Can You Help Me Catch A Ride?

"Are you certain?" Alice felt awkward because they met for the first time today. She assumed that Erin had known Ron, Olivia, and Edward for sometime now.

She didn't know that Erin had only met those three just yesterday. Contrary to this, Olivia and Edward happily thanked Erin and accepted instantly.

"Of course. Consider it a thank you. Your father was very thoughtful with his help too." Erin wasn't foolish. He remembered Ron's conversation with Alice earlier.

It seemed Alice was the daughter of Pearson, a Guardian. Alice finally relented with these words.

Originally, Erin didn't understand the status of Guardians. After he woke up at the restaurant, any relevant information just started flowing into his mind. He understood that the Guardians maintained order throughout the known universe. They held immense power both physically and politically. Thus, he was going to do his best to get acquainted with them.

Erin didn't know where all this newfound knowledge was coming from though.

Sensing its master's confusion, the dragon hatchling activated something deep inside Erin's mind.

Suddenly, Erin knew why he had all this knowledge! Firstly, the hatchling sent him scenes where the netherstorm liquid dripped on his head earlier! Aside from absorbing energy, netherstorms also absorbed knowledge. This knowledge was taken by any intelligent creatures that died trying to go through a netherstorm.

In this case, this knowledge was absorbed from all of the starships that got vaporized trying to escape the netherstorm. Their pilots and passengers became bits of energy and knowledge that fed the growing netherstorm.

The dragon hatchling brought the netherstorm using its inherited memories and special abilities. The netherstorm would not only provide it energy, but it would also make the dragon's intelligence up-to-date with the standards of the current universe.

Had the netherstorm failed to absorb any knowledge, it would have continued moving to areas that had signs of life until it did. It only stopped because the dragon hatchling considered the energy and knowledge sufficient.

Erin kept these thoughts deep inside of him. Now that he was aware, he also knew that he would be targeted if people knew the truth. There was no better secret than one kept all to himself!

While Erin was having this realization, Edward and Olivia were comparing their spatial treasures to see which one was bigger. Edward won by a slight margin. Olivia's pouting face over something so trivial made Ron and Alfred chuckle.

Seeing Erin deep in thought, Ron understood something. The idea of learning Tamer techniques was to increase his chances of becoming a Tamer. This was because his profession was originally just a student. Now that Erin has already awakened, there was no point anymore. He had no reason to return with their group.

"Are you going?" Ron glanced at Erin.

Erin heard Ron's words and realized what he meant. Although he wanted to say he would stay a little longer, the dragon hatchling was urging him otherwise.

Their mental connection was very strong. Erin could understand that the hatchling retrieved an inherited memory of a place that would be extremely useful to its growth. Heading there was within their limits and would thereby help Erin grow faster too!

Erin knew that he was simply too weak right now. If he could level up as soon as possible, then he was going to take the chance. Since this creature had maximum affinity with him, Erin had an inherent trust for its opinions.

"Yes." Erin glanced at Ron and nodded politely.

"Now that I have awakened, there is someplace I have to be." He was being honest.

Although he could also improve himself under Darwin, it would be slow compared to the methods the hatchling had available. Furthermore, if there was ever an accident during the hatchlings growth, it might even implicate Darwin and his family.

Creatures with a netherstorm affinity are considered a bane by many simply because of the terrifying reputation that netherstorms have.

On the other side, to Alfred and Ron, it sounded like the Dawn Family had something prepared for him after his awakening. Otherwise, Erin wouldn't sound so serious.

Edward and Olivia had tears on the edge of their eyes. They thought Erin was going to stay and learn from their father. They didn't expect him to leave so suddenly!

Erin saw this and smiled at the two of them. "When I get the chance, I'll definitely visit you both." He promised them. These words were barely enough for them.

"Alright. We understand." Ron answered on behalf of the children. "In any case, we have to get going ourselves. Master Darwin will probably be waking up soon."

"Let me give you our planet's coordinates." Ron took out his orb. Nobody in the room was surprised except for Erin! Now that his knowledge was updated, he knew that orbs were almost always associated with people that come from the Imperial Academy.

Erin quickly hid this surprise. He took out his own orb and it received information being transmitted from Ron's orb.

[New Information Acquired]

[Planet Bordon's coordinates have been stored.]

[Dimensional Gate Access Key has been acquired.]

[Special Communication Channel Registered.]

[Members: Erin, Ron] [Transmission possible through the Imperial Academy's personal intergalactic network.]

Erin didn't know that his orb could act as a communication device. He also noticed that he's been given a dimensional gate key. It seems this was the 'password' that people used to access a specific dimension gate. In this case, the gate deep underneath the Redstone Family Manor.

[New Message Received!]

[Haha, Erin. You are probably surprised. I understand that, as a new student, you probably know too little about the orb's potential. You can mentally send messages into the orb for transmission. Also, a note of warning, only use this special channel for fellow orb users. Otherwise the academy will punish you. Good luck! - Ron]

Erin was surprised. Information about the orb is extremely rare, so even though Erin's knowledge was now up-to-date, it still was limited by what the common person knew. This basically confirmed that Ron was related to the academy. Erin didn't bother correcting his misunderstanding since the identity was very useful.

Erin nodded gratefully at Ron.

Ron smiled and finally motioned the children to follow him. Though reluctant, they bid farewell to everyone and waved especially at Erin. They relaxed when Ron had given Erin their planet's coordinates.

Ron himself felt like he would see Erin again soon.

"You better visit sometime!" Both of the children yelled before entering the elevator. Once it closed, the tears they held started to fall.

Even during short interludes, children can be quite emotional. They were hoping that Erin would stay longer. Most of their city, aside from their family, was composed of soldiers. Even though these soldiers had relatives, there were very few youths.

Now, only Alice, Erin, and Alfred were left on floor 350.

"Alfred, Alice. Actually, I have a request for the two of you." Erin said as he glanced between both figures.

Curiosity filled Alice's eyes. She was very intrigued by Erin. His background was so mighty yet his temperament wasn't haughty at all.

Alfred looked very willing. Now that the transaction was complete, Alfred basically made a major contribution to the entire Clover Clan. Fulfilling an extra request for Erin was not an issue at all!

"Do either of you know where I can purchase a military-grade starship?" Erin was serious.

Based on the hatchling's plan, a dimensional gate can get them close to where they need to be.

They still needed a starship for the last leg of the journey. He knew the purchase of military grade ships were strict. At least through official channels. Erin did not want to try his luck through the black market yet.

"..Military-grade?" Alfred didn't find this request troublesome, it would just be a tad tedious. Although the Clover Clan had many military grade ships, they were all approved by the Intergalactic Armada. Thus, they couldn't simply hand them out as-is.

Alfred was willing to wipe the Clover Clan signature of one of their starships; but it would take time to remove all the parts with a Clover ingrained symbol. Many key components were engraved to assure they could be traced if they were ever found in a market or for trade.

Although pirates were fairly uncommon, they still existed. They often targeted smaller convoys of starships. If they won, then they usually salvaged whatever they could. Hence why many starships from prominent families or clans were heavily engraved so tracing was easier.

Alfred explained this. Erin also understood that the Clover Clan would be taking a risk at offending the armada by smuggling a military grade ship for him.

"Oh? With how serious you looked, I thought it would have been something far more difficult." Alice laughed a little. She personally thought that although Alfred meant well, his method would be too trouble-some. "Do you have certification to pilot a military-grade starship?"

Erin knew that different starships required different pilot certifications. This is also part of the reason why he didn't even think about the black market. Even if he acquired the starship, without the necessary certifications, entering in and out of planets would be very problematic.

"I do not. Would it be possible for your assistance on that as well?"

"Hehe. You are very lucky that I'm here." Alice finally felt like she could be the one shocking Erin instead. "Since my father is a Guardian, you only need his approval and you can have both a military grade certificate and a military grade starship."

"Wouldn't that be difficult?" Erin understood Alice's thought process. He did not know how willing her father, Pearson, would be about this.

"I can ease the burden a little." Alfred added. "The Clover Clan will reduce its annual quota of military-grade starships by two and transfer the rights to Pearson. This will only take effect if he assists you."

Originally, Alfred wanted to give Erin this quota, but Erin didn't even have a military grade certificate. This also removes a lot of legal liabilities from the Clover Clan. While the clan would have to smuggle a military-grade ship for Erin, Pearson could just blatantly give him one and it was perfectly legal.

In doing this, Pearson wouldn't be at a loss at all. In fact, he might be more willing to give Erin a certificate and military grade starship. These quotas were all in one type of deals. They've already been paid for, so it was basically two new military starships for the price of one starship and one certificate.

"Great!" Erin nodded gratefully at Alfred.

"When should I meet your father?" He glanced at Alice.

"I think he is still busy. Are you in a rush?" Alice asked kindly. "If not, then we can wait at my family's manor until he returns."

"Okay, that's fine. I will be in your care then." Erin was relieved. Everything was easier when you had connections.

Alfred raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Well then, I'll walk you both to your planetary ship."

The trio took the elevator down and reached the entrance of the auction house. Pearson's planetary ship was not there because Ron and the children were using it to go back.

"I'll call another planetary ship here in a moment." Alice said as she contacted her family's butler. A holographic projection appeared with a well-dressed elderly man on the other side.

"Miss Alice." The man bowed.

"Greetings Steve. Could you please send a ship to the Clover Auction House? I'll be heading to the family manor with my friend, Erin."

'The miss has a friend?' The butler was stunned. He didn't show it on his face though.

"Most certainly. The planetary ship will be there soon." The butler said before he politely ended the holographic transmission.

Once it ended, the butler messaged Pearson immediately.

[Master, the Young Miss plans to bring a friend to the family manor. It is a man named Erin.]

"..This is.." Pearson was still exhausted from coordinating things on Planet Charh. Panic had not fully subsided yet and countless people were still leaving. He saw the message and furrowed his eyebrows.

'Who the hell is this. I leave for one meeting and my baby daughter comes back with a man?!' Pearson was instantly judging Erin despite not meeting him yet. In his entire life, he has never seen his daughter bring a man home before.

In fact, Pearson himself didn't realize that his overprotectiveness was well known on Planet Charh. All men distanced themselves from Alice on purpose. Even her classmates during secondary education were careful.

The last time someone tried to approach her, it was a guy from her senior class. He wanted to exchange contacts on their communication devices. The way he asked made it sound like he was doing Alice a favor.

At the time, Alice was very introverted. She didn't know how to respond and promised to give him an answer the next day. This guy was from a strong clan on Planet Charh. However, the next day, the guy didn't show up to class. He disappeared. Furthermore, his entire clan disappeared from Planet Charh as well.