Evelyn's eyes carried a trace of doubt. Could someone really make fire out of nothing but a stick and a piece of wood?

  Ryan's arms moved faster and faster as he drilled the stick. The surface began to blacken, and after a few minutes, a faint spark appeared.

  He quickly dropped the spark onto the pile of dry grass he had prepared and blew on it gently. Watching the tiny flame grow, he lifted the burning bundle excitedly and waved it toward Evelyn."Evelyn, look! The fire's alive!"

  A flicker of astonishment crossed Evelyn's eyes. It was the first time she had ever seen someone make fire without magic or tools—just sheer effort.

  When the campfire grew stronger, Ryan grabbed a pair of damp shorts and hurried behind a thick tree. He quickly changed out of the wet ones from earlier when he'd gone into the river to catch fish.

  "Evelyn, why are you looking at me like that?" Ryan asked as he stepped back out from behind the tree, meeting her odd gaze. He touched his cheek, puzzled."Do I have soot on my face or something?"

  Only when he walked back to where he had left his pack did he realize why Evelyn had looked at him that way.

  The bundle had somehow come loose. A few potion bottles had rolled out onto the grass, their labels clearly visible—Limb Softening Potion, Magic Excitement Potion.

  They were the potions he had won from the Grimoire.

  "If I say I just found these in the forest, would you believe me?" Ryan rushed over and stuffed the potions back into the pack, tying it up again with vines. His heart was pounding hard.

  Damn it. If Evelyn thought he'd planned to use those potions on her, all the goodwill he'd built up would be gone.

  He had actually wanted to throw them away long ago, but first, they'd cost Magic Origin Value to draw from the Grimoire—it felt like a waste. Second, he'd thought maybe one day he could use them to deal with someone unpleasant. So he had kept them. He hadn't expected them to be exposed like this.

  To his surprise, Evelyn merely gave a soft"hmm" in response. She neither questioned him nor showed disgust, as if she had only seen a few ordinary herbal concoctions.

  But Ryan knew better. There was no way Evelyn couldn't recognize a Limb Softening Potion. She was simply choosing to ignore it.

  Both of them tacitly pretended nothing had happened. Evelyn leaned against the tree trunk, her gaze fixed on the flickering flames, silent.

  Ryan crouched by the fire, skewered the cleaned fish onto a branch, and began roasting it.

  The oil dripped from the flesh, sizzling as it hit the fire, sending up tiny sparks. A faint magical fragrance spread through the air, softening the awkward tension that had hung between them.

  "Here, eat." Ryan offered the golden, crispy fish to Evelyn.

  "I'm not hungry." Evelyn turned her head away.

  After seeing the Limb Softening Potion, a knot of unease lingered in her heart. She couldn't help but worry that Ryan might have tampered with the food.

  Ryan sighed helplessly, shaking the fish in his hand."Evelyn, those potions weren't meant for you. If you keep skipping meals, your magic recovery will slow down even more."

  With every word he said, Evelyn's expression grew a little colder.

  Evelyn stared at the roasted fish in Ryan's hand, unsure whether Limb Softening Potion had been secretly added.

  "Why are you carrying these Limb Softening Potions? Are you planning to poison someone?" Evelyn's gaze locked tightly onto Ryan's eyes.

  Carrying such potions clearly suggested targeting a woman, and in the forest right now, besides her, there was no other female.

  Ryan was about to reply casually,"There's a beauty right in front of me, and I'd still use it to harm someone else…"

  He immediately clamped his mouth shut, wishing he could slap himself. That sounded way too easily misinterpreted!

  Seeing his flustered expression, Evelyn's wariness grew, but considering she couldn't even stand, her tone softened in the end."You eat it yourself. I'm not hungry."

  She really didn't dare take the risk. If Ryan truly meant her harm, there was no way she could resist in her current state.

  "You really won't eat?" Ryan asked.

  Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly broke the silence. It was Evelyn's stomach growling.

  The atmosphere instantly became awkward. Evelyn quickly closed her eyes, wishing she could just peel that disobedient stomach out of her body.

  Ryan stifled a laugh and deliberately leaned closer, almost pressing his face against her ear. He spoke slowly,"You really… aren't hungry?"

  The warm breath brushed against her ear. Evelyn jerked her head sharply as if burned."Don't come near me!"

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  Seeing the teasing in Ryan's eyes, her heart inexplicably raced. Could this idiot really be planning to do something to her?

  "If you won't eat, then I'll have to…" Ryan continued in a playful tone, his face wearing a mischievous,"you know what I mean" expression.

  He suddenly dropped the playful act, stood up holding the roasted fish, and said,"Evelyn, look at you now. Do I even need Limb Softening Potion? If I truly had bad intentions, wouldn't it be far more exciting to just act?"

  Indeed, she couldn't even cast a basic spell now. If Ryan really wanted to do anything, he wouldn't need any potions.

  She instinctively imagined Ryan tearing her robe while she struggled helplessly, and her cheeks instantly burned crimson.

  Ryan noticed her flushed face and understood perfectly. He deliberately acted dejected, turning toward the campfire."Since you don't trust me, I won't force it. Once your magic is fully restored, I'll leave. We'll never meet again…"

  His voice carried a hint of grievance, like a student wrongly scolded by a teacher, on the verge of tears.

  "I'll eat…"

  A soft voice suddenly came from behind.

  Evelyn bit her lip, ultimately surrendering to hunger and Ryan's pitiful look. Perhaps she had overthought it—Ryan really just wanted her to eat something.

  "Evelyn, you finally trust me?" Ryan's earlier grievance vanished instantly.

  Evelyn couldn't even lift her hands now; she truly needed his care.

  He crouched down, holding the still-warm roasted fish to her lips, his voice softening naturally."It's freshly cooked, still hot."

  Evelyn gently pursed her lips and took a small bite. The warm meat melted in her mouth, easing a bit of her hunger.

  Seeing her obediently eating, Ryan felt an unexpected sense of accomplishment.

  "Too bad I don't have salt crystals or chili powder, this fish would taste even better," Ryan murmured as he fed her.

  "I'm full," Evelyn softly turned her head, avoiding the fish he offered.

  Ryan held up the half-eaten fish in confusion."Why not finish it? It's only half gone. Is your stomach really that small?"

  "Full," Evelyn closed her eyes, offering no further explanation.

  "Alright then," Ryan didn't insist. He picked up the remaining fish and started eating it himself.

  He had expected Evelyn to scold him, but even after he finished, not a single word of reproach came.

  "Did she fall asleep?" Ryan glanced over and noticed that Evelyn had already closed her eyes, breathing steadily, clearly in deep sleep.

  He added more dry branches to the fire and sat down to meditate.

  Just as he was about to enter a meditative state, the Grimoire notification sound suddenly rang in his mind.

  【Temporary Task Triggered: Wake Evelyn and help her return to sleep. Task reward: 50 Magic Origin Value.】

  Ryan blinked, utterly confused. What kind of logic was this Grimoire running on? Waking someone who just fell asleep only to make them sleep again? This seemed pointless.

  What he didn't know was that Evelyn was currently in crisis. In her mental domain, the Frozen Crown Staff emitted a blinding blood-red glow, violently striking against her mental barrier.

  The cost of forcibly activating this epic-level artifact was far greater than she imagined. The backlash of the Frozen Crown Staff was pulling her consciousness from reality back into the mental domain, leaving her unconscious.

  The ultimate ice sword hovered within her mental domain, continuously countering the blood-red impact.

  As a sealed legendary weapon, it was already remarkable that it could resist a fully activated Frozen Crown Staff.

  If the ultimate ice sword were unsealed, a single strike could shatter the Frozen Crown Staff. But doing so would unleash the legendary weapon's full power, enough to crush even low-level creatures near the forest.

  This was the extreme nature of a legendary weapon: unsealed, it is like any ordinary magical weapon; unsealed, it possesses world-shattering power.

  Ryan hesitated for a moment but ultimately could not resist the temptation of 50 Origin Value points.

  He reached out and gently tapped Evelyn's cheek."Evelyn, wake up!"

  After all, she couldn't move at all, and even if awakened, she couldn't do anything to him.

  But after several taps, Evelyn still didn't respond. Her breathing was even steadier than before.

  Ryan looked at Evelyn, still completely unresponsive, and suddenly realized this Grimoire task was clearly not that simple. Just tapping her face or knocking on her forehead wouldn't wake her—he would need a more intense method.

  He first gently pinched Evelyn's nose. When she didn't react, he lightly tapped her cheeks with his fingertips, and finally even tapped her forehead with his knuckles.

  "That idiot!" Evelyn's tiny conscious avatar in the magical mental realm muttered under her breath.

  She could clearly sense every move Ryan made from the outside, and the touch from his fingers made her feel both embarrassed and helpless.

  At that moment, the Frozen Crown Staff emitted another blinding red glow, its overwhelming force crashing toward her.

  Evelyn ignored the external interference and gripped the ultimate ice sword she had conjured with her consciousness, forcing herself to withstand the impact of the Frozen Crown Staff.

  She couldn't normally concentrate her consciousness into the mental realm—this was the backlash of the Frozen Crown Staff forcibly pulling her in. In a sense, this backlash was actually helping her. If she could hold out, she might even surpass her previous magic level.

  But as she struggled with the Frozen Crown Staff, she suddenly felt a faint itch at her ankle.

  No doubt, Ryan was causing trouble from outside. Evelyn cursed inwardly but had no choice but to grit her teeth and pour more magical energy into resisting the Frozen Crown Staff.

  "Damn it!" Seeing the red glow of the Frozen Crown Staff intensify, Evelyn finally stopped hesitating.

  With a flick of her consciousness, a figure wrapped in black magical cloth shot out—it was the corpse of the Grand Magus, now made into a puppet under her control.

  The puppet slowly raised its right hand, a ball of magic forming in its palm, and struck the Frozen Crown Staff with full force.

  The impact made the entire magical mental realm shake violently. Evelyn's conscious avatar dimmed slightly from controlling the puppet, almost dispersing.

  But the effect was immediately obvious. The red glow of the Frozen Crown Staff shattered and retreated to a corner of the domain like a scolded child, no longer daring to act recklessly.

  Outside, Ryan was scratching Evelyn's ankle when he suddenly noticed her toes twitch slightly—she was responding!

  He quickly stopped, hurried to put the shoes back on her feet, and tidied the Shadow Silk Stockings wrapped around her legs. These were rare items he had painstakingly obtained from the Grimoire lottery and could not be discovered.

  "Awake? I thought you'd fallen into a coma," Ryan said, putting on a serious expression. If Evelyn hadn't sensed the movements from outside, she might have thought he was simply trying to wake her.

  Evelyn wanted to snap at him, but the words caught in her throat. Her magic hadn't yet recovered, and for the next few days she would still need Ryan's care.

  Ryan feigned a hurt expression."I just saw you weren't waking up and worried you might be in danger, so I tried to wake you."

  "I'm fine!" Evelyn took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and ignored him, though her ears quietly flushed red.

  The sensation of Ryan scratching her ankle and the faint friction had inexplicably quickened her heartbeat.

  At that moment, the Grimoire notification sounded in Ryan's mind.

  【Temporary Task"Wake Evelyn and help her return to sleep" completed. Reward: 50 Magic Origin Value.】