Chapter 45: Successfully Exited

"Argh! Damn it!"

Tristan slammed his sword onto the floor in anger. His face was flushed, and he was breathing heavily.

"Who... Who is that woman!?" he roared.

Troy, Mona, and the nine others remained silent. They had no idea who she was either.

"Damn it..." Tristan growled as he glared at the large door in the distance. "Everyone, find that woman! We have to hunt her down, no matter what!"

That baboon monster had been a valuable kill. If he had killed it, he would have earned 150 points on the spot, and his group’s ranking would have risen by five places.

Unfortunately, he had let his guard down and allowed a stranger to land the final blow. To him, that was absolutely unforgivable.

The other nine struggled to hold back their laughter. They still remembered how arrogant Tristan had been earlier.

Naturally, seeing him suffer now made them feel quite pleased.

However, they quickly hid their emotions. They still needed Tristan, Mona, and Troy’s help to keep their group from ending up in last place.

Without wasting any more time, the twelve of them ran in the direction the masked woman had disappeared.

...

"Hah... Hah... Hah..."

Reina panted as she continued running away from the hall. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder, but there was no sign of anyone chasing her.

Her pace gradually slowed. But just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief, a hand suddenly pulled her back.

Reina tensed and was about to struggle when Raven’s soft voice reached her ears.

"Shh... Don’t make a sound."

Reina froze for a moment before relaxing. She turned toward Raven, who was holding her tightly around the waist.

Her face slowly flushed, but she quickly hid her embarrassment.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps came from behind them. Tristan and the eleven others were running in their direction.

Reina held her breath, her heart pounding. Fortunately, they simply ran past the two of them without noticing.

After making sure they were completely out of sight, Reina finally let out a deep breath.

"They’re gone," she murmured.

Raven removed his hand from Reina’s mouth.

"How does it feel to steal another group’s prey? Was it thrilling?" he asked jokingly.

Reina chuckled softly.

"It was a lot of fun. But I feel a little guilty."

Raven rolled his eyes. He flicked a finger against Reina’s forehead and scolded her, "Didn’t I already tell you that everyone here is an enemy? Never feel sympathy for anyone unless you’re ready to die. Got it?"

Reina pouted but nodded obediently.

Raven felt somewhat helpless. Reina was far more naive than he had expected.

But then, he remembered her true identity. She was a spy working for the government of a country he knew nothing about.

And she had been betrayed by her own comrades, which had ultimately led to her being thrown into prison.

Raven had thought that betrayal would change her, or at least make her more ruthless. But it seemed he had expected too much.

"This can’t continue."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"I have to turn her into someone ruthless, someone who won’t hesitate when the time comes. But how?"

His brow furrowed deeply. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

"What’s wrong, Raven? Why are you smiling like that?"

Raven snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head.

"It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something interesting."

He grabbed her hand and led her away.

"Let’s continue the hunt."

...

Five days flew by. That meant seven days had passed since the third mission began.

The leaderboard was changing rapidly. Aside from first place, which was still firmly held by Raven’s Group, the other top-ten groups were constantly fighting for their positions.

Tenth place had 7,000 points, only 300 points behind ninth. With a few hours left, it wouldn’t take much for tenth place to overtake ninth.

Everyone was giving it their all to secure a spot in the top ten.

They all knew that making it into the top ten would likely come with better rewards, even though nothing had been officially confirmed yet.

The ancient site where the third mission was taking place was huge. The place seemed to stretch on forever.

It was so vast that many halls remained unexplored. Even the chance of encountering another group was relatively low, at only around thirty percent.

"Hah... Hah... Hah..."

Claire gasped for breath as she continued moving forward. Her vision was starting to blur from exhaustion after going without food for two days.

"Why... haven’t I... found... the way out yet?" She muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

She couldn’t understand how this was happening. She still hadn’t managed to escape this seemingly endless grassland.

Her supplies were running low, and she felt like she might collapse before she even found a single monster.

Just as she was about to take a break, something in the distance suddenly caught her attention.

A green, rhombic prism-shaped crystal was floating in the air.

Curious, she slowly approached it, staying on high alert.

The closer she got, the clearer the crystal became. A mysterious rune was engraved on both of its sides.

"A rhombic prism-shaped crystal?" Claire furrowed her brow. "What is this thing?"

Her intuition told her that the crystal was valuable. Maybe taking it with her would be a good idea.

Claire cautiously approached it. Luckily, nothing happened. The crystal remained floating in place, showing no signs of attacking her.

As soon as she picked it up, the scenery around her suddenly changed.

The endless grassland had disappeared, replaced by a vast hall filled with pillars. Four massive doors stood on the left, right, front, and back.

"Huh? What’s going on? Did I just come back?"

Her weary expression instantly turned into one of joy. However, before she could enjoy her relief for long, the sound of footsteps echoed from the front.

A group of six men walked in, carrying their weapons.

When they saw the stunningly beautiful Claire, they were startled for a moment before grinning in unison.

"Woah... woaah... woaah. Looks like we found some easy prey. What do you guys think?"

The one who spoke was a bald man with an ordinary-looking face.

The others laughed and nodded in agreement.

"You’re right, buddy. I didn’t expect to find a woman this beautiful in such a remote place. Looks like we’re really lucky," said the burly man beside him, licking his upper lip.

Claire immediately grew wary. But then, she remembered her new class, "Wizard."

A sly smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

"That’s right... why don’t I use them as practice material? Hehehe..."