Leaving the tower

After settling their agreement, Qingliu recalled Agumon and ascended to the fifth floor of the Lost Tower without any obstacles.

All the Ghost-type Pokémon guarding the final floor had been rounded up by Gabite for manual labor, and Spiritomb had already given the remaining ones a thorough beating. There was nothing left for him to battle here.

But Qingliu still remembered perfectly well that there was a reward for clearing the tower.

After all, that reward had been half the reason he came in the first place.

There was no shame in making money, especially when it was practically free.

During the time he was supposed to be "battling" on the fifth floor, Qingliu and Cynthia had a brief exchange about Pokémon.

With knowledge ahead of the current era, Qingliu forcibly broadened Cynthia's worldview, while Cynthia drew on her solid fundamentals to point out his shortcomings one by one.

That was exactly what Qingliu, a traveler from another world, desperately needed right now-the theoretical knowledge accumulated over countless years in the Pokémon world.

Both felt they had gained a great deal from their brief exchange.

As they grew more familiar, Cynthia recommended several good libraries where he could borrow relevant books. Qingliu noted each one down, then glanced at Gabite sitting quietly nearby and suddenly felt the urge to give the Pokémon a pat.

Since coming to the Pokémon world, he had barely touched any Pokémon. The only one he had really had contact with was Agumon, a knockoff.

Gabite seemed a little standoffish, though, and was nowhere near as approachable as Agumon. The moment Qingliu put his hand on Gabite, the Pokémon darted away to the other side before he could even get a proper feel.

"Hahahaha!"

Cynthia couldn't help laughing at the sight, and an embarrassed Qingliu abandoned any thought of trying again.

Once he felt enough time had passed, Qingliu prepared to leave the tower, and Cynthia followed.

"You're heading out too? Aren't you worried those reporters will mob you?"

Qingliu still vividly remembered how those reporters had reacted to seeing Candice before his challenge, as though they had found a lifeline.

Cynthia was even more popular with reporters than Candice. She would definitely be their main target.

Cynthia took it in stride. "The cameras must have caught Gabite bringing over the Pokémon from the other floors earlier, so staying or leaving won't make much difference. If they go too far, I'll just fly away."

"..."

Just fly away...

Qingliu was reminded once again of what Agumon and Cynthia had in common, and shook his head with a wry smile.

Then the two of them and their dragon headed down to the next floor of the Lost Tower.

Seeing Qingliu and Cynthia leave, the Misdreavus and Gastly that had been hiding silently on the fourth floor, afraid to make so much as a peep, abandoned their meek behavior and flew excited circles around the area.

They descended past the third floor, the second, and the first, then headed for the exit.

Almost the instant Qingliu and Cynthia stepped out of the Lost Tower and felt the sunlight, their view went dark as dozens of reporters carrying cameras and microphones swarmed them.

Most rushed toward Cynthia, while the others surrounded Qingliu so tightly there wasn't a gap to spare.

Gabite immediately stepped in front of Cynthia with a fierce expression, ready to attack anyone who dared approach. None of the reporters felt like asking for a beating, so they kept a respectful distance as they asked their questions.

Qingliu received no such treatment. The reporters jostled him so hard that he stumbled several times before regaining his balance.

By then, a dozen microphones had already been thrust toward his mouth.

"Mr. Qingliu, as one of only two people to clear all five floors of the Lost Tower in the past decade, how do you feel?"

"How did you manage to break the record for time spent on every floor of the Lost Tower while still advancing successfully each time?"

"We never saw the Pokémon you used in any of the camera footage. Is it a rare Pokémon? Or is it a Ghost-type, like most of the Pokémon in the Lost Tower? Or... did you win through hand-to-hand combat?"

One reporter flexed his muscles as he spoke, staring straight at Qingliu. Another immediately shoved him aside and held out a microphone.

"We've heard you're dating Miss Candice. Is that true? Did you challenge the Lost Tower because you wanted to prove your strength to her?"

"Why did Miss Cynthia come out with you? After spending so long together inside, have you had a change of heart?"

Voices rang out beside his ears one after another, and as the questions grew increasingly ridiculous, Qingliu had no choice but to offer perfunctory answers while looking for a way to escape.

Fortunately, the town mayor soon approached with a genial smile, his assistant walking beside him and acting as a human barrier to push the reporters back.

"I'm the mayor of Solaceon Town. First, allow me to congratulate you, Mr. Qingliu. You and Miss Cynthia are respectively the first male and female Trainers to clear the tower in ten years."

The mayor extended his hand to Qingliu as he spoke warmly.

Qingliu glanced at him, then around them. Noticing that the number of reporters seemed to be quietly growing, almost matching the crowd around Cynthia, he more or less understood what the mayor was up to and promptly took his hand.

"I'm delighted to receive this honor, but I couldn't have done it alone. I'd like to thank all the staff working behind the scenes, Miss Candice and Miss Cynthia for their help, and everyone who quietly supported me. Finally, I'd like to thank... you, Mr. Mayor, for providing such an affordable and meaningful place to test ourselves."

The mayor froze at Qingliu's words.

What was with this guy?

I haven't even given him his lines, and he's already figured it out on his own?

For a moment, the mayor even wondered whether Qingliu was his own hired plant.

But the mayor was still the mayor. Though he had no idea why Qingliu had slipped into the script so quickly, he immediately joined the performance.

"I'm merely doing my duty. Being able to make even a small contribution to the Trainers passing through Solaceon Town is more than enough for me. Outstanding Trainers like you and Miss Cynthia, on the other hand, are rare talents in Sinnoh. The League's future needs you!"

"Oh, you're too kind. It's diligent, unassuming mayors like you who form the foundation that allows the League to discover outstanding Trainers."

"Hahaha, you're too kind..."

After a round of mutual flattery, Qingliu and the mayor clasped hands tightly and turned their faces slightly, giving the reporters the perfect angle for a photograph.

Then the mayor presented Qingliu with his reward on camera and praised him once again as a highly promising Trainer. Qingliu exchanged a few pleasantries before excusing himself to use the bathroom and slipping away.

"Phew..."

Free of the crowd and breathing fresh air again, Qingliu felt considerably refreshed in both body and mind.

"I wouldn't have guessed you were so good at handling that sort of thing."

A clear voice came from beneath a nearby tree.

"I didn't want to, either, but otherwise those guys would've pestered me until dark. I don't have that much time to play their little games, so I just grabbed the money and got out of there."

Recognizing Candice's voice, Qingliu patted the backpack holding his prize money as he replied.

Candice's gaze also fell on the backpack. "If I remember right, the reward for clearing the tower is a hundred and fifty thousand League Coins. You really struck it rich. Even my dad only makes three hundred thousand a year running a Gym. I can't believe you actually did it."

Then Candice seemed to remember something and scrutinized Qingliu from head to toe. "Back on the road, you told me you'd aim to clear the first floor and try for the second at most. Now you've gone and cleared all five. Were you pretending to be weak in front of me just so you could show me up when I couldn't even get past the first floor?"

"I wasn't pretending. It was just luck and a tiny bit of skill."

Qingliu held his thumb and finger apart, leaving a universe between them.

Candice stared for several seconds before catching on, then unleashed a "Bullet Punch."

Qingliu hurriedly dodged. "All right, I was joking. I never expected Agumon to level up so quickly, or to barely keep recovering enough stamina to last that long. Of course, even then, the fourth floor was our limit. As for the fifth..."

After Qingliu briefly explained what had happened with Cynthia, Candice was utterly astonished.

Even she had to marvel at how he had devised a solution in such a short time and successfully put it into practice, solving a problem that even the "perfect child next door" her father always talked about hadn't been able to solve.

In his place, her mind probably would have been a complete mess, leaving her unable to do anything but stare helplessly.

"But you agreed to battle her just because of that?"

"Yes."

"Has your brain overheated? Agumon might have gained quite a few levels, but you still don't stand a chance against her. That Spiritomb might look like it's only at a middling level, but it's incredibly strong. Cynthia used that Pokémon to clear the Lost Tower and set the fastest completion record!"

Candice spoke urgently, her voice full of concern. "You said before that you wanted to challenge her, and after spending these past few days with you, I do think you have that potential. But that's in the future. If you rush into battling her now, you could take such a blow that you lose all confidence."

"Don't worry."

Qingliu stopped, turned to Candice, and said with a smile, "If I agreed to the battle, that means I have some confidence in my chances. Even... if my opponent is Cynthia!"