The next morning, Ace rubbed his head, feeling a slight hangover, and groggily sat up from the bed.
Removing a tanned, wheat-colored thigh from his leg, Ace looked at Zinnia beside him with a complex expression.
"Hidden Quest (Loss of Innocence) completed. Quest Reward: 1 Gold Coin, 50 Task Points."
"Gift Pack has been stored for you, available for collection at any time."
"Hidden Quest (Confluence of Twin Dragons) completed. Quest Reward: 100,000 Gold Coins, 50 Task Points."
"Gift Pack has been stored for you, available for collection at any time."
As Ace got out of bed, two hidden quests were completed.
Glancing at the names of the two quests, Ace rolled his eyes, then clicked on the description for the Confluence of Twin Dragons quest.
After reading the description, Ace paused slightly, then looked again in disbelief. After confirming he hadn't misread it, an embarrassed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Confluence of Twin Dragons: The Dragons of Truth and Ideals are reunited, and the Yin and Yang forces align with the Great Dao. Dual cultivation with a Dragon-type woman will yield unexpected rewards."
Ace had the system scan his body and found that in just one night, his physical fitness had increased by at least three points, and his nerve reaction speed and dynamic vision had significantly improved.
"A blessing in disguise?"
Ace looked at the sleeping Zinnia, sighed helplessly, tucked the blanket around her, and turned to walk into the bathroom to clean himself of the lingering residue.
Hearing the sound of running water, Zinnia, who had seemed asleep, instantly opened her eyes.
She had been awake for a while but hadn't decided how to face Ace.
Driven by impulse, Zinnia had run into Ace's room, and also driven by impulse, she had fulfilled a deeply buried desire.
"This was the only way."
Zinnia sighed. Without that moment of impulse, Zinnia knew that no matter how long she stayed by Ace's side, their relationship would never have reached this point.
Zinnia sat up, letting the blanket slide away, then quickly put on her scattered clothes.
When Ace emerged from the shower, Zinnia was already seated in a chair, looking straight ahead as she spoke to Ace: "I apologize, Ace-sama. I lost control last night."
Seeing Zinnia adopt a purely business-like demeanor, Ace couldn't help but smile.
He tossed the towel he had used to dry his hair to Zinnia and said casually, "Go wash up. We have things to do soon."
Zinnia froze, clutching the towel.
But looking into Ace's eyes, Zinnia understood. She lowered her head, her face slightly flushed, and replied, "Yes."
With that, Zinnia stood up and walked into the bathroom.
Ace, meanwhile, walked over to the guest room's floor-to-ceiling window. As he gazed at the ocean view, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
...
It was a little past nine in the morning, and Sapphire, who had already obtained the Gym Badge, arrived early at the same beach as before.
Although she had learned from Ruby that Steven Stone had left Dewford Town, Sapphire didn't know where to begin searching for him in the vast ocean.
Thinking of the battle Ace had promised, Sapphire could only suppress her impatience and came to the spot where she had met Ace yesterday.
"Hey, Sapphire," Ruby said, holding his hands behind his head, looking bored. "His promise was clearly an excuse. Why are you so serious about it? He might have already left."
"I'll wait anyway!"
Sapphire told Ruby, "Anyone a Gym Leader speaks of like that must be incredibly powerful. If I can learn even a little from him, it will definitely improve my strength."
"Tch, barbaric person," Ruby couldn't help but grumble, somewhat indifferent to Pokémon battles.
"It's been so many years, Ruby. You've really changed quite a bit."
Just as Ruby was complaining, Ace and Zinnia walked over. Ace spoke to Ruby.
Ruby was momentarily stunned to hear Ace call his name.
But as Ruby put on his glasses and clearly saw Ace's appearance, he froze instantly. He spoke with a slight tremble: "Ace! How are you here?!"
"I'm on vacation."
Ace walked up to Ruby, placed his hand on Ruby's head, ruffled his hair vigorously, and then whispered, "Uncle Norman is very angry, and the consequences will be severe. Behave yourself."
Hearing Ace's words, Ruby's face turned instantly pale. At that moment, he recalled the fear of being dominated by his own father.
Seeing Ruby settle down, Ace walked over to Sapphire and asked calmly, "Did you get the Badge?"
Sapphire showed the Badge pinned to her waist pouch, displaying it to Ace.
Ace nodded after seeing it and said, "I will only use one Pokémon. How long you can last depends on your capability."
With that, Ace took out a Great Ball that Sapphire hadn't seen before. Upon opening it, a Blaziken appeared before Sapphire.
Sapphire's eyes lit up at the sight of the tall, well-proportioned Blaziken. She quickly retreated, hurled her Poké Ball, and a Combusken appeared in front of the Blaziken.
"Heh, she's definitely going to lose."
Ruby, having recovered, saw the scene. Although he hadn't battled in a long time, he still had his former eyesight. Comparing the two Pokémon, Ruby knew that Sapphire's Combusken wasn't fit to tie the laces of Ace's Blaziken.
"Chicky, Double Kick!"
Sapphire chose to attack first. Combusken charged forward, then delivered a rapid succession of kicks toward Blaziken.
Blaziken yawned with its right hand and casually waved its left arm twice, easily blocking Combusken's attacks.
"Get serious, Blaziken. Or your training load will be tripled."
Ace said flatly, which instantly "revitalized" Blaziken. The fire of fighting spirit ignited around its wrists.
"Chicky, retreat quickly!"
Sapphire saw this and immediately shouted at her Combusken.
Combusken instantly retreated, and at that moment, Blaziken unleashed a Fire Punch. Flames immediately erupted, and a fire-formed fist roared toward Combusken.
"That is... a variation of Fire Punch?!"
Ruby's eyes widened. Watching the massive fire fist engulf Combusken, a feeling of utter powerlessness arose in his heart.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi