A week later, Oliver returned to campus.
Under the bright sunshine, the school was filled with laughter and chatter everywhere. The lively atmosphere stood in stark contrast to Oliver's recent life in the secret realm—it felt almost unreal.
This world was not truly as safe as it appeared. It was only because the Alliance had sealed off most secret realms that ordinary people were able to live far away from danger.
To the other students, these seven days had been nothing special.
But to Oliver, he had walked back and forth on the edge of life and death several times.
The experiences of the past week made him truly realize how weak he still was. Even though his growth rate was already far beyond common sense, it was still not enough.
Whether it was the trials inside the secret realm or the pressure brought by Genesis Society, Oliver understood one thing clearly—he had already stepped into a world ruled by true powerhouses ahead of time.
And the only thing he could do was to become stronger as fast as possible.
To squeeze out every bit of time, Oliver left Milotic at Mu Xue's villa, letting it train together with Mu Xue's own Milotic.
Kirlia stayed at home, receiving guidance directly from Celebi.
As for Oliver himself, he spent his days at school整理 and compiling data related to the newly discovered Fairy-type. On weekends, he would take Kirlia to the Gym for battle training.
Inside the Gym's training rooms, Kirlia fought Pokémon of different types, while Oliver carefully recorded the type effectiveness relationships between Fairy-type and other attributes.
Because Oliver's academic performance had always been outstanding—and because he had already published highly influential research papers—the teachers turned a blind eye to him occasionally zoning out in class. As long as he didn't disturb others, no one interfered.
This busy yet fulfilling life quickly passed by.
In the blink of an eye, one month was gone, and winter vacation was drawing closer.
During this month, Genesis Society launched two assassination attempts.
The first time, three Veteran-level trainers were sent. They didn't even get close to Oliver's house before being wiped out by Mu Xue.
The second time, Genesis Society clearly got serious.
They sent five Gym-level trainers and one quasi–Champion-level trainer.
The group split into two teams.
The five Gym-level trainers attempted a direct strike on Oliver's home, while the quasi–Champion-level trainer personally went after Oliver.
At that time, Oliver only had one Champion-level Pokémon protecting him, while the enemy came fully prepared with six Pokémon.
Even with Oliver's extraordinary perception and command ability, he could only barely hold his ground. In the end, it was Mu Xue—after finishing off the attackers at the house—who rushed over and helped defeat the quasi–Champion-level trainer.
After that battle, Genesis Society stopped sending people altogether.
It was as if they had completely forgotten Oliver's existence.
Perhaps they believed Oliver was not worth further effort.
Or perhaps they were hiding in the shadows, plotting something far greater.
At the same time, Oliver finally completed the basic data organization and statistical framework for Fairy-type, and even drafted a preliminary outline for his paper.
Through training at Mu Xue's place, Milotic not only stabilized its realm but also broke through to Veteran-level Mid Stage.
With Adaptability and Mystic Water, Milotic could even defeat Veteran-level High Stage Pokémon head-on.
Every Pokémon or Trainer who reached Champion-level had carved out their own unique path. Mu Xue was no exception.
Her combat style focused on pushing the overwhelming nature of water to its absolute limit—using endless, surging waves to completely crush her opponents.
This path did not fully suit Oliver's Milotic, so it only borrowed parts of her approach rather than copying it entirely.
Meanwhile, under Celebi's guidance, Kirlia successfully advanced to Intermediate High Stage, already standing right at the threshold of the Advanced realm.
Even Celebi itself had recovered rapidly by consuming Energy Blocks, restoring its strength to Advanced High Stage—far faster than conventional training would allow.
"Students, tomorrow is the final exam of this semester," the homeroom teacher announced.
"This final consists of two parts: a theoretical exam and a practical battle exam. The details have already been explained countless times, so I won't repeat them."
"I just hope you all perform well and don't waste the hard work you've put in this semester."
"Go back and rest well today. Don't be nervous tomorrow."
"Woo—!"
"Yeah—!"
The moment the teacher finished speaking, the entire class erupted in cheers.
In this world, the appearance of Pokémon had reshaped society itself. Even third-year high school students enjoyed full holidays instead of rushing back to school right after New Year.
The classroom became noisy, but the teachers didn't stop it. After all, they had once been students too—and understood this excitement very well.
Jiang Shuyun squeezed over beside Oliver.
She hadn't relaxed at all this semester either. After joining the school team, she stayed late every day for training. Her Charmeleon had also reached Intermediate High Stage, and recently it had been sleeping a lot—clearly on the verge of evolution.
"Old Ye—uh, Oliver," she corrected herself with a grin.
"I wanted to hang out with you during winter vacation, but my dad's taking me back to that place again."
"The training base you went to before?" Oliver asked.
He had already asked Mu Xue about it.
Almost every city had such a training base, dedicated to cultivating talented young Trainers. These bases also served as selection grounds—choosing the best of the best to enter a mysterious place.
According to rumors, anyone who entered that place would achieve at least quasi–Champion-level in the future.
Mu Xue had even revealed that the current Four Heavenly Kings all came from there.
Jiang Shuyun sighed helplessly.
"Yeah. Dad says training there will strengthen Charmeleon's foundation. That way, it'll benefit more after evolving."
"There'll be plenty of chances to hang out," Oliver said with a smile.
"If it's good for Charmeleon, then train hard in there."
Indeed, the stronger the foundation before evolution, the greater the gains afterward.
Milotic was a perfect example—during its evolution, it had skipped Advanced Low Stage entirely and jumped straight to Advanced Mid Stage.
Kirlia would likely be the same. With the accumulation from top-tier Energy Blocks and Celebi's life energy, its foundation was unbelievably solid.
After evolving, it would probably break straight into Advanced Mid Stage as well.
Their strength rose quickly—but their foundations were just as firm.
At the same level, they were practically unstoppable.
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