I Reject Quests

"David? Wouldn't it be better to split up and search?" Jennifer was exasperated after searching up an entire building with no signs of the target.

Gavin frowned. He didn't agree with what she said. "I hope you know that the target could be roaming anywhere. To split up and search for him is exactly what he wants."

Brooke nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed. A fool endeavours to repeat the same mistake again. Better be say than sorry. We have got all day to search for him."

"I'm just saying that it would be productive." Jennifer still had the opinion of split up and search.

David listened and considered the points before coming to a conclusion. "It's better to be together. How about splitting up in pairs? This way, we can increase productivity."

"Not a bad idea." Marla nodded in approval, then looked at the others. "How are we going to decide who's going with whom?"

David thought about the others' strengths and weaknesses. "Gavin should go with Brooke… Brooke, you do have a reverse core skill, right?"

"Yes, it's…"

"No need to say it. You should know why I'm pairing him up with you, right?"

Brooke nodded. "I understand."

"Very well. As for Marla, you will be with me. We both are familiar with each other and that makes it easier for us to collaborate."

"Okay."

"Jennifer… you are going with Violet and Kennard. There are no advantages or disadvantages that I'm aware of but I'm sure you are going to work this out as all of you have worked with each other for a long time."

Just as Jennifer was about to speak, Kennard spoke out from behind.

"What about the baggage on my back?" Since Kennard was the one who got Lane into trouble, thus, it was mutually decided that he had the responsibility to carry her.

David replied without blinking. "Of course, you have to take her as well." There were no other ways. If the group left Lane in any random place, she had the chance of getting found out by the target. Being heavily injured, it would at least take an entire day for her to fully recover.

"Why can't we just leave her here? I'm telling you, it would be fine." Kennard argued.

"Shut up. Have a shred of responsibility. You don't need to care about your safety. I and Violet are enough to save your worthless life." Jennifer was already very angry with him.

"Calm down. I have said this before and I'm saying this again. Now is not the time for arguments. It would be very detrimental for the entire group if you guys continue fighting among yourselves. Do you understand?" David's tone contained a hint of anger.

"I understand. I'm sorry." Jennifer lowered her head and apologized unwillingly.

David nodded, and then turned to Kennard. "What about you?"

"Ah yes, I'm sorry."

"I hope you are."

***

Rewen watched the group from the second-floor window. He couldn't hear what they were talking about but he had an idea after they separated. 'They are splitting up and searching for me?' He frowned and looked at his hand.

Not a single scratch could be seen on his previously pierced palm. 'The effect is better than I expected.'

After that, he began to think of ways to counter the group. 'Making them split up is convenient for me. However, I don't think I can defeat two of them at once. It's impossible under normal conditions. But… I can't just sit here and hide all day. Eventually, if they don't find me, I have to look for them myself. What can I do?'

Armed with the spear in his right hand, he had a frown on his face for a long time.

***

Meanwhile, David and Marla were in a search for their target in one of the buildings.

"I don't think he's here, David." Running up the stairs with David, Marla shook her head. "This is too far from the first building."

David casually replied. "Well, we still have to search. Besides, he might have some stealth skill or something to maybe evade our eyes and hide in this building."

Marla snorted. "Not even Rank 2 Mages can use stealth skills. Don't smoke."

"I'm just saying anything is possible. Since everyone is doing their jobs, it's only natural we do ours."

"Stop." For some reason, Marla came to a halt.

"What's wrong?" David asked in a puzzled tone.

"I want to go by elevator." Marla pointed to an elevator.

David rolled his eyes. 

Marla saw this as a sign of approval and swiftly pressed the button beside the elevator.

Soon, the door opened and she went inside. "Come inside." 

David stepped forward but just then…

*Stkkk*

The lights went off. 

Not even the light in the elevator was turned on.

If it wasn't for the light coming from outside, not a single thing could have been seen.

Marla was confused for a while but that confusion turned into horror when she felt the elevator floor shaking. "Ah-" Her voice got cut off as the elevator fell.

*DOOM*

David blanked out. Just as he was about to question what happened, he sensed something coming towards him. Not thinking further, he immediately rushed from the spot.

*Swish*

A dagger went past his body.

"No need to search for me, I'm right here." Within the shadow, a red-haired young man calmly walked in.

***

A minute ago.

4th Apartment Building.

Security Room.

Using [Stealth], Rewen sneakily entered the security room.

The reason he chose this building is naturally because he wanted to fight the pair of David and Marla first. He obviously couldn't go after the group of - Jennifer, Violet and Kennard so he picked one of the two pairs.

'Hm… they are normally searching… Fighting two of them at once would be suicide. I need to separate them somehow.' Looking at the large screen, he began to think of ways of how he could separate David and Marla.

'Nope. There's nothing I could do. I don't have any particular skills that I can use to separate them. The only way to do so is through contact. Maybe I can push one of them out of the building through the window but I doubt they would be so carefree. Not to mention, the moment I do so, I would be instantly targeted by the others…'

"Hm? Elevator?" 

A grim smile appeared on his face as he thought of a plan. 'I could trap the two of them for a short while. There are a lot of options I have if they are trapped within a small elevator.' 

*Swish*

Putting all his strength into his legs using [Boost], he rushed into the power office.

***

'Oh, well? Of course, not everything goes according to plan but it's fine… my primary objective was to separate the pair.' Rewen glanced at the man in front of him without saying anything.

'I need to end this quickly.' With a single thought, he rushed towards the man twirling the spear in his hand with his fingers.

Despite the sudden event, David was outwardly calm. This wasn't the first time something unexpected happened while working on a mission. Years of experience taught him to remain calm and think clearly. 'First of all…' He put his hands in his pocket and tapped on the transmitter. 'Next…' His eyes turned serious as he saw the spear approaching his body.

The spear was caught!

Rewen was slightly panicked.

"You think you are good at close-quarters?" David snorted. Taking a step front, he pushed his palm towards his opponent's chest.

The palm approaching Rewen wasn't the fastest but he could not dodge it. 'Never mind. I'll counter-attack after this.'

"Arugh!"

Rewen flew off at a distance. His face was full of disbelief and blood spewed from his mouth. 'This… how is this possible?' He wasn't narcissistic enough to think that he was the strongest in a close-quarters fight but being both [Martial Artist] and a [Mage], he felt that he wasn't too shabby.

Reality was often disappointing.

Before coming here, he had only fought with his peers and never someone who is considered skilled. 

David's strike completely baffled him. Not only because it was out of his expectations but also because the strike is not that of someone who is a Rank 1 Mage. 'Could it be that he is a [Martial Artist]?'

He got up with a pale face with a single objective in mind - 'Don't get close to him!' 

'Another one of those and I'll be in a serious condition.' 

Rewen calmly took out a small bottle and drank a bit of it. He then raised his head to look at his opponent. "Hah! Righteous, aren't you? Thanks though."

David looked at him from the corner of his eyes. He didn't go after his opponent not because he was righteous but because his natural energy that he had stored for a while had depleted. 'Four hours of natural energy… all gone into waste.' He expected his core skill to do some serious damage. Even if the other party didn't faint, he expected him to get a serious injury on his chest. 'Kennard was right. He is stronger than a peak Grade F Martial Artist.'