Chapter 55: Small Talk!
"Welcome to the premium section." Once the door of the elevator opened up for Ken, a butler welcomed him.
"How may we help you, dear disciple?" The butler, who was wearing a servant’s robe but in black and white, asked.
The mix of modern and ancient Chinese butler was very weird in Ken’s eyes, but currently, he could care less.
"I’d like to rent a room for the duration of my stay." Ken said.
"That’ll be 50 low-quality spirit stones." The butler said, but he didn’t judge Ken too quickly.
If Ken was any other disciple, then this amount is far beyond what they could bring out, and normally, no outer disciple from Ken’s batch should be able to afford a room.
50 spirit stones was almost the allowance they got for 2 months, and even if they lived frugally, they wouldn’t take it out when they could just rest in the normal 2 bedrooms for free.
Ken without a word took out the spirit stones from his ring, placing them in a table next to the butler, where they disappeared.
The butler then bowed again, and without any one of them speaking a word, a maid appeared from a door right to the butler.
"Allow me to guide you to your room, young master." The gorgeous mortal wearing a not-so-modest maid outfit bowed and pointed towards the left of the butler.
Ken nodded and walked past the maid as she told him the directions.
This was him being respectful towards the maid and also showing his intentions that he didn’t need ’extra services,’ but he was still a young man after all and had taken a quick glance at her when she first came out.
But such things could be left for later. He had already allowed himself to be relaxed enough by taking a premium room.
The next hour went by quickly with Ken taking a look at his luxurious room, better than that of a king of a medieval kingdom.
Snacks, fruits, and the finest drinks were a hand’s distance away from wherever he was, making him unable to hold his amazement.
After eating a little, taking a bath, and doing whatnot to test the water, he went back to the top floor.
Heading towards the cafeteria, Ken’s head almost burst from the constant noise and people moving, something he hated quite a bit and one of the reasons he had taken the premium room, which promised comfort and silence.
Upon reaching it, he found a corner where Darek and the two other teammates were eating, drinking, and laughing together.
Going towards them, Ken couldn’t help but notice Darek’s faint smile.
"You’re surprisingly social." Ken commented as he took hold of the menu.
More than a cafeteria, this was like a restaurant.
"Right?" Alex and Marwa both said it together, and they stood silent for a second as Ken held his chuckle and Darek just gave all three of them an eye.
"You’re that Ken, right? The one that’s all the talk these days." Alex turned towards Ken as he said.
"It seems like it." Ken replied with a smile as he put down the menu, having made his choices.
Taking a look around, the cafeteria was huge, but there were no chefs or butlers around; the table came in all kinds of shapes and forms.
Some were round and large, some were small, and some were just a stool in front of a wall-mounted table; there were even sofas in the corners.
Whatever you like, you can find.
And one only had to click on the menu and throw the required spirit stones in a circle that appears, and then, once the food was ready, it would appear on your table.
The table they were on was medium in size and round.
"We don’t see you around much." Marwa suddenly said.
"Are we supposed to?" Ken asked; it was a genuine question.
"Well, most of the students meet up around the lectures’ area, the arena, the training grounds, or in our case, gatherings and parties." Alex replied.
"He means the top 500. A lot of us send invitations around and gather in some restaurant’s VIP room." Darek ate slowly as he spoke.
"Most just boast, and it’s typically those who have connections to seniors with serious wealth who send invitations the most." Marwa added.
"Have you seriously never gotten an invitation?" Alex asked.
"Where does it show up?" He asked.
"In front of your courtyard, there’s a little mailbox there." Alex answered.
"..." Ken didn’t reply, and it was just in time for his food to appear.
"This guy probably never checked it." Darek casually said.
"He looks like the busy type." Marwa joked, her hand over her mouth as she chuckled.
"It’s interesting; I’ll check it out once I return." Ken thought for a second and said. Had he ever bothered to check, he would have gotten all the information he needed regarding the new disciples, but it’s not that he hasn’t thought of it; he was just sticking to his plan.
The rate at which he improved and checked through his list was also important; it needed a balance—not too fast and not too slow.
"You should, but not more than twice a month." Darek was the one who spoke, surprisingly.
"Giving me advice, huh?" Ken joked.
"He’s right. any more than that and it’s useless." Marwa said.
"Nothing of much importance happens for you to know about due to the sect’s slow life. But it’s good to make connections and get some advice from the seniors." Alex added.
"I don’t think anything will miss someone like you even without the gatherings." Darek suddenly spoke, taking the others by surprise.
"Oh? You’re the type who looks from above?" Alex looked at Ken with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe? I’m not the one who said that." Ken replied, implying that it was just Darek’s view of him but also not refusing.
He wasn’t the type to give information about himself.
"So what do we have planned for the mission?" Marwa then asked the much needed question.