Rin felt worried about Teressa, but more about her mark than her actual health. He wanted to know more about the corruption and what it meant.

But where could he get that information?

"Maybe the system can tell me more."

Rin muttered, and the system appeared almost as if he had called it into existence.

[What is it, Rookie? Did you miss this senior? Did you want to know something? Do tell this senior.]

The system asked, and Rin wasted no time asking it about that cursed mark. He was sure the system could already look through his thoughts and memories, but he still decided to be clear about what he wanted to know.

He waited for the system to finish arranging the information before hearing the familiar ’ding’ noise.

[Rookie, I don’t know whether to feel amazed or concerned that you keep finding yourself in such tough situations.]

[Here is the information on the corruption mark. Make sure to read it thoroughly. And let this senior give you some life advice as well. Keep your distance from the one who bears the mark of corruption. It will only end in heartache otherwise.]

Rin tensed at the warning, but the system did not bother explaining further. It disappeared, and Rin opened the information package he had received.

There was a lot of ground to cover, but most of it turned out to be useless.

But the useful information made Rin want to curse out loud.

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

He questioned as he stared at the information before rubbing his forehead. But the words in front of him did not change.

In short, the mark of corruption was a debuff placed by the system on a user that slowly caused them to lose their mind. Their corruption level needed to be maintained in order for them to retain their sanity.

There was no explanation for why it was placed on someone, but the fact that those who received this mark were destined to lose their minds did not change.

It meant that Teressa was bound to become an enemy once her corruption level reached the threshold.

Rin felt worried for her, so he decided to check her status for the first time in a while.

[User profile: Teressa. -

Hunter Rank: 23

Strength: 3160

Stamina: 2440

Intelligence: 1547

MP: 1235

HP: 8000/8000

Special Skills: Seduction and Submission, Bondage Expert

Special Traits: Half-human, half-succubus. Bond Partner (can assign someone else as ’Master’. When commanded by the master, the skill increases the user’s power percentage based on the amount of ’affection’ between the bonded pair.)

Current affection meter: 10% (Skill boost: 10%)

Affected with status: Corruption - 5%]

Teressa’s profile was not bad, but Rin felt surprised to see her affection meter. It was not as high as he had expected.

But thinking back on it, it was to be expected that her affection meter was low. Rin had brought her here and made no attempts to get along with her.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he had left her alone to deal with her situation.

Her loneliness and sense of abandonment must have been the reason she had become corrupted in the first place. But it was not too late to save her.

Teressa was not too far gone, and Rin was sure he could still bring her back. All he had to do was show her that she had a place in this settlement where she belonged.

That should not be that difficult.

Right?

...

Teressa clutched her heart as she exited Rin’s office. She was not feeling well, but being with Rin had given her the strength she desperately needed. She felt like she could keep going for much longer now.

She had only taken a few steps when she felt someone shove her from behind. Teressa fell and instinctively rolled aside to avoid the knife heading toward her head.

The sudden attack made her gasp, and she looked toward the only person in the base who would do something like this.

"What do you think you are doing?"

She asked in a calm voice, trying to give Shelly the benefit of the doubt. After all, it was possible that Shelly’s hand had slipped...

"Tsk, why did you dodge my attack? Now I’ll have to try harder to kill you. Do you want to be in even more pain when you die?"

Shelly asked in an almost sad voice. But it was such a fake tone that it made Teressa shiver. Shelly did not seem to care that she was frightening Teressa.

She simply reached for her knife and pulled it out of the ground. Then she took out a cloth and cleaned the blade before aiming it at Teressa again.

"Don’t move this time. I am not sure I wouldn’t hit anything vital if you moved."

Shelly warned as she prepared to throw the knife again. But Teressa was not going to take this lying down, and she immediately used her abilities on Shelly.

Her powers held Shelly in place, allowing Teressa just enough time to try and run. But Shelly quickly broke free from Teressa’s grip and reached out to grab her hair.

"Where do you think you are running? I never told you that you could leave. Are you trying to make fun of me or something?"

Shelly asked, now sounding much scarier than before. Even her actions were making Teressa shiver in anger.

"Hey, let go. What are you doing? Do you think you can get away with harming me?"

Teressa questioned as she tried to break free from Shelly’s grip. But Shelly was far too strong for Teressa to overpower.

"Hmm, I don’t think you are in any position to tell me what I can and cannot do. You are the one who should be begging me here. Beg me for your life, and I might let you go after I disfigure your face."

Shelly promised, and Teressa actually considered doing just that before realizing Shelly was lying.

She had no intention of letting Teressa go, but she was willing to give her false hope in order to break her spirit.

Teressa should have felt terrified, but instead, rage filled her chest. She even managed to reach back and free herself by attacking Shelly’s hand.

The attack startled Shelly enough to make her let go, and Teressa immediately ran.

[Your corruption level is rising. Current level: 10%]

[Warning: Once your corruption reaches 70%, you will lose your humanity and begin mutating into a monster.]