Chapter 81: The Gods’ Helping Hand

The start of the fourth mission had left the test site, once bustling with players hunting for prey, completely deserted.

In fact, they couldn’t even meet one another because the game system didn’t allow it.

Two groups within a hundred meters of each other would immediately be locked into the game zone.

They could refuse, but that option was only available three times.

Wasting that chance just to avoid a fight would be foolish.

As a result, many groups chose to stay away from areas where they might encounter each other.

"Ugh..."

Kael exhaled before opening his eyes.

"We almost died," he muttered in relief.

Just moments ago, he’d confronted an opposing group and successfully guessed the identity of the player holding the Kyoshi token.

Unfortunately, the enemy group had failed, so one of their players had to be killed on the spot. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Kael, thank goodness you’re safe."

Thomas’s voice came from behind him.

Kael turned toward him and smiled.

"What about you? Did anyone die?"

Thomas shook his head.

"No, we’re all still safe. Victor is truly amazing!" he praised. "He was able to identify everyone with the Kyoshi mark."

Kael just smiled at that. That was Victor for you. His powers of observation were truly extraordinary.

"By the way..."

His brow furrowed as he realized something, and he hurriedly moved away.

"Go as far away as you can. I don’t want our groups to fight each other."

Apart from knowing that he was bound to lose, Kael also didn’t want them to fight each other.

Thomas chuckled.

"Don’t worry about that. Victor found a loophole in this game."

"A loophole?"

Three question marks appeared above Kael’s head.

"What do you mean?"

Thomas leaned in and whispered, "I don’t know if it’s really a loophole, but Victor guarantees that our groups won’t run into each other."

"Huh!? How is that possible?" Kael asked in surprise.

"I don’t know."

Thomas stepped back and shrugged.

"That’s what Victor said. He didn’t explain any further, so I’m assuming it’s a loophole in the game."

Kael looked thoughtful. He tried to figure out how Victor had pulled it off, but unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

"Never mind. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that our groups can stay together without worrying about breaking the rules of the fourth mission."

Thomas nodded in agreement.

"By the way, where’s Victor?" Kael asked.

Thomas scratched his head sheepishly.

"I don’t know. The guy just left."

...

Victor stood under a tree with his eyes closed.

A gentle breeze blew from ahead, ruffling his face and long hair.

Suddenly...

"I never expected the arrogant Victor to call me out here. You must need my help, right?"

Victor opened his eyes and saw Varen walking toward him, his posture slightly hunched.

"Glad to see you here. Thank you."

Varen waved his hand.

"No need for small talk. Tell me—what do you really want?"

Victor didn’t want to beat around the bush either, so he immediately stated his purpose.

"I want you to help me track down Raven’s group, just like before."

"Huh?" Varen feigned surprise. "How can you be so sure I can do it?"

"Don’t play dumb," Victor taunted. "Can you do it or not?"

Varen didn’t answer right away. He remained silent for a few moments before saying, "I can. But Raven seems to be wearing an artifact that masks his trail. It’d be pointless for me to try tracking his location."

"Don’t worry about that. I’ve got a solution."

Victor pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and handed them to Varen.

"This is an epic-tier artifact. It can dispel all illusions. Use it."

Varen was taken aback. He stared at the glasses in astonishment.

"An epic-tier artifact? How did you get it?" he asked, confused, as he accepted them.

Victor didn’t want to answer at first, but then he realized that a partnership had to be built on mutual trust, so he changed his mind.

"I got it from Administrator Muria."

"Administrator?"

Varen was astonished.

"What happened? How did you get so close to her?"

"It’s a long story."

Victor shook his head.

"The bottom line is, the gods seem dissatisfied with the results of the previous three missions. Raven is an anomaly, and they’ve started viewing him as a threat that must be eliminated."

Varen narrowed his eyes. The fact that Raven was capable of striking fear into the gods showed just how dangerous he really was.

"I see. By the way, I saw your friends from a different group earlier. Did you ask the gods for that arrangement, too?"

"That’s right," Victor replied. "I asked them to make sure my group and my friends wouldn’t be pitted against each other in the game zone."

"Tch!"

Varen clicked his tongue.

"You’re truly amazing. You managed to earn the administrator’s trust—something no one else could achieve."

He patted Victor’s left shoulder, then turned and walked away.

"I’ll look into it and let you know what I find. Don’t worry."

His figure soon disappeared from view.

Victor stared in the direction Varen had gone, then shook his head.

"It’s all for the sake of winning this test..."

His eyes flashed with a chilling glint.

...

Raven, Rose, and Claire were eating while discussing the fourth mission.

"Raven, I’m a little scared," Claire said sadly.

Raven patted her on the head.

"Relax. Didn’t I tell you before? I’ll take care of you and Rose."

"But..."

Claire wanted to say something, but she didn’t know how to put it into words.

"Instead of worrying about that, we should focus on how to escape the other groups chasing us," Rose said seriously.

She trusted Raven completely. Since he was confident he could eventually win the entire game, she wasn’t afraid at all.

The problem was that the other groups seemed to be coming after them at any moment.

"Rose is right."

Raven nodded in agreement while biting into a piece of wild chicken thigh.

"That’s where the problem lies. So, don’t go anywhere without telling me, got it?"

"Got it!" they both replied in unison.

DING!

A notification suddenly popped up.

Curious, Raven tapped it.

"[Host, danger!]"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Why is it dangerous?"

"[The gods have teamed up with Victor and his group! Their target is you and your group!]"

Raven’s expression turned cold.

"How is that possible? Aren’t the gods forbidden from joining this mission?"

"[I don’t know either. But don’t trust their claims, host. They’re the organizers of this event, so their story could change at any moment.]"

Those words made Raven fall into deep thought. He had completely overlooked something so simple.

The gods had always regarded humans as weak, helpless creatures—nothing more than ants fighting among themselves.

Rules?

What kind of nonsense was that?

Even those damn officials often broke the rules for their own gain—let alone the gods, whose status and rank were far higher.

"I understand."

Raven regained his composure.

"Tell me—what are they actually planning?"