Chapter 100: Gripped by Fate
Half a minute later, Arthur, holding the hilt in one hand and carrying the sheath in the other, calmly walked out of the partitioned section.
Outside the glass wall, the crowd stared blankly at him. After he came out, they all looked him up and down, as if examining a little monster.
The staff member was nearly dumbfounded.
He had worked here for so many years, yet this was the first time he had ever seen someone grasp a Honedge's hilt and still walk out standing.
It wasn't until the captain of the rescue team cleared his throat with a cough that he was brought back to his senses.
"Ahem, if there's nothing else here, we'll be leaving first."
Arthur even turned his head and gave them a friendly nod.
In that moment, the rescue team captain, for the first time, felt a sense that he himself was perhaps somewhat redundant...
Subsequently, Arthur spoke calmly, "You have the data card for this Honedge, correct? Then I'll trouble you with the registration work as well."
"I don't need a loan. I'll buy the first year's insurance from your facility. Also, please trouble yourself to prepare a Poké Ball for me first. I just need the standard version, thank you."
The staff member finally awoke as if from a dream, gathered his composure, and quickly attended to the customer.
On the way to retrieve the Poké Ball, he stole a moment of leisure to send the latest update in the work group chat: Young man came out unharmed holding Honedge, currently waiting for Poké Ball for capture.
This instantly caused a group of work-time slackers who were idling in the chat group to explode with comments.
"WTF, is that real or fake?"
"This 'unharmed,' is it legit?"
"Couldn't be that being carried out lying down also counts as unharmed, right?"
The messages in the group chat instantly shot towards 99+.
Some expressed amazement, some questioned it, but even more people were asking for pictures, demanding the truth.
At this moment, the staff member looked at his phone, a tiny sliver of superiority arising in his heart.
Heh, you bunch of country bumpkins who haven't seen the world~
He had completely forgotten that just a few minutes ago, he too had never witnessed such a scene...
After all the procedures were completed, Arthur didn't rush to put the captured Honedge into the Poké Ball. Instead, he found a rope and tied it securely to his back, appearing like a swordsman carrying his blade.
This scene once again left the staff member and Monica stunned.
Monica asked him blankly, "Aren't you afraid its ribbon will wrap around your neck like that?"
Arthur calmly patted the end of the sheath.
"No, he wouldn't dare."
In that instant, the Honedge on his back twisted twice, as if symbolically expressing protest.
However, after Arthur raised his hand and made a gesture as if to draw the sword, it immediately became quiet again.
On this day, the young Honedge finally understood the taste of having its hilt gripped by fate...
Monica now had a bellyful of questions, yet under Arthur's calm gaze, she surprisingly couldn't manage to ask a single one.
Damn it! How can you have absolutely no expression after doing something so outrageous?!
It's making my whole train of thought for questions chaotic...
In the end, she could only kindly suggest, "Maybe... let's add each other on WeChat? Just in case... you run into some kind of trouble, I can still help you call an ambulance."
"Okay."
Arthur, finding explanations troublesome, simply agreed.
After adding each other on Wechat, Arthur quickly departed from the Ghost Tower, while Monica headed towards the first-floor shopping area to buy her own items.
At the moment of parting, Monica patted her own cheeks, as if to confirm that she truly wasn't dreaming.
The experiences of this day had truly been an eye-opener for her.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but take out her phone again and send a message to her brother on Wechat.
"Bro, I met a super ridiculous person today!"
...
Meanwhile, Arthur, having left the Ghost Tower, once again mounted the Dodrio he had rented. Then, with a catapult-like start, he strode off towards the direction of Lavender Town's city center.
Along the way, the now-settled Honedge seemed to have finally, gradually accepted its fate. It even used their mental link to proactively ask Arthur.
"Where are we going next?"
Arthur replied as usual, "To practice the sword."
After less than two seconds of silence, Honedge once again began to tremble frantically.
Bastard!
Don't push this sword too far!!
Otherwise, I'll fight you to the death!!
At this moment, Frogadier, sitting in front of Arthur closer to the Dodrio's neck position, looked back, let out a 'heh' sound, and couldn't help but emit laughter like that of a wise sage.
This sword is still young, after all.
Regardless of what kind of Pokémon, once under the master's command, can you still expect not to train?
Do you think you're a Mythical Pokémon?
...
Several tens of minutes later, they returned to the city center.
Arthur, following the navigation on his phone, found a Pokémon Dojo.
This type of dojo generally wasn't large in area. Compared to large-scale, all-type Pokémon training gyms, it was much smaller, and the range of services offered was naturally not as extensive.
However, sometimes specializing in one area allows for greater focus and reaching the pinnacle of perfection.
The dojo Arthur found this time had quite a good reputation on various online platforms, with a considerably high positive review rate. It primarily served Pokémon possessing blade-like arms, weapons, or wings, focusing on guiding them in practicing slashing-type skills.
Presiding over the dojo was a rather elderly Empoleon.
He was renowned far and wide for his mastery of "Swords Dance" and "Steel Wing."
Arriving at the dojo, Arthur directly requested a high-level training room, politely declined the various guidance courses promoted by the dojo, and entered alone, carrying the sword.
The training room's area wasn't large. The surrounding walls were lined with a circle of black sound-absorbing foam, making the atmosphere within the room very quiet.
In the center of the room stood three target posts.
One made of bamboo, one of solid wood, and one with a steel core.
The bases connected to the bamboo and solid wood target posts had quick-release latches, allowing them to be replaced after being cut down by a Pokémon. In a corner of the room lay a pile of spare bamboo and wood poles stacked horizontally.
Only the steel-core target post was completely fixed to the floor.
Entering the room, Arthur took the sword from his back. Once again, he grasped the hilt with one hand, completely ignoring the ribbon that might wrap towards his arm.
"Come on. It's time for practice. We've only just met; we both need mutual adjustment. You need to get used to my strength, and I also need to familiarize myself with your sword path. This will be a long-term process, but I don't have much time right now, so we need to hurry."
Arthur spoke while simultaneously raising the sword and walking towards the solid wood target post.
Honedge vibrated even more intensely in his hand.
It was true that it was a Pokémon possessing a sword, and true that its body was much harder than normal flesh-and-blood Pokémon. But that didn't mean it enjoyed being swung around forcefully to chop wood here every day.
Are you kidding? This solid wood pole looks as thick as a person! What if the blade gets dulled? What if the edge chips? Don't think ghosts don't have a sense of touch; this is very painful!
It struggled frantically!
Alas, fate had gripped its hilt...
The next moment, Arthur gripped the sword with both hands. With an imposing manner like a rainbow, he unleashed a powerful sword strike!
(End of Chapter)
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