Chapter 85: Successfully Escaped

"What? How is that possible? Why did I even get an invitation?" One of the players exclaimed in surprise.

It wasn’t just him. Players from the other groups had also received invitations to enter the game zone.

That shouldn’t have been possible. They had already targeted Raven and his group.

As panic swept through the groups that had been in the same area as Raven, he, along with Claire and Rose, had already teleported six kilometers away.

"We’re safe."

Claire breathed a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly. She looked around and realized they were on a small, secluded hill.

"We should be safe for a while," Raven said, stretching his stiff body. "For now, don’t wander too far. Otherwise, you might end up getting an invitation to challenge another team."

Rose and Claire nodded in unison.

"We understand!"

...

Four days passed very quickly. All the groups searching for Raven still couldn’t find him.

Instead, they ended up running into each other, causing one problem after another.

After all, they were only after Raven, not the other groups.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t avoid fighting each other. In the end, they could only fight and compete for the winner’s position.

"Raven’s group is missing?"

Victor was surprised by Varen’s words.

"That’s right." Varen nodded slightly. "I want to borrow those glasses again to track their whereabouts. Give them to me."

He held out his hand toward Victor.

Victor remained silent, causing Varen to frown.

"Why aren’t you answering?"

Victor took a deep breath before saying, "The artifact has already been returned."

"Returned?"

Varen was stunned.

"How is that possible? Why did you return it?" he asked in disbelief.

Victor massaged his temples.

"The administrator only allowed me to use it once and told me to return it afterward. She was afraid I’d run off with it. It’s not my fault."

Varen gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Then what about Raven and his group? Are we just going to let them get away?"

Victor shook his head.

"I don’t know. It’s beyond my control."

He hadn’t expected Raven to disappear right in the middle of being surrounded by members of those groups.

That should have been impossible. There was only one explanation—Raven had an artifact or some kind of object that allowed him to teleport.

But what was it?

And how did he get it?

No matter how hard Victor thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Varen clenched both fists before letting out a long sigh.

"I understand."

He turned and walked away.

"In that case, I’ll try to find him using my abilities. But don’t get your hopes up too high."

As Victor watched him disappear into the distance, he narrowed his eyes, his expression turning thoughtful.

...

Whoosh!

Two figures appeared at the same time. They were Leo and Reyna.

"Hahaha! We did it again!"

Leo burst out laughing, clenching both fists in excitement.

"If we keep this up, we’ll definitely win this fourth mission and take first place!"

Reyna remained silent.

"Huh?"

Leo was startled and turned to her in confusion.

"Why don’t you look happy?"

Reyna smiled and waved her hand.

"I’m happy, but I’m still afraid of dying because I have the Kyoshi mark."

"Oh, are you worried about that?" Leo chuckled. "Didn’t I tell you before? You won’t come to any harm as long as you’re with me. Just relax."

His voice was confident, without a hint of doubt.

Reyna nodded and said nothing more.

She couldn’t deny it. The man really was extraordinary. He had managed to identify all the Kyoshi Mark bearers among the enemy groups that had entered the game zone earlier.

Reyna became even more convinced that she shouldn’t act suspiciously around him. At the very least, she could use Leo to her advantage.

"By the way, I’m going hunting first. I’m really hungry."

Leo patted his stomach.

"Do you want to come along?"

Reyna shook her head.

"I’m going for a short walk. Fighting five times in a row is making me feel sick."

Leo said nothing and turned to leave.

As she watched his back slowly disappear into the distance, Reyna’s relaxed expression turned cold.

She picked up her walkie-talkie and spoke in a coy voice.

"Raven, it’s me..."

...

"Hmmm? Are you leaving?"

Rose, who was tossing firewood into the fire, was startled.

Raven nodded and turned to leave.

"Watch over Claire. I’ll be gone for a little while."

Rose wanted to stop him, but the words got stuck in her throat. In the end, she said nothing and muttered irritably, "What a pain in the neck."

***

"Raven!"

Reyna waved at him.

Raven smiled and nodded.

Reyna ran over and threw herself into his arms.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, burying her face against his chest.

"Me too."

Raven hugged her, breathing in her intoxicating feminine scent.

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes before finally letting go.

"By the way, how do you deactivate a challenge invitation?" Reyna asked curiously.

She and Raven were in different groups. Normally, the challenge invitation should have been sent automatically before they even had a chance to hug.

"I’ve got it covered. You don’t need to worry about it," Raven replied vaguely.

He couldn’t tell her that the system was handling it. Since Reyna was the system’s chosen one, it would automatically make sure they never ended up in a challenge against each other.

Seeing that Raven didn’t want to answer, Reyna didn’t press him any further.

Instead, she hugged him tightly again, smiling foolishly.

"Raven, do you know? I really... really missed you. My body feels hot every time I think about that moment," she said shyly.

Raven’s heart raced when he heard that. He lowered his gaze and saw the longing in Reyna’s eyes.

He still remembered how cold and distant Reyna had been before. Although she had finally opened up to him, Raven could still sense a certain distance between them.

But not anymore.

This woman was no longer shutting herself off. She was finally showing her true self in front of him.

As a man, Raven couldn’t help but feel proud.

After all, Reyna was an S-rated woman who was nearly impossible for any man to win over—except for him and Leo, the protagonist chosen by the gods.

"I’ve missed you, too."

He lifted her into his arms, carrying her like a princess.

"So, how about we make up for lost time?"

His eyes flashed with meaning.

Reyna’s face flushed, but she didn’t refuse.

"Mhmm... Let’s do it."

...

"Failed, you say?"

A voice came from behind a tree.

Victor lowered his head.

"That’s right, Administrator. Raven and his group somehow managed to escape the encirclement of those groups."

The administrator remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"I’ll give you the artifact again. But remember—return it when you’re done, understand?"

Victor gave a faint smile.

"Of course. I’ll return it later..."