The m, while having breakfast at the hotel, Julian noticed Taylor yawniedly, looking tired and listless.

  "Stayed up te pying games?" Julian asked.

  Why gaming? Because, speaking from personal experiehe biggest reason he ever stayed up te was faming.

  Most people thought Julian was not only well-bood-looking, and talented but also free of the bad habits ong kids from affluent families. What they didn't know was that Julian was, in fact, an online gaming addict.

  "Had trouble sleeping in a new bed," Taylor replied, yawning again.

  The truth, however, was that she had been on guard all night, worried that Chase—who was sharing her room—might sneak off to Julian's room while she was asleep to throw herself at him.

  'Trouble sleeping in a new bed?'

  Chase looked at Taylor suspiciously. Since when did Taylor have trouble adjusting to new beds?

  "Just started retly," Taylor expined.

  Such a flimsy excuse only made Chase more suspicious.

  If she didn't know how oblivious Julian was, she might have assumed, seeing how exhausted Taylor looked, that Taylor had snuto Julian's room st night instead.

  True to their friendship, both Taylor and Chase were thinking along the same lihough about each other.

  After finishing breakfast, each with their own hidden agenda, Taylor and Chase apanied Julian to South Lake Uy.

  Although South Lake Uy was at the lower end of the elite uy rankings, it was still ae institution. And like every top uy, it had at least one fgship program.

  For South Lake Uy, its fgship was not Pokémon training but Pokémon research.

  The uy had produced many renowned Pokémon schors, both domestically and iionally.

  Its Pokémon research program was even sidered superior to that of Imperial Uy and Pearl Uy.

  Many students aspiring to bee Pokémon researchers would choose South Lake Uy as their first option, with Imperial and Pearl ing sed.

  Julian wore a bck face mask, a white short-sleeve shirt, khaki casual pants, and light yellow sneakers. His tall, upright figure and rexed stride caught the attention of those around him.

  With Taylor and Chase by his side, he strolled through the South Lake Uy campus, chatting and ughing along the way.

  pared to the intensely petitive atmosphere at Imperial Uy, where even the slightest rivalry reached every er of the school, South Lake Uy felt more id-back.

  Being a student at Imperial Uy was both an honor and a burden. Surrounded by geniuses, one had no choice but to work tirelessly to avoid falling behind.

  At Imperial Uy, it was rare to find aaking it easy, even among first-year students, who worked hard to secure their rankings within their csses.

  But here at South Lake Uy, Julia none of that heavy atmosphere.

  This was what a uy should feel like, and it reminded Julian of what college life was like in his previous life.

  The kind of uy life where students sck off from their freshman year all the way to senior year, barely scraping by to earn a diploma.

  "What's that pce over there?"

  Julian poio a street not far away as they walked.

  "Today's market day. Don't you have something like this at Imperial Uy?" Taylor asked, puzzled.

  "No, we don't. We don't "

  Julian replied, shaking his head.

  Taylor: 'I really want to punch this jerk.'

  Market day was a desigime when students brought out things they didn't need or wao sell to exge for money or resources.

  Events like this were on at uies.

  Market days typically happened on Saturdays or Sundays.

  Imperial Uy didn't have market days. As the top uy iion, it provided students with a monthly allowance of resources, a signifit amount pared to other schools.

  This alone was enough to make tless aspiring students dream of attending Imperial Uy.

  And why did Imperial Uy have so many resources to offer its students? That was thanks to the Trainer Association.

  The annual Hundred Schools League wasn't just about peting for the ownership of a high-tier secret realm.

  It also determined how much funding and resources schools would receive from the Trainer Association the following year.

  The higher your school pced in the league, the more resources it would receive.

  pared to the risks and efforts involved in expl a high-tier secret realm to gather resources, the Trainer Association's funding was a safe and reliable alternative.

  "Let's check it out"

  Julian said, heading toward the street out of curiosity, hoping to find something valuable.

  After walking for a while, Julia a bit disappoihe stalls were filled with either on items or junk.

  The slightly better s sisted of evolution stones, but even those weren't anything special.

  None of this was useful to Julian. If he were in a secret realm, he wouldn't even bother with anythihan top-tier evolution stones.

  Notig Julian's ck of enthusiasm, Chase said, "Julian, maybe there'll be something iing further down."

  There was an unwritten rule on market streets: the further you went, the higher the value of the items.

  However, Julian had already walked about two-thirds of the way and hadn't seen anything worthwhile, so he wasn't holding out much hope for the st third.

  Fet about striking a bargain; he'd be tent just to find something that caught his eye.

  "e, take a look, everyone! Fossils of Pokémon for sale—perfect for collectors or as decorations!" shouted a vendor ahead.

  On the bustling trade street, the sound of vendors calling out was on, but one voice stood out—loud and clear, advertising something quite unique: fossils of a Pokémon.

  Fossil Pokémon were only found in a secret realms, and naturally, their fossils came exclusively from such pces. Iire Nation of Drakoria, there was only one a secret realm.

  Entering someone selling fossils in a pce like this was certainly surprising.

  "Julian, don't go there. That guy's fossils are all fake," Taylor said with obvious disgust.

  "Taylor was deceived by him before"

  "Chase, do you have to say it?"

  Taylred at Chase, her face flushing with embarrassment at having her misstep exposed.

  While the two bickered, Julian had already approached the stall. He casually picked up a fossil. From its texture, weight, and even the overly perfect shape, it practically screamed "fake."

  'She fell for this?'

  Julian gave Taylor a disbelieving look. 'Is she missing something?'

  "He tricked me!"

  Taylrily poi the student running the stall.

  "Don't listen to her nonsense, fellow student. Everything on my stall is gehe vendor protested with a smile.

  Julian chuckled, pointing at the items. "These are all pressed from stone penuine fossils wouldn't have such smooth surfaces, and the imprints wouldn't be this clear. Also, you used the wrong stone powder—it should be carbon steel stone."

  The vendor didn't seem upset at being exposed. Instead, he took out a pen and paper, jotting down notes.

  "Hmm, hmm. Go on, cssmate. I'll improve them ime," he said early.

  Hearing this, Taylor nearly lost it and had to resist the urge to kick him.