I Reject Quests

Rewen stood straight in the garden. His eyes were not focused as if he was thinking something. 'In the very beginning, there is the starting sequence which takes around 15 seconds usually but I haven't tried using [Mana Manipulation].'

He focused and tried to feel his Mana Points. 'Let's try moving the P-1.' He put some extra mana into the First Primary Mana Point filling it completely. It is important to note that there is a difference between 'catching' a Mana Point and move it around typing an Innate Mana String and 'filling' the Mana Points with mana. It's fairly easy to fill a Mana Point.

'And then…' He tried to control the specific Mana Point and…

He succeeded!

"Damn! No wonder it's an advanced skill!" Rewen was overjoyed. He remembered the pains he had to go through when he first tried out the <Starting Sequence>. 

'According to what I have read, I don't even have to connect an Innate Mana String to one another. As long as I 'try' to control each and every Mana Points that are required in the <Sequence>, it would be enough. I don't know the reason and while I have some curiosity in knowing how it works, now is not a good time. Maybe when everything's over, I can research a bit into it.'

The same way, he tried to complete the <Starting Sequence> that he had already memorized. 

In his first attempt, he failed to control every single Mana Points.

In his second, he succeeded.

In his third, he completed the <Starting Sequence> within three seconds. "From fifteen seconds to three seconds, if this isn't a huge leap, what is?"

After that, he didn't go and try one of the skills immediately. He completed the <Starting Sequence> more than twenty times. His best record was two seconds. 

Fairly satisfied with the results, he took out his smartphone and looked at the <Sequence> of [River of Right Hand] and became dumbfounded. 

The sequence list was two pages!

He checked out [Giant Leap].

Again, two pages!

"What about [Petal Dance]?"

Five fucking pages!

"No… no, this can't be happening. Do I seriously need to memorize this for the skill to work? I always thought that [Custom] is too good of a skill to use." Rewen bitterly smiled. He now understood why it isn't popular.

Unless one has [Picture Memory], [Custom] is a perfect skill. It is the only skill known that doesn't follow the norms. To use it, you only have to memorize <Sequences> and you are done. No need to go through the "alpha" stage and "beta" stage nonsense. However, it's main disadvantage lies in it's long list of <Sequences>. Even if one successfully memorizes a skill, he couldn't use it in battle because it takes too long to cast.

"Nevermind. I have [Mana Manipulation]. I can't let it go to waste. Before I fight another squad, I have to try to memorize one of the <Sequences>.

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

[Yes] [No]

'Did I ever tell you that I want to take you as my wife?' Rewen's depression vanished within seconds when he saw a quest. Before even taking a look at it, he was certain that the quest has something to do with his current predicament.

---

Quest: Training Brain Cells

Grade: D

Details: Break down the <Sequence> into pairs of ten and complete them one-by-one. The quest will be considered completed only the Host manages to complete the entire <Sequence> one of the skills.

Rewards: [Memorization] (0.001%)

Failure: None

Time Limit: 30 minutes (The timer will start as soon as the quest is accepted)

---

[Would you like to accept it?]

[Yes] [No]

"System, I don't know about you but the 0.001% sounds really low."

[Cut your bullshit. You want it or not.]

"Of course, I want it." Rewen tapped on 'Yes' and started looking at the <Sequence> of [Giant Leap]. It has the shortest sequence.

"Let's see… A-5. S-23, P-2…

…

..

"... P-1, S-9, A-25. Finished!"

[Total Time Taken: 19:45]

[Ding! Quest successfully completed!]

['Memorization' Skill Book acquired! Would you like to learn it right now?]

[Yes] [No]

'Yes.' Rewen waited for some information. However, unlike the time he learned [Mana Manipulation], this time nothing of that sort happened.

He didn't feel anything. 

"Yes. Sorry to repeat but I really don't feel anything different." Rewen already had a guess how and why this is but decided to ask the system anyways.

A few seconds later.

"How cold." Rewen frowned when he didn't get any response from the system and decided to take a look at his stats.

---

Host: Rewen Klofar

Bloodline: Human (100%) (Yellow) - [Perks] - [Activation] (10%)

Age: 18

Strength: 17

Agility: 17

Endurance: 17

Dexterity: 17

HP: 170/170

MP: 88/88

Skills: [Freestyle Knights Combat Technique (Initial Stage)], [Observe], [Lunge], [Mana Manipulation], [Memorization] (0.001%)

Features: [Blacksmith], [Mission to Doom], [Boost], [Appearance Grader]

Path: [Knight]

Unique Property: [Balls of Steels]

Inventory: Tier 1 Bronze Lottery Ticket (x2), 2x Power Spike

---

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Rewen smiled in satisfaction after seeing his stats. "Now then, let's test [Memorization]."

He went through each of the Mana Points in the <Sequence> list of [Giant Leap]. 

Ten seconds later, he tried to recall the Mana Points he had just read. "Nope. Not working. Oh wait, I get it."

---

[Memorization] (0.012%)

---

Rewen nodded his head. "As expected. This is the kind of skill which increases the more I try to memorize something. Interesting skill. I'll call it a growth-type skill. Not that it actually matters how I call it." 

He looked at the <Sequence> and tried to memorize the first fifteen Mana Points.

In his first try…

"Still can't do it." 

---

[Memorization] (0.03%)

---

"Again." Rewen read and tried to recall the fifteen Mana Points again.

"A-5, S-23, P-2, S-11, S-5, A-17, S-6, A-9, P-5, A-32, A-39, S-22, A-1, A-2, S-11." Rewen checked whether he remembered them right or not. "Seems like I was right." A small smile emerged on his face.

---

[Memorization] (0.08%)

---

Rewen read the next fifteen Mana Points and tried to recall them.

Just like this, an hour passed by.

---

[Memorization] (10.67%)

---

Rewen went to drink some water, then came back to the garden. "Damn. My mouth feels tired." Why wouldn't it? He had been speaking continuously for over an hour. "But thanks to that, I more or less memorized the entire <Sequence> of [Giant Leap]."

'I'll try it. No, wait. There's another thing I need to do before I try the skill. If I remember well, there was a basic <Sequence> for every type of skill. [Giant Leap] is an evasive-type skill so it's basic <Sequence> is…' He took out his smartphone and went through the file sent by Yeri.

It didn't take more than ten seconds for him to memorize the <Sequence> consisting of more than twenty-five Mana Points.

"Done. Now, focus your mind. First, the <Starting Sequence>."

Two seconds later.

'Basic <Sequence> for [Evasive] type skills.'

Four seconds later.

'[Giant Leap] sequence.'

A minute later.

Everything looked normal but Rewen could feel his legs bursting with energy. A grin emerged on his face. 'No, still not done. The last step is left. Jump!' He jumped a few steps back.

*Swish*

It was a sixteen-metre long jump but Rewen's face didn't look too good. "Failure."

It was a failure.

After all this work, it was just a failure.

"Where did I exactly go wrong?" Rewen questioned himself. His expression was annoyed but he planned to see through it till the end. The Rewen from a few days ago would never stick to something for this long but the current Rewen has the sense of urgency and determination.

"Wait a second, wasn't there something like <Purpose> Yeri mentioned?" Rewen suddenly remembered the conversation he had yesterday. 'What exactly is <Purpose>?' He took his smartphone and browsed it.

"Literally what it means. To use a [Custom] skill, all I need to do is have a purpose before using the skill. It sounds vague and ambiguous but that's it. Well, at least according to the internet." It's not that he was being doubtful but he had the tendency to not believe in things which are too mystical and out-of-the-world. 

"Nevermind, I'll see it goes." He decided to give it a try because he had nothing to lose.

'What should be my <Purpose>? I'll go with - To Defeat My Opponents! Sounds corny but let's go with that for the time being.'

'First, the <Starting Sequence>.'

Two seconds later.

'Basic <Sequence> for [Evasive] type skills.'

Four seconds later.

'Lastly, [Giant Leap] <Sequence>.'

A minute later.

Rewen again felt the same energy in his legs. Hoping for it to succeed, he took a large jump backwards.

*Swish*

"Still a failure." Rewen muttered with an absent-minded expression. "It… should have faster." 

After a few seconds, he had a small smile on his face. "I see now. <Purpose> isn't a thing that should be taken lightly. It should be believable and direct. My <Purpose> - To Defeat My Opponents - is nothing more than a joke."