Free Web NovelChapter 182: Ch 182: Reassurance
Teressa had always intended to use Rin and this settlement. She suggested becoming his ’familiar’ for that reason as well.
To anyone else, her deal with Rin would seem random—a mere coincidence. After all, they met while Rin was out on a mission, and it had all happened by chance...right?
Well, that was not entirely true.
In fact, Rin was someone Teressa had been keeping an eye on even before the apocalypse started. He was rich and famous enough that even an ordinary person like her knew about him. And she had wanted to approach him for a long time.
But she had never found the courage to do so.
After all, she had been an ordinary person living an ordinary life. She did not feel worthy enough to approach Rin and talk to him. All she could do was admire him from afar.
But all that changed when she awakened and gained her powers. Suddenly, she had a chance to seduce Rin. frёewebηovel.cѳm
So she followed him and made sure their encounter seemed random. And Rin fell for her act and accepted her as his familiar. freёweɓnovel.com
That was the extent of their relationship.
Teressa was brought back to the settlement by Rin, but he had not given her the special treatment she wanted from him. So she slowly began building connections with other people.
Her intention was to show Rin that she had the potential to take over the settlement and make him wary of her capabilities.
That way, he would want to keep her close and monitor her. But that plan failed for various reasons, and Rin remained out of her grasp.
Teressa was not one to give up, but she was beginning to feel like she would never get Rin the way she wanted to.
But it was not as if she could back out anymore either. She had already done enough to make people talk about her and view her as someone suspicious.
Even the people she had grown close to seemed to keep their distance from her because she was still an outsider.
Things slowly got worse and worse for her.
No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she gave, people kept their distance and no one truly wanted to accept her.
And the pressure slowly built up inside her until she felt like she was about to collapse. That was when the corruption value first appeared.
It had not appeared long ago, and it terrified Teressa.
But at the same time, it also felt like a blessing...
’Who knew that a mark like this would be what brought Rin to me? I need to take advantage of this situation and make sure he binds himself to me. Once he’s mine, I’m sure this feeling of loneliness in my heart will disappear as well.’
Teressa was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even realize Rin had asked her a question until he let out a frustrated sigh and reached out to touch her shoulder.
His touch startled her, and Teressa flinched before blinking and realizing what was happening.
"I...are you asking about this mark? It appeared not too long ago. I think I overreacted earlier in your office. This mark is not that bad."
She tried to laugh the situation off, but Rin was not amused.
His hand gripped the mark tightly enough to bruise a normal person, and Teressa felt a thrill of anticipation run through her.
’Is Rin going to do something? Is he going to tell me that he’s worried? Or is he going to ask me to stay by his side forever? I want to hear him tell me that I’m special too...’
"Please take care of yourself. Since you are my familiar, I don’t want to see you in pain or hurt. Always remember that you have me, and you can come to me whenever you need help."
Teressa had many wishes, but unfortunately, none of them came true. Still, this was progress.
For someone as emotionally dense as Rin to say something like this to her was a miracle she would cherish for as long as she could.
The only thing she needed to do now was make sure Shelly never found out about what had happened here.
__________
Rin looked at Teressa in awkward silence.
The expression on her face was strange, and he was almost certain she was expecting something from him. But Rin could not figure out what she wanted.
So the only thing he could offer her was a reassuring pat and a few comforting words before quickly returning to his office.
His face was slightly red from embarrassment, but he suppressed it and returned to working on his paperwork.
Now that task eight had ended, task nine would begin soon. But Rin was not worried about the task itself.
He was worried about the global rankings.
Things were changing drastically from the novel he remembered, and he was afraid that he would no longer be able to predict the future accurately.
That meant his greatest advantage was gone, and he was now at a disadvantage.
"I still cannot believe Shelly got knocked down to number two on the global leaderboard. Just what kind of monster is this ’Kyle’? How strong does someone have to be to overtake Shelly so quickly?"
Rin asked in a worried voice as he wondered how he should handle the situation.
Shelly being ranked number one had been an advantage he intended to leverage during future tasks. There would be times when he needed the top-ranked hunter to claim the first reward choice to ensure he obtained what he needed.
But all of that had been ruined because of this global merge.
[Are you worried about the global merge and the new player you will have to face? I did not take you for a sore loser, Rookie. I thought you would appreciate a bit of competition.]
The system asked, and Rin rubbed his forehead at the question.
"I don’t mind a little competition, but that does not mean I want my plans ruined either. Ugh, this situation is turning into a mess."
He complained, and the system tried to reassure him.
[Everything will work out, Rookie. Don’t worry too much. After all, you have this senior on your side. Just believe in this senior and follow its guidance. I promise you that you will make it out alive in the end.]
