The Holy Pillar King's Attention & Metagross' "Petty Revenge"!!
A four-meter-tall crystalline titan materialized before Ethan.
Regice.
Its glowing orbs flickered rapidly.
For over a thousand years, it had nurtured the Sword of Ruin without the slightest sign of transformation.
Yet the moment this human arrived—
The sword gained life.
Chien-Pao, newly formed from the Sword of Ruin, instinctively pressed closer to Ethan. Though freshly born in body, its essence remained that of a killing blade. It could sense power acutely.
Regice.
Yanhuang.
Both radiated danger.
Only beside Ethan did it feel calm.
Regice studied Ethan.
"Human. What is your name?"
"Ethan. From Donghuang."
"Donghuang…"
Its eyes flashed twice.
"A land that has conversed with gods."
Though dwelling in Antarctica, the Regi lineage shared electromagnetic resonance through their creator—Regigigas, the Holy Pillar King. Other Regi existed within Donghuang's territory; Regice knew of it.
"But tell me—what did you do?"
"How did you cause the sword to transform?"
Ethan did not hide anything.
He explained the Supreme Ice Jade.
Regice froze.
"You fed it… a Supreme Ice Jade?"
Even Regigigas had only encountered such an artifact once in eons.
Supreme Ice Jade was born over millions of years within primeval ice veins.
Even gods coveted it.
Yet Ethan had used it—
To save a small Frigibax.
To Regice, this logic was incomprehensible.
Many divine beings harvested life for power.
Yveltal, for example.
Yet this human spent divine-tier treasure on a child Pokémon.
"Humans… truly are strange."
Still—
The task entrusted by Regigigas was complete.
The Sword of Ruin had transformed.
Relief washed over Regice.
Feeding that blade had drained it repeatedly over centuries.
Yet when it approached Chien-Pao—
The snow leopard hissed.
Refusing to let it come near.
Regice: …
A thousand years of nurturing.
And zero recognition.
Still, Chien-Pao obeyed Ethan without question.
Understanding this, Regice invited Ethan to remain in the underground ice world for half a month.
Chien-Pao's newly formed body required stabilization through pure Ice energy.
Ethan agreed.
He also had his own goals—
Recruitment.
Arctibax's Recruitment
Arctibax's father, the Totem Baxcalibur, was stunned.
His son had left as Normal-tier.
Returned Elite-tier.
And evolved.
In under two hours.
Earlier, the Ice Lord had told Baxcalibur that Ethan had helped him ascend to God-tier.
He hadn't believed it.
Now?
He did.
And he began considering something bold—
Entrusting his son to Ethan.
His wife objected initially.
No mother wished her half-year-old child to leave.
But over the next fifteen days—
Everything changed.
Ethan released his team (except Metagross, whom Articuno still restricted).
Yanhuang.
Skeledirge.
Entei.
Volcarona.
All accepted Arctibax warmly.
Yanhuang personally trained him.
As a former commander of eighty thousand troops, Yanhuang excelled at molding raw talent.
Within half a month—
Arctibax went on a twenty-win streak against his own species.
Undefeated.
Ethan spared no resources:
Premium Ice GemsHigh-grade Ice Fruits
Even Baxcalibur's parents felt envious.
Eventually—
When Ethan prepared to leave—
The Baxcalibur couple personally entrusted Arctibax to him.
System:
[Golden Opportunity Acquired — Arctibax]
[×100 Critical]
[Three-Color Opportunity]
Arctibax officially joined the team.
Chien-Pao's Recruitment
Chien-Pao's case was even simpler.
It had bonded to Ethan from the moment of transformation.
When Ethan announced his departure—
It followed.
Regice hesitated.
Chien-Pao had been entrusted by Regigigas.
Letting it leave wasn't a small matter.
So Regice initiated contact.
This time—
Regigigas responded.
After hearing everything, the Holy Pillar King approved.
It wished to see how far this human could raise the transformed sword.
Thus—
Chien-Pao joined Ethan.
System:
[Golden Opportunity Acquired — Sword of Ruin]
[×10,000 Critical]
[Nine-Color Opportunity]
In an instant—
Chien-Pao's strength surged:
Normal (Early) → Overlord (Early).
Regice was stunned again.
This human…
Was absurd.
When it tried reporting further—
Regigigas had already fallen back into slumber.
Farewell to the Ice World
With both Arctibax and Chien-Pao secured, Ethan departed the underground ice world under Articuno's escort.
During these two weeks, he discovered something surprising—
Articuno wasn't as aloof as she seemed.
Just curious.
She constantly asked about the human world.
Having lived her entire life beneath Antarctica, she longed to see beyond it.
Ethan gave her his home address.
"If you visit the human world someday, you're welcome anytime."
Articuno agreed.
Maintaining good relations with a Divine-tier Pokémon was never a bad investment.
Metagross' Petty Revenge
Once outside—
Ethan finally released Metagross.
The steel titan had been sealed in its Poké Ball for half a month.
It was not pleased.
And it blamed Articuno.
As Ethan soared skyward on Metagross—
A faint psychic ripple spread backward.
Articuno suddenly froze.
Her long tail feathers—
Were… touched.
A psychic tap.
Then Metagross' voice echoed in her mind:
"Hmph. That's payback for locking me up."
Articuno's mind blanked.
Then—
Rage.
A blizzard erupted across half of Antarctica.
The Ice Queen had officially been offended.
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