[User Teressa has been recorded as your familiar. You have gained access to her user profile.]
[You have reached a possibility to attain a new trait 'Tamer'. Please find more familiars to unlock this role.]
[User profile: Teressa.
Hunter Rank: ?? (Rankings are not open yet)
Strength: 15
Stamina: 50
Intelligence: 20
MP: 50
HP: 350/350
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 power percentage of the user by the amount of 'affection' between the bonded.
Current affection meter: 3% (Skill boost: 10%)
Special Note: As a succubus, user can only gain nourishment by fulfilling commands given by the Master.]
Teressa's non-human nature was evident at a glance. But knowing what she truly was made things a little more…complicated. Especially her special nature.
But her skills were not bad.
Rather, they were an excellent fit for any party.
Seduction and Submission renders enemies in the area unable to move for a short time. It was the same effect that immobilized Rin until he snapped out of it.
Bondage Expert was also a support skill that buffed the target it was being used on and doubled the power of their hits for 1 hour.
Teressa was a good partner for any party to have during the apocalypse, but Rin still felt a sour taste in his mouth as he considered the circumstances that forced her to rely on him.
"Ugh, h-hurry and help me-"
The girl grabbed him and forced him to look at her. Her pained eyes made Rin feel sorry for her and he looked at the system for an answer.
[User, do you need instructions for even such a small thing? The system feels ashamed to have you as the user.]
[But since the system feels sorry for user Teressa, it will tell you the answer. Please command her to make her feel better.]
Rin looked at the system for a few moments, but the words did not change. What did change was Teressa's desperation. She was beginning to claw at her neck, and when that did not help, she reached toward the scratch instead.
Her nails were sharp and they hurt. Rin's neck likely had her marks now and the pain made him instantly react and grab her arms.
"Teressa, stop this."
She instantly stopped as soon as she had been commanded and looked at Rin with her wide eyes. The pain in her body was fading, making her feel lighter.
"Slowly pull your arms down from around your face and get off me."
Teressa shuddered at the command and her limbs slowly moved to push herself away. Her eyes looked confused but she was following the given orders quite well.
It took her some time to calm down and Rin kept giving her easy to follow commands until all the tension in her body slipped away.
Rin waited for Teressa to compose herself before he asked her any questions. As soon as he saw her eyes clearing up, he knew it was time.
"How are you feeling? Can you tell me what happened?"
Rin asked Teressa once she had composed herself. Teressa took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. Then, she replied in a soft, melodic voice.
"I…am not sure about what happened. The sky turned red and then I had the system appear in front of me. It scared me and I don't recall what I did, but the next thing I knew, someone who looked exactly like me asked me if I wanted to survive and I said yes. Then I felt my body being taken over by that creature."
Teressa rambled and Rin listened to her carefully. The only reason he paid close attention was because she had bonded to him and could prove to be useful to him in the future.
He patted her back to let her calm down and his silence made Teressa continue speaking.
"I felt so hungry after that thing took me over. All I wanted to do was grab food and eat. But no matter what I eat, I get even hungrier. The only thing that felt good was human blood and their fear. So I…what did I even do-"
It was impossible to tell whether this was all an act or if she was genuinely scared. He chose to believe the latter, but if it was an act, then she was too good.
Teressa was becoming more and more unstable by the second. Rin had not known her for long, but he still felt sorry for her. He opened his arms and Teressa leaned against him and even allowed him to pat her arms.
There was nothing sexual about their hug. It was one filled with comfort for another human. It was a hug that Teressa desperately needed to make herself feel better.
But what Rin had not realized until now was that it was as much for him as it was for her.
Rin did not lack humans to connect with, and he was sure that anyone in his circle would hug him as well if he wanted to feel human warmth. But there was something different about asking for a hug and following his needs unconsciously like this.
So he did not move and allowed Teressa to seek as much comfort as she needed from him.
They remained like that for nearly five minutes before Teressa pulled back. Her flushed face looked embarrassed and she laughed nervously to cover her embarrassment.
"Ah, looks like I lost control of myself for a moment. Thank you for helping me feel better. Should I call you master?"
That was the appropriate title to call Rin but he did not like owning someone. He allowed Teressa to help him up before noticing that he was just slightly taller than her.
"You can call me Rin. I know that our circumstances are forcing you to rely on me, but I would still like to give you a choice to leave if you want to."
Rin needed someone like Teressa by his side. Her buff was nice, but more importantly, she was not connected to the novel in any way. She was not a harem member or MC's helper.
She was a symbol—a way to tell himself that his situation was not hopelessly bound by the system…or so he chose to believe.
He watched carefully as Teressa's expression shifted slightly before her eyes hardened. Her face was flushed and looked like a maiden who had just fallen in love, but Rin was convinced that this was an act she was putting on.
Slowly, her hand reached to touch his chest again and Teressa placed her hand against his chest, leaning more of her weight onto him.
"It would be my pleasure to follow you, Rin. I promise I will never betray you."
Anyone who saw this would think that Teressa was in love with him, but Rin saw through her deception.
Teressa did not like him in a romantic way, but she had realized that she needed him. So she was pretending to have fallen in love with him and made him let his guard down. That way, he would trust her more and keep her close.
'What a cunning woman. But I guess two can play this game.'
If Teressa wanted to use Rin, he would allow her to. He would also pretend he had not noticed her affection and use her in return.
[Ah, this master-servant bond between you two is making the system blush. But please keep it PG-rated, or the system will need to change its rating settings.]
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Very Important note. Please read