This Aron originally lived with its herd, but it hated the monotonous daily routine and longed to see the outside world.
So when its parents weren't paying attention, it sneaked away.
At first, it just planned to wander around outside for a bit before going back, maybe brag to its friends later.
But then it accidentally fell into a cave. Lost and unable to find its way, it stumbled around blindly and somehow managed to piss off a group of Zubat.
The Zubat chased it relentlessly, and in its panic, it didn't even watch where it was going.
Next thing it knew, it had slammed headfirst into the tail of an Onix that had been resting in the cave.
All of this was pieced together by Leon based on Aron's gestures and a bit of guesswork.
It might not be entirely accurate, but it was probably close to what actually happened.
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
Leon patted Aron's big, round head, finding the texture surprisingly pleasant.
"Aron, Aron!"
Aron was starting to miss home. It longed to see its parents and friends again.
"Then I'll help you all the way through. Let's find your way home together."
Leon wasn't too confident about leaving this scatterbrained Aron alone. If it wandered off by itself, it might just crash into another Pokémon.
"Aron!"
Aron was deeply grateful to this human. Not only had he saved it, but he'd also given it food, and now he was even helping it get home.
Its parents had always said humans were bad, but that clearly wasn't true. This human was a really good person.
Unaware that he'd just been given a "good person" card, Leon instructed the Diglett to wait for him at the foot of the mountain while he went down to meet them later.
Then he set off with Aron to search for its home.
But while Ironthorn Mountain wasn't particularly tall, it covered a vast area with complex terrain. Finding a few Pokémon in this wilderness was no easy task.
After searching for hours, they hadn't even found a trace of Aron's home. In fact, Leon himself was starting to get lost.
"Wandering around aimlessly isn't going to work. Don't you recognize any of these paths?"
Leon bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"Aron, Aron." Aron shook its head, its voice low.
It truly didn't remember. First, it had fallen into an underground cave, then the Onix had carried it who knows how far. None of these mountain paths looked familiar.
Aron was ready to give up. But the thought of never going home, of being alone forever, bullied by other Pokémon, maybe even starving—it was too much.
Tears welled up in its eyes.
Then the human crouched down and wiped them away.
"It's not that big a deal. No need to cry. If we really can't find your home, you can stay with me for now. We'll keep looking later."
Hearing Leon's gentle words, Aron's eyes widened. The human in front of it seemed to glow.
"Aron?" (Really?)
"Of course. With me, you get food and shelter. If you find your home later, you can leave anytime. So, wanna come with me?"
Aron nodded eagerly, afraid Leon might change his mind.
"Then let's head down the mountain. The Diglett are still waiting for us."
"Aron!"
On the way down, Leon habitually opened his system panel.
"Huh? Why was Creation Points spent? 'Used to construct player bodies'… Did a player die?"
"Something must've happened. I'd better hurry back and see what's going on."
Leon quickened his pace.
-----
Earlier that morning, the players were hard at work chopping trees.
"Damn, Ethan, do you have to grind this hard? Not even taking a break?"
Dylan looked at Ethan with admiration.
Chopping trees was hard labor. Normally, after an hour of continuous work, anyone would need a break.
But this guy had been at it for almost two hours straight without stopping.
"Is that special reward really that important to you?"
Ethan finally paused. He was exhausted.
Right now, the players' physical abilities weren't much better than in real life. After this long, he was completely drained.
"The special reward is nice—probably a Poké Ball—but what I really care about is the farmland rights."
Ethan took a swig from his water pouch, wiped his mouth, and continued:
"Yesterday, we all felt it. This game has hunger and thirst mechanics. You get hungry, you gotta eat. You get thirsty, you gotta drink.
We don't know yet if characters can starve or die of thirst, but given how realistic this game is, it's highly possible.
That means we need a stable source of food and water. Water's easy—these rivers are clean, we can drink straight from them.
But food? Right now, we're still in the tutorial phase. Lord Leon might give us some food, but what about later? Buy it with money?"
Dylan stared blankly as Ethan laid all this out. He hadn't expected farmland rights to lead to such deep analysis.
He hadn't even considered that a game would make him worry about food.
"Yeah, just buy it. Problem solved."
Bell chimed in.
"But we don't have any money. And even if we earn some from quests later, we'll have to spend a ton on food. How are we gonna afford training our Pokémon?"
"Is food really that expensive?" Dylan asked, confused.
"Don't forget, this game world might be amazing, but it's set in something like medieval Europe. Production tech is primitive, food output is low, so prices are naturally high."
Ethan went on:
"And with farmland, we could be self-sufficient. Sell the extra for cash. More players will join later—they'll need to eat too."
"Ohhh—"
The other four players finally understood. Farmland rights really were a big deal.
"No wonder you're a pro gamer. That game sense is insane," Leaf said, impressed.
"It's nothing. Play enough games, and you pick things up."
Ethan scratched his head, embarrassed. Before the others could praise him further, he changed the subject:
"Speaking of, where are the Heracross? Didn't Lord Leon say they'd meet us here?"
"Yeah, we've been working for almost two hours. Did they just take the payment and run?"
"No way. These Pokémon seem honest. Maybe they got held up?"
As the players debated, a series of roars erupted from deep in the forest.
Then they saw a flood of Pokémon fleeing toward them—including the three Heracross from yesterday.
The Heracross rushed up, gesturing frantically.
But the players lacked Leon's comprehension skills. They had no idea what the movements meant.
Not until they saw the massive brown bear charging straight at them did they realize the Heracross were trying to get them to run.
"Holy shit! A level 33 Pokémon!"
"What are you waiting for? Run!"
But they'd wasted too much time. Escape was impossible.
As the bear closed in, Leaf stepped forward.
"We'll all get caught at this rate. I'll lure it away!"
He stopped, picked up a rock, and hurled it at the bear.
Enraged, the beast turned toward him as he bolted in another direction.
The others didn't have time to argue. They kept sprinting for the forest's edge.
Dylan shouted over his shoulder:
"Leaf, climb a tree! It can't follow you up there!"
Leaf obeyed, scrambling up the nearest trunk. He thought he was safe.
Then the bear started climbing after him—faster than he had.
"Uh… never mind."
Dylan covered his eyes.
"That's a brutal way to go."