Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 817 Instant Speedrun: The Second Test!

Luo Mu: Σ(д|||)？ ？ ？ ？
No, are you really that impatient?

I vaguely remember that not long ago, Xi Pu was devoutly bowing three times in front of the shrine on the island in the middle of Lizhi Lake.

Then Arknom slowly gave his response.

How come when it's Imrido's turn, I haven't even landed on the island yet, and he's already putting down a test?

It's like they're afraid they'll run away?
at the same time.

In a different dimension that Luo Mu could not observe or perceive, a gaze withdrew from him.

The Pokémon, which resembled a fairy with a gray body and pink cheeks, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

—That was close, he almost got away.

Putting aside what incredible luck Arknom managed to pull off by casting a wide net and catching a "talented" person who could pass the test, thus winning the top spot.

But since the other party was able to pass the test, it means that there is at least a high probability that they will pass the test of themselves, or even that cunning and sly guy Keshi, and take on the mission of correcting the distortion of this era.

Now there's finally hope of completing the performance evaluation assigned by my boss. I don't have to keep painstakingly assigning tasks and then watching them fail one after another.

But suddenly.

As if sensing something, Emredo, who was in charge of "emotions" and naturally had a lot of emotions, showed a human-like look of confusion.

—That person just now seemed a bit off.

Although he didn't have any particularly noteworthy aura, that's precisely why he caught my attention.

For example.

It's like suddenly finding a clean, unrealistic area in a perfectly normal view of the map—it feels completely out of place.

— It's like someone deliberately shielding the other person from some "obvious" markings.

This anomaly, which doesn't seem like an anomaly, is actually the biggest anomaly.

Very few people can do this, to the point that even they themselves cannot detect the abnormality.

—Could it be one of those very few people I know who have received favors from my boss?

Amrid couldn't understand it, but it didn't take it to heart.

It doesn't matter if it's a black cat or a white cat, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat.

As long as the other party can solve the problem of time and space imbalance in this era, their origins are not important.

However, the only ones who could sense that the other party's aura was off, as if they were covering something up, were probably himself and his two colleagues, after all, they were the direct envoys of the one above.

In this respect, even the three gods of time reversal, whose power far surpasses that of the other three, are probably no match for them.

With this thought, Emrido, feeling a huge weight lifted from his heart, was about to turn over and go back to sleep, deciding it wouldn't be too late to wake up after the test was over.

Suddenly, Amrid's expression froze, and he was wide awake.

It raised its head and looked in a certain direction in disbelief.

—No, how come my test has already been completed!?
"To forge an unbreakable bond with the first Pokémon you encounter in this era?"

After receiving the information about the test, Luo Mu's expression froze for a moment as he sat on the back of the firebird.

—No, isn't the description of this test too abstract?
The trials at Lake of Heart and Soul are unlike those at Lake of Ambition, which are even more precise down to a specific individual Pokémon and give specific requirements to be met.

Instead, it presents these ambiguous conditions.

There are no hints or specific criteria provided; isn't this just pure riddle-solving?
No wonder no one in this era has been able to pass these tests.

Moreover, the phrase "unwavering until death" is quite abstract. Are you sure it's not being used in the wrong context?

Luo Mu tried to analyze this short passage of information using his reading comprehension skills honed over three years of college entrance exams and five years of mock exams.

The first paragraph can be understood as "starting Pokémon," but it should only be limited to this era.

If Wu Si hadn't said that his aura as a time traveler had been completely concealed by her, even if the two gods of time and space had come, they wouldn't have known he was from the future. Luo Mu would have thought that the lake god of Xinqi Lake, Emrido, knew his background.

So this condition doesn't refer to Xeno'jiiva, but rather to one's initial Pokémon partner in this era.

The gluttonous girl who was just subdued after arriving in this era?
No, that's not right—

After a few seconds of contemplation, Luo Mu's expression changed.

Strictly speaking, aside from the Pokémon partners he caught in the modern era, Arcanine seems to be his "starting Pokémon" from the Green Era!?

The second paragraph, rather than the abstract "unwavering until death," can be understood as establishing an intimacy level close to 255 in the game.

—Does this need to be done?
As the father who raised Arcanine single-handedly, Luo Mu is confident that his bond with Arcanine can withstand any test.

Luo Mu, sitting on the back of the firebird, fell into deep thought.

He was quite confident in his judgment.

So, what should I do now that it seems like I encountered a bug and speed-completed the most time-consuming challenge?

Are we just going to stay here and wait for Emredo to realize what's happening?
Before Luo Mu could figure out the answer, the space in front of him distorted.

Emredo's figure quietly emerged.

However, for some reason, Luo Mu felt that the other party seemed a bit disheveled and flustered when they appeared.
Luo Mu originally thought that Emrido would be like Arknom, constantly using pronouns like "you" and "I".

He didn't even say the words "grant yourself a part of the heart that can connect the world," and after leaving behind a pink wing-shaped gem, he hurriedly disappeared.

It looked as if it was afraid that any interaction with Luo Mu would expose its lack of preparation.

Luo Mu remained silent for a long time, holding the second material for creating the "Red Chains," the "Wings of Emrydo."

—Wow, that actually worked!

at the same time.

As Luo Mu accepted "Wings of Emrido", the "Server-wide Announcement" once again resounded throughout Xicui.

Galaxy Team Headquarters.

Having just seen Luo Mu off and returned to her office to handle official business, Xingyue, who hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly, suddenly looked up.

Her usually calm and composed expression cracked once again.

What the hell?

Is it been an hour since Luo Mu left?
He has already passed the test of the "God of Emotions" at Xinqi Lake!

Could it be that, as Boss Ma Jiamu said, this whole thing was orchestrated by Luo Mu himself?

Even someone as rational as Xingyue was completely numb at this moment.

however.

What shocked Xingyue even more was yet to come.

Before sunset, she received two reports of good news from her subordinates.

The "King of the Forest," the Mantis, has been subdued by the Lord Serpent sent by Luo Mu.

According to the report, even when the raging Forest King swung his sharp stone axe until it was almost smoking, he still couldn't cut down the seemingly endless countless tree root dragons that were about to cover the sky.

The "Giant Tree Battlefield" is clearly the Forest King's domain, but it's being made to look like the one fighting on an away turf.

After the battle, Luo Mu had his Pokémon strip away the power from the blessing bestowed by the Sinnoh Grandmaster from the Forest King. The blue and white lightning in the spacetime rift showed no sign of its arrival.

The second piece of good news, needless to say, came from the pacification message of the "King of the Wilderness," the elusive antler deer.

The Pokémon Luo Mu sent out this time was the Moltres, which he rode on when he took off from Team Galactic headquarters. It was a creature engulfed in flames and looked quite imposing.

No matter how fast the ferocious Wild King was or how powerful his superpowers were, he couldn't stop the colorful flames of that firebird.

Naturally, the Wild King was also successfully subdued.

After reading the two reports, Xingyue leaned back in her chair and exhaled a deep breath.

"—They actually did it."

Xingyue covered her eyes with her arms and murmured to herself.

The efficiency of calming down two raging kings in a single day is truly astonishing.

And they also managed to pass the test of the "God of Emotions".

Xingyue had already learned from the reports how much destruction the raging king could cause.

To be honest, she now even had the feeling that, compared to the ethereal and elusive Divine Lord, the other party was the "god" walking on the land of Xicui.

If the other side is willing, the so-called defenses of Zhuqing Village are probably no different from being made of paper.

I never imagined that our leader, Ma Jiamu, who led us to establish this "Zhuqing Village," would make such a mistake.

No. It must be the arrogance he's developed over the past two years that has blinded him.

this moment.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Xingyue suddenly had a thought that she would never have considered before.

Even if Luo Mu really releases Ma Jiamu in the future, can he still lead the Galaxy Team and Zhuqing Village to a better future?
Without alerting many people, Luo Mu quietly returned to the Galaxy Team headquarters.

In Ma Jiamu's office, which he and the Queen of the Bridal Veil had now "usurped," Luo Mu took out his spoils of the day.

"These are the Rock Slab and the Magic Slab, obtained from the Forest King and the Plains King."

At this moment, Luo Mu's expression remained extremely calm.

Even these two stone slabs, imbued with the power of Arceus, were almost as valuable to him as the stone used to weigh down pickle jars.

Even though he was greatly shocked when he first saw the fairy stone tablets at Wusi's place, as the number of stone tablets in his hands increased like a wholesale market, and there were other stone tablets waiting for him to collect in the future.

Luo Mu believed it.

Everyone eventually becomes numb to this situation.

Looking at the two rather extraordinary-looking stone slabs, the first thing the Queen of the Rachelites did was look out the window at the sky.

Seeing this, Luo Mu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I had a Pokémon take both of these stone slabs inside a Poké Ball and walk through them."

"Just like the Swampert's stone tablet, as long as you don't make too much noise, you don't have to worry about being locked on by the spacetime rift."

If we were to describe it in some very harsh terms...

— Comparing a stone slab to a source that is not easy to put on the table, that is, a rather shady form of currency.

Once the stone slab has been inside the Poké Ball, it is completely cleared of its negative connotations, and the "detection mechanism" of the time-space rift will no longer react to it.

"Hmm, so how do you plan to arrange these stone slabs?"

"Like the Swampert, let your companions absorb it to enhance their power?"

King Rai nodded slightly and calmly asked the question.

Luo Mu already had the answer to its question.

"The Rock Slab is suitable for Rock-type Pokémon. I plan to have Arcanine carry it."

As for the magical stone tablet—

Luo Mu paused, his gaze falling on the Crowned Queen.

"Unfortunately, neither the Xenogear nor the others have the Psychic attribute."

"So you're planning to hand this over to me?" The Crowned King understood Luo Mu's meaning almost instantly.

Luo Mu nodded, "Hmm, I wonder if this will be of any help to you?"

"I'll give it a try."

Instead of making a hasty judgment, the Lady Crown, like Swampert, directly absorbed the magical stone tablet representing the Psychic type into its body.

But this time, it's different from when the Swampert absorbed the earth slabs.

Raikou's expression remained calm throughout, and there was no sign of her transforming into a Super Saiyan with golden light emanating from her body.

It lowered its head and pondered for a few seconds, as if savoring the power contained in the magical stone slab, before speaking through telepathy: "Hmm, there is a boost, but it's better than nothing."

Luo Mu was somewhat disappointed by the King of Lace, but he could accept the answer.

The Earth Plate inside Swampert could only elevate Ursaring, the Mega King, to the level of a Champion. Swampert, which could better adapt to this power, was only slightly stronger than after its Mega Evolution.

For a legendary Pokémon like Calyrex, having a bonus is already a rare and precious thing.

After all, this stone tablet isn't the real thing; it's just a small part of Arceus's original tablet.

This is already a pretty good result.

Seeing Luo Mu's apparent disappointment, King Rai-Crowned couldn't help but reassure him, "Don't worry, although I can't use 'Foresight,' my intuition tells me that the power this stone tablet brings should have unexpected effects when we truly face our goal."

"Yes."

Luo Mu's eyes lit up at the words of the Queen of the Lace.

No matter what, it's still the power of "father".

Perhaps it really does have a restraining effect on those three rebellious sons?
Upon realizing this, Luo Mu's mind immediately became active.

A vision of myself, with a Pokémon possessing the power of the stone tablets, wielding a red chain, and spinning the Time Reversal Dragons like a top, subconsciously surfaced in my mind.

Seeing that Luo Mu seemed to be planning to collect other stone slabs immediately, the Queen of the Crane smiled helplessly and pointed to the visibly tired Shemi and the others, reminding them, "They've been following you all day, and you also need to rest well and recharge your energy. Don't let your body break down."

"Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to Zhihui Xing."

"Haha—I was just thinking about it, I'm going to rest now."

With an awkward laugh, Luo Mu didn't bring up the matter of continuing his efforts.

Time flew by, and it was already the morning of the next day.

Xingyue stood in front of Ma Jiamu's office and took a deep breath.

It was only yesterday that Ma Jiamu invited Luo Mu, Zhu Bei, and Gang Shi to headquarters to discuss the spacetime rift.

But in just one day, she felt as if her worldview had been turned upside down.

However, when she entered the office and learned about Luo Mu's arrangements for the day, Xingyue's expression still faltered for a few seconds.

"Today's objective is to appease the remaining mountain path queen, Miss Skirt, in the Crimson Lotus Wetlands, and then head directly to the Azure Coast to appease the rampaging Azure Sea Queen, Ghost Tail Black Fish, and the Volcano King, who has stolen the power of the Island King and resides within the volcano."

(End of this chapter)