Kai's Essence

Professor Elm jerked up from his seat.

A tingling sensation crawled across Kai's body as Selene materialized and slithered around his shoulders, keeping most of her body towards the group. She hissed, yawned, turned her head from left to right, and then up and down as if showcasing her figure. It was all according to the plan.

There was such a shock and awe on Professor Elm's face that Kai almost felt bad about interrupting his thoughts.

-/Professor Elm, on that island, there was an old village whose people worshiped the White Snake/- Kai said, and finally caught the professor's attention.

"How are you doing this?" Elm asked, more curious than afraid. "How are you speaking directly into my head? Is it some kind of telepathic ability? Are you even human?"

Kai smiled ruefully.

Petyr tapped his cane, and the heads turned towards him. "I would request you to sit down, Professor Elm," he said, smiling. "You do want to know the origins of the snake-type Pokemon, don't you?"

Elm's head snapped to the slithering snake and nodded. He took his seat, but his eyes never left Selene's odd movements.

-/I said "was" because now it is destroyed/- Kai said and gestured at Item-M. -/Only Priestess Shae of the Ancient Temple of White Snake is left of those people of the old ways. You see, the temple that the villagers worshiped was a burial ground, and went deeper than any untrained and poorly equipped explorer could go. When Simon told me about this place, I could hear the call of an adventure like never before. So I went there immediately.

-/It wasn't easy to convince the villagers to allow me to explore the temple, though. I stumbled upon a narrow cave system, running deep into the temple. The villagers believed that the white snake came out of those tunnels during the full moon. I had some other notions. So, going against the villagers' wishes, I descended through the tunnels. Now, I won't waste our time by mentioning all the props and the traps, and the hideous hieroglyphic-imprints which suggested anything but a benevolent identity's presence down there. At the bottommost chamber, I found three petrified eggs. This Ghost Serpent is the hatchling from the biggest of them./-

Petyr was just waiting for this fantastic but utter fiasco of a tale to be completed. He again tapped his cane.

"This snake-type Pokemon bonded with Desmond Jones," Petyr said, pointing at Selene using the cane. "Now, Desmond here is a mute, but the Pokemon somehow allows him to talk to others using telepathy. It seems the Pokemon hears Desmond's thoughts and then transfers them to those to whom Desmond wants to speak. Am I correct, Priestess Shae?"

Item-M nodded.

"The moment Dr. Desmond picked up the eggs," she said sadly, "it must have triggered some kind of mechanism, secreting a fatal chemical on the island. It froze all of them to death. The only reason I survived was that I had secretly followed him into the tunnels, hoping to see the glory of the White Snake with my own eyes."

A few drops of tears trickled down her face.

Professor Elm's expression softened for a moment, and then he suddenly asked, "Doctor?"

Petyr chuckled. "Desmond here isn't an ordinary explorer, Professor," he said, leaning forward. "He is a man of science, not much unlike you. Before dwelling into the old myths, Desmond was widely known as Dr. Desmond Jones."

Professor Elm beamed upon hearing this information. "I must admit, I have never heard of your name, Dr. Desmond," he said, standing up. "May I know what field you specialize in?"

-/Men like us shouldn't dwell too much on social necessities, professor,/- Kai said, smiling. -/My expertise includes but is not limited to Evolutionary Biology and Evolutionary genetics. Viral and Bacterial evolution, Molecular and Genome evolution, Genetics of speciation, Analysis of quantitative trait variation, Host-Parasite co-evolution, Sexual selection and sexual conflict, Natural selection in the wild, and a bit of this and a bit of that./-

With every field mentioned by Kai, Professor Elm's breathing sped up visibly. At first, he had looked at Kai with a mere glance, as demanded by social interactions. Now, though, a fervor and admiring glow was beaming out of him. There was a smile on that youthful face which must have shocked the crowd who knew him if they were to see it.

Not only Professor Elm, but even Item-M was also gobsmacked, her mouth wide open. From the way Kai had mentioned his specializations, it didn't seem he was bluffing. And if he wasn't, then didn't it mean he was as qualified as a multi-doctorate scientist at a mere age of some 17 or 18?

This was Kai Stormborn. He might not have the brightest cunning like that of Petyr. And He might not have the greatest sanity left after the death of his mother. But even if one were to rip him off of all his powers, this one thing one could never snatch off him. His knowledge. The knowledge that was given to him by his parents, like the breast milk down the throat of a toddler.

If there was an essence to him, then it was this knowledge.

The weight of an entire world's expectations and future used to lie on the shoulders of a boy when he was still in his mother's womb.

And that weight had ultimately crushed him. The one who was destined to seek Knowledge was forced to seek Absolute Power. The one who was fated to become the messiah of all humanity became the Demon to annihilate it instead.

The stunned silence broke away with Kai's renewed grave expression.

-/That's why I requested Simon to bring me to you, professor,/- he said. -/I lack the equipment to find out what is wrong with the last Pokemon of its species. This Ghost Serpent is blind. And no matter how I looked at them, I couldn't find anything about the rest of the two eggs either. Priestess Shae, please take out the two eggs for the professor to see./-

Kai approached Professor Elm and blocked his sight. Behind him, Item-M took two eggs out of her Inventory, which Kai had already passed to her.

One egg was fist-sized, red-blue-brown stripes running over its dusty, rock-like shell. The other was a golden egg the size of a thumb. Item-M handed both of them to Kai as Professor Elm ran his fingers over Selene's dragon-like scales. If it wasn't for Kai's strict command to let the Professor do as he wished, the Ghost Serpent would have killed him already.

"You are right," Professor Elm said. "There are many things out of place."

-/Professor Elm,/- Kai said, his eyes glowing with expectation. -/How about you let me assist you in finding the exact nature of the Pokemon and these eggs? I have some days to spare./-

If it was before, this kind of request would have seemed nothing but a jest.

Professor Elm grinned at the notion. "Of course, Dr. Desmond," he said, already taking out glass cylinders to store the eggs. "I would be glad to hear your point of view regarding Pokemon evolution and their breeding habits."

Professor Elm passed a white lab coat to Kai, ignoring the existence of Petyr and Item-M entirely.

Kai rubbed the coat, as memories of a time he had buried deep tried to resurface. He threw off his hat and donned the coat as if it was meant for him.

It was then the notification popped up.

[

Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…

You have achieved a Milestone

Milestone: Develop friendly relations with a Professor in the Pokemon World

Milestone Rewards: Intelligence +1

]

Kai smiled.

But whether he was smiling at the reward or at the prospect of having a lab for the next few days, who knew?

***********

AN: 3 months of publishing. Phew! Thank you all who have reached here with me and Kai. Let's see what the coming months has in store for us.

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