I Reject Quests

Rewen wasn't sure what Banci was about to do but he had to be ready for what was going to come. 

All of a sudden, Banci started running towards him.

Rewen was confused. 'Why is he again trying to go on close-quarters with me? Is there a hidden weapon?' Nevertheless, he took a stance with the single dagger in his hand and analyzed his opponent's movements. 'He is coming at me with no rhyme and reason. He is full of openings. I don't know what he's trying to accomplish this way. Wait a minute, what if he is coming towards me to get hit by me?'

A crazy thought passed through his mind. 'It would make sense but what exactly would be his benefit if he does that? Could there be a skill which activates when he gets hit by me? Or is it suicide? Maybe he has a bomb inside him which… no, that's not possible. This man is a self-centered cannibal. He doesn't have the determination or guts to sacrifice himself. Even so, I have to do what he doesn't want me to do.' 

He turned his head and started running in a random direction.

Seeing this, Banci was dumbstruck. 'What's with him? Is he running away? Does he not want to kill me? It's possible he doesn't want to take the risk so he's running away.' He guessed, then chased after him.

***

Near the Qan Residence.

The Boss and Muniba were solemnly standing looking at the trees in front. Both were quiet. 

"Boss, Banci should have returned by now. Could he be involved with the target?" Muniba raised the question he wanted to raise for a long time.

The Boss had a tall and broad stature. He frowned when he heard his subordinate's question. "Maybe."

"Then isn't it about time to get involved?"

"Why?" The Boss asked in a questioning tone.

"Why, you ask? To help him, of course." Muniba answered in a matter-of-factly voice.

"Hahaha!" The Boss started laughing all of a sudden, then turned to his subordinate with a dangerous smile on his face. "Since when have cannibals like us cared about fellow humans?"

"But Boss, he is your subordinate." Muniba knew how his Boss is but he still tried to reason with him. After all, he had been with Banci since childhood. Even if he is a cannibal, he isn't devoid of human emotions. 

"Did you forget, Muniba? We are the scums of society. People hate and fear us. That's also the main reason we pride ourselves as cannibals. Cannibals have no friends but every single human being are our foes. Do you understand that or are you forgetting your identity as a cannibal?" The Boss' tone was strict.

"I understand." Muniba could only nod his head. He understood. He both understood and loathed the fact that despite being a cannibal who has destroyed countless lives, he had human emotions.

"Boss, two of them started playing a game of cat-and-mouse. Should we follow?" Asen suddenly emerged before them and reported.

"Interesting. Who is the cat and who is the mouse?" The Boss rubbed his beard.

Asen smiled. "You would be happy to hear that Banci is the cat while our target is the mouse."

Contrary to his expectations, the Boss frowned at this development. "The report said that the target is at least a E-Grade Martial Artist."

"Indeed. We overestimated our target." Asen laughed.

Muniba heaved a sigh of relief.

The Boss, however, kept a frown. "How long were they fighting? And who had the upper hand?"

"For the most part, it was Banci revealing his cards and the target overcoming his difficulties using his quick wit." He paused, then for some reason, started laughing. "I should mention this as well. Although the target doesn't seem very strong, he is very witty. He had pushed Banci into using [Red Death] but who would have thought.... Hahaha! I… can't… Hahaha! Oof… sorry Boss. While Banci was trying to activate the [Red Death], the target had seemingly figured out something was wrong, thus starting the game of cat-and-mouse."

The Boss snorted. "It's that dimwit's fault. He was probably very obvious about it. Nevermind that, how strong did he look?"

Asen thought for a bit, then answered. "He is a Mid F-Grade Martial Artist, at most a High F who is very adept in using weapons."

"Any skills? The report mentioned that he was a student from Eastern Dream Academy."

"Not that I know of. He hadn't revealed the slightest trait of a Mage. Even if he is a student from the Academy, he is a first-year."

"Could he be hiding his true ability? The reports have rarely been wrong." The Boss asked the question he was the most curious about.

"It didn't look like he was. He was at the front of death's door more than three times. Either he is a madman or someone who is extremely confident in his abilities." Asen shook his head. He was normally a paranoid person but even he had absolute confidence that the target wasn't hiding his abilities. As someone who had seen life and death countless times since he was young, he knows the body language opponents give when they are hiding their abilities. 

'Besides, there's no fucking way he could restrict his strength the entire time.'

"However, Asen. The more you say that, the more uneasy I'm feeling. Imagine the instance where we reveal ourselves and he suddenly reveals that he was hiding his strength." The Boss sighed. "I can't continue on like this. We need to take precautions even if the disaster I'm thinking of doesn't exist."

Asen and Muniba looked at each and didn't know what to say. They could only nod their heads.

***

Meanwhile, Svety was sitting at one of the public benches near the entrance of Area 51. 'I know that nothing could possibly happen because Rewen is a Rank 2 and all that… but I'm still uneasy. I-I… nearly ain't as tough as I expected. He had changed. I also need to change and also… apologise to him.' Her resolve hardened, her eyes shining. 

In the process, her eyes also fell on a particular person she felt quite familiar with. When the figure got closer, her whole body shuddered with horror. Quickly getting up from the bench, she plastered her index finger on her lips.

The figure that she saw was a medium-heighted woman with long hair. She was Denny Klofar, a popular student in the Academy. Denny was very confused as to why she made the gesture and was about to open her mouth when she saw that the other party was getting hysteric with the "please keep quiet" sign.

'Okay, Teacher.' Denny decided to obey for the time being and approached her.

Svety took out her smartphone.

-> Why did you come here?

She sent a message to Denny.

-> I read the letter.

-> …

-> Don't worry about it. He probably wanted me to see it.

-> Why do you say that?

-> If he really wanted to keep it a secret, why would he leave it out open in the bed. Isn't that suspicious?

-> I suppose but did he ever tell you that there is a microphone inside me?

-> Huhhhhhhh!

Denny gulped a mouthful of words.

-> Yes. 

-> Did both of you confirm the letter? There is a chance that this is a high level prank…

-> I don't think a person who can bypass both of my bodyguards without them noticing and insert an explosive that can apparently glow would be a prankster.

-> Is he inside the Area?

-> He is fighting a squad consisting of four members with the strongest being a Peak Rank 1 Mage.

-> That's bad news.

-> Don't worry. He was confident.

-> Confident, my great-grandmother's as*. You are sweating bullets yourself. Who are you trying to kid?

Denny couldn't digest the entire information and slumped on the bench.

-> That guy… how did he even implicate the entire town!?

-> Day before yesterday, he visited one of the tribes inside the Area. I followed him because I was worried about him. He interrogated the Jon Tribe and sometime later, he hit me… and went to some place. When he returned to the Tribe, he was in a bad mood and immediately left.

-> Why would he visit the Tribe?

-> I don't know. Before going to the Area, he was in the slums. From what my bodyguards told me, he captured dozens of people who were involved in the organ trading business. Later, when I came in a car, he refused to tell me anything. I got curious and overheard the conversation between him and a man who, I later found out, was the organ trader. Rewen then interrogated the man who revealed that he was from some secret organization.

-> An evil organization? 

-> I'm not joking. It sounded like an evil organization. Not the name, I mean.

-> Okay, what's the name of the organization?

-> Wife… something?

-> Hold up. Wife? Ah! I'd get mental issues if I chat any further. It is dangerous here. I'll text you when I reach home.