My Childhood Friend Turned Yandere in the Apocalypse

Chapter 243: Ch 243: Too many snakes

Rin decided to call for a meeting as soon as the task concluded and most of the people were back.

Somehow, everyone else (except him, Shelly, Albus, Mira, and Kyle) looked like they had gone to hell and back.

"I thought I was going to die so many times. It was so hard to make it to the safe spots. We only had ten the whole time."

Reina complained as she rubbed her side to show how uncomfortable she was with the current situation.

Rin wanted to tell her that she was lucky to have gotten ten when he had only gotten four safe spots. But he decided not to speak up since he did not want to turn this situation into a pity party.

"Ugh, who cares what happened before? The important thing is that we all made it, right? Anyway, here is the reward I got. It is a piece of a map, right?"

Albus handed the small piece from his inventory over to Mira, and she took it.

"Looks like a map. Does the system tell you how many pieces there are?"

she asked, and Albus nodded.

"It says that there are five, and only those who had marks last round had a chance to receive this drop. I guess I just got lucky and obtained it."

Rin checked his inventory at Albus’s words, but he did not have that reward, which stung a little.

"I also have a piece of the reward."

Shelly held out her piece as well, and no one else seemed to have gotten one.

"Looks like this is it for now. The other pieces must have gone to those other guys. Can someone go and check with them?"

Mira asked, and Albus volunteered to do it.

Rin had a feeling it was going to take Mira a little more time to check things over and decide where they were headed next.

So Rin suddenly found himself with some free time, and he was wondering how to use it when his eyes fell on the core in his inventory.

It was finally time to absorb it. But he needed extreme peace and quiet in order to do that.

"Rin, do you have any plans during this break? If not, can you accompany me somewhere I need to go? I feel scared to venture out alone."

Shelly asked while wrapping her arms around Rin’s. She seemed to want to be alone with him but did not ask outright.

Rin felt bad about rejecting her, but he had already made plans for the next few days.

"I am afraid I won’t be able to come with you. There is something important I need to do in my room. You can go by yourself if you promise not to cause trouble."

Rin told Shelly, but she no longer looked interested in going out without him.

"Hmm, is that so? Can I ask what you are going to do?"

Shelly did not let him go and probed him further. It was clear that she really wanted to go on this trip, even if she had to question his decision.

Rin wanted to go with her as well, but there were things that required his attention first.

"Well, I need to catch up on sleep first. I feel like I am going to collapse any second from all the stress I am under. After that, the system gave me a new ability, and I want to master it. To do so, I will need to be unconscious for a while. So I thought now was the perfect time."

Rin mixed truth with lies so that his words sounded more believable.

Shelly looked regretful that he could not come with her, but since this was connected to his health, she decided not to press any further.

Rin let out a sigh as soon as he saw her backing down. He also felt a sense of guilt at having deceived her.

’Don’t worry, Shelly! I will master this quickly, and then we can head out together. I cannot allow you to roam around as you please because I don’t want to see what kind of trouble you cause.’

Rin shivered as soon as the image of Shelly causing trouble entered his mind. He shook his head to clear it, but once the image was in his head, it was almost impossible to erase.

...

"Finally! I get to see my bed again. Ugh, I missed it."

Rin complained as he threw himself onto the bed. The warmth of it called to him like a siren, and he wanted to bury his face in its softness and go to sleep.

He had already taken the core into his body, and it was starting to dissolve, making Rin feel dizzy. His eyes were slowly starting to close, indicating that he was beginning to fall asleep.

’I...better get some good rest this time...’

Rin’s eyes felt heavy, but he swore he felt the door to his room open just as he fell asleep.

A hand hesitantly touched his face, and Rin nuzzled against it without meaning to. He felt comforted, and he wanted to be closer to the warmth touching him.

He knew that it was not right for him to do that, but he was too tired to complain.

The hand petting him paused, suddenly unsure of what it was supposed to do, but it started again once Rin made a small noise of complaint in his throat.

It felt nice and soft, and Rin felt warm inside.

But it did not take long for that comforting warmth in his chest to explode and threaten to burn him from the inside. It was starting to hurt as well.

[Core absorption will begin in 3...2...1...Please brace yourself. The Core of Harmony will now dissolve in your chest.]

The system warned Rin far too late, and the pain made him dizzy.

’T-This...I don’t think I can handle this much pressure and pain...’

Rin complained as he clutched his chest, but there was no one to help him.