Chapter 18: Why Doesn't My Trainer Follow the Rules?

Seriously, you want me to tell a story to this bad guy? The young girl looked at Tang Yi with a hint of wariness, trying to figure out what her trainer was up to. Was he teasing her again? Tang Yi smiled helplessly, “My Ralts is getting smarter and smarter, but I’m serious this time. You actually want to tell a story, don’t you? You’re trying to write a novel, right? I’m really curious about the world you want to create.”

Ralts was taken aback. Her small head drooped a little, and she fell silent. Tang Yi knew he had guessed correctly. If Ralts’s psychic power stemmed from her rich inner world, then surely she longed to share it. It was only natural—just as in Tang Yi’s old world, after reading countless online novels, strange ideas would accumulate in his mind, and he’d feel compelled to write them down, to express them.

Ralts was a very reserved and introverted girl. With her personality, it was hard for her to open up and take the initiative to share her inner world with someone else. Keeping it all inside must be suffocating.

Tang Yi finally understood why Ralts wanted to write a novel. It wasn’t because she’d been provoked by him, the so-called “bad guy.” It was because, ever since she was little, she’d been listening to Tang Yi’s stories about worlds that didn’t exist here, and browsing the internet, seeing all sorts of things every day. Gradually, her inner world had grown richer and richer. She wanted to express it through writing, but realized her skills weren’t yet enough to construct a real novel.

Tang Yi patiently guided her, coaxing gently, until Ralts was swayed. After all, she was facing her own trainer, and her shyness was eased a little.

“Then… you can’t laugh at me!”

“Of course!”

“No joking around!”

“Alright!”

“Don’t call me childish!”

“No problem.”

…

After adding a series of extra conditions, Ralts finally calmed down a bit. She pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and finally spoke again, her soft voice weaving a dream world belonging to a young girl.

This was the novel Ralts had been imagining lately. In her fantasy, it was a world inhabited only by spirit princesses. One fragile, sickly spirit from childhood worked hard to learn new skills, traveled the world, acting as a hero, fighting for justice, and vanquishing evil.

Tang Yi guessed this was influenced by the martial arts novels he’d talked about. He listened patiently and never mocked the story for being clichéd. Occasionally, he’d interject, helping Ralts refine her settings and worldview.

Gradually, Tang Yi became absorbed too. Ralts grew more and more excited, especially after Tang Yi’s guidance helped her resolve the issues she’d been struggling with. The warm spring breeze lifted the green tips of her hair from her forehead, revealing a pair of ruby-like eyes shining brighter than ever.

Who knows how much time passed before Ralts suddenly paused, “I’m a bit thirsty.”

Tang Yi glanced at his phone—goodness, more than two hours had gone by without him realizing it. He opened his backpack, ready to take out the water bottle, when he suddenly saw it float up on its own from inside.

Tang Yi glanced at the girl beside him; she was still basking in the joy of sharing her inner world, unaware of what she was doing. A faint blue glow emanated from her right hand. Tang Yi had seen this in online videos—it was the sign of Telekinesis, but only psychics with considerable mental strength could manifest it.

The bottle drifted slowly into her hand. She unscrewed the lid and took a big gulp. When she finished, Ralts politely thanked Tang Yi, still oblivious that she had retrieved the bottle herself.

“Ralts, I’m thirsty too.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll let you have some. Why are you getting up?”

Tang Yi stood and stretched naturally, walked back and forth a couple of steps, and smiled, “Sitting for so long is tiring. Ralts, can you hand me the water bottle?”

He held out his hands, but made no move to take it himself.

Ralts shot him a glare.

He’s so lazy!

I’m not going to pay attention to you!

A few seconds later, the bottle still floated shakily toward Tang Yi’s hands. Now, as Ralts grew more aware, she finally sensed something was off.

“Ah! Why is the bottle moving on its own?” Ralts panicked a little, and the bottle wobbled in the air.

“Careful! My mom gave me that for my birthday. If it breaks, I’ll be heartbroken!” Tang Yi still didn’t reach for the bottle, kindly reminding her.

This big bad guy!

Ralts glared at him fiercely, took a deep breath, and fixed her eyes on the floating bottle, focusing her mind.

The wobbly bottle steadied, then floated smoothly into Tang Yi’s hands.

She did it!

She finally succeeded!

Tang Yi forgot all about drinking. In his excitement, he scooped up Ralts and spun her around as she exclaimed in surprise, “Do you realize what you just did? This is real Telekinesis!”

Unlike before, when her powers were uncontrollable, this time Ralts had maintained control throughout. Only controlled psychic power had value in battle.

It seemed the middle-aged man was right after all: Ralts had unconsciously developed considerable mental strength, but didn’t yet know how to use it.

The first step is always the hardest. Now that she’d succeeded once, repeated practice and mastery would come naturally.

Tang Yi now vaguely understood: for spirit princesses in their rapid growth phase, forcing development wasn’t necessarily a good thing. No wonder the official guidance from the nurturing center was to at least get through the rapid growth phase—though nowadays, no one paid much attention to that advice.

Tang Yi decided to strike while the iron was hot, but not to dampen Ralts’s enthusiasm.

After thinking for a moment, he chose a new training approach, “Ralts, let’s try something different.”

“Different training?” Ralts sounded a little disappointed, but didn’t outright refuse. Compared to training her psychic power, she was more interested in her novel world.

“No, no, just a different way to tell your story. Writing a novel is still a bit difficult for you right now, so let’s start by drawing instead.”

“Huh? Drawing?” Ralts’s eyes widened. Tang Yi’s leaps in logic often left her struggling to keep up.

How did this suddenly turn into drawing?

Ralts couldn’t understand.

Why does my trainer always talk so unconventionally?