One month passed quietly.
Too quietly for Linhai City to notice.
For Eren and Lia, those thirty days were carved into routine—hard, repetitive, unforgiving routine. Every sunrise meant the same sequence: physical conditioning, controlled realm entry, precision drills, recovery, analysis. No wasted motion. No flashy displays.
Growth happened anyway.
It always did.
Honedge hovered differently now.
Where once it needed constant adjustment, its movements had become instinctive. The blade no longer trembled when changing angles mid-motion, and its spectral eye remained sharp even during extended training sessions.
Its presence felt heavier.
Not oppressive—decisive.
Charmander had changed more visibly.
Its frame had grown leaner, muscles defined beneath its orange hide. The tail flame burned shorter, denser, controlled to the point where it barely flickered unless commanded. When it exhaled, heat followed intention, not emotion.
Dragon blood remained sealed.
But it was no longer dormant.
It was waiting.
Inside the Sovereign Genesis Realm, Lia watched Charmander execute controlled flame bursts—thin, precise jets that struck crystal targets without scorching the surrounding air.
"No wasted heat," she noted. "Efficiency's up again."
Charmander snorted, clearly proud—but didn't flare.
That alone told Eren more than any stat screen.
Honedge, meanwhile, was practicing stance transitions. Not full evolutions of form—those were locked by growth stages—but micro-adjustments that mirrored Aegislash's future styles.
Defense into pressure.Pressure into restraint.Restraint into threat.
Honedge understood suppression now.
The system chimed softly.
[Monthly Growth Assessment Complete.]
Eren opened the interface.
Honedge — Current Combat Evaluation: High Gym LevelCharmander — Current Combat Evaluation: Mid Gym Level
Lia exhaled slowly. "That's… fast."
"Not dangerously fast," Eren replied. "Just efficient."
They hadn't used a single EXP candy.
Not one.
All growth had come from controlled exposure, realm feedback, and discipline.
But the world didn't care how clean growth was.
Only how visible it became.
That night, as they reviewed footage and logs, the system interface shifted.
Not flickered.
Shifted.
[System Update Detected.][Condition Met: Sustained Stable Growth.][Sign-In Frequency Adjustment Available.]
Eren froze. "Lia."
She was already beside him.
The text rewrote itself.
[Monthly Sign-In → Daily Sign-In (Conditional).]
Conditions expanded beneath it.
• Rewards scale dynamically• High-grade items remain rare• Abuse detection active• No Pokémon acquisition frequency change
Lia stared. "Once a day…"
"…instead of once a month," Eren finished quietly.
"That changes everything."
"Yes," he agreed. "Which means it's dangerous."
They didn't celebrate.
They analyzed.
Daily sign-in didn't mean daily miracles. It meant consistent, incremental advantage—if used correctly. If misused, it meant exposure, imbalance, attention.
"Daily doesn't mean instant," Lia said firmly. "We control the pace."
Eren nodded. "But it means we can't afford to be patient anymore."
The world was already starting to look.
If they were going to be hunted eventually, they needed to be unhuntable first.
[Daily Sign-In Available.]
Eren confirmed.
The reward was modest.
• Low EXP Candy ×2• Combat Insight Fragment ×1
No fanfare.
No temptation.
"Good," Lia said. "Foundation item."
They didn't use it immediately.
Instead, they entered the realm again—this time with intent.
Training intensified.
Honedge sparred against realm-generated constructs that adapted mid-fight. Charmander practiced burst acceleration—short, explosive movement drills that taxed control without awakening dragon traits.
Sweat soaked clothes.
Mental fatigue piled up.
They rested less.
Planned more.
And for the first time, they began pushing.
Not recklessly.
Deliberately.
The realm responded.
Pressure increased.
Gravity zones fluctuated faster.
Environmental feedback sharpened.
But safety never vanished.
The system watched.
Not interfering.
Evaluating.
Three days later, Lia collapsed onto the floor, laughing weakly.
"I hate to admit this," she said, staring at the ceiling, "but we're behind schedule."
Eren handed her water. "Because daily sign-in sped expectations."
"Exactly."
Charmander lay nearby, breathing evenly, flame steady. Honedge hovered above, eye dimmed but alert.
"They're ready for more," Lia said.
Eren looked at the sealed zones in the distance—zones that hadn't existed before, now faintly visible, pulsing with promise and danger.
"We accelerate," he said.
"But cleanly."
Lia smiled tiredly. "As always."
Outside the realm, Linhai City continued its rhythm—trainers fighting for scraps, elites guarding territory, shadows moving behind authority.
Inside a hidden space that didn't belong to the world, two Pokémon crossed an invisible threshold.
Not in level.
In intent.
And far above, where Heaven's Rule measured balance, a quiet notation was made:
Growth rate increasing.Observation recommended.
The hunt hadn't begun.
But the clock had.