Just then, Braveon, Blaze, and Liora walked over.
Blaze wore a bright grin as he asked Aaron,
"So, Aaron... did your Pokémon master an Apotheosis-level skill?"
The moment Aaron saw that expression, he knew Blaze's Pokémon had definitely mastered one.
Aaron rolled his eyes at him and said slowly,
"Judging by that smug grin on your face, your Pokémon mastered one too, right?"
Blaze burst out laughing.
"Hahaha... I can't believe you saw right through me. I thought I was hiding it well!"
Aaron, Braveon, and Liora all gave the shameless Blaze a huge eye roll.
He practically had the words My Pokémon Comprehended an Apotheosis-level Skill written across his face.
What was he even trying to hide?
"Braveon, Liora, what about you two?"
Aaron looked at them and asked.
"Just a small gain..."
Braveon replied modestly with a smile.
"My Fivey mastered an Apotheosis-level Dark Pulse."
Liora said shyly, her cheeks slightly red, though the joy in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Fivey was the five-headed black dragon whose Primordial Lineage had awakened.
"What about you, Aaron?"
"Quit acting shy and just tell us whether you got one or not!"
Blaze urged from the side.
"My Pokémon mastered one too."
Aaron shot Blaze another glance and answered helplessly.
"Ah... what a pity... Pfft, I mean, that's great."
Blaze said with an exaggerated look of regret.
"We're really lucky. All four of our Pokémon mastered Apotheosis-level skills."
Braveon said happily.
"Yeah... before this, Apotheosis-level skills felt impossibly far away. I never thought my own Pokémon would actually have one. It still feels unreal."
Blaze said emotionally.
"This is fate."
Aaron said with a faint smile.
The sudden appearance of the Insight Secret Zone truly was a huge opportunity.
And they were the ones who benefited from it.
Braveon and the others nodded in agreement.
"Let's go. It's time to head out."
Aaron spoke to the group and turned to leave.
"Aaron..."
At that moment, a voice called out from behind him.
Aaron paused slightly and turned around.
A young woman with curly blonde hair walked toward him.
"Hello..."
"You are...? Did you call me for something?"
Aaron asked in confusion.
The blonde-haired girl frowned and said coldly,
"You don't recognize me?"
Aaron chuckled lightly.
"Do I have to?"
A cold glint flashed through the girl's eyes as she stared at Aaron and said word by word,
"My name is Selena... I'm second place in this year's exam!"
Aaron immediately remembered. There really had been someone like that.
"I see... so why did you stop me?"
Seeing that Aaron clearly didn't take her seriously, Selena's anger flared even more.
"I want a Pokémon battle with you!"
Selena had long held hostility toward Aaron, the top scorer of the exam.
Her academic score wasn't much worse than Aaron's. The real gap came in the Combat Exam. Even now, she still refused to believe Aaron's Combat Exam score had exceeded 100,000 points.
Deep down, she simply could not accept that someone else could be stronger than her.
Now, after gaining another Apotheosis-level skill in the Insight Secret Zone, her confidence had soared.
That was why she came to challenge Aaron and expose what she believed was Aaron's cheating lie.
Aaron laughed.
You ask for a battle and I have to agree?
Do I have no pride?
He was just about to refuse outright when a voice rang out in his mind.
"Ding~ Congratulations, you triggered a quest: Teach Selena a Lesson."
"This fool refuses to accept your status as the top scorer of the exam. She wants to challenge your throne and take your place. Shameless. She ought to take a good look at herself first. How dare she provoke the King of Show-offs? Accept Selena's challenge and crush her in public to complete the mission."
"Mission Reward: Held Item, Fire Pearl x1. Pokémon Candy (Elite) x1..."
The System's furious voice echoed in his mind, clearly enraged that Selena dared challenge him.
The sudden mission forced Aaron to swallow the refusal he was about to say.
Instead, he immediately replied,
"Good... I admire classmates with the courage to challenge others!"
A smile appeared on Aaron's face as he looked at Selena.
"The secret zone is about to close. If you two want to battle, do it after we get outside first."
Blaze said from the side.
Naturally, no one objected, and they all left the Insight Secret Zone together.
...
Outside the Insight Secret Zone
Drake and the other trainers had already been waiting there for quite some time. When they saw Aaron and the others come out, they quietly let out sighs of relief.
Brutus saw Aaron emerge and smiled as he walked over.
Using his one hand, he patted Aaron on the shoulder and said in a rough voice,
"You little brat... how was it? Nothing happened in there, right?"
"How were the gains?"
Aaron could feel Brutus's concern and was a little touched.
He grinned and replied,
"Hehe... Brutus, you know my strength, right? Don't worry."
"I gained a little."
He said mysteriously.
"You little punk, don't get too full of yourself. Danger appears the moment you grow careless."
Brutus slapped his shoulder hard and spoke sternly.
Seeing the seriousness in Brutus's eyes, Aaron dropped his smile and answered seriously,
"I understand, Brutus!"
"Good."
Brutus smiled again, a trace of satisfaction flashing through his eyes.
"Aaron... come on. Let Champion Brutus witness it. I'm challenging your Pokémon to battle!"
At that moment, Selena saw how close Aaron was with a Champion-level powerhouse, which only strengthened her suspicion that Aaron had cheated through connections.
She immediately stepped forward and spoke coldly.
"As you wish."
Aaron's lips curled into a faint smile as he answered calmly.