I Reject Quests

"Here's your updated ID." The receptionist handed over a card to the young man with crimson hair standing in front of her.

---

Name: Rewen Klofar

Division: Rookie

Grade: F

Rank: 48

Speciality: Agile, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Deceptive

---

Rewen was surprised by the new words on the 'Speciality'. 

As if seeing the surprise coming, the receptionist smiled. "We have cameras in every room. There are several supervisors who would check on you from time to time."

"Understandable, but what's with this 'Deceptive'? I'm not sure whether this is a speciality or not."

The receptionist couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Don't mind too much. It's just a comment from one of the supervisors."

"They have a good sense of humor."

***

Klofar Residence. 8:45 p.m.

After Rewen came back, he immediately started practicing [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique.

[Ding! Daily Mission from 'Basic Knights and Magic System' completed! Would you like to receive the rewards right now?]

[Yes] [No]

"Yes."

[+10 Mana Storage Capacity]

"Good." Rewen wiped off the sweat from his forehead and sat down on the chair of his garden.

'I don't know how many days it would take for me to learn [Custom]. I haven't even decided what skill I should make with [Custom].'

[Ding! An immediate quest has been issued. Would you like to see it?]

[Yes] [No]

'Now that's I like to see.' Rewen smiled, then tapped on 'Yes'.

---

Quest: 45th Way To Learn [Custom]

Grade: D

Details: Complete the entire starting <Sequence> under fifteen seconds.

Rewards: [Mana Manipulation].

Failure: None

---

'Would this [Mana Manipulation] help me learn [Custom] faster?'

[Yes.]

Rewen instantly got up from his chair and took out his smartphone. "Alright, first P-2… which is the second Primary Mana Point… there it is. Oops, it escaped."

He tried to locate and catch the first Mana Point almost ten times but failed. 

"There has to be some kind of trick. A pattern or something… Right. Whenever I try to approach the Mana Point from the left, it pushes itself back. From the right, it pushes itself front. How about the middle then?"

A few seconds later.

"Nope. Not working but my observation was almost correct. Aside from the sides, it also depends on the angle and speed. For instance, if I approach the Mana Point at a fast speed making an angle of forty degree with the Mana Point from the left, then it pushes itself back approximately at an angle of eighty degree with a speed a bit faster than the speed in which I approached it."

"What about the back?"

"Yup, it's the same."

"I think I get the hang of it. To successfully locate and catch the second Primary Mana Point, I have to approach in such a way that the Mana Point moves the bare minimum. I can't completely stop the Mana Point no matter what I do. After that, when I get close enough, I'll increase my speed and catch it. Let's try it."

Taking a deep breath, he made his consciousness approach the second Primary Mana Point at an angle of zero degree with a moderate speed. However, just as he was about to increase his speed, the Mana Point made an unnatural movement and escaped!

Rewen's face turned dark. He had thought of giving up. He was never a patient person. If something doesn't work the way he wanted it, he would give up unhesitantly. The only thing he did manage to hold on to was crafting weapons and that too, because of how strict his Master was. He closed his eyes. 

'Calm down. Now's not the time to be like this. I can't give up here even if I want to. I have to do this. Think. Think. Think. If this could happen, then it possibly means that angle and speed doesn't change shit. I still couldn't catch the Mana Point. What could I do to catch up to it? What could I do to stop it…' An idea flashed by his mind. 

'It's crazy. No, I shouldn't try this. But then again, I was indeed told that this would be risky. Is this the risky part?' Rewen was very hesitant because he knew that with this 'crazy idea' of his, he might get lethally wounded.

"Fuck it, I'll try it."

Rewen decided to be brave. He poured some mana in the second Primary Mana Point, then plated the inner shell of the Mana Point with mana. "Here goes nothing." 

The next thing that happened was - blood erupted from his right arm.

"Cough, cough." Coughing violently, he fell on his knees. Red blood fell on the ground from his mouth. 

Despite that, there was a small curve hanging on the corner of his lips. He was successful in catching the second Primary Mana Point. "Condensing really worked. Though coughing blood everytime I catch a Mana Point isn't a very effective solution. The key of the method is to freeze up the Mana Point using the adhesive nature of mana just like I condensed Magic Power while trying to learn [Fireball]. What I did kinda expect is that the aftermath of letting mana get contact with the physical body is much more lethal."

Rewen already had a solution to the problem. "If freezing too much is a problem, I'll freeze up only a bit. I don't need to completely stop the Mana Point from moving. I just want it to move too quickly. I'll need the help of angles and speed though. It's a pain to do an accurate calculation. If only I could see the insides of my body…"

Sighing, he stood up straight and tried to catch the second Primary Mana Point again with new methods.

"Don't freeze up too much… and here it is." Catching the Mana Point, he didn't waste any time and immediately made a thin thread, which is known as the "Innate Mana String", using mana and attached it to the surface of the Mana Point. 

"Next step. I'll have to grab on to this thread and catch the next Mana Point which is… the thirtieth Secondary Mana Point." 

***

Fifty Minutes Later.

Denny arranged the dinner table while her Elder Brother brought up the food from the kitchen. "Where is Rewen?" 

"Who knows what he's doing. He went to the Club in the evening. He should be in his room right now." Denny answered.

Cal nodded, then sat on the chair. "Do you not feel that he is a little different from what he used to be?" 

"Yup. I have noticed. It's either due to interference or because…"

"He isn't Rewen." Cal didn't have any expression on his face. Seeing the look on his sister's face, he realized that he hasn't phrased his words well. "I was just continuing what you said. There's no need to worry about 'Invasion'. He was checked in the hospital. The reason he is like this is because we never really knew what kind of person he really is. Till middle school, he was an outgoing and diligent student. When he went to highschool, I got my new job and failed to check up on him from time to time. 

I was always confused why he was so… so gloomy. Always holed up in his room. Getting bad grades. I did have the thought that maybe, it's because he had interference. After that thought, I tried to communicate with him several times but he would stay quiet with his head lowered the entire time. Eventually, I gave up on him. I also thought that he wouldn't be this much of a fool… or strong, whatever you want to call it." Cal wasn't a person who liked to speak much but this time, he felt the need to address it.

After Cal finished, Denny had an indescribable look on her face. "I stood there and saw him get bullied by my friends. I carried a childish grudge against him because Mother and Father always praised him turning a blind eye to my efforts. If you are regretting for simply not looking after him, then where should I start listing off my regrets!?" 

*Bam!*

With her emotions out of control, Denny smashed her hand on the table and walked to her room.

Cal had the same dropped eyebrows. He knew his sister very well. 

***

"P-2…. P-2… Done!" Rewen fell on his butt. "I really am a genius. Hm? Where are the rewards? It should not exceed fifteen seconds."

[Total Time Taken: 15.62 seconds.]

"Oh come on…" He whined, then got up. 

P-2…

S-30..

…

A-25…

P-5…

…

P-2!

"This… should be enough!"

[Ding! Quest successfully completed!]

['Mana Manipulation' Skill Book acquired! Would you like to learn to learn the skill right now?]

[Yes] [No]

"Yes." Loads of information suddenly appeared on his brain. 'What's with this? It surely isn't a comfortable feeling.' Despite his grumbling, he was more or less with the function of [Mana Manipulation].

"I'll check the details later." Practicing for so long, he was bound to feel hungry.

Washing his face, he went to the dining table. There, he saw Cal sitting with a blank look on his face.