After thinking about it, Julian figured there was no point stressing over favors. He already owed the Drake family one, so what's the harm in owing another?
Spirit Crystals were incredibly rare—even the Walker family didn't have any.
John didn't stay long. As a Champion of Drakoria, although he wasn't quite as busy as Duke, he still had a lot of things to deal with.
After John left, Julian lay back down on his bed. At this moment, Celebi's Poké Ball opened automatically.
Celebi: "Let's play!"
Julian: "Sure."
He hadn't played Pokémon Glory in a whole day. Now that his mental injury was healed, it was definitely time to jump back into Ranked mode and celebrate a little.
"Slowking, you're playing jungle."
Of course, to actually enjoy himself, he needed Slowking, the god-tier teammate. Without him, it wouldn't be a celebration—it'd just be pure suffering.
Celebi: "Nidoking's got a new skin. Buy it for me."
Celebi was instantly smitten by the new "Mechanical Future" skin for Nidoking on the homepage—full-on sci-fi vibes.
Julian: "Didn't I already top up 20,000 for your account?"
Celebi said sheepishly: "I spent it… I was drawing for the Glory Crystals."
Julian raised an eyebrow and asked curiously: "You spent all 20,000?"
Celebi: "Yep."
Julian: "And how many crystals did you get?"
Celebi proudly raised both hands, sticking out one finger on each: "Eleven!"
Glory Crystals were all about luck. You were basically guaranteed one per 2,000 bucks, and if you drew for ten, you'd get one extra as a bonus.
Thinking of this, Julian looked at Celebi with pure disdain: "You're cursed with bad luck."
Celebi huffed, not willing to take the insult: "It's all your fault! You know what they say—'what's next to vermillion turns red, what's next to ink turns black.'"
Julian blinked, then he grabbed Celebi's chubby little face and pulled at it: "Oh, look at you quoting idioms now. Do you even know what 'parents who raise and feed' means?"
Celebi said muffled: "You're just bullying me."
Feeling the slippery texture of its face, Julian let go in disgust.
---
The next day, Julian, who was still sleeping soundly was forced to wake up by Slowking.
"Slowking, I'm still sick… you can't do this to me…"
Julian yawned and complained groggily.
While he was recovering, Slowking had actually allowed him to sleep in and skip breakfast, something Julian had felt both grateful for and tormented by.
But now, the "happy" part was gone—only torment remained.
"Slow~"
Slowking: "You're healed."
Julian made one last attempt: "But the pain of waking up early… might make my injuries relapse."
Slowking ignored him completely and placed breakfast right in front of his face.
Slowking: "Eat."
Direct and to the point.
Julian: "Okay…"
Also direct and to the point.
After breakfast, Julian arrived at the same indoor battle facility where the selection was held yesterday.
At the same time, the other four—Rowan, Pierce, Asher, and Ember—had also arrived. With Julian, all five were now present.
Standing before them was none other than Victor, the current Dragon Elite, ranked second on the Elite leaderboard and a pseudo-champion Trainer.
Ten days from now, the five of them would head to the Top-tier secret realm located on an island in the Western Ocean. They would be joined by about a hundred trainers from nearly thirty other countries, large and small.
The unexplored Top-tier secret realm was filled with danger. And aside from the teammates at your side, every other trainer was essentially a rival.
Even someone from Drakoria like yourself could turn on you in the face of a huge opportunity.
The five of them were teammates, rivals, and in certain moments, could become enemies.
And regardless of what roles they might play in the future, one thing mattered above all else: strength. Without strength, what role could you even play? Just focus on staying alive.
"I'll be training you over the next few days. I hope you all survive."
When he said the word "survive," Julian and the others all shivered involuntarily.
Julian: 'Damn… this guy is definitely up to no good.'
"Here, take a look at this first."
Victor waved his hand, and someone quickly handed each of them a sheet of paper.
It listed the training schedule for the next few days.
Even with how skilled and confident they were, Julian and the others went pale after reading it.
Julian: 'Grandpa, the Walker family line might be ending here. You better tell Dad and Mom to hurry up and have another kid while they still can.'
Training Schedule:
1. Free-for-all wild brawl among the five (no rules).
2. Survive alone in a wild forest for one full day and night—no Pokémon allowed.
3. Survive an attack from a pseudo-Champion Dragonite. Pokémon can be used—limit: only one.
4. Extreme wilderness survival training. Pokémon allowed.
5. Work together to defeat Victor's Pokémon.
Only five training items, not that many—but the intensity.
Julian: 'If you wanna kill us, just say so.'
Just the first task—five-way no-rules brawl—was already insane. Even with his advanced psychic powers and Advanced Aura, Julian wasn't confident he'd come out on top.
And among the other four, he wasn't the only one with special abilities.
One-on-one, Julian believed he could beat any of them. Even two-on-one, he wouldn't back down.
But a five-person melee? The complexity and danger skyrocketed.
The second training task was even more dangerous.
surviving a night alone in the wild without any Pokémon.
Pokémon under level ten posed very little threat to humans, but once they passed level ten, the danger increased drastically.
Even a level eleven Caterpie—just one String Shot could potentially strangle you to death.
Without any Pokémon by your side in the wild, an ordinary person wouldn't last even an hour under those conditions.
Among the five listed training tasks, the second one was by far the most dangerous.
The five training tasks each targeted a specific area of ability.
The third was a test of their personal strength. Top-tier secret realms had a high chance of containing Champion-level Pokémon—or even legendary ones. And they could encounter opponents of that caliber.
No one expected them to win, but at the very least, they needed to be able to escape.
The fourth task was similar to the second. Both tested wilderness survival skills—the difference being that one allowed the use of Pokémon, and the other did not.
Because in a secret realm, if you were unlucky enough to have all your Pokémon injured and unusable, then whether you could rely on yourself became critical. That's where the second task came into play.
As for the fifth task, it was meant to test their teamwork and develop a sense of mutual understanding.
In a Top-tier secret realm, acting together as a group of five would maximize safety. That meant the five of them needed a basic level of trust and coordination, so they could better bring out each other's strengths.
"You've all finished reading, right?" Victor asked.
The five nodded. With so little written on the sheet, it only took a minute to read—but Victor had waited a full five minutes before speaking again.
It was probably to give them a moment to mentally prepare.
"If any of you want to quit, you can leave now."
Of course, none of them moved. It wasn't just because they were confident in their abilities—there was also pride involved. Backing out now wouldn't just be a personal embarrassment—it would disgrace their entire families.
Asher felt that if he really walked away, his old man in front of him would definitely disown him without hesitation.
*****
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