Some time later...
"Tssk..."
Don hissed through clenched teeth, his body wracked with pain that now carried an additional tingling sensation.
As if countless ants were crawling across his battered flesh, making him want to flee the scene.
The aftermath of Marshadow's final strike had settled, restoring the arena to its usual tranquility.
The battlefield now lay empty, showing no traces of the earlier devastation—
All thanks to Porygon-Z's spatial cleanup.
Unsurprisingly, even with Don's full defensive efforts, taking Marshadow's full-powered [Spectral Thief] head-on had left him severely wounded.
But after consuming two of Blissey's [Egg Lay] treatments, no injury could keep him down as long as he still drew breath.
"Happy!"
Blissey nodded solemnly, promptly producing a second [Egg Lay] after seeing Don absorb the first.
One [Egg Lay] could heal half his injuries; two would restore him completely.
Seeing the white egg Blissey offered, Don's eyelid twitched violently.
Though it was meant to heal him, he couldn't muster much enthusiasm for consuming it.
The simultaneous sensations of pain and peculiar tingling were simply too bizarre.
The brain was receiving signals of pain while simultaneously transmitting sensations of comfort.
Ultimately, it came down to Don's severe injuries and the overwhelming effectiveness of Blissey's [Egg Lay].
This was even the result of Marshadow holding back at the critical moment.
Had it not restrained itself, Don wouldn't have died, but his injuries would have been far worse than they were now.
Staring at the white egg before him, Don had no doubt that if this happened a few more times, he might develop a conditioned reflex.
Who knows—he might even awaken some strange new fetish by then?
Don shuddered and stopped his wild train of thought, hastily swallowing the egg to deplete its energy as quickly as possible.
That said, the egg tasted surprisingly good, and its healing effects were downright unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Akira glanced at Don, only to see him continuously sucking in sharp breaths, wearing an expression of pain mingled with pleasure.
Ignoring Don, Akira turned his attention to his own gains.
The rewards for defeating Don were simple: his level's worth of experience points.
The Pokémon eligible to share the experience this time were Tyranitar and Marshadow.
Tyranitar had originally been SS- rank, but after absorbing half of Don's experience, it directly advanced to SS rank.
This was the first S-rank Pokémon in his possession to finally reach SS rank!
Among all his Pokémon, it was also the first to achieve this level through experience alone.
The first to rise from A-rank to S- rank via experience had been Gengar.
Aside from Tyranitar, Marshadow also reaped considerable gains, though its inherent strength was already high, so it didn't reach the next stage.
It remained within the SS-rank tier.
Still, Marshadow's aura had noticeably deepened, marking a significant improvement nonetheless.
Next came the rewards beyond just experience points.
Akira collected his thoughts and turned back to Don, whose healing process was nearing its end.
A few moments later, with a sigh of relief, Don's body fully returned to normal.
Only the streaks of blood staining his black robe served as a reminder of what had just transpired.
Additionally, there was a large hole in the back of the robe, making it seem like the wind could easily whistle through.
Don looked at his damaged clothing with an indifferent expression before casting a glance at Marshadow, who stood beside Akira.
Marshadow, like a child "unaware of worldly matters," took two small steps closer to Akira under Don's gaze.
Akira couldn't help but chuckle, bending down slightly to pat Marshadow's little head as he said with a smile:
"Mmm, you did really well."
As he stroked Marshadow's head, Akira felt as though he were touching a piece of cotton candy—or perhaps a soft, fluffy cloud.
It seemed that with just a little more pressure, he could mold Marshadow's head like clay.
"Ooh."
Marshadow tilted its head slightly, mimicking a thoughtful gesture, its large orange-yellow eyes blinking cutely.
Its gaze brimmed with satisfaction.
Clearly, Marshadow had finally enjoyed a good, hearty fight today.
Hearing Marshadow's words, Akira's expression froze momentarily before he burst into quiet laughter.
Noticing Akira's sudden amusement, Don couldn't help but ask curiously:
"What did the little one just say?"
Suppressing his laughter, Akira forced down the corners of his lips and replied in as calm a tone as possible:
"It said fighting you was really fun and that it hopes to battle you more often in the future."
Don's face instantly fell, his previously calm expression completely collapsing as he spoke with a dark tone, "Then you can tell it that I won't fight it anymore."
After nearly losing his life in just one fight, who would dare to face it multiple times?
Even though Akira provided healing after injuries, who would willingly subject themselves to such beatings for no reason?
Before Akira could relay the message, Marshadow roughly understood Don's meaning and stuck out a mocking tongue at him.
Then it simply leaped into Akira's shadow, creating ripples before vanishing abruptly.
Staring blankly at Akira's shadow, Don couldn't shake the feeling that a pair of yellow eyes were watching him from within.
"Sigh..."
Don sighed deeply before turning to Akira, who merely shrugged without saying anything.
Eager to change the subject, Don spoke up, "Now that the sparring match is over, let's move on to the other conditions."
Akira nodded in agreement, "Let's start with the first one."
Pausing briefly, a faint smile appeared on Akira's face as he continued, "But before that, I want to show you something."
[Show me something...] Don frowned, unsure what Akira intended to reveal.
"This is something you'll definitely need," Akira added cryptically, deepening Don's confusion.
"Oh? You're so certain that what you're about to show me is something I need?"
Hearing this, Don's heart suddenly skipped a beat as he realized he might have overlooked something crucial.
...
Elsewhere in the Digital World,
This area was completely separate from where Akira and Don had sparred earlier.
Standing side by side with Akira, Don stared in disbelief at the astonishing scene before him, rubbing his eyes in shock.
Before him stretched an endless golden sea of wheat.
The heavy rice grains hung like strands of golden pearls, each kernel adorning the rice stalks.
Even without a breeze, Don could smell the incredibly rich aroma of rice.
He was currently very close to the Nitro Rice, but even from a considerable distance, its scent would have been detectable.
It was an extraordinarily potent rice fragrance - the aroma from just one plant rivaled that of an entire wheat field during harvest season.
In fact, it was even more intense.
Because this wasn't just ordinary rice fragrance - it carried an overwhelming concentration of life energy.
So potent was this life energy that even a whiff of its scent instantly refreshed Don's mind.
Surveying the entire field of [Nitro Rice] along with the swampy mud beneath, where he could even see some decaying leaves and branches,
Don fell into deeper silence.
Had they taken the entire ancestral lineage of [Nitro Rice]?!
Not even sparing the roots, they'd taken the swamp mud along with it, leaving nothing behind.
After a long silence, Don finally spoke, his hoarse voice unusually clear:
"I should have realized this earlier..."
Yes, he should have known without needing to see this entire field of [Nitro Rice].
After all, Akira and his group had emerged from the swamp and had direct conflict with the Hellbell Snake.
With Akira's capabilities, how could they not have obtained the [Nitro Rice]?
This also explained the confusion he'd felt earlier.He had been curious before why these "fellow villagers" always gave him such a vibrant, abundantly lively feeling.
At first, he thought it might be due to other reasons, but now it seemed it was because they had recently consumed [Nitro Rice].
The effects were so outstanding that this overflowing life energy would partially linger within their bodies, gradually being digested over time.
It wasn't hard to guess they had obtained [Nitro Rice].
What truly surprised him was how decisively Akira had acted—directly sweeping up every last bit of [Nitro Rice] in one go!
Don's face stiffened as he turned to ask Akira:
"I suppose… there probably isn't a single [Nitro Rice] plant left in the swamp anymore, is there?"
Akira shook his head and chuckled lightly:
"Be more confident. Right now, you won't find even a single grain of [Nitro Rice] in there, let alone an entire plant."
As he spoke, Akira gestured toward the vast field of wheat-like plants before them and declared confidently:
"What you see here is every last bit of [Nitro Rice] from the swamp."
"I can't speak for other places, but at least for the swamp, everything's right here now."
"Though I can't guarantee new [Nitro Rice] won't grow in the swamp again in the future."
Don's forehead twitched with dark lines. He knew Akira was being extremely conservative with his words.
Akira had even taken the mud from the bottom—how could anything new grow after that?
Moreover, in the centuries he had wandered the Dark Continent, he had never seen [Nitro Rice] anywhere else.
In other words, the [Nitro Rice] Akira had here was likely the entirety of it in the entire world.
His eyes flickering with uncertainty, Don finally let out a long sigh, his voice aged and weary:
"...To be able to pull this off, among all humans, only you could do it."
He wasn't exaggerating—his words were entirely fair.
To possess the strength to defeat the Hellbell Snake and carry a large-scale spatial storage at the same time—Don firmly believed that among all humans, only Akira could meet both conditions.
"So… what do you want in exchange?"
After a moment of contemplation, Don asked slowly, as if resigned to his fate.
Originally, he had planned to go into the swamp himself to retrieve some, even if it meant paying a price.
Now that [Nitro Rice] was right in front of him, it at least saved some trouble.
[I just don't know how harsh the conditions for obtaining it will be…] Don lamented silently.
Treasures like [Nitro Rice], capable of extending lifespan and brimming with life energy, were of immense value.
One could say that out of a hundred people, a hundred would desire it.
Even those uninterested in lifespan extension could trade it for wealth beyond their wildest dreams—and so on.
Not to mention, such things were finite—once used, they were gone, with no way to replenish them.
No one would casually hand them over to others.
What Don didn't know was that, if Akira wished, he could mass-produce [Nitro Rice] without issue.
With Shaymin, the Flower Deity, and Landorus, the Harvest Deity, by his side, there was no crop he couldn't cultivate.
Thus, while [Nitro Rice] was precious in value, to Akira, it was nothing special.
What others saw as a limited, peerless treasure was, in Akira's hands, as common as wholesale goods from a roadside stall.
In fact, Akira could easily treat [Nitro Rice] as everyday rice—just like eating ordinary meals.Few would believe this if it were told to them.
Upon hearing this, Akira showed a thoughtful expression before speaking:
"First, let's see what you can offer."
"Plant-type [Hope] and life-extending [Hope] take priority."
Don naturally possessed many valuable items—after all, his centuries of existence weren't for nothing.
Even if some things were hard to obtain, his accumulated wealth was nothing to scoff at.
In the end, Akira set his primary targets on plant-type [Hope] and items that could extend lifespan.
The former, once obtained, would equate to an endless supply of [Hope], making its value inherently immense.
The latter could prolong his own life, an equally crucial choice.
[Nitro Rice] was excellent, but overconsumption had diminishing returns.
He had already consumed a considerable amount, extending his lifespan by a full eight hundred years.
By his estimate, even if he were to treat [Nitro Rice] as a daily staple from now on,
the maximum additional lifespan he could gain would only be a thousand years.
And this was only possible because of Snorlax.
For anyone else, even with an unlimited supply of [Nitro Rice], they'd likely only extend their lifespan by two or three hundred years.
To others, a full thousand years would seem like an enormous boon, but Akira desired even more.
This required other life-extending items.
Akira suspected Don likely carried something with similar effects.
Since he had already consumed multiple doses himself, the benefits would be minimal, so he kept such items on hand.
Hearing Akira's response, Don lowered his gaze, pausing for a few breaths before reaching into his black robe's pocket.
"In that case, I do have something."
Using the same method as before, Don retrieved a spherical object from the beetle's body.
The moment it was revealed, Akira was struck by an intense fragrance, followed by an overwhelming surge of life energy!
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