I Reject Quests

"Even if I want to believe, I can't because I subconsciously know that I could never defeat my opponents just with [Giant Leap]. A <Purpose> is something I could fully believe. In that case, how about - To Dodge?"

A minute later.

"Still a failure but I could see myself soon using the skill effortlessly. If even - To Dodge - didn't work, then what should the <Purpose> be? It's true though. I myself don't believe that with [Giant Leap], I could dodge anything. Let's be realistic, it's just a yellow-ranked Rank 0 skill. What most could it do other than taking a few steps back? In other words, I have to be specific… how about - To Dodge a Frontal Attack?"

A minute later.

Rewen wasn't even disappointed with failure this time. With a smile hung on the corner of his lips, he seemed a bit excited. "So - To Dodge a Frontal - isn't working, huh. How about - To Dodge a Frontal Attack Three Centimeters Away From Me?"

A minute later.

*Swoosh*

Unlike his previous tries, this time, Rewen was swifter and his landing from above was smooth.

"Smooth, indeed." Grinning from ear-to-ear, Rewen went back to his room. It's not that he didn't want to learn the other two skills but he could feel his mental state a bit exhausted. It's probably due to the use of <Purpose>. "How mystical." He commented.

His PC was already turned on so he logged in to CHAOS.

***

Darkhood City.

It was early morning. Lukewarm sunlight fell on Rewen's body making him feel comfortable.

*Knock*

Someone knocked at his door.

"Wait, I'm coming." Getting up from his bed, he went to the door.

Opening the door, he saw a familiar young woman in front of him. She had light gold hair. "Aunt called you for breakfast." 

Rewen could certainly see that she wasn't exactly comfortable with this. 'Mother probably told her to wake me up.'

"I'm coming."

Rewen came to the dining room with Vinia.

In the dining room, he saw Sam and his mother sitting at the table. Sam was yawning with a tired look. "You are unusually early." Turning to his mother, he couldn't help but comment.

"It's in good health and spirits." Mrs. Klofar promptly said, then looked at her son's bed hair and frowned. "Is that a new type of fashion?"

"Something like that." Rewen was too lazy to correct her. Taking a seat near Sam, he started gulping down his breakfast. Similarly, Vinia also sat down beside him.

"So what's your plan for the day?"

"I'll just smith for today. Lately, my life is getting so hot-blooded that I even forgot that my life was in the slice-of-life genre a few days ago. It's too much. Although my physical self is more or less alright, the same couldn't be the same for my mental self. That's why for today, I'll just take a rest. Or rather, am I even allowed to take a rest?" Rewen sighed.

Even though none of them completely understood what Rewen had said, they understood the message he conveyed.

Sam wanted to console his friend but didn't know to. 

Mrs. Klofar was silent.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Vinia spoke up. "How about I teach you what you need to learn for General Knights Recruitment - Group A?"

"That sounds good." Rewen really thought so. 'I only have a month left so if I'm really serious, I should take this seriously.'

"I can see that both of you are getting along very well." Mrs. Klofar commented with a blissful smile.

'Lately, that's been the only thing your eyes could see.' Rewen scoffed. He didn't know what happened to his mother all of a sudden. 'Why is she so persistent with my marriage? I mean, when has she not been? But she never went to this extent. Something definitely happened and she's not giving me answers. Or maybe her persistent nature just acted up and I'm just a fool for believing otherwise.'

After breakfast, Vinia led Rewen to her room.

"Where should I start?" Sitting on her bed, he asked the first question that came to his mind.

Vinia thought about how to answer the question. "There are basically three subjects - Geography, History and Old Era Religions. Which subject are you most familiar with?"

"None." Rewen said without blinking. 

Vinia felt a bit of a headache. 'How am I supposed to teach someone who doesn't know the first letter of the subject?'

"Which one do you want to learn then?"

"Let's start with Geography." It's not that he was particularly interested in the subject. He just picked one randomly. "Do I bring my books?"

"No, it's useless. Even if everything's clearly explained in the book, you wouldn't understand even ten percent of it because your knowledge is very limited."

"That makes sense."

Vinia walked to her shelf and took out a map, then sat opposite to Rewen. "Should I start?"

"Yes, but I have a request. Can you not dump information all at once? I'm not a fast catcher and I take time to process when I'm learning something."

"Okay. Do you know the country we live in?"

"You mean, kingdom?"

"Kingdom, country, whatever you want to call it. There is also a common misconception among the masses that kingdoms can't be called a country. Do you even know what a country is?" Vinia gave him an 'annoyed teacher' look.

Rewen's eyes twitched. Her personality changes when she teaches? "A country is something that has its own government and laws while a kingdom is a territory that is ruled by a ruler and the ruler is called a king."

"Correct. Can you tell me why the masses felt that it's wrong to call this a country?"

"Isn't that obvious? Because it's ruled by a king."

"Can you call the King the President of the Country?"

"I know I can't but I don't know why."

"You can't. A king is a king because he has more powers in his hands than a dictator."

"Then isn't it different from a country? No, wait. Even so, it is still a lawful government but then again, it feels a bit wrong to call the kingdom a country."

"It is a country and a kingdom. My point in bringing this up is, you can call it whatever you want."

"I see."

"Back to the question, do you know what our country is called?"

"Solastan Kingdom."

"Correct. Our country is divided into three regions - Perilia Range in the East bordering an area of more than 5.678 kilometers, Capital in the central region which occupies more than sixty percent of the country and lastly, the Commoners' District which is spread throughout the country." After finishing that, she spread the map and pointed to a small area near the centre. "We live here."

"Is that it? What about the Nobles?"

"Nobles live in the Capital. Baron is the lowest nobility rank so we don't live in the Capital."

"Okay, so you're telling me that Viscounts, Earls, Marquess' and Dukes live there? How many Noble Houses are there in total?"

"An off-topic question but I'll answer. There are 72 Viscounts, 36 Earls, 18 Marquess', 9 Dukes, two Princes and the Royal Family."

Rewen was quite surprised at the numbers.

"By two Princes, you meant second generation Princes?"

"Yes. Continuing on, let me tell you about the Knights. Before that, can you tell what exactly is the purpose of General Recruitment - Group A exam?"

"Passing the exam would qualify you for a [Knight]?"

Vinia's face twitched. A second later, she burst into laughter, not managing to hold herself back. "Sorry… cough, cough. Listen carefully. The purpose of the exam is not to qualify you for a [Knight]. It makes you eligible to become a City Guard."

Rewen could have never imagined that those drunken City Guards are a poor man's [Knight]. "Are… you serious?"

"It's hard to believe, I know but it's the truth. Of course, becoming eligible to become a City Guard doesn't mean you'll have to become one. You just need to be eligible. Anyways, forget it. Let's return to the topic. Geography. I'll tell you what you need to study. First, learn topography. It's a simple thing. If you have even a quarter of an average human brain, you should be able to understand." Vinia roasted him without holding back.

"Topography? I know it."

"You do? What is it?"

"It's basically like an advanced map. Generally, maps can only have limited details. Topography is the study of geographical features in much more details. Using it, you can find out the features of a particular area just by looking at the topographical map."

"Oh? You do know what topography is. Is it just the basics or do you have an in-depth knowledge about it." Vinia's face showed surprise.

"In-depth." Rewen answered confidently.

"Very well. I'll move to the next topic - An Overview of the Kingdom." Vinia grabbed a book from her shelf and started listing off important details to Rewen who quietly listened without raising any voice.