I Reject Quests

"M-my heart is not ready…"

"Stop speaking like a young maiden. You are coming with me. End of the discussion."

For the first time in his life, Rewen saw his mother as some merciless demon. Her face was stone cold and showed no compromise. 

When he arrived here, he saw his mother preparing to go somewhere. He asked out of curiosity. His mother caught his hand and told him that she was going to visit the Baron of Darkhood. 

---

"Eh? Why visit the Baron?"

"You will be surprised to know that the Baron has a really pretty granddaughter."

"Is that so?" At this time, Rewen was still unaware as to why his mother would make friends with a young woman. 'Maybe she is just trying to get back her lost youth.'

"Yes, she's the perfect wife material." But the next statement made him freeze.

"Sam, you are so lucky!" He tried to deny reality and congratulated Sam who was next to his mother.

"It's not for Sam. He is dirty and a country bumpkin. He doesn't meet the lowest of requirements for being a husband." 

"How could you say that, Aunty!?:

---

And so, the drama unfolded.

"What? Are you trying to be a rebel!? Is this what your father taught you to do? Going against your own mother after he died?" Her voice sounded emotional.

Rewen was constantly getting guilt-tripped after guilt-tripped. 'That day, I only told her that I'll marry because I thought I could easily avoid the scenario of me being married. I thought if I could bring Svety into this world and somehow make her my 'wife', Mother would dispel the thoughts of me getting married. Who would have thought she would take action this soon?'

As he was desperately thinking of a way to get out of the situation, he spotted a familiar person looking at him in a daze. 

"Denny, why are you standing there? Come here." 

Denny woke up from the daze and approached Rewen out of everyone's confused eyes.

"Rewen, who is she?" His mother directly asked.

"Ah, she is my cousin. We have been living together since childhood."

Denny was shocked at his answer. "Rewen?"

In response, he smiled. "Don't worry. It's alright."

His mother eyed her from top to bottom, then smiled. "So you are his cousin. We already know this is not the real world but I am glad to have him as a son. Thank you for taking care of him all these years." Her sarcastic tone was hard to notice but it was there.

Denny felt a bit embarrassed. "No, it's nothing." Of course, she didn't get the hint of sarcasm.

"Denny, help me. She is preparing to get me married." Rewen secretly whispered to her ear.

"What!?"

"Exactly. Tell her that I already have a girlfriend."

Denny stared at his mother. "Umm, he already has a girlfriend…"

Rewen's mother had a nonchalant expression on her face. "So what?"

"So… it would be an unfaithful act."

"I don't care."

Denny was tongue-tied.

"Rewen, just agree." Sam couldn't watch anymore of the awkwardness and tried to persuade his friend. 

Rewen took a huge breath and his expression became stiff. "I already said I'm not going to marry. I have nothing more to say." It's not that he was against the act of marriage but he knew once he took one step, he cannot turn back. He knew that this was a virtual world. Perhaps even his future lover would not blame him for having a virtual wife but his thought process is different from others. 

He had grown up in this world and perceived the world as 'real'. To him, this world was no different from Earth. For Rewen, the reality is a vague term. If he perceives something as 'real', it is real. Which is exactly why he doesn't want to live his life carelessly. If possible, he wanted to live in both the worlds in his own way. He too wanted to have a family in this world in future but then, what about Earth?

He was someone who believed in monogamy at a young age. When he arrived on Earth, his belief strengthened. It would hurt his conscience if he were to start a family. 

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Sam was angry on Rewen's mother's behalf. "You already promised her that you would listen to her, didn't you?" He had grown up with him and knew him from head to toe. Because their personalities match, they got along very well. Rewen's mother was the only mother figure in his life so he was very grateful for her. She was a gentle and caring mother. Never had she demanded anything and always did what her son Rewen said. This is precisely why he was angry at his friend.

Rewen saw Sam staring at him angrily and responded in disbelief. "You really don't think that there is something wrong with her? Do you honestly think that I should get married at my age?"

"What's wrong with your age? If anything, you are the one who is being unreasonable."

"Nevermind, you won't understand me." Rewen sighed in disappointment.

For some reason, Sam was ticked off by this comment and furiously grabbed his collar. "Bastard, you… are looking down on us?"

"Get your hands off my collar," Rewen spoke in a terrifyingly calm tone. Deep down inside, he was very arrogant. It didn't have anything to do with strength or knowledge. It was just his innate nature. "Besides, what are my matters to you?"

Sam loosened his grip and went back to the house. He was both angry and disappointed at Rewen but knew that it was not his place to say anything.

Rewen's mother watched Sam's back and grabbed her son's hand. "You better reconcile with him after you come back."

Rewen shook off her hand and walked towards Denny. "I want to level up. Create a party and invite me."

Denny watched everything in astonishment. She never actually thought that NPCs would have such complex emotions. She was even more shocked that Rewen would have a family drama in this world as well.

She saw that his mother was not looking good but couldn't do anything. 'Hopefully, Rewen won't invest his emotions upon them.' She was somewhat worried for him. On top of having interference, he also had to deal with emotional issues. 'Till now, apart from having that who-knows-what strength, he is pretty normal. Of course, his attitude had changed but it's probably for the better.'

***

"HOOWWWWWWWW!!!"

A beastly roar sounded throughout the entire forest. It originated from a 2-meter tall wolf who let out a howl after locating two strangers. 

---

Houndwolf

HP: 1500

---

As it was about to leap out, an arrow shot out from behind the trees.

'-45'

It was an intelligent beast. Instantly after being alerted, the beast headed in the direction of where the arrow came from.

Just then, another arrow shot out from another direction.

'-52'

It directly hit the neck of the beast.

The beast howled and again headed towards the direction of the arrow in rage. When it got close, a barrage of arrows shot out from both sides.

'-39'

'-43'

'-45'

'-34'

…

..

After a few seconds, the beast which was furiously grinding its teeth and howling fell down. Among the arrows, a dagger shot out and hit its torso.

'-127'

The last hint of consciousness left in the beast faded away.

Confirming it was indeed dead, two figures revealed themselves. They were naturally Rewen and Denny.

Beside them was a medium-sized sized box with a hole on two opposite sides. It is used to make hunting easier and less risky. "The device is really very convenient," Denny stated.

Rewen agreed, then looked at his stats.

---

Level: 20 [Capped]

Class: None

Social Status: Peasant

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 8

Constitution: 9

Intelligence: 8

Charisma: 7

Luck: 7

---

Both his and Denny's level had capped. The only way to remove the cap is to activate a [Class]. 

"You have any idea how to obtain the [Paladin] class?"

"You want to become a [Paladin]?"

"Yeah."

"Why not become a [Simplified Mage]? It would help in improving your magic techniques. One of the main purposes of the game is to help young mages."

Rewen wasn't opposed to the suggestion. He only wanted to become a [Paladin] because he thought the armors looked cool. "So, how do I become a [Simplified Mage]?"

"For that, you need to request for your [Class] in one of the official CHAOS chat groups. Don't write anything unnecessary though. You might get banned."

"I see." Both Rewen and Denny requested to become a [Simplified Mage].

"What now?"

"Be patient. A [Class] quest will arrive."

As soon as she said that, a blue screen appeared in front of Rewen.

---

Quest: Learn [Fireball] on your own.

Reward: [Simplified Mage] class.

---

Rewen read that and frowned. Seconds later, he could feel warm currents flowing through his body. 'This feels like mana.' He looked sidewise and saw that Denny was in deep concentration. 'Now then, how should I learn this childish magic?'