As soon as the warm current spread through his body, the change began.
Like water slowly brought to a boil, El's normal body temperature started to rise at a speed he could practically feel. Under his clothes, his skin flushed red.
At this rate, he thought wryly, in a few minutes he'd probably look like Luffy in Second Gear—skin red, white steam hissing off his body.
Luffy's Second Gear works by using his hands and feet to pump blood faster through his body, accelerating circulation and boosting strength and speed.
El's current state was very similar.
The difference was that, instead of just his blood being forced to flow faster, it felt more like every cell in his body was suddenly being activated by an external force, bursting with intense vitality.
sizzle…
He didn't have time to savor the sensation.
One of the three talents he'd been born with—Life Return, already close to "max level" at birth—kicked in automatically.
The spreading heat in his body suddenly began to dissipate at a rapid pace.
But it wasn't that the nutritional supplement was fading on its own.
His digestive system had simply switched modes—from "normal person" to "bottomless glutton"—and it was devouring the energy in the supplement in an instant.
The price of that instant digestion was that his body temperature spiked all at once. For a moment, the skin under his clothes glowed a faint, unnatural red.
That red light flickered—
Then vanished.
A thin stream of white steam rose from the top of El's head.
In just a few seconds, his body returned to its usual state.
Dr. Kureha, wine bottle in hand, paused mid-sip and narrowed her eyes slightly.
She stared at El, who was silently checking his condition, and the corners of her lips curled into a faint, amused smile.
"…No wonder you have that level of physique at your age. So you've already mastered Life Return."
She clicked her tongue.
"What a waste… Obviously born a physical monster, but you're still playing around with swords."
Her gaze dropped to the blade at his waist, and she shook her head.
Of course—
She didn't know about El's talent in swordsmanship. If she did, she probably wouldn't be saying that.
"…What a powerful effect."
El seemed not to hear Kureha's sigh at all.
He was completely focused on his own body.
After Life Return automatically digested the energy from the supplement, he could clearly feel his physique had improved.
If you described it using game terms, it was like his EXP bar had suddenly jumped.
A few more bottles of this and I'll definitely level up, he thought.
So this was the power of pay-to-win.
He had, of course, thought before about using supplements to boost their physical strength.
But the three girls were still young, and none of the four of them understood medicine—let alone how to handle rare materials correctly.
If they randomly started eating and drinking strange concoctions, there was a good chance it would do more harm than good, so El had never dared to try it.
He couldn't.
But… other people could.
That was why, as soon as he entered the Grand Line and gave up on waiting for Crocus at Twin Cape, the first thing he did was buy an Eternal Pose for Drum Island and come here to ask Dr. Kureha.
And now, Kureha had indeed handed him a shortcut.
This nutritional supplement, made from a massive amount of medicinal ingredients, had an effect comparable to the energy of several—maybe even a dozen—sea beasts.
Drinking a single bottle was no less than eating several sea beasts at once.
The materials for the nutrient solution were extremely expensive, and a single bottle would cost at least several million Belly. But to El, that price tag was nothing.
If it was just "krypton gold," he'd happily grind harder later.
As long as the three girls—and even he himself—could grow at high speed and achieve results in ten years that would normally take twenty or thirty, he'd be willing to spend tens of billions, even hundreds of billions of Belly.
As if she'd read his mind, Kureha casually dumped a basin of cold water over his enthusiasm.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. That 'nutritional supplement' isn't some miracle panacea."
"It only works properly on people under eighteen. An ordinary person should only drink one bottle a day."
"If they drink more than that, even if their body—say, someone like you who's mastered Life Return—can digest it, their mind won't keep up with their body's growth. Instead of strengthening body and spirit, they'll just end up weaker."
"After eighteen, the effect drops by half. By twenty, your body's internal systems will basically be immune to it."
"By that age, the energy in a single bottle can't meet the demands of your body anymore. If you force down large quantities, the excess will just turn into harmful toxins and damage your potential."
"…I understand."
After listening to Kureha's explanation, El quickly calmed down and nodded.
He had been too optimistic.
The human body changes with each stage of growth.
Right now, the nutrient solution felt incredibly potent because he was still a child. To his current body, that amount of energy was huge.
But once he grew up, that same amount of energy wouldn't be enough. If he kept stuffing his adult body with huge doses just to feel a "boost," it wouldn't just become useless—it would start hurting him.
This was the same logic that had driven him to come find Dr. Kureha in the first place.
The supplement was only suitable for accelerating development in the early stage.
Once their bodies reached a certain level of maturity, continuing to drink it would do more harm than good.
With that in mind, El looked up at Kureha and asked:
"Senior, for someone like me, how many bottles a day is appropriate? And until what age should I stop taking it?"
"Good mental adjustment. I'm starting to like you a little, brat."
Seeing how quickly he'd reined in his greed, Kureha nodded in approval, then answered:
"For you, three bottles a day at most. And don't drink all three in one go."
"Also, don't immediately burn through it using Life Return. You should exercise and let your body absorb the energy gradually."
"That way, your body can fully take in the medicinal effects—and your spirit will be strengthened during training. Your mind will grow along with your body…"
El listened earnestly as she detailed the pros and cons of the nutrient solution, nodding from time to time like a model student.
"…That's all you need to keep in mind. You can try making it yourself now."
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