Chapter 54: Teleportation Invitation

"Betrayal... That was the fate I faced," Reyna said with a small chuckle.

Raven fell silent as he listened to her story. He finally understood. Reyna’s fate was truly tragic, just as he had imagined.

"What happened after that?"

Reyna shook her head.

"I don’t really understand it myself. Once I was captured, I was subjected to numerous interrogations by the enemy. However, my superior managed to rescue me. Unfortunately, I was immediately deactivated because they feared I had betrayed them, even though that wasn’t the case."

She smiled wryly.

"That’s truly heartbreaking."

She had done her job wholeheartedly, even going as far as risking her life. Yet, after saving her, her superiors simply cast her aside.

Of course, she wasn’t angry about their decision. She understood why they were worried that she might have betrayed them.

Even so, it still hurt.

Raven gently stroked her head before pulling her into his embrace.

"It’s all in the past now. I’ll never betray you. Don’t worry."

Reyna closed her eyes, savoring his touch as a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Mhm... I know that."

After helping Reyna calm down, Raven stood up and said, "Let’s eat first."

Reyna nodded and stood up before sitting down next to Raven.

As Raven scooped the freshly cooked food onto a plate, a system notification suddenly appeared before him.

He accepted it, and his eyes immediately widened in shock.

[The Chosen Heroine, Claire Hiragi, is in danger!]

...

Clang!

A sword clashed against a magic staff.

Varen grinned widely as he stared at Claire, whose face had gone pale.

"Hahaha! What’s the matter? Are you starting to feel overwhelmed?"

Claire spun around and took a few steps back, but Varen wasn’t going to let her get away that easily.

He crouched down and darted toward her.

Claire slammed the tip of her staff into the ground.

"Summon!"

Vwosh!

Dozens of tree roots shot out from the floor and lashed toward Varen.

Varen wasn’t afraid. He spun around and slashed through the dozens of roots in an instant.

"W-What the hell is this guy!? How can he be so strong!?"

Claire’s eyes widened in shock.

But she didn’t have time to think about it.

Varen had already charged toward her.

Clang!

Her staff collided with his sword, creating a loud, thunderous sound.

"You let your guard down!"

Varen twisted his foot, making Claire lose her balance.

Just as he was about to stab her in the chest, her figure suddenly vanished and reappeared dozens of meters away.

"Oh? You can teleport?"

Varen paused for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

"Not bad... Not bad..."

He swung his sword and crouched down, letting out a cold chuckle.

"But how many times can you do that? I doubt you’ll be able to dodge my next attack."

Claire’s face went pale as her breathing quickened.

She hadn’t expected Varen to be this strong and agile.

With her current abilities, there was no way she could defeat him.

"What should I do?"

Ding!

[Teleportation Invitation. Do you want to accept it? Yes/No.]

Claire was startled when the panel suddenly appeared in front of her.

"What does this mean? A teleportation invitation?"

She furrowed her brow.

Whoosh!

"Die!"

Varen’s figure appeared in midair. He spun rapidly before darting straight toward her.

Claire gritted her teeth and tapped "Yes" without hesitation.

Slash!

Just as the sword was about to split her body in two, Claire suddenly vanished.

"What!?"

Varen was stunned. He looked to the right, then left, in front of him and behind him, but couldn’t find her anywhere.

"Could she have escaped?"

He closed his eyes and shouted, "Astral Sight!"

Whoosh!

His consciousness spread across a three-kilometer radius. However, he couldn’t detect any trace of Claire.

"H-How is that possible?"

Varen took a few steps back, his face contorted with disbelief.

"She really vanished!"

...

"Mhmm..."

Claire slowly opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar place.

"How are you doing? Having a hard time without me and Rose?"

A teasing voice came from behind her.

Startled, Claire turned around and saw Raven eating with a woman wearing glasses and sporting short, shoulder-length black hair.

"Huh? Raven!? Is that you?"

Raven rolled his eyes.

"Who else did you think it was?"

Claire sat there frozen, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Don’t just sit there. Come over here. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?"

Claire snapped out of her daze. She stood up, walked over to him, and sat down beside him.

Raven placed a piece of chicken thigh and some freshly cooked rice onto her plate.

"Eat first. We’ll talk about it afterward."

Claire simply nodded and began to eat.

The atmosphere felt a little awkward after Claire’s sudden appearance.

After they finished eating, Reyna offered to clean up. After all, she hadn’t helped with anything earlier.

Raven didn’t mind.

While Reyna went to clear away the dishes, Claire finally felt a little more at ease.

"Raven, what happened? How did I end up teleporting right next to you?" she asked curiously.

She clearly remembered her fight with Varen, where she had nearly lost. If it hadn’t been for that teleportation invitation, she would have died just now.

"I have my ways. You don’t need to know," Raven replied casually.

"Mou!" Claire puffed out her cheeks.

Raven chuckled softly and pinched her cheek.

Claire’s pout disappeared, replaced by an adorable blush.

For some reason, Reyna felt a little annoyed as she watched them.

But she knew it wouldn’t be good to act irrationally by getting jealous or anything like that. Doing so would only make Raven dislike her.

"The point is, you don’t need to worry about anything. Everything’s fine."

Raven’s words made Claire breathe a sigh of relief.

"By the way, what actually happened to you?"

Claire took a deep breath and looked directly into Raven’s eyes.

"Raven, we’re in danger."

"In danger? What do you mean?"

Claire then told him everything that had happened to her.

Raven’s calm expression turned somber as he listened.

"You mean there’s someone who can track our location?"

"That’s right!" Claire nodded seriously. "I don’t know how he does it, but somehow, that person always knows where I am. It doesn’t make any sense at all."

Raven furrowed his brow.

"This is really dangerous..."

If Varen told the other players about his ability and was sure he could find him, Claire, or Rose, things would get even worse.

Forget about staying in first place—just staying alive with hundreds of players chasing them would be hard enough.

"Open the system shop," he ordered.

[SYSTEM SHOP!]

Monthly Sale Items:

1. Pain Relief Pills (10 Love Points)

2. Mana Potion (15 Love Points)

3. Rare-Rank Lightning Spear (12,000 Love Points)

Raven scrolled through the list, looking for the items he wanted, but couldn’t find them.

Then, an item suddenly caught his attention.

"Disguise Cloak?"