Nine months later, Julian stood atop a tall building, gazing down at the city below. This was the tallest skyscraper in this entire Technological Ruin.
Metagross hovered before him.
"Nothing's been missed, right?" Julian asked.
"Meta~"
Metagross nodded.
Within this technological ruin, all data related to three key technologies—spatial backpack tech, magnetic levitation tech, and tenth-generation solar energy tech—had been completely stored within Metagross's supercomputer brain.
The tenth-generation solar tech was the very reason this Ruin still had power even now.
All the records of these three technologies in this Ruin had been destroyed by Metagross, meaning the only remaining copies existed within Metagross itself.
As for the other technologies, Julian had merely copied them without destroying the originals.
After all, one couldn't burn all bridges. Sooner or later, the Drakorian government would discover this place. When they entered and realized it was a technological ruin, they'd be thrilled.
But if they explored further, only to realize that all the most valuable tech data had been wiped out—
Obviously, they would know someone had beaten them to it.
Later, when the Walker Group released space backpack and maglev technologies, it wouldn't be hard to connect the dots back to this Ruin.
So Julian had to make sure the officials still got something—let them "drink some soup," so to speak. After all, he considered himself a patriotic young man.
The majority of the technology here was far beyond what the nation currently had. Even though Julian took away the three most critical technologies, the remaining ones were still enough for national research.
And since Julian was a citizen of Drakoria, giving the tech to his own group meant that, as long as he didn't betray his country, the technology would still, in essence, belong to Drakoria. No difference.
During these past few months, aside from securing those three technologies, Julian had naturally explored the entire Ruin.
The Ruin was divided into three areas: the first was the high-tech city where Julian now stood; the second was the Ancient Giant Tree; and the third was a vast lake.
At the ancient giant tree, he had encountered Mew, who gifted him a large number of treasures. However, with the three Legendary Titans standing guard, Julian couldn't explore further and simply gave up on that area.
As for the lake, its strongest Pokémon was a Milotic at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level. After Metagross defeated it, Julian captured it without a second thought.
After all, this was Milotic—renowned as the most beautiful Pokémon in existence.
In terms of rarity, even pseudo-legendaries paled in comparison.
Julian had no intention of using Milotic for trade; he simply planned to keep it in a pool, enjoying the sight of it whenever he pleased.
Keeping a peak Pseudo-Champion Milotic like an ornamental fish—only Julian would do something like that.
Aside from Milotic, the enormous lake had also yielded him an Ultimate water-type treasure.
[Starshine Grass: Doubles the defense of a Pokémon (only usable by Water-type Pokémon).]
Naturally, Julian gave it to Slowking. Since Slowking was the only Water-type Pokémon he had, any Water-type treasures were exclusively reserved for it.
Aside from that, he had also obtained other treasures from the lake, but those weren't worth mentioning.
"We've pretty much explored everything. Tomorrow, we're leaving this ruin."
Julian stretched lazily. He had been inside this Ruin for nine months—nearly a full year—and it was finally time to leave.
Being out of contact with his family for nine months meant he had been effectively missing. Thankfully, Julian was strong, and his family trusted him.
If it was anyone else, staying inside a Ruin for nine months without coming out, their family would've probably declared them dead and canceled their household registration.
Who knows? By the time they got out, their spouse might've already remarried.
According to Drakoria's official regulations, if someone entered a Ruin or Secret Realm and failed to come out within two years—and no body was found—they were officially declared dead.
---
One month earlier.
Imperial Capital, Drakoria
Eight months had already passed since Julian entered the Ruin, and John still hadn't received any news of his grandson coming out.
Even so, he wasn't particularly worried about Julian's safety.
Knock knock
"Come in."
The door opened, and in walked John's personal secretary, followed by a stern-faced middle-aged man.
"Champion Walker, news just came from Hara City. They've detected a Ruin's energy fluctuations in the Hara Desert—specifically inside Tyranitar's cave."
Since Ruins and Secret Realms appeared irregularly—often in remote mountains or deep forests—they were difficult to detect.
That's why detection teams regularly scanned the country for signs of newly emerging ruins or realms.
When Julian had first entered that Ruin, John already knew that it would eventually be discovered in the next scan.
"What's the Elders' Council's opinion?" John asked calmly.
"They're hoping you'll send a team to explore."
His beloved grandson had already slipped in ahead of everyone, and John hadn't reported it to the higher-ups—after all, everyone had their selfish motives.
And if he sent an official exploration team now? Hah. As if they'd find anything worthwhile.
In his mind, anything truly valuable inside would have already been taken by his grandson.
Though Julian hid it well, John still suspected that his grandson had some extraordinary way of locating rare treasures in Ruins and Secret Realms.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain how Julian always managed to find the most valuable items every time he entered one.
The Glossy Ganoderma from last time was proof enough.
John had wanted to search the Hara Desert himself, but Julian had stopped him, claiming he had a way to find it—and sure enough, he did.
"Why come to me for this? Let the Elder Council handle it themselves," John said dismissively.
The secretary nodded in acknowledgment.
Now that John was a Champion—a strategic national asset—things were different. If he was still only at the Pseudo-Champion level, he would've been the obvious choice to lead this Ruin expedition.
But once someone became a Champion, no matter how much they wanted to explore Ruins or Top-tier Secret Realms, Drakoria's Elder Council would never allow it.
After all, for any newly discovered Ruin or Top-tier Secret Realm, the first expedition always promised rich rewards, but also carried extreme risks.
In fact, most of the first wave of explorers would die—often more than half of them. And some dangers weren't something you could simply power through, no matter how strong you were.
Every nation had stories of their Champions, brimming with confidence, choosing to explore a brand-new Ruin or Top-tier Secret Realm… only to die inside.
As a nation's Champion, John's role wasn't to charge into uncharted territory. First expeditions? Forget it. Maybe the second or third wave, but never the first.
The Elders' Council was a bit surprised when they heard John had told them to make their own arrangements.
After all, yes, the first exploration was dangerous… but the opportunities were enormous. By letting him assign the team, they were essentially offering him a share of the spoils.
Under normal circumstances, John would have picked a few people from his own faction to reap the benefits.
Yet this time, he turned them down.
*****
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