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Cleveland stared blankly at the mysterious yet elegant being before him.
He had never seen such a creature.
Cleveland opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he couldn't find any words to describe the creature in front of him.
Is it a magical beast?
No... its proud demeanor, and the powerful strength that could freeze even the air, made 'god' a more accurate description than 'magical beast'.
Suddenly, Cleveland heard a melodious cry, like music from heaven.
"Yiiii!"
Immediately after, he saw the mysterious creature in front of him flap its wings, shimmering with ice crystals and snowflakes, turn its body, and fly in one direction.
Its ethereal ice-blue tail drew a beautiful arc in the sky.
In an instant, the snowflakes that had been frozen in mid-air began to fall again.
But the vast snow parted in mid-air, creating a distinct, snow-free vacuum in the middle!
Looking at this almost miraculous sight, an unbelievable thought suddenly appeared in Cleveland's mind.
—This mysterious creature was guiding him!
At this moment, a strong will to survive suddenly surged within Cleveland.
This belief drove him to stand up again, staggering towards the "snow-free path".
One step, two steps, three steps... Closer, he saw his territory in the distance.
But Cleveland, who had not eaten or drunk for a long time, eventually collapsed in the snow.
The figure of the mysterious creature had disappeared into the swirling snow at some unknown time.
"Still no good?" Cleveland murmured to himself.
He closed his eyes, feeling his strength gradually drain away.
However, just then, Cleveland suddenly felt something land beside him.
The creature's claws crunched on the snow, making a rustling sound.
"Lili?"
A wild magical beast had come to attack him!
Cleveland abruptly opened his eyes, but the next second, he saw a red magical beast with a hollow tail looking down at him.
The magical beast's face and chest were covered with white feathers, and the most striking feature was the white parcel clutched in its claws.
Its appearance was just like Santa Claus in stories.
Delibird flapped its wings at the human, but the person showed no reaction.
Delibird's face showed an expression of distress.
Just today, it had originally planned to leave its nest to find more food to store.
Unexpectedly, on the way, it saw a human walking alone on the vast snowy mountain.
Delibird saw that the person seemed to have no food, and it was a little worried that this fellow would starve to death, so it followed the person all the way.
Just now, it saw this human suddenly collapse, so it quickly flew down to check the situation.
"Lili..." This person seemed a little dead... But the next second, it saw the man open his eyes.
"Lili!"
Delibird was startled, but seeing that the person was not dead, it couldn't help but feel happy for him.
"Lili!"
Delibird flapped its wings at the man, then took out two berries it had painstakingly searched for from the parcel and placed them in front of the man.
"Lili!" Eat! You'll have strength once you're full!
After sharing the food, Delibird flapped its wings and happily turned to leave.
It had given food to the human, and it still needed to find more to store.
Cleveland stared blankly at the back of the bird-like magical beast.
He was too hungry, so he picked up the berries and ate them greedily.
With food in his stomach, Cleveland regained a little strength.
His face full of complex emotions, he looked in the direction the bird-like magical beast had left.
Had he been helped by a magical beast?
But there was no time to think; he hadn't returned to his territory yet.
Having barely filled his stomach, Cleveland stood up and staggered onward in the direction of the territory.
Cleveland didn't know how long he had walked, so long that his limbs were frozen numb, and he could only continue forward by the instinct of survival.
"Cleveland!"
"Uncle!"
Suddenly, Cleveland heard the voices of Ryan and Christina.
He looked up and saw a group of people running towards him.
Finally... he had arrived... Cleveland could no longer hold on, collapsing with a thud in the snow and losing consciousness.
"..."
Cleveland had another dream.
In his dream, he saw again the mysterious creature that had suddenly appeared before him, guiding him.
"Hoo!"
Cleveland suddenly opened his eyes.
He found himself back in the territory.
He was lying in a small wooden house, where a charcoal fire was burning brightly, making the entire house warm and cozy.
Ryan and Christina were keeping watch, and seeing him wake up, both their faces lit up with surprise:
"You're awake!"
A trace of bewilderment flashed across Cleveland's face.
"You've been missing for three days!" Seeing her companion wake up, Christina let out a long sigh of relief and said, "That's great, Uncle, it's really great that you're okay!"
Cleveland looked at his bandaged arm and couldn't help but murmur, "What exactly happened?"
Ryan stood by with his arms crossed, explaining:
"That day, Christina and I successfully returned to the territory. When His Highness Draconis learned that you had stayed behind to fend off the magical beasts, he immediately dispatched the Knights Order to search the mountain. They eventually found you unconscious in a snowy area."
Prince Draconis... Cleveland recalled the encounters of his journey and immediately flipped out of bed, asking, "Have you reported your discoveries on the way to Prince Draconis?"
"Not yet." Christina was a little embarrassed. As soon as they returned, they went back into the snowy mountains. Thinking of Draconis, she said with some worry, "I hope His Highness won't blame us!"
Cleveland: "..."
He stood up and said to the two, "I'm fine now. Let's go report our findings to His Highness Draconis!"
Draconis was in the tent with Old Butler Alfred, tallying the remaining supplies in the territory.
Seeing Ryan and the other enter, he was a little surprised: "Hasn't Cleveland woken up yet?"
Before the two could answer, Draconis saw Cleveland walk in: "Reporting to Your Highness, I am already awake!"
Draconis glanced at his arm and asked, "Are you feeling alright?"
"Much better, Your Highness need not worry." Cleveland replied.
"Good, then you should rest well for the time being. Everything else can wait until your injuries are healed." Draconis said.
"Yes!"
"Your Highness Draconis..." Christina handed over the book in her hand, which contained a map and drawings of magical beasts, and said nervously, "This was the task you gave us. Please forgive us for only bringing it to you now. We are very sorry!"
"No need to be so nervous." Draconis reached out and took the book, chuckling, "I know you were worried that Cleveland might have forgotten about this. It's good that everything is fine."
Christina finally breathed a sigh of relief. His Highness was truly benevolent!
Draconis opened the book.
On the first page was a Pokémon he was very familiar with.
It was a small Pokémon shaped like a turtle, with many hollow holes on its red shell.
—Shuckle.
Christina had recorded Shuckle's personality and reactions below with a pen.
[Unknown magical beast, timid by nature, hides under rocks, not aggressive, and retracts its head and limbs into its shell as soon as we approach.]
"There really is a Shuckle?" Draconis was pleasantly surprised. If so, by next spring, they could capture Shuckle and entrust it with brewing Berry Juice.
Ordinary berries, after fermentation by Shuckle, would turn into Berry Juice that could restore stamina, and the effect would be far superior to ordinary berries.
Draconis nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he was about to turn to the next page, he heard Cleveland say:
"Your Highness Draconis, I have something I wish to report to you!"