"Bo ne um…"
Praised by Damien, Ogerpon gleefully bounced and twirled around him, resembling an adorable little girl.
Her curiosity about the new world was insatiable.
Danger wasn't a concern here.
They were at the forest's edge, near a human village where Damien had lived and knew well.
What really caught his attention was how Ogerpon paid no mind to the dirt and grass clinging to her.
In just a short while, she'd already gotten herself delightfully messy.
"Bo ne Bo ne (Demon Lord, Demon Lord, Ogerpon wants to be a Demon Lord!)"
Ogerpon had no clue what a Demon Lord was.
But if Damien said it was impressive, it had to be true.
"To become a Demon Lord, Ogerpon, you first need to master your new powers." Damien said, finding a clearing far enough from the village. "Come on, try out your skills and get a feel for the changes in your body."
"Bo ne!"
Without hesitation, Ogerpon began her practice.
Ogerpon had the potential to grow into a Demon Lord.
But not every Pokémon shared her potential.
To earn the Cardinal World's recognition and be granted Magicule, a Pokémon first had to become Damien's familliar through his Capturer skill.
The number of familliarsDamien could have was tied to the strength of his Capturer skill.
Currently, he could only contract up to three familliars.
With such limited slots, Damien was cautious about which Pokémon to bond with.
Kitakami's lonely little Ogerpon was, in his mind, the easiest divine beast to recruit.
From what Damien knew, only Pokémon Gods, and Legendary Pokémon had the potential to grow into Demon Lord-level beings.
"Every contract slot is incredibly valuable." Damien mused.
He hadn't ruled out capturing more Pokémon.
Even the weakest Pokémon, when brought to the Cardinal World, could be trained into respectable fighters.
Unfortunately, with his current situation, even if he had more slots, he lacked the means to protect and nurture weaker Pokémon.
"I'll have to wait until later to return to the Pokémonverse and catch a Gardevoir…"
When it came to Damien's favorite Pokémon, Gardevoir was definitely near the top.
But reality was harsh, and he had to reluctantly set aside his dream of a psychic queen for now.
"Bo ne!"
"Bo ne, bo ne!"
Unaware of Damien's wandering thoughts, Ogerpon was swinging her cudgel, unleashing a variety of Pokémon moves.
Well, they weren't exactly Pokémon moves anymore.
Transformed by Magicule and the world's rules, Ogerpon's moves had been converted into "Common Skills."
No longer powered solely by her innate type energy, they were now fueled by Magicule, making them a form of unique magic... Pokémon Magic.
"Ogerpon feels so much stronger!"
Looking at the tree she'd just snapped with a single swing, Ogerpon compared Kitakami to this world. "My strength is way up, and my stamina's gotten a big boost too!"
"It's not just a few times stronger." Damien said, gently ruffling her head. "The physical laws of the two worlds are different."
"The Pokémonverse is a low-magic chaos world."
The Cardinal World, on the other hand, surpassed even high-concentration chaos worlds, qualifying as an ultra-concentration chaos world.
By a simple calculation, each step up in Magicule concentration boosted an individual's performance by a tier.
Take Ogerpon now: in the Cardinal World, she could shatter a tree with one swing, earning a D-rank evaluation.
(A strike capable of breaking a giant tree equates to D-rank, a standard that holds across most worlds.)
In a high-concentration world, that same strike would rank as C-grade.
If she returned to the Pokémonverse, Ogerpon could probably take down titans like Groudon or Rayquaza with a casual flick of her cudgel.
"Ogerpon doesn't totally get it, but it sounds super impressive!"
Ogerpon wore a look of awed confusion. She wasn't the sharpest, but if Damien said she'd gotten stronger, it had to be true.
For the only friend she'd met in centuries, now her family, Ogerpon had absolute trust in Damien.
"Get used to your new powers as quickly as you can." Damien said, glancing toward the depths of the forest. "If we want to find a good spot to build our new home, we've got a long road ahead."
He'd already decided to leave the human village and head to the Jura Forest to forge his own path.
With the Leader and Capturer skills, Damien resolved to follow Rimuru's example, turning this unclaimed forest into his own domain!
"Ogerpon's super strong!"
Raising her cudgel high, Ogerpon chirped, "Leave building our new home to me!"
"Woo ya~~"
Seeing Ogerpon's confident, adorable demeanor, Damien couldn't resist. Before she could react, he scooped her up from behind.
"There are some pretty powerful monsters in this forest, you know."
"Ogerpon's not scared!"
Damien lifted her high, and after a moment of initial panic, Ogerpon peered curiously at the Jura Forest ahead.
'Damien, Ogerpon will protect you!'
Pokémon trainers, Pokémon, traveling, battling... these were things Ogerpon had only seen from travelers visiting Kitakami.
Now, she had her own trainer and was ready to embark on her own adventure!
"Rustle Rustle"
With Ogerpon's protection, Damien had no need to fear monster threats.
And so, he left the village he'd grown up in and ventured into the Jura Forest.
Along the way, they encountered numerous monsters radiating dangerous auras.
Fortunately, none were particularly strong. Against Ogerpon, a B-rank whose combat prowess rivaled A-rank monsters, none could withstand even a single blow.
These monsters became fodder for Ogerpon's experience (Magicule), fueling her growth.
Thud, thud, thud!!
Suddenly, as Damien navigated the forest, the ground beneath him trembled. "Something big's coming, Ogerpon!"
"Bo ne?!"
Without needing further prompting, Ogerpon summoned her cudgel and positioned herself in front of Damien.
"Roar!!"
Moments later, a massive black figure, nearly four meters tall and resembling a wall, emerged before them.
It was a black bear exuding a savage aura.
Its arms and legs were covered in tough bristles, with faint black energy coursing over its body. A pair of blood-red eyes locked onto Ogerpon and Damien behind her.
Clearly, this beast was coming for them.
Monsters in the forest typically had keen senses of smell and hearing.
And two obvious targets like Damien and Ogerpon were impossible to miss.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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