Chapter 200: The oblivious observant (1/2)

In front of Aiden, he saw Sarah Rox, the leader of the examiners in an attire he never would have expected. Her hair was put into a ponytail behind her head cascading down at the middle of her back, so it wouldn't get 'in the way'.

She had a form-fitting, stylish dark-purple long-sleeved shirt, covering her arms all the way to her hands. Above that, she wore a black, studded leather sleeveless chest plate, that whilst most likely giving her more than enough protection against conventional attacks, did enhance the visual treat that her figure meant to the average male.

As for the gear below the waist, she wore dark, thick-threaded tight-fitting leggings, something very akin to stockings but still looking a bit more than that. Whilst he wasn't completely sure, Aiden felt that the threads that it was made of, most likely wasn't conventional filament, but something more… something much more durable. Above it, she had a short leather skirt, in a matching black color just like her chest guard, that had steel plates sewed into it, giving it a scaly visual.

Completing her set, she donned black long boots that covered her all the way up to her knees. All in all her attire looked incredible, and whilst it offered a great deal of protection, it was clear that each piece was carefully selected to match her style.

”Hey, Aiden! What are you still standing there for?! Come on already, we have to get on the road!” His inspection induced reverie was broken by the girl, or to be more precise, the woman in question, as she waved again while stepping closer to him and poking him on the chest.

”Come on, wake up and stop daydreaming already!” She poked again, looking at the boy who just seemed to regain clarity in his eyes. Looking down at the girl as he was the taller amongst them by almost half a head, he smiled as he answered.

”I was just lost looking at your new attire. I have never seen you without your huge and ugly robe and hood. You look incredible… surprisingly normal.”

Sarah turned shy and wanted to hide her face upon the boy's words, at least until he uttered the last two words in his statement. Her cheery, delighted mood immediately soured, and unlike her usual stoic self, she held out the tip of her tongue, before stepping back and giving the boy a pouting, offended look.

”Normal? That is the best you can do, Aiden?! I carefully selected every piece just to appeal to-” Realizing she almost let the cat out of the bag, she quickly silenced herself, and haughtily turned her head away from the boy, and gave only a loud ”Hmpf!”.

A short while later, they turned towards the gate, and swiftly left the city premises, their feet traversed the dusty road towards the west, closely following along the humungous forest's edges but never crossing over.

”Where are we going? Didn't we need to get into the depths of the forest rather than walking aimlessly?” Aiden asked after a while, not understanding what they were doing.

In response, Sarah only gave the boy a cheeky grin, as she continued on the road.

”That is true, but do you know how big this forest actually is? Do you have any idea about the dangers lurking in its midst?” She spoke, haughtily, as if giving a lecture to a naughty child. Aiden looked at her with his usually nonchalant, friendly smile, not wanting to burst her bubble. At least for now. He looked at the girl in silence, waiting for her to continue the explanation.

”No, we do not dive into the forest immediately, we should travel further away. I have sent out some of my men to scout ahead. They should be waiting for us at the rendezvous point, we will meet them there, and after that, we would cross the borders based on the update they would give us. After all, first and foremost, we are to investigate, and should remain unnoticed, at least for the most part.”

”Investigate?” Aiden asked with a thoughtful look on his face. ”If I remember correctly, we are also tasked to root out the problem for good.”

The grin not fading from her face, Sarah nodded.

”That is correct, which is why I said we should be unnoticed for the most part. First and foremost, we need to find out about the planned invasion, get as much detail as we could then we should put a stop to it.”

For the first time, her grin morphed into a frown as she continued.

”Apart from the annoying goblins, we also need to deal with orcs. We need to be very careful, they are not your average foes, they are strong, robust creatures.”

”Hmmm….” Thinking about the matter for a bit, Aiden continued asking as they traveled. ”I get that they are probably stronger and sturdier than Goblins, but where would you place them, between the Sahuagin and Goblins?”

Without any thinking, Sarah immediately answered with the same frowning, solemn look on her face as she turned to look at the woods once more.