Evelyn placed the bowl back on the wooden table, then returned to the haystack in the corner and sat down again.

  "When I was born, I used my spiritual power to sense a group of people trapped somewhere. I don't know if they're the hunting party you're looking for."

  Her words fell into silence. The cabin remained quiet, and Ryan gave no response.

  Evelyn frowned slightly, thinking to herself: It seems I missed the right moment. So be it.

  "Really?"

  Just as Evelyn was about to fall asleep, a voice filled with surprise suddenly broke the stillness.

  The abrupt sound made her open her eyes at once, a flash of irritation in them. She had finally managed to calm her mind, only for Ryan's sudden question to ruin it completely.

  "It's true." Evelyn kept her eyes shut, her teeth clenching slightly."We'll talk about the details tomorrow. I need to rest now."

  Startled by her cold tone, Ryan immediately fell silent, even softening his breathing.

  He secretly felt relieved: Good thing Evelyn is only at the level of a Magic Apprentice right now. If she had her full strength, that anger alone could have frozen me solid.

  He couldn't help but imagine: If Evelyn didn't have her magic defense artifact and the ultimate ice sword with her, maybe I wouldn't need to tread so carefully around her.

  With those fanciful thoughts drifting through his mind, Ryan gradually fell asleep.

  The cabin grew completely quiet again, the chirping of insects outside mingling with the steady rhythm of their breathing through the night.

  At dawn the next morning, Ryan went straight to Aaron's house.

  Before he even reached the door, Emma came out to greet him, her face glowing with joy."Ryan, you're here! Aaron's awake!"

  Ryan followed her inside. The little girl was holding a bowl of porridge, carefully feeding it to Aaron, who was sitting up against the headboard.

  Though Aaron's face was still pale, the light in his eyes had returned. When he saw Ryan, confusion flickered in his gaze as he turned to Emma.

  "This is Ryan—the one who saved you!" Emma quickly explained.

  The moment he heard that, Aaron struggled to rise and offer his thanks, but Ryan stepped forward and pressed him back down."Don't move. You'll make your injuries worse."

  Aaron gave up and leaned back against the headboard, his voice filled with gratitude."Thank you for saving my life! My family will never forget your kindness. If you ever need anything, I won't refuse!"

  "There's no need for such formality," Ryan said with a wave of his hand, cutting straight to the point."I came today to ask about the hunting party. Where did you go on your last mission? What kind of danger did you encounter?"

  At the mention of the hunting party, Aaron's eyes reddened instantly, his voice trembling."I'm afraid they're already dead."

  "Don't jump to conclusions," Ryan reassured him."I'm going there today to rescue them. Just tell me where they were last seen—I'll bring them back."

  Hearing this, hope rekindled in Aaron's eyes as he gripped Ryan's hand tightly.

  Ryan took note of his words and, after bidding farewell to Aaron's family, stepped out of the cabin with a lighter expression, the heaviness from before gone from his face.

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  After leaving Aaron's house, Ryan's first priority was to persuade Evelyn to go with him.

  Since Aaron had left behind tracking marks, all Ryan needed to do was follow them to find the hunting party's trail. That was why he felt so much more at ease now.

  He hurried back to the wooden hut they had stayed in before, only to find it empty. Evelyn was nowhere to be seen.

  A twinge of anxiety hit him, and he immediately rushed toward the Life Tree at the center of the village. Perhaps it could sense where Evelyn had gone.

  Ryan spoke softly to the Life Tree."Do you know where Evelyn went?"

  The branches and leaves swayed gently, and one slender twig pointed toward the east side of the village.

  A smile flickered across Ryan's face. He had already planned to start searching eastward for the marks, and now he could look for Evelyn along the way.

  He couldn't help but think that perhaps the magical bond between him and Evelyn ran deeper than he imagined. Otherwise, how could he always find her so precisely?

  Be it the relentless hunts of their past eight lives or the companionship of this one, the two seemed bound together by the laws of elemental magic, destined to meet no matter what.

  Following the small path east of the village, Ryan ran until he finally spotted a familiar figure in the dense forest.

  In the distance, Evelyn was facing off against a beast with the head of a ram and the body of a horse. The ram's horns glowed faintly with earth-element energy, and its horse-like body was covered in fine scales—clearly an Earth-type beast known as a Ram-headed Charger.

  As Ryan watched, the creature suddenly lowered its head, gathering earth-element energy around its horns before charging fiercely toward Evelyn.

  Evelyn remained calm. With one hand gripping the ultimate ice sword, she stepped back lightly and slid sideways with effortless grace. In a flash, she moved to the beast's flank and brought her sword down in a swift, decisive strike.

  She deliberately restrained her magical output, not releasing the cold energy of the ultimate ice sword. Otherwise, the beast's corpse would have been instantly frozen solid, making it troublesome to deal with afterward.

  The beast's head fell to the ground with a dull thud. Even though Evelyn hadn't released any frost power, a thin layer of ice still formed along the clean edge of the wound.

  That was the natural elemental property of the ultimate ice sword—its frost aura couldn't be completely suppressed.

  "Evelyn, you're amazing!" Ryan exclaimed from the side, clapping his hands in open admiration.

  Evelyn instantly turned toward the sound, the blade of her ultimate ice sword lifting slightly in alert. But when she saw it was Ryan, she relaxed a little."What are you doing here?"

  She raised a hand and took out a magical storage scroll, storing away the beast's body and head. Only after finishing did she walk toward Ryan.

  "I'm looking for the hunting party," Ryan said honestly."Aaron has woken up. He left tracking marks along the route. If we follow them, we can find the trapped members."

  As he spoke, he instinctively took half a step back. The sight of the ultimate ice sword in her hand was too unsettling—he still remembered vividly the times in past lives when that very sword had pierced through him. Keeping some distance was almost reflexive.

  But Evelyn noticed his subtle movement immediately. Her brows furrowed."Are you afraid of me?"

  No sooner had she spoken than the ultimate ice sword in her hand began to tremble faintly. The icy runes along its blade shimmered with cold light, as if subtly urging her to strike at Ryan.

  Ryan instinctively stepped back two more paces, widening the distance between himself and Evelyn.

  His voice carried a trace of urgency."I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of the ultimate ice sword in your hand. Just now, it felt like it was about to attack me!"

  Evelyn lowered her gaze to the sword, confusion flickering in her eyes. Could there really be some kind of unknown elemental connection between this sword and Ryan?

  Unfortunately, the ultimate ice sword could only transmit faint emotional fluctuations at its current state; it couldn't form a coherent consciousness.

  To fully lift its seal, she would need to restore her magic level to a higher rank. Only then would the ultimate ice sword release itself from its restraints.

  Ryan's tone softened, carrying a hint of pleading."Evelyn, will you come with me to find the hunting party? If we wait any longer, it might really be too late to save them."

  Evelyn simply shook her head, her voice firm."I'm not going."

  To her, the fate of the hunting party had nothing to do with her. There was no reason to waste her time on people unrelated to her goals.

  At that moment, her magic level had recovered to that of a Ninth-tier Magic Apprentice. Her top priority was to break through to the rank of Adept Mage.

  That was the true starting point of the magical world. Only by reaching Adept Mage could one stably control elemental energy and cast more complex spells.

  The rank of Adept Mage was the first true threshold in magic. Many spent their entire lives unable to reach it, doomed to remain low-level apprentices.

  The reward for the Grimoire's mission clearly stated that completing the task would allow him to advance directly to Adept Mage.

  It would save him months of study and training in magical theory. That was what Ryan valued the most.

  Ryan quickly added,"The villagers are kind people. If we can save the hunting party, they'll surely be grateful to you."