Before going to sleep at night, Caleb suddenly remembered that there was still a random item gift box in his inventory that he hadn't opened.
He thought for a moment, sat up from the bed, and then took out the gift box wrapped with ribbon from his inventory.
As soon as he opened it, Caleb heard a prompt sound:
*Ding!*
[Congratulations on obtaining the item:
- Black Sludge: General item. When held by a Poison-type Pokémon, it will gradually restore HP. If held by Pokémon of other types, HP will slowly decrease...
He couldn't use it right now.
Caleb glanced at it and put it away in his inventory, planning to go to the commercial area tomorrow morning to sell this Black Sludge and that Leaf Stone to earn more points, so he could buy the world travel ticket sooner.
Unknowingly, he had now saved up 62 000 points, taking another step closer to the 990 000 point milestone.
....
Early the next morning, Caleb teleported to the commercial area, found a stall, and set up the Black Sludge and Leaf Stone for sale...
The Black Sludge was priced at 1000 points... after all, it's an item with a limited audience. Unless they were trainers specializing in poison, few people would buy it.
He set the price of the Leaf Stone to be 2500 points, a price he derived by referencing other stall owners around him.
With his characteristically handsome face, Caleb sat down in the crowd and immediately attracted the attention of other players.
Players around whispered:
"Damn, look at that guy, isn't he the legendary big shot, Caleb?"
"How do you know? Have you seen him before?"
"Yeah, I was there when he came out of the Instance yesterday."
"So handsome! Is he setting up a stall?"
Caleb: "…"
He looked speechlessly at the crowd of players gathered around his stall who were only looking at him and not buying anything, feeling like his little stall couldn't continue.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Hatsumi, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, sent him a message.
It was only two words: {Meet up?}
Caleb replied with 'Wait for me', neatly packed up his stall, and directly teleported to Hatsumi's small shop.
When he arrived, he found that besides Hatsumi, there was also an old acquaintance there... Terrence.
Terrence greeted him cheerfully, "Hey buddy, long time no see!"
The Mime Jr. in the shop brought several cups of tea and placed them in front of the three.
Hatsumi rested her chin on her hand, looking amusedly at this scene, and asked, "I heard from Terrence that you turned into a child in that Transformation and Substitution Instance?"
Caleb took a sip of tea and nodded, "Yes."
Terrence looked gossipy, "Buddy, tell me, what was the outcome of that Mythical Pokémon Contest?"
Hearing this, Hatsumi also became interested. She deduced, "Ye Fan and Baek Gyeol returned to the Infinite World before you, so you won that contest."
Caleb nodded, "I won."
Terrence immediately excitedly said, "See! I told you he's awesome!"
Caleb: "So, what did you need me for?"
Hatsumi took out a ticket from her inventory and said, "It's like this. After one more Instance round, the Infinite World will hold a large-scale event among players. The winning team will receive a final reward of 100 000 points. In addition, the MVP of the team will receive a random SSS-grade item reward."
"Team?" Caleb asked.
Hatsumi nodded, "Yes, this is a major event specially held by the Infinite World to encourage players to get out more. All players in the Infinite World can participate. There's no penalty for failure. The top thousand teams will receive large point rewards. For this event, players need to participate in the form of teams, four people per team," she thought for a moment and asked, "Have you played PUBG in real life?"
'PUBG… Four people per team, dropped on an island, gathering supplies, surviving until the end.' Caleb nodded.
Hatsumi continued, "The mode of this event is this kind of battle royale. All players will be dropped on a large map, defeat opponents, and survive until the end."
Hearing this, Caleb looked at that ticket.
A light blue information panel appeared.
[Battle royale big stage, come if you dare! With your Pokémon, lead your team to the end. Generous rewards await you! In this event, players can freely attack each other without penalty. The prizes are abundant, what are you waiting for!]
Caleb: 'This ad is simplistic and crude. But…'
He looked at the 100 000 points and was tempted. The sooner he saved enough points, the sooner he could retire in the Pokémon world.
Seeing this, Hatsumi smiled slightly and asked, "Want to join?"
"Sure, when does it start?" Caleb asked.
Hatsumi answered, "There's still some time. We might have to participate in one more Instance before it starts."
"Okay." Caleb nodded.
Today was the second day of his rest period. In five days, he would enter the next Instance.
Seeing him agree, Hatsumi didn't say anything more. She asked Caleb and Terrence to stay for lunch and went to the kitchen with Mime Jr. to prepare lunch.
Caleb hadn't seen Terrence for a long time either. He thought of the three years he lived with him in Celestic Town and asked, "How have you been lately? Have you encountered any interesting Instances?"
Terrence thought for a moment and said, "No particularly interesting Instances…"
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something he encountered in the last Instance and said, "Oh right! In the last Instance, I encountered something really ridiculous. Do you know Goh?"
Caleb nodded, "Yes."
Players can watch Anime in the Infinite World. Before, when he had nothing to do, he caught up with the latest episode of Pokémon Journeys.
Terrence continued, "That guy is simply outrageous! He actually caught Suicune with an ordinary Poké Ball! All the players present were dumbfounded!"
Caleb: 'I have to admit it, that's indeed outrageous...'
Terrence said indignantly, "I've watched some of Journeys too. That Goh is purely here to disgust people. He can catch anything with one ball!"
Caleb: "…"
Terrence started laughing as he spoke, "But at the end, he was secretly beaten up by a player who couldn't stand it anymore!"
...
After the meal with friends ended, Caleb said goodbye to Terrence and Hatsumi and took his Pokémon back home...
The Black Sludge and Leaf Stone didn't sell. Caleb simply threw them into the storage room to gather dust, planning to take them out when they might be useful later.
For the next five days, he stayed home watching Anime, occasionally playing Switch multiplayer games with Lucario, and taking Dragonite and Hydreigon for rides in the park in the evening.
It could be said to be a very normal life. For Caleb, this was almost his ideal retirement life.
But, happy times are always very short...
Five days passed unnoticed. It was time for the weekly Instance again.
Caleb teleported to the Pikachu statue. Just as he was about to enter the Instance, he received a prompt:
[Special Instance: Only one Pokémon can be carried. Please choose one Pokémon!]
Caleb was stunned for a moment. He first teleported home and released all his Pokémon, then explained the situation.
"Wuu…" Dragonite called out, indicating it could go.
"Roar!" Hydreigon was not happy to hear this. It flew to Caleb's side, indicating that it was also very powerful.
Caleb glanced at Mimikyu in the corner.
Last time on the deserted island survival Instance, he had told Mimikyu that he would take it next time there was a chance.
He couldn't go back on his word...
Mimikyu's eyes lit up immediately, then it jumped to his arms.
Caleb held it and said apologetically to Lucario and the other Pokémon, "Next time there's a chance, I'll take you."
"Wuu~" Dragonite responded helplessly.
Lucario and Celebi naturally had no objection. Hydreigon hung its head, feeling down.
Caleb had no choice but to soothingly hug Hydreigon's head and say, "Be good and wait for me at home, little one."
"Growl!"
Hydreigon opened its mouth and licked Caleb's face. Like a child sulking, it covered his face with saliva.
"Growl!" (Go on!)
"Then, see you later!" Caleb wasn't angry even though his face was covered in saliva. He hugged each Pokémon one by one, then returned to the Pikachu statue with Mimikyu.
[Enter the Instance?]
"Yes!"
As a white light flashed, the scene before Caleb's eyes suddenly changed.
Notification sounds rang out one after another:
[Welcome player to the special Instance: Werewolf!]
[Special Instance: The item 'Book of Answers' has been disabled! Item 'Warp Beacon' has been disabled!]