Not a Game (5k)

Back in the backyard, Luo Chen first fed several Murkrow with a few Berries before walking into the internet café.

He tidied up the things on the counter, then began using the remaining Berries he had just picked to try making drinks.

First were the Oran Berries... In the Pokémon world, these were the most common Berries. They tasted sweet and sour, and their nutritional value was nothing remarkable.

Luo Chen picked up an Oran Berry and examined it for two seconds. He opened the filling port on the side of the cold drink dispenser, put the Berry inside, and pressed the button.

A low hum came from within the machine. Some kind of grinding mechanism behind the compartments seemed to have begun operating.

A few seconds later, the humming stopped.

With a clunk, a can dropped into the groove behind the glass panel.

A notification also appeared on the machine's screen.

[Crafting Successful: Oran Berry Juice (C+)]

[Description: An ordinary but tasty fruit juice. After drinking it, greatly increases satiety!]

Luo Chen took out the can and twisted it open. A fresh fragrance immediately wafted out.

Inside was a pale orange, ice-cold liquid. He took an experimental sip and could not help freezing.

The sweet-and-sour flavor spread across his tongue, carrying a rich aroma.

Beyond that, as the juice went down his throat, a warm sense of fullness spread from his stomach, making his entire body feel much more comfortable.

After another sip, he nodded in satisfaction.

These past few days, he had been unable to find anything to eat on the mountain, so he had filled his stomach entirely with raw Berries...

Though it was still Berries in essence, the taste was simply worlds better.

Come to think of it, when would he unlock facilities related to food...? He could not possibly live off Berries forever, could he?

With that thought, Luo Chen drained the remaining Oran Berry Juice in one gulp, turned back to the cold drink dispenser, and began trying different Berry combinations.

For the second can, he used two Pecha Berries with one Oran Berry.

Once the machine finished operating, another can dropped out.

[Crafting Successful: Pecha Special Soda (C+)]

[Description: A delicious soda containing a large amount of energy. After being consumed by a Pokémon or human, restores half of their maximum stamina and adjusts their mental state to its peak. Can only take effect once every twenty-four hours.]

Luo Chen took out the can and had a sip.

It was ice-cold upon entering his mouth. This drink was sweeter than pure Oran Berry Juice, with a richer Pecha Berry fragrance and a fuller flavor. It even had the fizz of cola.

More importantly... he instantly felt that his mental state had improved considerably. He did not feel tired at all anymore. That must have been the drink's additional effect.

It seemed that different formulas produced different kinds of beverages, and different beverages had different effects...

Moreover, these drinks seemed to have grades as well.

What kind of additional effects would drinks made from higher-grade Berries have...?

Thinking of this, his gaze fell upon the two unfamiliar Berries.

This is today's last chance. I'll try these two.

As the Berries were put in, the machine began operating again.

This time, the crafting process took far longer than the previous two. Finally, as the can dropped out, a line of text abruptly appeared on the screen.

[Crafting Successful: Scale Berry Hot Drink (B+)]

[Description: A special beverage with a fiery taste. Humans who consume it gain high-temperature resistance. Pokémon who consume it receive a slight increase in strength, and the power of Fire- and Dragon-type moves is greatly increased. All bonuses last for 24 hours!]

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow at the information before him.

High-temperature resistance... a huge boost to the power of Fire- and Dragon-type moves, and it could even directly increase strength?

Sure enough, higher-grade drinks had stronger effects.

But judging from this, a drink's grade should also be related to the quality of its Berries... Those two Berries he could not identify were probably rarer.

He lined up the last can on the counter and glanced once more at the number displayed on the cold drink dispenser's panel—[Today's Output: 3/3].

He had used up today's quota.

After putting everything away, Luo Chen walked to the window and looked outside.

In just that short while, the sky had completely darkened. The cries of Bug-type Pokémon rose and fell through the forest, while the calls of other Pokémon occasionally sounded in the distance.

Clearly, Cynthia's arrival had merely been an accident. It was unlikely that any customers would show up today.

In that case, it was time to close up and rest.

He drew the curtains, locked the internet café's front door, and walked behind the counter.

The system panel appeared, and the data upon it refreshed one line at a time before finally settling.

[Today's Business Settlement]

[Emotion Points Obtained: Red 1 point, Green 1 point, Blue 3 points]

[Building Points Obtained: 1 point]

Luo Chen's gaze swept over the two lines of numbers, and he paused.

Emotion Points came from the various emotions generated by players during gameplay.

Now, it seemed these points were actually divided into different categories?

Also, how was he supposed to use these points... and those Building Points?

Luo Chen scratched his head.

His internet café system had never explained any of this. It was really negligent...

Just as he was pondering it, another new notification began appearing at the bottom of the panel.

[Ding! Detected that customer "Cynthia" acquired the special ability—"Archaeology Expert" (C)—during internet session settlement!]

[This ability has been copied and enhanced into an upgraded version!]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the ability: Archaeology Master (A)]

[Archaeology Master: You can read and understand any writing from ancient times, including but not limited to lost, sealed, and cursed scripts. Your comprehension speed is greatly increased, and you can sense fragments of ancient scenes contained within the writing.]

The next instant, Luo Chen felt as if a certain insight had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Luo Chen looked at the description and slightly raised an eyebrow.

He had obtained an ability... an upgraded version of the one Cynthia had received...

In other words, after Cynthia had gone online just now, she had also gained an ability to read ancient writing?

He reread the description of "Archaeology Expert."

Read and understand any ancient writing...

Honestly, this ability had no direct use for running an internet café.

But Cynthia was different. She was a mythologist who enjoyed studying ancient ruins and myths. This ability suited her perfectly.

Hmm... looking at it this way, she should be very happy, right?

Luo Chen closed the panel and turned off the internet café's lights.

Night engulfed the entire internet café. Only the cold drink dispenser on the counter still emitted a faint blue glow.

He went upstairs, returned to his room, and lay down on the bed.

Though he had not done anything major today, and he was not tired at all after drinking that beverage...

His biological clock was what it was. Nothing he could do about it.

Time to sleep.

The insect chirping outside the window gradually grew distant.

Luo Chen closed his eyes and quickly drifted into dreams.

Meanwhile, in the Sinnoh region, Little Wave Bay.

Cynthia stood on the open-air balcony on the second floor of her villa, gazing toward the distant horizon.

Feeling the sea breeze blowing toward her, she seemed lost in thought.

That internet café today...

"Bzzz—"

At that moment, the vibration of the phone in her pocket interrupted her thoughts.

Cynthia withdrew her gaze and took out her phone to check the caller ID.

[Archaeological Team Captain—Matsumoto Xia]

Once she answered, the voice of a middle-aged man soon came through the phone, carrying a note of concern.

"Little Cynthia, I heard you went to Mount Coronet again today?"

"Yes, Uncle Matsumoto."

Cynthia nodded.

"Back to those ruins?" There was a trace of helplessness in his voice. "You've been searching for eight years without finding a single clue. Isn't it time to—"

"Ten years, not eight."

Cynthia spoke.

The other end of the call fell silent for a moment.

"...All right, ten years."

The man sighed.

"You've been at this for so long that I won't urge you to give up like they do. I just want to remind you to take care of yourself."

"By the way, I heard you submitted an application to the League some time ago for a deep exploration of the Mount Coronet area? They've approved it for you. You can enter the restricted area whenever you want."

"If there's anything else you need help with, just say the word."

"Thank you, Uncle Matsumoto. Actually... I've already found some new clues. I'm still verifying them."

Cynthia said.

"Ah?! That's wonderful! I hope you find something this time!"

The person on the other end sounded even more excited than Cynthia.

"Little Cynthia, we'll talk later. I need to accompany them into the ruins. I'm in Kanto right now. Let me know if you find anything new!"

The busy tone sounded, and the call ended.

Cynthia put away her phone, then took out the stone tablet and gently stroked it.

The patterns on the tablet flickered in and out of view beneath the moonlight, forming a blurry outline.

Cynthia's fingertips stopped on that figure.

Everything she had seen and heard on Mount Coronet today surfaced in her mind once more.

After leaving that internet café, she had let Garchomp carry her to the entrance of the Mount Coronet ruins. She had searched the cluster of rock caverns that had collapsed years ago for several full hours.

Just like countless times before, she had found nothing.

But this trip had brought an even more important gain.

The shadow that had flashed past in the animation she watched today kept replaying in her mind.

At this moment, memories surged in like a tide.

—That had happened ten years ago.

Back then, she had only been a child, entering the ancient ruins deep within Mount Coronet with her grandmother for the first time.

She remembered being drawn to a mural on the stone wall and stopping in her tracks.

But when she turned around, her grandmother had already vanished from sight.

She panicked and started running back along the path they had come from, only to take the wrong direction and venture deeper and deeper inside.

As if that were not bad enough, a thunderous crash rang out. The entire ruin began shaking violently, and the rocks beneath her feet rapidly crumbled.

She fell into a deeper cavern. The passage behind her collapsed, rubble completely sealing every path while more debris continued to fall.

Darkness swallowed everything around her. Confusion, fear, and despair filled her heart.

Rubble pinned her body down. She could not move or breathe, and could only watch helplessly as she was gradually buried.

But in the instant she fell into despair—

A light suddenly appeared in the depths of the cavern.

More accurately, a pair of scarlet eyes lit up.

Those eyes emerged from the darkness, and she saw a massive, twisted figure.

Its body was shrouded in a cold, grim radiance. The space around it seemed to warp for its very existence, and an overwhelming pressure constantly bore down on her.

Yet there seemed to be no malice in those scarlet eyes. The rubble on her body also rose into the air with its appearance.

Then, it turned and flew in one direction.

After taking several steps, it stopped and looked back at Cynthia.

Cynthia had never been able to forget that look.

Seven-year-old her could not clearly understand what it meant, but she remembered the feeling it gave her.

Powerful... sacred... inconceivable...

And... like an invitation extended to her.

She struggled to stand and followed that figure.

As for what happened afterward... she remembered nothing at all.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already lying in her grandmother's arms. Her grandmother was crying her eyes out and clinging tightly to her.

From that day on, that figure had been branded into her heart, impossible to forget.

Later, she had asked her grandmother what exactly had happened that day. But the answer she received was that the unconscious Cynthia had inexplicably appeared at the cave entrance, and nothing else had occurred.

She later asked the expedition team that had accompanied them, but no one had seen any strange figure either.

So, as she grew older, she began reading every ancient text and mythological record she could find, trying to uncover information about that figure.

After becoming Champion, she had even used the League's resources to explore every ancient ruin in the Sinnoh region.

But ten whole years had passed, and she had found nothing.

The only clue was this stone tablet, which she had discovered eight years ago deep within a collapsed passage when she returned to the Mount Coronet ruins.

A blurry figure was carved upon the stone tablet, identical to the one in her memories.

And today—

She saw it again in a game at an internet café!

To be honest, on the way back, she had wondered whether the silhouette in the game matching the image on the stone tablet was merely a coincidence.

After all, it had only been a fleeting image in an opening animation.

But even so.

Over ten years of searching, aside from this stone tablet, hope had never appeared at all.

So this time... even if there was only the slightest possibility, she could not let it slip away!

With that thought, Cynthia gave a slight shake of her head, tucked the stone tablet back into her pocket, then turned toward the room to rest.

But her footsteps suddenly halted.

On a nearby table, amid a pile of ancient artifacts, lay an unfurled parchment scroll.

That parchment had been discovered in another ruin, and it was covered in ancient Sinnoh script.

It had been sitting there for months. There had been no progress in deciphering it, so she had not paid it much attention.

But at that moment—

Cynthia's pupils suddenly dilated.

The writing on the parchment should have been twisted, meaningless ancient symbols.

Yet now, as she stared at it, what she saw was an entirely different script—

[At the beginning of creation, a god was born in the empty universe and scattered the fruits of power across the world...]

Cynthia stood frozen in place for a full three seconds.

Then she rushed to the table and held it beneath the desk lamp.

Line after line of ancient Sinnoh text entered her sight, every symbol automatically transforming in her mind into a clear meaning.

[The fruits of power spread throughout the world, and creatures of dreams were born upon this land.]

[Day and night, light and darkness—everything began on that day...]

Trembling, Cynthia set down the parchment and swiftly picked up several other stone tablet fragments inscribed with different ancient scripts, photographs of wall murals, and a damaged, yellowed ancient book.

All of it—she could understand all of it!

The ancient writing she had been unable to decipher after ten years now seemed as clear as her native language.

"..."

She remained silent for a long time before finally slowly raising her head.

That ability... did not only work in the game...

It was... reality!

Didn't that mean...

A light unlike anything before flashed in Cynthia's eyes.

"Garchomp!"

In the corner of the living room, Garchomp raised its head in confusion, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

"Gah?"

Cynthia turned and looked toward distant Mount Coronet.

"Tomorrow morning's training is canceled."

"We're... going to Mount Coronet again."