Chapter 46: Ch 46: Reunion?
The warning came too late and something heavy collided with the truck’s side. Mina managed to create a shield in time to prevent heavy damage to both the cargo and the people, but couldn’t lessen the impact enough.
Rin’s head was throbbing from exhaustion and this made the situation even worse.
"Sir, we are surrounded by monsters. We will need to get out and fight to clear a path. Please stay inside and let the combat squad deal with these monsters."
Rin nodded and the combat squad got out of the truck to deal with the monsters.
It was getting suffocating inside the truck so Rin decided to get out as well. He pushed the door open and with the help of a defensive unit, successfully pulled himself out.
Outside, it was a battlefield. There were two dozen monsters surrounding the truck and attacking them. There were not enough offensive hunters to handle them and most focused on the shield.
"Ugh, d-don’t worry. I can hold the shield longer."
Mina assured everyone but her face became paler by the second. Fatigue was setting in and Rin knew that she wouldn’t last much longer.
The other defensive hunters helped Mina. But despite six of them working together, they barely kept the shields intact.
’Darn it. Everyone’s already drained. Should I spend some money buy them potions-’
Crash
"T-The shield. It broke. Sir, please get away-"
Rin looked up immediately as soon as a shadow blocked the setting sunlight. The huge monster attacked him and Mina hastily put up a shield, only for it to shatter.
He had no time to think. He decided to take out a bomb and throw it at the ground.
[Status effect has been applied on the monster.]
[Due to your high fatigue level, your immunity has dropped. You will suffer partial effects of the status effect applied.]
’Fuck. Was almost fainting not enough? Now I have to deal with this as well. Ugh, it hurts to move.’
The only upside was that most of the monsters that smelled the bomb’s scent were affected as well. They were finding it hard to move but they also locked onto him as the enemy.
Rin tried to move but his legs felt heavy. He was at the mercy of Mina’s barrier.
"Sir, d-don’t worry. W-We will find a way to-"
Just as things seemed to improve, a loud roar grabbed their attention. Most monsters bowed their heads toward that direction and Rin watched as a monster twice as huge as the others crashed into a building.
It was thrashing and running into anything it could find. It charged around like a madman, slamming into anything nearby.
"L-Look! Has that monster gone mad?"
"No, there is something on its back."
Rin focused and noticed someone clinging to its back. But they didn’t have time to observe it.
One second, it was thrashing against the building, the next it was rushing toward their truck.
Rin decided instantly.
"Everyone, abandon the truck and run. There is no point wasting energy defending it. Focus on getting out alive."
The defence team around him nodded and ran toward safety. Rin followed them, but his body refused to move.
[Exhaustion reduction timer has run out. Exhaustion levels will return to normal with an added penalty.]
[Warning: Chronic levels of exhaustion have been reached.]
[Current exhaustion level: 80%]
[User has been affected with a status effect- extreme exhaustion. User will be unable to move properly for some time.]
’Darn it. Why now of all times?’
Rin wanted to rage but he didn’t have the energy. His vision was swimming and Rin could barely make out shapes. His head was about to explode due to the pain it felt.
"Sir, please-"
Someone ran toward him to save him, but Rin could hardly make anything out. He concentrated on dodging the monster’s attack and barely dodged the first attack. But the second one came too quickly and Rin closed his eyes.
’Just let me survive this.’
He wasn’t supposed to die here. At least, not according to the original story. And as long as Rin was alive, he could find a way to patch himself up. He braced himself for pain and waited for the monster’s attack.
But it never came.
Instead, he heard a loud-pitched cry of the boss. Rin opened his eyes with much effort and looked up.
A flash of pink lunged at the monster’s neck and knocked it off balance. One second, that flash was killing the monster and the next, it headed toward Rin.
He could barely make out a worried face trying to say something.
"-you...What should I...Amelia, come here-"
Rin’s body relaxed slowly. He was sure he was already dreaming, but it felt so real.
However, Shelly’s presence indicated that this was a dream. She was not supposed to be here this soon.
Rin had spent too much effort on raising Shelly, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to think of her when he wanted to be saved. But now that he could see her, he felt like he could let his guard down.
A warm feeling filled his body and the pain started to go away. Rin closed his eyes and sleep finally claimed him.
He finally relaxed after so long. He was sure that the system would have a lot to say about his carelessness.
But Rin just wanted to stay asleep as long as possible.
Unfortunately, he won’t even make it to the next task if he tries something like this.
Rin fell into a deep sleep and finally gained some peace. But the situation outside was anything but calm.
Everyone watched in shock as that pink haired girl appeared suddenly, killed the boss monster and then dragged someone else to heal Rin. It all happened too fast. No one had time to react.
By the time everyone got their wits together, Shelly had already picked Rin up and dragged him away from the group. Rin’s party members looked at her but they doubted they would be able to stop her.