Bai Chen noticed the two incoming figures before they even stepped into the arena.
He waved.
"Second Fleet Captain, Chief Engineer — what brings you two here?"
"That miraculous sphere of yours."
They'd heard rumors, but seeing was believing — a tool that could compress a monster weighing tens of tons into something no larger than an apple was beyond the bounds of their imagination.
"Ah, the capture sphere," Bai Chen said with a smile. "It's a technology the Master Smith brought from another world."
He held out the one containing Basarios.
The aging Chief Engineer took it reverently, his cloudy eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"You mean to tell me… You put that thing in here?"
"That's right. Amazing, isn't it?"
The man looked skeptical — until Bai Chen demonstrated, letting the sphere flash open.
Light burst out; the ground trembled as the thirty-meter Rock wyvern reappeared. Then another flash, and it was gone again.
The two engineers were left speechless.
"How… how does it do that?"
They leaned over the sphere, whispering furiously, already itching to take it apart.
Bai Chen explained calmly,
"This one's a modified model. Tinkatuff based it on something called a Poké Ball. The materials come from another world, though — so reproducing it here would be nearly impossible."
That didn't stop the two engineers from staring at it like starved men at a banquet. Every nerve in their bodies screamed to dissect it, to understand it — but neither dared damage something so rare.
"What a pity," the Captain sighed. "A marvel we can't rebuild."
Bai Chen let the suspense hang a moment longer before tossing them a spark of hope.
"That said, tinkatuff does understand the underlying structure. If we can find substitute materials here, there's a chance she can make one from local resources."
Their eyes brightened instantly.
Bai Chen had already made up his mind: when he next returned to the other world, he'd bring back Apricorn seeds — the ancient crafting fruit once used to make Poké Balls.
Modern trainers no longer use them, but for the Monster Hunter world, they were a perfect fit.
He had plenty of reasons for planting them here.
First, he needed leverage.
Poké Balls were his lifeline — a trump card. At the moment, that entire technology rested in Lusamine's hands. If she ever decided to use it as a bargaining chip, he'd be trapped.
Not that Bai Chen distrusted her — but he trusted his own contingency plans more.
Second, hiding it forever was impossible. The more monsters he captured, the more attention these spheres would draw.
So instead of concealing them, he'd normalize them. Spread the knowledge, share the craft — turn it into a common utility.
If everyone owned capture spheres, who would bother questioning how many he had?
And more than that, such technology could secure him a far stronger position within the Guild.
The two engineers could hardly contain themselves.
"Is that true? You can really reproduce it?"
"Can't promise anything yet," Bai Chen replied evenly. "But once we find matching materials, I'll personally invite you both to work on it."
"A deal!"
They grinned like children given candy.
After chatting for a while, the two reluctantly departed, knowing they wouldn't be building one anytime soon.
As their figures faded from view, Bai Chen exhaled slowly.
"If I can build enough influence in the Guild," he murmured, "then anyone who wants to touch me will have to think twice."
Ever since his arrival, he'd been weighing how to shield himself from the Guild's higher-ups — those unseen powers who might one day covet his secrets.
The answer he'd reached was simple.
"If I fear their authority, then I'll just become the authority."
If he couldn't beat the system, he'd rise above it.
One day, if his strength could crush elder dragons with ease, and if his name commanded absolute respect within the Guild, only then could he truly relax.
"But that's for later. For now…"
He turned his gaze toward the center of the arena.
There stood Basarios — recently enhanced, its molten armor gleaming. Over the past several days, Bai Chen had already restructured its foundation. The results were startling.
[Name]: Basarios
[Species]: Flying Wyvern
[Attributes]: Fire / Ground
[Rarity]: ★★★★★
[Level]: 36 (823 / 18103)
[Trait]: Rock Body — The outer shell changes properties depending on the type of minerals consumed.
[Skills]
Flame Stream Cannon (Rarity 7) — Proficient (1452 / 3500): Fires a high-temperature beam with immense heat and piercing force.
Elder Dragon Blood (Rarity 7) — Advanced (13100 / 17500): An unending life force grants vitality beyond normal monsters.
Volcanic Might (Rarity 7) — Advanced (12330 / 17500): Strength scales with body temperature; the hotter, the stronger.
Multi-Element Gas Discharge (Rarity 4) — Advanced (9300 / 10000): Emits gases of heat, sleep, or poison from special vents.
Rock-Digestion Bacteria (Rarity 4) — Advanced (7331 / 10000): Specialized bacteria digest minerals to fuel the body.
Heavy Impact (Rarity 6) — Novice (210 / 600): Charges the enemy with crushing force; damage increases with weight difference.
Iron Wall (Rarity 4) — Novice(190 / 400): Hardens the hide, greatly increasing defense.
Dominion Aura (Rarity 6) — Novice(120 / 600): A crimson aura surrounds the body, increasing size and power while intimidating weaker foes.
Gravios's signature weapon was that blinding thermal beam — its power directly linked to the minerals it consumed and the heat stored within its body.
After reviewing the data, Bai Chen had already set his course.
"You'll be my second-generation Zorah Magdaros."
As the largest of all flying wyverns, the Gravios line already possessed unmatched bulk. His juvenile was thirty meters long — a growth spurt from twelve meters after awakening the Dominion Aura, a two-and-a-half-fold increase. By comparison, Zinogre's had only expanded 1.6 times.
Scaling up, a fully evolved Gravios could easily reach seventy-five meters in length.
That wouldn't match Zorah Magdaros's colossal 260-meter size, but in the hierarchy of monsters, it would still stand among the apex tier.
Bai Chen grinned.
"If I can't capture a super-sized elder dragon… then I'll just raise one myself."
And perhaps someday—
He glanced at his Poké Ball belt, smirking.
"If I throw in a little Dynamax energy from the other world…"
A seventy-five-meter Gravios undergoing Gigantamax?
The image alone made his blood stir.
Just imagining that sight —
a living volcano, erupting beneath his command —ItIt
was enough to make his heart race with anticipation.
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