Morning once again arrived.
Ludwig stood behind the counter with both hands resting on the worn wood, a mug of coffee cooling untouched beside him. Today, the Checkpoint opened its doors in the morning. But not to sell breakfast for those who were on their way to work, instead, it was for a little girl who wanted to go to school.
Exhaling slowly and took a sip of his coffee, Ludwig turned back the time of the mug when the sensation he felt in his lips was not warm enough. Another sip of the aromatic liquid was enough to shoo away the cold morning air around him. Not that he felt it, but it still made him feel good.
His eyes then drifted to the far wall. What happened last night played again in his mind. The legendary Professor Oak from Pallet Town with Charmander in tow had walked into his restaurant.
It still felt strange until now. Not because he didn't understand it, but because of what it implied. After all, that world would bring things this restaurant had never truly had access to before.
Berries, for one. They were not just mere fruit, but functional food. They were plants that came to being with a purpose beyond flavour. Ingredients that healed, restored stamina, and stabilized conditions. It was by no means potions or mana-altered concoctions. Just nature taking its course around creatures that pushed biology into places most worlds never reached.
There was also milk that came from a creature that could outproduce a small dairy farm without cruelty, honey generated by insects that understood cooperation better than most guilds, and new spices grown in places that really love nature.
But most importantly, like Rimuru said last night, it was Cola that he looked forward the most. He couldn't remember the brand, but there was cola in Pokemon world.
However, Pokemon World wasn't just ingredients and friendly creatures with round eyes. That world also had disasters with names. Wild Pokemon weren't monsters in the way Elos, Ortus, and Central World defined them, but they weren't harmless either.
Fire types could ignite forests without knowing. Psychic types could fracture minds without intending to. Ghosts that didn't always understand the difference between playful and lethal.
And then there were the outliers.
Legendaries.
They were walking natural disasters wrapped in mythology and balance clauses the world barely understood. Beings that regulated time, space, weather, land, and sea. Creatures that weren't evil nor good but absolute. Humans simply didn't fight them. They survived their attention.
If the wrong door opened at the wrong time…
Ludwig's fingers tightened slightly against the counter.
Then there were humans.
Every world had its organizations, Its factions and its groups that decided power was something to own rather than live alongside. Pokemon World was no different, just quieter about it on the surface.
Names surfaced at the edge of his thoughts, half-remembered.
Team Rocket, for one. An organization wrapped in ambition thinly disguised as enterprise. He didn't know their structure, their reach, or how serious they were. But the idea was familiar enough.
And then, there's their leader, Giovanni.
That name stuck more than the others. Not because Ludwig knew the details but because he knew that man was sharp. He wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who walked into this place first, amongst other villains in Pokemon World.
Aside from Team Rocket, there were several others. They were all teams with both ideals and uniforms. Some were obsessed with land, others with the sea. And there's one that stared too long at the stars and decided the universe needed fixing.
He couldn't recall the specifics at all and he wouldn't try to. Digging too deep into half-remembered stories was a good way to slip into thinking you knew more than you actually did.
But he didn't need details to understand the pattern.
If wrong people come to hear that beyond a restaurant lay something that could make them powerful even without the need of mana or the need to bond with a creature that became strong, all hell would break loose.
Ludwig stared at the surface of the counter as that thought finished forming.
That was the real fracture point. Not champions. Not villains. Not even legendaries. But ordinary people.
People born without mana in worlds where mana decides worth.
People who trained their whole lives and still hit ceilings they could never break.
People told—politely or otherwise—that some doors were never meant for them.
What would it mean if those people learned that beyond a quiet restaurant door lay a world where power answered patience instead of talent?
Ludwig closed his eyes for a moment.
If someone from Elos or Central World walked into Pokemon World not as a conqueror, but as a nobody… they could leave changed. Once the world knew there was a way for them to become special, it would be dangerous. Both for that world itself, this restaurant, and the world they would be crossing to.
Then there was the other side of the mirror.
What if someone from Pokemon World realized the same thing?
What if a perfectly ordinary trainer with no badges, no destiny, and no legendary encounters stepped through Checkpoint and learned there were worlds where humans wielded power directly?
That kind of revelation wouldn't stay academic for long.
Some would be curious.
Some would be inspired.
Some would be afraid.
And some—always some—would decide they deserved more than the balance they were given.
Ludwig tapped once on the surface of the counter.
Elos should be fine because, from what Claire told him, anyone needed to at least kill one monster before their status window opened up.
Rimuru's World should also be fine. Even though the Voice of The World seemed to be powerful, those who walked to that world through the door of Checkpoint wouldn't get as strong as other otherworlders in that world instantly.
Just look at him and Kushina. Their power didn't just shoot through the ceiling and put them on the same level as Rimuru. Instead, it translated what ability they already had before walking into the world and strengthened their fundamentals.
One of the examples was his current connection with the restaurant. Before walking to Tempest, the connection was weak, Checkpoint felt like just another machine. However, when he returned to his restaurant after hearing the news of the attack, he felt it.
His connection with the Checkpoint had changed. He now could understand a lot more information than before.
In other words, The Voice of The World didn't create anything past what the subject already knew. It would only do so when someone evolved. So as long as those who walked there didn't get named by Rimuru or stronger being, things wouldn't be so bad.
Ludwig straightened fully now, thoughts cooling into something not headache-inducing.
In other words, Pokemon World should be treated like every other world that was connected to Checkpoint. They had to be treated with rules strict enough that the wrong people found the door boring and walked away.
Ludwig nodded his head, satisfied. It was not the decision, not yet. He would need Claire to think about what he missed.
At that moment, he remembered someone. An elder who was quite a lover of those with scale.
Reinbach Jamil.
The old man's face came to him easily. Creased with age, eyes still sharp, voice forever carrying the calm confidence of someone who had seen everything and stood too close to too many things with scales and lived to talk about it. He wasn't a mage. Wasn't a hero. Wasn't even particularly powerful by the standards of Ortus.
He was a tamer. Not the kind that bent creatures through contracts or collars, but the stubborn and patient kind.
Reinbach had once spoken to Ludwig about Ortus. About the dragons there. About taking a trip there to look for something new.
His head started to ache again. Just by hearing wyverns from Ryouma he had came to him for permission to go to Ortus. Now with Pokemon World in the fold… He was sure he would start bothering him for more.
Just one visit. Just to observe. I won't touch anything without permission.
The worst thing is? Reinbach would mean it.
But once he's there, he knows he would change. Not becoming evil, just different.
After all, if Taming in another world depended on affinity, in Pokemon World, it was by choice. Anyone can catch anything. They can train them to be strong. And with how old Reinbach was, Ludwig was sure he could train an average pokemon into a powerhouse in no time.
As his thoughts tried to reach for another episode, the restaurant hummed into his mind. Then, the door opened softly.
He lifted his head just as the door swung inward and morning air from another world slipped into Checkpoint, carrying with it the scent of grass, stone, and something faintly floral.
Claire stepped in first, coat already on, posture sharp but relaxed in a way that only came from habit. Behind her, a much smaller figure followed, boots tapping against the wooden floor with contained excitement.
Cless.
She stopped just inside the door, Hedwig changing colours from one to another, mimicking just how excited Cless looked.
"Hi, Lud!" Cless waved her tiny hand to him.
Ludwig flashed a smile at the little girl and beckoned her to sit. "Good morning to you too, Cless. Someone is excited, I see."
"Of course I am." Cless took her small body closer to the bar before jumping into the chair. Of course with Claire supporting her from the back. "I can't wait to meet Kokobu and Latina again!"
Ludwig grinned at her words. "Is that so? What about the lesson? Are you excited about them as well?"
Cless' face went crestfallen at that moment, the brightness evaporated. On top of her, Hedwig did the same. Her fur went from golden colour to dim yellow in an instant. "I hate math…"
Ludwig laughed softly, the sound low and warm. "That reaction was faster than any spell I've seen."
Cless groaned and slumped forward, chin nearly hitting the counter. "Why do numbers exist…?"
"They exist…" Claire said calmly as she took the seat beside her, resting one arm on the bar, "Because someone, somewhere, needed to count how much trouble you'd get into if you didn't learn them."
"That's not helpful."
"It's accurate."
Hedwig shifted again, fur paling to a muted beige as if in shared despair.
Ludwig leaned an elbow on the counter. "You know, math isn't so bad. It's just cooking, but on paper."
Cless peeked up at him suspiciously. "Liar."
"I am deeply offended." He placed a hand over his chest. "Recipes are ratios. Heat is timing. Portions are division. You already like food. You're halfway there."
Claire nodded once. "See? Even Ludwig agrees."
"That makes it worse." Cless muttered.
Claire reached out and gently straightened Cless' posture, fingers briefly smoothing the girl's hair. The motion was practiced. Familiar. "You don't have to like every lesson." she said, voice softer now. "But you do have to learn them properly."
Cless pouted. "Why…"
"Because," Claire replied evenly, "the world won't always be kind enough to explain things twice."
Ludwig watched that exchange quietly. Noticed the way Cless didn't pull away. The way she listened even while complaining.
Claire continued, "Do you remember what I told you to do after meeting Ludwig again?"
Cless blinked, thinking. Hedwig tilted her head, fur slowly returning to a faint gold.
"Ah, Lud! Thank you for allowing me to go to school every morning!"
The words came out practiced. Clear. Important.
Ludwig froze for half a second. Then he waved it off with exaggerated ease. "Hey, hey. You make it sound like I'm doing something heroic."
"You are." Cless said immediately.
Hedwig fluffed up in agreement.
"Is that so?" Ludwig chuckled. "Then what if I did this?"
He slid a small wrapped sweet across the counter, careful this time. "Emergency ration. For after math class. Don't tell your teacher."
Cless gasped and grabbed it like treasure. "You are superhero, Lud! Thank youuuu!"
Claire stood, placing a hand on Cless' shoulder again. "Alright. Time to go. If you're late, Kokobu will tease you."
Cless hopped down from the chair. "That's worse than math."
Ludwig chuckled. "Have fun."
"I will!" She said, then paused, turning back. "Um… Lud?"
"Yes?"
"I'll learn properly."
He smiled. "I know."
Cless waved one last time as she stepped through with Claire and Hedwig.
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