I Reject Quests

'That's weird, to say the least…' Not thinking too much about it, Famin turned to the stage waiting for some kind of explanation.

Zelic was also intently looking at the Branch Director.

On the stage.

The Branch Director saw the doubt on everyone's faces and sighed. "I'll post the report on the site after this. You can verify if what I'm saying is true or false. And this report contains the signature of the Collective Official so there's no way I would have the guts to fabricate such unnecessary, not unnecessary, but perhaps minor details for fun just to get locked up tomorrow." He took a small pause and saw that their faces got less skeptical.

"As for the course, it's complicated to explain but for now, just know that Rewen has been engaging in a battle with the terrorist group from the 2nd of April till yesterday when he died. The image that he miraculously came in contact with the terrorist group and tragically died is completely false. The terrorist group just didn't happen to catch the eyes of the authorities. They were lured out from their bases by one person who is Rewen Klofar."

*Clap*

*Clap*

*Clap*

Even though the majority of everyone present in the training ground didn't completely get the picture of what had happened, they were, nevertheless, surprised by the information.

After all, it's extremely difficult to imagine a boy who had just got into the world of mages performing a feat such as luring out the terrorist group and also fighting with them. From just this, they could understand behind the outrage towards the media from the Branch Director.

No wonder he was so angry.

It was a deliberate attempt to conceal the deeds of a person who contributed much to the world before he died.

Below the stage.

Assistant Instructor Xovin had a troubling expression on his face.

Instructor Venitt happened to see it and asked. "What's wrong, Instructor Xovin?"

Assistant Instructor Xovin shook his head and spoke. "It's just that I am not inclined to take the word for it. Don't get me wrong. I believe that the Branch Director wouldn't lie but it's just the wording…"

"Do you have trouble believing that Rewen alone could lure out the terrorist group?" Instructor Venitt softly asked.

"I don't believe it was just Rewen alone. Last night, I looked into the terrorist group that was discovered. The group was named – REAL WAIFUS CORPORATIONS LIMITED. Quite the unusual name, I must say. From what I could find, they aren't your 'normal' run-of-the-mill terrorists. They had an organized system and hierarchy and the Eastern Dream Kingdom isn't the only nation they are settled in. There is at least one base in every single city in the nation. In powerful and well-known cities, it is estimated that there are more than three bases.

"In addition to that, there are numerous Rank 3s in those bases. Let me ask you now – do you believe that I'm being too pedantic to not believe that a mere eighteen-year-old boy who hasn't even touched the surface of 'power' could wreck a base solely on his own?"

Instructor Venitt squinted her eyes. "Are… you sure the information is accurate?"

"You can be certain about that." Assistant Instructor Xovin lightly said. "By no means am I trying to disvalue the efforts and deeds of the boy. With everything being said, this only increases the sheer magnitude and gravity of what he did. Even if he had some help, he did manage to bring out the terrorist group to public eyes. Without him, perhaps we might be living unaware of the terrorist group for years or maybe even decades."

Instructor Venitt silently acknowledged.

On the middle seats.

Francesca hurriedly took out a pocket-sized notebook from her inner pocket and started writing down some things. As the Leader of the 1st Grade Class, she is responsible for taking notes of important events that seem relevant, spreading awareness, and having discussions. 'It looks like the events have a much bigger story than I initially expected.'

Kesha, Bianca, Junar, and the others were smiling in anticipation for the Branch Director to reveal the details.

On the last seats.

Zelic tirelessly clapped till her hands went red. Then, she looked at her surroundings wanting to see the surprise on everyone's faces. "What do you think?"

Famin, who was absorbed in the words the Branch Director just said, turned his head to find the blonde-haired baby-faced girl looking at him with a strange expression. "Did you say something?"

"I… I was just asking… if… if you find it surprising that the story was completely different than you had expected." Zelic asked on a whim and immediately regretted asking. Her skin was thick enough to ask it again so she had to somehow twist her words.

"Oh…" Famin wondered for a second, then answered truthfully. "Actually, I don't watch the news much… so I didn't really have any expectations…"

Zelic showed a disappointed expression. "Ah, it's okay.  Sorry to disturb you."

Famin was confused by the strange question but didn't think too much about it and turned to the stage.

On the stage.

The Branch Director flipped the page. "There isn't much to say about the conclusion. Rewen Klofar died after exposing the terrorist group to the world. He gave our academy, our city, our province, and our nation to feel proud." As soon as he said that, he noticed some dissatisfied faces and smiled slightly. "It's not the time to have radical thoughts like – 'Why should I feel proud? When did I do anything? Pride is something that one feels for something he/she has done or accomplished.' Now is not the time for that.

"If you feel that you belong to this academy, this city, this province, and this nation, you ought to feel connected with the people. That's enough. With the presupposition that I would still be in the academy, I would prepare a large event honoring the life and death of Rewen Klofar.

"Now, I'll come to the report. If you've forgotten, let me remind everyone once again that the report consists of several actions whose cause is unexplainable. With that being said, let's start from the very beginning. I've already gone through the event which started everything so I'll skip over to the next event."

The Branch Director paused for a few seconds. "The event I'm going to talk about is completely, maybe not completely, but for ninety-five percent of the part totally unrelated. Yet, the reason we need to know this is because it provides us with an important detail – the initial strength of Rewen Klofar.

"1st April 4027. 3:14 p.m. Rewen had an encounter with one of the members of DREAMTEEN. Ruby was her stage name if I recall correctly. Apparently, the quarrel started between him and Ruby when both of them clashed with each other. The fault of this clash ultimately goes to Ruby's who was speeding over. Within a few seconds of exchange of words, the quarrel escalated into a fight.

"It has to be known that Ruby, although not involved in the profession of combat, was an initial stage Rank 2 Mage. Let alone her skills, her physical prowess alone was not something a newly-admitted student of the academy could rival. Even so, the boy Rewen Klofar was extraordinary from the start. Not only did he decisively control the situation by instructing his friend to call the cops and deal with Ruby by himself, he even managed to overpower her and crush her."

The Branch Director paused when he noticed some discussions going on in the training ground. It didn't take more than a single moment for him to figure out the topic of discussion. Simply smiling, he said.

"Of course, you are designed to think that this event is a conspiracy. Even when there is clear footage of the event, the blurred footage circulated around the internet. In the end, not a single news media covered this. On this part, I won't blame the media as there are other parties on the scene. I know some of you aren't convinced of my explanation. Therefore, I'll post clear footage of the event by today."

The discussions which were small scale turned loud.

"There's no way the exaggerated hypothesis we played with and made fun of is actually true!"

"I refuse to believe this!"

"Huh! Who cares if you refuse to believe this? Facts are right before your eyes. If you can't accept, there's surely an inner bias involved."

"I couldn't agree more. These are the same people who made fun of Rewen when he was fighting to save their asses."

Very quickly, the tiny anti-Rewen group was suppressed.

Below the stage.

Instructor Venitt had a serious look on her face. "Instructor Xovin, what are your thoughts on this?"

Assistant Instructor Xovin replied with no hesitation. "This should be true. The other parties that the Branch Director is referring to are…"