Chapter 21: New Task, New Delights

Before long, Barboach and Whiscash helped Andrew plant the lotus roots, and the two brothers returned to their old home to prepare for the move.

Andrew went to help as well.

The brothers dug up the remaining lotus roots from the puddle, and Andrew took Munchlax and the others to help carry the lotus roots back to his house.

The Barboach and Whiscash brothers decided to store the lotus roots at Andrew's place. Andrew put them in his refrigerator and instructed Diancie to deliver some to Barboach and Whiscash every noon and evening.

And so, the brothers officially became neighbors with Andrew and his family.

---

Days passed quickly. One day, after Andrew and Munchlax had seen off the Pokémon who had just finished breakfast, he suddenly received a system notification indicating that the task status had changed.

"Host 100 Pokémon, deadline 30 days." (100/100) — Completed, reward pending.

Andrew had deliberately delayed completing the final novice task, but it was finished sooner than expected.

Without hesitation, he clicked to claim the reward, and the system immediately popped up a notification.

"Congratulations, Host, you have received: Constitution +2."

As soon as Andrew claimed this reward, another notification appeared on the system taskbar.

"Congratulations, Host, on completing the novice period! Achievement rewards: Constitution +5, Intelligence +5, home binding qualification, and system permission sharing qualification."

Andrew glanced at his personal information panel, and sure enough, the data had been updated.

[Andrew]

- Species: Human

- Gender: Male

- Age: 16 (+500)

- Constitution: 12

- Intelligence: 8

- Cooking Skills: Rookie Chef

He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of strength as if he could take down a Tauros with a single punch.

He then checked the system taskbar and saw that the interface had updated. It now displayed:

[Daily Task 1] Train in the Cooking Training Room for 1 hour — Pending.

[Daily Task 2] Host 10 Pokémon — Completed, reward pending.

Andrew knew that these daily tasks were fixed and would refresh every day. He quickly claimed the reward for the completed [Daily Task 2].

A notification popped up immediately.

"Congratulations, Host, you have received: 1 pound of rice."

"1 pound of rice? That's quite a small reward."

But Andrew thought it made sense, given that it was a daily task with a modest reward.

He checked his system backpack and found the label "1 pound of rice." It had been a while since he had rice, so he decided to cook it for dinner tonight. With some vegetables from the garden, it would make a nice meal.

However, he remembered that his novice period was over. Did he still have seasonings in his kitchen? Without them, he wouldn't be able to cook properly.

Suddenly, Andrew recalled that he had a special reward for finishing the novice period: home binding qualification? System permission sharing qualification? What were those?

"Diancie! Diancie!"

It was time for Diancie to step in and provide guidance!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Diancie, thinking something urgent had happened, listened to Andrew's questions and then understood.

"Oh, so that's what it's for!"

Diancie then explained what home binding qualification and system permission sharing were.

First, home binding qualification.

Andrew could designate a place as his "home" and bind it to the system. Once bound, he could summon and return Pokémon from the "home" regardless of his location.

Next, system permission sharing.

Andrew could issue salaries (happiness points) to the Pokémon living in the home through the system and share system store permissions with them, allowing Pokémon to shop freely in the system store.

Andrew was excited. "Wow, that's so convenient!"

Diancie nodded. "Do you want to bind the home?" It looked hopeful, eager to shop in the system store itself.

Andrew quickly replied, "Yes, bind it. Our current place will be the home."

"Alright."

As Diancie finished speaking, Andrew's system interface displayed a notification.

"Do you want to bind your current residence as the home?"

- Yes

- No

Andrew clicked "Yes" without hesitation. The system promptly notified him: "Congratulations, Host, home binding successful."

Diancie then asked, "Do you want to share permissions with the Pokémon?"

Andrew immediately replied, "Yes, share."

As soon as he finished speaking, the system interface displayed another notification.

"Do you want to share the subsystem with the Pokémon?"

- Yes

- No

This subsystem was the shared permission, right? After Andrew clicked "Yes," the next pop-up appeared.

"Please select the subsystem sharing targets."

1. Diancie

2. Komala

3. Munchlax

This was a multi-select option, so Andrew selected all three. The system then notified him: "Congratulations, Host, subsystem sharing successful."

After successfully sharing the permissions, Andrew noticed a new button on his personal information interface.

[Salary Distribution]

He clicked the button, and another notification appeared.

"Please select the salary distribution targets."

- Diancie ( )

- Komala ( )

- Munchlax ( )

This was also a multi-select option, with the parentheses for entering the salary amounts.

Andrew thought for a moment, then entered 500 for each. He wasn't being stingy; he just didn't have much money. Salaries would surely increase in the future.

After entering the amounts and clicking confirm, his happiness points decreased by 1,500. At the same time, a screen popped up in front of Diancie, Komala, and Munchlax.

[Diancie]

Balance: 500

Shop

Backpack

The subsystem interfaces for the three Pokémon are identical except for their names. They are very simple and easy to operate.

As the guide Pokémon for the system, Diancie was naturally familiar with everything. After the interface appeared, it mischievously said to Andrew:

"Thanks for the bonus, boss."

At this moment, Komala and Munchlax were puzzled by the suddenly appearing interface.

Seeing this, Andrew said to Diancie, "Alright, stop being playful. Go teach Munchlax and Komala how to use the system quickly, or their CPUs might overheat."

"Understood, boss!" Diancie playfully saluted then quickly ran off.

Andrew shook his head in resignation.

The three Pokémon then huddled together to figure out how to use the subsystems.

At noon, while preparing lunch, Andrew noticed that his seasonings hadn't decreased; in fact, they had increased, along with ingredients like flour.

Diancie explained that to help him transition smoothly, the system had provided enough ingredients and seasonings for a month. If Andrew couldn't find a source for ingredients after using them up, it would no longer be the system's responsibility.

Andrew felt that the system was very considerate, covering all the details.

In the evening, as usual, Andrew went to the training room with Munchlax. After an hour, the system's taskbar status changed.

[Daily Task 1] Train in the culinary training room for 1 hour—Completed, reward pending.

[Daily Task 2] Entertain 10 Pokémon—Completed, reward received.

He clicked to claim the reward, and the system displayed a message.

Congratulations, Host, you have received: a bunch of celery.

Daily task rewards are pretty standard.

The next morning, Diancie knocked on Andrew's door.

"Andrew, there's a new task. Do you want to accept it?"

"What's the task?" Andrew asked.

"Take a look." Diancie said, showing him the task pop-up.

[Procurement Task] Go to Azoth Kingdom to procure ingredients. Do you want to accept it?

Yes

No

Andrew was momentarily surprised by this task.

Azoth Kingdom, his former home! He had always wanted to visit again, but thinking about how things might have changed made him feel a bit hesitant.

Is it finally time to return?

Diancie understood Andrew's mixed feelings, as it too had once called Azoth Kingdom home.

"Let's go back and see," Diancie suggested.

"Alright." Andrew smiled and nodded at Diancie, then accepted the task. The system's taskbar interface updated immediately.

[Daily Task 1] Train in the culinary training room for 1 hour—Pending.

[Daily Task 2] Entertain 10 Pokémon—Pending.

[Procurement Task] Go to Azoth Kingdom to procure ingredients—Pending.

Daily tasks refresh automatically every day, and Andrew doesn't need to manually accept them. Although the rewards are usually modest, they are consistent over time. Diancie also mentioned that while the rewards from daily tasks are generally not impressive, there is a very small chance of receiving something valuable, which comes down to Andrew's luck.

Furthermore, after the beginner period ends, Andrew's tasks will no longer have time restrictions. However, if some tasks are not completed promptly, it may affect the ability to accept subsequent tasks.

After picking up the tasks, Andrew, Diancie, and Munchlax went downstairs, marking the start of a new day.

In the kitchen, Andrew assigned the task of steaming buns to Munchlax, while he dealt with the reward from last night's completed task—a bunch of celery.

"Munch~ Munch~" Master, what are you doing?

Munchlax, while kneading the dough, stared intently at the celery in Andrew's hand, wondering if his master was about to make something delicious again.

Thinking about the fragrant rice from last night, Munchlax couldn't help but drool.

However, the amount was a bit too small, just enough for a taste.

Andrew's rice reward from yesterday was only one pound, which was too little for Munchlax's large appetite.

Andrew smiled and said, "We won't have buns for breakfast today; let's try something different." He planned to use the celery to make some steamed crystal dumplings.

Steamed crystal dumplings are much more enjoyable than plain steamed buns.

As soon as Andrew said this, Munchlax's eyes lit up, and he began kneading the dough faster.

(How exciting!!!)

Andrew glanced at Munchlax and shook his head with a smile.

He washed and finely chopped the celery, then mixed it with various seasonings. He also added green onions and garlic from his garden, along with special sesame oil provided by the system. The resulting filling was incredibly aromatic.

After preparing the filling, Andrew took the kneaded dough from Munchlax, rolled it into long strips, cut them into equal portions, and began making the dumplings.

He held the dough in his left hand, added the filling, and then used his right thumb and forefinger to pinch and twist the top of each dumpling. The result was perfectly uniform pleats, giving the dumplings a machine-like appearance—something that requires serious skill to achieve.

Andrew's speed in making the dumplings was impressive, and soon the cutting board was covered with cute, plump, white dumplings. Munchlax watched with sparkling eyes, unable to tear his gaze away.

"Munch~ Munchlax~~" Master, I want to learn how to do this!

Andrew smiled and asked, "You want to learn?"

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax nodded eagerly, gently touching one of the dumplings and thinking: They're so cute.

"Alright, I'll teach you later," Andrew said without hesitation.

"Munch!!"

Munchlax was so excited he started spinning in circles.

Once the other Pokémon had finished breakfast, Andrew, Diancie, Munchlax, and Komala gathered around a table where a steaming pot of dumplings was placed in the center. The aroma of the dumplings filled the air around the family of four.

Munchlax kept sniffing, eager to inhale the delicious smell.

"Alright, everyone, let's eat. See how the dumplings taste today."

As soon as Andrew finished speaking, Munchlax eagerly grabbed a dumpling.

Huff~ Huff~~

The dumplings were still very hot, and Munchlax was puffing as he was burned, but he couldn't bear to put down the tasty treat.

Even though Komala had its eyes closed, it ate just as quickly as Munchlax.

Munchlax took a big bite, revealing the crunchy celery filling mixed with green onions. The fresh vegetable flavor blended perfectly with the dumpling's wheat taste.

Delicious!

"Munchlax~~~" It's so tasty!

Seeing how much Munchlax and Komala enjoyed their meal, Andrew smiled and urged Diancie, "Diancie, you should eat too."

The family of four quickly finished the entire pot of dumplings. Even after that, Munchlax looked unsatisfied and ate another pot of steamed dumplings by himself.

The celery from the system's reward was limited, so Andrew could only make a small batch of buns, which was merely an appetizer for Munchlax.

Feeling full, Andrew decided to take Komala, Diancie, and Munchlax for a walk to aid digestion.

The morning breeze on the Nebel Plateau was slightly cool and refreshing, and the family strolled leisurely through the grass, occasionally greeting the Pokémon they met along the way.

Compared to when Andrew first arrived at the Nebel Plateau, the Pokémon's attitude towards him had drastically improved. While not all had fully accepted him, there were no longer any that ran away at the sight of him; at worst, they acted as if they hadn't seen him.

Of course, this was rare; most Pokémon remained very friendly.

(End of Chapter)