Daily Mission Complete!
Mission: Run 10 Kilometres Rewards: – 400 System Points – Level 7 Intelligence Dressed in a light set of sportswear, Adrian Sterling slowed to a stop in a quiet city park and let out a steady breath.
Running ten kilometres had barely qualified as exercise anymore.
After receiving another +1 Physique reward from the System, his physical abilities had now been enhanced twice.
Each enhancement built upon the previous one rather than simply adding a fixed amount.
In other words, every future improvement would become even more significant than the last.
Adrian clenched his fist.
For a brief moment, he felt as though he could crush the air itself.
Of course…
He knew that was only an illusion brought about by his newfound strength.
Still, if his physique continued improving at this rate, he might one day rival the absurd physical abilities of a Super Pallet Towner.
Perhaps attacks like Thunderbolt or Flamethrower wouldn’t even faze him.
“Heh…” “Maybe I’ll even be able to lift a two-ton Cosmog one day.” Chuckling to himself, Adrian sat down on a nearby park bench and examined the mission rewards.
The 400 System Points were nothing unusual.
Every daily mission awarded points.
The reward that truly interested him was the second one.
Level 7 Intelligence.
It was the first time the System had ever given him such a reward.
Adrian couldn’t help wondering…
If there was a Level 7 Intelligence, did that mean there were Levels 1 through 10?
The only question was whether Level 1 represented the highest rank…
Or the lowest.
Without hesitation, he selected the reward.
— Level 7 Intelligence Location: Duo Duo Breeding Shop, Anqing City Information: A Carbink there is about to undergo a mutation.
— “A mutation?” Adrian’s eyes lit up.
Carbink were Rock/Fairy-type Pokémon that lived deep underground in large colonies, constantly digging tunnels through the earth.
Because of their large population, they weren’t considered particularly rare.
The Sterling Family controlled countless mines throughout Xia Country, so they frequently encountered Carbink while extracting valuable ores.
Although the combination of Rock and Fairy was fairly powerful defensively…
Very few Trainers actually chose to raise Carbink.
The reason was simple.
Outside of its exceptional Defense and Special Defense, its remaining stats were disappointingly average.
In official competitions, Carbink often served as nothing more than a defensive wall, slowly exhausting the opponent.
Its offensive capabilities left much to be desired.
— Ordinarily…
Carbink had no evolution.
However…
Under extremely rare circumstances…
It could mutate.
And once that mutation succeeded…
It transformed into Diancie.
The difference between the two was nothing short of miraculous.
Twenty years earlier, the World Trainer Association had officially classified Diancie as a Mythical Pokémon.
Mythical Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon stood above even Pseudo-Legendaries.
Every known Tier 1 Legendary belonged to one of those two categories.
In other words…
Diancie possessed the potential of a true Tier 1 Legendary.
Despite the countless Carbink living throughout the world…
Only two Trainers were publicly known to possess a Diancie.
One lived in Rome.
The other…
In the United States.
Both were Champion-level Trainers.
— Of course…
A mutation didn’t guarantee success.
When a Carbink began mutating, it merely gained the possibility of becoming a Diancie.
Whether the transformation actually succeeded depended almost entirely on luck.
“I have to see this for myself.” Adrian immediately made up his mind.
A Carbink already undergoing mutation was simply too valuable to ignore.
At the same time, he finally gained a rough understanding of the System’s intelligence rankings.
If Level 7 Intelligence involved information this valuable…
Then it certainly wasn’t a low-ranking category.
Most likely…
Level 1 represented the lowest grade.
As for the highest…
It was probably Level 10, though Adrian couldn’t be certain.
— Rather than returning home, Adrian pulled out his phone and called for transportation.
Five minutes later…
A massive Corviknight descended gracefully from the sky.
Its powerful claws firmly gripped a reinforced passenger cabin suspended beneath it.
The pilot, dressed in a company uniform, smiled politely.
“Are you the passenger who booked the Corviknight Air Taxi?” “That’s right.” Adrian nodded before showing the booking confirmation on his phone.
After verifying the reservation, the pilot invited him aboard.
Adrian stepped into the enclosed cabin.
With a powerful flap of its steel-black wings…
Corviknight soared into the sky.
The cabin swayed gently for a few moments before stabilizing completely.
— Using Pokémon as transportation had become completely normal in modern society.
Whether by land…
Sea…
Or air…
Pokémon were everywhere.
Even so…
Adrian personally disliked riding them.
The experience simply wasn’t very comfortable.
Cars offered air conditioning…
Comfortable seats…
Entertainment systems…
And smooth rides.
Flying on the back of a Pokémon offered none of those luxuries.
Instead…
There was constant turbulence.
Wind.
Sunlight.
And endless shaking.
Flying was even riskier.
Every year, numerous Trainers fell from Flying-type Pokémon due to accidents, resulting in unnecessary injuries—or worse.
— Operating Pokémon as transportation also required proper licensing.
Whether riding on land, sea, or through the air…
Every Trainer needed the appropriate permit.
Furthermore, many cities prohibited private individuals from offering Pokémon transportation services.
Even Trainers themselves weren’t allowed to freely ride Pokémon inside urban areas.
Large Pokémon—and Pokémon above Level 20—were often forbidden from being released within city limits.
If one suddenly lost control…
The resulting destruction could be catastrophic.
Unfortunately…
Such incidents occurred every single day.
Many Trainers insisted that their Pokémon would never lose control.
But unexpected situations could trigger even the calmest Pokémon.
For that reason, the authorities enforced these regulations very strictly.
Anyone caught breaking them usually received fines painful enough to make them remember the lesson for a long time.
— Anqing City bordered Yindu City.
Even so…
The distance between them remained considerable.
This world was enormous.
Its cities were equally vast, often separated by forests, rivers, and mountain ranges.
Between Anqing City and Yindu City stretched Hutou Mountain, a massive wilderness spanning nearly 200 to 300 kilometres.
At that moment…
Corviknight was already flying high above the mountain range.
Hundreds of millions of Pokémon inhabited the dense forests below.
A large flock of Pidgeotto soon appeared in the distance.
The wild Flying-types flew directly toward the Corviknight before suddenly veering away several hundred metres in advance.
Commercial flight companies carefully maintained designated aerial routes through the wilderness.
They first established dominance over the local Flying-type Pokémon…
Then gradually earned their cooperation by regularly providing rewards such as high-quality Energy Cubes.
Over time, the Pokémon accepted the arrangement and no longer attacked aircraft travelling along those routes.
Of course…
Nothing was ever completely safe.
Accidents still happened from time to time.
And when they did…
The only thing that truly mattered was whether you possessed enough strength to survive.
Give me more motivation!