Chapter 146: The Sudden Taunt

The No. 25 Advanced Secret Realm was a vast and diverse territory, spanning 100,000 square kilometers—nearly half the size of the Silver Province. This extensive area hosted Pokémon of all 18 types, creating a rich, varied ecosystem for Trainers seeking powerful and rare Pokémon.

Among the dozens of advanced secret realms in Drakoria, No. 25 ranks moderately in size; the largest spans over a million square kilometers.

However, like all advanced secret realms, it holds formidable challenges. Elite-level Pokémon resided in these areas, and No. 25 was known to contain three confirmed Elite-level Pokémon, each fiercely guarding their domain.

The No. 25 advanced-Level Secret Realm had existed for fifty years, yet its 'core Treasure of the Secret Realm' remained officially undiscovered.

Most speculated that the treasure might have already been found and quietly taken, with the discoverer choosing to keep it a secret.

Julian understood this secrecy firsthand—when he found the treasure in the newly opened intermediate-level secret realm, he only told his parents about it.

Treasures like these hold incredible value, even those from a primary secret realm. So an advanced-level secret realm treasure would be invaluable.

Once such a treasure surfaced, forget about Elite-level trainers, even champions would be moved by its allure.

So, if anyone had truly found the treasure of the No. 25 advanced secret realm, they would have kept it quiet, proceeding in secrecy and caution.

Everyone knew that without a strong background and power to defend oneself, revealing such a find was a risk not worth taking.

The world had too many who would risk everything for a treasure and those who lived constantly on the edge, willing to take lives just for a chance at that power.

"Julian, are you really planning to enter advanced secret realm No. 25?" 

After nearly an hour of silence, Hannah couldn't hold back anymore. Inwardly, she cursed Julian's single-mindedness—a beautiful woman was sitting right across from him, yet he seemed far more interested in his book.

'What's so fascinating about that book anyway?'

"Um"

Julian had nearly finished reading and gave a light nod.

"I really envy your special recruit class, getting the chance to enter an advanced secret realm" Hannah said with a sigh.

Every student in the special class had the opportunity to explore one of the two advanced secret realms managed by Imperial University.

As for students in the regular class, they either had to save up 50,000 credits to secure a ticket into the secret realm or earn a prestigious honor for Imperial University to gain access.

For most regular-class students, even by senior year, only a handful had managed to set foot in the No. 25 advanced secret realm.

In these secret realms, danger and opportunity coexisted—one step could bring a trainer closer to greatness, while another might lead to disaster.

Each year, over a thousand pseudo-Elite trainers lost their lives in high-level secret realms. Sometimes, even an Elite-level trainer faced fatal misfortune within these dangerous zones.

As Julian once again fell silent, Hannah felt a surge of irritation. It was as though this man existed solely to frustrate someone like her.

"Hannah, you really are here!"

Just as Hannah was about to find another topic, a cheerful voice interrupted.

"Why did you come here, Zed?"

She asked, her tone edged with mild irritation as she glanced over.

Clearly, his presence wasn't entirely welcome.

Zed stood tall, nearly 1.9 meters, with a bottle of water in hand. His face was rather good, he could be called a handsome guy.

"I asked your roommates, and they said you were here"

Zed said, oblivious to Hannah's irritation as he casually took a seat beside her.

"Here, I brought you water. You must be thirsty"

"Thank you, but I'm not thirsty"

Hannah replied, shaking her head politely.

"Then I'll keep it here for you. Just let me know when you need it"

"Zed, I came here to read. If you don't mind, could you give me some space?"

"It's fine. You read your book; I'll just read you," he replied with a wink.

"Pfft"

At this, Julian, who had been trying to focus on his book despite Zed's arrival, couldn't hold back any longer and laughed aloud.

"You guys continue" 

Julian said with a small smile, catching Zed's annoyed glance but choosing to ignore it. He picked up his book, ready to move to another table where he could focus on the more important sections.

But before he could stand, Hannah's eyes brightened as if struck by an idea. She picked up the water bottle Zed had set down.

"Julian, you must be thirsty too. Here, have some water," she offered with a smile.

Julian glanced at the bottle. To be honest, he was a bit thirsty.

So he picked up the bottle of water and took a few sips.

"Hey, I bought this for my Hannah!" Zed's tone was sharp with anger, his voice a little too loud for the quiet library.

Heads turned in their direction. Realizing the attention he'd drawn, Zed clenched his jaw, glaring fiercely at Julian.

"Don't call me 'my', Zed," Hannah replied, her voice tinged with irritation. "We're not that close."

"Here, take it back"

Unbothered, Julian simply tossed the bottle back to Zed. It was just a casual throw, but the speed was much faster than expected.

"Bang!"

Zed, being just an ordinary person, failed to react in time to catch the bottle, which struck him squarely in the chest. The impact felt as if he had been hit by a stone, leaving him momentarily stunned and dizzy. 

With a thud, he ended up sitting on the ground, his face flushed with embarrassment.

If Julian hadn't withheld his strength, the impact of the bottle could have easily knocked the wind out of him, perhaps even causing him to vomit blood.

Julian glanced at Zed, who was lying on the ground, temporarily unable to get up, and he was no longer in the mood to stay in the library.

Before leaving, he glanced at Hannah. 

"Be careful not to use someone like this again"

The warning tone made Hannah's pretty face pale slightly. 

As Julian started to leave, he suddenly heard Zed's voice call out from behind him. 

"Stop!"

Julian turned to face Zed, who was glaring at him with fury. 

"Dare to fight with me?" Zed challenged.

"Why should I fight you?"

Julian replied, his expression growing cold.

"Why?, Is the famous "King Julian" a coward?"

Zed sneered, his words filled with mockery.

"Ding"

"Temporary Task Created"

"Task Objective: Teach the other party how to behave"

"Task reward: Teleport TM (Metagross), 500 points"

Julian was momentarily stunned, not expecting the system to join in the fun at such a moment. The quest reward was undeniably exciting to him.

Although Metagross had the Psychic-typing, it couldn't learn Teleport through level-ups or standard Move discs/Tms. 

If Metagross didn't reproduce through splitting, perhaps he could have tried breeding it with a Pokémon who knew teleport and produce a Beldum that inherited Teleport from its parent.

Even though Teleport was a highly practical move, many Psychic-type Pokémon could not learn it, including the pseudo-legendary Metagross.

By mastering Teleport, Metagross's future fighting style would become unpredictable and faster.

With the system tasks now presented, Julian had no reason to refuse the challenge ahead.

"Yes, let's add one more condition: the loser will pay 10 million." 

Noticing Zed's hesitation, Julian couldn't help but sneer. "What's the matter? Don't tell me you lack the guts, coward?"

Hannah pulled Zed, her voice filled with urgency. "Zed, don't be impulsive." 

Her concern seemed to unintentionally reinforce Zed's insecurities, making him feel that she believed he wasn't a match for Julian.

In reality, Hannah actually did.

*****

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