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At that moment, faced with the terrifying speed Kael had revealed, speed far beyond anything she had expected, Wendy was certainly panicked.
But at the very least, she still managed to give her Pokémon a command.
Compared with before, that was already a considerable improvement.
The effect was immediate.
Against an opponent like Kael, whose speed far surpassed its own, Sentret looked completely at a loss.
Its body stiffened as it propped itself up on the grass with its huge tail, its small black-bean eyes sweeping around in confusion as it tried to catch sight of Kael's figure.
But the voice of its Trainer behind it flowed into its heart like a warm current, soothing its panic.
Without thinking too much, Sentret instinctively followed Wendy's command and used Defense Curl.
Its originally stretched-out body suddenly curled up. Its thick, wing-like arms pressed tightly against its sides, and its oval body bent downward, resting against its enormous tail, which was longer than its body.
In just an instant, under the effect of Sentret's biological instincts, it curled itself into a true "ball."
Buzz...
As a soft hum sounded from deep within Sentret's body, an invisible layer of energy seeped out from the surface of its furry skin. It spread across its ball-like body, giving it a distinct, eye-catching sheen, as if it had gained a special metallic texture.
From a distance, Sentret now looked like a hard brown steel ball embedded in the soft grass.
But how rich was Kael's battle experience?
With a single glance, he already had a plan.
His body, which had been charging straight toward Sentret, suddenly stopped, carving two deep trails into the muddy grass.
His slender hands came together loosely in front of his chest, and pure glowing blue Water-type energy burst from between his palms.
Gather.
Spin.
A hollow ring formed from blue water gradually took shape as it rotated at high speed.
Kael's clear blue eyes stared at Sentret, who was curled tightly into a ball like a turtle hiding inside its shell.
He curled his lips, his gaze cold.
He knew that once a Trainer captured a Pokémon, it had basically escaped the restriction of death.
No matter how severe the injuries it suffered in battle, as long as its Trainer paid a little price and placed the Poké Ball on the healing machine at a Pokémon Center, after a few cheerful chimes, it would immediately be restored to full health.
Because of that, Kael had no intention of holding back against Sentret.
"Water Pulse."
Kael pushed the glowing blue water ring forward.
Trailing strands of brilliant light like tassels, it spun through the air like a clear moon, flying straight toward the ball-shaped Sentret.
Boom!
Wendy only heard a ringing sound, like jade striking steel.
Then Sentret's brown body shot high into the air like a round soccer ball under the force of the impact, rising above the center of the battlefield.
The glowing blue Water-type energy looked gentle, but the instant it touched Sentret's skin, it turned into a cold and vicious serpent.
Through the fine pores in Sentret's body, it injected its deadly venom inside, corroding everything it encountered from the outside in.
Flesh, veins, bones.
Under the invasion of that moist Water-type energy, they seemed to turn into lifeless things.
Under absolute suppression of power, even though Sentret had activated its defensive state in time, it was still defeated with ease and had no strength to fight back.
It did not even have time to let out a cry of pain. In an instant, under the sweep of intense agony, it lost consciousness.
Smack!
Sentret's oval brown body fell from the air and landed weakly on the soft grass.
An ethereal hum sounded from the void.
Sentret's body gradually turned into illusory white light made of data. Like morning mist, it was drawn by some invisible guidance and absorbed into the Poké Ball at Wendy's waist.
Kael lowered his arms from in front of his chest, his eyes completely calm.
With the system's support, his growth speed had almost reached the peak level of this world.
He could say without exaggeration that any enemy he had defeated once would never be able to turn the tables on him in the future.
They would only be pressed beneath him forever.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Kael turned his head and looked toward the square-faced referee at the edge of the field.
The man's expression had changed slightly because of Kael's surprising strength. He was no longer quite as stern and cold as when the battle first began.
However, as for the sight of Sentret turning into white light and floating back into the pouch at Wendy's waist, he acted as if he had not seen it at all. There was not the slightest concern in his expression.
"As expected…"
Seeing this, Kael nodded thoughtfully.
Just as he had guessed before, while the system of this virtual game world had constructed an extremely complete cultural and social background, it had also blocked and weakened NPCs' perception and reaction when it came to abnormalities related to players.
Take Mason from before, for example.
If his identity had not been that of a player, but instead a proper in-game NPC, then Kael's later experience would absolutely not have been as easy as it was now. There would have been no way for the whole thing to be brushed aside so simply.
Even with Evan's help, a complicated exchange of power and favors would definitely have been unavoidable.
Now, through the reaction of the NPC referee at the side of the field, Kael had clearly confirmed that guess.
That meant the room for future manipulation was quite large.
Perhaps he could use the convenience of players to obtain certain benefits from NPCs, or shield himself from certain negative consequences.
Although Kael did not yet have a specific plan, the rough framework gradually formed in his mind as this guess was confirmed.
As his own strength increased in the future, and as his relationship with players gradually deepened, this thought in his heart would likely grow slowly, like a tender shoot just breaking through the soil.
While Kael was lost in thought, on the other side of the field, Wendy had also fallen into deep self-doubt.
"Am I really this untalented at games?"
The first time she had encountered this Sobble in Moltenwood Forest, she had only just started playing. She had no experience in any area, so being easily defeated and sent back to the starting point together with her Pokémon was one thing.
But this time, she had clearly studied so much in advance.
Sentret's battle strength had also improved a lot.
So why had she still been defeated so easily?
It was even worse than last time.
She had not even had the strength to fight back.
"Uuu…"
The girl, who had suffered a blow unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life, could not help but squat down. She covered her face with both hands and let out a strange, unclear whimper.
Seeing this scene, both Kael, who had just defeated Sentret on the field, and the cold-faced referee standing beside the battlefield felt somewhat awkward.
After all, no matter what Wendy looked like in real life, her game character was a delicate and adorable young girl.
Her current behavior gave Kael an extremely strange feeling of embarrassment.
With a trace of surprise, he muttered silently in his heart.
"Wait… did I make her cry?"
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!