Yaya glanced at Nathan's expression and secretly sighed to herself.
Nathan had already searched the system's store from top to bottom, but in the end, he could only feel utterly disappointed.
Even in the vast system shop, there was nothing that involved the mysterious power of the cosmos.
That meant that these scales of Rayquaza were destined to be out of his reach.
"Haha~ How could that be? Of course I want these scales, but if I can't obtain them, then so be it."
Nathan forced out a laugh as he spoke.
But while his mouth said one thing, in his heart it felt like it was bleeding.
There were so many pits scattered here, and beneath each one lay a single Rayquaza scale. Just how much would that add up to in Pokécoins?
Yet, the cruel reality was that he couldn't take out even a single one.
"Xerneas, are you saying that other than Rayquaza itself, no one else can pull out these scales?"
Nathan turned his head to look at Xerneas as he asked.
It was easy to brush it off when talking to Yaya, but only Nathan knew deep down how painful it was that he couldn't carry away these Rayquaza scales.
"Not really. Why is it that you don't think about how to take them out, but instead immediately think of destroying the ground around them?"
Xerneas gave Nathan a look as if he were a fool.
Sometimes, humans were just this kind of creature.
When faced with a problem, they always thought of breaking through it head-on, yet never considered if there might be another way to untangle it.
It was like a screw and its matching nut. If you tried to yank it out by sheer force, it would be almost impossible.
But if you simply unscrewed it, wouldn't it be easy?
"I…"
Nathan was left speechless. So, all the effort he had wasted here was for nothing?
He had locked himself inside a dead-end alley, refusing to come out. If Xerneas hadn't reminded him, he probably would still be trying to figure out how to smash open the ground.
"System, system! Quick, quick, quick—do you have anything that can pull these scales out? I'll buy it!"
Nathan shouted in his mind.
These scales were embedded deep in the earth, and the ground was unimaginably hard. A normal crane would never be able to pull them out.
Besides, there was no way to secure the crane in place, so Nathan immediately ruled that out.
The system shop right now still only carried items related to Pokémon.
But Nathan knew one thing—so long as you had the money, the system didn't care whether it was related to Pokémon or not. It could bring anything out for you.
[20,000,000 Pokécoins. Does the host wish to purchase?]
"Hisss~! System, I think you're exploiting me! All I want is something to pull out these scales, and you're asking me for twenty million Pokécoins?"
Nathan sucked in a sharp breath.
This was daylight robbery. Clearly, the system had seen that he couldn't find Rayquaza, nor did he have a Pokémon with cosmic power, and so it dared to open its mouth with this outrageous price.
Yes, he had money, but that didn't mean it was meant to be squandered like this!
[If the host thinks it is expensive, you are free to think of your own solution.]
The system's cold mechanical voice once again echoed in Nathan's mind.
Though monotone, it carried a hint of emotion, an undeniable firmness.
"I'm telling you now, twenty million Pokécoins is absolutely impossible!"
Nathan coldly snorted in his heart.
So, what if it was Rayquaza's scales? At worst, he would just give them up. In the future, when he encountered Rayquaza, he could simply have Ditto transform into one.
At that point, would he really fail to pry off a few measly scales?
But to his disappointment, the system didn't respond at all, as if the price would never change no matter what.
After waiting a while and seeing that the system remained silent, Nathan began to falter.
At the very least, wasn't he the buyer here? Shouldn't the seller system at least make some effort to keep him?
This wasn't how you did business.
He had already said so much—couldn't it at least lower the price a little?
"Ten million Pokécoins. If not, then I—"
Nathan started to bargain inside his mind.
But before he could even finish his words, the system's voice cut in.
[Deal.]
The next instant, Nathan felt his hand grow heavier, and a pair of tweezers appeared in his grasp.
That was it?
Just this? Nothing more?
At this moment, Nathan could say with certainty that he had been conned.
When the system quoted twenty million earlier, he had refused no matter what. But the moment he said ten million, the system agreed instantly.
Didn't that prove the profit margin was massive?
And on top of that, what he asked for was an item that could extract Rayquaza's scales. Yet the system gave him… a pair of tweezers?
What the hell—was he supposed to use these oversized tweezers to pull them out?
"System, I want a refund! Ten million Pokécoins, and all you give me is a pair of tweezers? With ten million, I could buy millions of these outside!"
Nathan stared at the tweezers in his hand, utterly dumbfounded.
No matter how he looked at them, they were just an ordinary, simple pair of tweezers.
Even if the system wanted to earn a little more, it couldn't just throw him a tool you could buy for a couple of bucks, right?
Did he really look like some idiot with too much money to burn?
[No refunds. Items sold by the system absolutely achieve the effects that the host desires.]
The cold mechanical voice rang out once again, making Nathan itch to punch someone.
He turned the tweezers over in his hands. They looked exactly the same as what you could buy outside.
In fact, he even noticed a spot where the surface seemed to have been rubbed off—most likely where a logo had been erased…
"Forget it. I just hope you're not scamming me, system. Otherwise, from now on, don't even think about getting a single Pokécoin from me."
Nathan let out a long sigh. The money was already spent, so there was no point complaining further.
He might as well test it. If it really could pull out the Rayquaza scales, then it wouldn't count as a loss. After all, in the system shop, Rayquaza scales were priced in the billions at minimum.
If this ten-million Pokécoin tweezers could serve its purpose, he could consider it money well spent—even if it felt like buying overpriced dog food.
Nathan carried the tweezers over to one of the pits and used them to clamp a scale.
The half-meter-long tweezers easily latched onto the scale. Compared to a human hand, tweezers were actually more suited for gripping in such narrow spaces.
Then Nathan pulled with all his strength, trying to wrench the scale free.
But after straining with his entire body, he realized to his despair that he still couldn't pull it out.
However, he soon noticed something unusual—the tweezers did not loosen at all.
It was as if the two ends of the tweezers were like powerful magnets. No matter how much strength Nathan used, or even if he relaxed his grip, the tweezers still clung firmly to the scale.
Upon realizing this, Nathan's eyes lit up. As long as the tweezers held the scale, then his Pokémon could help pull it out!
Earlier, the reason he had Mewtwo try smashing the ground was because neither his hands nor his Pokémon's claws could grip the scales.
Nathan summoned his Pangoro and instructed it to grab the tweezers and start pulling.
Receiving Nathan's signal, Pangoro stepped forward and reached out to begin the task.
Compared to Nathan, Pangoro's strength was countless times greater.
When Pangoro exerted its full strength, the Rayquaza scale actually shifted!
Seeing the faint movement, Nathan's heart leapt with joy. It worked! It was finally working!
He had lingered here for so long all for the sake of these Rayquaza scales.
Now, at last, he saw the hope of obtaining them.
How could he not be ecstatic?
But compared to Mewtwo, Pangoro's strength was still much weaker.
Even after pouring in all its might, it could only make the scale wobble slightly.
Pulling it out entirely was still far beyond its power.
Left with no choice, Nathan once again released Mewtwo.
Even though Mewtwo's arm had fractured earlier from the sheer hardness of the ground, that didn't mean its strength had diminished.
"Mewtwo, it's up to you now. Can you use these tweezers to pull out the scale?"
Nathan looked at the injured Mewtwo with some guilt in his eyes.
At this moment, he felt like a cold-blooded slave driver, forcing his wounded partner to work for him.
Mewtwo glanced at the tweezers, then gave a nod.
It might not be able to break the ground, but pulling out a scale—that it could manage.
Mewtwo crouched down and, using its uninjured left hand, grasped the tweezers. Its body tensed as it poured strength into the pull.
Muscles bulged subtly across Mewtwo's frame, visible even to the naked eye.
That alone showed how much force it was exerting to pull out this single scale.
It also proved just how incredibly difficult it was to dislodge a Rayquaza scale.
How strong was Mewtwo? Once, it had easily lifted and slammed down a Gyarados over a hundred meters long.
Now, to pull free a single embedded scale, it had to unleash its utmost strength.
Under Nathan's watchful eyes, the scale began to rise, inch by inch.
It wouldn't take much longer before it was fully removed.
About forty to fifty seconds later, one scale was finally extracted.
But for Nathan, those forty to fifty seconds had felt like an entire year.
A Rayquaza scale—something that came from a world-class Pokémon.
And here he was, able to acquire it casually in this secret realm.
If anyone else were to see this, they would probably cry themselves to death in their beds.
(End of Chapter)