Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
When the Psychic Mark transformed into a ray of light and struck Sato's forehead, it immediately formed the closest possible spiritual bond with him.
In the next moment, it was as though the Psychic Mark had always existed there — a glowing emblem of psychic power now shone on Sato's forehead, radiating a faint blue light.
At the same time, an uncontrollable wave of mental energy surged outward from his body. Its intensity kept rising until it had grown 20% stronger than before, and only then did it stabilize.
Sato could clearly feel the vast increase in his mental power. Without hesitation, he retrieved a box of meditation beads from his spatial gear and used his psychic power to manipulate them, gauging his current strength.
Under his control, the tiny bead-sized pearls floated into the air and began circling around him.
With his precise mental control, he quickly confirmed the number he could manipulate — 270 beads in total. That meant his current mental power value had reached 270, placing him firmly in the mid-range of a beginner psychic.
(Note: The mental power limit for beginner psychics is 500. Only upon reaching 501 does one advance to intermediate psychic.)
When he had left Slowpoke Temple, his mental power had only been 223. After some time of rigorous training, he had managed to increase it by 2, reaching 225. But now, with the amplification of the Psychic Mark, his power had leapt forward in a single step.
"This feels amazing… With the Psychic Mark, my psychic power has become far purer. That uncomfortable pressure in my head is quickly fading away. Truly, this system shop creates miraculous items after absorbing the primal power of Lugia."
Once bonded with him, the Psychic Mark began to nourish his psychic energy on its own. Every time his mental power flowed through the emblem, he felt it being cleansed and refined — an extraordinary sensation that left him deeply impressed.
After that, he took out the Sea God's Coral Stone and began meditating through the hours before dawn.
Just as the system had described, the Psychic Mark also boosted his meditation efficiency. Combined with the coral stone, he now felt that a single night of meditation could raise his mental power by 1 point.
Compared to before, when it had taken several days of continuous meditation to raise his mental power by even a single point, this was like riding a rocket. Sato believed that with such efficiency, five to six months of hard training would be enough for him to break through into the ranks of an Intermediate psychic.
In deep meditation, time flew by. One night passed in the blink of an eye. With the help of his alarm, Sato awoke at 7 a.m. on the dot.
The first thing he did was once again manipulate the meditation beads to check the fruits of his night's effort. To his delight, his mental power value had indeed risen to 271.
"That old captain really is my benefactor. For this rescue mission, I have to give it my all."
Thinking about the immense benefits the Psychic Mark had granted him, Sato couldn't help but feel grateful to Reggie, the kind-hearted old captain who had given him the silver feather as a reward.
As always, once he woke up, he quickly washed up, shared breakfast with his Pokémon, and then began the day's training.
Around 10 a.m., Reggie finally gave in to his worry and sent the full details of the rescue mission to Sato through the system's messaging function.
Clearly, Reggie was extremely anxious about his old friend. He had written down every scrap of information he knew, and it took Sato several minutes to read it all.
It turned out that Prof. Todd and the other researchers from the Oceanic Research Institute had been kidnapped by Team Aqua and were being held at an underground base on a small island along Route 108.
The League was planning to launch an assault on the base three days later, with the goal of reclaiming or destroying the stolen treasure.
Route 108 lay southwest of Slateport City, several hundred nautical miles away. This stretch of sea was riddled with reefs, and shipwrecks were common.
As a result, many sunken ships lay scattered across Route 108, including some centuries old. For that reason, the area had become a favorite destination for divers and treasure hunters.
But because it was so far from land, and because the ocean floor held too many treasures for the League to police effectively, the route had gradually turned into a dangerous haven for outlaws.
Armed with Reggie's intel, Sato immediately set out.
Every day, many people traveled from Slateport to dive for treasure along Route 108. It didn't take him long to find a speedboat heading that way. After paying 1,000 PokeDollars for passage, he boarded smoothly.
By around 6 p.m., Sato stood alone on the deck, leaning against the railing and letting the sea breeze wash over him. Just then, a burly young man in summer attire approached, carrying two opened bottles of beer.
"Mr. Hayashi, are you heading out to hunt for treasure or just to visit the floating market? If it's treasure hunting, I know a few places where ancient wrecks are likely to be found. If you'd be willing to join me, I'd be happy to split the spoils fifty-fifty."
The youth's eyes flickered with respect as he glanced at the Swampert swimming steadily behind the speedboat. After offering Sato one of the beers, he spoke in a lowered, respectful tone.
The young man's name was Haike, a local of Slateport and a moderately well-known treasure hunter in the area — as well as the owner of the speedboat.
Having spent years around Route 108, Haike had developed a keen eye for both people and Pokémon.
It had already been three hours since they left port, and he had noticed that the Swampert Sato released at the start had never once boarded the boat, choosing instead to swim behind it the entire time.
What's more, he had spotted the weighted bracelets on Swampert's wrists.
Any Pokémon capable of keeping pace with a speedboat cruising at 120 knots for over three hours while weighted down… Even if Haike had been slower on the uptake, he would have realized how terrifyingly strong Sato's Swampert was.
That was why he had approached Sato, hoping to partner with him in deep-sea treasure hunting.
The truth was, countless hunters had explored Route 108 over the years. Most of the seabed had already been picked clean. Only a few extremely dangerous areas remained untouched.
Haike's real motive was to leverage Sato's strength to venture into those perilous zones.
Unfortunately for him, Sato refused without hesitation, brushing him off by claiming he was only going to the floating market this time.
Indeed, Sato's objective on Route 108 was the rescue mission, and his breakthrough point was none other than the chaotic floating market that operated there.
From Reggie's intel, he had learned that the market's shadowy backers were none other than Team Aqua.