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"Teacher Nina, I just heard your call was in progress, and I almost hung up," Jacob said. He had just discovered that Teacher Nina's phone was busy and was wondering how he could have been beaten to the punch by someone else, even though he was only a few minutes late in calling. He wondered who that person was.
Jacob suspected it was very likely that troublemaker Kindler. Calling exactly at midnight was definitely suspicious, like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—no good intentions at all.
Comrade Nina, you must keep your eyes wide open and stay vigilant. Be wary of certain people with ulterior motives; not everyone is a gentleman like me, Jacob thought to himself.
Curious about who had called Nina, Jacob indirectly and subtly asked, "Teacher Nina, who just called you? Did my call disturb you?"
"It was my best friend who just called me," Nina said with a smile. "It's fine, no disturbance at all."
"A male best friend or a female best friend?" Jacob continued to press, emphasizing the need to guard against fire, theft, and best friends, especially any troublesome male best friends or close confidantes!
"A female best friend," Nina said, sounding slightly annoyed.
Upon hearing this answer, Jacob finally beamed, displaying Frosthollow Province's unique skill of 'face-changing'. He said with a bright grin, "Teacher Nina, Happy Eighteenth Birthday! Did you receive the gift I sent you?"
"Mmm." Hearing Jacob mention the gift, Nina's face flushed slightly.
Sending a hairpin symbolized the desire to 'tie the knot' with someone, an ancient way of expressing romantic love.
Was Jacob doing this on purpose or was it accidental?
"How is it? Do you like it?" Jacob on the other end of the phone continued to press for an answer.
Nina remained silent. Jacob seemed a bit 'aggressive' today, and how could she possibly answer his question properly?
Saying she liked it would be an admission of feelings, which was definitely not an option.
Saying she didn't like it—who says they don't like a gift they received from someone? That was certainly not an option either.
After a moment of hesitation, Nina finally spoke, her voice exceptionally soft, "I like it."
"What? I can't hear you clearly. Is your signal bad?"
"I like it!"
"That's good, I was just afraid you wouldn't like it," Jacob said with a chuckle, then his tone turned serious as he continued, "Oh, Teacher Nina, I have another matter I'd like to ask for your help with."
"What is it?" Nina was slightly disappointed by Jacob's reaction, but hearing his serious tone, she put aside her thoughts and asked.
"I hope you can help me collect stones," Jacob explained. "It's the kind of stone on the hairpin, and another kind of stone that looks like a glass bead that I sent. But when you collect them, you must be careful to hide your identity. Absolutely do not let anyone know that you are collecting them."
Jacob's serious tone made Nina frown, her expression grave, realizing that the matter might not be simple. She asked Jacob, "Are these two types of stones very important?"
"Yes." Jacob hesitated for a moment, but still decided to reveal a little to Nina: "Teacher Nina, I hope you can keep this a secret for me. The importance of these two types of stones is comparable to a Z-Crystal. It is a secret research project I am currently conducting. Once successfully developed, its value may even exceed a Z-Crystal."
Nina was shocked by Jacob's words. She hadn't expected the item Jacob gave her to be so precious: "Since this item is so important, why don't you take it back?"
"No need. Remember, you must collect them secretly, and absolutely don't let anyone else know."
"Okay. Can I tell my dad?" Nina asked, "If it's just me, it will be difficult to collect the stones for you without my dad knowing. You know how he is."
"It's fine, you can tell Master, just remember to ask Master to keep it a secret," Jacob explained.
"Mmm."
They discussed the details over the phone for a while longer, and by the time they finished the call, it was already past one in the morning.
Only then did Nina call Eleanor back. As soon as the call connected, Eleanor's roaring voice rang out: "Nina!!!"
Meanwhile, after hanging up the phone, Jacob lay on his bed, frowning as he looked at an item in his system space.
Jacob had obtained this item three days ago when the High School Cup began, but he had no idea how to use it properly.
This item was the final reward for Jacob's winning streak quest. In the end, he had won a total of sixty-one matches.
Panacea: Can be used on any Pokémon to raise its aptitude to Quasi-King Level (40%) or King level (30%) or Champion-level (20%) or Master level (9%) or Legendary-level (1%), and can change its ability to any ability it can possess, and change its Tera Type to any Type.
This item wasn't particularly strong, and its ultimate effect was simply to add a Pokémon with Heavenly King Level aptitude, along with customized ability and Tera Type.
However, this item had a very powerful aspect: it could be used on any Pokémon. This meant Jacob could find a Caterpie on the roadside, use the item, and transform it into a Pokémon with Quasi-King Level aptitude or higher. That was incredibly impressive.
Secondly, this item could also be used by his older brother or father. His older brother also had a Charizard with Quasi-King Level aptitude. Using it could allow his Charizard to break through its limits and become a Charizard with King Level aptitude or higher.
In short, this item was powerful and had many uses, so much so that Jacob temporarily didn't know how to use it most effectively.
The next day, Jacob participated in the competition with dark circles under his eyes. Having not rested well the previous night, he kept yawning. It was a pity that his Yawn ability couldn't be used on enemies, otherwise, he would have directly targeted the opposing trainer.
According to the tournament schedule, today were the sixty-four-to-thirty-two and thirty-two-to-sixteen matches, meaning everyone had two matches to compete in.
Tomorrow would be the sixteen-to-eight and eight-to-four matches, also the most important day, because only by reaching the top four could one participate in the provincial main competition. To secure a spot in the main competition, all trainers would pull out all the stops, exerting their full strength just to contend for a top-four position. Tomorrow's competition would also be the most intense.
Compared to that, the semifinals the day after tomorrow would not be particularly important, as everyone would already be in the top four, and their specific ranking wouldn't be as crucial.
As for the finals, the day after that, they would be equally important because the ultimate Starlight City champion would be designated as a seeded player, skipping the first two rounds of the competition and guaranteeing a spot in the top thirty-two of the entire province. This was a tangible benefit.
Jacob's first round match quickly arrived.
"Number seven Jacob versus Number eight Max."
Jacob knew Max. Both were students from Starlight High School, but Max was from the class next door and was quite well-known within the school.
Similarly, Max had already known that his opponent was Jacob and wore a bitter expression. Originally, with his strength, as long as his luck wasn't too bad, he could at least reach the top eight, if not the top four. His goal was to guarantee top eight and contend for top four. Who would have thought he would encounter Jacob right away?'
"Match start!"