Two hours of rest allowed Theo to partially regain bodily sensation. He returned to the afternoon training session: stealth.

  Completely unlike Liam—who adapted extremely quickly to training his body's flexibility to coordinate with the Residual Wind movement technique—Theo struggled considerably with exercises that contorted his body through extreme flexibility and balance training. Sometimes he even had to fight through severe pain.

  However, he was extremely quick at understanding and even excellently applying techniques that exploited light, environment, and enemy line of sight for concealment—all thanks to G's assistance. For Theo, this was another tactical game, a battle of wits with light, environment, and enemy psychology. The joy of victory through such sophisticated calculation was endless.

  Tonight's campfire seemed dimmer than usual. Theo was preparing the final stages of dinner. A simple pot of beef meatballs stew with wild vegetables, light and gentle, eaten with bread rations—not a bad choice after an exhausting day.

  Yesterday's beef was truly abundant; his group could use it for a long time without hunting. The only concern was its spoilage rate. Fortunately, Rowan had used fire magic principles to control drying temperature, creating very high dryness for the meat. Thanks to this, processing and preservation didn't require too much effort.

  "Magic is really too convenient," Theo thought silently, but only thought. Having a mage dry meat was like asking a PhD to cook—an absurd waste of talent. That was something only the modern world could afford, where education was widely distributed and talent abundant.

  "In this era where books aren't yet widely available, don't even dream about it," Theo told himself, shaking his head. He quickly dismissed those far-fetched thoughts and focused on the simmering stew.

  As usual, everyone gathered before the warm campfire to enjoy a nutritious dinner. But today was slightly different: Ryel appeared to eat with everyone, and Vesper was absent.

  Theo didn't find this particularly strange. Perhaps Ryel was tired or bothered by something today; Ryel's watch swap, though uncommon, wasn't surprising. Everyone still chatted cheerfully while enjoying this warm pot of beef meatball and vegetable stew. The atmosphere maintained its usual comfort and familiarity.

  At his favorite time, Theo wanted to use G to retrieve the copied books for reading. When studying, he could use G to save time, achieving necessary knowledge optimally and quickly. But with a bit of rest time, he didn't hesitate to read again. This was how he most clearly perceived this world through each sentence, and also how he entertained himself after a tense day.

  Theo gently prompted G: "G, open the digital library."

  A soft chime rang out. Before Theo's eyes, a completely different scene unfolded: a small corner became a 3D illusory bookshelf where books he'd copied were systematically organized. Theo loved this technology of G's to death—it was wonderful: readable anytime anywhere, required no storage space, needed no preservation, automatically organized. This was exactly what every reading lover cherished. Though lacking the sensation of holding paper books, Theo wasn't bothered by this at all.

  Just as he reached to touch a book, G warned, voice carrying slight regret: "Theo, you're about to finish all the books. Only four volumes remain unread, including one quite difficult for you."

  G's reminder made Theo furrow his brow slightly. He sighed—he'd need to find new book sources again.

  Suddenly, his gaze stopped on Rowan across from him, still in her usual position, back leaning against Sable. She was reading while twirling a bright red curl around her finger. But of course, Theo didn't notice such superfluous details. He was drawn to the book in Rowan's hands: a blue-covered volume, completely different from the black one from before.

  Theo's gaze shifted, like a wolf spotting prime prey. He stood decisively and approached Rowan. His voice was direct: "May I borrow the book you're reading?"

  Rowan looked up. Her green eyes behind amber-tinted glasses transformed from scholarly beauty into pure interest. She smiled lightly, removing her glasses from the bridge of her nose, her gaze sharpening: "Do you know the Mage's Law, Theo? Knowledge for knowledge. What will you trade with me?"

  Theo's brow furrowed. He suddenly realized a fatal problem: all his valuable books were digital copies stored in G's system. He had no physical copies to trade on equal terms with Rowan.

  Rowan appeared extremely satisfied at witnessing the unexpected frustration on Theo's face. Her mischievous expression returned, a mysterious smile gradually forming on her lips. "Do you know where I obtained this book?" Rowan asked, her tone shifting entirely to storytelling mode.

  Without waiting for Theo's answer, she smoothly adjusted her posture, crossing her legs elegantly and bracing her hand on the ground. She assumed the manner of a professor preparing to lecture. "I traded for it at the Greenhaven city library. Most major cities have a library, though their scales vary. There, mages and scholars can seek knowledge, but the unwritten law is book for book. This is the common rule for libraries across this continent."

  She paused, giving Theo time to digest information about the precious knowledge exchange system. Then she returned to twirling her bright auburn curl. Her clear voice rang out again, now carrying full provocation: "So, do you truly want to read this book, Theo?"

  She looked directly into the young man's eyes, challenging him to find a solution to this difficult knowledge equation.

  Theo looked straight into Rowan's eyes and asked, voice full of pragmatism: "So what do you want, Rowan? A truly sumptuous dinner perhaps?"

  Rowan's face, just moments ago playful, immediately darkened. She gritted her teeth: "Absolutely not!" she said, her green eyes sharp and cold as a warning: "Lately I've been gaining serious weight from your cooking—I need to eat less and train seriously. If you dare cook anything tastier than this beef stew, I'll you’ll regret it, understand?"

  Immediately after, the irritation vanished, replaced by the extreme excitement of a scholar. She leaned forward, voice rising with enthusiasm: "No need for complicated cooking. Instead, let me observe and study your Al, will you? I've craved this opportunity for so long."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Theo's eyes widened in astonishment. He couldn't help thinking: How is this my fault? He always carefully portioned the food, but Rowan kept finding ways to take more—how could he possibly stop a mage!

  He looked at Rowan deeply. She also felt slightly unreasonable, but quickly told herself: But isn't it his fault for making food so delicious! Once again she regained confidence, looking straight at Theo and urging: "Well, decide already, Theo?"

  Theo sighed, his initial reluctance quickly replaced by pragmatism.

  "Not bad," he thought silently. Having Rowan, a mage with academic foundation, examine Al was also a research opportunity. What made him most curious was: Under a mage's perception, how would AI—his small Pidgey—be recognized as a creature in their worldview?

  This was precisely an opportunity to better understand how magic perceived Pokémon. This could be an important part of finding methods to optimize Al's training in the future.

  Rowan nodded decisively, her eyes lighting with satisfaction and victory. "Then it's decided! Tomorrow evening we'll begin the examination." She tilted her head, looking at Theo mysteriously: "A Flying-type Magic Beast from GS isn't easy to encounter."

  Theo tilted his head questioningly: "GS?"

  Rowan smiled in explanation, voice full of academic pride: "GS stands for Great Shift, referring to entities from other worlds. And TB stands for Terran Beast (native magic beasts)." She blinked. "This is how scholars classify complex creatures like your 'little Pidgey.'"

  Theo nodded. Perhaps this was also the best time to supplement knowledge about Pokémon.

  Watching Rowan put her glasses back on and continue reading, he knew he shouldn't disturb her further. Theo returned to his seat and asked G: "How many points do I have?"

  G returned to its familiar serious tone: "188 ACP. How do you wish to use them, Theo?"

  Theo nodded: "Exchange for 'Basic Trainer Knowledge.'"

  G repeated once more, voice more mechanical and precise: "Does the host confirm exchanging 'Basic Trainer Knowledge for Normal Type' at the price of 75 ACP?"

  Theo asked suspiciously: "Normal?"

  G maintained that mechanical tone: "Each Type represents different training methods, so Trainer knowledge is classified into eighteen different categories."

  Theo narrowed his eyes, calculating rapidly. Eighteen basic types would consume 1,350 ACP—a colossal number, not yet counting Intermediate and Advanced levels. Truly a bottomless pit, he thought silently. This was one of the foundations of Pokémon world civilization.

  Without hesitation, he voiced his final decision: "Confirmed."

  Immediately, the digital library bookshelf appeared again. This time, a completely new classification named Trainer emerged. Like the two previous exchanges, the digital book containing Basic Knowledge for Normal Type Trainers was encoded and placed neatly on the shelf.

  G returned to its serious tone: "The study schedule is ready for you, Theo. Here is the plan."

  Theo's eyes illuminated with a brilliant 3D Study Plan Table. Don't be fooled by it being just Basic Knowledge for Normal Type Trainers—it was truly like a colossal Encoded Knowledge Block. It meticulously introduced all discovered Normal-type Pokémon—from physical differences, weight, basic strength according to geographic regions, to analyzing each move's mechanics, maximum energy consumption, and detailed recovery times...

  It was dense, detailed to a frightening degree. The sensation resembled all of human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry... compiled together, multiplied exponentially for hundreds of species, forming an encyclopedia extending even beyond 10,000 pages of specialized content.

  The overwhelming nature prompted Theo to develop a profound doubt: "Is Trainer... truly a profession for humanity?" Moreover, this was just the Normal type—seventeen more types remained to conquer.

  But thought quickly pulled him back to reality. Theo understood clearly: each Normal-type Pokémon required detailed documentation, because Pokémon moves were a completely new, extremely complex energy form. Could Pidgey using Tackle be the same as Tauros using Tackle? The answer was never.

  Therefore, Trainers didn't need to memorize every detail by heart. They only needed to grasp core information, but these very documents were the supreme knowledge source, the key enabling them to change tactics, understand opponents, and master the training art.

  And sometimes, they needed help from doctors or researchers —those who truly needed this detailed knowledge most, indeed they were the specialists supplementing and updating that colossal knowledge repository.

  Fortunately, G had already done a professor's work for him. It had precisely listed what Theo needed to learn, condensed only into knowledge related to Pidgey.

  Even so, it would still consume considerable time from Theo. At least, the positive point was he now had a new knowledge source to read at leisure, though currently he couldn't apply much of it.

  This plan would supplement tomorrow's evening training session. He needed to grasp Pidgey's condition and all knowledge as soon as possible.

  For now, he should rest—it was late.

  Looking at Liam chatting animatedly before the fire with Boris and Torvin, Theo shook his head. Liam's body was truly strange. At noon, his shoulder had still been bleeding. Though recovery essence was very effective, it couldn't help him recover that quickly, not to mention that fool maintained the same training intensity in the afternoon.

  Now, he could chat carelessly with those two hulking men without pain. Sometimes, Theo thought Liam resembled a game character even more than Pidgey: pop a potion and instantly recover, train and immediately grow stronger—truly too absurd.

  No need to call him. Theo entered the tent to rest first. Sleep was the best supplemental medicine to prepare for the harsh exercises awaiting tomorrow.