Two hours of breeding lessons flew by. As everyone took a short break, Austin finally found a moment to check the rewards for his completed mission.
Ding!
Phase Two, "A Place of Our Own," of the Main Mission: "Advance The Breeder House" has been completed.
The moment the one thousandth customer genuinely believed that the Black Crest Jubilife Breeding House was the finest in Jubilife City, the second phase of the mission officially concluded.
The speed of its completion had far exceeded Austin's expectations. He had originally assumed it would take several months.
If he had to divide the credit, nearly half belonged to Cynthia.
Simply watching Austin's videos or hearing about the Breeding House online wasn't enough. Customers had to visit in person before the system recognized them. Otherwise, Austin would have completed the objective long ago.
His PokéStream account had already surpassed 140,000 followers. Attracting one thousand people online wasn't difficult.
What made the difference was Cynthia's autograph event at the Breeding House. Many attendees returned later as paying customers, causing the mission progress to surge.
Then came the viral video.
After the footage of wild Pokémon seemingly rallying to defend the Breeding House spread across PokéStream, countless curious Trainers traveled to Jubilife City to see the place for themselves. Quite a few ended up becoming loyal customers.
The progress bar skyrocketed.
A goal Austin had estimated would require at least a year had been completed in barely two months.
He opened the reward panel.
Mission Rewards:
• Employee Management System
• Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish (A-Class)
• Pokémon Item Lottery Ticket ×3
Phase Three Mission: Loyal Customers
Objective: Have customers genuinely believe that the Black Crest Jubilife Breeding House is the greatest in the world.
Progress: (1/10)
Rewards:
• Random Item ×1
• Random Specialty Dish ×1
• Pokémon Item Lottery Ticket ×5
Austin blinked.
The best in Jubilife? No... the best in the entire world?
That objective was on an entirely different level.
If Professor Oak's famous ranch counted as a Breeding House, then this mission was practically nightmare difficulty.
What surprised him even more was the progress.
(1/10)
Someone already believed the Black Crest was the greatest in the world.
Austin scratched his head.
"Whoever you are... thanks for the vote of confidence."
He shifted his attention to the newly unlocked recipe.
Phoenix Rose Salmon Sashimi Platter (A-Class)
A whole premium salmon is prepared using a classical Sinnohan-Kalosian fusion technique. The fish is first deboned without a single tear to the flesh, then sliced into ultra-thin, uniform sashimi cuts that are arranged in a layered rose pattern. Each slice must maintain identical thickness and translucency to preserve texture and presentation.
The finishing step involves precise scoring on select slices to enhance marinade absorption without breaking structural integrity.
Effect: Grants the Lucky Buff for 24 hours after consumption.
(Tap to view complete slicing tutorial.)
Production Limit: Once every three months (0/1)
Austin raised an eyebrow.
Only one every three months?
That alone told him how powerful the Lucky Buff must be.
Of course, he could still prepare the dish normally whenever he wanted.
It simply wouldn't possess the special buff.
Although his cooking skills had reached the point where he could reliably prepare B-Class dishes, A-Class recipes remained inconsistent.
They depended on both technique and inspiration.
Fortunately, Phoenix Rose Salmon Sashimi Platter heavily emphasized knife work.
Knife skills happened to be Austin's greatest strength.
There was at least a chance he could successfully recreate it.
During the past few weeks, he had repeatedly attempted the A-Class dishes Sakana no Nitsuke and Pecha Crisp.
Every attempt had been perfectly edible.
They just lacked the magical effects.
Looks like I have another challenge.
Austin skipped over the three Pokémon Item Lottery Tickets for now and opened the final reward.
Employee Management System
A transparent interface appeared before him.
Every employee at the Black Crest Jubilife Breeding House was listed alphabetically
Austin immediately selected Dai Yui.
Name: Dai Yui
Age: 28
Position: Breeder, Head of Security
Loyalty: 100
Skills:
• Close Combat (Master)
• Intimidation (Master)
• Strength Training (Master)
• Pokémon Breeding (Intermediate)
• Management (Intermediate)
Note: Only work-related skills are displayed. Skills without the "Maximum Potential Reached" tag can still improve.
Austin stared for several seconds.
Three Master-level skills...
As expected of a three-time Pokémon World Martial Arts Tournament Champion.
Compared to Dai Yui, Austin's own Intermediate Close Combat looked almost embarrassing.
The Employee Management System was far more valuable than he'd imagined.
It didn't simply display employee information.
It revealed their potential, highlighted their strengths, and even showed their loyalty.
The loyalty feature alone was unbelievable.
Next, he selected his father.
Name: Leon Black
Age: 46
Position: Owner
Loyalty: 100
Skills:
• Bluffing (Master)
• Cooking (Senior)
• Pokémon Breeding (Senior)
Austin blinked twice.
His father still had room to improve in cooking and breeding, since neither skill had the Maximum Potential Reached label.
That wasn't what caught his attention.
He stared at the first entry.
Bluffing (Master).
"..."
Austin slowly looked across the room at his father.
To be fair...
Leon did spend most of his day encouraging everyone with impossible promises and exaggerated optimism.
Still.
A Master-level skill in Bluffing?
Austin couldn't help laughing.
Dad... the system actually certified you as a professional.
The most amusing profile belonged to Austin's mother, Amanda.
Her panel looked almost identical to Leon's, except for one additional skill.
Name: Amanda Black
Age: 46
Position: Co-owner
Loyalty: 100
Skills:
• Bluffing (Senior)
• Management (Senior)
• Cooking (Senior)
• Pokémon Breeding (Senior)
Austin stared at the screen for a long moment.
"..."
So he had been raised on expertly crafted white lies his entire life?
He couldn't help chuckling.
"As expected of a married couple."
Next, he opened his uncle's profile.
Name: Hanson Black
Age: 50
Position: Pokémon Styling Designer
Loyalty: 100
Skills:
• Design (Master)
• Painting (Master)
• Aesthetics (Master)
• Photography (Master)
• Fishing (Intermediate)
Austin's eyebrows shot up.
Four Master-level skills.
His uncle truly deserved his reputation as one of the region's premier Pokémon stylists.
Even more impressive, none of his skills carried the Maximum Potential Reached tag.
There was still room for improvement.
Austin remembered how much Hanson loved carrying a camera everywhere. Looking back, every photograph his uncle took looked like something straight out of a professional magazine.
He moved on to the next profile.
Name: Mizuki Hano
Age: 25
Position: Breeder
Loyalty: 99
Skills:
• Management (Senior)
• Pokémon Medicine (Intermediate)
• Pokémon Breeding (Intermediate)
Austin wasn't surprised.
Mizuki had always displayed excellent organizational skills around the Breeding House, so seeing Management(Senior) felt completely natural.
Her medical knowledge also made sense.
She had spent months studying under Nurse Joy.
Next came Daniella.
Name: Daniella Clearstone
Age: 21
Position: Receptionist
Loyalty: 98
Skills:
• Affinity (Master)
• Communication (Senior)
• Bluffing (Intermediate)
• Graceful Command (Beginner)
Austin smiled.
No wonder customers adored talking to Danny.
A Master-level Affinity combined with Senior Communication skills practically guaranteed everyone felt welcome the moment they walked through the doors.
He also noticed another familiar family trait.
Bluffing... Intermediate.
Looks like Mom and Dad are rubbing off on everyone.
Finally, he checked Shion's profile.
Name: Shion Bloom
Age: 12
Position: Trainee
Loyalty: 100
Skills: None
Austin wasn't disappointed.
Shion was only twelve years old.
She was still growing, learning, and discovering what she enjoyed.
There was plenty of time for her talents to blossom.
After browsing everyone else's profiles, Austin finally opened his own.
Name: Austin Black
Age: 19
Position: Breeder
Skills:
• Center of Attention (Master)
• Energy Block Crafting (Elite)
• Pokémon Breeding (Senior)
• Cooking (Senior)
• Fishing (Intermediate)
• Ancient Language (Intermediate)
• Close Combat (Intermediate)
• Affinity (Intermediate)
• Identification Eye (Intermediate)
Thanks to the system's rewards over the past several months, Austin possessed more listed skills than anyone else at theBreeding House.
The panel was nearly identical to the one he usually viewed through the system, except it omitted the detailed proficiency percentages.
At present, he had three A-Class recipes.
Without much hesitation, Austin decided his next challenge would be the Phoenix Rose Salmon Sashimi Platter.
There were two reasons.
First, the dish demanded exceptional knife skills, and knife work happened to be his strongest culinary talent. That gave him the highest chance of successfully recreating the recipe's special effects.
Second...
He was incredibly curious about the Lucky Buff.
Just how lucky could twenty-four hours of enhanced fortune really make someone?
Over the past two weeks, Austin had also uploaded two new cooking videos to PokéStream.
One featured Oil-Braised Prawns.
The other showcased Garlic Crab.
There wasn't any profound reason behind choosing those recipes.
Quite simply...
He had been craving seafood.
Still, before stepping into the kitchen, there was one more thing waiting for him.
Three Pokémon Item Lottery Tickets.
Austin rubbed his hands together with an eager grin.
"Let's see what kind of luck I've got today."
. . .
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