Several recruiters approached the protagonist almost immediately. The woman beside him moved closer as though protecting something precious.

Dillain rejected the recruiters politely but then his gaze suddenly shifted towards Ravennas’ side. Their eyes met for a second.

Still, she looked away immediately, as if to say ’absolutely not’. She already had enough problems involving one attractive but dangerous person recently.

She walked the opposite way, throwing the weird interaction to the back of her mind.

A rough-looking contractor suddenly cut her path forcing her to stop. Her annoyed gaze met his.

"You still looking for a fourth?" The man asked but he wasn’t speaking to Ravenna despite blocking her way.

She followed the man’s sight. One of the temporary group leaders glanced towards her.

"You can fight?"

She nodded. " Enough. "

"Contracted?"

"No."

The man grimaced slightly. Ravenna wasn’t the least bit offended. His reaction was understandable and something she was used to.

Uncontracted hunters usually became liabilities quickly. Ravenna turned to leave since she spotted another team that seemed to be looking for someone else to join.

She left before the other team leader could reject her and approached the group.

The group seemed more organised and balanced.

"Is there space for an extra person?" She asked the bulkiest of the men who seemed to be the leader.

His gaze assessed her from top to bottom before the man sighed quietly.

"You look young, do you have a tattoo?"

Ravenna shook her head." No, but I can fight scavengers and Tier 2 just fine."

The man grimaced and avoided her gaze. She could already see the rejection from afar.

Before he could fully refuse, another voice interrupted calmly.

"She can join."

Ravenna blinked in both surprise and confusion.

Dillain had walked over quietly without her noticing someone was following her.

Her body tensed. What kind of coincidence was this?

The team leader immediately straightened slightly. Apparently, everyone recognised him too. The man looked just as conflicted.

"... You sure, she’s just an awakener."

Dillain nodded, his gaze shifting briefly to her before settling on the man.

"You can tell she knows how to fight. A tattoo doesn’t determine someone’s worth. "

Ravenna’s eyes on the other hand, were busy searching for another team to join in since her conscience seemed to be screaming for her to avoid this man.

It was the very same reaction she always got when she was in danger or something bad might happen in the future. This had helped her avoid a lot of trouble.

At the moment it wasn’t that bad but who knows when it would escalate. But fate seems to have abandoned her.

Something incredibly weird happened before her eyes. Every team started to depart their groups miraculously full.

’Should I just go back to the hotel?’

She was contemplating her situation when a voice entered her ears.

"We should get going, I heard there is an influx of Tier two beasts due to the change in migration routes."

Ravenna raised her hand immediately. " I’ll join."

Dillain smiled faintly.

"Good, I thought you were going to refuse. "

"Haha..."

If she could get at least ten Tier two beast cores, she might be able to rest for a day or two before going into the wild again.

The temporary group finally left the sanctuary shortly afterwards.

The hunt itself turned exhausting quickly. Her expectations were destroyed, the hunt itself wasn’t dangerous it was just tiring that she wished she had just stayed home and spent the money she had been given.

They mainly encountered scavenger creatures across the outer green sectors. They were this thin malformed rat-like type that hunted in groups and overwhelmed prey through numbers rather than strength.

Ravenna fought carefully and efficiently, avoiding unnecessary risks while using terrain intelligence instead of brute force.

Twice, Dillain quietly helped without drawing attention to it. Once by killing a scavenger sneaking behind her and another time by redirecting the group formation subtly so that she wouldn’t get surrounded.

He never mentioned either afterwards. That part slightly surprised her since most Contractors like to show off their achievements and hold them over your head.

She had been worried he might take it out of her share.

By evening, Ravenna returned to the sanctuary sore and exhausted.

The hunt had at least earned her decent points. It was enough for food and to last a few more days. Better yet, she came back uninjured.

The next morning, for the first time since she arrived inside the sanctuary Ravenna decided not to hunt. Her body needed rest.

Instead, she finally used the point card Silver had given her.

Morning sunlight filtered through the window of her hotel room while Ravenna sat cross-legged near the small table, staring at the expensive breakfast she should not have been able to afford.

Real eggs.

Actual meat.

Fresh fruit.

She still felt it was unreal. People were not supposed to casually hand over enough points for luxury meals and medical supplies after one meeting.

Across the room, Mallory poured tea calmly before speaking.

"So..."

Ravenna immediately narrowed her eyes.

"That tone means gossip."

"Juicy one at that."

She leaned slightly forward, her anticipation clear.

"Your strange rich man apparently caused trouble the day he came to find you."

Ravenna blinked.

"I should have expected that. What did he do?"

"He publicly broke things off with the girl he had been courting."

The fork in Ravenna’s hand paused midway.

"... what?"

Mallory nodded seriously while placing the tea down.

"Apparently in front of several Elite families too."

Ravenna was quiet for a moment then placed the fork on the plate.

"Isn’t that a good thing then, at least he’s not tied to anyone else," she quietly said.

Mallory smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I thought he would be a complete scumbag."

Unfortunately for her Silver filtered into her mind immediately at that moment. The awkward expression when he was trying to speak and his ears turning slightly red when she looked directly at him.

Ravenna stared silently at the window afterwards.

’... Weird man.’

Yet without realising it. She smiled slightly into her tea.