(MNIBP)Chapter 48 - Receiving the cultivation serums

The Highlands, New Jersey, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

The two then spent around an hour exchanging punches and kicks, trying to find the flaws in the other techniques while fixing their own. With the sharp increase in his cultivation base, Ben could finally fight evenly against the incredibly flexible woman, switching between offensive and defensive moves smoothly. His body coordination also increased as he grew more and more familiar with his powerful strength, thanks to the constant practice and several spars over the last few days.

What delighted the middle-aged man was the fact that despite him being at Low Third Level and Natalia being at Peak Third Level, the difference in their strength was minimal and mostly stemmed from her slightly higher agility, while his body was perfectly balanced, giving him a boost in combat strength.

Of course, the spar was still entirely physical and if spells were involved, he would probably be destroyed easily. Not because his inner energy was weaker, especially with its extraordinary purity, but because his proficiency in magic was still abysmal, due to lacking the time to practice them. Those were the thoughts traversing his mind at the end of their fighting practice as the two friends were gasping for air, trying to regain their stamina.

This time, the playful redhead seemed as drained as he was, prompting her to sit down, close her eyes, and cultivate to accelerate the process of recovery. Noticing her actions, he decided to imitate her and started absorbing the dense energy around him. With a higher stamina regeneration, the silver-eyed man only took a few short minutes to restore his energy in full, while the woman spent a bit more time before she finally opened her eyes and remarked with an excited smile.

“I think I’m about to reach the next Level!” Feeling surprised for a second, Ben however quickly returned her smile and claimed. “Congrats! I don’t think I’ll be your match if you do. I’ll need to practice even more to catch up!” Rolling her eyes at his comment, she responded. “You’re the last person who should say that, Parker! Your cultivation keeps increasing so much every day that I’m about to die from jealousy!”

Chuckling at her joke, he replied with a question. “Are you doing it now or do you want to do it later?” Pondering for a second, she then answered. “I’ll wait till I reach my place. Now that I caught the right feeling, it won’t go away even if I wait for a few hours.” Nodding his head, he retorted. “As your wish. That aside, did you bring the cultivation resources I asked you about yesterday?”

Standing up swiftly, the female agent exclaimed. “Right! I almost forgot about those. Come, I’ll show you what I’ve brought with me.” She then left the arena and started walking toward the room’s entrance, where Ben spotted a few unfamiliar suitcases lying neatly against the wall. The sight aroused his curiosity, however, he chose to keep silent and let the woman explain herself.

Reaching the several pieces of luggage, Nat grabbed one before opening it carefully. Inside it, many boxes were neatly stacked over each other, with each being precisely labeled. Picking up one of those boxes, the young woman gently opened it, revealing its contents, which were a bunch of vials embedded in a sort of protective foam, leaving only the top visible to anyone removing the box’s lid, the latter having the same material stuck on it to shield the vials once the box was closed.

What was interesting was that despite using his Divine Sense, he could not feel what was inside the tubes, and neither what was inside the other closed boxes. Before he was able to ask anything, however, the female agent stated. “Those are the results from SHIELD’s research in the creation of cultivation resources. Like I told you earlier, it’s still at the Mortal Transcending Rank, but those scientists are making great progress for the Novice Rank. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, or days if we’re lucky, they should have some results.”

Nodding his head to her statement, the middle-aged man replied. “Sounds good. By the way, how come I can’t check those things with my Divine Sense?” With a playful smile on her face, she retorted. “That’s because of a few special types of material that we found. It’s very useful for keeping the Divine Sense of nosy cultivators at bay. Although, it only works for the Novice Rank. But, with Stark’s help, they’re trying to do the same for the Elite Rank.”

Cocking his brow, Ben asked, curious. “Is he trying to make an armor out of it?” Nodding her head, the redhead claimed. “That man is obsessed with making the ultimate ‘Iron Man’ armor, so, of course, he’s been using that material to make a new armor as soon as he got a hold of it.” The look of helplessness on her face made him think about something.

With a teasing smile on his face, he questioned. “Is he still bothering you?” Rolling her eyes, she replied. “Just every time he sees me. No big deal, really.” Shaking her head, she then exclaimed. “Anyway, let’s go back to the topic at hand if you don’t mind?” Chuckling lightly, he retorted. “Sure. Maybe, you could tell me what’s in those vials and their effects?”

Nodding her head, she explained. “Every vial in this box contains the same serum. The Norse called them potions, but since it sounded a bit archaic, some higher-ups in the organization changed the name. Anyway, there are a few different vials. The three main cultivation types are the Muscle Tempering Serum, the Organ Refining Serum, and the Bone Fortifying Serum. They all correspond to the Low, Mid, and High Mortal Transcending Rank and need to be used in that order or there’s a risk of getting injured.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ben said before adding. “Is there some healing serum in there?” Nodding her head, Nat gestured toward a few boxes. “In there. We’ve perfected the formula and made it completely safe to consume. To know what’s inside, you only have to check the label. It’s nothing too complicated.”

“What about the method to use it? Do I need to inject it in the arm like you did previously?” Shaking her head, she explained. “Of course not. You only have to drink it and it will activate automatically. Although, for the cultivation serum, it’s better to practice the basic technique until the whole serum is used up, or a lot of energy will be wasted.”

Pausing for a second, she then added. “Also, tell the others to avoid overusing the serums. After all, they’re not pills and so the energy gained is not as pure as plain cultivation. The best compromise should be to use one per Level. That would limit the impurities in their bodies.” Scratching his chin in thought, the older man questioned.

“Is there a way to get rid of those impurities?” To which the young woman answered. “Yes. There are more and more ‘treasures’ appearing everywhere on Earth and some of them are used to wash away the ‘filth’ in your body. Keep in mind that depending on your cultivation Rank, those treasures might not have any effect on you.”

Nodding his head, Ben declared. “That makes sense. I’m guessing that those serums in there will also have zero effect on me?” With a playful smile, the woman responded. “Why don’t you try them to find out?” Feeling intrigued, he proceeded to grab one vial for each of the cultivation serums before opening the Muscle Tempering Vial.

This time, his Divine Sense could finally perceive the liquid filling the glass tube. The red ‘potion’ emitted some kind of energy signature, although much fainter than he expected. After a slight moment of pondering, a probable explanation came to his mind. ‘It’s surely because the Mortal Transcending Rank is only a preparatory Rank to adjust the body so that it’s capable of welcoming Universal Energy inside it. In essence, the need for energy is low... I wonder what a serum for Novice Rank feels like.’

Shoving that thought aside, the silver-eyed man swiftly downed the content before closing his eyes and following the liquid inside him with his inner senses. As it flowed through his trachea to his stomach, the liquid started losing its form and turned into energy that seeped into all of his muscles, clearly trying to strengthen them.

Predictably, however, the result was null as the energy concentration was abysmal compared to what he would need to make his body stronger. Nonetheless, his examination turned out satisfying results when it came to how useful that serum where for Mortal Transcending cultivators. He also did detect the impurities Natalia spoke about earlier, but, with a light swipe of his inner energy, they were instantly destroyed, leaving his body pristine from any filth.

Opening his eyes, he commented with a satisfied smile. “You were right about its efficacy for lower-rank cultivators. Even if it did nothing for me.” He chuckled slightly before drinking the other two serums. A similar thing happened and some relatively weak energy seeped into his organs and bones in a bid to reinforce them. It was still in vain, though, even if the energy did grow from one potion to another.

Refining organs and bones clearly needed more energy than strengthening muscles, making the reason why there was such a difference between the three serums obvious. In any case, Ben was delighted with the result and would not hesitate to give those resources to the kids and the girls. Turning his head in the redhead’s direction, he claimed, while wearing a warm smile. “Thanks for that Nat. We really needed those items!”

Giggling lightly, she responded while waving her arm casually. “Don’t worry about it! I also don’t want anything to happen to the girls and the kids. I... I’ve started to grow fond of them.” The relaxed smile on her face brought a warm feeling in his chest, prompting him to comment. “They’ve also grown fond of you. Even May and Madeline who tend to be suspicious of other people. I’m honestly impressed with your ‘friend-making’ skills.”

Giggling at his teasing remark, she shook her head slightly before retorting. “I’m just that good. Anyway, they’re probably waiting for us upstairs. Shall we go?” After agreeing, the two left for the dining room, joining everyone present, except the three recruits, who left for their own house. The dinner being ready, they simply sat at the table and enjoyed the meal.

After clearing out the plates and with the children going upstairs, the adults sat themselves on the couches facing the agitated ocean waters crashing strongly on the beach below. The group then chatted together, with Ben sharing with them the fact that they finally had some resources to speed up their cultivation. Nat also interjected at one point to explain how to use them, filling the two women with anticipation at the idea of the children quickly becoming stronger.

Feeling amused at their reaction, the middle-aged man did not comment on it, although he could not help but feel the same. ‘The stronger they are, the safer they’ll be. May and Madeline too.’ He thought before his attention was drawn to the female agent’s voice. “Ben, I’ve also got something else to share with you.”

Cocking his brow, the silver-eyed man asked, intrigued. “What is it?” With a satisfied smile on her face, she declared. “I’ve had some headway in the investigation on the Ten Rings.” Her words immediately caught his interest, while his body unconsciously straightened up on the sofa. “I’ve found a potential base of theirs around a hundred miles from New York City. It’s located in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania.”

“Are you sure about your lead?” Ben questioned. “80% certain. I’ve been spying on the criminal organizations in the city suspected of working with those terrorists and found some convincing leads. We’ll need to check the place ourselves though. That’s why I’ll need you and Clint with me on this mission. In case I need backup.” Nodding his head, the middle-aged man commented. “I’ll participate, of course. After all, I’m supposed to be a SHIELD employee, so I should work to earn my paycheck.”

His joking remark elicited a few giggles from the women around before he added. “I’ll participate, but I want to wait until May reaches the Novice Rank. I’d just feel better leaving someone in charge here I can trust 100% and who’s strong enough to deal with anything.” His words brought a smile to the brunette’s face, while the older redhead had some brief frustration adorning her face before it disappeared under a mask of indifference.

Shaking his head inwardly, the man focused his attention on Natalia and asked. “What do you say?” With a nod of her head, the young woman responded. “I don’t mind. With her previous cultivation speed, I’m sure it’ll only take a few days to succeed. At that point, I’ll contact Barton and we’ll start the operation. In the meantime, I’ll gather some equipment. Speaking of which, do you have any requirements?”

“Yeah. I’d love a good fighting suit with a mask.” Scratching his beard absentmindedly, he added. “If I can avoid getting recognized, it’d be the best. I’ll already have enough enemies targeting me and my family, no need to add more unnecessarily.” Nodding her head, the female agent claimed. “I’ll take care of it. It won’t be too fancy looking like Captain America, but it’ll have all the normal ‘functionalities’.”

Having agreed with each other, the two then switched to a more light-hearted conversation before the younger redhead left the house and the other three left for their own bedroom.