And so, for the next half month, Adrian Cross stayed at Kamar-Taj.
He wasn’t short on money anymore, so it didn’t really matter how well his pet shop was doing.
As for Tony Stark’s palladium poisoning, Adrian Cross figured he probably wouldn’t need to worry about that anymore either.
So his stay at Kamar-Taj was actually quite relaxing.
During this time, he had tentatively tried learning some of the sorcerers’ spells.
The results, however, were extremely disappointing.
After all, he wasn’t some novel protagonist blessed with extraordinary talent.
When it came to learning magic, his aptitude was basically zero.
Eventually, Adrian Cross gave up.
He spent his free time wandering around Kamar-Taj, while devoting the rest of his days to training the psychic power that had been steadily growing stronger.
BOOM!
“This is almost twice as strong as before, isn’t it?”
Sitting at the edge of a cliff, Adrian Cross rubbed his chin as he watched one of Kamar-Taj’s massive mountain boulders get crushed by his psychic power before tumbling into the abyss below.
Since Celebi wasn’t by his side, Adrian Cross could only use the System to confirm that it was healthy.
However, he could still estimate Celebi’s progress through the Mental Power it granted him.
And by now, his mental power was almost twice as strong as before.
“Celebi, just how many levels have you gained?”
Adrian Cross muttered quietly.
And just then—
“Bi-bi!”
The familiar cry he hadn’t heard for half a month suddenly reached his ears.
Before Adrian Cross could even stand up, Celebi came flying in from the side and crashed headfirst into his arms.
Bam!
Adrian Cross had the wind knocked out of him by the “Celebi cannonball.”
After coughing several times, he finally looked down at the little Pokémon in his arms with delight.
“Celebi?”
“Bi-bi!”
The little Pokémon blinked its large eyes and chirped happily twice before familiarly climbing back onto its throne—
Adrian Cross’s left shoulder.
Adrian Cross immediately opened Celebi’s status panel.
[Celebi]
[Types: Psychic / Grass]
[Level: 25]
[Experience: 0/400]
[Moves: Recover, Safeguard, Confusion, Ancient Power, Natural Gift, Perish Song, Song of Time (Special Move), Time Travel (Ultimate Skill, learnable at Level 50)]
“Level 25?”
Adrian Cross stared at that astonishing number in disbelief.
He knew Celebi must have gained a lot of levels, but even if someone had beaten him to death, he never would have guessed that it had gained a full twenty levels!
After all, the higher a Pokémon’s level became, the more Experience it needed to level up.
How many Abominations would he have needed to beat to death to grind out twenty levels?
Jackpot!
This was an absolute jackpot!
There was no question about it.
Celebi’s increase in level alone had already made this trip completely worthwhile.
More importantly…
“System, what’s this ‘Song of Time’ move?”
Adrian Cross was certain that this move hadn’t been on Celebi’s previous move list.
He had never heard of such a move in the Pokémon games either.
[Reporting to the host: In addition to their initial moves, Pokémon have a chance to learn one additional new move every 20 levels.]
[The move learned is entirely random and is related to the host’s method of raising the Pokémon.]
[The ‘Song of Time’ learned by the host’s Celebi is such a move.
It is a special move Celebi learned after absorbing a large amount of temporal energy.]
[Song of Time]
[Type: Psychic]
[Description: Celebi consumes a large amount of stamina to unleash the full power of time, temporarily transferring all attacks into the gap between space and time.]
[Duration: 1 second]
There was a chance to learn an additional move every twenty levels?
“So there’s a mechanic like that too…”
Once again, Adrian Cross felt that his earlier judgment had been correct.
Leveling up his Pokémon was even more important than he’d imagined.
But he quickly realized something else.
Since Celebi had come out, the Ancient One should have emerged as well.
Adrian Cross immediately stood up.
With a thought, his psychic power surged around him, and he shot toward the Ancient One’s residence like a cannonball.
“Thank you for your assistance this time, Adrian.”
When Adrian Cross met the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme immediately expressed her gratitude.
Adrian Cross merely smiled without saying much and gently stroked Celebi, which had already fallen asleep on his shoulder.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to be overly modest.
Celebi had indeed done a great deal of work this time.
The Ancient One smiled again.
“Have you decided what reward you’d like for your assistance?”
That was the Sorcerer Supreme for you.
She certainly didn’t waste time when it came to keeping her promises.
“I decided a long time ago.”
Adrian Cross immediately looked at the Ancient One.
He had already given considerable thought to what he wanted as his reward.
Asking for money was obviously pointless.
And the thing he wanted most—the Eye of Agamotto—was something the Ancient One would never give him.
After eliminating those possibilities, there actually weren’t many things left worth requesting.
So after thinking it over during the past half month, Adrian Cross had long since made his decision.
“I’d like permission to read the Book of the Vishanti!”
The Book of the Vishanti—
It was a magical tome containing all known white magic in existence and possessed immense magical power.
Adrian Cross also knew that the Ancient One possessed this very book.
She had obtained it during her travels through the various dimensions after defeating a powerful griffin known as the Beast Guardian.
Hearing Adrian Cross’s request, even the Ancient One was momentarily taken aback.
Only her most trusted disciples knew of the Book of the Vishanti’s existence.
Even many of Kamar-Taj’s sorcerers didn’t know about it.
The fact that Adrian Cross knew of the book was undoubtedly beyond her expectations.
“Very well.”
Still, the Ancient One quickly agreed.
The white magic recorded within the Book of the Vishanti was almost entirely non-aggressive, and she was willing to share it with anyone who sincerely wished to learn magic and possessed a good heart.
Although Adrian Cross’s origins remained a mystery, the Ancient One had already accepted him.
Naturally, she had no reason to refuse this request.
“Follow me.”
The Ancient One drew a portal through the air.
Adrian Cross stepped through and immediately found himself in a strange place.
A unique ring-shaped structure floated in midair, while all manner of books were stored throughout the surrounding space.
“This is Kamar-Taj’s library.”
The Ancient One smiled and pointed toward the distance.
“That is the Book of the Vishanti.”
Adrian Cross followed the direction of her finger and spotted a seemingly ordinary book.
He walked over to it.
Then he opened it.
The instant the book opened, everything around him abruptly transformed.
It was as though he had fallen into an endless void, surrounded by countless words and magical diagrams.
“The Book of the Vishanti is a powerful magical artifact.
Its pages and knowledge are infinite.”
“Adrian, I can tell that your aptitude for magic isn’t particularly high.
I hope you understand your own limits and don’t lose yourself within its spells.”
The Ancient One was clearly worried that Adrian Cross might become lost in the vast sea of magic.
Adrian Cross, however, had never even considered such a thing.
He already knew perfectly well that he wasn’t cut out for learning magic.
And he had absolutely no interest in any of the white magic contained within the Book of the Vishanti!
The real reason he had come here was because…
“System, all this should be exchangeable for Points, right?”
Adrian Cross asked expectantly.
According to the System’s rules, defeating enemies, changing or participating in plot events, obtaining treasures, acquiring certain forms of special knowledge, and many other things could all be exchanged for Points.
And that was exactly why Adrian Cross had come here.
Sure enough—
[Detected special acquisition: ‘Large Amount of White Magic Knowledge.’]
[Exchangeable value: 3,000 Points.]