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After processing all the resources, David and his Pokémon said goodbye to Ursaring and made their way back to their temporary camp.
Once they had organized and stored the various supplies they'd brought back, David sat down, lost in thought.
It was already the third day of the assessment, and David had accumulated nearly 3,000 points. At this stage, it seemed impossible for any other examinee to match his score.
Since first place was firmly secured for now, it was time to focus on completing the system's mission.
According to the system's requirements, David needed to eliminate as many students as possible from the schools that had formed an alliance against First High to earn better rewards.
David contemplated strategies to eliminate more target participants. Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, the fifth day of the assessment had arrived.
The morning sun had just risen over the horizon, and a hint of coolness lingered in the air.
At the temporary camp, David worked alongside his Pokémon, packing up the supplies they would take with them.
With only two or three days remaining, he didn't plan to stay in this location any longer. They had nearly exhausted all the valuable resources in the surrounding area.
It was time to venture deeper into the mountain range.
He glanced at the wristband on his arm. His points had already surpassed 7,000.
On the system panel, visible only to him, the elimination count had reached 74.
The corners of David's mouth curved into a slight smile.
His efforts over the past few days hadn't been wasted.
Perhaps inspired by his previous success with Ursaring, David had developed an effective strategy after that initial victory.
Over the past few days, with the goal of eliminating as many targets as possible, David had been led by the enthusiastic Ursaring to locate the territories of various regional leaders in the surrounding areas.
This included powerful Pokémon such as Pidgeot, Floatzel, Nidoking, Golem, and others.
After a series of "friendly, harmonious, and amicable" exchanges between the two sides, the forest leaders in the areas surrounding Ursaring's jungle all agreed with enthusiasm to provide David their full assistance.
Then, with what could only be described as tears in their eyes, they politely escorted David out—though not before he had thoroughly searched their territories for resources.
Following their full cooperation, many Pokémon in the vicinity were mobilized. Any trace of human presence would be immediately reported once discovered.
Through this method, David and his Pokémon had eliminated at least one hundred people in less than three days.
Don't underestimate one hundred eliminations. It might not sound impressive at first, but consider that in such a vast mountain range, the total number of assessment participants was only five or six thousand.
A significant portion of them were still operating on the outskirts of the mountain range.
David alone had eliminated nearly three percent of all participants.
However, this strategy could probably only be employed by David. The strength of these regional leaders was at least at the Superior level. To defeat—or rather, to persuade—so many powerful Pokémon at once was something only David among this year's new Trainers could accomplish.
Additionally, he could communicate with them using his Aura abilities. If it were anyone else who had merely managed to defeat these Pokémon, commanding them would prove extremely difficult.
At this point, a rumor had begun circulating among the remaining participants.
Word spread that among their group, First High had produced an absolute monster who had personally eliminated several hundred people.
What made it worse was that he specifically targeted students from first-class schools.
Even more terrifying was the fact that most victims had never even seen him in person. He would simply send out a single Pokémon to defeat them with ease.
This development significantly reduced the number of people willing to venture deeper into the mountain range from this direction.
Many participants preferred to spend an extra half-day taking a detour rather than risk passing through David's territory.
To maximize efficiency, David had his three Pokémon each patrol a designated area. As soon as a target was located, they would defeat them and bring them back so David could collect their points.
These challengers were no match for his Pokémon anyway. Furthermore, with Kirlia having evolved, even if unexpected situations arose, it could quickly provide support through Teleport.
The evolved Kirlia had not only greatly improved its precision when using Teleport.
Both the distance it could travel and the frequency with which it could use the move had improved dramatically compared to before its evolution.
Now, when Kirlia used Teleport by itself, its maximum range exceeded one kilometer.
Although it still couldn't effortlessly cross hundreds of kilometers like its mother could, for a Pokémon at the ordinary to veteran level, this was already quite impressive.
Thanks to the efforts of his Pokémon working in three separate groups, David had achieved such remarkable results in just two or three days.
Of course, David wasn't some merciless villain who eliminated everyone he encountered. As long as participants weren't among his designated targets, David generally just took their points and let them go.
Except for a few exceptionally unlucky individuals who happened to be eliminated alongside a target participant.
Most others were released after having thirty percent of their points taken.
After all, David wasn't heartless. However, if they happened to cross paths again deeper in the mountain range, he couldn't be held responsible for what happened next.
David's approach truly embodied the principle of sustainable resource management.
If he encountered the same people again deeper in the mountains, he could collect another batch of points. Thinking about this possibility made David smile to himself.
"Kirlia, let's go!"
After finishing their preparations, David recalled his Vulpix and Riolu to their Poké Balls, then turned to Kirlia.
"Kirlia! (Let's go, David! I'll definitely protect you!)"
The newly evolved and significantly stronger Kirlia responded with absolute confidence.
"All right, I trust you completely. You'll handle all the battles we encounter along the way. It's a good opportunity to adapt to outdoor combat. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't give you any commands!"
David planned to continue developing his Pokémon's ability to battle independently in outdoor environments.
He decided to have them take turns remaining outside their Poké Balls, and first in line was naturally Kirlia, who hadn't yet fully adjusted to its dramatically increased power.
"Kirlia!"
Kirlia's firm voice conveyed its determination to David.
Looking up at the sun, which had now fully risen above the horizon, David and his Pokémon set off on the path that led deeper into the mountain range.