The three of them chatted for a while longer before Simon and the others finally arrived together.
As they walked up, Lucas shot Auron a helpless look. "Master, are all women this much trouble?"
When Simon said he was going to find Lena to come along with them — why had he ended up tagging along?
They'd gotten up bright and early, only to end up waiting for what felt like forever.
Auron startled, then immediately put on his most righteous tone. "What are you talking about? How could girls possibly be troublesome?"
Are you insane?! Saying that out loud is basically asking to die!
Serena's face lit up with a delighted smile as she looked at Auron.
Jace and Tim, however, gave Auron a pair of very skeptical looks. This guy had definitely not been saying that a few minutes ago.
Unable to hold up under Jace and Tim's stares, Auron quickly redirected everyone. "Let's just get in the car."
He climbed in, bringing along Mini Dragon, who was still fighting off sleep.
"Oh right." Auron leaned out the car window and called up to the sky. "Deoxys, do you want to head back into your Poké Ball first?"
Everyone paused, then collectively tilted their heads back to look up at what should have been empty sky.
Then — there it was — Deoxys gradually materialized out of thin air. The entity gave Auron a small shake of its head, then vanished once more.
The group watched the display in complete bewilderment.
"Get in the car already."
Under Auron's urging, they didn't press the question further and climbed aboard one by one.
Once everyone was settled, Tim couldn't contain his curiosity. "If he's been following alongside the car this whole time, won't he get tired?"
Auron just shook his head with a grin. "Don't worry — he knows what he's doing."
That was enough to satisfy them, and they didn't ask more.
Jace fired up the engine, and they set off toward Jinshi.
At first, the car was lively — everyone chatting and laughing — but the moment they hit the highway, the only person still awake was Jace, who was driving.
By the time they'd all woken up from their nap, Jace was already preparing to exit the highway.
"Where are we?"
Jace glanced over at the groggy Tim in the passenger seat, a little sulky. "Right on schedule, the lot of you. The second we're off the highway, you all just happen to wake up."
Tim gave an sheepish grin. "What can I say — the environment's doing it to you. Hard not to go with the flow."
"Clear your heads. The Black Mystery Zone's just a short ways past the highway exit — we'll be there soon."
Jace shot Tim a flat look. They'd agreed to split the driving duty evenly, and Tim had actually fallen asleep halfway through.
"Okay, okay — I'll drive on the way back, I'll drive."
"Hah! If you'd just said that from the start…"
Jace brightened right up, then turned to the people in the back. "Hey, when are you guys planning to get your licenses?"
Auron stretched out in his seat, waving a hand lazily at Jace. "No need. I've got you."
Lucas gave adumbo grin. "Same here."
Simon: +1
"Jeez, don't all of you go copying Auron Vale! This guy's nothing but a freeloader!"
"Haha~"
Laughter filled the car, and before they knew it, they'd arrived at the entrance to the Black Mystery Zone.
After Jace parked in the outside lot, the group made their way in together.
"Anyone need a team?! Me! I've got experience — my leads are super steady!"
"Dragon fang! Anyone need one?!"
"Tons of berries!"
"Buying items dropped by Mystery Zone Pokémon!"
"Attribute Gems!"
The moment Auron and company stepped into the Black Mystery Zone's designated area, they were assaulted by a wall of vendors' cries and calls.
"Uh… this doesn't look quite like the other Mystery Zones we've been to."
Jace watched a middle-aged, solidly-built man hollering about how experienced he was with the Black Mystery Zone and how steady his leads were.
Auron didn't bother responding to Jace — he'd already been drawn over to a nearby berry stand.
"Hey boss, how are these priced?"
"Five hundred each, take the lot."
The vendor chewed on a cigarette, giving Auron a slow, measuring look before drawling out his answer.
"Five hundred?! For one?! What kind of highway robbery is this?!"
Lucas grabbed an Oran Berry off the display and rounded on the vendor, incensed.
"Robbery?"
The vendor blew smoke right into Lucas's face and grinned. "This here moves a lot faster than robbery, kid."
"You little—"
Auron pulled Lucas back and plucked the Oran Berry from his hand, setting it back on the stand. Then he turned to the vendor. "Give us a real price. We're students, not idiots."
The vendor gave Auron a sideways look. "You actually buying?"
"Yeah."
Hearing Auron's firm reply, the vendor leaned back in his chair. "Fine. Three hundred each. Take 'em all. I've got a dungeon to run."
"Dungeon?"
Lucas blinked. Where had that come from?
"Hah!"
The vendor snorted. "First time? We call it a dungeon — it's what we use for the Black Mystery Zone. It's basically just one big game dungeon on the inside."
"Listen, boss—"
"Don't waste my time. You buying or not? Cash talks, friend."
Lucas tried to ask another question, but the vendor cut him off impatiently.
"We're buying. Count them up."
Auron stopped Lucas from pressing further and gestured for the vendor to tally things up.
"Oh, a promising one, huh. Five hundred and twelve berries — call it five hundred even."
"Alright, thanks."
Auron flashed a perfunctory smile and transferred the payment.
The vendor heard the notification chime and, still chewing his cigarette, turned to Auron with the tone of someone dispensing hard-won wisdom. "Since you were so quick about it, I'll give you a tip — the official booth right at the Black Mystery Zone entrance has maps and intel. Best to check in there first."
"Good advice, thanks."
Auron smiled, then swept all the berries into his bag.
"No worries. Good luck out there."
The vendor watched Auron finish packing up, waved them off, and headed out with his stand.
"Master, those are just regular berries up there — three hundred each, you'd be better off buying at a shop. At least those have quality assurance."
Auron smiled at Lucas and reached into his bag, pulling out a green fruit shaped like a star fruit.
"See this? It's worth approximately a Silver Crown."
"WTF!"
Lucas let out a sharp cry. Instantly, Auron felt dozens of gazes swing their way.
"What's wrong?"
The rest of the group, still in the middle of their own shopping, all dropped what they were doing and looked over.
Seeing Lucas had drawn a whole crowd's attention, Auron quickly explained. "Nothing nothing — I just stepped on his foot."
"No need to yell that loud! You want everyone staring?!"
Once the onlookers had all lost interest and turned away, Auron leaned in close to Lucas's ear.
"Master… this really equals a Silver Crown?"
Auron gave a small nod. "Once it's processed into an Energy Cube, it's only slightly less potent than a Gold Crown."
"Gold… Crown!"
Auron ignored Lucas, who had completely frozen in shock, and kept walking forward.
The area had developed into a full-on bazaar — not only did it have all kinds of Black Mystery Zone goods for sale, but there were also food stalls, shops selling daily-use items, and Auron even spotted a shop that dealt in information.
(End of Chapter)