Chapter 278 - Leaving For Jordan!
The Hunter Association arrived only a minute later.
After seeing the devastated battlefield around them, the leading Platinum Core couldn’t help but stare at the five students in shock.
’’What happened here?’’ he asked, glancing at Theo.
Theo introduced himself and his friends, alongside their affiliations.
Finally, he explained how they’d been attacked a day after purchasing resources from the auction house.
As he spoke, the captain’s expression gradually darkened.
’’We’ll investigate the auction house,’’ he said solemnly. ’’If one of their employees leaked customer information, they’ll be held responsible.’’
Theo nodded once.
"That’d be nice," Theo replied. "Will we be compensated if that’s the case?"
The association captain nodded without hesitation.
’’I’ll personally make sure of that,’’ he replied firmly.
A smile flashed across Theo’s face.
After leaving their contact information behind, the Hunter Association quickly took over the scene while city guards began blocking off the surrounding streets.
As Theo and the others walked away, the association captain couldn’t help but stare at them.
’So this is what students from one of the best universities in the world look like,’ he thought, amazed. ’Let’s hope they remember this place favorably despite the circumstances...’
He slowly turned around, glancing at the corpses lying everywhere.
’And it seems like it’s time to clean up the city once more,’ he thought, clenching his fists. ’How dare those rats embarrass us like this.’
Unbeknownst to Theo and the others, the incident that night led to many changes inside the city.
...
The group quickly made their way back to the hotel, chatting the whole time.
Eventually, Theo turned to the others.
’’Right, I still need to confirm something,’’ he said, his voice gradually becoming more serious. ’’Did all of you receive the boost to your cores?’’
The group fell silent for a moment.
Jim was the first to nod.
’’Definitely,’’ he said. ’’And it was a crazy one too.’’
’’Same here,’’ Iris added. ’’It’ll probably only take me another month and a half to reach the next stage.’’
Lyra nodded as well.
’’I have around the same, though it seems I’ll be taking a bit longer than Iris.’’
A large smile appeared on Theo’s face.
That was a far better result than even he’d expected.
Especially considering that the three of them only had S-rank affinities for now.
Normal S-ranks would’ve needed five months of cultivation in total... but now, that had practically been cut in half!
’If news about this spread, the world would go absolutely insane,’ he thought, smiling faintly. ’Hell, wars would start if this ever got out!’
Theo’s gaze then shifted over to Owen.
Before he could even ask, the grin plastered across Owen’s face had already given him the answer.
As he turned his head away, Owen’s voice rang out behind him.
’’Ey?! Are you not going to ask me?’’ he asked, feigning shock.
Theo couldn’t help but grin.
’’I don’t think I have to,’’ he replied casually.
Owen clicked his tongue in faint annoyance.
’’You’re no fun,’’ he said, though the grin hadn’t left his face.
’’Mine’s ridiculous,’’ he continued proudly. ’’At this rate, it’ll take me just under a month to reach Gold Core.’’
Before he could say another word, Lyra pinched his side hard.
’’What did I say about lying?’’ she hissed quietly.
Owen yelped before immediately protesting.
’’Hey! I wasn’t lying!’’ he shouted, rubbing his side. ’’I’ll probably be able to break through inside that dumb ruin!’’
Jim snorted as he folded his arms.
’’We’ve got ourselves a braggart,’’ he said, shaking his head.
Before long, Lyra, Owen, and Jim started bickering amongst themselves.
Only Iris glanced back at Theo with a strange look in her eyes.
’He forced us to buy breakthrough resources inside the auction house,’ she thought. ’Did he know how this would play out back then already?’
She fell silent as frustration flickered through her eyes for a split-second.
’It feels like every step I take to get closer just takes me back even further...’
Meanwhile, Theo watched the three bicker, completely unaware of Iris’s thoughts.
The tension from the fight had slowly drained out of his body... but he knew the real trip would start now.
’’Everyone,’’ he said after a minute. ’’Let’s grab our things and head for the airport.’’
The others snapped out of their bickering immediately.
Glancing back toward him, they nodded without objection one after another.
It didn’t take long before they all returned to their rooms.
Compared to everything that had happened over the past day, packing barely took any time at all.
A few minutes later, everyone gathered inside the hotel lobby.
Theo glanced around once before giving a nod.
’’Let’s go,’’ he said lightly.
Without wasting another second, the group stepped outside.
The sun had just barely started rising on the horizon as they climbed inside their taxis.
Before long, they pulled away from the hotel.
As the city quietly passed by, Theo rested his elbows on the window.
’Just two weeks left before the sandstorm ends,’ he thought, biting his lower lip. ’And I have to break through within that time.’
It was the only way to keep the others safe inside an unpredictable danger zone.
Theo clenched his fist tightly.
’Especially with all the competition waiting for us,’ he thought, frustrated.
It wasn’t just the Calamity Covenant maniacs he was worried about.
From the information he’d purchased, two particular surnames had popped up quite often.
Both the Whitmores and Iris’s family, the Blackwoods, were going to be present.
’There’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be going for us,’ he thought. ’And I don’t even want to mention the countless other organizations...’
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
Finally, he let out a deep breath and leaned back against the seat.
After a moment, a familiar translucent screen popped up in front of him.
[Would You Rather cooldown: 00:10:22:11]
Seeing the screen, Theo couldn’t help but smile.
’It’s almost time again, huh,’ he thought. ’Isn’t that nice?’