Could I Have Become Some Kind of Human-Like Group Pokémon Too?

Lin Xia smiled as he gave the command, casually rubbing the Little Guy's head.

"Don't be picky. Put them all away—you'll get hungry eventually!"

"Yogi..."

Larvitar answered somewhat unwillingly, but it obediently set down the half-eaten Purple Lightning Iron and ran over to the Red Copper Ore vein on its short legs.

It stretched out its two tiny foreclaws covered in Rock Carapace, plunged them straight into the loose pile of Red Copper Ore, then scooped outward with a fierce motion like an excavator bucket!

Crash—!

Dark-red ore spilled out like a tide, effortlessly scattered around Lin Xia's feet.

Larvitar moved incredibly fast and worked with astonishing efficiency. Its small claws flew up and down, quickly emptying the small ore pocket.

The whole process looked effortless, even carrying a touch of smugness, as if to say, "This lousy rock is worthy of making me act?"

Looking at the mound of Red Copper Ore piled on the ground, Lin Xia's Space Ring, which had only just freed up some room, glowed faintly once more.

Invisible Space Power descended, storing away this considerable quantity of ordinary-value ore.

The space inside the ring was packed to the brim with Purple Lightning Iron and Red Copper Ore.

After finishing everything, Lin Xia looked at Lou Gao.

"Teacher, it's all taken care of."

Lou Gao nodded in satisfaction. His gaze swept over the emptied ore pocket and the original Purple Lightning Iron deposit beside it, which Larvitar had dug straight through and left full of pits, before finally settling on Larvitar, who had picked up the Purple Lightning Iron again and happily narrowed its eyes. His gaze brimmed with anticipation for Lin Xia and Larvitar's future.

"Good! This trip's gains far exceeded expectations! Let's go, we're heading back!"

Lou Gao grandly waved his hand.

"That Little Monster ate so many 'good things.' It'll need to digest them properly when we get back! This Old Man wants to see what surprises it can produce for us next!"

Hearing that, Lin Xia smiled and said directly,

"Teacher, you'll see the changes. I definitely won't disappoint you when the time comes!"

Hearing Lin Xia's confident words and seeing the self-assured gleam in his eyes, Lou Gao's smile deepened. The satisfaction in his gaze practically overflowed. He stroked his thick beard and spoke in a booming voice.

"Good kid! Your teacher will be waiting to see what new tricks you two can come up with! Don't disappoint this Old Man! Hahaha!"

Lin Xia nodded. Then, carrying Larvitar, whose belly was round and swollen from struggling to digest the Purple Lightning Iron's energy and who was nearly too full to walk, he followed behind Lou Gao.

They left the ore cave through the smooth tunnel Larvitar had dug earlier.

Time flowed quietly, like molten iron running through the forging furnaces of Gengjin City.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

Over those seven days, the Blacksmith Association's backyard had practically become the domain of Lin Xia and Larvitar, this pair of "Ore Devourers."

Lin Xia's daily routine was remarkably regular. In the Early Morning, he studied all kinds of books with the first ray of sunlight. During the day, under Lou Gao's guidance, he learned the fundamentals of forging, mineral identification, and Soul Power Tempering techniques.

As for the rest of the time, he and Larvitar engaged in an activity that others found utterly inconceivable—eating ore.

The deep purple of the Purple Lightning Iron Ore and its dancing sparks became the most common sights in the backyard.

Lin Xia sat cross-legged, holding a fist-sized chunk of Purple Lightning Iron Ore in his hand and biting off pieces from its edge.

Every bite came with a faint kā chā and crackling purple electrical sparks. A powerful numbness spread from his mouth throughout his body, as if countless tiny currents were darting wildly through him.

The first few times, the stimulation made every muscle in Lin Xia's body tense, even causing his hair to stand slightly on end. Yet he endured through sheer willpower and his desire to grow stronger.

Larvitar, on the other hand, did not need to learn at all.

Its "job" was to Eat Ore!

Like a tireless ore crusher, the Little Guy hugged a chunk of Purple Lightning Iron Ore larger than its own head and happily gnawed away with loud kā chā kā chā sounds.

The purple electrical glow around its body became increasingly pronounced. Its gray-green scales reflected a metallic luster beneath the arcs, and when its Little Tail swung, it even trailed tiny sparks that gave off faint crackling sounds.

Moreover, Larvitar's condition improved at a visible rate.

Its gaze became sharper, and its tiny body seemed to contain thunderous power waiting to erupt.

Lou Gao made time to come take a look every day. Whenever he saw Larvitar's ravenous appearance, brimming with electricity and blessed with an enormous appetite, he could not help clicking his tongue in amazement, his eyes full of anticipation.

Of course, during this time, Lin Xia's four Senior Brothers had not been idle either. Once they finished their work, they took Lin Xia and Larvitar around to experience the local customs of Gengjin City.

And in Gengjin City, known as the Metal Capital, the most common sounds were the constant clanging of hammers. Almost everywhere they went, they could see blacksmiths forging armor or weapons.

Naturally, the place they visited most often was Golden Stone Market, the city's famous mineral trading market. There, Lin Xia saw all sorts of strange and unusual ores, as well as shrewd, mercenary ore merchants.

Furthermore, relying on Larvitar's sensitivity and extraordinary talent for judging the quality of ores, Lin Xia picked up many rare ores at bargain prices.

This made Si Long, Si Di, Si Yu, and Si Kai look at Lin Xia and Larvitar as though they had discovered some priceless treasure.

The same thought arose in all their minds: not only was this Junior Brother extraordinarily talented, he also had a unique gift for finding overlooked bargains!

Over those seven days, Lin Xia had thoroughly won the four of them over.

Of course, none of that was the most important thing. The results of intensive ore consumption and continuous Soul Power Tempering were obvious.

Lin Xia could clearly feel that the Soul Power Vortex within his dantian had become much more solid and powerful than it had been seven days earlier. It circulated more smoothly, and his total Soul Power had increased considerably. Once he broke through, he would definitely rise several levels at once!

However, the change that amazed Lin Xia most—perhaps even frightened him a little—was not the improvement in his Soul Power, but his body itself.

After finishing another round of study, Lin Xia casually picked up a high-quality chunk of Purple Lightning Iron Ore with electricity flowing across its surface and played with it.

Out of habit, Lin Xia assumed he would be numbed as he had been at first, and he had even prepared himself for his fingers to tremble slightly.

But—nothing happened!

The ore lay quietly in his palm. Apart from its cold, hard texture, not a trace of painful electrical shock came from it.

Those purple arcs that had once made his hair stand on end now seemed to have turned into docile little snakes, winding around the skin of his palm and bringing a strange, comfortable numbness like a massage.

Lin Xia froze.

Subconsciously, he mobilized a thread of Soul Power and tried to actively make contact with the lightning energy within the ore.

As a result, the wisps of purple electricity seemed to have found their home. They seeped into his body through the skin of his palm, so faintly that they were like tiny streams trickling in!

Lin Xia could clearly "feel" those weak currents slowly flowing beneath his skin, through his blood vessels and Muscle Fibers. They were incredibly faint, but they truly existed!

"This..."

Lin Xia abruptly pulled back his hand. He looked at his completely normal palm, then at the Purple Lightning Iron resting quietly on the Stone Table, his pupils shrinking slightly.

An utterly absurd thought surged uncontrollably into his mind.

"What's going on? I... I'm... not afraid of electricity anymore? I can even... absorb a little of it? Could it be... that I've eaten too much of this stuff and mutated too?"

Lin Xia lowered his head to look at his spread hands, then squeezed the muscles on his arm. Feeling the vague, extremely weak sensation of electrical current flowing beneath his skin, his expression became exceedingly strange.

A wildly ridiculous thought from the memories of his previous life suddenly popped into his mind.

"Damn! Could it be... I've become some kind of Human-Like Group Pokémon too?"