At the same time, outside the Hidden Dragon Tower, time kept passing.
Five minutes became ten. Ten became twenty.
And somehow, Aaron still had not come out from the ninth floor.
At first, everyone had assumed he would reach that floor, get one look at whatever was waiting there, and be blasted back out almost immediately. But the seconds kept ticking by, and his name remained exactly where it was.
The crowd outside the tower finally began to lose its composure. People stared at the stele, hearts pounding, afraid to blink in case they missed a change.
Eventually, someone swallowed hard and asked the question everyone had been trying not to say.
"Do you think Aaron might actually be fighting the ninth-floor opponent right now?"
His voice dropped even lower.
"Or maybe even holding his own?"
The people nearby went quiet.
At this point, no one dared make confident predictions anymore. Aaron had already made too many people eat their words, and nobody wanted to set themselves up to be embarrassed again.
But among the wealthy heirs, someone immediately laughed.
"Come on, stop dreaming. He's probably getting beaten half to death up there and running in circles just to stall for time."
The speaker was a young man from the Lin family, one of the Ten Champion Families. Everyone around him called him Mr. Lin.
He gave the stele a dismissive look and continued, "That way, when he comes out, he can say he was only one step away from clearing the ninth floor. Sounds impressive, doesn't it?"
The other rich kids immediately joined in, laughing and jeering.
"Hahaha, Mr. Lin has a point. Aaron's got some strength, sure, but not that much."
"He does have plenty of ideas, though. I'll give him that. He really knows how to make himself look impressive."
"Hahaha, Mr. Lin, your family is one of the Ten Champion Families, right? Why not take Aaron in as your guard dog—sorry, sorry, I mean as a guest Trainer?"
"Wait a second. Isn't Aaron's registered family name Lin too? Maybe he really is related to Mr. Lin."
"Mr. Lin, come on. Be honest with us. Is Aaron one of yours?"
"Holy shit. If Aaron really is from the Lin family, doesn't that mean the Lin family is about to rise even higher?"
"Tell us, Mr. Lin. Is he part of your family or not?"
They had started by mocking Aaron, but the moment someone mentioned the shared surname, their eyes lit up with gossip.
Mr. Lin's mouth twitched.
Inside, he was already cursing.
Damn it. If Aaron were from my family, would I be standing here mocking him?
If he really were one of ours, the people at the top would already be rushing to bring him back. Someone like me wouldn't even be part of the conversation.
Outwardly, Mr. Lin forced a faint smile.
"Don't spread nonsense. The Lin family has no such person. That much, I do know."
The others immediately looked disappointed.
If Aaron had been born into the upper class, they would have felt much better about it. A wealthy heir rising above everyone else was something they could accept.
But if Aaron truly came from an ordinary background, if he had climbed over their heads, trampled over the pride of wealthy families, reached the ninth floor, and overwhelmed every so-called genius in Crown City, then that was something they absolutely could not stomach.
A sarcastic voice suddenly rang out from the side of the ordinary students.
"You spoiled rich kids really do talk big. If you hadn't been born into the right families, most of you would be nothing."
The words immediately stirred the others around him.
"Exactly. You grew up with everything handed to you. Some of you had pseudo-legendary Pokémon prepared before you even chose your first partner. What did we have? Most of us could only afford ordinary Pokémon like Pidgey."
"And we still made it to Crown City. We fought our way here ourselves."
"That's right. We may not have famous family names, but we have our own hands. We can work. We can fight. We can climb."
"We've been waiting for someone like this. A real genius from an ordinary background. Someone who can prove we weren't born just to stay under their feet."
"And now he's here. Aaron is our hope."
The ordinary students looked at the stele with burning eyes.
They hated the arrogance of the wealthy heirs, but beneath that hatred was envy too. They knew better than anyone how hard the road ahead was.
Most of Hualis's resources were controlled by the government, powerful families, and major corporations. If students from ordinary backgrounds wanted more support, better training, and stronger Pokémon, they usually had no choice but to attach themselves to one of those powers.
That was why many of them chose the League's public service track after graduation instead.
At least there, they could keep their dignity. If they performed well enough in League assignments, ranger work, disaster response, or frontier defense, they still had a chance to be noticed and rise by their own merit.
But inside wealthy families and corporate groups, they were often treated as tools. If the people above them were in a good mood, they might receive a little funding or a few training resources. If not, insults and humiliation were common, and a promising Trainer could be buried so thoroughly that no one outside ever heard about it.
That was why these students hated the rich heirs so much.
But now things were different.
At long last, a true genius had appeared from among them. A monster. A peerless talent.
They looked at Aaron's name at the top of the Hidden Dragon Rankings, their eyes full of excitement.
If someone like him led the way, perhaps students from ordinary backgrounds really could rise. Perhaps they could finally carve out a place of their own in Hualis.
No more humiliation.
No more being stepped on.
All they wanted was the respect they deserved.
When the wealthy heirs heard the ordinary students talk back, their faces darkened at once.
"Don't think one Aaron means people like you suddenly matter," one of them snapped. "Status is decided at birth. That's reality."
"Even if Aaron clears the ninth floor today, he'll still be nothing more than a common mutt from a poor family."
"Hahaha, exactly. And he has no chance of clearing it anyway."
"People like you will spend your whole lives in our shadow. That will never change."
"Get out of Crown City. This isn't a place for people like you."
Insults flew one after another.
The ordinary students flushed with anger and humiliation, their fists clenched so tightly their knuckles turned white.
BOOM!
A thunderous voice suddenly rolled down from the sky.
"What a fine thing to say."
The entire square froze.
"Status is decided at birth?"
The voice grew colder.
"Even if he clears the ninth floor, he is still a mutt from a poor family?"
A terrifying pressure fell over the crowd.
"You really do have nerve."
Under everyone's shocked gazes, an enormous Metagross appeared above the square.
Standing atop it was a middle-aged man in his fifties. His face was dark with anger, and a bone-chilling pressure radiated from his body.
His cold gaze fell directly on the wealthy heirs below.
Champion Marcus had arrived.
...