I Reject Quests

'Not bad. Not bad at all.' A smile appeared on his face when he found himself in danger with a strong ally. 'I don't want to use up my '2x Power Spike' as long as I'm not close to death. What about that humanoid guy? Can I see his stats?' 

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CP: 40

Health: 400/400

Evaluation: [Rank 1 ??? (Unknown Creature)]

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'CP as in combat prowess or child p… it's combat prowess. If I have to make a guess, then the value in CP is the same as stats?' No matter how much he thought, he couldn't come to a definitive conclusion. 'Let's see how the cop fares against that creature.' His eyes turned to the 'staring battle' that was going on between the two parties involved.

The middle-aged cop took out his handgun and pointed it towards the bloodthirsty creature.

Honestly, a gun isn't the most effective weapon against a Rank 2 but that is only for ordinary guns. The gun he was holding is operated by "Mana Bullets" which are deadly against a Rank 2 Mage. These guns are only for government personnels, especially police officers. A study showed that in the entire Eastern Dream Kingdom, there were only 35% of police officers who are mages. The rest are martial artists.

It is a known fact that an E-grade Martial Artist is incomparable to a Rank 2 Mage. To solve this, the International Bureau of Arms allowed police officers to carry guns operated by "mana bullets".

*Swish*

The gun was silently fired.

A blue ray shot out from the gun and struck the humanoid creature's chest.

"GRRRRRR!!!"

The humanoid creature roared in pain and frantically headed towards the cop.

*Swish*

Another shot was fired. This time, it hit the creature's skull.

Blood erupted from the spot where it was fired. "GRRRRRHHHH!" It roared even harder.

*Swish*

*Swish*

*Swish*

Three consecutive shots were made at it's head.

The roar stopped as the creature fell.

Rewen, after watching the entire exchange, came out of the cover carrying Famin over his shoulder.

"That was pretty one-sided." He commented.

Hearing that, the cop chuckled. "Well yeah, what did you expect? Me fighting that beast with my hands? Anyways, if you can joke around, then that means you have calmed down."

Rewen responded with a smile. "I have always been calm."

"We'll see…" The cop's expression suddenly turned serious. "In a few minutes, you might have to fight a couple of them by yourself. Do you think you can do it?"

"Do you think that I can do it?"

The cop nodded confidently. "You should. The strength you demonstrated while fighting that idol should be enough."

"Before that, why don't you explain?"

"Ah, right. I haven't yet explained right? Could you wake him up first?" He pointed to the young man over Rewen's shoulder.

Rewen brought him down and gave him a couple of light slaps.

*Pah*

*Pah*

*Pah*

After some slaps, Famin's consciousness came back. "Wha.. what! Don't kill me! Oh… it's you… wait, where are we!?" He took notice of the surroundings and cried out loud.

Rewen had a half-smile on his face. "You are the most generic guy I've met. At least try to fake calmness."

"Sorry about that but where are we? W-w-was that thing I saw not a dream...?"

"I don't know about your dream but if you are talking about that thing, then I believe that it's not a dream." Rewen said, pointing to the fallen humanoid creature.

"AHHH! What's that!?" Famin screamed while moving back with his rear.

The cop and Rewen looked at each other. 

"Why am I here!? What is this place!?" Every second later, Famin was becoming more and more hysteric.

"No offence but you are kinda annoying."

"That is offensive! Rather, why the hell are you so calm about this!?" 

This was the first time Famin was this mad and angry. All his life, he had been suppressed but now, he was agitated beyond belief.

"Uh, that's because I'm the cool sort." Rewen answered with a straight face.

The next minute was spent on calming down Famin.

"Okay, I understand the gist of it. There was a weird white light that flashed before we were suddenly transported here. The first we saw here was that disgusting creature which the respected police officer killed. And now, you are about to tell the backstory behind this incident?" 

The cop nodded at Famin's question. "First. I'll give you the short answer to make you feel better. This cave is not real. Only our bodies are."

"..."

"..."

"Long answer. What we are in is the [Heart Domain] of a Rank 3 Mage. A [Heart Domain] is a personal space of Mages where they can rest and cultivate in peace. It's not a material feature but rather something like a soul. If the owner of the [Heart Domain] willed, he/she could bring in people from outside. It is extremely beneficial for cultivating mana or natural energy as time here is slowed down significantly. A [Heart Domain] of a Rank 3 Mage slows the time here in the ratio of 6:1 approximately. "

"So how are we brought here?" Rewen was slightly interested in the topic of [Heart Domain] but remembered his priorities.

"That thief stole the [Heart Domain] of a dead Rank 3 Mage. Usually, they couldn't be activated randomly. Who would have thought that the thief would have a way to activate a dead [Heart Domain]. Ah, I forgot to mention this but the time inside this dead [Heart Domain] is close to non-existent."

"Non-existent!?" Even Rewen couldn't keep his calm.

"Yes. However, there is no natural energy or mana to absorb as the [Heart Domain] is dead."

"So that's how it is…." 

If time were to be non-existent here, the value of a dead [Heart Domain] would be sky high. Even high ranking Mages would fight for it. It wouldn't be something a random thief could steal.

Rewen pondered about it for a while, then replied. "I have a lot of questions but most of them are unrelated to my survival so I'll not ask them. But the most important question is, how are we supposed to get out of this place?"

The cop raised two of his fingers. "There are two ways to get out of this. First, we need to activate the [Heart Domain] that is with the thief. This is not a feasible method because a [Heart Domain] especially a dead [Heart Domain] is not something we can activate just because we want to. The second way is to directly destroy the [Heart Domain]."

Rewen: "I prefer the second way."

Famin: "Me too."

The cop had an awkward face. "How about we try out the first way first? If we were to destroy the [Heart Domain], I would be responsible and have to compensate…"

"Fuck off! We are in a life-and-death crisis and you are thinking about your money!?" Despite being timid, Famin couldn't restrain himself.

Rewen had a similar expression.

Upon seeing their faces, the cop raised his hand in defeat. "Alright, fine. We'll have it in your way but you have to testify for me."

"In the court?" Rewen looked hesitant.

"No. A verbal statement from the two of you is enough."