Chapter 165: The Hunter and the Prey (2) (1/2)

Aiden took a few breaths to calm his raging heart down. It was not the right time yet. As his eyes were closed, nobody noticed when they began to glow nor when the light faded, and it returned to their exotic-looking but an otherwise normal state.

”So, what quest did you guys pick?” He asked, changing the subject. Meanwhile, he also nodded towards Mary with a smile, who, understanding the notion, smiled back with a thankful expression, and turned to leave towards the back office door with the quest paper in her hands.

”Nothing too difficult, don't worry. It's just some monster hunting request.” The leader of the group, Jack replied with a fake smile. It was clear he didn't want to elaborate on the matter and wanted to move on to another topic. ”What about you guys? Did you guys regist-”

Unfortunately for them, Aiden didn't want to leave the matter at that. Interrupting Jack's words, Aiden asked again.

”What quest did you guys pick? The attendant seemed worried that it's not that simple of a request.” His voice was calm, but towards the end, there was a barely noticeable, underlying coldness in his tone. While his demeanor hasn't changed, his words still sent chills down the group's spines.

Jack gritted his teeth, and while some veins seemed to bulge on his temple, he swallowed his annoyance and anger and forced to keep the smile on his face. It took him a bit, but he managed to answer with relative cool in his tone.

”It doesn't matter, kid. It's just some semi-intelligent species of fish-like humanoids that live in and around water. They want us to quell their numbers a bit, nothing more.”

”And you are sure you can handle them? Based on what I heard they could prove troublesome, even for your experienced group. Are you not afraid of losing someone?” Aiden continued his questioning, not minding the ugly stares he received from the members.

”Tsk!” Jack clicked his tongue in annoyance. He could barely hold back his anger anymore. He had to take several seconds in silent forced contemplation to mask his bubbling rage before he could respond.

”Don't worry. We are all experienced with these creatures and know how they operate. You two just need to follow our lead and listen to our commands and nothing bad will happen. On the contrary, you two will have the chance to learn from this encounter and become much stronger as a result!”

With a surprised expression on his face, Aiden's friendly smile that seemed to be a constant resident on his face curved slightly higher. He slightly bowed showing his 'gratitude'.

”Ooooh, I see! I can only thank you for kindness then. Once we are all done here, we could head out, and do all three quests in one go, right?”

Seeing the boy's naive smile, calmed his anger by a considerable margin. With the same fiendish smile on their faces, Jack and his group smiled back at the boy.

”No problem, it is our duty as veterans to assist the young and inexperienced!”

At this moment, the back office door opened, and Mary came out with a much calmer appearance as before. She smiled brightly at Aiden, as she walked back and only gave a momentary apathetic glance at the group before speaking.

”The rank 2 quest has been registered under the 'Bloody Dagger' group. Aiden, you and Cole will also receive credit from it when you complete it, so don't worry!”

Aiden once again nodded at the girl.

”Thank you, Mary. Cole and I will come back in the afternoon to credit these to our name and finalize the creation of our group! Hope we can meet again then!”

Desperately trying to mask the rosy tint on her cheeks, she responded with an averted gaze.

”S-sure! I will be waiting for you!”

All the time, she completely ignored Jack and his group, she only talked and looked at Aiden, slightly irking the group in the process. However, thinking about the two prey that will be walking with them, made Jack quickly ignore this. He looked at the boys, and with the fake, friendly-looking smirk that he tried presenting as a smile, he spoke.

His tone was forced, as he tried his best to make himself present as a friendly expert trying to help the younglings.

”So, are you two ready to head out? We should go as soon as we can so we could finish before nightfall!”