Chapter 156: A Side-Adventure (7)

Rewen stood still in his spot watching every single monster around him disintegrating.

[I'm impressed.]

A smile appeared on his face. "Did I pass the test?"

[This wasn't a test from my part. Although I could interfere with it, I didn't. This is just a route.]

Rewen snorted, not inclined to believe his words. "Then what about those monsters? Did my punch obliterate them into nothingness? You obviously did some things behind the scenes."

A chuckle sounded from the elderly voice.

[It wasn't me, kid. You don't look very special for me to give you special treatment. You did defeat those creatures but not in the way you are thinking of. This is one of the three main routes that lead to the core of the [Heart Domain]. It tests your heart. The stronger your heart is, the stronger you are. With just strength, you can never go through the route.]

"What else did I do then? I don't remember having anything special." Rewen was quite puzzled by the words. Although it's hypocritical, he doesn't consider his systems as a part of his strength. 

[I said it, it's the heart. Your courage was admirable.]

"Just that? I had a hunch that you were testing my courage but did my courage defeat those dozens of those monsters? That's kinda unbelievable."

[Be proud. You aren't as weak as you believe…]

The voice slowly faded.

Clenching his fists, Rewen stood without moving for a long time.

Arrogance was one thing he didn't have, even while growing up and even right now. What should he be arrogant of? Strength that came from systems? He never worked to get the systems. He just got lucky. Is luck something to be proud of? Maybe but not for him. 

He believed himself to be a fairly normal young man. Ever since he came to this world, his beliefs on things didn't change. What changed was his perception. From day one, he had to struggle his way out through several situations, be it social, psychological or the devil woman. Even though he never explicitly stated it, he wanted to be acknowledged.

He wasn't an unfeeling machine. 

Just like any other teenager, he wanted to laugh, cry, find love and have people by his side who acknowledge him for what he is doing. Unfortunately, before he could do any of those, he had to eliminate the obstacles that stand along in his way.

He was never someone who had perseverance.

But he was slowly inculcating the virtue.

He was learning new things every second making him look at several things in different ways.

On this day, he learned something. It may not be a legendary skill that he stole from some secret realms. It may not cost a whole lot but it was something he had earned on his own, without the need of any systems.

'Courage.' He had learned the true meaning of it.

Being courageous doesn't necessarily mean that one can't flee.

Being courageous doesn't necessarily mean that one always has to be brave.

Courage comes from within.

Everyone has different definitions for it.

For Rewen, it is the ability to stand tall in front of an insurmountable enemy and laugh in a carefree manner.

A genuine smile flashed on his face, then looked at the route ahead.

He walked for about two minutes before coming to a dead end. There was a huge boulder blocking.

'Hm… this can only mean that all three of us hadn't reached this point.' He deduced this connecting to the note he obtained before going into this route. 'I'm not worried about the cop. He is an experienced man. But that guy…' 

Regarding Famin, he didn't look down on him. He was slightly annoyed by his weak attitude but he had no opinions of him. 'This is a problem. It's highly likely that the guy won't be able to reach this point. Do I really have to use-"

Rumble!

The boulder rolled to it's right, revealing some light. It wasn't much but enough to blind Rewen for a second. As soon as he got used to the light falling on his eyes, he observed his surroundings.

It was still a cave but isn't a dark one. In some corners, there were spots between boulders from where light was coming. 'It isn't much different from before. Let's just get out.'

He stepped out from the route.

"Rewen."

The voice eased his mind. It was the voice of the middle-aged cop.

He turned back to see the cop. At some distance was Famin sitting on a rock.

Rewen laughed. "We are quite a team, wouldn't you say?"

The cop laughed along. "You should join my division! You are much better than those lazyasses." His eyes then went towards the other person in the group. "Glad to see you again."

Famin raised his head. His face was indescribable. "I… never expected all three of us to pass."

The cop patted his shoulder. "Of course, who do you think we are? Still, the difficulty I had in my route makes it unbelievable that the two of you were able to pass."

Rewen nodded. "It was indeed difficult. I survived because of a miracle. Forgive me if I'm being rude, but from what I could deduce, I don't think that strength is a factor."

"It is one of the factors. I'm not sure if you have heard about cores or not…"

"I did." Hearing the word 'core', Rewen remembered the core skills that the Rank 1 Mages used while fighting. "Doesn't it have something to do with natural energy?"

The cop nodded. "One of the properties of having a core is that you can use natural energy and one of the applications of natural energy is that you can use it to empty your mind temporarily. Emptying the mind increases the efficiency to absorb natural energy from the surroundings and transform them into mana. Don't get the wrong idea. 

"Emptying your mind doesn't literally mean emptying your mind. It is simply to focus on one particular thing. I used it and it proved to be very useful in my route. I can't say how useful it would have in other routes though."

Famin who was silently listening spoke up. "Everyone went through something different?"

"Well, I encountered a bunch of goblin-like creatures." Rewen shortly said.

The cop touched his chin. "I encountered some bats who tried to do something with my mind but because of my core, it didn't influence me." 

Rewen's eyes twitched. He thought about some things, then looked at Famin.

Famin opened his mouth.

"HOW CAN THE THREE OF YOU COME TO THIS PLACE!?"

A loud voice came from a distance.

The three pairs of eyes went towards the source of the loud voice.

It was the thief.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Two seconds later, the thief fell on his face.

Rewen and Famin were in a daze at the sudden conclusion as they looked at the cop.

Where was the promised boss battle? How anticlimactic can it get?

The cop wryly smiled. "To endanger the lives of two students, I have every right to shoot him." Then, he walked to the corpse and turned him around. Even at his death, the thief was holding a wooden square object.

The cop raised his foot and crushed it.