Chapter 200: The oblivious observant

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.

"Much stronger. They have thick, dark-colored skin, which itself could pose a serious threat against most. They are huge, bulky, musclebound creatures. Their physique is made to dish out as much damage as possible. Whilst they are not the brightest bunch, you should never underestimate them, especially when it comes to combat. They are born from violence, as soon as they can walk, they are immediately thrust into their cruel world."

Turning her head away from the forest, she looked at Aiden as her face revealed a knowing smile. Before he could speak, she continued.

"You might think that humans are just the same, scheming against their own, and killing each other… But they are nothing compared to these violent creatures. Only the strongest and cruelest can survive their childhood. Most of their children die during their early years, either killed by their peers in a scuffle or during combat training or end up being eaten by the various predators or even by their own elders."

Giving a sigh, she revealed a wry smile as she continued.

"Still, this isn't even their worst trait. Similar to their weaker counterparts, the goblins, they…" She gave another sigh, and while shivering at the mere thought she still continued. "Let's just say, their violence doesn't end with killing and eating their foe. They can be very… basic when facing a female of any of the hundreds of the… ehrm, 'compatible' races."

"What do you mean?" Not understanding what she meant, he continued asking, although he noticed the uncomfortable look on Sarah's face, he still wanted more clarification. If they are not killed or eaten, what fate would await them? Why is it worse than those?"

Seeing the genuine curiosity in his eyes, Sarah could only sigh and lament about this naivete of his towards the world. So pure, so untainted, such a miracle to remain like this and not be corrupted by the darkness.

"Let's just make sure we are not seen and if we are, we quickly kill off any orcs we see, okay? We do not want them to alert their kin and ruin our chances of gathering information."

She decided to drop the subject, not really wanting to go into more detail than she already has. Looking ahead, she pointed towards the distance where a simple-looking coach could be seen with a pair of horses.

"There! That's my people there! Let's go and have them give us the report!" Sarah spoke, breaking the slightly awkward silence that ensued between them after their talk. Increasing their speed, they quickly approached the roadside coach, where a group of three figures could be seen waiting at the side. One leaning against the carriage, whilst the other two were sitting on the ground, maintaining and cleaning their weapons.

They soon noticed the approaching familiar figure, and jumped up, looking reverently at their arriving mylady. 

"Young Mylady, it's an honor to see you!" The group yelled out reverently as soon as they were in hearing range.

Nodding at their greeting with a smile, Sarah waved her hand and asked.

"What's the news? Tell us, what did you guys find out?" However, looking around, she seemed to be looking for something or someone. Not finding it, she looked at the trio and asked with a serious and slightly worried tone.

"Shouldn't you have one more with you?"

They did not answer their question immediately but looked at the long, black-haired aloof-looking youth at Sarah's side. They didn't know who he was after all and the topic they were about to discuss would be a very delicate matter.

Noticing their gazes, Aiden remained nonchalant, uncaring. He turned towards the forest, his golden eyes seemed to scan the distance. He did not speak.

"Miss, is he…?" The man on the right, who was leaning against the carriage earlier leaned closer to Sarah and whispered in a low-volume.

"Don't worry, he is with me! You can talk in front of him just as you would in front of me." She gave the order and turned towards the other two. "Now then, where is the fourth one? Shouldn't all of you be back by now?"

"He…" The man on the right spoke up once again, acting as the senior amongst their scouting group. "He is still in the forest, doing one last round of recon. He said he spotted something unusual, and wanted to check it out before you arrived… He should be back so-" He said but was interrupted when the previously silent youth spoke up abruptly, startling the group with his words.

"He is in combat currently." Turning around, he looked at Sarah, looking at him with the same uncaring manner as he usually did. "If you want to save him, we should hurry, I doubt he can hold out for long."