If Worst Comes to Worst, I'll Give You a Bite

Lin Xia immediately sat up straight and brought up all the points he had marked earlier that he did not understand.

After seeing Lin Xia's attitude toward learning, Lou Gao began correcting and guiding him with great seriousness as well.

Lin Xia listened with rapt attention. Many vague concepts and questions he had encountered while reading suddenly became clear under the explanations of Lou Gao, a Divine Craftsman.

Over the following hours, Lin Xia sometimes listened intently and sometimes raised his own questions or insights. Master and disciple went back and forth, the atmosphere lively yet focused.

Larvitar, meanwhile, quietly stayed in Lou Gao's arms. As he gnawed on the delicious Star Cold Iron, he listened to his Master and the Old Man who could provide tasty stones discussing rocks that instinctively felt familiar to him. From time to time, he let out contented little "Mm-mm" sounds, blinking his Big Eyes as though he were trying hard to understand something too.

But he had clearly failed to understand!

His little brain simply did not support Larvitar in figuring out such knowledge.

Time flew by amid the flow of knowledge, and before they knew it, the sun was nearing its zenith.

Lou Gao looked up at the sky, stopped his explanation, and said to Lin Xia with a smile:

"All right, we'll stop here for today. Learning must proceed step by step; bite off more than you can chew, and you won't digest it. First, let's fill our stomachs!"

After saying that, Lou Gao clapped his hands. A servant from the Association immediately came at his call. Lou Gao instructed him:

"Prepare a table of Dishes and deliver them to the Backyard. Make it lavish."

Before long, a square table was set beneath the shade of a tree in the courtyard. Steaming, fragrant Dishes were brought out one after another: large chunks of Soul Beast meat stewed until tender in rich gravy, crisp green vegetables, soft and fragrant white-flour steamed buns, and a large basin of fresh fish soup.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Lou Gao invited Lin Xia to sit.

"Come, Xiao Xia, eat with your Teacher. Blacksmithing takes a lot of strength, so eating is also a Top Priority!"

He picked up a steamed bun first, grabbed a large piece of meat with his chopsticks, and ate with great gusto.

Although Lin Xia could Eat Ore to stave off hunger, he still craved normal food somewhat. He immediately answered respectfully, "Yes," and picked up his bowl and chopsticks.

He placed a piece of meat in his mouth. Its aroma filled his senses, and its texture was excellent.

Lin Xia then tried the vegetables and fish soup. Both tasted very good.

Just as Lin Xia was about to continue feasting, he suddenly felt something tugging at his Trouser Leg.

Looking down, he saw that Larvitar had somehow slipped from Lou Gao's arms and was now squatting by his feet. His two Small Claws hugged the mostly gnawed-through Star Cold Iron as he raised his little head and looked longingly at the meat and vegetables in Lin Xia's hands.

Those scarlet Big Eyes were full of pity, even carrying a trace of... disdain?

He carefully pointed at the green vegetable leaves in Lin Xia's bowl with his Small Claws, then quickly pointed at the hard, cold Mineral Ore in his arms. A low "Yogi?" sounded from his throat, as if he were asking:

"Master, what is that green, limp thing you're eating? Is it tastier than my stone?"

"If Worst Comes to Worst, I'll give you a bite?"

Seeing Larvitar's little eyes brimming with the superiority of "Mineral Ore above all else," then looking at the vegetables in his bowl, Lin Xia could not help laughing.

He picked up a small piece of tender stewed Soul Beast meat and tentatively held it out to Larvitar.

"Here, this meat smells great. Want to try some?"

Larvitar cautiously leaned in to sniff it. The rich aroma of meat made his Small Nose twitch, and he seemed a little tempted.

After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth and carefully touched the piece of meat with his teeth.

But in the next second—

"Ptooey! Ptooey, ptooey!"

As if he had tasted something unbearable, Larvitar immediately spat out the little piece of meat. He shook his head vigorously, wiped his mouth with his Claws in disgust, and let out a dissatisfied "Wurrr" from his throat.

Hugging his Star Cold Iron, he took another heavy bite. Only after tasting its flavor did he finally let out a satisfied sound.

"Yogi!"

The scene made Lou Gao, who was eating heartily, burst into laughter. He nearly choked on his steamed bun.

"Hahaha! This Little Guy is a loyal Mineral Ore gourmet! Looks like he's decided to eat stones for the rest of his life!"

Lin Xia could not help smiling as well. He shook his head helplessly and gave up on making Larvitar try it. After all, Pokemon and humans did not share the same Taste Buds!

After Lou Gao spoke, Lin Xia set down his bowl and chopsticks as well. The thought he had been brewing for so long had finally reached the moment to be voiced.

Lin Xia took a deep breath and sat up straight, his tone respectful but carrying the distinctive eagerness of youth.

"Teacher, this disciple... has an idea and would like to ask you to decide on it."

"Oh?"

Lou Gao was gnawing enthusiastically on a meat bone. At this, he raised his eyes, one thick brow lifting slightly to signal Lin Xia to continue.

"What idea? Let's hear it."

"It concerns Larvitar."

Lin Xia pointed at the Little Guy by his feet, who was still focused on gnawing Star Cold Iron and looked upon the feast spread across the table with disdain.

"Yesterday, he comprehended a new ability. This disciple thinks that perhaps... it could be used to search for Mineral Ore."

"A new ability?"

Lou Gao put down the bone, wiped his hands with a cloth, and became even more interested.

"This Little Guy? Other than eating, what new trick could he possibly have? Tell me!"

Lin Xia organized his thoughts and said seriously:

"I call this ability Dig. When he activates it, earth-yellow power gathers around his head and Claws. Then he can instantly Dig a tunnel underground, like a fish entering water. Soil and rock are as though nonexistent before him. He is extremely fast, and the edges of the tunnels he Digs are smooth, with very little disturbance."

Lin Xia described in detail how Larvitar had instantly Dug two deep holes in the courtyard yesterday.

"Instantly Dig tunnels? Soil and rock are as though nonexistent?"

Lou Gao repeated the key phrases, his gaze turning sharp as he leaned forward slightly.

"You mean... he can travel freely underground?"

Lin Xia nodded and continued along that line of thought.

"Exactly. This disciple was thinking that Larvitar has an exceptionally keen perception of the Energy Fluctuation of Mineral Ore, Far Exceeding that of ordinary people. Now that he has this ability to Dig... could we use it to try to... well... explore underground?"

"To search for Ore Veins that may be buried there and have yet to be discovered?"

"Even if it were only preliminary exploration to confirm whether a certain area contains rich ore deposits, the efficiency would surely Far Exceed manpower-based prospecting."

"This disciple knows that the idea is still somewhat immature, and that my understanding of the complexity and dangers of the underground environment is insufficient. So I merely wanted to mention it to you first and see whether we could find a suitable place—for example, the edge of a known mine under the Association's name, or an area where you believe the geology is relatively safe—and let us... conduct an experiment first?"

"To verify whether this idea is feasible?"

The moment Lin Xia finished speaking, Lou Gao's oil-stained fingers, which had been resting on the table, suddenly froze.

"Wait a moment!"

Brothers, the traffic has been getting worse day by day, so please, I'm begging you to keep reading. Follow-up Reading is truly crucial—it determines whether the book advances or not!

On top of that, what I'm writing isn't the kind of power fantasy where the protagonist crushes heaven and earth and starts invincible. It focuses more on the growth of Larvitar and the protagonist himself, so compared with books released around the same time, it may be at a bit of a disadvantage. So please, if you like this book, be sure to keep reading!

Tofu offers his deepest thanks!

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