บท 20: Surprisingly Simple Task
Back to Arthur:
I walked out with huge relief. I am not expelled and was also given a chance. If I can make it into the Top3 then the Dean might even invest further into me.
As I stepped out of the Academy, I suddenly felt an invisible pressure directed towards me. I looked to my right from where I felt the animosity only to find Professor Arden looking at me with raze. I immediately put my hands up and said,
"I... I can explain,"
"Kid, we need to talk. Follow me," he said while walking towards his office.
"Yes Sir," I said tailing him.
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Arden's office:
"I am very pissed right now but be thankful that I can completely understand why you did it," said Arden taking a seat.
"I am sorry for using your Golett and involving you. I know I was reckless but I did not have any choice," I said trying to reason with him.
"No, Kid!!! you don't need to apologise and I don't care about the punishment you received. What you did might be due to your circumstances which again, I DON'T CARE. My salary penalty is 5 million and the rent for using my Golett is 2 million. So pay 7 million dollars in total, also all that fee is after I gave a huge discount. Now, pay or die..." he said glaring at me in seriousness.
I know Arden's salary is way higher than that but he doesn't seem to be mad at what I did. If it's 7 million then I can pay it with ease. After all, if the mid-grade egg hatches then I can sell it for at least 25 million.
"7 million??? I... I don't have that much with me. Can you give me some time?" I asked with a pitiful face.
"You don't have? I heard you were the son of a Baron. You nobles have a lot of money, how come you are poor?" he asked in confusion.
" Professor Arden, I am a civilian. If I was a noble, I wouldn't go as far as to steal an egg," I said scratching my head.
"Civilian? Hmm... Th...Then 2 million is fine. You can pay it in two months, This is a punishment to teach you a lesson, don't ever do it again. Even if you pull something like this, don't involve me or my Golett, Understand?" he said in a much softer tone.
'Why did he suddenly become a Tsundere? Is it because he is also a civilian?'
I heard that the royal capital gave him the title of Duke but was rejected directly by Arden. 'Does he hate the Nobles?' I thought in doubt.
"Thank you for your generosity, Professor. I promise you that I will never involve you or your Pokemon," I said assuring him and turning back to leave.
"Kid, let me give a small piece of advice. That Old man might have spared you but never try to offend people who are of upper hierarchy. If you ever do so then don't leave any traces behind," he said advising seriously.
I stopped in my tracks after I heard that, I turned back towards him,
"Thank you for the advice, Professor. And if there's ever a next time then not even my breath will be left behind," I said confidently.
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Dorms Room 35: (30 minutes later)
"Arthur? are you alright? what did Mister Nicholas do? and are you getting expelled?" said Ethan bombarding me with questions.
"Don't worry, I spoke to my butler, he will speak with my father and do something," he said again not giving me a chance to speak.
I was surprised that he was this worried and even contacted his butler.
'To think he went as far as to contact his father just for a one-month-old friendship' I thought with embarrassment.
I was feeling very guilty inside after seeing his worry.
I immediately stopped him and said,
"Don't worry man, Dean Nicholas was considerate enough to spare me."
"He spared you? Great!! but how?" he said in a happy and confused tone.
I ignored his question and bowed ninety degrees towards Ethan,
"I am very thankful that you are my friend and I am extremely sorry for involving you for my selfish reasons," I said letting out my guilt.
Although I knew the consequences, I realized that I am taking advantage of the friendship to gain benefits.
"What!! What are you doing Arthur? Forget about it, it's fine. Now, explain what happened inside after I left," he said with a smiling face and patted my back in comfort.
I promised myself to not use friendship as a tool ever again, Ethan always treated me like a true friend. On the other hand, I only befriended him with other motives. My reason was that he had psychic powers and his father was a Duke. Although I did consider him as a friend, at the back of my mind, I was always subconsciously thinking about the pros and cons of doing friendship with him.
I think from now, that baggage might be off, I turned to him and replied with a smile,
"So what happened was ............"
.
.
.
.
"Ohhh!! So, you just need to perform well in the tournament huh? It might be hard but not unachievable considering your performance in the academy," he said cheering me.
"Yeah but before that, tell me what happened to the Pokemon eggs? Did your butler tell how long they might take to hatch?" I asked in expectation because the egg is very important for my standings in the tournament.
"He said it might take a month for the eggs to hatch, also there might be a slight issue with the eggs," he said thinking about his Butler's words.
"Issue? what is it?" I ask back in concern.
"You know, the two were obtained from the eggs that were kept for sacrifice right? So, some ghosts might have absorbed the ghost energy of the egg thereby decreasing their potential," he said explaining the problem.
"You mean their current potential is not their original potential?" I asked him in surprise.
"It's a possibility but as they were only laid a week ago, we might never know. So whatever potential they are after hatching might not be their peak, at least that's what my Butler told," he said making me contemplate in thought.
So, there's a possibility of that peak green egg being a light blue one? Even the mid-green one might be a peak green potential.
I turned back towards Ethan and asked,
"Is there any way to make them return back to their original potential?"
"It's risky Arthur, the pokemon might just be a yellow grade one after hatching. Spending 2 to 5 million over the Pokemon you dont even know the potential is risky," he said shaking his head.
'Fuck!!! I know the potential, Damn it!!'
"Trust me, Ethan, they are bred in the academy, so the possibility of a green grade is high," I said trying to convince him.
"I agree but hiring a ghost pokemon specialist to fill the embryo with energy is costly. It might cost 2 to 3 million which is why no one hires them, wasting that much money on an egg which you never know the potential is stupid," he said trying to convince me.
"I will pay the money so please ask your Butler to make the eggs return to their peak," I said begging him.
"Fine, how much do you have now? I owe you 1 million for the Light Screen. So pay me one more million and I will manage the other million dollars," he said stretching his palm for one million.
'Fuck!! I barely have a million in my wallet. I spent a lot on Elekid for batteries and berries,' I thought realising the problem.
"Okay, trust me... I will pay it with the money we obtain from the Egg after selling," I said making him sigh.
"Fine, I will take care of it but remember you owe me one million now. Although my father is very generous, I don't like to use his money. I like to be independent," he said like a saint.
"Yeah, sure," I said deadpanning.
'Independent my ass!! that's free money. why not use it when your father dotes on you? he is gonna put all that money in his treasury' I thought internally while externally praising him for his character.
Nobles are not yet aware of the importance of money flow. Most of them just put all the money in their treasury while it rots for decades.
"Anyways, I will be doing some solo missions," I announced making Ethan surprised.
"Solo? why not together?" he asked.
"Did you not check the notice board? we need to do our first three missions without partnering," I said explaining the reason.
"Ohhhh!! sucks to be me then. I only get half the credit points for my missions," he said dejectedly.
"How about this? after you complete your first three tasks, we can do all your missions in my name so that you can get full credit points," I said making him gleam in joy.
"Great! it's decided, after my first three missions. All my tasks will be in your name for the next three months," he said adjusting his silver hair.
"Okay!! Tomorrow morning I will be visiting the Missions office to select one," I said getting ready to cook dinner.
"Alright, see you at the office tomorrow," he said waving goodbye.
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Missions Office (Next day):
The office was on the first floor of Nicols Hall. I woke up early today so Ethan has not yet arrived, tried to wake him up but Munna informed Elekid that Ethan slept late in expectations for the Mission.
'Well, sucks for him,' I thought and walked up to the old man who was in charge of missions for the first-year students.
"Hello there, How may I help you?" asked the man with glasses. He had oiled slid back black hair, a perfect jawline and seemed to fit the role of receptionist perfectly.
"Hello, I am a first-year student and came here to check on tasks. This is the first mission I will be taking so I would be happy if you recommend me a good one," I said smiling at him.
"First task huh? you are the fourth person here amongst the First years. Let me see....." he said searching the papers for a recommendation.
'Forth person? That means three people have an Intermediate Pokemon?' I thought trying to figure out who it might be.
I am sure Aiden Claude and Logan Claude would be amongst the three while the other one might be Faulkner or the girl that has an Aron. If I remember well, Elia Wilson is her name and is the daughter of a Viscount.
Well, I am not in a hurry, I was delayed because of the Egg stealing plan. Now that I have nothing to worry about, I can grind for the next three months.
"Ah here, I have found three suitable E-Grade tasks. You can select one of these three," he said and presented me the missions.
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Mission 6:
Hunt down Rattatas and Patrat around the periphery of the Academy.
Minimum requirement: 6 Pokemon
Credits: 1000 credits for 1 Pokemon
Mission 13:
Hunt down Pidoves and Pidgeys.
Minimum Requirement: 3 Pokemon.
Credits: 1500 credits for 1 Pokemon.
Mission 18:
Bring the silk produced from Sewaddle.
Minimum Requirement: 100 grams
Credits: 6000 credits for 100 grams.
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'Not bad for a start' I thought gazing at them.
"Can I take all the three?" I asked looking back at the counter.
"No, but these are common E rank missions so they are always available," he said smiling.
"Good, then I will take this first," I said pointing at Mission 13.
"Sure, report your name and put a signature here," he said handing me another paper.
I did as he said and turned to start the task, but just as I was walking away, my eyes caught the sight of a mission to the left of the counter,
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Special Grade Mission
Issued by: Viscount Johnathan Grace
Need for Dream Mist as early as possible.
Reward: 2 Million dollars or 20,000 Credits.
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'Dream Mist? 2 Million dollars?'
I immediately stared at the receptionist and asked,
"Excuse me, is this mission available?" I asked pointing at the task.
The guy was startled by my sudden question as I just left a second ago, he regained his sense and looked at the place where my finger was pointed,
"Oh, this!!! Yes, it is free to take mission assigned by outsiders. This is not an Academy mission but be warned that the difficulty is at least a C or B grade. If you do not have 3 Advanced or an Elite Pokemon, I would not suggest taking it up," he said disagreeing.
"C Grade? 3 Advanced Pokemon? Why?" I asked back as I could just get it now.
"The dream mist is produced by a rare psychic Pokemon species. Munna and Musharna are scarcely found in the Dreamyard ruins to the East of our Academy. But the wild Pokemon there are problematic to handle and also Munnas are not found during this time of the season. Otherwise, Viscount Jonathan could have easily got them. Normally, during this season, Musharna migrate or just teleport to different places in search of a mate, it's almost impossible," he said explaining in detail.
"But can I take it up? I have a way to get the dream mist," I said in eagerness to gain easy credit points.
"Sure but be warned that the first person to complete will be rewarded. Although you are the first person to see this task, there might be more people who take up the task by the end of the day. The task was just issued and I was going to put this on the notice board," he said getting up from the seat and walking towards the Notice board.
"No!!!" I said in a panic, the man was stunned by my loud shout.
Without giving him the chance to speak I shouted again,
"Ok, never mind, Post it. I will be right back."
The man stood there confused as I sprinted towards the Dorms at full speed.
---------Chapter End----------
Note: next chapter I will reveal the info and basic rewards on different grades of tasks. Though, only if you are interested or else I will just add them in the auxiliary chapter. But I feel it's good to introduce them as part of the story.....
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