About half an hour later, David and the others made their way back to the top of the back mountain.
Nearly a month of intensive training had gone by just like that, and everyone looked a little dazed by how quickly it had passed.
"Alright, listen up. Because of this year's competition format, the qualifying rounds are starting earlier than usual. The match schedule has already been released, and our first match is the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon."
"Everyone's worked hard this past month. Tomorrow, the school's giving you all a day off to rest and get back into shape. The competition itself starts the day after that."
With that, Dominic stood up and left in a hurry, clearly still with plenty to take care of as the competition drew closer.
The team members erupted in cheers at the news of a day off.
Heaven only knew how grueling that month had been for most of them. While David had been free to spend his time on potion-making, the others hadn't had that kind of luxury.
Alongside Dominic, the school had also brought in a coach for doubles battles, another for arena-style matches, and a rotating group of Gym Leader-level Pokémon in the Secret Realm to push the team's training even further.
It had been an exhausting stretch for nearly everyone involved. David, naturally, had barely noticed any of it—being the team's singles ace and the anchor for the arena matches came with its own kind of exemption.
That was simply how things worked for the strong. David's strength had earned him that freedom, and he intended to enjoy it.
Once Dominic had gone, the rest of the group traded a few parting words before heading their separate ways.
After a month of hard work, everyone finally had more than a single day to themselves, and no one wanted to waste a minute of it. They all hurried home.
David and his friends were no different. With the potions still on his mind, David suggested they meet up at their usual spot the following afternoon.
Curious as they were, they let it go once David waved it off as a surprise for later.
Once most people had cleared out, David didn't linger either. He called out Salamence from its Poké Ball and set off for home.
By the time he came to, it was already three in the afternoon.
Inside the Moore family manor, David stretched and yawned, only just waking up as he climbed lazily out of his soft bed.
"Mm~ Now that's what I call a good night's sleep."
He yawned once more, then headed into the bathroom to shower and clean himself up. By the time he stepped back out, he finally felt like himself again.
As much as he'd built himself a place to stay during the training camp, sleeping in a bag on a hard wooden bed was nowhere near as comfortable as his own bed at home. And with all those late nights spent on his experiments, he hadn't been sleeping well at all in the days before.
So the moment he had a day off, he'd let himself sleep in properly—straight through from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon.
The reason he'd come back to the family manor instead of his smaller place near the school was simple: he'd promised Salamence an outdoor barbecue that evening. If Salamence was going to stretch out and really move, the rooftop garden at his other home just wasn't going to cut it.
So home it was.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and a moment later Indeedee stepped into the room, carrying a tray of David's favorite snacks and desserts, along with a cup of coffee he'd asked it to prepare ahead of time.
"Thanks, Indeedee."
At his words, Indeedee gave a small shake of its head and a warm smile, told him to call for it once he'd finished eating, and quietly left the room.
Once he'd tidied himself up, David sat down to the food and coffee Indeedee had brought, feeling thoroughly content.
"Training's finally over. Time to see what I actually walked away with."
Still eating, David pulled up the system interface. This training trip through the Secret Realm had earned him a substantial number of system points, and now he could finally see the full tally.
"Hiss—"
Even having braced himself, the number staring back at him still caught David off guard.
[32,351 points]
He rubbed his eyes, half-convinced he was misreading it, and it took a good while before he was certain: it really was over thirty thousand points. He'd known the haul would be sizable, but he hadn't expected quite this much.
Normally, a voice would announce every point gain after one of his Pokémon won a battle—but with so many battles happening in such a short stretch, he'd switched the notification off on the very first day just to keep it from constantly interrupting him.
Which meant he'd had no idea just how many points he'd been racking up the whole time.
"This really is my lucky spot. I love this Secret Realm."
David's face broke into a wide grin. The back mountain's Secret Realm had turned out to be an incredible find—not only had it let him finish his body-refining potion, but it had also padded his points balance considerably.
Between this new haul of over thirty thousand and the tens of thousands he already had saved up, the day he could finally afford a Legendary Ten-Pull felt within reach.
He couldn't help but feel pleased. Beyond the points themselves, there were also a handful of scattered rewards mixed in, most without any immediate use. After sorting through them, David tucked everything away into the system's storage space.
With such a generous windfall of points, David's mood only kept climbing—so much so that even his appetite noticeably improved.
He made quick work of the food Indeedee had brought, still feeling a little unsatisfied afterward. But with the barbecue waiting for him that evening, he held back from asking for a second helping.
He checked the time—almost 3:30 PM. A barbecue, after all, took some preparing.
David wasted no more time. He scooped up the little fox, still half-asleep on the bedside table, and hurried outside.
Whatever serious matters remained could wait until tomorrow. Today was meant for nothing but rest.