Chapter 64: Fooling Everyone

"Huh? What do you mean? Join the hunt?"

Claire and Rose were stunned.

As he took a bite of the grilled fish on his plate, Raven said, "You know what they say—the safest place is often the most dangerous. You get what I mean, right?"

Claire and Rose exchanged glances, clearly impressed.

"You’re really smart, Raven!" Claire said admiringly. "How did I not think of that?"

Rose nodded in agreement.

"Claire’s right. Those people would never expect us to join them," she said with a giggle.

Raven simply smiled without saying a word.

After they finished eating, he handed Rose a black cloak. It was the same kind he and Claire were wearing.

"Wear this. It should keep them from finding you."

Varen’s ability was terrifying. He could pinpoint the locations of all three of them with incredible accuracy.

Rose accepted the cloak and put it on without hesitation.

"Thank you!"

Raven nodded and began explaining his plan.

"By the way, we need to come up with a plan. First of all..."

...

"Where are they? Have you found any trace of them yet?" A man asked his companion.

His companion shook his head.

"Not yet. I lost track of them."

"Damn it!" the man growled angrily. "How can they run so fast? Let’s look for them again! I’m sure they haven’t gotten too far."

His companion nodded and ran down the long hallway.

Once they were gone, Raven, Claire, and Rose stepped out from behind the wall, all three smiling at the same time.

"Raven, your plan is brilliant!" Claire praised.

Rose nodded slightly.

"If we keep this up, we’ll definitely make it to the last day."

Raven’s plan was simple. They would occasionally drop their cloaks in different places, allowing Varen to track their trail.

If they disappeared completely until the last day, it would actually be dangerous.

That was why Raven decided to keep revealing their presence but quickly disappear whenever a group of players approached their location.

"Don’t get too excited."

Raven didn’t share their enthusiasm.

"This method will only work for a few days. I’m sure either Varen or one of the top ten groups will eventually realize something is wrong. When that happens, we’ll have to be on high alert."

Both of them nodded in agreement.

"Let’s go," Raven said before turning and walking away.

...

"Damn it! Why did it have to turn out like this?"

Dariel punched the wall beside him, his face red with anger.

Erina stood beside him in silence, but her expression showed that she was just as angry.

"Victor, you have to explain this to us!" the short, bald man snapped.

His name was Tony, the leader of the Tony Group, which was ranked ninth.

Victor didn’t flinch under their piercing stares.

He remained calm as he explained, "I understand your concerns. However, this matter is beyond my control—and Varen’s as well. I’m sorry."

"An apology isn’t enough!" a chubby woman snapped. "We only have three days left! Because we followed your plan, my group and I missed out on so many chances to earn points. Do you realize that!?"

The others nodded in agreement.

Victor’s calm expression turned cold.

"Fine, then. You can go back and leave the hunt. After all, the gods have already given their permission and promised a huge reward to anyone who can kill the Raven group. No one’s forcing you to stay."

Everyone fell silent at his words.

Victor was right, after all. No one was forcing them to stay. Their reason for helping him in the first place was to obtain the rare-rank weapon promised by the gods of heaven.

Victor took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"Varen said the Raven group’s movements were strange and completely illogical."

"Strange and illogical? What do you mean?" Erina asked.

"In short, whenever Varen pinpointed their location, they would suddenly disappear from that spot. Even the group chasing them couldn’t find a trace of them," Victor replied coldly as he leaned against the stone wall. "I suspect they have a special artifact that can hide their presence. They deliberately reveal themselves every now and then, only to disappear again and toy with us like fools."

Hearing that, everyone tensed up. They exchanged glances, looking shocked and confused.

"W-What do you mean, Victor? Wait, that can’t be it! How can you be sure they have an artifact like that?" Erina asked anxiously.

If that were true, wouldn’t all their efforts so far have been in vain?

The others also looked at Victor, their faces filled with worry.

Victor gave a faint smile.

"Don’t panic like that. Didn’t I already tell you? It’s still just a guess, but the chances are pretty high."

Even Victor had only just thought of it. It was the only explanation that made sense for such a strange phenomenon.

The cave fell into a deep silence.

Victor spoke again.

"But don’t worry. I’ve figured out their movement patterns. Leave it to me."

Everyone took a deep breath and decided to trust him.

...

"Tsk! Why did the third location disappear? This makes absolutely no sense!"

A man in a black cloak stomped his foot in frustration.

Two women in cloaks stood behind him, looking embarrassed.

The man was Raven, but he acted as if he were just another player searching for Raven’s group.

"No need to complain, buddy."

A burly, red-haired player patted him on the shoulder.

"That’s just how it goes. They show up, Varen tells us their location, and then they disappear as soon as we get there. It’s possible Varen has been messing with us this whole time," he grumbled.

Raven let out a long sigh, his handsome face still showing frustration.

"Then why are we even working together? Just so Victor, Varen, and the top ten can trick us?"

Everyone went quiet. They’d all thought about it, but nobody wanted to be the one to say it out loud.

After all, they all knew just how ruthless Victor and the Top 10 were.

They earned points not only by hunting monsters but also by killing other players.

"No need to get so worked up. We’d better head back to the nearest base and wait for the latest news from Varen."

With that, the man turned around and walked away with his group. The others followed, quickly leaving the area.

Only Raven, Rose, and Claire remained.

Claire walked over to Raven with a giggle.

"Your acting was really good, Raven."

Raven gave a small smile.

"It was nothing."

"Are we going to keep doing this?" Rose asked seriously.

Raven’s smile faded as he stared into the distance.

"No. We need to change the plan."