"Player Zhang Tian, are you really confident? The audience thinks you're bragging," Iris said with a sigh, glancing at the live chat.
"It's not confidence. It's a fact," Zhang replied with a faint smile, unconcerned with the audience's opinion. "In two months, everyone will understand. Time will tell."
"Haha, good confidence. I hope you can really become a champion-level trainer in two months," Iris smiled. She didn't believe it, but she was not so graceless as to say so. "Well, beyond that, you've won the championship. What reward would you like? A pseudo-legendary egg? A Mega Stone? A Z-Crystal?" She materialized a selection of prizes: several pseudo-legendary eggs, a few common Mega Stones, and some Z-Crystals.
According to the rules, the champion could choose three prizes. After a quick look, Zhang chose the Pidgeotite, Gardevoirite, and Gengarite.
"Next is a series of ceremonies. Do you want to participate?" Iris asked.
"No, those things aren't interesting," Zhang shook his head. "Well, Gym Leader Iris, I'm leaving now. Perhaps we will meet again in a few days. I should be coming to challenge you." He waved and turned to leave. He had not forgotten about his gym challenge. He still needed six more badges, and he planned to collect them all in the next few days.
After that, once his strength reached the level of a third-tier god, he would challenge the Champion Road and become the champion of the Great Xia. This would be a little more difficult than the Global Pokémon Tournament; after all, Gu Xinghe, the current champion, had a third-tier legendary. The rules of the Global Tournament prevented previous participants from competing again, so Zhang wouldn't have to face trainers like Gu Xinghe there. The trainers he would meet would be champions from the last 10 years, most of whom did not have a third-tier legendary. It was not easy to break through the limits of a mortal. Gu Xinghe had become a champion at 25, but it had taken him another twenty years to reach the strength of a third-tier god. Most geniuses never made it.
"Zhang Tian, congratulations on becoming champion," Bea said happily as he walked off the battlefield.
"Zhang Tian, you really are something else. You avenged me," Cynthia added with a smile.
"Of course I am," Zhang said with a proud, slightly swollen grin.
"I've already booked a hotel. Let's go to the celebration banquet," Cynthia said.
Zhang released his Astalos, and the three of them flew off towards the city. The huge electric dragon landed at the entrance of the Fulai Hotel, more eye-catching than any sports car. A white-haired young man, about to get angry at the sudden appearance of the dragon, saw who it was and held his tongue. His family had money and wealth, but compared to Zhang Tian, an Elite Four-level trainer, it was nothing. The titles he had earned—"First Day of the Great Xia," "Future Champion," "Future Legend"—were enough to scare anyone.
"Heavenly King Zhang, you are here! Come in! Come in!" A middle-aged man in a suit, the owner of the hotel, greeted him with a fawning smile. He had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the owner, a man he knew to be a powerful figure in his own right, acting like a pug before Zhang, the white-haired young man instantly understood the weight of the title "Heavenly King." Is this what it means to be an Elite Four trainer? he thought, finally understanding why his father had always wanted him to become a Pokémon trainer.
Zhang nodded slightly and followed the owner inside with Cynthia and Bea.
Five days later, in his room in Yan Huo Village, Zhang changed into his Brachydios armor and slung the matching greatsword over his back. It was time to help his Rathalos evolve into an Azure Rathalos. The Azure Rathalos was a subspecies of the Rathalos, on the same ecological level as the Astalos, Lunagaron, and Mizutsune—all Elite Four-level monsters.
In the past five days, Zhang himself had reached level 60, successfully advancing to the rank of Elite Four. His Escuregot, Odogaron, Legiana, Pidgeot, Nargacuga, Anjanath, Redhelm Arzuros, Gravios, Zinogre, Pink Rathian, Tobi-Kadachi, Arcanine, Gardevoir, Apex Arzuros, and Gengar had all reached level 60 as well.
"Master Zhang, are we finally going on an adventure?" his Palico, Kuro, said excitedly, waving his own tiny greatsword. "My bones were getting sore from all that training."
"That's right, we're going on an adventure," Zhang smiled, rubbing Kuro's head. He opened the system panel and selected "Mutated Evolution" for his Rathalos, choosing the Azure Rathalos path.
[Mutation Evolution Initiated!]
[Rathalos -> Azure Rathalos!]
[Difficulty: Elite Four!]
[Random Quest Generated!]
[Quest Received: "Hunt the Stygian Zinogre"!]
[Kill or subdue the Stygian Zinogre to complete the mission.]
[Teleportation initiated!]
Zhang appeared in an icy, unfamiliar place. "A Stygian Zinogre? A subspecies of the Zinogre? Nice mission." He was quite satisfied. The Stygian Zinogre was also an Elite Four-level monster. While the normal Zinogre used lightning, the Stygian Zinogre used Dragon Element energy, fueled by Dracophage Bugs instead of Fulgurbugs.
"How am I supposed to find anything in this? The wind and snow are so strong, the drone can't even take off," he said, frowning at the blizzard. "Kuro, how are your monster tracking skills? My drone is useless here."
"Leave it to me, meow!" Kuro patted his chest confidently. "In this cold, predators will generally wait in places where there are Popo. To hunt monsters, we can go to places with plants, or places with Popo, and wait, meow!"
"It seems you've done this before," Zhang said, squatting down to pat Kuro's shoulder. "Then I'll leave it to you. I'll treat you to a big meal when we get back."
Under Kuro's leadership, they set off. The hunt was long and boring, so Zhang collected some special plants and minerals along the way. After about an hour, Kuro finally found something. "Master Zhang, I found it, meow!" In front of him was a series of huge footprints, exactly the same as a Zinogre's.
"Let's go, Kuro," Zhang beckoned, and they followed the tracks. After six or seven minutes, they heard the roar of a monster and the sounds of battle.
"That's the sound of a Barioth," Zhang thought, a trace of doubt in his eyes. "Is the Stygian Zinogre hunting a Barioth?"
As they got closer, they saw it wasn't that simple. In the wind and snow, a beautiful blonde girl in white clothes was riding on the back of a Barioth, fighting a Stygian Zinogre. The Barioth was strong, but it was no match for the Stygian Zinogre and was being beaten back.
Barioth
Level: 67 (Elite Four)
Stygian Zinogre (Frenzied)
Level: 69 (Elite Four)
The Stygian Zinogre's fur was black and red, and the Dracophage Bugs surrounding it glowed with a red light. It was slightly smaller than a normal Zinogre, and a black qi surrounded it. It was the Frenzy Virus.
"Avinia! It's her," Zhang recognized the blonde girl. She was a companion of the protagonist in Monster Hunter Stories.
The Frenzy Virus? I didn't expect the mission target to be a Frenzied Stygian Zinogre. This is really troublesome.
[Special Mission Triggered: "The Frenzied Qi and the Girl"]
[Mission Objective: Save the girl.]
[Mission Reward: Rider Continent Teleportation Stone (Allows teleportation to the Rider Continent. 24-hour cooldown.)]
The moment he saw the mission reward, Zhang's eyes lit up. With this stone, he could teleport to the Rider Continent at any time. That was the continent with things the Old World and the New World didn't have, like the kinship inheritance of the Riders and the genetic modification of the Dragon People. But what he wanted most was the Versa Pietru egg. The Versa Pietru was a "forbidden monster," a first-tier god. In the original story, after it was hatched, it quickly grew into an adult. If he could get that egg, he could quickly obtain a first-tier god. It was difficult not to be moved.
"Kuro, let's go!" Without a second thought, Zhang drew his sword and rushed forward.
"Sakura Aerial Blade Slash!" He used a displacement move to quickly close the distance, with Kuro clinging to his back.
"Whoosh!" Propelled by his Wirebug, Zhang shot forward like an arrow.
Avinia's face lit up with joy when she saw them. Though Riders and Hunters had a complicated relationship, they wouldn't easily fight each other. And from his actions, it was clear he was here to help. The Stygian Zinogre, focused on the Barioth, didn't notice their approach.
"Barioth, contain the Stygian Zinogre!" Avinia commanded.
"Roar!" The Barioth opened its mouth and spat out a huge frozen tornado. The Stygian Zinogre leaped back to dodge, and in doing so, jumped right into the path of Zhang's blade.
CLICK! The huge Brachydios greatsword cut into the Stygian Zinogre's hind leg, instantly severing it. Zhang's charge didn't end there. He appeared next to its left front paw and, with another slash, cut that off as well. The moment he did, Kuro leaped from his back, pounced on the Zinogre's head, and drove his short knife into its left eye, stabbing wildly.
SWISH! Zhang's charge ended, and he appeared in front of the Stygian Zinogre.
"Whoosh!" a mournful roar sounded as the two-legged Zinogre crashed to the ground.
"Helm Breaker!" Zhang turned, leaped high into the air, and brought his greatsword down on the Stygian Zinogre's head, instantly knocking it unconscious.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus