This Aron originally lived with its group, but it strongly disliked the unchanging routine and yearned for the outside world.
So, taking advantage of its parents' inattention, it secretly ran away.
Its initial thought was to wander around outside for a bit and then return, bragging to its friends.
But it accidentally fell into a cave. It didn't know the way and could only wander aimlessly, inadvertently angering a group of Zubat.
The Zubat chased it relentlessly, and in its panic, it didn't pay attention to the path ahead.
And so, it headfirst collided with the tail of an Onix that was resting in the cave.
The above content was all pieced together by Ryan, half-guessing based on Aron's gestures.
It might not be perfectly accurate, but it should be close to the actual situation.
"So, what are you planning to do now?"
Ryan stroked Aron's big, round head, finding the texture quite pleasant.
"Koko~"
Aron missed home a little. It started to miss its parents and friends.
"Then I'll help you to the end, both Pokémon and creature, and find your way home with you."
Ryan was really a bit worried about this somewhat scatterbrained Aron. If he let it go on its own, it might just run headfirst into another Pokémon.
"Ko~"
Aron was very grateful to the human in front of it. Not only had it been rescued and given food, but now it was also going to be helped home.
It seemed that its parents' saying that all humans were bad wasn't accurate. This human was a really good person.
Ryan, unaware of being friend-zoned, was arranging for the Diglett to wait for him at the foot of the mountain first. He would go down the mountain and meet them later.
Then he began to look for the way home with Aron.
Although Iron Stone Mountain wasn't very high, its area wasn't small, and with the complex terrain, finding a few Pokémon in this vast mountainous region was easier said than done.
They searched on the mountain for half a day. Not only did they not find Aron's home, but Ryan himself was almost lost.
"Wandering around aimlessly like this isn't a solution. Don't you have any memory of these roads?"
Ryan put his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"Koko." Aron shook its head, its voice very low.
It really didn't remember. First, it fell into an underground cave, and then it was carried by Onix for an unknown distance. It had never seen these mountain roads before.
Aron wanted to give up, but when it thought about not being able to go home and having to be alone, bullied by other Pokémon, and possibly not even getting food, it became more and more sad, and its eyes filled with tears.
At this moment, the human beside it squatted down and wiped away its tears.
"What's the big deal? Still crying here. If we really can't find it, just follow me for now, and we'll look slowly later."
Listening to Ryan's gentle words, Aron widened its eyes. It felt like the human in front of it had turned into light.
"Koko?" (Really?)
"Of course, it's true. I'll provide food and accommodation. You can leave anytime after you find your home. How about it? Will you come with me?"
Aron nodded quickly, afraid that Ryan would change his mind.
"Then let's go down the mountain first. The Diglett are still waiting for us."
"Koko!"
While going down the mountain, Ryan habitually opened the panel.
"Hmm? Genesis Points are being consumed? Used to construct player bodies... Has a player died?"
"Looks like something happened. I'd better hurry back to the territory and see what's going on."
Ryan quickened his pace down the mountain.
Time went back to the morning when the players were diligently chopping trees.
"Hey Yanzi, don't you need to be so try-hard? Aren't you going to take a break?"
Xu Ruofeng looked at Chen Yan, who was still working hard at chopping trees, with admiration.
Chopping trees was hard work. Normally, you should rest after an hour of continuous logging.
But this guy had been working continuously for almost two hours and still showed no signs of stopping.
"Do you really value that special reward so much?"
Chen Yan stopped his movements. He was indeed a bit exhausted. The players' physical fitness wasn't much stronger than in reality, and he was already worn out after working until now.
"The special reward is pretty good, probably a Poké Ball, but what I value more is the right to use the farmland."
Chen Yan picked up his water bottle and took a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and continued:
"Yesterday we also felt it. This game has hunger and thirst values. When you're hungry, you have to eat, and when you're thirsty, you have to drink.
Although we don't know yet if characters can die of thirst or hunger, judging by the realism of this game, the possibility is very high.
This requires us to have a stable source of food and water. Water is easy to get; these rivers are very clean and can be drunk directly.
But what about food? We're still in the newbie phase. Lord Ryan might provide us with some food, but what about later? Buy it with money?"
Xu Ruofeng listened to Chen Yan's words with a blank expression. He hadn't expected that the right to use a piece of farmland could make Chen Yan think of so many things.
He also hadn't expected that playing a game would involve worrying about food.
"Yeah, isn't it fine to just buy it with money?"
Ling Dang interjected from the side.
"But the problem is we don't have any money. And even if we earn money by completing tasks later, we'll have to spend a lot of it to buy food. Where will we get the resources to train Pokémon?"
"Does buying food cost a lot of money?" Xu Ruofeng asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Don't forget that although this game world is very magical, its historical background is similar to the Western Middle Ages. The production technology is still very backward, and the grain yield will definitely not be high, so the price will naturally be expensive."
Chen Yan continued to explain.
"Moreover, with farmland, we can not only be self-sufficient but also sell the surplus grain for money. More players will definitely enter this game in the future, and they will also need to eat."
"Oh~"
The other four players understood after hearing this. It seemed that the right to use the farmland was indeed quite important.
"As expected of a professional game zone upgrader, your sensitivity to games is really high," Lao Ye praised repeatedly.
"This is nothing. You gain some experience naturally after playing many games."
Chen Yan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. Seeing that everyone was still going to praise him, he quickly changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, why hasn't Heracross arrived yet? Didn't Lord Ryan say he had an appointment to meet them here?"
"Yeah, we've been here for almost two hours. Why haven't they come yet? Did they take the reward and run away?"
"Impossible, these Pokémon are quite sincere and kind. They shouldn't do such a thing. Maybe something happened and they were delayed."
While the players were still discussing Heracross, they suddenly heard a series of roars coming from the depths of the forest.
Then they saw many Pokémon running towards them, including the three Heracross from yesterday.
The Heracross ran up to the players, gesturing wildly with their arms and legs.
But the players didn't have Ryan's understanding ability. They didn't understand what these movements meant.
It wasn't until they saw a brown giant bear rushing towards them that the players understood that Heracross wanted to pull them away to escape.
"Holy crap! A level 33 Pokémon!"
"What are you still standing there for? Run!"
But they had wasted a lot of time in place and it was too late to escape.
Seeing the giant bear getting closer and closer, Lao Ye stepped forward.
"We'll be caught sooner or later if we keep going like this. I'll help you lure it away!"
He stopped and picked up a stone, throwing it backward.
After successfully angering the giant bear, he ran in another direction.
The other players didn't have time to dissuade him and had no choice but to continue running towards the edge of the forest.
Xu Ruofeng didn't forget to turn his head back and remind him:
"Lao Ye, climb up a tree and hide! It definitely can't climb up!"
Lao Ye was also obedient and found a big tree to climb. He thought he was safe.
But this giant bear also nimbly climbed up the tree, even faster than him!
"Uh... never mind what I said."
Xu Ruofeng covered his eyes somewhat unbearably.
"That death was too tragic~"