Chapter 86. Feelings
The private jet glided through the skies.
Inside it, the Expedition team members from Derulo City University were seated.
"Thank you for your cooperation and efforts, everyone," Cosmo said.
"This time, the rewards for the completion of the mission will be sent directly to us on campus. You won’t be disappointed."
Glints of anticipation flashed through the eyes of the students.
"Whatever the rewards are, I doubt they will do me any good," Aiden thought. "I should get that temporary face altering cream. I will need a large number of contribution points for that. It should be enough for me to slip out of campus without drawing attention from Vermin Guild and the others just in case they are keeping an eye on me. They can’t know where I am headed to. By the time the effects wear off, I will already be out of this city.. Perhaps, I can speak to Cosmo so that my rewards are converted completely into contribution points I can use to buy this face altering cream. I should also speak to instructor Pamela about what I have in mind."
Desmonda and the others were completely asleep. The expedition had taken a mental toll on them. Even the other students were all asleep.
They had been on high alert at all times in the pocket world. They had completely let their guards down after they came out and they had fallen asleep.
Aiden stood up from his seat.
He went to sit near instructor Cosmo.
"Well this is new," Cosmo said. "Any problem?"
"Not really sir," Aiden replied. "Just wanted to request that my rewards are converted into contribution points."
"Oh," Cosmo said. "We will work on that."
He didn’t ask why Aiden wanted that. He must have had his personal reasons.
"Thank you sir," Aiden replied.
"You’re welcome."
Aiden was about to ask him where Pamela was. She came out of a different section as she wiped her hand with a towel.
"What’s up?" She asked.
"I need to leave Derulo City for a while. To make that possible, I would like to take on a special mission issued by the university so that I can miss the death duels without any issues," Aiden asked.
"Oh..." She replied. "Since I’m the daughter of the Principal, you figured I could pull some strings huh."
"Exactly," Aiden replied.
She was not offended.
"Actually, we needed someone for a particular mission in burning sands city. We will let the artifact engineers feed the details to the AI and let the university AI add it to the mission log so that you can take that mission," Pamela replied.
"Thank you," Aiden said.
"Don’t you want to find out why I am helping you?" She said.
"You are not helping me ma’am. With all due respect. What we have is an unspoken partnership. Am I right?" Aiden smiled politely.
"You are right," she nodded.
"This guy is nothing like a teenager," she thought.
"Making connections with a future powerhouse, instead of antagonising them, is just common sense," she said.
Aiden smiled politely. "Thank you for your time seniors. I’ll be returning to my seat."
Aiden understood how the world worked. He was a breath of fresh air. Logical and practical, Cosmo and Pamela thought as Aiden returned back to his seat comfortably. He wasn’t like the regular naive University students who believed in roses and fairy tales.
Aiden sat down.
"Until I’m a legendary rank 2 warrior, I’m not returning to campus. I should use my time in burning sands city to accomplish that," Aiden thought.
He wanted to openly deal with the organisations that wanted him dead, the moment he returned. He had to be a legendary rank 2 warrior by the time he returned. He’d just go to their headquarters and raze them all to the ground and absorb the blood essence of everyone he killed.
As for the national warriors Competition, he didn’t care about it. Neither would he be willing to participate in it.
He would not obtain any benefits from it.
Killing was not allowed in the competitions.
Participants simply fought in battle royales from various divisions of the competition all the way to the finals at the Nationals. You could only defeat your opponent to win. You could not kill them.
How the hell was he supposed to absorb blood essence? It would just be a waste of his time.
"I’m sure by the time I return, Desmonda and co will be advanced rank 2 warriors. As long as they work hard, they will be able to participate in the competition. The rewards will be good for their cultivation. But, this competition will be useless for me," Aiden thought.
At the front seat, Pamela and Cosmo were having a discussion.
"It seems Aiden wants to lay low for a while. That’s why he wants to take on a personal mission," Cosmo said.
"It’s a good call. He understands that even though he openly has my backing and the backing of his friends parents, assassinations from those who already want him dead desperately are possible. Burning Sands City is quite far from here. Even by airplane, it’s a five hour journey. It’s the best place for him to lay low," Pamela added.
"From the looks of things, he won’t be around for the National Warriors Universities Competition," Cosmo said.
"I don’t think he will. He may want to be powerful enough to handle those that want him dead by the time he returns. I guess I was wrong about him. Aiden is quite unpredictable. Many young warriors will chase fame and won’t ignore the opportunity to have their name known through the competition. The rewards for performing well in the competition are also worthwhile. But I suppose he has his own plans," Pamela said. "I guess the old man won’t have the chance to see him. Perhaps, they will meet under different situations in the future."
"Yeah," Cosmo said. "But his friends are not bad either. They can be part of our representatives. By the time of the competition, they will definitely be advanced rank 2 warriors."
"Indeed," Pamela said.
The private jet landed on the university campus.
Everyone got off.
Aiden and his friends went to Aiden’s villa.
He told them about his personal plans to be away for a while.
"So you’ll miss the end of year gala we invited you to," Asmodeus said.
"I’ve already met the parents of everyone," Aiden replied. "If another opportunity for free food with rich people presents itself by the time I return, I will meet them," Aiden said jokingly.
Everyone chuckled.
"I guess you won’t be around for the National Warriors University competitions," Desmonda asked.
"Not really," Aiden replied. "But I suggest you guys should participate. I’m sure the rewards will help your cultivation greatly."
"We already have plans of becoming advanced rank 2 warriors by the time of the competition," Candice said. "Of course we won’t miss the opportunity to participate in the competition. Just as you said, the benefits will be worth it."
Everyone nodded.
As for how Aiden would get resources to cultivate, even though he would be operating with another
"Alright. Take care of yourself," the group said.
"You guys as well," Aiden replied.
"We have to do something, Desmonda," Seraphina said.
"Yeah. You guys can hang out for a bit," Luke said.
"Yeah," Asmodeus replied.
"See you later Desmonda," Candice winked at her.
"Aiden, we will stay in touch on Chatme."
"Sure," Aiden replied to them as they scurried off.
Only Desmonda and Aiden were in the living room.
"Why are they behaving so weird?" Aiden said as he smiled warmly. These guys were really quirky.
"I don’t even know," Desmonda shook her head.
"Take care of yourself Aiden," she said with concern etched on her face.
Aiden felt warmth flood through him.
"I will Des," Aiden replied warmly. "You too."
"Mmm," Desmonda chuckled. "Des huh, I like the sound of that."
"That’s the last time I’m calling you that," Aiden laughed.
Desmonda rolled her eyes.
"See you when you get back."
"You too."
Desmonda closed the door behind her.
As she walked through the streets to her villa, she sighed. "I will miss him. I guess I can’t help but admit it. When he said he will be away for a while, I felt very sad. I have feelings for him. I should ask him out when he gets back."
Aiden was also in his sitting room.
"I just gave her a pet name huh. I suppose I’ve developed feelings for her. We have so many things in common after all and our principles align. It’s only natural. I should ask her out when I get back. For now, I should start making preparations to leave. Let’s check out the special mission. It should have been added by now."