"Baby, baby, baby, oh~"

  A sweet, clear voice rang out, the melody familiar. Was the newcomer signaling to Ryan?

  Moreover, she deliberately lowered her voice, her breathing tense, clearly afraid of being discovered.

  Ryan was completely stunned. What the hell, wasn't this a song from Earth? How could it reach this magical world?

  In an instant, he became certain: this person was definitely a fellow traveler from Earth!

  But Ryan did not move at all, still maintaining his vacant-eyed expression, curious to see what this fellow traveler intended.

  In the core area of Glacial Arcana Academy, she should not dare act recklessly. Otherwise, never mind achieving her goal, surviving and leaving this area at all would be uncertain.

  Even so, Ryan quietly clenched two magical items: the Card of Supreme Luck and the Random Magic Weapon Borrowing Card.

  If the other party made any sudden move, he would immediately activate both and be ready to respond.

  "Aren't you a traveler like me?" The sweet voice carried a hint of puzzlement. The newcomer tiptoed closer to the bed, slowly approaching Ryan.

  As soon as she saw Ryan's eyes clearly, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively held her breath. He wasn't asleep at all!

  No, wait. When she looked again carefully, she realized the person on the bed had unfocused pupils, vacant eyes, like a puppet without a soul, or a lifeless statue.

  【Name: Sally】

  【Identity: Divine Maiden of Glacial Arcana Academy / Traveler】

  【Magic Level: Ninth-tier Arcane Mage】

  【Magic Weapon: Frost Spirit Ice Lance】

  The Divine Maiden of Glacial Arcana Academy was also a traveler?

  "She has even risen to the position of Divine Maiden in the academy. Are you sure she doesn't have a Grimoire?"

  Ryan looked at the information projected by Grimoire and could not help but exclaim inwardly.

  【No Grimoire detected. She may be a soul traveler, or perhaps bound to another type of inheritance.】

  Soul traveler? Ryan immediately realized. This kind of travel was common: usually after the original host's death, a soul from Earth occupied the body.

  Two soft calls pulled Ryan's thoughts back to reality, yet he still did not move, wanting to see what this fellow traveler Divine Maiden would do.

  "Is he dumb or what?" Sally muttered, waving her slender fingers lightly in front of Ryan's eyes. Seeing that his gaze remained vacant, with no sign of focus, she murmured to herself,

  "No wonder I couldn't find him after seeing him a few days ago. So this is what he's turned into."

  "Finally encountered someone who might be a traveler, but he's gone dumb."

  She clicked her tongue twice, her tone full of regret, mixed with a bit of gossipy curiosity.

  "You're not some magic cauldron the Headmistress brought back, are you? The kind used to assist her in cultivating magic?"

  Half-question, half-mutter, she spoke without noticing the vacant Ryan on the bed. In her mind, chaos had already begun to swirl.

  This Divine Maiden of the academy obviously had her head full of absurd, melodramatic ideas!

  Though her figure was graceful and, in the soft light, her face stunningly beautiful, Ryan truly wanted to slap her across the room.

  What cauldron! I am her future husband.

  Sally waited a moment longer, but seeing that Ryan still showed no reaction, she could only reluctantly activate the stealth magic scroll on her person. Her figure instantly merged with the shadows and silently slipped away.

  She dared not linger here, fearing that Evelyn might detect her presence.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "She's completely intent on reconnecting with me," Ryan thought to himself with a quiet chuckle.

  【Most soul travelers of this type, after occupying their host's body, have not experienced the brutal conflicts of the magical world. They retain a certain innocence and have not endured harsh beatings.】

  Ryan did not argue. If it were not so, he would not have personally dealt with so many reckless travelers and reincarnators over the years who, taking advantage of their travel abilities, acted without restraint.

  Night grew deeper, silence blanketed the surroundings. Ryan was preparing to maintain his vacant-eyed pretense and nap when the door suddenly opened.

  This time it was Evelyn. She wore a white magical robe, its hem dusted with fine snowflakes.

  In the light, she looked like an elf sculpted from ice and snow, coldly beautiful, exuding an aura that kept others at a distance.

  As soon as Evelyn stepped inside, her nose caught a trace of something unusual. Her heart tightened, and she quickly moved to the bed.

  Seeing Ryan lying there unharmed, with no abnormal signs on him, her tense heart eased slightly.

  "Who came by?" Evelyn asked, her brows furrowed slightly, her cold voice echoing through the room, as if questioning Ryan, yet also as if talking to herself.

  She had only been gone for an hour, yet the room carried a lingering, unfamiliar magical aura. Someone had definitely been here.

  Moreover, the aura carried clear feminine magical fluctuations. Though deliberately concealed, it had not escaped her perception.

  To silently intrude into her room, the person's strength could not be ordinary.

  She must identify them quickly to prevent further trouble, Evelyn thought, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

  After confirming there was nothing else unusual in the room, Evelyn walked to a chair and sat down, seemingly lost in thought.

  After a moment, she flipped her palm, and a Clockwork Doll appeared in her hand.

  The doll's girl face still bore a frosty expression, cute yet radiating a distant chill;

  the boy face had unfocused, vacant eyes, a dull expression identical to the current state of Ryan.

  Evelyn was momentarily stunned, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.

  She had not expected the Clockwork Doll to synchronize with Ryan's state. This remarkable property made the tool's value even greater.

  She had read in academy books that there was a special method to awaken someone whose spirit had been injured or who had fallen into a stupor:

  take out a magical tool the person cherished, or speak words that could touch their soul.

  Ryan had once said that this Clockwork Doll could summon him at any time. At the time, she had dismissed it as a joke, but now it seemed there might be some truth to it.

  Holding the Clockwork Doll, Evelyn stepped lightly to the bedside, her gaze resting on Ryan's face.

  Ryan felt puzzled, unable to guess her intention, and continued to maintain his vacant state, silently waiting.

  Evelyn shook the Clockwork Doll gently, imbuing it with faint magical fluctuations. Ryan immediately felt a slight tremor deep within his soul.

  She intended to use the Clockwork Doll to wake him?

  Ryan's mind stirred. He had been pretending for so long that he was indeed getting a bit tired. Perhaps this was the best moment to awaken.

  His tightly closed eyes twitched slightly, subtle enough to be caught precisely by Evelyn.

  It worked! Evelyn's heart leapt with joy, and she increased the speed of shaking the Clockwork Doll. The magical fluctuations grew stronger, surging directly into Ryan's spiritual sea.

  The sound waves of magic relentlessly swept through Ryan's spiritual sea. His eyelids twitched more violently, and with each flutter of his lashes, signs of awakening began to show.

  Ryan suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently, like a drowning man just dragged ashore. He took a sharp, deep breath of the faintly magical air, then exhaled several times in rapid succession, each breath perfectly mimicking someone gasping for life.

  "Where… is this?" He looked around the room in confusion, his gaze empty and unfocused, completely embodying the dazed expression of someone who had lost their memory.

  When his eyes finally settled on Evelyn, his entire body froze. His Adam's apple moved slightly, and after a long moment, he slowly spoke:"Goddess."

  Evelyn still held the Clockwork Doll in her hand, its movement long since stopped.

  "Who are you?" Ryan's gaze was filled with pure bewilderment, staring straight at Evelyn, as if the stunning woman before him were a complete stranger he had never met.

  To avoid Evelyn probing the storage ring for the whereabouts of his items or uncovering details from his time in a lost-soul state, he decisively chose to feign amnesia.

  As long as he completely"forgot" his past, she would have no grounds to question him and could not expose any of his weaknesses.

  Evelyn furrowed her delicate brows, staring at the seemingly amnesiac Ryan, her doubts growing stronger.

  No, he is definitely pretending! This thought surged immediately in her mind, a flash of coldness appearing in her eyes.

  His schemes were endless, always capable of effortlessly stirring her emotions.

  Evelyn felt a throbbing headache. She had lived nearly ten thousand years, witnessed countless magical conflicts, and observed the deceit and treachery of countless human hearts.

  As the Headmistress of Glacial Arcana Academy, she could not even discern the truth of a Senior Mage's state how ironic.

  Yet he had indeed been forcibly probed by the three elders' spiritual scans and had remained in a dazed state for several days. By all logic, there should have been no pretense.

  As for using soul-searching magic again, Evelyn had not even entertained the thought.

  Unless it involved information critical to the academy's survival, she would never lightly use such forbidden magic.

  Soul-searching not only consumes a massive amount of one's own magical power, but also inflicts irreversible damage on the subject's spiritual sea.

  Even slight carelessness could reduce them to a powerless shell, incapable of wielding magic ever again.

  "Still pretending?" Evelyn's words carried a sharp magical pressure, sweeping directly toward Ryan.

  Startled by the sudden chill, Ryan froze entirely. Confusion and displeasure immediately appeared on his face as he furrowed his brows and asked,

  "What am I pretending?" His gaze was clear yet puzzled, questioning why Evelyn would speak such nonsense, his act flawless.

  "You… don't remember me?" Evelyn looked into his eyes, seeing only pure confusion, not a trace of pretense. Her suspicion wavered again.

  Though her reason reminded her this could be a trick, for some reason, seeing him look at her with completely unfamiliar eyes stirred an inexplicable ache in her heart, a sourness that words could hardly describe.