions, there will be side effects."
"This thing carries some properties of post-mortem Nen, but it's not entirely that," Jin murmured as he continued inspecting it.
"Got any finished potions? One that isn't too strong."
Kevin nodded and casually took a bottle of Bone Mender from his pouch and handed it over.
Jin looked at it once and drank it immediately.
"Taste isn't bad… Hmm… A bone-healing potion? Side effect: can't control aura manipulation in the affected area while the effect lasts."
Jin quickly analyzed the potion's effects and drawbacks.
After the potion wore off completely, he sat back down and began sharing his thoughts. "The side effects your potions produce usually impact Nen manipulation. That's because the products carry the kind of 'malice' unique to post-mortem Nen."
He pointed at Kevin, recalling, "When you first possessed this body, I don't believe you had the ability to turn your Nen into post-mortem Nen.
"That kind of fixation is too deep—it usually only manifests in people raised under special conditions or with extremely obsessive personalities. So, the post-mortem Nen in your abilities is closely tied to your possession of this corpse."
Jin knew more about the transmigration process than Kevin himself did, having observed and studied the whole event.
"And that strange desire in your body… Let me put it this way: in most Nen abilities, it's rare for the Nen to influence the user's own will.
"Sure, some of it can be explained by post-mortem Nen, but the truth is a lot more complicated."
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