I Reject Quests

Rewen noticed that something was weird but acted normal. 'There is certainly a reason why he didn't come after me after hitting me. Is his mana insufficient?' A couple of possible reasons came to his mind but he soon stopped the train of thought. 'I'll eventually find out the reason. Just to be safe, I'll not get too close to him.'

Rewen calculated in his mind and rushed towards his enemy.

David stood there unfazed. 

*Pah*

The spear was blocked.

Rewen's eyes flashed as he quickly found an opening when he blocked and swung the spear again.

Blocked!

For some reason, it was again blocked.

Not hovering around in front of him any longer, Rewen took a few steps back. 'He is experienced!'

Only a single word - experience can change the tide of the battle. The people Rewen previously fought were mage-like. Although they had experience in close-quarters battle, it was their forte. However, the man he is currently fighting is experienced in both hand-to-hand combats despite being a Mage.

'Damn it. My ten years of martial arts training isn't comparable to his experience.' Rewen grumbled, then let out a breath of turbid air. 'If that's the case…'

His eyes flickered as bright light from the window fell on his face. He relaxed his legs and took a moving stance with his spear.

*Swish*

"Huh!?" David was alerted. 'How come he is so fast all of a sudden!?' Not wasting any second to think, he quickly stepped back.

Rewen smiled inwardly. This is what he wanted. His momentum was never to strike in the spot he was previously standing. He stopped when there was a distance of half a metre between the two of them.

Lunge!

David felt premonition and hurriedly tried to dodge it.

But he was too slow.

*Screech*

The tip of the spear pierced his right arm and grazed past it with ease. A peel of outer skin tore off from his right arm.

David groaned. It wasn't a small injury. Even with the liquid, it would take some time to completely heal. 'It's too dangerous to stay close. All of a sudden, his strength exploded!'

He was only half-correct. 

Rewen's strength had not exploded, his speed did. Using [Boost], he put most of the strength from the other parts of the body to his legs and just when he stopped, he again used [Boost] but this time, he put most of his strength into his hands making an already terrifying skill - [Lunge] even more terrifying.

'This is too fucking exhilarating!' 

Rewen didn't know why but he had never felt this level of adrenaline rush in his entire life. No matter where he had always been relatively peaceful. Even with his fight with the cannibals, he never felt what he is feeling right now.

His body was vulnerable but he didn't care about defense. All he wants to do is fight!

For the first time in his life, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face. "Thinking of running, huh." 

How was it possible for him to let his enemy do so? This was his golden opportunity to defeat him.

While twirling the spear with his spear, he swung the back of the spear to David's face.

*Pah*

"Not enough."

Again, he swung it to his face.

*Pah*

David had no time to recover. He was constantly getting beat up without getting the chance to strike back. 'I… have to counter…' His eyes were sluggish, indicating that he was about to faint. All that remained was his determination to not faint.

However, that determination didn't last long…

"Blugh!" A mouthful of blood spurted out from his mouth. His half-closed eyes were wide. With his shaky hands, he touched a cold metal and lowered his head. Blood dyed his shirt. 

The spear went past his abdomen, destroying some of his internal organs.

The light in his eyes dimmed as his body kept hanging by the support of the spear.

Rewen forcefully pulled out the spear, watching his enemy fall.

His eyes were cold with no hint of mercy. It's not that he had no emotions for killing someone but he can't afford to have other emotions at this stage. He lifted the spear and pierced David's leg.

'Just in case, he is miraculously alive.' He didn't want to waste the liquid into healing him after chopping off his limbs.

After that, he didn't immediately leave. Squatting, he checked his pockets.

'If I recall correctly, he, for some reason, put his hand on his pocket before using that weird skill. Ah, what's this?'

He found a tiny device. "AL Transmitter." He read the words written in the transmitter out loud.

He doesn't know what 'AL' means but he knows what this device is. 'Shit. They know my location. No wonder the woman was chasing after me.' He thought about Lane who foolishly followed him into an elevator.

With a jump, he stood up straight. Taking up the spear, he walked away.

As he was walking away, he failed to notice but for a split second, David's finger twitched.

***

"Hurry up! We have received a signal!" Jennifer shouted to Kennard who was trying to catch up to his group with Lane on his back.

No matter how chill Kennard is, he couldn't help but curse back. "Shut up! Why don't you carry this fatass!?"

"She isn't a fatass. Manners." 

"I'll call her a fatass. What are you going to do? You know what? I'll call you a fatass as well!"

"You dare!?"

"Both of you, please." 

With a single sentence, Violet silenced the two. While she is not the leader of Metal Squad, she often acts like one. Being the most mature among the four, it could be said that without her, the squad wouldn't have survived.

"Which building is the signal coming from?" Kennard's tone also turned grave and he increased his speed.

"It's the fourth one… oh? Another one came!"

"Another? From the same location?"

With the transmitter in her hands, Jennifer saw that the locations detected were close. 'Interesting. So they are together. Let's see which floor they are on.' She went ahead and increased the dimensions of the transmitter.

"..."

"What's wrong?" Violet had a bad feeling.

"Both of them are at different locations," Jennifer said with a dry throat. Previously, she expected the pair to be together because, in a 2-D representation, they appear to be close to each other. However, when viewed in a 3-D representation, one can see the difference.

In reality, even though David and Marla are separated by floors, it wasn't very apparent because when seen directly from the top, the difference between them in the X-Y graph isn't much but in an X-Y-Z graph, one can see all kinds of separations.

Violet and Kennard remained silent until they met up with the other group - Gavin and Brooke.

"So that means… David and Marla are separated." Kennard made the logical conclusion.

Seeing everyone gathered, Jennifer said. "Apparently, Marla is standing on the ground floor while David is on the fifth floor."

Gavin and Brooke nodded.

"Are both of them standing still?" Violet asked.

"No. Marla is constantly moving while… ah! David started moving as well! He was still for a while." Jennifer had a face of relief. If the figures in the transmitter aren't moving, it is an extremely negative connotation. There are two possibilities. One, the transmitter is not in the user's pocket. Second, the user himself is not moving.

"That's a good sign. Since Marla is on the ground floor, let's go after her. It's better to not waste any time." Brooke suggested.

Others didn't raise any complaints and ran towards the location of Marla.

*BAAM*

*BAAM*

*BAAM*

*BAAM*

As they were approaching, they heard the loud sound of metals.

"Marla?" Jennifer shouted she along with the group stood in front of the elevator door which was deformed.

"What took you guys so long!? Never mind. Break this thing fast and leave! David is fighting the target alone!" Marla's voice came from behind the elevator.

Gavin and Brooke looked at each other and nodded.

"Marla, take a step back."

"Alright."

Gavin and Brooke took a stance and...

*BAAM!!*

The metal door shattered into several pieces.

Marla came out and saw the group looking at her for an explanation.

"He got us. It was my fault. I shouldn't have insisted on going by elevator." Marla had a guilt-filled face but that changed soon. "We need to hurry. David is probably fighting alone."

The group nodded simultaneously. 

"Let's make a plan first," Kennard suggested.

"We can discuss the plan on the way," Brooke spoke out before he started running.

Others similarly followed.

"Jenny, what's the exact location?" Kennard asked.

"Fifth floor, north-west hallway."

With the absence of the group leader, Kennard quickly took the role of a leader. "Violet, get ready. Your core skill is going to be of use. Immediately cast it as soon you see the target." 

"Got it."

"Jenny, keep a close eye on the outside. Even if the target escapes, don't avert your eyes." Several thoughts passed in his head. 'Although I can't be sure, he has to have a stealth-like skill.'