Wealth and honor come from risk, but they can also be lost in risk. When seeking, one succeeds once in ten tries; when failing, one fails nine times out of ten.
Many people only know the first part of the saying, but don't realize there are more lines.
Those who seek fortune through danger and actually succeed, this kind of thing only happens to a very small number of people.
And that tiny number can't represent the majority at all.
These five people were the best example.
If they hadn't set their sights on Julian and his group, even if the resources they gathered were taken by Julian's group, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, they had already fed many treasures from this secret realm to their Pokémon beforehand.
As long as they were careful afterward and put their minds to searching, on such a vast Poni Island, there were definitely more hidden treasures waiting to be found.
They didn't choose the steady and reliable way, but instead picked the most dangerous path. Although the rewards would have been the greatest if they succeeded.
Unfortunately, they weren't fated for it.
With the deaths of those five, there were now only 14 people left on Poni Island. Excluding Julian and his group of five, there were just nine others. As long as Pierce and the rest weren't careless, there would absolutely be no problem.
Besides, who's to say how many of those nine were even still alive?
The next day, Julian bid farewell to Pierce and the others, left Poni Island, and flew straight towards Akala Island.
Arriving in the skies above Akala Island, Julian immediately spotted the volcano that took up a full quarter of the island's landmass.
Puffs of gray smoke were drifting from the crater, the air was filled with a sulfurous smell, and visible volcanic ash floated in the air.
The plants on Akala Island clearly looked more lush than those on Poni Island, and the trees were taller, thanks to the volcanic ash.
Julian immediately took out his Dowsing Machine. After holding back for over a month, he was finally free to act on his own.
His joyful treasure hunt was about to begin.
Looking at the ten red dots on the Dowsing Machine—all of them quite large—he couldn't help but admire how worthy this Top-tier secret realm was. So many good things.
Just like that, in no time at all, he had locked onto ten treasures. If he had been with Pierce and the others, finding ten would've taken at least a week, even with good luck.
Riding on Dragonite, Julian quickly arrived at the red dot closest to him.
He stopped in front of a massive tree, its trunk alone was more than six meters thick, enough to be a landmark in a small forest.
"Kartana, poke a hole here."
Using Psychic to float up to about ten meters, he checked the red dot on the Dowsing Machine—it should be right here.
After more than a month of rest and treatment, Kartana's once-cracked right arm had improved a lot. Naturally, its bond with Julian had also grown stronger.
All thanks to Julian's endless Chuuni lines.
Kartana: "You're insulting me."
Telling it to stab a tree, although Kartana complained, its body was honest. Its sword-like right arm plunged straight into the spot Julian had pointed at.
As soon as it pulled out, a stream of light green liquid flowed out, followed by a refreshing fragrance.
The scent perked Kartana up, and it even felt like its injuries had healed a bit more.
Julian immediately took out a glass bottle and collected all the liquid.
"About 500 milliliters."
He shook the glass bottle full of pale green liquid under the sunlight.
Kartana: "What is this!?"
Julian explained, "Millennium Tree Sap. Drinking a little will help your injuries."
Millennium Tree Sap, only the rarest trees over a thousand years old might produce it. It's one of the most top healing substances.
Just a single drop goes for a starting price of one billion on the market.
If paired with other medicinal ingredients, it could create healing medicines strong enough to keep a barely-breathing Pokémon alive.
Listening to Julian's words, Kartana took a small sip.
Drinking too much would be wasteful, it can't be fully absorbed, and any excess would just be expelled from the body.
After that small sip, Kartana instantly felt waves of relief spreading through its right arm.
Then its eyes locked onto the remaining sap in Julian's hand, if it could drink it all, wouldn't its wounds fully heal?
Then it could have a real satisfying slash session.
"Don't even think about it. You haven't even finished absorbing what's already in your body. I'll let you drink more in a week," Julian said, shaking his head, clearly aware of what Kartana was thinking.
He then stored the remaining Millennium Tree Sap into the system space.
No one was around now, so the system space could finally be used again.
Thinking of this, Julian quickly pulled out a bottle of cold Coke, gulped it down in a few sips, crushed the can, and tossed it on the ground.
What, you're saying littering is rude?
Julian: 'I 'am' rude.'
Kartana looked a bit disappointed but didn't argue with Julian.
After spending over a month with him, Kartana could feel that Julian genuinely cared and treated it as a true partner.
That let Kartana, who had always been alone, feel a kind of warmth it had never experienced before.
And from Julian, it got food it liked, and those irresistibly chuni lines.
Thinking of all this, Kartana felt that not killing Charizard back then had absolutely been the right decision. If it had killed Charizard, how would Julian have found it because of Charizard?
Kartana: 'Next time I see Charizard, I'll be sure to slash it a few times, not to kill it, just to properly thank it.'
Charizard: 'F**k your thanks.'
After Julian left, the Pokémon that had been immobilized on the Millennium Tree by Metagross's Psychic finally began to move again.
Several Rowlets and Rookidees, along with their evolved forms, showed panicked expressions, chirping nervously about the fear they felt while being controlled.
High up in the canopy, an Oranguru wore a face filled with hatred and anger.
Recently, many unfamiliar Pokémon had come to this island, and they weren't friendly.
Its entire group had been wiped out by strangers like Julian, only it had escaped. Its clansmen, mate, and children had all been taken away.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "Should I kill it?"
Metagross had long sensed Oranguru's hostility.
"No need."
Julian shook his head.
He hadn't done anything to Oranguru. It was probably other humans who had harmed it.
That much was easy to guess.
The real question was how many trainers were on this island.
Were trainers from Babath here?
Thinking of Babath, Julian's eyes gleamed with a cold light.
He hadn't forgotten what they'd done to him.
If he ran into them, he'd send them straight to the afterlife.
Same for Celestria.
But the five trainers from Celestria wouldn't be easy to deal with. If Julian was alone, it'd be pretty hard, he'd have to plan carefully to take them down.
Or he could team up with Pierce and the other three. That way, their numbers would at least be equal.
*****
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