I Reject Quests

"I think I have figured out what kind of difficulties I have to face." Rewen stared intensely at the tiny source of light. "Though I don't know how I am supposed to 'stumble and fall'. I guess it's a synonym to something like 'breaking down'. Maybe there's some ugly part of my memories that would make me emotional… but as for completely breaking down?"

He paused, then thought about it for a while. "No, not really. I'm not an emotionally strong person but I'm not weak either. Besides, I don't think anything other than that one incident happened in my life that could potentially make me emotionally heavy. Hm… no need to overthink. Let's just see what happens."

Rewen started running towards the light again. Unlike the previous time where he ran at the maximum speed possible, he is running mildly fast currently. The reason for this is simple. If overcoming his memories takes him closer to the light, then why does it matter how fast he runs? 

A few seconds later, the surroundings changed once again.

It was winter.

Sitting on the roof of a small house, Rewen looked at the two people practicing with wooden swords in the backyard. 

One was a young, fairly muscular man and the other was a four-year-old kid.

The kid ran towards the muscular young man carrying a little sword and swung it when he reached close enough.

*Clang*

The muscular youth easily defended himself with his sword.

The kid gritted his teeth and pushed himself forward, trying to push back his opponent.

"Enough." With a single swing, the kid flew back and landed on his back.

The kid tried to get up but suddenly fell back. His back was hurt when he landed on the ground. Not being able to hold back the pain, he started sobbing.

The muscular youth approached him with his sword on his back and looked at the kid sobbing in pain. Nonchalantly, he kicked the kid, flipping him over.

"Ahhh! It hurts…" The kid continued to sob.

The youth bent down and rubbed his back.

"Get up. The practice is not over. Pain only matters when you want to feel it." The youth mercilessly spoke to his son's ears.

"B-but... m-my back…"

The youth continued to rub his back. "Where is the pain? Is it here?" 

"No… up." The kid said as he felt his father's hand moving upwards. "More… yes, here."

"You are only a four-year-old and your bones and muscles are soft. Naturally, some amount of pain is unavoidable. Who are you? You are destined to be a King. How long are you going to continue letting your pain win over you? Are you just that much?" After saying that, the youth immediately stretched his son's body. Keeping his legs on his son's back, he pulled his son's upper body and lower body together.

The kid had a difficult face. While being in pain, he endured it by gritting his teeth.

A while later, the youth separated from his son and took a stance with his sword.

The kid got up, slightly bent.

The two continued to practice.

Rewen watched the two from the roof as snow fell on his hair.

He could barely remember anything during his childhood but he did know that his father was particularly strict with his training. This is also the reason he was able to keep practicing martial arts even after his father died. 

Wryly smiling, he looked at the youth who was barely a few years older than him. He wants to get mad at him because of how he treated his own son but can't because deep down, he knew that he can't apply the standards that he got from Earth to him

'It would be fun to have him around. I have never defeated him. Could I defeat him now?' Looking at the sky, he tried to recall some memories of his childhood but unfortunately couldn't.

Just then, the sky changed.

The sun that was out in the winter went out of sight pretty quickly and a bright moon appeared in the sky that had become dark.

"What the fuck? Did the devs time skip?"

Confused by the development, he jumped from the roof and went inside his house.

The house wasn't particularly big but it was big for a village. Rewen's father was a hunter and hunters usually have good income. There were five rooms in total - a kitchen, two bedrooms (one for Rewen and the other for his parents), a living room, and a washroom.

Rewen went to the living room to find an exceptionally beautiful woman, seemingly not over twenty years old, applying ointment over her son's back who was lying flat on her lap. The kid was quiet and had a small pout on his face which Rewen found particularly cute.

Both were seated on a large sofa.

'To think Mother was really as pretty as she bragged she was.' A light smile hung over his face as he took a seat beside the two.

"What about your rear? Did you get hurt on your rear as well?" The young woman asked in a soft tone.

The boy lying on her lap shook his head.

The young woman didn't seem to believe him as she ran her hand over his rear. Just as she touched the rear, the boy violently shook. "What's with this? You are just a four-year-old and you have already started to lie?" Furrowing her eyebrows, she strongly scolded him.

"But Mum… shame…" The boy said as his mother pulled his pants down and started applying ointment on his rear.

"What shame? How old are you? It doesn't matter. You would always be a kid to me." The young woman didn't like the fact that her son was maturing faster.

"Not when I become The Emperor of Axis Mainland!"

The boy laughed and ran off to the other room without feeling the need to properly wear his pants.

The young woman wryly smiled. "An Emperor doesn't let out his weewee in the open… and he's gone. Let's see what I have for dinner…" She too got up and went to the kitchen.

'Did I want to become something like an emperor?' Rewen cringed when he thought of his younger self. A while later, he stood up and went to his parent's bedroom.

On the bed, a half-naked young man was reading a book. On his back was the boy sticking to his neck like a koala. Beside the bed was a large shelf full of books.

Rewen walked to the shelf and saw that there were all kinds of books. Starting from animal encyclopedias to world geography. 'If I recall correctly, these books were burnt after Father died. I had always wished to read them.'

The youth kept the book on the shelf and took a blank paper and black ink with a pen. Sitting on his chair, he started writing.

The boy crawled over to the desk his father was writing on and asked. "What are you writing?"

The youth kept writing. "You'll understand when you grow up."

The boy seemed dissatisfied with the answer and rolled over his bed.

"Don't fall asleep. You haven't had dinner yet." The youth said. When he turned his head, he saw that the boy was halfway through falling asleep. Sighing, he approached the boy and continued to entertain him.

Rewen walked to the desk and took a look at the paper. 'I should have grown old enough to understand what's written, right?'

---

PRINCIPLES OF KLOFARS DEAD-END COUP

---

"What the fuck? A coup? What the fuck does "Principles of Klofars Dead-End Coup" even mean?" He tried to find information on the paper but unfortunately, that was the only thing that was written. "Damn. At the very least, it doesn't look like something a hunter would write."

Thinking about it for a while, he decided that after everything was over, he would ask his mother regarding this.

He laid on the bed and watched the other two talking about random things.

"Father, why don't I have a grandfather or grandmother?" The boy asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

Hearing the question, the youth's face turned awkward. "That's because they are in a very special place."

"Special place…" The boy pondered about the 'special place' deeply, then his eyes lit up. "Like heaven?"

"Of course." Rewen felt amused by his younger self's response. 'I was smart even back then.' Engaged in narcissism, he heard the youth sitting beside him.

"Of course not." 

"Huh?" Rewen questioned whether he had heard it wrong or not.

"They are not in heaven? So where are they?" The boy appeared confused. 

"One day, I'll take you to see them." The youth smiled, ruffling his son's hair. 

Meanwhile, Rewen was in a severe existential crisis. 

'I actually have grandparents who are alive?' When he thought a bit deeper, he arrived at a conclusion. 'I guess I'll just have to ask Mother.'

"Everyone! Dinner is ready." 

"Coming!" The boy jumped off the bed.