The Duke Who Loved Dragons

Lance did not know that, at the same time, the system prompt window before Luo Chen was quietly flashing.

[Ability "This Ain't Something I Picked Up, Nobody Wanted It" (S) activated successfully!]
[Target acquired: the most precious ownerless item from places player "Lance" visited within the past 24 hours.]
[Item obtained: Dragon Scale (S+) x1]

Looking at the scale in his hand, Luo Chen was somewhat surprised. Hadn't Gengar just obtained the same thing?

Where had Lance gone today to get something like this?

He had thought this was a specialty of Mount Coronet.

Unfortunately, he could only see who the item had dropped from, not where it had actually come from.

Hmm... he would keep this one for himself.

Thinking that, Luo Chen tucked the scale into his clothes and happened to meet Lance's gaze.

"You're done?"

Lance froze for a moment, then nodded.

"Then let's take a look at your evaluation first."

Luo Chen rose from behind the counter and leaned over to look at the prompt displayed on Lance's screen.

Lance came back to his senses as well and followed Luo Chen's gaze.

[This session has ended.]

[Session duration: one hour.]

[Score: C-.]

[Evaluation: Although you were repeatedly taught a lesson by roadside Trainers and Gym Leaders, you insisted on using only Dragon-type Pokémon—or Pokémon that would become Dragon-types in the future. Such persistence is deeply moving—but it was indeed rather tragic.]

[Internet café points obtained: 4.]

[Additional reward obtained: B-rank special ability "Dragon Mark."]

[Effect 1: During your next session, you will receive a Dragon-type Pokémon Egg as a starting gift in the game.]

[Effect 2: In the real world, your natural affinity with Dragon-type Pokémon will increase slightly, making it easier to earn their trust.]

[The following day's session duration has increased to 2 hours.]

Seeing the evaluation, the corner of Lance's mouth twitched.

What did it mean by "rather tragic"?

It had been utterly miserable, all right?!

But soon, when his gaze swept over the additional reward below, his eyes lit up.

Just like Cynthia, he seemed to have received a special ability as a reward.

And his ability...

The next time he used the internet... he would actually be given a Dragon-type Pokémon Egg directly in the game?

Didn't that mean he no longer had to give up his pursuit of Dragon-type Pokémon?

And as long as he had a Dragon-type Pokémon... after raising it a little, wouldn't that Archen be easy to deal with?

As for the second effect of this ability, it had no direct practical use in battle, and it did not seem especially useful in daily life either.

After all, Dragon-type Pokémon already liked him quite a bit.

Hmm... that should be the case, right?

With that thought, Lance looked at Luo Chen in satisfaction.

"Boss, can I keep going? That amount of time... really isn't enough."

Naturally, Luo Chen shook his head.

"Sorry, it's the same for everyone. There's a daily limit on session time. You can come back tomorrow. You're welcome anytime tomorrow."

The session limit had been set by the system, so there was nothing he could do about it.

Although he did not understand why the system had arranged things this way, it looked rather like hunger marketing... but perhaps when his permissions increased later, he might be able to change this rule?

Faced with Luo Chen's answer, Lance looked somewhat helpless, but he did not press further.

To be honest, today's gains had already satisfied him greatly. Whether it was that scale, or the completion and improvement of his Dragon Force, none of it had been within his expectations.

After all, when he had first come to this internet café, he had only wanted to obtain some information about Team Rocket...

Who could have expected things to turn out like this?

"Thank you, Boss. Then I'll... be taking my leave."

With that, Lance turned and headed for the exit.

No wonder Cynthia had told him he absolutely had to come. At first, he had thought this internet café was absurdly remote, but now it seemed that no matter how far away it was, it would be worth coming here every day...

But just then, Luo Chen suddenly called out to him.

"Wait. Can I see your Dragonite?"

His gaze fell upon the Poké Ball at Lance's waist.

Dragon-types were actually one of his favorite types as well.

—from the manga specials to the anime, he had always been very interested in Lance's Dragonite.

Now that he had a chance to see it in person, how could he possibly let it pass?

Lance was immediately taken aback.

It was not that he was unwilling. Dragonite was his ace partner, the strongest Pokémon who had fought alongside him countless times. Everyone had long known about it.

What was more, Dragonite was his pride. He had never hidden Dragonite away or refused to show him to others.

But there really was a problem right now.

Ordinary Dragonite were actually quite gentle and generally friendly toward humans.

But his Dragonite had been unusual since childhood. Perhaps because of that unique bloodline, his Dragonite's personality had nothing in common with others of his kind. Not only did he far surpass ordinary Dragonite in speed and strength, but he was also far more violent and battle-hungry.

When Lance had been young, it had taken him a long time to adapt to and bond with him... there had even been times when he had nearly broken down.

Fortunately, he had persevered in the end, and there was indeed no problem with his relationship with Dragonite now.

But strangers were an entirely different matter...

What was more, Dragonite was still in an unstable state after using that move. When Lance had wanted to release him earlier to prove his identity, this had been exactly why he had not done so.

Lance hesitated, intending to explain this tactfully.

But then, he changed his mind.

No.

Why was he worrying about the boss?

This boss clearly did not seem like any normal person. The Gengar he kept could casually pull out a Dragon Scale, and the boss himself could even pull out a bigger one...

And although he obviously recognized Lance, he showed no special attitude toward him at all, as if Lance's identity as an Elite Four member was nothing worth treating differently.

On top of that, everything about this internet café... had long surpassed the limits of Lance's understanding.

Lance said nothing. He directly took out the Poké Ball and released Dragonite.

A flash of red light passed, and Dragonite's massive body instantly appeared in the center of the internet café.

He was a full size larger than an ordinary Dragonite, his head nearly touching the café ceiling. His gaze was sharp and faintly tinged with red.

The moment Dragonite appeared, he lowered his head to look at Luo Chen before him, his eyes cold.

He had already heard their conversation from inside the Poké Ball. This human wanted to see him in person...

This was not the first time someone had made such a request.

But whenever those humans saw him, their legs would go weak with fear, and they would keep backing away.

Even Elite Four members and Champions would instinctively take up a guarded stance the first time they saw him.

Yet this human before him looked like nothing more than an ordinary person.

Dragonite was already prepared for the other party to show fear in less than two seconds, just like all those people before.

But in the next moment, Luo Chen did not retreat.

When he saw Dragonite, his eyes instead lit up, and he stepped forward.

Then he carefully began examining Dragonite's appearance.

"Your scales seem darker than those of ordinary Dragonite. Is that because of long-term high-intensity training?"

"You're really big too, and those muscles... nice."

"Your bearing is excellent too. A domineering Dragonite really has a unique charm."

Hearing Luo Chen's heartfelt admiration, Dragonite froze.

He had grown accustomed to strangers being afraid of him, and he had grown accustomed to the relieved looks on their faces after Lance made him suppress his aura.

But this person before him... seemed completely different from those people.

He was... admiring him?

Just as Dragonite's aura began to unconsciously subside...

His body suddenly shuddered.

Then, the red glow in his eyes abruptly surged, and his aura instantly spiraled out of control!

Lance immediately realized what was happening.

—Damn it!

The side effect was acting up again!

"Boss, watch out!!"

He instinctively wanted to step forward and use Dragon Force to suppress him, but it was already too late!

Dragonite let out a deafening roar, brilliant blue radiance erupting from his mouth as he shot straight toward Luo Chen!