Chapter 145: Library

The Imperial Capital University's Library was one of the most frequented places by students, renowned for its extensive collection.

With over 50 million books covering literature, science, engineering, art, medicine, and more, nearly one-third of the collection was dedicated to Pokémon.

Here, you can even find ancient texts and rare editions. However, borrowing these special books requires a significant amount of credits.

The entire library had ten floors, each housing a vast array of books.

Currently, Julian was on the fifth floor, where the cost of access was 100 credits per hour. After defeating ten members of the Shu exchange team, Julian had accumulated a total of 3,000 credits.

Books on the floors below the fifth could be accessed without spending any points, while those above the fifth floor required credits due to their focus on Pokémon.

Many of these books were not released to the public, and you couldn't buy them in bookstores outside.

Instead, they could only be found in prestigious universities or the Trainer Association, with some books limited to very few locations.

You might wonder why these books weren't made public so that trainers who didn't attend Universities could also improve.

The strength of trainers directly correlated to the overall power of Drakoria, potentially leading to the emergence of new Elites.

While Drakoria's Trainer executives recognized this, they still restricted the access to these valuable resources.

The reasoning was very simple: if these books were available to the public, trainers from other countries could also purchase them.

Consequently, an increase in the strength of Drakoria's trainers would be mirrored by those in other nations, leading to no net gain in strength.

While an experience written by an Elite Trainer might be released to the public to potentially add Elites to Drakoria, it could also empower trainers abroad.

Other countries had also restricted access to their valuable books, keeping them confined to major universities.

Thus, Drakoria would not adopt a policy that appears to be a "win-win" scenario, allowing trainers in other countries to benefit equally.

Consequently, all precious books were also available in the trainer associations, where trainers not belonging to any of these institutions could do contributions to access the materials they needed.

With 3,000 credits, Julian was well-equipped to spend time in the library, though entering the tenth floor would cost him 1,000 credits per hour.

In the Imperial University, credits were crucial. They were needed to purchase valuable items, Pokémon, treasures, and more.

While credits could be exchanged for money, the reverse was not always true.

Currently, Julian was engrossed in a copy of "No. 25 Advanced Secret Realm Detailed Explanation."

In addition to the named top secret realms, including unique advanced ones like the Oreburgh Great Wall, Blue Lake, and Dragon's Den.

Other advanced secret realms, were indicated using numbers instead.

The No. 25 advanced secret realm was one of two managed by Imperial College, highlighting the institution's prestigious reputation.

This was also a key reason why Imperial University was often regarded as the top institution. It oversaw two high-level secret realms, while the other four leading universities were responsible for only one.

However, the second high-level secret realm under Imperial College's care was regulated through the annual university league, a contest in which Imperial University had excelled for five consecutive years.

Julian planed to enter the fixed high-level secret realm, No. 25, soon.

With Metagross having recently triumphed over a legendary Pokémon and becoming a pseudo-Elite, along with his pseudo-Elite Steelix, he was now qualified to explore the advanced secret realms.

There were many people in the library on fifth floor, and most of them recognized Julian.

The exchange competition between the two schools just three days ago was still fresh in their minds, with videos of his remarkable battles readily available online.

The most talked-about moment remained the fierce showdown between Metagross and Articuno, elevating Julian's status to that of a celebrity at Imperial College.

His recent accomplishments had ignited a sense of admiration and envy among the senior students.

Typically, graduates from Imperial Capital University possessed pseudo-Elite strength, If they were not a pseudo-Elite by the time they graduated, they would be too ashamed to even tell people they want to Imperial University.

Yet Julian, having just entered the University less than a month ago, had already demonstrated combat power akin to that of a graduate, leaving many upperclassmen feeling overshadowed.

"Hello, King Julian!"

A melodic voice interrupted his thoughts, accompanied by a delightful fragrance. Julian looked up to see who it was.

Sitting across from him was a girl whose beauty surpassed ninety points, her bright eyes curiously studying him.

"What?"

Julian had become accustomed to being called "King Julian" now. Luis had been shouting it in his ear every day with a hint of envy and jealousy.

With Metagross's victory over Articuno, he became a legend among people, and Julian was crowned the title "King" among his peers.

Seeing Julian's indifferent attitude, Hannah blinked, momentarily taken aback. She touched her cheek, almost in disbelief. 'Did I forget to fix my makeup or something?'.

It wasn't often—if ever—that someone spoke to her with such little interest.

"I just wanted to introduce myself, if I have the honor. My name is Hannah," She said.

Seeing the soft, fair hand extended toward him, Julian gave it a light shake.

"Just call me Julian."

Although he was a Iron-hearted guy, but the other party was being so active, he would naturally not refuse, and she was indeed very beautiful.

"You're Hannah?"

"Don't tell me, Julian, you've actually heard of me—what an honor," Hannah replied, covering a soft laugh with her hand.

He did recognize her, thanks to Luis, who had once shared pictures and names of the top ten college beauties of Imperial University.

Hannah, with her striking features, had certainly left an impression.

She was undeniably beautiful—perhaps the most beautiful woman he had encountered.

Being the sole heir of the Walker family, one might assume he'd meet countless remarkable women. Yet, in reality, his circle was quite limited. In a way, he really felt sorry for his Identity.

"Julian, I'm also a Steel-type Trainer," Hannah said, leaning forward slightly.

"Um."

Julian gave a brief nod, his focus still on his book.

Her smile faltered for a moment at his indifference, and for the first time, she found herself questioning her charm.

But she was quick to read his disinterest, so she fell silent, glancing at the title of the book he was reading.

Taking out her own book, 'Mawile Breeder Route', she began to read.

However, while Julian seemed entirely absorbed in his book, her attention was scattered, her gaze drifting back and forth between her reading and the young man across from her.

*****

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