On the third day in the Imperial Capital, Fang Yuan finally had the opportunity to visit Emperor Capital University.
For this top-tier university, renowned nationwide, Fang Yuan had long held a sense of admiration.
Unlike People's University, Emperor Capital University didn't have volunteers to guide the visitors; Fang Yuan had to wander around on his own.
With a letter of introduction in hand, Fang Yuan inquired his way to the university's External Affairs Office.
"A letter of introduction from the Su Province Pingcheng Trainer Association?"
Liu Changwei, the director of the External Affairs Office at Emperor Capital University, ran an office whose purpose was to receive important visitors of various statuses from outside.
After verifying the authenticity of the letter of introduction, Director Liu nodded at Fang Yuan and said, "Hello, Student Fang."
"Hello," Fang Yuan responded.
Such letters of introduction were generally issued by the local Trainer Association when they considered a student to have the potential and talent to gain admission to the university. In other words, Fang Yuan, holding this letter, was seen as a potential genius who might be admitted to Emperor Capital University.
Having received several new trainers with letters of introduction from the Trainer Association recently, Liu Changwei immediately arranged for someone to start guiding Fang Yuan around Emperor Capital University once his identity was confirmed.
A young lady in the office, holding a manual, began to introduce the place to Fang Yuan.
"The Sun Room maintains a 'Sunny Day' status 24 hours a day; it's an excellent place to train Plant-type and Fire-type Spirits, and also has miraculous effects when practicing moves like Solar Flame."
"Flight Square, built for acrobatic maneuvers and moves like Aerial Ace, enables one to systematically learn various Flying-type moves, even with no prior experience."
"The Botanical Garden—don't be misled by its name—this place mainly cultivates special toxic plants suitable for Poison-type Spirits to absorb toxins, and there are eleven kinds of toxins that can be integrated into Highly Toxic Methods alone."
"This is the man-made waterfall..."
"This is the underground ice cavern..."
"This is the charging room..."
Under the guidance of Guide Wei, Fang Yuan rubbed his eyes. Where should he start first?
And this was just the tip of the iceberg.
"This is the library of Emperor Capital University; the third floor is the Moves Secret Book Collection Area, where nearly a hundred types of moves' secret books can be borrowed, as well as many standard breeding methods for Spirits."
Fang Yuan began to understand why Emperor Capital University was so prestigious.
In the competition videos that Zhuang Xin had played for the newcomers of the Rising Star Program, the trainers from ordinary universities were almost instantly defeated by those from Emperor Capital University. The defeats were far from undeserved.
Such prestigious universities had this depth of resources; in such an environment, even a newbie trainer could be molded within three to four years to reach a level not far off the mark, provided that... he wasn't persuaded to drop out by the school.
"Ms. Wei, I heard that some of the training facilities at Emperor Capital University are open to the public. Is that true?"
After listening for so long, Fang Yuan was somewhat intrigued and couldn't help asking.
"I'm not a teacher; you can call me Miss Wei or Guide Wei," replied the guide with a smile.
She said, "Your timing isn't great; at the moment, only one Gravity Training Ground is available for public use. Would you like to try it out and see?"
"Gravity Training Ground?"
"Yes, the Gravity Training Ground. It's generally a place where Fighting-type Spirits undergo training, but Spirits of other attributes can also train there. The main goal is to strengthen the Spirits' physical fitness and willpower. Depending on the needs of the user, one can choose to experience the gravity increased by several multiples or more."
"I'd like to give it a try," Fang Yuan said.
A place like the Gravity Room in "Dragon Ball"?
"Okay, follow me," Guide Wei said.
…
Emperor Capital University's Gravity Training Ground was as big as a soccer field and divided into different areas.
It was enclosed, and Fang Yuan suspected there might be Spirits beneath the ground that could use "Gravity Moves," but the likelihood was slim...
It must be brand-new technology that emerged after Spirits integrated with Earth.
"A new Trainer here to visit?"
The person in charge of managing the Gravity Training Ground was an old man who bore a striking resemblance to the gatekeeper at Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, but an old man in such a place as a manager... was definitely no ordinary person. Fang Yuan wouldn't be surprised even if he were a retired Professional Trainer.
The old man's voice was loud, not at all like that of an elderly person. Hearing this, Guide Wei handed over her ID card and said, "Yes, he's a newbie with an introduction letter from the Trainer Association, here to visit during the winter break."
"Understood, go inside for now," the manager said after glancing at Fang Yuan. "For a newbie, it's best to start with the lowest multiple of gravity and increase from there."
"You have ten minutes to experience it, um... if you can last the full ten minutes, that is."
"I'll do my best..." Fang Yuan scratched his head, feeling a bit nervous inside.
Upon entering the technologically advanced Gravity Training Ground, Fang Yuan found that the building materials were made of a special kind of crystal, transparent but with a black tint, giving off an air of mystery.
Under the old man's guidance, they arrived at the nearest room.
The room was built from the same crystal material. After the old man pressed a few spots on the wall, the room's walls lit up with many squares, much like a computer screen.
Whoosh!
The next moment, the room's walls turned transparent, allowing Fang Yuan to clearly see inside from the outside.
"The Trainer stays in the outer room while the Spirit goes inside. You can see exactly what's happening inside from outside, and sound can also be transmitted in, so you can communicate directly," explained the old man.
"There are many challenge modes in the Gravity Room, with dodgeball being one of the simpler entry-level ones. But considering you're a newbie, I won't activate the challenge mode. Just experience the gravity," the old man said.
"Alright, thank you." After thinking for a moment, Fang Yuan took out the Poké Ball of Little Magnetic Monster, intending to let it have a try. Theoretically, Little Magnetic Monster could also learn Gravity Moves, and perhaps it could gain some insights during the experience.
At the same time, the gravity environment here could reveal the limits of Little Magnetic Monster's control over electromagnetic waves!
Under the watchful eyes of the old man and Guide Wei, Fang Yuan released Little Magnetic Monster.
"Oh? A Magnemite, huh?"
"Interesting, the confrontation of electromagnetic waves and gravity is quite rare to see here," the old man said, stroking his beard and smiling for the first time.
"Magnemite??"
Upon being released by Fang Yuan, Little Magnetic Monster was still in a state of confusion.
Fang Yuan immediately started to explain to it, and once Little Magnetic Monster heard it was a challenge against gravity, it grew eager to try.
After all, the reason it couldn't fly at first was that it couldn't shield itself from gravity with electromagnetic waves. Now that it could skillfully use electromagnetic waves, blocking normal gravity was no issue for Little Magnetic Monster.
But if normal gravity was okay... what about double or even triple gravity?
Little Magnetic Monster didn't know if it could succeed in the challenge.