And so, after the system grumbled and left, Raymond contentedly slumped back into his lounge chair.
What just happened? A gift from nature? Or... after countless times of falling into the abyss, had the fickle Goddess of Luck finally, stingily, lifted her skirt for him?
He took out the fragment of Light Stone, warm to the touch.
The fragment refracted a strange iridescent glow in the sunlight.
Although he had no idea what this fragment was for, who would complain about having too many good things?
"Ability Capsule..."
Putting the Light Stone away, Raymond examined the blue capsule wrapped in an energy film, his eyes flickering with curiosity, "'Awareness' ability? Sounds like enhanced perception.
No harm in trying, right? If it doesn't work, I can just wash it out and give it to the dragon."
He didn't hesitate much, tilting his head back and swallowing it.
The capsule melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and a warm current flowed towards his eyes.
Just a few seconds later, he felt a slight warmth in his eye sockets.
Raymond looked up and ahead; next to an inconspicuous stone, the air trembled slightly, and several lines of ethereal text appeared out of thin air:
"My god... it really works!"
Raymond gasped, so excited he almost jumped up and down, "I hit the jackpot! I'm rich! Hahaha! System bro, I'm sorry! I cursed at you just now! You're a great guy! A really great guy!"
He mumbled excitedly, then thought of the dragon, "Too bad, this 'Awareness' is more suitable for a scout.
If only it could be 'Ignite' or 'Poison Heal'... This damn place has a lot of poison tricks... Forget it, something is better than nothing!"
"Next, let's try these two disks."
Raymond eagerly picked up the two weightless disks, their surfaces flowing with data streams, "[Telekinesis], [Life Dew]... Maybe they can also..."
He carefully placed the two disks, one on the left and one on the right, against his forehead.
An instant cool sensation spread, then the disks silently disintegrated, transforming into two subtle but clear cool air currents that rapidly permeated his skin.
In his mind, some vague concepts of application seemed to have appeared.
"It feels... nothing special?"
He frowned, tentatively concentrating his mind, fixing his gaze on a brass coin on the ground beside him, "...Telekinesis! Rise!"
Buzz...
The flat copper coin, as if fanned by a mosquito's wing, trembled ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly...
"Pfft..."
Raymond almost choked.
It seemed this skill was greatly weakened outside the Pokémon world; it would require diligent practice.
"Alright, then this one..."
He took a deep breath, spread his right palm, and focused all his attention on the concept of "activating Life Dew": "...Life Dew!"
A faint wisp of water vapor emerged from his palm, even less than the steam rising from a teacup, almost imperceptible unless one stared closely.
"...Indeed..."
Raymond looked at his palm with a complex expression, "According to the Pokémon world's setting... humans are probably... possibly... also a kind of... Pokémon?
It's just that my variety... hmm... might be a bit unsuited to the environment? I hope diligence can compensate for my shortcomings..."
He let out a helpless bitter laugh, then cheered up, "Who cares! As long as I can train it!"
"Next, comes the real big one!"
Raymond's face showed an excited yet slightly nervous smile as he carefully took out the golden orb containing Bruno's fighting abilities from his backpack.
"Defeating Onix with bare hands! I wonder if I can solo a big dragon in this world?"
The orb floated obediently in his palm, radiating a heart-pounding sense of power.
He once again placed it against his forehead, concentrating all his will—"Fusion!"
"Ugh ah—!"
In an instant, an unimaginably violent pain, like billions of red-hot steel needles, brutally stabbed into his brain!
No! Not just his brain! Every inch of muscle, every bone, every nerve fiber in his entire body!
It was as if an invisible giant hand was repeatedly kneading his tendons, bones, and skin into a pulp, then roughly piecing and reshaping them!
The immense pain brutally shattered his mental defenses; the sensation was beyond excruciating.
"Wh... Holy crap!!!"
Raymond's vision blurred, his eyeballs were bloodshot, and his body uncontrollably curled up, spasmed, and twitched violently.
Beads of sweat the size of beans evaporated as soon as they emerged due to his body temperature, and he let out beast-like roars and broken curses, "Damn, damn, damn... I wasn't afraid even when struck by lightning... Who the hell are you to try and kill me!!!"
He gritted his teeth, blood oozing from his gums, resisting the tsunami-like pain with the last remnants of will deep within his soul, as if wrestling with death, every second an agony.
He didn't know how long it lasted, a century? Or an instant?
The overwhelming pain suddenly receded like a tide.
The exhausted Raymond collapsed onto the ground, soaked through, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
But then, a surging sense of power began to revive deep within his body!
He tentatively clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly and powerfully!
His arms, thighs, chest, abdomen... every muscle fiber felt forged from fine steel, full of explosive elasticity!
He even felt as if his body had been subtly "elevated" by an invisible force!
Even more miraculously, in his mind, it was as if the dusty doors of an armory had opened, instantly pouring in countless knowledge, techniques, and experiences—from the most basic footwork, punching stances, breathing exercises, to the use of various cold weapons, and then to how to burst forth in desperate situations, how to withstand heavy blows, how to accurately strike an opponent's weak points...
Bruno's lifetime of combat essence, honed through countless battles, was deeply imprinted in his consciousness, like an innate instinct!
"Ha... haha... hahaha!"
Raymond, having escaped death, shakily stood up from the ground.
His initial laughter was hoarse with the aftermath of survival, then grew louder and louder, shaking loose stones from the rock piles!
He suddenly punched, stretching his reborn body, now brimming with power.
The bulging muscles and the pleasure of bones and tendons resonating filled him with exhilaration.
Thinking of his previous life's constantly sub-healthy body, he couldn't help but laugh heartily, his voice full of boldness: "Hahaha! From today on... I don't eat beef!"
He took a deep breath of the scorching air, his chest rising and falling violently, his eyes for the first time so bright and sharp, as if piercing through endless temporal dust, stabbing towards an unknowable future.
"Let me ascend to the peak of those mountains! Look down upon this multitude of beings, and see in this world... who shall rule!"
After resting, he once again set foot on the scorching, charred path...