Chapter 199 - Before the Journey

Just as Aiden expected, his words caused the mood of their friends to drop by a huge margin. He could only sigh at this, and just stay in silence, awaiting some sort of response from them. While Mary wasn't happy, she still took the news slightly better than Cole. 

"Aiden… Was this the topic of discussion on your meeting yesterday with the Examiner's Leader?" She asked, with a compassionate but slightly worried smile on her face.

To respond, Aiden silently nodded, before turning his attention towards his friend, who looked as if he saw a ghost just a moment ago.

"W-why?" Was the only thing he managed to blurt out after several seconds of effort. Is he still not strong enough? Is he still holding him back? He did just rank up, was this still not enough? What more does he need to qualify to stand and face the dangers together with his friend?