I Reject Quests

'Where the heck am I?'

Famin questioned, looking across the place he was in. He found himself in a small room lying on a bed with a quilt covering his body. As he started to move, his body stung. Looking at his arms, he saw bandages.

Raising his head with some difficulty, he tried to determine the place he was in.

"Oh, you're awake?"

He heard a female voice and immediately looked at the door that led to another room. The voice belonged to a ponytailed girl about his age. She was the girl that the men who beat him up were talking to. 

Famin, however, was clueless as to who this person is. He hadn't noticed her in the shop.

"Uh." Seeing someone unfamiliar, he didn't know what he should say.

"How are you feeling?" The girl approached him and asked.

"I...I'm fine. Where am I?" Famin was nervous for a while, then eventually calmed down when he figured that the other party didn't seem to have harmful intentions to him.

"Where else? It's my place. Do you like it?" The ponytailed girl replied with a smile.

"It's… good. Um, thanks for this." Famin expressed his gratitude. As he tried to get up, he was stopped by the ponytailed girl. Confusedly, he looked at her. "What's wrong? I believe that I'm fine."

The ponytailed girl didn't answer immediately. She pulled her hand back and walked to the other room. Seconds later, she brought a glass filled with water and passed it over to Famin. "Here, have this. Then, listen to me properly."

Famin felt that the girl was quite kind and drank the water. "Okay…" 

"You have to quickly leave the place." The ponytailed girl said with a serious look on her face.

"Ah, I was just going to do that-"

"No. Not like that. You have to leave the block."

For a few seconds, Famin didn't know why she would say something like that but then, he recalled the events that happened prior. He quickly figured out that the reason she told him to leave was likely because she 'felt' that he wasn't a Yvadian.

Awkwardly laughing, he said. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm a Yvadian."

"Sure, you are." The ponytailed girl gave a light smile. "Anyways, it's better for you to leave as soon as possible. If those three men see you again, they would… let's not go there."

Famin got anxious when he heard her. "But I'm really a Yvadian… wait, were you there when they were beating me up?"

An awkward smile crept over the ponytailed girl's face. "I'm sorry. It wasn't suitable for me to appear back then. Even if I did, it's unlikely that I could have 'saved' you. Regardless, I apologize."

"Oh no, there's no need to apologize. I was just curious. Nice to meet you, I'm Famin." Famin introduced himself with a smile. He was an open-minded and humble person. Having been bullied his whole life, he had grown to appreciate people who help him in any way. He was greatly thankful to her as in his entire life, this was one of the few instances anyone had even bothered to help him.

The ponytailed girl stared at him for a few seconds, then shook his hand with hers. "Call me Amya."

"Amya… uh, is a good name… I guess." Needless to say, communication was not Famin's strong point. "Okay… then I'm leaving." He decided that it's better to leave the place. Thus, he raised his upper body.

Amya pushed him back.

"What's wrong?" Famin again showed a confused expression. "Didn't I say that I was leaving?"

"You are leaving the house, not the block," Amya said with a straightforward expression.

Famin's eyes widened. "How do you know that?" Soon after, he realized that he had made a blunder.

"Well, now I know." Amya showed a crafty smile, then her face quickly turned serious. "Look, I'm serious. People are out to get you. If they were to see you, the laws of the Provincial Government couldn't protect you because this land is only partially under the governance and jurisdiction of the Provincial Government."

"People are out to 'get' me? What do you mean? Do they want to kill me?" Famin appeared highly skeptical of what she said. 

"Precisely," Amya answered in a serious tone.

"..."

"..."

After a moment of staring into each other's eyes, Famin burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Hahaha… that was a good one." 

Amya snorted. "Yeah, laugh. Laugh all you want because this might be the last moment you can laugh."

"Oh, uhm, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just find the notion of people out to kill someone in broad daylight… er, moonlight very odd." 

Unlike the pre-apocalyptic period, the crime rates are significantly lower in the modern post-apocalyptic world. With over fifteen hundred years of civilization since the Silent Age, humanity has adopted new laws and regulations. The culture had also evolved since the pre-apocalyptic period. 

These two factors played an immense role in recreating and reforming the society. The world of today learned from its predecessors. Even though the new world (post-apocalyptic period) still has close cultural and social ties with the old world (pre-apocalyptic period), reforms were made. The original ancestors came to know of the flaws of the old world and thus restructured the foundation of the world.

Moral standards had also changed.

That's not to say that crime was 'banned'. 

If that were to be the case, a certain person wouldn't come across people selling organs.

If that were to be the case, a certain organization specifically designed for the purpose of threatening humanity wouldn't have existed.

If that were to be the case, a certain group of people wanting to kill its own kind wouldn't have existed.

If that were to be the case, a certain person's former girlfriend's and cousin's life wouldn't be put in danger.

Nothing is absolute. Imperfections are the reason mankind could strive for perfection. Utopia doesn't exist, will never exist, and shouldn't exist. It doesn't exist because society is flawed. It won't exist because society is flawed. And it shouldn't exist because society is flawed and it's a utopia in itself.

The best way to explain it would be - morals have 'upgraded'. The upgrade is less of a product of society, environment, and teachings and more because of the lack of necessity.

That's why Famin laughed at the notion of him getting chased by religious extremists simply because he belonged to a different religion, especially one that was out to kill him. Although his confidence is rather confusing since he was beaten up by religious extremists not long ago.

Amya had a face that had the word "offended" written on her face. Seconds later, she sighed. "Okay, I'll believe you for the time being."

"Uh yeah, thanks." Famin nodded, then raised his upper body which was, for the third time, pushed back. "Now, what?"

"First, tell me your origins. Truthfully." Amya placed heavy emphasis on the word 'truthfully'.

"My origin? Why do you want to know that?" Famin asked in curiosity.

"So I can prove that you are indeed a Yvadian. If you are one, you surely have some documents that you are indeed a Yvadian, right?" Amya asked. 

"Oh, I do have them at my place. Let's see… I have a birth certificate… that wouldn't prove that I'm a Yvadian because I grew up in an orphanage and it was inaccurate. Later, when my parents…"

Amya felt that there was something wrong with what he had said. "Wait, didn't you say that you grew up in an orphanage? How can your adopted parents prove that you were a Yvadian? Were they Yvadians as well?"

"I never said they were adopted. They are my… biological parents who, for some reason, left me at the orphanage. Whatever, it's complicated. I do have legal documents that prove I'm a Yvadian." Famin clearly showed signs that he wasn't willing to talk about it. 

Amya blinked her eyes, revealing deep curiosity but didn't linger on that topic. "Back to the point, where did you come from? Did you always live in the block?"

"No. It's been around two… I think it's been less than two weeks since I came here. I'm a member of Community Service in the area around the Eastern Dream Academy. Previously, I used to work in North Linin. Two months ago, Civil Laureates arrived and hosted a testing. Like many others, I tested and was given a scholarship for studying in the academy. And well… here I am." Famin briefly explained.

The testing he was referring to was affinity testing.

"Okay, North Linin. Which document are you referring to? Does the document say you are from North Linin?" Amya stood up.

Famin replied in the affirmative while lying on the floor. "Citizens Approval Number (CAN). Yes, my address and religion are mentioned."

"Where is it?"

"In my place…?"

"Where is your place?"

"Um… this block?" Famin answered in an unsure manner.