Chapter 177: Ch 177: It’s already 20%?

Kalos settlement managed to get through task eight without too much trouble, but that was not the case for other settlements.

The hallucinations were getting to most people, making it hard to tell friend from foe. It caused a lot of accidents, but different settlements found their own solutions.

However, there was one person who was severely affected by these hallucinations, and that was Serena.

Her body felt heavy and her hands refused to obey her as she moved between the monsters. She was cutting down anything in her path without care.

Even the other people from her settlement had noticed her odd behaviour and decided to give her space.

But Serena could not see their efforts. All she could see was the empty space in front of her and her mother’s voice egging her on.

’My dear, you are doing great. Listen to your mommy and you will be safe. We will be reunited soon, so just hang in there.’

Serena’s mother was a constant presence lingering by her side. Her voice was also growing stronger and stronger by the second.

It was a hallucination. Serena knew that her mother could not physically be beside her since she was dead.

But it did not matter to her at the moment. She could sense her mother and that was good enough to make her hurry up and clear the monsters.

Her movements were reckless and it caused the monsters to injure her as well. But Serena hardly noticed it as she fought. All her attention was on her mother’s instructions.

’Serena, kill these monsters. There is no need to leave a single one alive. Take revenge for mommy and your family. And then, come and join us once you’re done.’

Her mother extended her hand toward Serena and she reached for it...only to get stabbed in the stomach by something sharp.

Serena pulled the claw out and immediately ended the monster’s life with her blade. But blood immediately poured from the wound.

[You have encountered a grave wound. Healing would take some time.]

The system warned her but Serena did not care. Her mother had commanded her to move and she kept fighting.

For three days, she fought and bled. And by the end, she felt exhausted and ready to let go. Her body collapsed and she welcomed death.

’Finally, I will be able to join you, Mother.’

She closed her eyes and waited for death, but death never came.

Instead, another message greeted her.

[Task eight has ended. Congratulations on surviving.]

The task had ended just as Serena had been ready to embrace death. The monsters disappeared from around her, and so did the silhouette of her mother.

And just like that, Serena was left alone with her emotions once more.

"Mother...? Mother, where are you?"

Serena asked, calling out to her mother. But no one answered her question. The hallucination was gone and with it, her mother’s clear voice as well.

Even the familiar voice she always heard was gone at the moment.

Serena panicked and her heart started beating faster and faster by the second. It refused to calm down, causing Serena to gasp and collapse.

The others in her settlement noticed her collapsing and ran toward her, but she hardly noticed anyone else. She was too busy dealing with her own emotions at the moment.

"Serena, are you alright? Hang on! We will get you help-"

’Mother...’

Serena gasped as she felt her body being moved. She closed her eyes, but somehow the last image in her mind was not of her mother or another settlement member.

It was of a kid who had warned her once before.

Serena suddenly missed Rin.

’I wish...I could see you again.’

[Current Corruption Level: 20%]

__________

"We made it! We are still alive."

"Phew! I thought I was a goner. I am so happy to be alive and well."

Rin looked at everyone below and he felt relieved to see that most of his members had made it through this task.

The lives they had lost weighed heavily on him, but Rin decided not to dwell on it for too long.

They held a funeral for those who died and then a small feast for those who survived. After that, Rin went back to work.

[Rookie, good work on surviving this long. Honestly, this senior was worried you wouldn’t make it through this task.]

The system that had been suspiciously absent until now finally decided to show itself. That only made Rin more suspicious.

Unfortunately, he doubted the system would answer him even if he asked what had been keeping it so busy.

[This senior of yours apologizes for being late. There was some...urgent maintenance work that needed to be performed. But the system is finally back to help you.]

[On a bright note, the system is happy to inform you that your KPI progress is going smoothly.]

Rin blinked as he looked at that message and then immediately checked Serena’s corruption level. It was already at 20%.

"When did this rise so much? Wasn’t it just 2% a few days ago?"

Rin complained with a heavy heart. The progress left him conflicted and guilty.

But the system decided to try and make him feel better.

[Progress is a good thing, Rookie. The sooner you can complete your KPI, the faster you will be able to get your rewards.]

The system was far too optimistic, but it had always been like that so Rin did not feel too shocked by these messages.

Instead, he decided to focus on his settlement’s current situation.

Their numbers had dropped significantly due to the last task, so it was time for Rin to recruit more members.

Most independent settlements had already collapsed or been wiped out, so the surviving smaller settlements would likely come to him soon.

’I better start preparing for a flood of people. This task couldn’t have been easy for most settlements.’

Rin pushed himself up and decided to head out. He had barely gone far when he noticed Reina hesitating outside his office, debating whether to head in or not.

She looked conflicted, so Rin decided to approach her and ask what was wrong.