Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

With that in mind, Carl turned to Nemo and Shinji: "Well, this task will be left to you two, Nemo and Shinji."

"Huh? Us?" Nemo asked, somewhat surprised. "Karl, do you think Shinji and I can do it?"

“Of course.” Karl said easily, “I know your strength very well, and teaching others is also a kind of training. This can allow you to understand Pokémon battles from a different perspective.”

"I see." Nemo said with sudden realization, "Is this why you became a combat studies teacher, Karl?"

“Yes, that’s it.” Karl nodded seriously.

Shinji and Piper exchanged a glance, both seeing the contempt in each other's eyes for Karl.

Based on their understanding of Carl, the reason he joined Orange Academy was most likely because the job paid well and was easy.

However, they wouldn't expose him in front of Alexis and Nemo, since they didn't want Karl to "make things difficult for them."

"Is this really appropriate?" Alexis glanced at Nemo and Shinji somewhat apologetically. "Won't this be too much trouble for Shinji and Nemo?"

"I have no objection," Shinji said calmly. "It won't take much time anyway."

“I have no objection either!” Nemo seemed a little excited. “As long as Alex doesn’t refuse my challenge.”

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Seeing the situation, Alexis had no choice but to accept Shinji and Nemo's kindness.

Piper, who knew Nemo very well, cast a pitying glance at Alexis: "I wonder how long Alexis can hold out in front of Nemo?"

Next, Carl began to review the battle with Alex, analyzing his command from the beginning and the end from the perspectives of command and on-the-spot reaction, which greatly benefited Alex.

……

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Karl rode his Kyurem from Tabletop City to the town of Suza, located in the first district of Padia.

The town of Xeza, also known as the "Town of Mining," is located in the eastern part of the Padiya region. Due to its proximity to the main mining areas of Padiya, many miners live in this town.

The town of Xueza looks very simple, exuding an industrial aesthetic. The only thing that can attract players to Xueza in the game is that there is an old NPC who can exchange ten Bronze Mirror Monster Fragments for the "Celebration Armor" and the "Spell Armor".

Compared to the simplified version of the town of Xeza in the game, the real Xeza town is actually a very bustling town. Due to the large number of workers needed for mining, the population of Xeza town is about 10,000, making it one of the most populous towns in the Padia region.

According to Karl's memory, the Master of the Steel Treasure lived in the East Third District, which was adjacent to Xuezha Town, and was located in the mining area.

Therefore, Karl plans to gather some useful information in the town of Xueza before heading to the Third District of the East to find the whereabouts of the Steel Treasure Master.

Since the Steel Golem has the ability to move between mountains, Karl believes that it will probably take a considerable amount of time to find it.

Therefore, before leaving home this morning, Carl specifically told Master Bear, who was staying at home, that he might not be able to return to the farm today.

Upon arriving at the entrance to Kelzad Town, Carl first put Kyurem into a Poké Ball before striding into the town.

At this time, there were not many people on the streets of Xuezha Town, probably because most of the workers were working in the mining area.

The buildings in Xueza Town all looked gray and drab, much like the Nibi City in Karl's memory. Karl strolled through the streets of Xueza Town, turning his head to look around.

Before long, Carl arrived at his destination—the Pokémon Center in Tsurugi Town.

In this world, Pokémon Centers are a standard feature in most cities, making them the most information-rich places in every city.

The moment Carl stepped into the Pokémon Center, he immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Carl glanced at himself subconsciously, only to realize that he was a little too "clean".

Looking around, most of the people in the lobby of the Pokémon Center in Tussaurus Town were miners or trainers who had traveled to Tussaurus Town, while Carl, dressed in a clean and tidy tracksuit, looked out of place.

Carl ignored the stares from those around him and immediately picked out a middle-aged man who seemed easy to talk to to start a conversation.

"Hello, sir. Do you work in the mine?" Karl asked familiarly.

“That’s right, young man, you must be from out of town, right?” The middle-aged man looked Karl up and down and said with a smile, “There aren’t any fun attractions in Xuezha Town. It’s not a good place for a weekend getaway.”

Although Karl didn't understand how the man figured he was there for a weekend getaway, he still went along with what the man was saying and said, "Actually, I was just interested in the mining area, so I came to Xueza Town specifically to take a look around."

"Interested in the mining area?" The middle-aged man was taken aback. Are young people's interests this strange these days?

"So, sir, do you know if anything strange has been happening in the mining area lately?"

Chapter 179 The Strange Charcoal Servant

"Something strange?"

Upon hearing Carl's question, the middle-aged man dressed as a miner stroked the dark stubble on his chin: "If we have to name something strange, there's probably only one thing."

"What is it?" Carl asked curiously.

"It was during this time that a strange noise started coming from a mine every night." The middle-aged man glanced at the screen on the wall of the Pokémon Center and continued, "But I guess it's probably the Pokémon living in the mine making the noise?"

"If that's the case, it's not that strange, is it?" Karl thought for a moment. "Isn't it quite normal for Pokémon to be active in the mines?"

In this world, Pokémon are everywhere. Even making desserts can cause Pokémon to appear, not to mention places like mines.

Most miners choose to work with Pokémon like Machamp or Iron Fist, so it's not unusual for Pokémon to cause trouble.

"Logically speaking, there's nothing strange about it, but whenever that kind of noise occurs, there are flashes of fire in the mine." The middle-aged man continued, "Generally speaking, only Pokémon like the Great Charcoal Cart live in mines, but after searching carefully, we found that there are no such Pokémon in that mine."

"I see."

Just then, the middle-aged man who had been watching the big screen suddenly spoke up: "Young man, my partner has finished treatment, I'll be going now."

"Okay, thank you." Karl watched the middle-aged man's departing figure and began to wonder if this matter was related to the Lord of the Hidden Steel Treasure.

The Hidden Steel Treasure Master is actually a worm that accidentally ate a secret salty seasoning.

Worm, the earthworm Pokémon, typically lives in dry sandy areas and feeds on minerals in the soil to maintain its metallic body.

If the Steel Treasure Lord were present at this time, there would likely be a decrease in mineral resources within the mining area, or even the theft of mineral resources.

The information Carl just received from the middle-aged man was clearly unrelated to the Pokémon Dreddrow.

Next, Carl inquired about information about the mining area in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, but none of the information was related to the Steelix.

'Does this mean the Hidden Steel Treasure Master hasn't appeared yet?'

As Carl pondered this in his mind, he walked out of the Pokémon Center, randomly found an inn in Tussaurus Town, booked a room by the hour, and began to change.

Not long after, Carl emerged from the hotel wearing a dark green shirt and khaki overalls, carrying a backpack and heading towards the mining area.

For Carl, who has three years of travel experience, moving around in the mining area is practically the same as going home, except that his martial arts master is not around.

In fact, Karl had considered the possibility of not being able to gather information in Cave Town from the beginning, since the Steel Treasure Master might not have appeared yet at this point in time.

With Kyurem present, Karl wasn't worried about not finding the secret salty seasoning; it would just take a little more time.

Walking on the uneven ground in the mining area, Carl encountered many idle miners who, along with their partners, "blocked the road."

Karl, of course, did not hesitate to extract a considerable "bonus" from these "money-giving children".

Unfortunately, there are no items like amulets or gold coins in this world, and in most cases, the "money-giving boy" can only take advantage of you once.

Otherwise, with Karl's abilities, he could have easily bankrupted this mining area.

Although Kyurem did not participate in Carl's "wool-pulling" operation, it witnessed the entire process while inside its Poké Ball.

"Karl, why didn't these humans try to escape after their defeat, but instead handed over their wealth with both hands?" Kyurem asked, somewhat puzzled.

'That's the rule among trainers.' Carl thought to himself as he tallied his 'loot' from the mines that day, 'If I lose, I'll have to pay out some money too.'

Just then, Karl finished counting his 103,600 Alliance Coins, a satisfied smile spreading across his face: 'Unfortunately, since I started out, no one has ever won money from me.'

Kyurem sensed the unparalleled confidence in Karl's heart and nodded secretly; this was the true appearance of a warrior.

Just then, a gentle female voice resonated in Karl's heart: 'This is the true form of my hero.'

Kyurem: '?'

"Reshiram, you're awake?" Carl asked, somewhat surprised. "How have you been recovering these past few days?"

'Although I have not fully recovered, I am able to temporarily reveal my form,' Rahiram replied.

"That's good." Karl looked up at the sky, intending to find a suitable place to set up camp.

“Monarch Serpent, could you please find a suitable place for me to set up a tent?” Karl said, turning to the Monarch Serpent nestled beside him.

"Garro. (Okay.)" The Serpent Lord responded first, then looked around for a moment, and finally led Karl to a relatively flat open space.

As emerald green grass-based energy emanated from Serperior's body, the barren ground instantly transformed into a lush meadow. Then, vines sprouted from the earth, forming the framework of a tent under Serperior's control.

Green buds began to sprout from the branches of these vines, and soon they grew into large leaves.

In just three breaths, a completely natural, pollution-free tent that could withstand a category 8 typhoon appeared in front of Karl.

"Thank you for your hard work, Serpent Lord. Your cooking is still as good as ever." Karl gently patted Serpent Lord's head. "Then I'll leave dinner to you."

"Garra! (Well, since you've put it that way, Karl, then I'll just have to show you my culinary skills.)"

Next, the Serpent Lord manipulated its vines to retrieve the cooking utensils and ingredients that the Martial Arts Bear Master had stored in Karl's backpack, and quickly began preparing dinner for the evening.

As the aroma of food wafted through the makeshift camp created by Serperior, the wild Pokémon in the vicinity were drawn by the scent and cautiously observed the camp from all sides.

Perhaps the oppressive aura emanating from Serperior was simply too overwhelming, because not a single Pokémon dared to enter the camp until Carl began to enjoy the dinner prepared by Serperior.

Suddenly, the Serpent Lord turned its gaze to a corner, where a small Charcoal Servant was stealthily approaching Karl's direction.

Chapter 180 Saving Soldier Tan Xiaoshi

Karl followed the gaze of the Monarch Serpent and spotted Charcoal Servant "infiltrating" the camp.

"Uh-huh?!"

The moment Karl saw Tanjiro, he noticed that this Tanjiro had a pair of unforgettable blue eyes.

"If I remember correctly, the heterochromatic charcoal servant's eyes are blue, right?" Karl muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Charcoal Servant, who was "infiltrating" the camp, also noticed the gazes of the Serpent Lord and Karl. The Serpent Lord's intimidating aura made it freeze in place.

'Oh no, we've been discovered...'

If it weren't for the flames burning inside Tanjiro's body, it would probably be covered in sweat by now.

However, its years of experience surviving in the wild quickly calmed Tanjiro down. It knew that it was absolutely impossible for it to escape the clutches of the monster if it was discovered.

So Tan Xiaoshi took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and began to walk in the direction where Karl was.

"Huh? It didn't run away, but instead walked towards me?" Karl raised an eyebrow. Just this courage alone made Karl want to capture this Charcoal Sprite, not to mention that it was a rare Shiny Pokémon.

'Hmm, have I been having a bit too much luck lately?' Carl thought to himself. 'In less than a week, I've encountered two Shiny Pokémon.'

When Charcoal Buddy shakily approached Karl, it began to gesture wildly.

Karl turned to look at the Monarch Serpent, signaling it to translate what Charcoal Servant had just said.

The Monarch Serpent frowned at Karl, then sighed, "Garro. (This guy just said that his companion is trapped in a mine, and he wants some food for his companion.)"

After hearing the translation of the Monarch Serpent, Carl immediately thought of the "strange thing" the uncle had mentioned at noon.

If it is Charcoal Servant, then it corresponds to "firelight". As for why the workers in the mine did not find it, Karl believes it is because Charcoal Servant was well hidden.

Well, that reason is a bit far-fetched, but since something like this has happened, Karl won't just sit idly by. Even if it's just for the sake of the strange-colored Charcoal Servant, he will still step in to rescue the Charcoal Servant trapped in the mine.

After making his decision, Karl turned to the flustered little servant with the different colored charcoal and said, word by word, "Do you want to rescue your companion?"

Upon hearing Karl's words, Charcoal Servant nodded excitedly. The flames on its body seemed to burn even more fiercely, and its eyes, made of blue flames, looked at Karl expectantly.

Seeing Tanuki's excited expression, Karl casually took out an empty Poké Ball and placed it in front of Tanuki, smiling as he said, "If you become my partner, I will help you rescue your companion."

Karl's voice sounded like a devil's whisper to Charcoal Servant. In fact, the reason Charcoal Servant didn't ask the miners working in the mine for help was because it didn't want to be subdued.

But Tan Xiaoshi knew that even if it refused, the human in front of it was strong enough to forcibly subdue it. If the human took it away, its companions would be trapped in the mine forever.

After figuring everything out, the shiny Charcoal Spawn finally reached out and pressed the button on the Poké Ball in front of it. As the Poké Ball flashed red, it finally chose to be "captured" by Carl.

Although Karl's methods for taming the Oddish Charcoal Servant were somewhat inappropriate, he believed that given enough time, the Oddish Charcoal Servant would not regret the decision it made today.

After Carl released Shiny Charcoal from its Poké Ball, it couldn't wait to drag Carl along to rescue its companion.

"No rush, you probably haven't eaten yet, right?" Carl said, taking a bag of Kumamon's special Pokémon food from his backpack and handing it to Shiny Tan. "Fill your stomach first before you set off."

Looking at the food handed to it, the little charcoal servant with the different colors had a conflicted look on its face. On the one hand, it was indeed very hungry. Today, in order to avoid the miners in the mine, it had hidden in a crevice in the rocks all day long. Only after the miners left did it sneak out to look for food.

But on the other hand, its companions are still trapped in the mine and starving, so how can it eat at this time?

Carl immediately saw through Shiny Charcoal's concerns. He reached out and stuffed the bag of Pokémon food into his pocket, then stood up and said to it, "Then you can eat while you lead the way, so it won't delay my time to rescue your companion."

Upon hearing Karl's words, the strangely colored charcoal servant's eyes lit up, and he gave Karl a look that said, "How are you so smart?"

"Euphorbia, could you please keep watch over our camp?" Carl said to Espeon, who was resting by the campfire, as they approached the campsite. "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be back soon."

"Eevee~ (I trust you to take care of it~)" Espeon stretched on the grass and replied in a soft voice.

Led by the charcoal servant, Karl and the Monarch Serpent crossed a mudflat full of yellow soil and arrived at a mine.

Although most mines reinforce their supporting structures for safety reasons, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Before entering the mine, Karl warned the Monarch Serpent, "Monarch Serpent, be on high alert at all times."