With Master-tier Psychic abilities, Julian could now go head-to-head with a pseudo-Elite level Pokémon—though his physical body still couldn't compare to a Pokémon's.
You could think of Julian as a glass cannon—a fragile mage who could only cast spells from a distance.
"And I can even do this now…"
Julian muttered to himself, and in the next second, his body vanished from where he stood.
"Meta?!"
Metagross panicked for a moment.
However, Julian soon reappeared about fifty or sixty meters away.
Metagross: "Was that Teleport?"
"Yeah, but the range is pretty short," Julian nodded.
Unlike Metagross, which could teleport hundreds of kilometers in one go, he couldn't even manage a hundred meters. And given his current psychic energy reserves, he could only use Teleport about five times before exhausting himself—it consumed a lot of energy.
"Meta?"
Metagross: "Are you sure it's really safe to keep those things inside you?"
It looked at Julian with concern.
"Relax, it's fine."
Julian patted Metagross on the head. So far, the Unown hadn't caused him any harm. In fact, before entering this room, he had already purchased a special item from the system store.
If the Unown ever did anything harmful, Julian could use that item to forcefully expel them from his body.
Julian still didn't understand why the Unown had chosen him. He wasn't naive enough to believe he was some "chosen one" or had a special constitution like the "Primordial Sacred Body" or anything like that.
They had to be up to something. Why else would they give him benefits for free?
The rest of the collection room mostly contained stone slabs inscribed with Proto-Ancient Pokémon language, along with some fossils and other artifacts—whether they were art pieces or antiques, Julian wasn't sure.
He dumped them all into his system space without a second thought.
Then, he spent another ten minutes clearing out the entire laboratory—every piece of research equipment was taken.
All that remained now was the giant metal door.
It was far too large for Melmetal to eat in one go, but the guy was smart—it had already chewed through the connecting hinges.
That meant Julian could now store the entire door in his system space.
"Its level actually went up…"
Julian noticed that Melmetal's level had increased from 76 to 77.
---
Pokémon: Melmetal (Steel)
Level: 77
Potential: Purple
Ability: Iron Fist
Held Item: Black Belt
Gender: Genderless
Moves: Harden, Thunder Shock, Headbutt, Tail whip, Charge Beam, Thunder Punch, Acid Armor, Flash Cannon, Thunder Wave, Dynamic Punch, Mega Punch, Double Iron Bash, Protect, Discharge, Superpower
TMs: Ice Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Thunderbolt, Brick Break, Electric Terrain, Hammer Arm, Brutal Swing, Thrash, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Darkest Lariat, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Mega Kick, Steel Beam, High Horsepower, Focus Punch
Egg Moves: None
Note: After consuming metal containing Ortanium, its foundational power has improved.
---
Previously, Melmetal didn't have that last note in its status.
Which meant that the giant metal door just now must have contained Ortanium.
But what exactly was Ortanium?
Julian quickly searched for it in the system shop.
[Ortanium: The core formed after a planet's explosion, condensing all the metals from the entire planet. Exclusive to Melmetal. After use, enhances Steel-type origin power and increases Steel-type move damage by 40%.]
[Price: 2,000,000 points (1T).]
When he saw the price, Julian's eyes nearly popped out of his head. At that cost, this thing was absolutely a Top-tier Ultimate treasure—most Ultimate treasures only cost around 500,000 to 600,000 points, but this Ortanium was priced at a whopping 2 million!
No wonder that metal door was so damn hard—it must've had a tiny bit of Ortanium mixed in.
But this material was Melmetal-exclusive.
'So Aggron can't eat it?'
Julian thought for a moment—considering Ortanium's hardness, Aggron probably wouldn't even be able to bite through it.
Only a Pokémon like Melmetal, who feeds on pure metal, and possesses special saliva that can dissolve high-level alloys, could consume something like this.
He had no idea how much Ortanium was in that door, but if the quantity was high enough, maybe Melmetal could even undergo a transformation.
To make sure he didn't miss any other treasures, Julian even took out his Dowsing Machine.
And there—a huge red dot blinked back at him.
'Damn, I actually missed something!'
The red dot was very close by, which meant there was still a treasure within the collection room.
But the room had already been completely stripped bare—even the shelves were gone, leaving nothing but empty walls.
And yet, the Dowsing Machine showed the red dot was right above his head.
Julian looked up—there was a lamp overhead, and the bulb looked like it was made of crystal.
Scanning with his Probing Eyes.
[Ortanium]
'…Are you kidding me?'
This was 'the' Ortanium—being used as a damn light bulb?!
Whoever owned this collection room was definitely a cunning genius. Who would've thought the most valuable treasure in the entire place was just… hanging overhead like a lamp?
Julian shook his head. 'This guy was next-level sneaky.'
Good thing he took out the Dowsing Machine just in case. Otherwise, he would have walked right past this priceless treasure.
He carefully removed the "bulb"—and the moment it landed in his hand, he felt its astonishing weight. It was about the size of a fist, yet Julian estimated it weighed over one ton.
If not for his Mega Pallet Town Physique, his entire hand would've been crushed instantly.
He quickly stored it in his system space.
Checking the Dowsing Machine again, the giant red dot was now gone, replaced by dozens of smaller red dots—indicating multiple treasures within a 50 km radius.
"So many treasures…" Julian muttered.
It was, after all, an unexplored Ruin, and a high-tech one at that.
Technological Ruins didn't just contain technology—they were also packed with treasures, and quite a few of them were made using modern technology.
"Metagross, let's head out," Julian said.
There was nothing left of value in the lab.
Metagross used Teleport to take Julian back to the floor where the special elevator had been earlier.
The Dowsing Machine showed a red dot right inside the office behind him.
It turned out to be the chairman's office.
The door wasn't locked, so Julian pushed it open and walked in.
The moment he stepped in, Julian's eyes were drawn to the desk.
The red dot was located exactly there.
"Made from Purpleheart wood… now that's luxurious."
Julian examined the grain, then leaned in—a faint, soothing fragrance wafted from it.
Just this desk alone could be sold at auction for around one billion.
Purpleheart wood wasn't just ordinary wood—it could be used to make perfumes, Grass-type Pokéblocks, and even medicine.
If Grass-type Pokémon regularly consumed Pokéblocks containing Purpleheart wood, their chlorophyll production would increase, boosting their natural recovery abilities.
It wasn't useful to Julian personally, but since he was already here, he wasn't going to leave empty-handed. Straight into the system space it went.
The office also had some exquisitely crafted art pieces, though they held no practical value.
"Huh? There's a map here."
On the wall, Julian spotted a detailed layout of the entire city.
"Metagross, help me find where the library is."
The fastest way to understand this Ruin? Head straight to the library.
*****
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