Chapter 190: Special Quest (2)

Crossing through the back office hallways of the guild and arriving in front of the now increasingly familiar office door did not take too long for Aiden. After all, he already has done this small trek a few times in the span of this week.

Instinctively sending out a pulse of energy to try to penetrate the room's warding, he was once again, just like every time, was met with failure. Shaking his head with a smile on his face, he then gave a knock on the door. 

The familiar feminine, clear voice chirped from the other side, already aware of the guest that is awaiting entry into her 'lair'.

"Don't just stand there Aiden, come in, come in!"

Pushing the door open, Sarah was sitting behind her desk, behind several huge piles of paper blocking vision to her sides. However, one paper was placed in front of her, that looked different than the rest. For one, it had a golden thread squiggling around its edges, embroidering it, giving it a more luscious, elegant outlook. The feel of the paper also seemed slightly different, it was clear, shining white, almost jewel-like, compared to the slightly yellowish pergamen-style paper sheets. 

The last clue that tipped off Aiden as it was probably something important was the ink it was used with. It did not have the same fish-oil type smell then the others, it was something different, something that felt vaguely familiar but at the same time, completely unique. It was a strange feeling, and Aiden was sure that he could only sense it due to his heightened, much keener smelling than humans. Even then, it was just a vague feeling, and without changing into his worgen form, he would be unable to make more out of it.

Turning his attention to Sarah, who unlike usually, had not hidden her face and exotic purplish eyes, was smiling at her.

"Welcome Aiden, thank you for coming so quickly! I hope I did not interrupt anything important…" She began as a cheeky, knowing smile creased up on the crevices of her mouth.

Keeping his calm, collected attitude, he responded with his usual, friendly smile.

"Not at all. My friend was just about to take the rank up test when you called. He was afraid of being hurt and I offered to go in with him to make sure nothing bad happens. I assume you will not mind, right?" His friendly smile copied the qualities of Sarah's cheekiness as he asked her back a question, surprising the woman in the process.

Although surprised by the sudden 'attack', Sarah's demeanor didn't change, she simply nodded with a bright honest smile, as if she was unaware of any fault going in the background.

"No, not at all. You can accompany your friend, naturally. Anyways..." Then she looked at the paper in front of her and gently pushed it in front of Aiden, changing the subject to the main reason he was called into her office. "The reason I called for you was because of this new assignment."

"Assignment?" Aiden frowned at the term. "I thought we have come to an agreement that I am not your mother's little soldier that she can just order around…" 

"You misunderstand the situation, Aiden." Sarah only smiled at his already expected response, glancing at the paper, signaling him to take a closer look. "This is an assignment to the both of us. To be more precise it is for me."

"Oh?" Surprised by this reveal, Aiden grabbed the paper to read it through. It was a mission, but it was different from the ones posted on the Quest Board in the hall… For one, it wasn't formatted to the style that they had, it was more of a letter, ordering the girl to take action. There was no clear difficulty rating either, nor any talk about rewards. All in all, it was more of an order than a quest assignment, a job given to the guild.

"Sarah,

As I have briefly mentioned to you before, apart from the current political climate of the city, there's a lingering threat of the other races hanging above us. There are more and more reports of goblins and now even orc sightings in the depths of the forest. As you know, goblins very rarely act alone, and whilst they are savage, cruel little creatures that rely on their numbers rather than themselves, the fact that there were orc sightings is a troublesome matter. They could mean that we are amidst the early stages of an invasion happening right under our noses. 

Investigate the matter thoroughly, get to the source of the matter, and root out these creatures for good. This matter is very serious, and it's not something any of those weak, adventurers in the city could handle. Please handle this matter personally, and don't forget to ask for assistance from the boy. You will need him.

Return to me once the matter is handled, 

GR"

'Huh, so they finally noticed the goblins... ' Aiden thought to himself, keeping his calm expression outwardly. As he finished reading the letter, he looked at the expectant looking Sarah, and with his usual calmness, he asked curiously.

"Who is this GR, who signed this letter?" 

"That is the Mistress. Gloria Rox." She answered truthfully, the smile not leaving her face.

"Mistress? Why don't you say, mother? She is your mother, right?" Finding the fact that she kept referring to the masked woman as Mistress rather than "mother" which should be the natural reaction, Aiden couldn't help but ask.

"That's…" Albeit expecting the question, Sarah found it hard to answer. Taking a moment, she exhaled slowly to collect herself before continuing. "Let's not dwell on that matter. Yes, she is my mother, but more importantly, she is my Mistress." 

Turning her attention to the letter, she continued. 

"This assignment was meant for both of us, even if it was sent to me personally. As you are probably already aware, the quality of the adventurers registered in this local branch is pathetic. Most of them will never be able to even get to the second rank, that's still nothing more than the beginner's level, not to mention that we only have one idiot currently at Rank 3. Also, I'm still skeptical about how he managed to achieve it... " Her words trailed off as a scoff was revealed on her pretty face that vanished a moment later. "Regardless, we can't post this as a regular Quest for the guild, nobody would be able to take it."

"I see." Aiden nodded understandably. Looking at the girl, he revealed a wry smile, adding his thoughts to the conversation. "In that case, how could I be of assistance? I am also a mere Rank 2 myself. You should know that it was you who approved my rank."

"Oh don't even start that, Aiden." Sarah retorted immediately with an annoyed look on her face. "We both know you are not 'just' a Rank 2. In terms of strength and capabilities, you are probably on par with Rank 4 or maybe even Rank 5 adventurers. It's just… we can't just put you on such a high rank without any history behind your name."

Aiden did not refute her claims or acknowledge it. He simply kept his friendly smile not revealing his thoughts at all. Inwardly, however, he was thinking about Drake, the runaway crown prince who came to rescue his sister previously and even made a deal with him to gather again at the start of next year for the Academy's yearly admission process.

"I need your help Aiden, I can't do this alone. While I could probably handle the goblins if I am careful enough, I can't face off against a horde of orcs, and I can't rely on anybody else." She continued.

"Please…" The outlines of her irises lit up, glowing in a bright purple hue as she kept her focus on the boy in front of her. "Please… help me, Aiden. I need your help."

"Stop that." Aiden looked at her with an annoyed expression. "You know that your tricks have no power against me… But anyways…" He heaved a sigh, unable to withstand the pressure of what a begging young girl meant to his heart. "I will accompany you."

Taking another look at the paper, he quickly skimmed it through, searching for some extra detail that he might have missed.

"I'm guessing we can't bring anybody else with us? Or can I bring along Cole?"

Shaking her head, she promptly denied Aiden's suggestion.

"No, we can't. This assignment is not something a mere rank 1 or rank 2 could handle. They would just be a hindrance, I'm sorry." Although her words were somewhat harsh, she had an apologetic look as she talked, helpless about the situation.

"I see." Aiden did not argue with her at all. Remembering how fierce and brutal even that small ambush of goblins were, he couldn't even imagine how terrifying a similar group of orcs could be. The average human would stand no chance against such brutes.

"What is the proposed difficulty rating of this quest anyway? The letter did not state it at all." He asked curiously. If this was something that even the strongest groups in the city couldn't hope to handle, he really wanted to know what it would be rated for.

Thinking about it for a second, Sarah revealed her usual cheeky smile as she responded.

"Well.. It's hard to say, but I would say, it is at least a 4 star, or maybe 5 star…"