"It's right beneath here."
Julian, holding the Dowsing Machine, was riding on Moltres's back and pointed toward the diamond vein below.
The Dowsing Machine displayed a large red dot—unless something unexpected had happened, the treasure buried beneath was undoubtedly an Ultimate treasure.
He signaled Moltres to land.
This particular Top-tier secret realm was the most important of the three in Wyvernia, precisely because of its diamond veins.
The diamonds sold annually brought substantial profits to Wyvernia, and since diamonds were an extremely rare mineral, the country also exchanged them for valuable resources with other nations.
Naturally, for such a money-printing resource, they wouldn't over-extract it—over-mining could damage the vein's regenerative capacity. As a result, the diamond vein was still quite intact.
Julian jumped off Moltres's back. There had been some wild Pokémon on the ground earlier, but the moment Moltres landed, they all fled.
Now standing right above the red dot, Julian just needed to dig straight down to reach what he wanted.
"Steelix!"
He summoned his expert digger—Steelix. When it came to tunneling, Steelix was top-notch—though if mining was the goal, Aggron would take the top spot.
Steelix: "Is it time for lunch?"
"Lunch, my foot!" Julian shot it a glare.
'Seriously? It has only been about an hour since breakfast—is this glutton already hungry for lunch?'
Steelix stared at its Trainer, confused. No food, no wild Pokémon around—it wasn't being called out for battle. So was this just for some fresh air?
"Dig down."
Julian pointed at the ground.
Steelix: 'Oh, so it's a digging job.'
This was familiar territory. In an instant, it dove straight into the earth.
Steelix: 'The ground's a bit hard here.'
That was to be expected—this was a diamond vein. Even unrefined, its natural hardness surpassed most other mineral deposits.
Watching the hole Steelix had dug, Julian mounted Metagross and flew into the tunnel.
He kept the Dowsing Machine in hand, constantly monitoring the distance to the red dot.
If only Steelix had hands, he could have given it the Dowsing Machine and let it watch the position while digging—then he wouldn't have to go down himself.
As the depth increased, the oxygen levels underground began to drop. For Steelix and Metagross, this was no issue, but for Julian, it was a different story.
He was already experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath—classic signs of oxygen deprivation.
Without hesitation, he purchased an oxygen tank and mask from the system shop. Once equipped, his symptoms quickly disappeared.
More than half an hour had passed. Steelix had already dug over a thousand meters deep—yet they still hadn't reached the location of the red dot.
And Steelix's digging speed was slowing down as they went deeper, because the deeper they went, the harder the diamond vein became.
At this level of hardness, any Pokémon below the pseudo-Elite tier could smash their heads all they wanted and still not make a dent.
Although digging was getting tougher for Steelix, the process was actually benefiting it quite a bit.
The constant friction and compression against the diamond vein were gradually increasing its natural defense.
Normally, an Onix needed a Metal Coat to evolve into Steelix—an artificially made item that didn't exist in the wild.
Yet, wild Steelix did exist.
Julian's Steelix itself had been caught in a secret realm already in its evolved form, not as an Onix.
In the wild, for an Onix to evolve into Steelix, it had to spend decades—even a century—digging underground, absorbing and refining itself with various hard minerals. Only after accumulating enough of these materials could it finally evolve.
This meant wild Steelix were exceptionally rare and formidable, having endured a grueling, century-long process to strengthen their bodies.
Steelix: 'Damn, so I'm actually that amazing.'
Julian, however, was starting to wonder if he had spoiled his Steelix rotten—it had evolved naturally in the wild, yet ever since it joined him, it had turned into a gluttonous couch potato.
Steelix: 'I have been adopted, so why should I work hard?'
Three more hours passed.
They had now reached a depth of three thousand meters.
At this depth, in any other type of mine, they would have needed to reinforce the tunnel walls to prevent a collapse—otherwise, it would've caved in long ago.
But since this was a diamond vein, its hardness alone prevented any cave-ins. In fact, the deeper they dug, the harder and more stable it became.
The temperature down here had already climbed to over 40°C (104°F). Julian's clothes were completely drenched with sweat, and he'd already gone through three oxygen tanks.
If they dug much deeper and the temperature kept rising, he'd have no choice but to return to the surface.
Depth: 4,500 meters.
"Stop!"
Julian, who had been watching the Dowsing Machine closely, suddenly called out.
Steelix immediately halted its digging.
"We're almost there. Dig carefully now," Julian instructed.
He didn't know exactly what the Ultimate treasure would be—most likely something Steel-, Rock-, or Ground-type. But there was no telling how hard or fragile it might be.
If they dug too forcefully and accidentally damaged it, its effectiveness could easily be cut in half.
About half an hour later, a boulder over half a meter tall, shimmering with a crystalline blue hue, finally appeared in front of Julian.
He immediately used his Probing Eyes to examine it.
[Diamond Core: A rare heart of a diamond vein, found only in the largest deposits. When used by Rock- or Ground-type Pokémon, it enhances their innate potential and increases the power of their Rock/Ground-type moves by 20%. For Pokémon of other types, the effect is halved.]
[Note: A single Pokémon can absorb up to 500 kg (1,100 lbs) of this material.]
"Metagross, take this rock. We're heading back."
Julian recalled Steelix into its Poké Ball.
Metagross used Teleport, instantly transporting Julian and the Diamond Core back to the surface in the blink of an eye.
Once above ground, Julian released Steelix again. The massive serpent stared at the Diamond Core, its instincts screaming that this was something extraordinary.
Since the core could be used by both Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, Julian had several candidates in his team:
- Steelix (Steel/Ground)
- Aggron (Steel/Rock)
- Garchomp (Dragon/Ground)
- Pupitar (Rock/Ground); both its attributes matched perfectly.
Though the Diamond Core didn't look large, it weighed more than 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs). That alone showed just how terrifyingly dense it was.
According to the Probing Eyes, each Pokémon could only absorb up to 500 kg. With four eligible Pokémon, Julian had to exclude one.
Splitting it evenly was out of the question. Doing that would waste the core's potential, and that would be a real pity.
*****
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