Chapter 79: Ch 79: Third Tasks’s Details
Yawn
"I feel so much better after sleeping for so long. How do you feel Rin? Did you have a pleasant sleep as well? Was the bed comfortable?...Why do you look like you got no rest?"
Reina entered her office looking refreshed. She had slept well and sleep marks were still visible on her arm.
Rin, on the other hand, had only gotten to sleep in intervals. He kept waking up, checking the system for updates, getting disappointed, and trying to fall asleep again. His bound hand didn’t help him get comfortable either.
"My sleep went fine. Can you let me out of this strap now? I cannot get comfortable..."
Reina had a weird look on her face as she looked at the strap in front of her. Her eyes lingered on Rin’s bound arm longer than he was comfortable with. And she wasn’t reaching out to help him
"Reina, a little help please?"
Rin asked again and Reina finally snapped out of her daze and opened the strap on his arm.
It hadn’t been tight, but Rin swore he could feel the blood rushing back into his arm. He pulled it closer to himself and rubbed his reddening wrist with a blank face.
"Should we head out for breakfast? The others are waiting to see you as well."
Reina asked while turning away. There was a hint of red on her ears that indicated that she was embarrassed by what she did.
Rin did not call her out for this and followed her to the dining hall.
Shelly immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him closer as soon as she saw him. Her eyes looked concerned as they looked over Rin’s face and she checked his arms and patted his back to make sure he was alright.
"You can let me go now, Shelly. I am fine."
Rin assured her but Shelly didn’t look reassured until she was done checking him fully. She only let him go once she was sure he wasn’t hurt.
But her hand and gaze lingered on his red wrist a little longer than Rin was comfortable with.
"I-We all were worried about you. It is nice to see that you are feeling better now. Come, sit and have some food."
Teressa grabbed Rin’s other arm to pull him to his seat. She occupied his left side while Shelly occupied his right.
Suddenly, it felt like he was trapped between two dangerous creatures and Rin immediately lost his appetite.
"You better finish everything on your plate. Or I will tie you down and make you eat."
Reina said this in a completely serious tone that didn’t suit the atmosphere
"You sound confident in your ability to tie someone up. Don’t tell me...is that your hobby? Rin, you better watch out for her."
Albus tried to lighten the situation by making a joke, but no one laughed. Even Reina did not confirm his words but kept eating. Her silence made Rin panic even more.
’Reina, tell me that this was a joke. Reina, don’t stay silent...REINA!’
Unfortunately, Reina did not say anything and Rin forced himself to swallow his food. He did not want to be bound up by her again.
...
Despite Reina’s threat to bind Rin, nothing happened and he was allowed to return to his office.
Rin rushed to his office and let out a relieved sigh as soon as he sat on his chair.
"It feels nice to be alive and back. Now, I should get some work done."
Task three was about to be announced soon Rin tried to recall what the task had been about, but because it hadn’t been an interesting task in the original, he could not recall much detail.
All he recalled was that there was a tree and protection...
"I’d rather get the next task early so I can prepare.
[Rookie, did you call for the next task to start? How could the system disappoint its favourite junior? The third task will now be announced.]
"You have got to be kidding me. I did not mean it literally."
[ (⸝⸝๑﹏๑⸝⸝) ]
[Rookie, the system is trying its best. It’s not easy to schedule these things. Please don’t blame the system too much.]
"W-What is that...no, I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to know-"
[ (˶>⩊<˶) ]
[Rookie, this is a special incentive the system found just for you. Please be more appreciative of the system’s efforts]
"Please stop. This is too much. I cannot take it. Is this a new form of torture?"
Rin grabbed his head and rubbed his eyes to unsee the emojis on the system screen. But that did not help.
[(⸝⸝⩌ ⤙ ⩌⸝⸝)]
[Never. This senior has finally found a weapon against the user. Anyway, please get ready for the next task, Rookie. Make sure not to die.]
[Task Three: Protect the sacred tree.]
[Task details:...]
Rin forced himself to reach the details of the task rather than to look at the system’s new...way of tormenting him.
The more he read the task, the more his memories returned to him. He could recall what the next task was perfectly by the time he finished reading the system’s information.
Each settlement was going to be given a sacred tree that would grow up and bear a single fruit. Their task was to ensure the sacred tree would grow up healthy.
A tree usually takes years to grow but since this was a task and the sacred tree was special, it was going to grow up in about a week. During this week, the settlement’s protection was directly connected to the sacred tree’s fruit.
The main obstacle of this task was to protect the sacred tree’s fruits from the monsters and outsiders. The settlement could only stay safe as long as the fruit was on the tree.
So if it was harvested, the settlement barrier would go down and monsters would start pouring in uncontrollably.
But there had been a twist in the original novel. A few people from the settlement were given an additional task- to take the fruit of the sacred tree for themselves.
There was no penalty for not doing this, but the reward was far too tempting. Not only would the one who successfully pulled this off get immunity in the next 10 tasks, but they would also get a 3 level jump.
This was not an opportunity anyone could miss.
And the one who had become a traitor in the original novel had been Shelly. This was the opportunity that allowed her to become the top hunter once the rankings manifested.