The materials from the raven were somewhat beyond Kevin's expectations.
Not because the quality was too poor, but because it was unexpectedly good. Kevin had previously used materials produced by highly intelligent magical beasts. After all, in this world, it was not uncommon to find such creatures whose intelligence rivaled that of humans. Except for some magical beasts protected through cooperation with the Hunter Association, others received no protection.
To Kevin, the materials from these magical beasts were essentially no different from those of ordinary magical beasts or even wild beasts. To some extent, they were even inferior to common materials. This was because, in intelligent creatures, certain parts of their bodies changed with the development of intelligence. As a result, most materials from highly intelligent creatures were of little use to Kevin.
The only useful parts were probably materials like brains or eyes, but the problem was that there were better, superior alternatives for these. Especially for brain-type materials, Kevin still hadn't found a suitable recipe to incorporate them into medicine. These materials were extremely difficult to apply to potion making.
So, in Kevin's view, highly intelligent magical beasts were not very suitable for pharmaceutical use. If the raven hadn't posed much harm to Kevin and his group, and had only been slightly hostile, Kevin might not have even hunted it.
Unfortunately, the raven posed a threat.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Kevin conveniently brought back the raven's corpse. The result greatly exceeded his expectations. Most of the raven's body materials were almost useless, as if all energy was concentrated in two parts—the brain and the heart.
The situation with the brain went without saying. But the heart's grade was even higher than the brain's. Undoubtedly, it reached the peak C-Grade level.
"So... is it because they learned Nen ability?" Kevin mused to himself.
This was basically the only reasonable variable, as he had encountered raven materials outside and had comparative experience. He couldn't help but begin to analyze Nen ability again.
Nen ability is the combination of Nen and Intent.
Nen represents life force, covering aspects such as the body, strength, and health. Intent symbolizes the soul, encompassing elements like will, the brain, and memory. To put it simply, the brain could, to some extent, be seen as the vessel of Intent. And the other parts of the body carried Nen—or rather, could produce Nen.
Kevin couldn't precisely determine the situation in his original world. But in this world, the existence of the soul was undeniable. Many Nen abilities directly or indirectly proved this point. Although Kevin didn't have many personal experiences, both Jin and Bisky had mentioned it, especially Jin. As Kevin's understanding of this world deepened, their authority in professional fields became increasingly unquestionable.
Nen could be continuously strengthened through training, essentially reflecting an improvement in bodily functions. Intent could also be strengthened through cultivation, manifesting as greater calmness, focus, and a firmer will. To some extent, the growth of Intent was harder to perceive—a relatively abstract change. The growth of Nen, however, was easily seen through visible changes in the body.
So, when an intelligent being learned Nen ability and gradually became stronger, the first thing that happened was that a certain part of its body grew rapidly. At that moment, this power converged in the heart, causing the grade of the heart material to rapidly increase.
"Then the question is," Kevin murmured, "what effect would this heart have if used as a material?"
This question currently had no answer.
After processing the materials and properly storing them back at the inn, Menchi and the others began to cook.
The large quantity of materials brought back this time, plus those previously stored in the village, meant a portion had to be consumed. And the dishes made from the Griffin precisely confirmed a saying: "Powerful creatures are not necessarily delicious."
In nature, strength and deliciousness were not directly proportional. Under Menchi's exquisite culinary skills, the various dishes made from the Griffin tasted decent, but compared to the soup made from the Golden Rooster and golden egg, the difference in flavor was still very obvious. Even compared to dishes made from some more common, lower-grade ingredients, there was a significant difference.
Of course, this didn't mean the Griffin dishes were unpalatable—just not as delicious as expected.
After eating and drinking to their fill, Buhara returned to his original appearance. A formerly robust big man instantly transformed back into a kind, plump figure. In just the time it took for one meal.
Well, although the Griffin dishes were not satisfactory in terms of taste and deliciousness, their nutritional value was commendable.
Knowing Menchi's Nen ability, Kevin couldn't help but feel curious.
"You've been through the whole process, right? How much strength can you recreate?"
Compared to the previously materialized tentacle snake, this Griffin was superior in all aspects. It was large, could use wind-attributed Nen ability, and possessed the ability to fly. It could be said to be a very ideal Nen beast template. This was undoubtedly a significant improvement for Menchi's strength, and it also greatly enhanced the practicality of her Nen ability.
"I didn't participate much in the combat, but I witnessed the entire process. Although I had a part in the victory, it was only in a supportive role. The butchering was done by me alone, so my understanding of its body is naturally beyond doubt. I put my heart into the cooking process, but I have to say, as an ingredient, the Griffin was indeed not outstanding. I also carefully savored it when tasting, but the flavor truly didn't reach an astonishing level."
Among these five standard processes, the first two reflected the creature's past combat ability and physical strength, while the latter three demonstrated the creature's functionality and, for Menchi, the limits of the Nen beast's free transformation. Menchi completed the latter three quite satisfactorily, but the first two clearly could not be called perfect.
"In terms of strength, I can probably only mimic about sixty percent, and combat autonomy can reach at most a medium level. Other functional aspects can reach a perfect state—whether it's adjusting size or strength, there's no problem."
Hearing Menchi's answer, Kevin nodded.
To be honest, this result was already quite good. Even if it could only exert sixty percent of its strength, and Menchi still needed to divide her attention to control it in combat, it was not insignificant. Mainly, this Nen beast could fly and carry people. The attack method used was the Transmutation-type ability to transform into wind.
It could be said that in terms of combat, with this Nen ability, Menchi's strength was already second only to Kevin. If it were a one-on-one fight, Buhara and Gowen would not be her opponents. After all, the Griffin's intelligence could not be compared with humans, and its fighting style would change greatly under Menchi's control.
It was just lacking in sustainability—the more completely it was recreated, the more Nen was consumed, and the shorter the duration. Menchi could only continue to work hard to improve in this aspect.
"Counting the time, there's less than a month and a half left until the end of the year," Menchi said. "So I probably won't be able to go hunting anymore."
With so many ingredients to process and the unique cooking techniques of the village to learn, a month and a half seemed quite tight.
Hearing this, Kevin also nodded. "I'm about the same. After all, the hunting goal has been achieved, and the materials I planned to acquire have also been obtained. I need to stay in the village for a while to see what secrets are hidden here."
"But your over here sound problem hasn't been solved yet, has it? Won't that put you in danger?" Buhara asked from the side.
Facing the concerned gazes of the three, Kevin smiled.
"I don't want to play hide-and-seek with them anymore. I plan to gather more information in the village for the next half a month. As for how to deal with the over here sound problem... I'll decide next month."
Too many secrets were hidden in this village.
The grand festival at the end of the year, the mysterious Saintess, the various villagers, the eerie curse, and the over here sound that occasionally rang out. Although Bian Locke was very willing to share information, he didn't know much about the key core content.
Ever since Kevin and Melusine had become closer, the core figures in the village had been wary of him. Other villagers also seemed to have received some kind of prohibition—even with indirect questioning, they were unwilling to reveal much information. Although they occasionally hinted at things, their words subtly warned Kevin not to meddle too much.
Currently, there were only two choices regarding the over here sound coming from outside.
Either be bolder and follow the sound's guidance, just like the Hunters before—which often led them to dangerous magical beast lairs, ultimately gaining nothing. Or simply ignore it, as the curse's barrier still seemed to be effective, and leave directly after the memorial service.
Now that the village's hunting mission was complete, the mysterious sound from outside seemed to be at a loss. Blindly following the sound was too risky, but completely ignoring it didn't fit Kevin's personality.
Currently, it seemed the breakthrough for information in the village lay with Melusine.
However, Kevin felt very conflicted about her.
He decided to visit the castle, learn more about the situation, and then figure out how to deal with it. Therefore, he had decided not to sit idly by at the beginning of next month.
Time was short, and problems were plentiful. He had had enough. He wasn't going to play their game anymore.
Kevin decided to flip the table.
He was going to ask the master in his family for a divination. Instead of always hiding and being cautious, it was better to just figure out what was going on. He would give each of those guys a punch.
However, to get sufficiently rich and accurate information from the divination, he had to delve into more details. The more information he understood, the more information the divination would provide and interpret at that time. This point had already been verified.
Early the next morning.
Kevin carried his carefully prepared gifts, walked through the village, and arrived in front of the castle.
This castle was not large, but it was quite striking in the small town. If placed outside, it looked more like a holiday manor. Various flowers and plants were planted around the castle and were well-maintained.
At that moment, two guards stood in front of the entrance gate. As soon as they saw Kevin, undisguised malice rushed toward him.
Kevin recognized these two. Weren't these the village chief's two guards? Had they been guarding here all this time? Kevin had never visited before, so he was unaware of these circumstances.
"Outsider. The castle is not a place you can just casually visit." One of the guards frowned and spoke, simultaneously holding his long spear horizontally in front of the door. Although he was full of disgust, he also saw that he couldn't afford to provoke the other party.
"I'm not here for a casual visit," Kevin replied. "Melusine invited me as a guest. This should be her home, right?"
Upon hearing this, the other guard frowned even more, also holding his weapon horizontally, and said unpleasantly, "The Saintess needs to prepare for the ceremony and will not receive any guests before it begins. Please go back."
Ah? Was she being held under house arrest?
If there really was such a rule, she wouldn't have extended an invitation that day. Or perhaps they knew about this rule and that Melusine might be under house arrest, yet deliberately invited him.
Regardless of the situation, Kevin couldn't just turn and leave now. Moreover, the malice of these two—or rather, the village chief's faction—toward him was becoming increasingly obvious in the village, and Kevin had long been displeased with them.
"I'm not in the mood to entangle with you here."
As he spoke, Kevin's formerly amiable face turned cold, and his voice carried a chill. His Nen suddenly erupted, releasing a torrent of malice. Facing the powerful Nen emanating from Kevin, the two were instantly enveloped. That malice formed immense spiritual pressure, heavily pressing down on them.
The two guards' eyes widened instantly, their teeth clenched, and their bodies trembled slightly. They trembled as they tightened their grip on their weapons, pointing their spear tips at Kevin.
"Just raising your weapons?" Kevin's cold voice came through.
The first guard who spoke now had bloodshot eyes, his entire body shaking like a sieve, and even the weapon in his hand swayed uncontrollably. Sweat continuously beaded on his face.
Bang.
His legs went soft, and he collapsed to the ground, his weapon falling beside him. He ultimately lacked the courage to attack.
"Haaah!"
However, the other guard next to him shouted, gripping his weapon frantically and lunging at Kevin.
"Oh? You've got some guts."
A smile appeared on Kevin's face, but this smile did not bring the two any sense of reassurance. He raised his hand to meet the incoming spear tip.
The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out. The Nen-wrapped spear tip struck Kevin's hand as if it had hit a hard steel plate—no effect whatsoever.
Kevin's fingers tightened, directly crushing the entire spear tip in his hand. Accompanied by a creaking sound, the spear tip was forcibly crushed into a ball of scrap metal. The moment Kevin let go, this guard also collapsed powerlessly to the ground, no longer having the strength to resist.
Kevin retracted his Nen, returning to his harmless appearance.
"Excuse me."
He said with a smile, then pushed the door open and entered the castle.
Upon stepping into the castle, what greeted him was a grand and elegant hall, exuding the style of castle nobility.
The maid he had seen before in the library showed a surprised expression when she saw Kevin walk in.
"How did you get in? Those two outside—"
Kevin raised his hand to interrupt her, smiling as he said, "You mean those two guards at the door? They were quite enthusiastic."
The maid froze for a moment, then said, "I'll go call Miss down right away." With that, she scurried away.
Soon after, sounds of commotion could be heard from upstairs.
Did I come too early? Kevin thought to himself, then silently sat on a nearby chair, waiting patiently.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
"Can't wait! Someone's waiting—how can we leave a guest alone?"
"He must have taught those annoying guys at the door a lesson, haha!"
"But I just woke up! I haven't—"
"It's fine. Don't comics always have these kinds of plots?"
"Exactly, exactly! Someone suddenly visits and sees the real side of things—it's just wonderful."
"Yes, it's all about that natural, casual state."
"This is a good opportunity. We must seize it."
"Wait a minute!"
Melusine's protests seemed to have no effect.
Thus, she was just woken from her bed and pushed in front of Kevin.
At that moment, Melusine was like an ostrich—head down, her flushed neck and ear tips betraying her current embarrassment. Her white hair was a bit messy, and she was still wearing pajamas, completely lacking the gentle and dignified appearance she usually displayed. Instead, it added a touch of laziness, making her even cuter.
"Miss is entrusted to you. Let her show you around the castle."
With that, the two maids quickly retreated. But they didn't go far—they hid by the door and peeked.
"It seems I did come a bit early," Kevin said.
"No, you didn't. I'm just too lazy—" Melusine's face was still red, her head down, her voice trembling slightly.
Kevin smiled. "But I'm quite lucky to see the Saintess's lazy and cute other side."
As he spoke, he gently reached out and helped Melusine tidy her slightly messy hair. After tidying it, Kevin suddenly realized it was inappropriate and quickly withdrew his hand.
Damn it. I'm getting close again without realizing it. Am I really not being affected by any Nen ability?
This was precisely the problem he was worried about.
Meanwhile, the maids peeking from the side were already in a chaotic state of excitement.
"Ahhh, it's exactly like in the manga!"
"I told you! The comics must have been drawn by outside authors based on reality."
"This is great. I really saw this scene."
"Quiet down! Watch quietly. Don't let them discover us."
In the living room, it was a while before Kevin gradually calmed Melusine down.
"I'll take you around the castle," Melusine said, then actually stood up from her wheelchair—though it wasn't because she could walk on her own. Instead, the white snake wrapped around her was at work. She sat on the white snake's body, its upper half wrapped around her, and it slowly floated her up.
Subsequently, Melusine led Kevin and began to leisurely tour the entire castle.