“After you left, the people from our transport vehicle all went their separate ways.
I continued through the forest alone, and by pure luck…
I found this.” As she spoke, Claire Reed held up a jagged, fang-shaped tooth.
Lucas glanced at it, and his pupils immediately contracted.
“That’s…
a Dragon Fang!” Claire Reed nodded gently.
“Mm.
I stumbled across it by accident.
Then I scanned it with my wrist recorder, and my evaluation score immediately jumped to Second-Tier.
Not long after that, I ran into those people.
At first, they were only interested in my score, but after chasing me for a while…” She trailed off, falling silent as lingering fear flashed across her face.
She cautiously looked up at Lucas .
Only after realizing he wasn’t looking at her with strange or judgmental eyes did she quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Um…
you saved me.
If you don’t mind, you should keep the Dragon Fang.
Having the evaluation score is already enough for me.” Holding the Dragon Fang with both hands, she offered it to him.
Lucas shook his head instead of accepting it.
“You found it through your own luck, so keep it.
Just be more careful next time.” After a brief pause, he added, “And one more thing.
Put your braids and those thick glasses back on.
It’ll save you from attracting this kind of trouble again.” Normally, Claire Reed’s plain appearance hid her beauty completely.
But once the braids were undone and the oversized glasses were gone…
She became extraordinarily captivating.
Even compared to Emily , she wasn’t the slightest bit inferior.
In fact, with her figure and natural charm, she was arguably even more alluring.
“Eh…” Claire Reed’s face instantly turned crimson.
“O-Okay…” She lowered her head shyly and quietly began redoing her braids.
Seeing that she seemed to be fine now, Lucas prepared to leave.
“W-Wait…” Seeing him about to walk away, Claire Reed instinctively called out.
“Um…
could I travel with you?” Lucas looked back.
The girl stood there like a frightened little rabbit, wearing an expression that was both pitiful and helpless.
He couldn’t help letting out a quiet sigh.
He neither agreed…
Nor refused.
Instead, he simply slowed his pace and continued walking ahead.
Claire Reed had expected him to reject her outright.
But seeing that he wasn’t actually leaving her behind, her face immediately blossomed into a bright smile.
“Lin…
Lucas , you’re unexpectedly a really good person.” Her laughter carried both the innocence of a young girl and a seductive charm that seemed far beyond her years.
Even Lucas couldn’t help feeling his bones go slightly weak after hearing it.
Still…
What did she mean by unexpectedly a good person?
He led her back to the place where he had been grilling meat earlier.
After adding more firewood to the campfire, he placed two more pieces of Bear-Tiger Beast meat over the flames.
Before long, the rich aroma filled the air once more, carrying with it faint traces of elemental energy.
“Th-This…” Claire Reed looked surprised.
“Is this…
Two-Star beast meat?” Lucas didn’t answer.
He simply removed several pieces from the fire, handed one to Claire Reed, kept one for himself, and fed the remaining portions to his three Pokémon.
“Thank you…” Claire Reed released Charmander and split her portion evenly with it.
Her table manners were exceptionally refined.
Instead of biting directly into the meat, she carefully tore it into small pieces before placing them into her mouth.
The moment she took her first bite, her eyes lit up.
The flavor couldn’t exactly compare to a luxurious feast.
But being able to eat something this delicious in the middle of the wilderness…
It felt like a blessing.
By the end of the meal, the atmosphere between them had become much more relaxed.
Meanwhile, Claire Reed’s impression of Lucas soared.
“Lucas …
you’re really a good person.” Her clear, innocent voice simply expressed her sincere gratitude.
Yet hearing those words again…
Lucas ‘s eyelid twitched.
They hadn’t even known each other for two hours.
And he had already received two “good person” cards.
“By the way,” Claire Reed continued, “you’re really amazing.
At our age, you already have three Pokémon.” “You aren’t bad yourself,” Lucas replied.
“Summoning a Charmander is impressive enough, but raising it to Level 5 in such a short time isn’t something an ordinary person could do.” “Oh, you mean Charmander’s level?” She smiled sheepishly.
“Actually…
the resources were left behind by my parents before they…
disappeared.
I never expected Charmander to level up so quickly after using them.” Claire Reed was even more innocent than Lucas had imagined.
He had only casually asked one question.
Yet she honestly revealed nearly everything about herself.
From what he learned, Claire Reed’s parents had been a pair of scientists.
They had only come to this small rural base in Jiangnan Province because of a research project.
Later, another experiment required them to return to the city.
Not long afterward…
Terrible news arrived.
The couple had supposedly died in an accident during the experiment.
When ten-year-old Claire Reed first heard the news, it felt like the world had collapsed around her.
For the next five years…
She lived alone using the savings her parents had left behind.
Then, not long ago, after summoning her Pokémon, she received a mysterious message.
Its contents were simple.
If she wanted to find her parents…
She had to reach at least the strength of a Four-Star Trainer within two years and travel to the Capital Base.
Once she arrived there…
Everything would become clear.
The thought of seeing the parents she had lost five years ago again filled her with determination.
That was why she was willing to do whatever it took to pass this examination.
Only by advancing could she continue climbing from a rural base to a town-level base, then a district-level base, and beyond.
Lucas had no intention of judging anyone’s reason for becoming stronger.
As someone who had transmigrated, he understood all too well the helplessness and sorrow that existed in the world.
In his previous life, ordinary people spent their entire lives struggling just to afford housing and daily necessities.
Those who managed to earn a little money sought to expand their businesses further.
Because only by constantly moving forward could they keep up with society.
This world was no different.
If you wanted to live free from the control of others…
If you wanted no one to dictate your fate…
Then you had to become stronger.
Stronger than everyone else.
Only by standing at the very peak could one truly understand what this new world really was.
After finishing their meal, the two began cleaning up before preparing to rest.
In the wilderness, knowing how to conserve one’s stamina was an essential survival skill.
The forest was filled with ferocious beasts, poisonous insects, and venomous creatures.
If someone carelessly lay down just anywhere…
Whether they would still wake up the next morning was anyone’s guess.