I Reject Quests

Chapter 40: Punishment

"In other words, your entire tribe except for you and the two guards got eaten by a bunch of cannibals."

"Yes."

"Didn't the cannibals, like, do anything else? For example, robbery, ****, etc."

"No. They were quite dedicated to their profession. As soon as they arrived, they ordered the 'En', err, the previous 'En' to gather the tribe members and well, I'll leave the rest upto your imaginations."

"My next question, why are the guards and you spared? Were you hidden away for the purpose of preserving bloodline?"

"Hah! Do I look like the son of the 'En'?"

Rewen rolled his eyes and thought, 'All tribal people look the same' but then realized that it would be rude and gestured to him to continue.

"Actually, you might not believe it but the reason I got spared is to spread the information of their existence or so they said."

"What? Do you mean they wanted you to relay the information to someone like me?"

"Not 'someone like you'. It's 'anyone'."

Rewen took a deep breath. "What about the guards? Why were they left alive?"

"They said that the tribe must look like it is the usual from the outside."

"Why? Isn't their intention to spread the information of their existence?"

"If I have to guess, hmm, it's complicated to explain. It's not that hard to guess though."

Rewen got lost in thoughts. 'Let's see They wanted to let others know that they were here but also they don't. It's indeed simple to guess.'

"They don't want the news to be known too fast which means this was a precaution in case the others felt something wrong with the tribe while they were escaping. But there's a hole. How come were they so sure that you and the guards wouldn't report the news as soon as you guys can?"

"Because it would bring more harm than good. The fall of a tribe would bring disaster to the entire Area 51. You are from outside so it's natural you wouldn't know. Few hundred years ago, the respective 'En'(s) of the four tribes made a deal with the government which allowed the tribes to be completely free of the laws and obligations of the outside world. In turn, the government gave only a single condition - if a day comes where one of the tribes is wiped out, then the rest of the tribes have to get outside of the Area and serve the government for eternity. Naturally, the government also mentioned that they themselves would not associate with the tribes any further."

"Wow. No wonder the reason you and the guards didn't dare to report to the other tribes. They would definitely skin you alive. However, why didn't you report to the authorities? Surely, it's better to serve the government than getting skinned alive."

The young man shook his head with a bitter smile. "You didn't get the meaning of 'serving' properly. The moment any one of us tribal people step outside our human rights would be stripped off and we would be seen as something less than slaves. We could be killed by anyone, anytime, anywhere."

"But why would any random person want to kill you? I'm pretty sure that people outside aren't that bloodthirsty."

"What if my own people try to kill me?"

"Oh, sorry. Dumb of me to ask."

"..."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll leak this news to the authorities?"

The young man's eyes flickered and didn't speak for a while. "I trust you."

From his expressions, Rewen could easily tell that guy was somewhat dumb but he didn't expose him. "Don't worry. So? What do you plan to do?"

"What else could I do other than lying in this bed all day?"

"What about revenge? Don't you want to take revenge?" Rewen jokingly asked. He found the young man in front of him quite pleasant to chat with.

"Ehm, sure. What is revenge? Can it be eaten?"

"Nevermind. This is your last question. What did you do with the 'En' of Jun and his men?"

"What are you talking about?" The young man stared at Rewen with a confused face.

Rewen opened his mouth to reply but the words didn't come out as his mouth was left hanging open. Only a single thought came to his mind. 'The two stories aren't similar!' What the 'En' of Jon told him was significantly different. Wasting no time, he exited the room activating the [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique.

"Huh!?" The young man was shocked at the sudden departure of Rewen. "Geez, you should have at least asked for my name and give your name." Perhaps, his fate was forever to appear as a nameless person. He yawned as he laid on the bed again falling in sleep.

Meanwhile, Rewen was running as fast as he could. The reason he was in a hurry was because he was concerned about Svety. Figuring out that what the 'En' of Jon said was most probably a big fat lie, he couldn't keep continuing chatting.

'Wait, she probably has bodyguards around her' Even though he thought that, he didn't lower his speed.

***

'The room is empty.' Rewen blankly stared at the guest room. Before coming to the room, he had gone through the main gate of the tribe and everything appeared usual on the surface. 'Cool down. What if she just went outside?'

"You came back?"

Rewen tilted his head. "Where did you go?"

"Bathroom." Svety replied with an indifferent tone. It didn't take a second guess for Rewen to find out that she was in a bad mood regarding the incident some time ago.

"We're leaving." He grasped her right hand dragging her along.

"I can walk on my own."

..

"What's the hurry? We have already prepared meals for the two of you and I definitely won't let go of you two. Hahaha! It's been awhile since we've had visitors! I hope you won't disappoint me." The 'En' of Jon said as he saw the two of them leaving.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer. Don't worry though, I'll be visiting very soon. So yeah, prepare some strong poison next time." - which is what Rewen wanted to say but he knew if he said that, the guy in the Kun Tribe would suffer so he held back and politely declined.

The elderly 'En' turned back with a disappointed expression.

***

"Drop me off here!" Rewen said to Svety as the car neared his home.

"What about lunch?" Svety asked confusedly. It's no secret that Rewen who can't cook for himself usually has lunch in her place. Living in an expensive apartment along with maids, her life was one Rewen could only wish for. Even the current Rewen was not particularly averse to having lunch at her place. The only reason he didn't visit her place in the last two days was because of two reasons. One, unclear complicated relationship. Two, Rewen was too preoccupied with his life.

"I'm not feeling too well. Take care of yourself." He sighed as he got out of the car under Svety's sharp eyes.

Moments later, Rewen kept his bag in a corner after entering his room. His complexion didn't look good. 'Increasing stats, daily missions, reaching Rank 0 quest, club, requested mission, unknown dangers, variables to plans, Svety, virtual world and several other social problems. Am I supposed to keep track of all this?' He was only human. Granted most of the problems he listed wouldn't be a problem if he didn't want it to be but according to him, they were necessary for his and his close one's safety.

'I gave up on the mission half-way. Since when have I become this lazy and irresponsible?' Ever since he arrived in this world, he never had the chance to focus himself on something. Something or the other keeps popping up. After a while, he calmed down. 'It's just been two days. I'll get used to it.'

[Ding! The 'Traveller' system has merged with the Host!]

"Huhhhh!? Where's my consent!?" Even though he said this, he was quite pleased at his heart.

[Ding! Punishment from the E+ Quest 'Damsel in Distress' initiated]