Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 799 The Trial of Arknom: A hopeless case?

Xicui area.

Aspire to be by the lake.

Compared to the barrenness and desolation of the pure white permafrost, the natural landscape of Honglian Wetland is full of vitality.

The clear lake surface is like a mirror, shimmering and reflecting the outlines of the trees and shrubs on the shore.

The morning mist lingers over the lake, and occasionally a gentle breeze sweeps across the water, causing the mist to disperse and then gather again, quickly smoothing out the ripples on the surface.

Everything here makes this place seem like a fairyland.

The heavy footsteps slowed down, and "Bear Two" Yueyue Bear, which Luo Mu was riding, stopped. Its gaze fell on the Lizhi Lake in front of it, and a look of awe flashed in its eyes, whether for the water or for something else.

This made a sentence pop into Luo Mu's mind.

—In this era, there is a God.

The moment this thought crossed Luo Mu's mind, his peripheral vision fell on the unassuming Crowned Bud behind him, which looked like an ordinary old farmer with a huge dark green bud on its head.

To be precise, beings like the Queen of the Lace Crown are not yet legends in this day and age.

For people of this era, those who possess power in areas untouched by human intelligence are gods.

They frequently performed miracles using the power, authority, and mysterious means they controlled, building a tower called faith.

Ho-Oh and Lugia from the Johto region, as well as the legendary Pokémon from the Seishiro region where I am now, are all like this.

As time approached the modern era in which Luo Mu lived, they gradually disappeared, rarely displaying miracles, and were categorized as "Legendary Pokémon" or "Mythical Pokémon".

And now, a "god" exists on the Lake of Aspiration before Luo Mu's eyes.

However, the other party is not someone who appears at will, nor does it reside deep within Lake Lizhi.

The Pokémon of the Lake Legend are merely observing this world from another dimension that overlaps with this Lake of Ambition.

But since Yuupu brought him here and mentioned the test.

So, what will happen next?

Luo Mu's gaze fell on Grandma Xi Pu, who was slowly getting off the back of "Big Bear" Yueyue Bear, who was carefully lying on the ground.

We await her next move.

She calmly checked the offerings in the basket, then took out two jar-like objects.

He kept one in his own hand and handed the other to Luo Mu.

"?"

Luo Mu looked down at the jar in his hand with a puzzled expression. He thought it was some kind of prop that he would use later, but he found that a huge, furry bear face had already nudged him.

As if he knew what a good thing it was, Xiong Er skillfully bit off the cork at the mouth of the jar, sniffed it, and then looked at Luo Mu with a longing expression.

"This is... honey?"

Smelling the faint sweet scent in the air, Luo Mu looked down and sure enough, he saw a golden, crystalline liquid in the jar.

"It's Crystal Honey, a rare find from Zhuqing Village, and it's the favorite of these Moon Bears."

From not far away came Xi Pu's shouts. Looking in that direction, Luo Mu saw that she had already reached into the jar that the Moon Bear's big paw couldn't reach, and pulled out a large ball of Crystal Honey to feed to the bear.

While feeding him, Xi Pu was also giving Luo Mu meaningful glances.

What are you standing there for? Hurry up and feed him!
Luo Mu glanced at Xiong Er, who was staring at the jar with longing, and remained silent for a moment.

Is this how you feed them?

"Mimi wants to eat too!"

Before Luo Mu could feed Xiong Da the honey, Xie Mi, who was sleeping like a log, seemed to smell the aroma and used his three-layered belly to do a sit-up before leaping towards them.

Luo Mu's eyes narrowed, and he quickly and ruthlessly grabbed Shemina by the back of the neck with one hand, pulling her aside.

With his other hand, he reached directly into the jar and brought a clump of honey to Xiong Er.

"Come and swallow!"

Rather than letting Shemi, who was still on a diet under his supervision, eat honey, Luo Mu preferred not to think about how sticky his hands would be later.

However, Xiong Er licked it even cleaner than he had imagined.

After Xiong Er devoured the entire jar of Crystal Honey in a whirlwind, Luo Mu looked in surprise at his left hand, which was practically clean except for a little drool, and stared at the satiated Xiong Er beside him, thinking to himself.

Does this guy have the potential to become a sycophant?
I can just wash my hands by the river later!

After Luo Mu finished washing his hands and returned...

Meanwhile, Xi Pu slowly finished feeding Xiong Da and waved to the two of them.

"Alright, you've eaten your fill. Stay here obediently until we come back."

Xi Pu patted the heads of the two thick-skinned bears lightly, and after watching them obediently lie down under the shade of a tree, she put her hands on her hips and waved to Luo Mu.

"Let's go, we should find another way to cross the lake."

Upon hearing this, Luo Mu was slightly taken aback. "...It wouldn't be that, would it?"

“That’s the one.” Xi Pu took out her Divine Flute, a smile appearing on her wrinkled face. “That girl Zhu Bei should have told you about it, right?”

"The sound of the Divine Flute has the effect of summoning the offspring of all ten Pokémon."

"And in this lake, there are a few individuals that can carry us across the river."

After saying this, Xi Pu began to play the Divine Flute.

The incredible melody rang out once again.

Not only did Xiong Da and Xiong Er, who were lying behind, prick up their ears, but the water in Lizhi Lake in front of Xi Pu also rippled.

Not long after.

The enormous, pitch-black fish shadow appeared as its owner rose to the surface.

Amidst the splashing water, a large fish with a long, slender body, short whiskers covering its lips, and a tail shrouded in a white mist that seemed to emanate from a spirit, appeared on the surface of the water. Its stripes, spots, whiskers, and eyebrows were all white, and its eyes had a gentle light.

That is the Pokémon Gryphon, which evolved from the Savage Bass and became a dual-type Pokémon of Water and Ghost.

Moreover, judging from its characteristics, it happens to be a female Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

After a brief moment of surprise, resisting the urge to take out his camera and take pictures, Luo Mu imitated Xi Pu and also played the Divine Flute of Pearl Shells.

The same commotion as before.

But this time, the Ghost Fish with the Dark Tail not only had longer whiskers, but its stripes, spots, whiskers, eyebrows, and the soul that wrapped around its tail had all turned red.

This also means that this blackfish is a male.

More than the surprise of seeing an extinct species again, Luo Mu was more concerned about whether the Divine Flute could summon Pokémon of different genders based on the gender of the player.
But urged by Xi Pu, he didn't dwell on the issue any longer.

Carrying Shemi, with Bictini on her head, a backpack containing Bagogo slung over her shoulder, and the Crested King following behind.

Luo Mu sat directly on the back of the male Dark Tail Fish, whose gaze was sharper than that of the female.

—Then, we set off to cross the river!

Compared to the more agile and lively bears, the two dark-tailed fish were clearly there to carry people with the mindset of completing a mission.

Both Luo Mu, the rider, and the skilled rider, Lei Guan Wang, could vaguely sense this. It's likely related to the fact that the Youwei Xuanyu wasn't cared for by Xi Pu and wasn't familiar with them.

As the two dark-tailed black fish swam at high speed, Xi Pu still didn't say what they were going to do.

Instead, their gaze fell on Shemi, who was throwing a tantrum in Luo Mu's arms because she hadn't gotten any honey.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the messenger who brings flowers, isn't he?"

"Oh? You recognize it?"

Luo Mu's actions of suppressing Xie Mi paused, and the guy seized the opportunity, his four short legs waving vigorously as they climbed up Luo Mu's clothes and onto his head.

It also stuck out its rear end, pushing Bictini off the table.

"Hmph! That despicable, heartless, and abusive Luo Mu is helpless now, isn't he? Watch Mimi plant vegetables on your head next!"

Xi Pu's response came almost simultaneously with Xie Mi's harsh words.

She said with a look of reminiscence, "That was when I was a child. The adults always scared us by saying that if we were naughty, we would have dark nightmares at night."

"But on the other hand, there are also positive stories to encourage us."

"It's like if a child gets lost, try looking for a field of flowers. There, a kind-hearted flower messenger, though timid, will guide you home."

Xi Pu became increasingly less confident as she spoke.

Because she had witnessed firsthand how Shemi was bullying Luo Mu.

Not only is he neither timid nor kind, but he actually appears quite evil.
If Luo Mu knew what Granny Xi Pu was thinking, he would definitely agree wholeheartedly.

Since regaining its ability to change form, this evil giant pig has inherited some of the personality traits of its sky form when it is in its land form.

Suppressing them would be extremely troublesome.

Fortunately, Luo Mu was not fighting alone.

"Almost there."

As the Crown King's light, telepathic message rang out, Shaymi froze, then obediently allowed himself to be dragged away.

If we say that Luo Mu was Shemi's strictest human father.

That means Calycerin is Shaymin's strictest Grass-type father.

When Luo Mu was unable to suppress it for the time being, the Crowned King could grab it in his hand and suppress it instantly.

Seeing that Shemi had quieted down and Xi Pu was no longer chatting with Luo Mu about the anecdotes related to the Flower Messenger, she only glanced at the Brilliant King a few times before looking away and muttering to herself.

Strange, she seemed to have inexplicably overlooked the existence of this Pokémon she had never seen before, which could also serve as Luo Mu's assistant.

Looking at him now, he has quite an extraordinary demeanor and must be quite strong, right?

Xi Pu wasn't quite sure, since she hadn't felt even a hint of the oppressive aura she'd experienced from the Lady Crown King, unlike any of the other "kings" or "queens" she'd ever met.

The Phantom Fish swims extremely fast.

Starting from the shore of Lizhi Lake, about thirty minutes later, the outline of a small island appeared before Luo Mu's eyes.

However, this island is neither a small floating island with coconut trees that can only accommodate one or two people, nor is it a large island with abundant natural resources.

—It's just a small island with strange rock formations and not even a trace of Pokémon.

"We've arrived. Follow me."

As she left the back of the female Ghoul, Yuuka's expression inexplicably became solemn.

Luo Mu blinked and quietly followed, becoming even more certain of his guess.

"Although I don't know where you come from or whether you know anything about the history of our Xicui area, at least for the time being, please maintain a serious attitude."

Xi Pu knew that Luo Mu was not an unreliable person, but she still reminded him.

This is enough to show how serious she is about it.

The island is not large; the seemingly solid rock formations occupy most of its area.

As Xi Pu led Luo Mu around the rock formation, he remembered where he was.

The small island in the center of Lake Ritsuki means that this is where the game's protagonist met Arknom?
The only difference is that Luo Mu only has a broken old cell phone in his pocket, while the game's protagonist is holding the "Arceus" cell phone given to him by Arceus himself, which can easily open the space where Azelom is located and enter the cave that should not exist.

After circling about half the island, Xi Pu finally spotted her target.

Luo Mu was also slightly taken aback.

"This is... a shrine?"

On the side of the rock formation, in an inconspicuous corner, a small shrine stood quietly.

Xi Pu took out offerings from the baskets on his back one by one, muttering incantations.

"By the God of Will, I have brought you a suitable candidate for the test."

"His medical skills are superior to mine, and he will certainly not let you down."

While the evening offerings were being made, Luo Mu took the opportunity to peek inside the shrine.

The statues enshrined inside were somewhat abstract in appearance; at least Luo Mu couldn't recognize them as Arknom, the god of will. They seemed more like images sculpted by humans according to their own ideas.

Moreover, the words that Xi Pu kept muttering made Luo Mu somewhat puzzled.

Team Pearl only venerates the "Sinnoh Grandmaster" who controls space, so why does Yuuka, a member of Team Pearl, also worship the "God of Will"?

There was even a shrine that doesn't exist in the game.

Luo Mu's many questions remain unanswered.

Behind him, the Crowned King seemed to sense something and looked in a certain direction.

There, on the rock face where there was nothing before, a blue phantom quietly appeared.

But the other party gave the Queen of the Crest the feeling that the other party did not exist in the real world they were in at all, but in some other space that overlapped with reality.

After observing Luo Mu for a moment, a wave of energy emanated from the equally indistinct ruby ​​on its forehead and headed straight for Luo Mu.

The Crowned King initially wanted to intercept it, but after realizing what it was, it chose to let it go, acting as Luo Mu's safety barrier.

At that moment, many images suddenly flashed through Luo Mu's mind, who was still pondering.

In the vast wetlands and swamps, a purple figure, resembling a slug, huddled up and trembled.

Above its head, a colossal being with a steel shell on its back and eyes gleaming with a terrifying red light stared at it with a look of utter disappointment.

Behind it were the varied gazes of its fellow clansmen, as if declaring that it was utterly worthless and incompetent.

Then many more images flashed by—

The final image freezes.

A petite figure, resembling a fairy, quietly appeared in Luo Mu's mind, its voice echoing within him.

"Go and teach it what willpower is, and what the courage to face any difficulty is."

"The trial will be passed and the necessary mission accomplished."

"I will give you a part of my heart that can connect the world."

(End of this chapter)