Chapter 2: The Original Ore of the Taijinzhu  

Luke didn't harbor any disdain for his "golden finger," but wasn't it a bit late for it to show up? Even the donkey from the production team would shake its head at this.

During the time when Luke was secretly complaining to himself, the special prompt system seemed to encounter some unexpected issues and crashed for a moment, before a line of text slowly appeared.

[According to the assessment, although the host's strength is the weakest among champions, they are indeed a genuine champion trainer. It seems this system is late?]

"What do you mean weakest? You'd better apologize, Kora!"

Luke skillfully used a click of his tongue to express his dissatisfaction. Although he was aware of his true strength, even the chief champion didn't fight him at full capacity.

However, being mocked by a system that claimed to be late always left him feeling a bit annoyed.

Yet, it seemed that the golden finger fell silent again while Luke was surveying his territory, occasionally displaying words like "self-checking" here and there.

Luke didn't pay it any mind. Based on his years of experience surfing the internet, he thought he probably could not chase off this golden finger anyway, so it was better to get on with something productive.

After he had thoroughly explored the undeveloped land and contemplated where to construct various buildings and delineate pastures, the prompt system emerged once more.

[Binding has been completed. Although the host has achieved their goal as a champion, there is still ample room for improvement in strength. How about we travel to other regions?]

"You said it well, but allow me to refuse." Luke firmly rejected the dancing, quirky font that seemed eager for his attention.

[.]

Seeing the system fall silent, Luke realized that this thing was more like an emotional chat partner than the mechanical prompt systems he read about in novels before his crossing.

However, with its frenzied gestures trying to gain his attention, Luke could tell that this system didn't possess the power or authority to issue him any compulsory commands.

Aside from that ambiguous prompt feature, its only capability seemed to be engaging in banter with him.

But that was fine; if it issued some nonsensical mandatory task, his free soul would rather choose to lie down and give up than leave his Pokémon, which had accompanied him all this way.

After all, he had finally escaped the 996 work culture, the life of exhausting overtime, and the dreadful New Year's holiday adjustments. Now, he just wanted to live peacefully and leisurely as an ordinary farm owner.

"... Whether in the land, in the clouds~, or in that child's skirt~"

Humming a familiar tune, Luke ambled over to the only duplex he had purchased in this vast piece of land, like a retired old man.

It was a somewhat aged three-story villa. Luke remembered that the mayor of Pingdian Town said it used to be inhabited by an elderly couple without children, who relied on each other for companionship.

However, after the two elderly folks passed away a few years ago, this piece of land and house had fallen into neglect.

The reason Luke could buy such a large tract of although abandoned, but highly potential land was that the couple had left a will stating that upon their passing, their land would be donated to Pingdian Town for free. If the town chose to sell the land, the proceeds should be used for the town's development.

Truly, they were a couple filled with kindness in every sense.

Walking into the villa, Luke strolled through all the floors and gained a full understanding of the three-story building left by the elderly couple.

Counting just the ground area of the villa itself, it was roughly around two hundred square meters.

It contained all the necessary rooms, and the third floor had a balcony for growing flowers and sunbathing. Although it was a bit old, it truly was the house of Luke's dreams.

With a thorough cleaning to clear the dust off the old furniture, he could move in right away.

"However, there are indeed some things that cannot be used and need to be cleared out." Luke planned to tidy up first, then go to town to buy some bedding, intending to move in tonight.

Aside from the necessary expenses for training Pokémon, most of the money he had saved up over the year had gone into purchasing land. As for the temporary accommodation, it would be better to cancel the booking since there would definitely be many more expenses to come.

Thinking about heavier items in the house that he probably could not move, Luke took a Poké Ball from his waist, a smile creeping onto his lips as he pressed the activation button.

With a flash of red light, a stronger than usual, fierce-looking Swampert appeared before Luke.

This Swampert, which seemed capable of shaking the ground with a fist and could even make a young girl cry, softened its fierce expression the moment it made eye contact with Luke's smiling gaze.

"Swampert, could you help me move these things outside to soak up some sun?" Luke pointed with a smile at the dusty, moldy furniture that had accumulated dust due to years of neglect.

Among them were tables, chairs, sofas, and sealed boxes of unknown contents.

Swampert nodded slightly, effortlessly lifting the time-worn sofa with its robust arms that radiated a sense of safety and walked straight out of the room.

"Hey!" At this moment, Luke rolled up his sleeves and headed toward the location of the sealed boxes, intending to take advantage of the good weather to bring them into the sunlight and see what was inside.

If there were any items linked to the elderly couple that were worth remembering, he would take them to their grave.

If not, he would sort through them and see if there were any useful items for the upcoming construction of the pasture or farming area, as this would save some money for their utilization.

After all, he didn't have much remaining money after buying this land, and he needed to budget carefully.

[In the third box from the left in front of your right hand, there is a magical crystal that has a significant effect on enhancing your strength.]

Luke's motion to lift the box came to a halt, and he raised an eyebrow at the box indicated by the prompt. Without speaking, he approached the box and squatted down, curiosity evident on his face.

A good item for enhancing strength?

It seemed this system showed no signs of giving up and intended to use an indirect method to improve his power.

Out of a desire to test the accuracy of its prompts, Luke chose to use a small delivery knife in his hand to cut through the seal of the box and began rummaging inside.

After a short while, Luke finally saw the so-called "magical crystal" mentioned in the prompt.

This object was wrapped in a bright blue crystalline shell that still sparkled despite being covered in dust, but the shell wasn't the focus; the key element was the gray-black "raw ore" covered by the shell.

"Is this really it?"

Luke exclaimed, having considered many possibilities for items that could enhance strength as suggested by the prompt system, but he never expected it to be the necessary item unique to the Paldea region— 

the original ore of the Taijinzhu.

Reminder: The existence of the golden finger, besides occasionally being a supportive role, is just to assist the protagonist; early focus will not be excessive.

The real golden finger of this book is the protagonist's strength and understanding of Pokémon.

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