Chapter 151: A Side-Adventure (2)

"With that being out of the way, I have further questions." Rewen stared at the cop.

"Hm? Go ahead."

"What is that thing? I have never seen a creature like that neither in life nor in books."

A smile emerged on the cop's face. "That's because that creature is not real in the first place."

"What do you mean by it?"

"They are called the Guardians of [Heart Domain]. They only have a single instruction - be hostile to intruders. Creatures like this are formed from the imagination of the owner of [Hear Domain]. Their strength corresponds to the owner, usually a rank lower than the owner. Generally, they disappear right after the owner dies but there are several ways through which the owner can guard his [Heart Domain]."

Famin was puzzled. "Why would they bother guarding a dead [Heart Domain]?"

"Because of inheritance!"

Famin sucked in cold air from the surroundings. "That means-"

He was interrupted by the cop. "Stop your wild thoughts. The inheritance has already been taken out. And even if we do find an inheritance, it would go straight to the government."

"Just don't tell them!" 

Rewen laughed out loud hearing this. "You really think it's that simple? Let's just say that this officer here won't tell a single word to the higher ups, do you think that the higher ups would let two young men who entered a [Heart Domain] go without any interrogation. You could lie but do you know the risk of being found out? Besides, we wouldn't go unrewarded. Better not be greedy."

Famin didn't look too convinced. He was thinking along the lines of - 'If I could conceal it well, nobody would find out.' After a while, he gave a reluctant nod. 

The cop also nodded, then looked at Rewen. "Do you have any more questions or should I start with the plan?"

"Let's hear the plan."

"Okay. The overview of the plan is we have to get to the thief and destroy the [Heart Domain]. The thief who was holding the [Heart Domain] is in the resting place of the dead owner. Before you ask, no, I don't know where the thief is but that doesn't mean we can't get to him. Every [Heart Domain] has some traps and obstacles which prevents any unwanted intruders from getting into the personal space of the owner.

"Obviously, we have to go past that point and get to where the thief is. The traps and obstacles laid out by the owner of this [Heart Domain] is enough to stop several Rank 3 Mages but remember that this is dead [Heart Domain]. The power of the traps are weakened by a whole lot."

"But… how deadly are the 'traps and obstacles' that you mentioned?" Famin asked.

The cop straightforwardly replied. "It wouldn't be difficult for several Rank 1 Mages to go past those traps and obstacles."

"Rank 1?" Famin didn't get the worst answer but he still looked afraid. His eyes went from the cop to Rewen. "What will you do?"

Rewen smiled. "You might not believe me but I'm quite strong."

"So you are going? Do you think that we can survive? Isn't it quite reckless?"

Rewen gave a light pat on his shoulder before getting up. "Reckless adventures are man's romance. Where is your spirit?" Saying that, he looked at the cop. "I'll go survey the area and look for possible routes."

Looking at his departing figure, Famin had a blank look on his face.

The cop chuckled after looking at his face. "Do you not want to go on a little adventure?" 

Famin forced a smile. "Don't joke at this time. I'm not even a Rank 0."

The cop lightly laughed. "Then it's even better. With this, you would be ahead of everyone in terms of experience."

Famin stopped talking.

The cop stopped laughing and his face turned serious. "Look. I'll properly compensate you as soon as we get out. If you are helpless, I'm even more helpless. If there is one thing you don't need to worry about, it's your safety. With me and him by your side, you can rest assured."

Only then, Famin's face got better. "Why do you have such confidence in that guy?"

"Because... he is strong."

***

*Swish*

Like a wind, Rewen went behind the humanoid creature.

River of Right Hand!

-56

A number was displayed above the creature's head.

'This is cool.' Rewen was using [Observe]. He then punched the back of the humanoid creature and stepped back.

-12

"Not much effective, huh. Well, I have all day to defeat him." Rewen noticed that the creature was panicking and running around in circles. It was to his advantage that it doesn't have much intelligence but it was difficult to strike a moving opponent.

'I also can't let it rest.' He noticed that the HP bar of the creature was slowly but steadily filling up. 'Ok, done!'

Upon finishing casting [River of Right Hand], he used his useless perk - [Stealth] to sneakily approach the rampant creature.

-72

"SCRREEEEE!!"

'Oh, a critical hit! Take one more!' Rewen grinned as he lifted his legs to kick it.

-13

He was about to again use the 'hit-and-run' tactic when a blue light suddenly struck the head of the creature.

-358

The creature fell.

Rewen didn't seem too pleased with the outcome as he turned around to find Famin and the cop approaching him.

"How long have you been watching me?" Rewen's brows arched upwards.

"The whole time?" The cop smiled.

'Isn't the [Stealth] too fucking useless!?' 

This wasn't the second or third time he used [Stealth]. He used it countless times while fighting against the three squads. Sometimes, he thought that it worked a little. But now, he was skeptical of it. 'Advanced Mastery, my grandma's asshole.'

The cop found the expression of Rewen a bit funny. "What's wrong? Your face doesn't look good."

"It's nothing. By the way, I have found two routes. One south from here and the other right there." He pointed to a narrow path carved with stones.

"Now that's quite a dilemma. Did you find anything weird?"

"Interestingly enough, a word is carved in the stones of both the route entrances."

"What are the words?" Famin asked with an interested expression.

"Life and Death."

Famin frowned. "Life and death… which means one of them is safe and the other isn't. If we go just by the meaning of the words, then the entrance which has 'life' in it is more suitable however…" 

Rewen continued Famin's words. "However, is it really that easy? What if 'life' leads to death and 'death' leads to life? What if we are just overthinking and both the routes lead to life?"

Famin nodded, then turned to the cop. "What is your guess?"

"There is no guess. Do you think that a Rank 3 Mage would fool around with his own [Heart Domain]?"

"How is that 'fooling around'? At the end of the day, no matter how we think, we have to choose one of them. Is there no intruder who could make the correct choice by fluke?"

"They can't." The cop said, before walking up to the entrance of the route nearest to him. "[Heart Domain] is not a playground."