Can’t remember the name

Looking for the book I read where there is a tournament to become “free”; the FMC goes from her village, MMC is trying to stop her at all costs because the winner is actually punished/hurt/killed. She gets beat up by other players who don’t like her but the MMC is always there to protect her although she doesn’t exactly know that. They have sex in the woods at one point, which the woods are actually underground? There’s supposed to be a sequel coming out but I can’t recall. Think it involves dragons maybe?