Hearing the voice, everyone turned their attention toward the person now standing in the gateway of the shop. He was a good-looking young man, around 17 years old, clad in blue robes, with black eyes, standing with a straight back like a spear pointing toward the sky. He had fair skin and a healthy body—not too muscular to be considered bulky, nor too skinny. All in all, the youth could be said to be a gem in all aspects, especially in comparison to the rough surroundings.
Flanking him were his two bodyguards, their muscular bodies towering over everyone else. One look at them, and it was clear they were not the type of people anyone would want to rub the wrong way.
One of them was bald, with a scar covering his left eye. The scar made him look even more ferocious than he already was, and the occasional cruel grin on his face would send shivers down anyone’s spine. In comparison, his companion—who had burly eyebrows and a long beard—appeared far more docile. If one saw him alone, no one would dare approach him, as the look in his eyes was enough to make people sweat. But when compared to the other bodyguard, he seemed almost saintly.
When everyone saw the youth in blue robes, they hurriedly bowed and called out their greetings. One of the team members, who usually acted as the leader of the group, plastered a huge smile on his face and spoke in a flattery tone, "When I woke up today, I heard the cuckoo birds singing, wondering what grand occasion could have caused these signs to appear. It turns out our junior chief has graced us with his presence. Junior Chief, will you be accompanying us on this mission?"
Feeling pleased with the flattery, the youth, acting slightly annoyed, waved his hand and spoke in a stern voice, "Enough with this nonsense. This mission is very important for our village. No mistakes can be allowed. If we successfully finish our assigned tasks, the benefits will be monumental. Everyone will get their share, but if we fail, the punishment will be tenfold. So, it's better to focus on things that matter and follow the orders given by the elder brothers."
The mention of elder brothers was like a sprinkle of water on a hot pan. There were many exploration teams that used to go into the mountains to scout for resources. Based on the strength of the team, they could venture deeper into the mountains and obtain more rewards. The deeper they went, however, the more dangerous it became. But the rewards were so great that everyone wanted to be part of those teams.
One of the other team members respectfully asked the youth in blue robes, "Junior Chief Nayan, will Elder Brother’s team also be going into the mountains?"
"Yes," Nayan responded. "The main mission will be handled by them, whereas you lot will be divided into their teams to act as helpers. This will be a long mission, possibly lasting a month or so."
Everyone gasped at the mention of a month-long mission. They had all been on missions that lasted at most a week, and never had they heard of a mission that could take a month to complete. Confusion spread among them as they looked at each other.
Seeing their reaction, Nayan nodded to the bald bodyguard, who spoke in a voice that sounded like a boom in everyone’s ears, "Why are you guys’ sulking? It’s not like you’ll be alone. Once we complete this mission, the benefits will be huge, and everyone will have rewards comparable to 20 missions."
The huge reward instantly caused a commotion. Greed overtook the nervousness, and their eyes blazed with expectation. Such a reward would ensure a comfortable life for almost a year. Licking his lips, the supposed leader of the group thumped his chest and announced proudly, "Don’t worry, Junior Chief, we will give our all to complete the mission." He glanced sideways at Aaryan, laughing to himself, and said, "Junior Chief, this mission is of such importance that we shouldn’t bring anyone who could cause problems at a critical point, as everyone’s contribution will be needed on this long mission. Hence, all of us brothers request that you remove such useless people from the group." After saying this, he bowed deeply and laughed inwardly.
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He was a petty person, one who would hold a grudge over the smallest of grievances. He felt that Aaryan had caused him to lose face many times by contradicting him in front of other team members, and it didn’t matter that Aaryan had been right each time. Every time he was proven wrong and saw Aaryan’s stupid smile, it only fuelled his jealousy and hatred.
Hearing his words, everyone’s eyes moved to Aaryan, who was standing at the back of the group. They knew the man was targeting Aaryan, but no one said anything, as they all felt a similar sense of jealousy in their hearts, though not to the extent of the leader. Aaryan was still smiling. He wasn’t expecting them to go this far. He had never provoked anyone nor caused harm to any of them, but still, they were plotting against him. Although only one of them spoke, the others tacitly supported him by staying silent.
Nayan looked at Aaryan, a hint of ridicule flashing across his face. The expression was the same as when the king of the jungle looks at a lowly ant. Aaryan’s smile caused happiness among simple people, but for others, it acted like a thorn, stabbing deep into their hearts. They felt as though he was looking down on them, as if none of their actions were worthy of eliciting anything other than that stupid smile.
Nayan spoke in a stern voice, "Aaryan, this mission is very important, and no mistakes will be tolerated. If not for that man dying while saving my father, you would have never joined any expedition team. Either don’t make any blunders, or sit this one out."
Aaryan was slightly worried in his heart. In fact, he didn’t want to join such an important mission, because he knew that no matter what he did, someone would blame him for something—even if the mission was successful. But the reward was very enticing. The 20 times the usual mission earnings would bring him closer to his goal of leaving the village and seeing the world. He made his decision and spoke in a humble voice, "Junior Chief, I will be very careful not to make any mistakes. Please allow me to stay on this team."
"Fine," Nayan said. He was about to say more when a clamouring noise could be heard from the other side of the road. Around 70-80 people were coming toward them, some in groups of 10 or 20. Leading them were five people.
Out of the five, three were wearing silver Armor, while two wore similar clothes to Nayan’s. After a few breaths of time, they came close to the shop. Nayan went toward them, greeted them, and started speaking to them in a low voice.
Aaryan saw the group and was surprised to see some unfamiliar faces in the crowd, mainly the three in silver Armor. The village wasn’t very big, and he was sure he hadn’t seen them—or some of the people at the back of the crowd—in the village before.
"Has the chief requested help from another town? What sort of mission requires such manpower?" he thought.
After some time, one of the two men dressed in similar clothes to Nayan stepped forward and said, "As all of you know, this mission is of utmost importance. We will form teams of 10 people and head into the mountains together. For the weaker teams, treat this as a stakeout mission."
Having said this, he waved his hand, and some people from the crowd began arranging everyone into groups of seven. After some time, nine groups could be seen covering a huge part of the road. Nayan, along with his two brothers, joined one group each, along with their bodyguards, making each team consist of 10 people. Similarly, the three armoured men joined three teams, bringing their own guards. The remaining three teams also had strong leaders at the front, but they were clearly weaker than the other six teams. Aaryan was part of one of these teams.
After everyone was arranged, one of Nayan’s elder brothers, a handsome man named Sharan, waved his hand, directing everyone to march toward the mountain. He exchanged glances with his brothers, Nayan and Aman, and a glint of joy and eagerness could be seen in all three pairs of eyes.