Chapter 2: Raw Ore of the Tera Orb

Luo Mu didn't despise his cheat, but wasn't it arriving a bit too late?

Even a donkey from the production team would shake its head at this.

While Luo Mu was silently roasting it in his heart, the Special Prompt System seemed to encounter something unexpected; it crashed for a moment before a line of text slowly appeared.

【According to detection, although the host's strength is the weakest among Champions... you are indeed a bona fide Champion Trainer. Did this system arrive too late?】

"What do you mean 'weakest'? Apologize to me right now, kora!"

Luo Mu skillfully clicked his tongue to roast back; although he had self-awareness regarding his true strength—Champion Geeta hadn't actually gone all out when battling him either.

But being roasted by this system that claimed to be late still made him feel a bit upset.

However, during the time Luo Mu was inspecting his territory, the cheat seemed to crash again, occasionally displaying characters like "Self-checking."

Luo Mu ignored it; based on years of experience surfing the internet, he probably couldn't get rid of this cheat anyway, so he might as well do something proper.

Just as he finished touring this undeveloped land, pondering where to build what structures and where to designate grazing areas, the Prompt System popped up again.

【Binding complete... Although the host has achieved the goal of becoming a Champion, there is still ample room for growth in strength. How about we travel to other regions!】

"What you said is good, but I must refuse." Luo Mu firmly rejected the goofy text dancing before his eyes as if afraid he wouldn't see it.

【.........】

Seeing the system fall silent, Luo Mu realized this fellow was more like an emotional chat partner compared to the mechanical prompt systems in the novels he read before transmigrating.

But judging by its frantic attempts to grab his attention, Luo Mu could guess with his toes that this system lacked the ability or authority to issue mandatory commands.

Apart from that Prompt function whose effect was unknown, all it could probably do was perform crosstalk with him.

Still, that was fine; if some nonsense mandatory mission appeared, his free soul would rather choose to die right here... it was just that he couldn't bear to leave the Pokémon that had accompanied him all this way.

After all, he had finally escaped a life of 996, working overtime until spitting blood, and having New Year's Eve adjusted as a workday—a life like a beast of burden; now he was just an ordinary farmer wanting to live a peaceful and leisurely life.

"... Whether in the land, in the clouds~, or in that child's skirt~"

Humming a familiar song, Luo Mu, like a retired old grandpa, strolled to the only two-story building standing on this vast plot of land he had purchased.

This was a three-story Western-style house that looked somewhat aged; Luo Mu remembered the mayor of Flat Disk Town saying that an elderly couple with no children, who had relied on each other for survival, used to live here.

But a few years ago, after the two elders passed away one after another, this land and house belonging to them were left abandoned.

The reason Luo Mu was able to buy such a large plot of land, which although abandoned was full of potential.

It was also because a clause in the will left by the elderly couple stated that after their death, this land would be donated free of charge to Flat Disk Town; if Flat Disk Town chose to sell the land, the proceeds should be used to develop the small town.

Truly two people filled with kindness in every sense.

Walking into the Western-style house and touring each floor, Luo Mu gained a thorough understanding of this three-story house left behind by the elderly couple.

Counting only the footprint of the house itself, it was approximately close to two hundred square meters.

It had all the necessary rooms, and the third floor even had a balcony for planting flowers and basking in the sun; although it was a bit old, this was indeed Luo Mu's dream house.

As long as a thorough cleaning was done to clear away the dust from the old furniture, it would be ready for occupancy.

"However, some things truly cannot be used anymore... they need to be cleared out."

Luo Mu planned to clean up first, then go to town to buy some bedding, and move in tonight.

Apart from the necessary expenses for raising Pokémon, most of the money he had saved by pinching pennies this year was spent on purchasing the land; as for the inn where he was temporarily staying, he might as well check out, since there would surely be many places needing money later.

Thinking that some heavy items inside the house might be too much for him to move alone, Luo Mu took a Poké Ball from his waist, a smile curling the corners of his mouth as he pressed the release button.

Red light flashed, and a Swampert, more muscular than its ordinary kin and with eyes seeming to hold a fierce intent, appeared before Luo Mu.

This Swampert, which looked capable of shaking the earth with one punch and could make a little girl cry from a hammer blow, had its fierce expression visibly soften the instant it made eye contact with Luo Mu's smiling gaze.

"Swampert, trouble you to help me move these things outside to bask in the sun." Luo Mu smiled and pointed at the furniture behind him, which was covered in dust and smelled musty due to years of neglect.

Among them were tables, chairs, a sofa, and some sealed cardboard boxes whose contents were unknown.

Swampert nodded slightly, its pair of muscular arms that instantly inspired a sense of security easily lifting the sofa marked by the passage of time, and walked straight out of the room.

"Heave-ho!" At the same time, Luo Mu rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the pile of sealed cardboard boxes, planning to take advantage of the fine weather to move them into the sunlight and see what was inside.

If they were items related to those two elderly couples and worth commemorating, he would send them to their grave.

If they were other items, he would sort them to see if anything would be useful for constructing the grazing or farming areas of the farm ahead, thereby saving some money by utilizing them.

After all, the money remaining on his person after buying this land was not much, so he had to budget carefully.

【In the third cardboard box from the left directly in front of your right hand, there is a miraculous crystal stone; it has a significant effect on improving your strength.】

Luo Mu's motion of lifting the cardboard box halted; he raised an eyebrow and looked at the box mentioned in the prompt, said nothing, walked over to squat in front of the indicated box, and a look of obvious curiosity appeared on his face.

A good item to improve strength?

It seemed this system showed no sign of giving up at all, apparently preparing to use an indirect method to improve his strength.

Out of a desire to test just how accurate its Prompt ability was, Luo Mu still chose to use the small express knife in his hand to cut the seal on the cardboard box and began rummaging inside.

It wasn't long before Luo Mu saw the true form of the "miraculous crystal stone" mentioned in the prompt.

The outer layer of this object was wrapped in a bright blue crystal shell that still sparkled even when covered in dust, but the crystal shell was not the point; the point was the gray-black "raw ore" wrapped inside the crystal shell.

"Could it actually be this thing?"

Luo Mu sighed in amazement; he had considered many possibilities for what the Prompt System called an item capable of improving strength, but the one thing he never expected was the necessary tool for Terastallization unique to the Paldea region—

The raw ore of a Tera Orb.