This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

Yuan Ying clearly recognized Goblin Attack Force and knew about its wildly uneven attack and defense stats, as well as its crippling drawback, so she ordered her spirit to seize the initiative.

Voltman flashed forward, moving like lightning. In an instant, he landed an incomplete hit on one of the Goblins, badly injuring and sending it flying. The other Goblins reacted quickly and immediately surrounded him with their clubs raised.

"Dodge. Stall for time."

Yuan Ying gave the brief instruction, deliberately intending to delay until Goblin Attack Force's negative trait took effect.

Voltman shrank back, dodged the attacks, and used Quick Attack again. This time, however, it was not for attacking, but for fleeing and swiftly widening the distance.

The Goblins immediately howled as they launched their counterattack. Even the one that had been sent flying joined the siege. Voltman darted left and right, displaying incredible speed as he dodged with all his might. Even when he was occasionally struck, he used the backward momentum to disperse part of the force.

You Zhi gave no instructions. From the very beginning, he had focused on refining Spell Cards, leaving his spirit to act on its own.

Although Yuan Ying worried over the thrillingly dangerous close combat, she knew she could only trust Voltman completely right now. Compared to directing him, supporting him with Spell Cards would allow her to play a greater role.

A moment later, affected by their trait, the Goblin Attack Force gradually lost its fighting spirit. Their club swings became weak and limp, and one of them simply lay on the ground to Slack Off.

"Now! Use Thunder Punch!"

Yuan Ying split her attention between refining a Spell Card and commanding her spirit to counterattack.

Lightning gathered in Voltman's palms, dazzling brightly. Both hands struck a distracted Goblin, instantly electrocuting it until its body exploded.

In terms of raw destructive power, Thunder Punch had always been stronger than Quick Attack. On top of that, Electric-type moves received a bonus from his own affinity. Blasting apart a Goblin with only 0 defense in a single blow was perfectly normal; most of the damage had even overflowed.

If Goblin Attack Force had been a single entity, Voltman's Thunder Punch would have taken at least half its health. But it had four separate individuals, meaning that no matter how powerful an opponent's attack was, without an area-of-effect move, they had to land at least four hits to defeat it.

Just as Voltman was about to press his advantage, You Zhi activated the refined Spell Card, "Axe of Fools."

A cursed axe suddenly appeared in the palm of the Goblin that had been lying on the ground to Slack Off. Its eyes widened as its fighting spirit instantly returned. It sprang to its feet and charged Voltman, chopping down with its axe. A blade of force even tore through the air toward him.

Axe of Fools originally removed the side effects of a spirit's trait. When used on Goblin Attack Force, it became a positive effect.

This was no coincidence. The original owner's ace spirit, Giant Ogre, possessed the same trait. That was why the original owner had summoned Axe of Fools and Final Assault Order to offset the trait's negative effects. It was a targeted tactical arrangement, not a random combination of Spell Cards.

However, Goblin Attack Force's drawback of having multiple individuals also showed itself at this moment. Only the Goblin holding Axe of Fools regained its fighting spirit. The other two surviving Goblins were still Slacking Off.

Even so, Voltman did not dare confront it head-on. As a four-star spirit, Goblin Attack Force's attack power was already terrifyingly high. With Axe of Fools, it became even more frightening. If he took a hit, he would lose at least half his health. Fortunately, speed was his specialty, and as long as he focused on dodging, he would remain safe.

"It's not just you who can power up. Voltman has his own exclusive equipment too."

Having finished refining it, Yuan Ying decisively activated the Spell Card, "Spark Blaster."

[Instant-Activation Spell Card: Spark Blaster]

[Effect: Summons a Spark Blaster that can only be used by "Elemental HERO Sparkman." It can fire up to three electric bullets, and a hit can cause a spirit to enter a brief state of paralysis.]

Unlike spirits, whose attributes could only be examined with the Pokédex after being defeated or captured, a Spell Card could be examined as soon as it was used. Thus, You Zhi secretly glanced at the Pokédex hidden in his sleeve and learned the true effect of the Spell Card his opponent had used.

A highly futuristic-looking firearm appeared in Voltman's hand. He swiftly fired an electric bullet, striking the Goblin before it could dodge and paralyzing it in place.

Immediately afterward, lightning surged into Voltman's palm. He used Thunder Punch again, closing in and blasting the Goblin apart with a single strike.

However, whether by luck or design, the scattered spiritual energy knocked Axe of Fools directly into another Goblin's hands. That Goblin's fighting spirit immediately surged back. It howled and swung the axe at Voltman.

Yuan Ying said, "Useless. A gun is faster and more accurate than an axe!"

Sure enough, even while retreating and firing electric bullets, Voltman used his range advantage to strike the Goblin first, paralyzing it as well.

Just as Voltman prepared to repeat the trick and kill it with Thunder Punch, You Zhi activated his second Spell Card, "Miniature Ray."

[Instant-Activation Spell Card: Miniature Ray]

[Effect: Summons a ray machine. Spirits struck by its rays are reduced to half their size, and their defense drops to zero for the duration. If an associated spirit is present, their size is reduced to one-quarter, and the duration is doubled.]

As the Spell Card activated, an extremely amateurish-looking machine appeared on the field. At its top was something like a satellite dish antenna, which aimed at Voltman and fired a beam filled with cheap visual effects.

"Dodge!"

As Yuan Ying ordered Voltman to evade, she marveled at You Zhi's refinement speed.

Her ability to divide her attention had admittedly played a role, but while she had only refined one Spell Card, he had already refined two. He was still much faster than her. Even under identical conditions, she knew she would be no match for him.

Voltman was about to dodge when his body suddenly stalled. Looking down, he saw another Goblin hugging his legs, preventing him from moving freely.

"Damn it!"

Yuan Ying immediately realized that Goblin Attack Force's Slacking Off period had ended. Its trait did not make it completely lose its will to fight after battling for a while. Instead, it switched back and forth between obedience and Slacking Off.

The best chance to dodge vanished in an instant. Miniature Ray struck Voltman, reducing him to one-quarter of his original size in the blink of an eye. He could not even hold the Spark Blaster securely.

"Voltman, break free!" Yuan Ying anxiously commanded while accelerating her Spell Card refinement.

Voltman discarded the inconvenient Spark Blaster and used Thunder Punch to attack the Goblin restraining him. But after shrinking, even his move's destructive power had diminished greatly. It took considerable effort before he finally defeated it.

During that delay, the Goblin holding Axe of Fools had already recovered from paralysis and immediately swung its axe.

Voltman dodged the axe blade, but not the blade of force slashed through the air. With his defense reduced to zero, his chest was cut open by a massive gash, and his health instantly dropped below the danger threshold.

Yuan Ying forcibly suppressed her panic and calmly analyzed the situation. "Hold on. Voltman's smaller size makes him harder to hit. It may look dangerous, but as long as he lasts through this period..."

At that moment, You Zhi gave his first clear command. "Use Sucker Punch!"

In the Pokémon games, Sucker Punch was a Dark-type move with an absolute-hit effect. In reality, while it did not possess absolute accuracy, its hit rate was indeed far higher than ordinary moves.

The Goblin flashed, as though slipping into the shadow of a cave. It silently appeared beside Voltman and swung its axe. The strike landed with perfect accuracy, splitting Voltman in two. His body immediately burst apart into particles of spiritual energy.

The Goblin absorbed the spiritual energy particles and rose to level 18. Fighting a trainer's spirit yielded far more spiritual energy than fighting a wild spirit under the same conditions.

At the same time, under the backlash of spiritual power, Yuan Ying let out a muffled groan and revealed a pained expression. It took her quite some time to recover.

She glanced at the Spell Card nearly formed between her palms, sighed inwardly, and dispersed her spiritual power. Then she said, "I lost. The spirit is yours."

After saying that, she turned to leave, without the slightest intention of going back on her word.

As You Zhi recalled Goblin Attack Force, he called out, "Don't you want to see what the mysterious spirit looks like?"

Yuan Ying stopped, but did not turn around. "I said earlier that the loser would leave willingly. I keep my word."

You Zhi said, "Your condition was that the winner stayed and the loser left. My condition was that the winner had priority in capturing the spirit. Since I won, you should follow my condition. If I fail to capture it, you can take my place."

Yuan Ying hesitated where she stood for a while, feeling that his words made sense. In the education she had received since childhood, a trainer's duel was one where the winner ruled. As long as the demand was not excessive, it was only natural for the loser to obey the winner.

"Then I'll stay. If you fail to capture it, I won't hold back."

Icejade Spirit

"You go left. I scouted ahead, and there's a very large pool over there. The temperature is especially low. If the information about the mysterious spirit is true, it will definitely appear in that area. But until I heard your footsteps just now, the mysterious spirit still hadn't appeared, so I can't guarantee the information is real."

Yuan Ying had deliberately moved closer to You Zhi in order to stay as far away from the pool as possible, preventing the sounds of battle from startling the potentially present mysterious spirit.

"You're willing to tell me such valuable information?" You Zhi asked.

"It's not that valuable. This place is only so big. Thoroughly searching the entire area would take less than half an hour. Besides, you look pretty smart. You would definitely notice the abnormal temperature in that area," Yuan Ying said frankly.

You Zhi said, "Even so, it's possible that I might happen to miss the mysterious spirit while searching. Wouldn't that give you another chance later?"

Yuan Ying was not angered by his "malicious speculation." As she led the way ahead, she answered, "According to what I heard from the Hiker, the mysterious spirit only appears once a week. I came here to visit relatives, and I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. Rather than letting the mysterious spirit be captured by a stranger I don't know, I'd rather leave it to you, the person who defeated me."

"Visiting relatives? So you're not from around here?"

"Mm. I was born in Hoenn." Yuan Ying stopped and pointed at the icy pool ahead. "This is the place."

As soon as You Zhi approached, a wave of cold air hit him head-on. The temperature had dropped by at least eight degrees.

"It really is abnormal."

Next, the two waited patiently nearby. To avoid alerting the spirit, they extinguished their light source.

About half an hour passed. The pool remained tranquil. Apart from the dripping water and someone's shivering, there was no other sound, as if the so-called mysterious spirit did not exist at all.

You Zhi turned to Yuan Ying, who was lightly dressed and constantly trembling. "You knew you were exploring an underground lake. Why didn't you bring more clothes?"

"I-I didn't know it would be this cold. And I hadn't planned to explore anything in the first place. I just heard someone on the road say there was a mysterious spirit in the cave that happened to appear today. I was bored at the time, so I felt like taking an adventure. I never expected to actually find an underground lake."

"How did you cross the water earlier, then?"

"I have Bubbleman. He can release a huge bubble to wrap around my body and carry me across the water."

You Zhi took out an article of clothing from his waterproof bag and handed it to Yuan Ying. "It might be a little big. Put it on for now."

"What about you?"

"Do I look cold?"

Only after he pointed it out did Yuan Ying realize that You Zhi's expression was perfectly normal. He was not dressed any more warmly than she was, yet he could still chat and laugh freely in an environment below ten degrees. Still, she was not especially surprised. People in this world possessed Duel Spirit Power, so unusual abilities were nothing strange. For example, her constitution gave her greater heat resistance than others.

When others were drenched in sweat in temperatures above thirty degrees, she remained a fresh and lovely young woman without the slightest smell of sweat.

Yuan Ying put on the clothing and was about to thank him when her expression changed. "It's here!"

"Mm." You Zhi had noticed the movement even earlier than Yuan Ying.

The two held their breath and carefully observed their surroundings using the faint reflection on the water's surface.

Before long, accompanied by a low cry like that of a dolphin, an exquisite ice-sculpture girl, beautiful enough to be a work of art, slowly swam over the water. She wore a small crown on her head, and a green gem rested between her brows.

Perhaps because of density, the pool water only reached the ice-sculpture girl's thighs. Her crystal-clear pleated skirt floated atop the water and swayed back and forth. At a glance, she looked like a swimming jellyfish.

"What a cute spirit..." Yuan Ying's eyes lit up, sparkling like stars.

"Ah, not a macho-type spirit."

The moment You Zhi spoke with regret, Yuan Ying shot him a glare. Her furious gaze carried an invisible threat: If you don't want her, give her to me.

There was no chance he would give her up. Though the ice-sculpture girl's adorable appearance did not match his preferences, You Zhi had already used Cheat Appraisal. Based on her talent alone, there was absolutely no way he would let her go.

[Icejade Aegirine (3-star) Water]

[Affinity: Water, Ice]

[Level: 12]

[Talent: Fierce]

[Attack: 1000 (900)]

[Defense: 2000 (1800)]

[Aqua, Effect: Omitted]

This was the wild spirit with the highest talent You Zhi had encountered. Then there was that densely packed, intimidating-looking effect description. If he let her slip away, he feared he would never have such good luck again.

Without hesitation, he decisively summoned the only spirit capable of entering the water, Demon Lizard Yihao. "Use Slash!"

Demon Lizard Yihao moved with all four limbs, charging forward at high speed. He looked as if he were crawling across the water's surface as his claws slashed straight at her.

Caught off guard by the attack, Neon Stone Sprite appeared somewhat flustered. But she was no rookie with no combat experience. On instinct, she summoned a Crystal Wall.

Demon Lizard Yihao's claws struck it, sending ice fragments flying, but they only shaved off a thin layer and could not break through.

"Use Brick Break!"

You Zhi gave a new command while refining a Spell Card.

Demon Lizard Yihao raised his palm like a blade and unleashed the Fighting-type skill he had only recently mastered. One strike shattered the Crystal Wall. The remaining force hit Neon Stone Sprite squarely, knocking her flying.

Such an effect was not surprising. In the games, Brick Break could shatter Light Screen and Reflect, making it the natural counter to defensive barrier-type moves.

Neon Stone Sprite, with 1800 defense, was not seriously injured by the blow. She emerged from the water, waved her delicate hand, and sent cold air spreading in every direction. Dozens of ice pebbles formed atop the water and shot toward Demon Lizard Yihao before she turned and fled.

Unless they were regional leaders, wild spirits instinctively fled upon encountering a powerful enemy. They would never stubbornly show off.

Blocked by the ice pebbles, Demon Lizard Yihao could not pursue and could only watch her leave. At that moment, You Zhi activated the Spell Card he had refined.

[Charge Spell: Level Limit - Area A]

[Effect: Spirits below three stars enter an excited, battle-hungry state.]

A crimson glow spread outward, illuminating half the cave. When Neon Stone Sprite was bathed in the red light, her crystal eyes turned ruby red. The thought of fleeing completely vanished from her mind. She turned around and flicked her hand, instantly stirring up a biting cold current over the water's surface. It swept not only toward Demon Lizard Yihao, but also toward You Zhi and Yuan Ying.

Without the slightest hesitation, You Zhi stepped in front of Yuan Ying and crossed his arms over his head. The cold current struck him, immediately covering his body in a layer of frost.

"Quick, Blazegirl, release flames."

Yuan Ying hurriedly drew a card from thin air and summoned her second spirit. A voluptuous, sexy woman appeared out of nowhere, gathering blazing fireballs between her hands and releasing heat to counter the cold current.

[Elemental HERO Lady Heat (3-star) Fire]

[Affinity: Fire]