I Reject Quests

Chapter 152: A Side-Adventure (3)

The route that the cop approached had the word 'Death' written on one of it's rocks to the left.

"Man, I hope you aren't just doing it just because you feel like it." Rewen complained a little but still followed him in the route.

Famin, being the hesitant guy that he is, looked right and left in anxiousness. After a few seconds, he decided to follow the two of them inside. "Mister Cop. Do you have a reason for going through this particular route? It'd be better if you could be clear what you just said earlier." He chose his words very carefully.

The cop responded while walking. "There is no need for me to be clear. [Heart Domain] isn't a playground where kids can just come and go. To make a decision, you have to be convinced that your decision is correct. [Heart Domain] has mystical properties. If you go in a route not convinced in your decision, then the route you picked is a trap."

"That's bullshit! How can something like this exist!?" Famin wouldn't buy something this crazy and unusual.

"Well, what you believe doesn't really matter. The pre-apocalyptic humans didn't believe in things like magic but here we are, surrounded by it."

Rewen's eyes twitched. He was fascinated by the wonders of this place. Despite having come from a traditional background, he was never one to believe in mystical things which doesn't make sense. With that being that, he wasn't a skeptic either. If he perceives things which are mystical and makes some sense, he would be more than willing to try and believe that it's real.

Aside from the fact that Rewen found it fascinating, he had a single question. "Did you mean that the route we pick doesn't matter?" 

The cop shook his head while smiling. "I didn't say that. Ultimately, the route you pick determines everything."

"So how did you come to the conclusion that this route is the correct one?"

"Do you think that a dead [Heart Domain] would have 'life' as the correct route?"

Rewen understood the reasoning but he didn't get how the cop is so confident. "Okay, I think that makes a lot of sense but again, why not?"

"This is where you are wrong. You are giving the benefit of doubt to a belief which I consider an undeniable fact."

"Why do you consider it to be an undeniable fact? It is a deduction which you consider to be true. That doesn't make it an undeniable fact." The moment he finished saying that, the ground shook.

"I knew it!! I knew that this wasn't the correct route!" Famin yelled, his legs shaking.

Unlike him, Rewen was calm. He looked at his surroundings and took a stance. Seconds later, the ground calmed down. He was puzzled by the development but then, he came up with a wild theory and looked towards the cop who had a small smile.

"Do you now get why I consider it to be an undeniable fact?"

"I do. Sorry." Rewen openly admitted his mistake. The reason the ground shook was because he challenged a person's beliefs. 

At the same time, he learned an important lesson unrelated to the subject. 'Questioning things are great. It leads to development on many levels but to shove your ideology and beliefs over someone who doesn't agree with you is not the right way to go.' 

Famin wiped off the sweat from his forehead. "What are the two of you talking about?"

***

The cave, despite being surrounded by rocks with not even a hint of light coming, is not completely dark. In fact, dark objects can be easily identified with naked eyes. 

Rewen and the others have been walking for about three hours through a single route. 

Rewen and the cop could easily do it but the same couldn't be said for Famin who was being carried by the cop on his back.

He was very ashamed of himself but more that, he was perplexed by Rewen. 'How is he still calmly walking? And how remarkably stupid is he to pick a fight with that disgusting monster?'

While Famin was analyzing him, he stopped. Then, he lifted his right leg and picked up a small white crumpled piece of paper. "Interesting." He muttered under his breath.

"What's written?" The cop went behind him to take a loop. In his back, Famin tried to peek.

One begets one. Two begets failure. Three is the way

"What does that mean?" Famin was the one to question.

Rewen and the cop were similarly confused but then, something astonishing happened!

The rocks in the two sides crumbled into pieces, colored rocks rose up from the ground slowly revealing three pathways. Two on the right and the other on the left. The two pathways that opened on the right had their rocks colored in red and yellow. The other that opened up in the left had green rocks.

The trio looked at each other, taking some time to process what happened.

"What do you think?" The cop asked, looking at Rewen. 

Rewen slightly nodded. "I have a general idea. It seems that we have to separate."

Hearing this, Famin had anxiousness written all over his face. He knows that out of the three, he was the most useless. If it wasn't for the other two, he might have been dead. No matter what, he cannot absolutely accept this outcome. "Why do we have to separate?"

Rewen turned to him. "If you know how to read, you would know the reason."

"No! What if it's a trap? Aren't [Heart Domains] meant to be filled with traps and obstacles?"

"Sure, it could be a trap. What do you think?" He turned to the cop. Although the point Famin mentioned sounded forced, Rewen felt that it had some truth.

The cop didn't answer. Releasing Famin from his back, he slowly went inside the yellow path. "Try entering now."

Rewen tried to enter but was blocked by an invisible barrier. He pulled his arm for a punch.

"Don't bother. I'm not strong enough to break this. Unless it's a Rank 3 or higher, one can't defy the rules and regulations of [Heart Domain]."

Rewen didn't punch. "Well, it looks like we can't go together even if we try to."

Famin fell on his butt. His face was full of fear. "This can't be happening."

Something about him ticked Rewen off who then went on to him and forced him up. "Holy shit, man. You are the most generic guy I've met. Look, I know that not everyone could be calm in situations like this but at least try to. No offense but for the last few hours, you have been doing nothing. You have been dependent on us the entire time. 

"Even then, it's fine. I don't expect you to shoot out fireballs from your asshole or use your 200+ IQ to get us out of the situation but there is a difference between incompetence and stupid. Your stupidity is off the charts. Like, what do you expect from us in this scenario? Carry you inside? Are you that dumb? We might carry you if it wasn't the case that we can't. We are out of options and can only go separate ways. Can all you do is complain?"