Bai Chen glanced at the countdown.
Only ten minutes remained.
This trip had been an enormous harvest—
an Eternamax-compatible Dynamax Band, Z-Crystals of every type, two new partners indeede, and Cosmog, and most importantly… his Dominance Aura had evolved into its ultimate form.
Even though his levels hadn't risen much, his actual combat power had skyrocketed.
Every one of his partners now stood firmly at the Master Rank.
In his familiar room, Bai Chen said his farewells to Lillie and Lusamine.
Gladion still didn't know Bai Chen was a visitor from another world.
He never asked, and Bai Chen never felt the need to explain.
After witnessing Bai Chen's Max Supersize form with his own eyes, Gladion had immediately decided to set out for Galar to train.
He had no time to bother about Bai Chen's identity.
"Mr. Bai, please stay safe," Lillie said with a gentle smile.
Now that she knew he would return every month for one month, she no longer panicked like she had the first time.
"Don't worry. If I can't win, I'll run. If I seriously want to escape, no one in either world can stop me."
With Cosmog's Teleport, Bai Chen's survival ability had jumped to an entirely different level.
"Mo-gu!" Cosmog squeaked proudly, declaring that escape maneuvers were his specialty.
"I'll be counting on you," Lillie said, patting Cosmog's fluffy head.
Two minutes remained.
Bai Chen recalled all of his partners into their Poké Balls and slung them on his backpack.
"Then… I'm off."
The moment he finished speaking, he vanished.
Lillie stared at the empty room. Her expression dimmed for a moment before she straightened her posture.
"All right… Madam President, work hours begin now."
Monster Hunter World
As always, the system's teleportation was brutal.
Bai Chen was hurled to the ground with a loud thud.
At least this time, it didn't drop him directly in front of a hostile monster, unlike the previous two transfers.
He looked around.
"The opposite side of the Great Ravine… the Coral Highlands?"
The Coral Highlands were filled with massive terrestrial corals, an entire landscape that looked like an "ocean on land."
Strong updrafts surged through the area, lifting pollen, spores, and small creatures into the sky.
Bai Chen stood atop one enormous coral structure.
He pulled out his maps to compare landmarks.
The Research Commission had yet to produce any detailed map of the region—
It was still essentially unexplored territory.
The map he held was one the Field Master of the First Fleet had sketched through countless expeditions.
But Bai Chen had a second map—
a far more detailed one, drawn by the Ancient Wyverians, the original inhabitants of the New World.
No one knew the land better than they did.
After cross-referencing the landmarks, Bai Chen finally pinpointed his location.
He released Cosmog from its Ultra Ball.
The little nebula Pokémon floated out, eyes sparkling as it looked around, fascinated by the strange ecosystem.
"There's an Ancient Wyverian settlement nearby. Let's mark that for future Teleports."
The Coral Highlands were a region he would definitely need to revisit.
If he registered the location now, he could simply teleport here next time.
Ancient Forest – Forest Village
In the Forest Village's council hall, Yoomlana was discussing tribal matters with the other elders.
A sudden pop echoed through the room.
Bai Chen materialized right in the center of the hall.
"…and then next we—"
Yoomlana's sentence froze halfway.
She stared blankly at the man who suddenly appeared in the heart of the council chamber… and at the floating fuzzball beside him.
Bai Chen looked around casually, then removed his helmet.
"Oh, looks like everyone's here."
"Elder Bai Chen?" Yoomlana blinked, still processing the situation.
"How did you suddenly appear inside the council hall?"
"Don't worry about small details like that. It's been a month—glad to see you're doing well, Great Elder."
He swept a glance at her—
and silently thought to himself: One month later, and she still looks massive…
"It's been a long time. We're relieved to see you return safely."
"Since you're all here, that saves me the trouble of gathering everyone."
Bai Chen pulled out twelve Poké Balls and handed them to Yoomlana.
"These are the Poké Balls I promised."
He had originally traded ten for information about the Valstrax and two more for a diablos egg.
Today, he came to honor that deal.
Yoomlana had the attendants take the Poké Balls away on a tray.
"And the information about the Valstrax?" Bai Chen asked.
"Please wait a moment," Yoomlana, sending someone to retrieve the prepared documents.
As the attendants left, Yoomlana studied Cosmog, who was joyfully zipping around the hall.
Cosmog circled Yoomlana, curiously—the only dragon-humanoid in the hall, she was the most eye-catching to him.
"Elder Bai Chen, is this your new partner?"
"Yes. You can just call him 'Cosmog.' I was able to teleport here because of him."
"Teleport…?" Yoomlana murmured, stunned. "Is that… magic?"
"Of course not. Just his special ability."
Yoomlana silently grew even more convinced—
Bai Chen was an unfathomably mysterious being.
He tamed Nergigante, wielded strange powers, and had partners no one in this world could understand.
Bai Chen didn't linger.
He reached into his bag and took out several small seeds.
"Great Elder, I have something I want your village to help cultivate."
He handed the seeds to an attendant, who then passed them to Yoomlana.
Yoomlana inspected the handful of seeds, her expression puzzled.
"These are…?"
"Apricorns—the core material used to create Poké Balls. If you can successfully grow them, we'll be able to produce Poké Balls here."
The hall gasped.
Yoomlana immediately cupped the seeds with both hands, terrified she might accidentally crush them.
Poké Balls were the foundation of their village's future plans—
And Bai Chen was giving her the key to producing them.
And judging by his tone… he intended to leave the entire stock with them.
"Elder Bai Chen… you mean… we can keep these?" Yoomlana asked cautiously.
"Yes. Your people are skilled at cultivating trees and fruits. Please try raising these Apricorns. If you manage to grow them, you're free to use them however you want."
Cross-world plant cultivation was notoriously difficult—
Even inter-country transplanting failed half the time.
Bai Chen expected that out of the thousands of seeds, even one surviving would be fortunate.
But if anyone could do it, the Ancient Wyverians—masters of the New World's soil—could.
If successful, he could also bring the grown Apricorns and saplings back to Astera, using the Wyverians as a convenient "source" explanation.
The elders exchanged stunned looks.
This felt like their lifelong goddess suddenly stripping down and stepping into their room, whispering:
"Come here~."
There had to be a catch… right?
Yoomlana steadied her breath and asked:
"There is… no price? And if we commercialize Poké Balls in the future…?"
"Just give me a small cut of the profits."
The elders inhaled sharply.
What… what saint descended before them?
Surely the heavens had sent him to guide their tribe!
The already sky-high image of Bai Chen in their hearts was now reaching divine levels.
An attendant returned with the map and documents.
"Great Elder, the Valstrax's information."
"Give it to Elder Bai Chen," Yoomlana ordered.
Bai Chen unfolded the map.
"This is… the Coral Highlands?"
Yoomlana nodded.
"The Highlands are the richest region in the entire continent. Many ancient dragons dwell there. Our scouts observed the Valstax at the highest peak—nesting, preparing to raise her young."
The marked location was within an unexplored region, far above the areas represented in the game-like maps of his previous life.
According to the Wyverians, the peak reached nearly 4,000 meters.
Bai Chen folded the map.
"I'll investigate the situation soon."
He looked up.
"By the way, Great Elder—any new requests this month?"
"Of course. You wish to depart immediately?"
Yoomlana had accumulated a mountain of quests during the past month.
Tasks once abandoned due to a lack of capable hunters were now viable again—with Bai Chen present.
"Prepare everything for me. Once I return from Astera, I'll choose."
"Understood. I'll organize all of them."
"One more thing. I'll have some time this month to help you train knights. Select ten candidates, and I'll try awakening their potential."
Yoomlana almost cheered.
Tools like Poké Balls were useful—
But people to wield them were the true foundation.
"We've already completed the selection. I've recorded all their information in a roster."
She signaled the attendant, who carried over an absurdly thick book.
Bai Chen blinked.
"Why is it so many?"
The roster was nearly as thick as the Research Commission's mission ledger.
Yoomlana gave a proud smile.
"This is after three rounds of screening. In the first round alone, 1,332 villagers volunteered."
The Forest Village had only a little over three thousand residents—
meaning one-third of the entire tribe applied.
"After eliminating unsuitable candidates, we ended up with these 131 elites."
Bai Chen quickly flipped through the pages.
Men, women, adults, teens—even a few children.
A true mixed pool.
He closed the book and slipped it into his bag.
"I'll read through these today and tomorrow and pick the first batch of knights."
He beckoned to Cosmog.
"If nothing else, I'll head back to Astera first. See you tomorrow."
Cosmog read the image in Bai Chen's mind—
and Teleported them away.
The hall fell into silence.
Only then did the elders whisper:
"That ability… is truly miraculous…"
"Return to the agenda," Yoomlana said firmly.
"Elder Bai Chen has done so much for us. We absolutely must not fall behind."
Astera – Fourth Fleet Airship
On the Starship's fourth deck, Ira was sorting through the backlog of missions.
With Bai Chen gone for the past month, the "order" of Astera had slowly returned to its previous laziness.
Last month, everyone had been motivated; this month, enthusiasm had waned.
Four-star and lower missions had begun piling up again—
over twenty of them now.
Ira sighed.
"I thought everyone would keep working hard… but it's the same as before."
She closed the mission book and glanced at a particular slip of parchment.
It was the investigation request Bai Chen had taken a month ago.
Given his strength, he should have completed it quickly.
"Did something happen during his investigation…?"
Just as she wondered, a loud commotion erupted from the lift.
Dozens of hunters rushed up in a panic.
They sprinted straight to the front desk.
"Ira! Any three-star hunts available? Hurry!"
"Register this quest for me!"
"And this one! Quickly!"
Ira stared at the suddenly overflowing counter.
"What… what's happening? It's only the afternoon—why are so many hunters here?"
Before she could react, more hunters behind them shouted:
"Hurry! He's coming up any second!"
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