"Good. Just follow us," Ryan said, turning around with the cave rodent's corpse still slung over his shoulder.

  He jogged to catch up with Evelyn and grinned."Evelyn, how about this: I'll lead the way, and you use your ultimate ice sword to clear the path? Those tunnels blocked by boulders would be much easier to open with your ice magic."

  Before he even finished speaking, Evelyn subtly took half a step back, her expression calm but her eyes revealing a faint trace of distaste.

  Clearly, she just wanted to stay farther away from the stinking rodent.

  "Fine," Evelyn replied.

  And so, the group began their journey back."Leading the way" really just meant retracing the tunnels blocked by the cave rodent's traps.

  The creature had sealed off most of the side paths with heavy boulders, and all Evelyn needed to do was swing her ultimate ice sword. Each strike sent a razor-sharp blade of ice through the rock, shattering it into fragments.

  Before long, they returned to the original entrance of the underground tunnels.

  Ryan looked up at the exit above—it was about seven or eight meters high. For a mage, jumping up that distance wasn't particularly difficult.

  His eyes flicked toward Evelyn, and a cunning idea flashed in his mind."You go up first."

  Evelyn didn't hesitate. She murmured a short incantation, and a soft magical aura enveloped her.

  Her body lifted gracefully off the ground and floated upward until she landed steadily at the opening above.

  The members of the hunting team stared, wide-eyed. She could use magic to fly? That meant her magic rank must be incredibly high. Instantly, their gazes toward her were filled with awe and respect.

  "I'll go up first too. You guys wait a moment before coming up," Ryan said, and before anyone could reply, he pushed off lightly from the ground. His body shot upward like an arrow, landing right beside Evelyn at the tunnel's edge.

  【What exactly are you planning?】 The Grimoire's voice echoed in his mind, curious.

  "Watch and learn," Ryan thought back with a sly grin."If you want to win a beauty's heart, you've got to add a little excitement."

  Just then, on a nearby oak tree, a tree leopard was crouched along a thick branch, its fur blending almost perfectly with the bark. Its emerald eyes sharpened, and the hair along its back bristled into spiky ridges, radiating a dangerous aura.

  With a sudden burst of power, the tree leopard leapt, streaking through the air like a blur straight toward Evelyn, who had just landed.

  Evelyn reacted instantly. The ultimate ice sword flashed into position before her, and icy mist gathered along its edge, forming a gleaming blade ready to strike.

  But before she could act, Ryan suddenly lunged forward, swinging the cave rodent's corpse between her and the oncoming beast.

  "Watch out!" he shouted.

  Evelyn froze for a split second. She could have easily dodged or countered the attack—but with Ryan recklessly throwing himself in front of her, any spell she cast might harm him instead.

  The tree leopard's claws tore through the rodent's body with a sickening rip. Ryan felt a jolt of force shoot through his arm, numbing it instantly, and he had no choice but to drop the carcass.

  The beast snarled, shaking the filth off its claws, its feral gaze locking onto Evelyn once more.

  In its eyes, the woman radiating such powerful magic was the greatest threat—the one that had to be eliminated first.

  Within the tree leopard's keen sense of danger, the surge of high-tier magic from Evelyn's body was the deadliest threat of all.

  The icy aura radiating from her made the beast's instincts scream in fear.

  It no longer paid Ryan any attention. With a single swipe of its paw, it sent him crashing aside, then opened its jaws wide. Dense earth-elemental energy condensed within its mouth, and several barbed vines shot out, lashing straight toward Evelyn.

  But those vines did not hit Evelyn.

  They struck Ryan, who had suddenly thrown himself forward.

  A flicker of confusion flashed in the tree leopard's eyes. It had just swatted this human away—how was he standing again, putting himself between it and the woman?

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The vines slammed into Ryan's back, hurling him toward Evelyn. A deep, bone-revealing gash split open across his back, and blood soaked through his clothes.

  Evelyn's eyes narrowed sharply. Why would he do something so foolish? He knew perfectly well he couldn't defeat the tree leopard, yet he kept charging in front of her again and again.

  As Ryan came flying toward her, Evelyn did not dodge as she normally would.

  Instead, her instincts took over—she reached out and caught him.

  But the moment she touched him, Ryan went limp, his body collapsing against her like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His eyes were closed, his expression slack—clearly pretending to have fainted.

  In Evelyn's arms, Ryan's lips curled ever so slightly where she couldn't see.

  He wasn't unconscious at all. He was simply playing along with his injuries, using them to his advantage.

  He knew Evelyn too well—cold on the outside, but with a softness buried deep beneath that chill. Especially when someone got hurt protecting her—that was when her guard would fall.

  Evelyn carefully lowered Ryan to the ground, then grasped her ultimate ice sword and turned to face the oncoming vines.

  With a swift swing, she unleashed an arc of icy light that severed the vines cleanly. At the same time, frost gathered at her fingertips, racing along the vine stumps and into the tree leopard's open mouth.

  The cold energy exploded inside the beast's jaws, coating its mouth with a thin layer of frost—but it caused no real harm.

  She had expected as much. The tree leopard's defenses were strong; that strike was merely meant to buy time.

  Evelyn flicked her wrist, and a surge of frigid mist burst from the ultimate ice sword.

  She had activated the weapon's stored high-tier magic energy—more than enough to end this fight.

  Sliding two fingers along the tip of her blade, she whispered a short, powerful spell."Extreme Frost Pierce."

  Her figure became a streak of blue lightning, surging forward with her sword aimed straight at the beast.

  The tree leopard felt the air around it suddenly turn glacial, its limbs growing heavy and slow.

  That was the sword's built-in freezing aura, sapping its movements.

  Forced into a direct clash with Evelyn, the tree leopard underestimated the sword's might.

  The instant the blade brushed its fur, a wave of killing frost erupted through its body. In the blink of an eye, the creature froze solid—transformed into a statue of blue ice.

  Evelyn showed no mercy. She drove the sword's tip through its skull, ending its life completely.

  With a flick of her wrist, she stored the ice-sculpted tree leopard into her magic storage ring.

  Its pelt and claws would make fine materials for magical tools—it would be a waste to leave them behind.

  Without a moment's pause, she turned and hurried back to Ryan's side.

  Crouching down, her eyes fell on the deep, bloody wound across his back.

  For the first time, the face that was usually as cold as ancient ice showed something complicated—a mix of concern, confusion, and a faint trace of panic she herself didn't notice.

  Evelyn's fingertips glimmered with soft blue light as she gathered healing magic.

  When her hand touched the wound, gentle frost spread over it. It was her unique ice-healing spell—one that froze the torn flesh to slow bleeding and used the cold to accelerate recovery.

  Ryan lay still on the ground, at first forcing himself to endure the sharp sting of the cold.

  But as the magic sank deeper, the chill became unbearable. His whole body began to tremble.

  The wound went numb; the pain faded, leaving only the bone-deep cold that stiffened his fingers.

  Yet he dared not move a muscle, continuing his act of unconsciousness.

  Inside, however, he was quietly triumphant.

  His little"self-sacrifice" trick had paid off—judging by Evelyn's reaction, she was clearly moved.

  Evelyn watched Ryan trembling all over, her face showing no surprise. Her ice-type healing magic naturally carried a biting chill, and it was normal that he could barely endure it.

  Just then, the members of the hunting squad jumped out from the cave.

  The moment they landed, their eyes were drawn to the scene before them. Ryan lay on the ground, blood still seeping from the deep, bone-revealing wound on his back.

  And that cold, breathtakingly beautiful woman was crouched beside him, magic swirling at her fingertips—clearly casting a healing spell.

  "No wonder Ryan told us to wait a bit. So there really was a fight here!"

  When their gazes fell on Ryan's wound, shock spread across their faces.

  The gash was deep and raw, his torn robe soaked through with blood—just looking at it made their skin crawl.

  Evelyn withdrew the magic from her fingertips and stood up, her voice calm and distant."Carry him back. I still have things to handle."

  Lying face down, Ryan squinted slightly. The moment Evelyn turned away, he opened his eyes quickly and winked at the hunters.

  They understood immediately. Their previously composed expressions changed in an instant, and all of them suddenly spat out blood. Among them, the one-armed woman reacted the most dramatically—she clutched her severed arm, blood spurting from the wound as she screamed,"My arm! It hurts!"

  Evelyn froze in mid-step, her gaze turning icy cold. Did they really think she couldn't tell they were faking it?

  Even if their injuries had truly flared up, there was no way they would all cough up blood at the same time—right after she told them to carry Ryan. Such clumsy acting was practically an insult to her intelligence.

  "If you don't want to carry him, just say so," she said, turning back to face them. Her voice was sharp as frost."He risked his life to save you, and this is how you repay him?"

  Their faces flushed red with embarrassment as they stood awkwardly in place. But Ryan had signaled them to act, and they didn't dare disobey.

  Evelyn gave them no more attention. Inwardly, she thought bitterly, This ungrateful lot—completely useless.

  She crouched down again, reached out, and gently helped Ryan sit up. Then she turned around slowly and let him lean onto her back.

  After all, Ryan had been hurt protecting her. Carrying him for a while was the least she could do.

  Resting against Evelyn's back, Ryan could clearly feel the faint chill radiating from her body. He fought the urge to smile and kept up his weak, dazed act.

  Evelyn glanced coldly at the hunters still standing there. Her voice was like ice."Go back on your own. Don't expect anyone to save you a second time."

  With that, she wasted no more time. Carrying Ryan on her back, she strode quickly toward the edge of the forest.

  Along the way, Evelyn couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This fool… he's hopelessly naive.

  Back where they stood, the hunters exchanged helpless looks.

  One scratched his head and muttered with a wry smile,"Well, that's that. Our image is ruined—for that kid's sake."

  The one-armed woman, still bleeding, gritted her teeth through the pain."The sun's going down. If we don't get back to the village soon, the beasts'll be feasting on us tonight!"