Chapter 281: Iron Essence Ore

Under Julian's exasperated expression, the Champion-level Dragonite reminded him once again that when Julian passed away, Dragonite should return to the Dragon's Den to take its place as the guardian.

'Damn it! If I can't beat you right now, I at least want to curse you'

Without saying a word, Julian rode Dragonite and left Dragon Mountain.

Champion Dragonite: "Don't forget our agreement."

Julian didn't say anything out loud but he had already decided that once he became a Champion, he would return to the Dragon's Den—not for anything else but just to give Dragonite a good thrashing.

Although it had just reunited with its father, Dragonite felt no need to stay in the Dragon's Den.

It might have had a tinge of reluctance, but it was determined to stay with Julian.

As they flew out of Dragon Mountain, Julian had already pulled out his Dowsing Machine.

Although the Dragon Pool—arguably the most important treasure in the Dragon's Den—had already been used by Dragonite, helping it break through to the Elite level, Julian had yet to truly explore the Dragon's Den secret realm.

Treasures were no longer his top priority. What mattered most now was exploring this mysterious place. Of course, he would look for treasures along the way.

Dragon Mountain was the center of Dragon's Den, and the further one moved from it, the weaker the concentration of Dragon-type energy became.

That said, even the outermost areas of Dragon's Den held far more Dragon-type energy than the outside world.

By now, the energy in Dragon's Den had calmed down after its recent surge. This stabilization was also one of the reasons Dragonite had been able to break through.

"Let's check out the mining area first," Julian said.

The so-called mining area was located in the eastern part of Dragon's Den, on its outer edges.

Combined with Dragon's Den's vast but sparsely populated nature, this area was rarely inhabited by Dragon-type Pokémon. The environment was too poor for most of them.

Even Dragon-types with Ground or Rock attributes rarely chose the mining area as their territory.

Julian's goal in heading there was, of course, mining.

The Drake family had already discovered that the mining area contained many valuable minerals. However, without advanced spatial technology, even if they mined the area, they couldn't transport much of it back.

An hour later, Julian arrived above the mining area.

Spanning approximately 100,000 square meters, the region's rocky composition caused the terrain to take on a slightly varied hue.

Directly below Julian, the rocks were currently a deep red.

He was searching for Iron Essence Ore.

The goal of finding this ore was to benefit Aggron. The diamond ore he had found earlier was nearly depleted, and as it was extremely rare, finding more would require incredible luck.

Iron Essence Ore, while slightly less valuable than diamond ore, wasn't far behind in terms of quality.

The most crucial point was that Iron Essence Ore was indeed located in this mining area, something inadvertently revealed by Dylan during a conversation with Julian.

When Julian later asked him for the specific location, Dylan clammed up immediately.

No matter—Julian had his Dowsing Machine. With it, finding Iron Essence Ore wouldn't be too difficult, especially given his extensive geological knowledge.

Because Iron Essence Ore was buried relatively deep and wasn't an associated mineral with others, there were no visible traces of it on the surface.

Typically, people only discovered it by accident.

Seeing a red dot on his Dowsing Machine covering a quarter of the display, Julian instructed Dragonite to land.

Once on the ground, the rocky surface still appeared red, though it was slightly lighter in color than before. Julian then commanded Dragonite to dig a pit over 50 meters deep.

Jumping to the bottom of the pit, Julian ran his fingers through the rock dust. It felt dry at first, but with closer attention, he noticed it was faintly damp.

Sixty percent of discovered Iron Essence Ore deposits were located above underground rivers.

Combining this feature with the red dot on the Dowsing Machine.

"Gabite, Dragonite, start digging downward"

Since other Pokémon with more suitable attributes—like Steelix, Metagross, or Aggron—couldn't be deployed in the Dragon's Den secret realm, Julian had to rely on Dragonite and Gabite.

Gabite grimaced. It had been expecting a meal, but instead, it was ordered to dig.

Just as it was about to complain, it noticed Dragonite, the big boss, had already started digging without hesitation. Any protests immediately died on its lips.

Although Dragonite wasn't specialized in mining, its newly reached Elite-level strength made tasks like digging relatively simple.

While Gabite couldn't match Dragonite's speed, it still served as a capable assistant.

Before long, Dragonite had dug a pit over 100 meters deep, but there was still no sign of Iron Essence Ore.

Julian wasn't discouraged. The typical depth of Iron Essence Ore deposits ranged between 800 and 5000 meters. Finding it at just 100 meters would have been sheer luck.

As they dug deeper, the moisture seeping from the pit walls became increasingly noticeable. Julian felt confident there was an underground river below.

At a depth of 3000 meters, Dragonite finally unearthed a rock streaked with black veins. Without even needing to test it, Julian recognized it as Iron Essence Ore.

He placed the rock in his system storage; "Keep digging. Let's excavate this entire vein."

A Totem Aggron had an insatiable appetite, and compared to energy cubes, consuming various ores boosted its strength more effectively and rapidly.

In terms of food expenses, Aggron was the most costly Pokémon among all of Julian's team members.

Its daily meals alone cost nearly a million.

If you were a multi-millionaire, you could only afford to keep Aggron for ten days.

Of course, that was specifically Julian's Aggron. A typical Aggron's daily expense was closer to 100,000.

The Iron Essence Ore deposit wasn't particularly large, but it still took Dragonite and Gabite nearly twelve days to fully excavate it.

During the process, Gabite even leveled up, reaching level 26.

Mining to gain experience significantly lifted Gabite's mood. What initially felt like a chore soon turned into a more enthusiastic effort.

Together, the two Pokémon managed to unearth roughly 100 tons of Iron Essence Ore. At Aggron's current consumption rate, it would last for about a year.

"We're done here. Let's go."

Leaving the mining area, Julian rode on Dragonite and spent the next ten days exploring other parts of the Dragon's Den secret realm.

Along the way, he discovered several treasures, most of them related to Dragon-types.

The most valuable find was a pseudo-Champion-tier Dragon Fang, which Julian retrieved from the remains of a deceased Haxorus.

The skeleton had been well-hidden, remaining undiscovered until now, making the Dragon Fang an easy prize for Julian.

Even after death, a Dragon-type Pokémon's essence often lingered in its bones, particularly in its teeth.

Julian decided to give this Dragon Fang to Gabite. Dragonite already had one, also a pseudo-Champion-tier Dragon Fang, so it didn't need another.

*****

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