The magic in Ryan's palm surged into the cloth bundle, and he suddenly hurled this "special weapon" straight at the cave rodent.

  His fingers flicked slightly, and a spell infused with spiritual power was instantly triggered. "Burst Spell!"

  The cloth wrapped around the rodent's droppings exploded with a sharp crack. The surge of magic amplified the blast and glued the filthy contents all over the cave rodent's fur. A foul stench spread through the tunnels in an instant.

  "Smelly rat, taste the power of my filth bomb!" Ryan stood below the creature, hands on his hips, laughing loudly.

  At last, Evelyn understood why he had collected that disgusting material earlier. A flicker of astonishment flashed across her eyes, quickly replaced by helplessness. This boy's ideas were always so ridiculous—yet effective.

  The cave rodent shrieked in rage, its gray fur puffing up as its crimson eyes locked onto Ryan, completely forgetting its instinct to hide.

  With a furious squeal, it leapt down from the ceiling, clearly ready to fight to the death.

  Seeing danger, Ryan immediately turned and darted behind Evelyn, shouting as he ran, "Evelyn! Help me!"

  He grabbed the edge of her sleeve, wearing a look of terrified panic.

  "Let go," Evelyn said coldly. She had always hated anyone touching her clothes.

  Ryan instantly released her, secretly relieved. Fortunately, he let go quickly—otherwise, before the rodent attacked, he would've been frozen solid by one of Evelyn's ice spikes.

  "Evelyn, stop it!"

  He didn't need to say more. Evelyn had already raised the ultimate ice sword.

  Ice energy gathered at its tip, and she dashed forward in a few quick steps, slashing out an ice blade toward the cave rodent.

  Truth be told, she had long grown tired of this annoying creature's constant harassment. She just hadn't expected that Ryan's ridiculous "filth bomb" would finally force it to show itself.

  With its fur matted in foul muck, Evelyn kept her distance, relying solely on long-range ice magic attacks.

  The ultimate ice sword fired shards of frost again and again, each ice blade raining down on the rodent's body with sharp cracking sounds.

  Before long, a thick layer of frost formed over its fur, slowing its movements drastically.

  Realizing it was outmatched, the cave rodent turned and tried to flee into a nearby passage.

  But Ryan was ready. He snatched up a nearby rock, predicted its escape route, and hurled it forward with precision.

  The stone landed perfectly, blocking most of the tunnel entrance and leaving only a small gap just wide enough for the rodent to barely squeeze through.

  But the stubborn creature insisted on forcing its way out. It lunged at the rock and began gnawing furiously, its teeth moving at a shocking speed.

  In mere moments, its head disappeared into the tunnel, but its body was still exposed.

  That was exactly the moment Evelyn had been waiting for. Her fingertip slid swiftly along the ultimate ice sword as she chanted a short incantation: "Frozen Bind!"

  Two thick ice pillars rose instantly from the ground, locking firmly around the rodent's hind legs.

  The cave rodent panicked completely. It twisted around, gnawing frantically at the icy prison.

  But with its weak magic, there was no way it could break through Evelyn's ice spell. All it could do was leave deep, useless tooth marks along the frozen surface.

  Evelyn raised her hand and swung the ultimate ice sword. A sharp blade of ice sliced through the air like moonlight, striking cleanly at the cave rodent's neck.

  The creature's head rolled to the ground while its body remained frozen in the act of gnawing the ice pillar. The crimson in its eyes faded away, leaving only a fixed expression of terror.

  A thin mist of frost lingered around the sword's tip. Evelyn brushed her fingers along the blade, and a burst of cold surged outward.

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  The rodent's blood and filth clinging to the sword instantly froze into tiny ice crystals.

  With a flick of her wrist, they fell away like shimmering dust, leaving the sword once again pristine and white, without a single stain.

  Ryan clapped his hands with enthusiasm, his eyes shining with admiration. "That was incredible! Your ice magic is just so cool!"

  With a bodyguard like her, he hardly needed to spend any magic himself. The only downside was that Evelyn was as cold as the sword she wielded.

  Evelyn ignored his praise and turned toward another tunnel.

  "Evelyn, aren't you going to take the rodent's body?" Ryan hurried after her, pointing at the carcass on the ground.

  The hide could be used to craft low-level magic-resistant cloaks, and the teeth could be made into enchanted daggers. It was valuable material.

  "No," Evelyn replied curtly.

  "Then I will! Wait for me, Evelyn!" Ryan called, afraid she might walk off before he was done.

  Evelyn stopped, puzzled. He really wanted a corpse covered in filth? Still, she waited where she was, silent and composed.

  Ryan ran over to the carcass, carefully avoiding the soiled fur.

  He took out a small knife, cut two sturdy vines, and tied them around the rodent's body, making a makeshift sling before hoisting it onto his shoulder.

  The creature was nearly half the height of a man. Ryan carried it awkwardly, clutching the vines tightly, worried about getting his clothes dirty.

  "By the way, Evelyn," he said suddenly, "could you maybe put this into your magic space ring?"

  He had noticed before that Evelyn kept a ring capable of storing large amounts of items—he had seen her take out scrolls from it—and now he asked with a hopeful tone.

  Evelyn cast him a cold glance, her voice filled with clear disapproval. "Carry it yourself."

  There was no way she would put a filthy dead rodent into a ring that held spellbooks and precious herbs. That would be a desecration of a magic artifact.

  "Alright then!" Ryan sighed, pouting slightly. He adjusted the heavy load on his shoulder and followed close behind her.

  The underground passage occasionally flickered with faintly glowing beetles imbued with weak magic essence, but none were hostile.

  It was clear that within the territory of the cave rodent, no other beasts dared to intrude—unless they were powerful enough to kill it with ease.

  After walking for about half an hour, faint noises began to echo from ahead—muffled voices mixed with the sound of pain and stifled groans.

  Ryan's eyes lit up. He grabbed Evelyn's sleeve excitedly. "Evelyn, this way! The sound came from here!"

  If he could find the hunting team, his mission would be complete.

  He rushed toward the source of the voices, his steps quick and eager, the corpse on his shoulder suddenly feeling lighter.

  At the end of the tunnel, the groans were barely audible—whoever was there must have been keeping quiet, afraid to draw the attention of the cave rodent.

  Ryan slowed down, peeking carefully around the corner. In a small open space at the tunnel's end, more than a dozen people were huddled together.

  Some had arms wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, others had broken rodent spines lodged in their legs—they were clearly in bad shape.

  Just as Ryan took in the scene, a clear voice echoed in his mind:

  【Hunting Team Found. Quest Complete. Reward: Magic Level Advanced to Adept Mage.】

  The magic enhancement granted by the Grimoire did not cause any visible change in Ryan's body.

  The only difference was the flow of magic within him—it felt as though a surge of new power had been infused into his core, expanding his energy reserves to more than double what they were before.

  Carrying the corpse of the cave rodent on his shoulder, Ryan hurried toward the end of the tunnel where the hunting team was gathered.

  Among the group, a woman with a severed arm was biting her lip, suppressing pained groans that escaped in short, trembling breaths. She was clearly the most severely injured of them all.

  "Who are you?"

  As soon as Ryan approached, a middle-aged man clad in leather armor stood up sharply, his hand on the hilt of his short sword, eyes filled with wariness.

  But when he noticed the massive corpse of the cave rodent slung over Ryan's shoulder, his pupils contracted in disbelief.

  He himself was only an Adept Mage—he could barely approach that creature, let alone kill it. And this young man had done exactly that?

  No wonder they hadn't heard the rodent's screeches for the past half hour.

  "I'm a new resident of Shrouded Village," Ryan said, lowering the carcass to the ground and brushing the dust off his clothes. "I came here to find you. It's safe now—let's get out of here quickly."

  At the mention of Shrouded Village, the six members of the hunting team visibly relaxed.

  The middle-aged man took a step forward, his voice filled with urgency. "How is Shrouded Village? We've been trapped down here for days—our food supplies must have run out long ago."

  "I've already taken care of that," Ryan replied. "They still have some monster meat to eat for now."

  The exhausted hunters froze. A few of them covered their mouths as tears welled up, muffled sobs breaking through.

  Most of them were villagers from Shrouded Village, with families—old parents and young children—waiting for them. The thought of their loved ones suffering from hunger twisted their hearts with pain.

  Ryan quickly added, pointing to the cave rodent's body, "The meat of this creature can be eaten once it's properly treated."

  At those words, relief spread across their faces.

  The middle-aged man, clearly the captain of the team, stepped forward and gave Ryan a deep bow.

  His voice trembled with emotion. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, not only would we never make it back, but the people in the village might have also…"

  Before he could finish, soft footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance. Evelyn appeared, walking in with calm, measured grace.

  Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and her cold, beautiful face radiated an almost otherworldly presence that seemed to draw every gaze toward her.

  The men of the hunting team couldn't help staring. For a moment, it was as if a spell had frozen them in place—their eyes locked on Evelyn, unable to look away.

  They were not acting out of disrespect; they had simply never seen a woman who embodied both magical authority and breathtaking beauty in such perfect harmony.

  A few seconds later, they snapped out of it, quickly averting their eyes in embarrassment. Staring so boldly at a woman was, after all, improper.

  "Can you still walk?" Ryan asked, his eyes scanning the group's bloodstained bodies before finally settling on the woman clutching her severed arm.

  "Yes, we can," she replied through gritted teeth.