Chapter 164: The Hunter and the Prey (1)

"What do you-" Cole wanted to retort but was cut short as he felt Aiden's hand on his shoulders pulling him back.

Looking back, he saw him smiling and shaking his head. There was a strange glint in his eyes, that radiated confidence. Although he wanted to fight for their rights, seeing his friend's confident expression, he decided to trust him, and stepped back, letting Aiden take the lead. Cole could hope that the boy knew what he was doing, this group didn't seem like good people, they all had that aura of cruelty surrounding them.

"So, you would like us to join you guys to complete these two 1-star quests? Why would we do that? What's in it for us? Why would you care for such easy quests, there are other, much more rewarding ones out on the board." Aiden calmly inquired. There was no hint of fear in his expression, irking the leader more by the minute.

"Our humble group is an experienced group. You may be new here so we can't blame you for not knowing, but the Bloody Dagger is just a bit shy away from being ready for the rank-up! Our members are all almost considered veterans, being almost ready to rank up to 2-stars themselves, while my humble self…" His face revealed a haughty expression as he proudly announced his own status. "I am already a Rank 2!"

"Now, do you understand why it is your incredible luck that we noticed you two newbies and were kind enough to offer our assistance?" The leader looked at the two younglings confidently. He expected the look of awe and wonder on their faces and was already haughtily laughing inside. 

However, when he looked at both of them, he saw no changes in their expressions. The black, long-haired, and unruly, wild-looking golden-eyed youth had the same nonchalant, unnaturally calm attitude, while the short brown-haired one stood a step behind, hiding behind his friend. Although he had a tinge of fear flashing through his eyes, as soon as he looked at the other one he got noticeably calmer.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ross, but your group has no right to-" Mary wanted to intervene and tell the fact that Aiden held special privileges but was also cut short with Aiden raising his hand in the air. 

"It's okay Mary, there's no problem here. Thank you for your concern, I appreciate it!" Aiden turned to the side, looking at Mary, he gently whispered. 

Then, he turned and faced the rough, scruffy leader of this band of ruffians. With a friendly smile, he calmly suggested.

"I don't really think that these two quests would be adequate for a teaching session. If you truly wish to help us, why don't your group also pick up a 2-star request that we could do alongside these two? Meanwhile, I and my friend here will register these under our name, and then we can do all together. This way, nobody will violate any guild regulations and we will all benefit from each other. What do you say, oh wise leader?" 

Taking a moment to digest the boy's words, the leader looked at his cronies. The same cruel grin flashed through their faces that quickly returned to the knowing and friendly-looking smile, as they silently nodded at each other, accepting the boy's suggestion. After all, this would actually go along perfectly with their plan. They could get the rewards from all three quests, reach the rank-up for all of their members, and for their group as a whole, immediately jumping up to the higher-ups in terms of power in the guild.

Understanding this, the smile on the leader's face curved even higher. He looked at the wild-looking black-haired boy and nodded while also extending his right hand towards him.

"I agree, that sounds like a fine plan boy. The name's Jack Ross, the leader of the Bloody Dagger and a Rank 2 adventurer. Since you will be rolling with us for this small adventure, you can just call me Boss, like the others, so there's no confusion."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ross. I am Aiden, and my friend behind me is Cole. I just registered yesterday, and Cole is also relatively new. We will be in your care for the rest of the day." He bowed and accepted the offered hand, slightly shaking it making sure he did not show any real strength.

"Great, then we will go and pick a 2-star quest that could be done in the same area as the two you guys picked. Wait for us here, we'll be back in a moment!" As he said, his group was already on the board.

Seeing how the group got out of hearing range, both Mary and Cole immediately raised their concerns and bombarded Aiden with their questions. 

"What are you doing Aiden? They are clearly out for you two! Do they want to hurt you? Why didn't you tell them that you are also a Rank 2? They will try to hurt and rob you while also claiming credit for your quests! Why are you so reckless?!" Mary exclaimed in an agitated and concerned tone. She had a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, Aiden, why are we trying to join them? They clearly want to rob us of all we have!" Cole added with the same worried expression.

In return, Aiden simply smiled at the two, before he cooly explained.

"Don't worry you two, I am perfectly aware of their intentions. You don't need to worry, everything is under control." Then he pushed the two crumpled pieces of paper towards Mary, as he stated. "Could you please register these two under our new party?"

"C-certainly! G-give me just a moment Aiden!" Mary responded while trying to hide his blushing cheeks. She quickly got to work, and rushed to the back, vanishing through the office door. 

Not even a minute had passed as the door opened once again, and she rushed back, completely out of breath. Taking a moment to catch and collect herself, she huffed for a bit before nodding with a flushed face.

"I-it's done. T-the quests are registered to you two."

As soon as she said that, Aiden's expression froze, only to reveal a strange grin a moment later. While Cole did not see as he was behind him, Mary immediately blushed even harder, thinking that he was smiling at her for doing such a good job. She couldn't speak and had to avert her gaze otherwise risking of fainting on the spot under his mesmerizingly beautiful eyes.

The real reason that Aiden was grinning was because at the moment he heard that the quests were now officially registered under their name, the System immediately reacted, creating two new notifications for him.

Opening up the notifications his theory was immediately confirmed; the two guild requests spawned two system-generated, optional missions for him to complete and receive additional rewards!

[New Optional Quest: Gather Hydros Flower Buds

Difficulty: F-E

Objective: Collect Intact White Flower Buds from Hydros Plants (0/10)

Optional: Consume Intact White Flower Buds for Analysis (0/3)

Rewards: 100 XP]

[New Optional Quest: Gather Thorny Forest Frog Gall Bladders

Difficulty: F-E

Objective: Gather Thorny Forest Frog's Gall Bladders (0/6)

Optional: Consume Thorny Forest Frog's Gall Bladders for Analysis (0/3)

Rewards: 100 XP]

Seeing the text, Aiden really couldn't help but grin with happiness. Although the rewards weren't groundbreaking, they were still free Points that he would get for completing the Guild assigned quest. Additionally, not to mention there were optional benefits for analyzing both ingredients, there were no punishments for not completing or failing the quest! 

Finally, something that would only offer him a choice but not threaten him with death or punishment for not completing it! He couldn't help but grin stupidly for several seconds, before gaming back his awareness when the Bloody Dagger group came back with boisterous laughter and slammed a piece of paper in front of Mary.

Their leader, the "Boss", Jack looked at the still embarrassed Mary, and with a haughty and smug look on his face, he loudly exclaimed.

"Attendant, quick, go and register this one to our group! Remember, Bloody Dagger!"

Mary took the paper and quickly scanned through it. Her face changed as he read through the description, from embarrassment to a frown than to a frightened expression, eventually settling with a milder, worried look. She alternated looking at Aiden and the Bloody Dagger's leader as she asked to confirm their choice.

"Are you sure you want to take this on? Umm, it could be dangerous, you know. While it is posted as a 2-star quest, it can actually be considered a 3-star one. These monsters are very vicious and always come in packs!"

Hearing her words, the leader simply shrugged his shoulders and dismissed her.

"Don't question our decision bitch! Just do your job and register it as you should! Now go, chop-chop! We can't waste all day standing here listening to you yapping!" 

His words were cruel and hurtful, but Mary did not seem to take it on. She looked at Aiden and Cole with worry, before sighing and turning around to go to the back door. 

Meanwhile, a flash of golden light, a small, miniature spark zapped through Aiden's eyes. He clenched his fists for a moment. The sounds of his jolts cracking could be heard.