Chapter 73: Ch 73: Gaining Employment
"Rin...can you hear me?"
"You! How dare you-"
The body holding Rin turned, but its fangs remained embedded in his neck. His neck throbbed, and his body grew heavier
Rin’s body acted on instinct and he grabbed a knife out of his inventory and stabbed the arm gripping him. But the arm still did not let go of him.
[Status effect cannot transfer due to a high level difference between user and boss.]
[Status effect cannot transfer due to a high level difference between user and boss.]
[Status effect cannot transfer due to a high level difference between user and boss.]
[Status effect cannot transfer due to a high level difference between user and boss.]
’Ugh, it hurts too much.’
Rin’s body was shutting down. He didn’t know how long he had, but he did realize that if he closed his eyes, he would be finished.
He...wanted to live. Rin had done his best to survive until now, but a single mistake had cost him this much.
"Tsk, stop coming at me like pests. None of you can beat me. But you are certainly more useful than these children so I’ll keep your bodies in much better condition. Now come-"
"Shelly, don’t move. Or it will have dire consequences for your friend here."
Rin’s body shook and he forced himself to look at his companions
His vision was blurry but Shelly’s look of betrayal was the first thing he saw. Her eyes were lined with tears and her hands dug into her palm, leaving marks behind. But the thing that struck Rin the most were her haunted eyes.
They were completely lifeless.
"Ah, it was all useless. You have successfully made me lose my mind. I am not going to hold back anymore."
A twisted smile appeared on Shelly’s face and she broke free from the arms holding her and charged toward the boss.
’Shelly, don’t come-’
Rin wanted to warn her, but his throat was not working. He saw Shelly fighting through the horde of monsters with a single-mindedness to get to him. Teressa was helping her but there were too many monsters.
"Shelly, don’t be reckless. Allow me to help."
Albus jumped into the fight as well, but it was useless. There were too many monsters and our side was taking too many hits.
’This is...not good. We...will all die...at this rate. Those kids...need...’
"R-R-cough"
[User, have you considered my offer yet?]
Blood escaped Rin’s mouth and the boss tightened his grip once more.
"Now that my minions are busy dealing with your party members, I should finish you off. It’s no fun sucking a dead person dry. Their blood just isn’t the same."
The boss was delaying the blow for too long.
[You are on borrowed time. You should even be dead. But the system is gracious enough to allow its future employees some benefits. Offer and benefits will expire in two minutes. Please make a decision-]
’I accept.’
Rin was panicking. His lungs were beginning to hurt due to blood filling them. But things started to suddenly get better.
[Welcome, new employee. You have joined SOS. Congratulations on being accepted as a full-time employee. Your profile is being updated.]
[Due to your condition, one-time emergency healing will take effect. Additional employee benefits will be added.]
[You have been assigned the rank ’rookie’. Due to your recent inauguration, a new stage is being constructed. Benefits will be added.]
[Tutorial stage will begin to familiarize you with your new role.]
Rin clutched his still-bleeding neck but it was slowly healing beneath his hand. It felt weird to feel his skin closing and reforming under his hand but Rin was thankful for it.\
He immediately grabbed healing and stamina potions as soon as he regained movement and which sped up his healing.
"What kind of trick is this? Is this your ability-"
[Employee’s situation has been determined as critical. Threat protection will activate now. First-time benefits will activate.]
Rin’s body emitted a shock that made the boss finally let go of him. Rin was pushed backwards and he saw a pink blur rush past him. One second he steadied himself and the next, Shelly had a knife in the boss’s throat.
She stabbed him once and then twice. She was using so much force that it made the blade bend.
[User, congratulations. So, how does it feel to work for the SOS? Does it exceed your expectations? Now that you are an employee of the system, please follow my instructions and-]
The boss began to turn red and Rin immediately grabbed Shelly and pulled her back. He was able to save her before the boss used his ability.
"Hey, let go of me. Do you want to be next? I-"
Shelly looked back and her words suddenly faded away. Instead, she looked at Rin with his wide-eyed expression and immediately reached out to touch his face.
"Ugh! That was irritating. You gave me an annoying gift, so I feel like I should return the favor."
The boss raised his hand and a small orb of light formed in his hand.
Rin immediately knew that it was bad news and he started to run back toward safety. But he had a feeling that it was an area-wide attack that intended to take them all out.
"Everyone, run toward me."
Albus yelled and took out an artifact. Everyone ran toward him and barely made it within the range of his barrier before it was too late.
The barrier shattered and the artifact shattered. But no one got hurt because of the attack.
"How long are you going to keep running from me? If you are not going to come to me, then shall I come to you? This time, I won’t let you live."
There was no negotiating with such a boss monster. He might look human, but he had no humanity in him.
[User, please know that the one-time benefits are temporary. The system is supporting you because it saw potential in you. Please do not betray the system’s trust.]
’Are you really warning me right now? Isn’t there an employee-protection policy?’
[Please refer to the contract terms before signing. If you signed up due to an emergency situation, we cannot do anything about it. Please do your best to survive...Oh! OH! Rookie, you are in luck. The higher ups have reviewed your file and they are discussing your case]
[They have reviewed your file and decided that you are worth investing in at this point. Lucky for you~]
[It seems the rookie is a rising star. You are being given extra benefits from the start.]