บท 193: Chapter 193: Word Command, What's Missing?
Nate and Lucy's arrival immediately caught the attention of the three prisoners.
Kain Hikaru mumbled something to himself, clearly bored out of his mind after just one day of confinement. His only company was his cellmate, Brain, who was absorbed in magical research, and occasionally Klodoa, the talking wand, who would say a few words.
"Oh, great Lord of the Magic Net! Your loyal servant Klodoa offers his humblest greetings!" Klodoa, the skeleton-tipped wand in Cell 2, immediately began his sycophantic praises.
Following Nate, Lucy approached the cells and noticed the wand bending its body in a bowing, submissive posture.
"Total suck-up," Lucy muttered, using a term she'd picked up from Nate. "Aren't you Brain's wand? The 'seventh' member of the Oración Seis?"
Klodoa jumped—despite having no legs—and shouted, "Oración Seis? How dare you insult me!"
"I, Klodoa of the Black Gate, am the most faithful servant of Nate-sama!"
Lucy rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "The Suck-Up Wand… a.k.a. the Suck-Up Servant."
With that, she turned her attention to Cell 1, where Brain was sitting silently on the damp floor, scribbling incomprehensible symbols as he delved deeply into his magical studies.
As for Cell 3, she glanced at the unfamiliar prisoner, Kain Hikaru.
"Not here for you—quiet down," Nate said, casting a glance at Klodoa before turning to Kain Hikaru. "It's work time, Kain."
"Oh, great Nate-sama, I'm ready to work too!" Klodoa eagerly chimed in.
Ignoring him, Nate snapped his fingers, and the iron door of Cell 3 vanished.
Kain Hikaru scratched his head. "What do you need me to do? I'd do anything to escape this torturous boredom!"
Nate took Pikachu from Lucy and handed it to Kain Hikaru. "Use your magic to give it a 'Lightning' attribute."
"What is this, some kind of toy?" Kain Hikaru held the Pikachu and plucked a strand of fur from its Celestial Puppet body. In his other hand, he conjured a cursed doll and inserted the fur into its head.
"Lightning!"
With a sizzle, electric sparks began to crackle around the puppet, transforming its straw-like material to a lightning-charged one.
Simultaneously, Pikachu's body began emitting sparks of electricity as well.
Nate watched closely and confirmed his theory. He snapped his fingers again, and a rock appeared inside Cell 3.
"Try making it break that rock with lightning. Think you can manage that?"
Kain Hikaru snorted, "Piece of cake." Pikachu's body flashed with electric energy, and a small bolt struck the rock. While it left a scorch mark, it didn't manage to shatter it.
Kain Hikaru scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm low on magic power. In here, there's no way to recharge."
Nate took Pikachu back, using his Six Eyes to observe the effects. Pikachu had indeed been enhanced: it now had a lightning attribute, some resistance to electric attacks, and its physical capabilities had been boosted beyond its natural limits.
Then, taking the cursed doll from Kain Hikaru, Nate used it to control Pikachu's movements. No matter how he twisted its joints, Pikachu followed every command, even if a joint was bent backward, without any harm to the main body. This was the strength of the Lost Magic known as "Ushi no Koku Mairi."
"This is how players will control Pikachu in battle?" Lucy asked, her face full of curiosity.
Nate shook his head. Although the cursed doll made control convenient, something about it felt off. He wanted an added layer of interaction.
Players would give voice commands, which would be executed by the cursed doll and then relayed to the controlled Pokémon. It sounded like an extra step, but Nate believed it would improve the actual gameplay experience.
"For example, with a skill like 'Dodge quickly,' how can you give players good feedback without saying it out loud?"
But how to make the cursed doll understand the player's commands?
Nate thought for a moment and walked to Cell 1.
"Brain."
Brain lifted his head, looking listless. "What do you want?"
Nate briefly explained the problem. "Is there any magic that could do that?"
"Who do you think I am?" Brain scoffed. "I was once the head of the Bureau of Magical Development. Developing a simple magic like this is child's play!"
What a valuable employee!
Nate laughed. "Do a good job, and I'll reduce your sentence. By ten years!"
Brain's eyes lit up. Just a simple task, and he could get a ten-year reduction? If he got a few more of these tasks, maybe he could actually get out someday.
"Mind if I ask how long my sentence is?"
"One thousand years."
"…"
Brain's expression darkened. Even the council would have only given him life imprisonment. One thousand years, minus ten, would still leave him with 990 years.
"Think of it this way," Nate said, dangling a carrot. "Do a great job, and maybe the next reduction will be even bigger."
Brain didn't believe a word, but a little hope was better than none. Besides, it was a simple magic.
"Give me ten minutes!"
Confident in his magical expertise, Brain, whose personality craved knowledge, completed the magic in only five minutes.
He named the new magic 'Sound Magic: Word Command'. It could essentially give simple orders, like instructing small animals. He taught it to Nate without holding back.
Nate learned it in a minute—it was indeed simple!
"Not bad. You're quite skilled," Nate nodded in satisfaction.
Then he tried using 'Word Command' on the cursed doll, which in turn controlled Pikachu.
Everything worked smoothly.
Lucy, watching from the side, was both impressed by Nate's ingenuity and amazed by the power of magic.
After these initial tests, Nate took Lucy back to reality.
In Lucy's apartment, she opened her eyes, clearly excited. "Can I play too? It looks fun!"
Commanding Pokémon seemed similar to summoning Celestial Spirits.
"There's still something missing…" Nate murmured thoughtfully.
Lucy thought for a moment. "More Pokémon?"
"For now, let's start with ten," Nate said, deciding not to create too many at once. Ten Pokémon types, plus their evolutions, would be a good start.
But how should evolution work?
Accumulate experience points, and then evolve upon reaching a certain level? How could he make that happen?
Deep in thought, Nate soon came up with an idea: battles.
Winning battles could reward Pokémon with Celestial Energy. When enough energy was accumulated, it would trigger evolution. Then, using 'Ushi no Koku Mairi', he could further enhance their abilities.
"But it still feels like something's missing…"
Nate pinched Lucy's cheek absentmindedly while he thought.
"Ow! What was that for?" she protested, brushing his hand away.
"Did it hurt?"
"Of course it hurt!"
"Perfect. If you pinch me, it'd hurt too."
"Get lost, you big dummy!"
Laughing, Lucy playfully hit Nate, and they ended up in a friendly tussle. Eventually, Nate ended up pinning her down.
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.
Lucy blushed. "What are you doing?"
"I figured it out! We're missing Poké Balls!" Nate exclaimed, smiling as he gave Lucy a playful pinch. "We could use Card Magic so players can store Pokémon in Cards."
"Can you please let go first?" she protested, laughing as she pushed his hand away. "You're hopeless!"
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