Ryan held his waist. Although the pain still lingered, his smile was bright.

  Evelyn had finally disappeared. He no longer needed to hide, no longer needed to live in constant fear.

  "Grimoire, quickly use magical energy to scan. Where exactly are we on the Esoth Continent?"

  After calming down from the ecstatic relief of Evelyn's disappearance, Ryan immediately issued the command to the Grimoire in his mind.

  He knew clearly that the most important thing now was to determine his location and find a safe place to stay.

  【My magical essence is severely depleted. I cannot activate a large-scale scanning function……】

  The Grimoire's voice sounded extremely weak.

  "Damn it!" Ryan slapped his thigh in frustration, which twisted his injured waist. Pain shot through him, and he hissed sharply.

  "Forget it, if not you, I'll do it myself."

  He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his waist, and climbed a tree using both hands and feet.

  Standing on a thick branch, Ryan gazed into the distance. The rolling forests stretched in every direction, appearing temporarily safe.

  Once he confirmed it was safe, Ryan jumped down from the branch and sat on the open ground. He formed complex magical hand seals, preparing to channel Chaosforge Arcana.

  This was a top-tier arcane magic the Grimoire had rewarded him in previous lives. It could refine the body by absorbing surrounding magical elements and even restructure physical constitution.

  It allowed a mage to possess both formidable magical power and physical strength.

  In his eighth life, Ryan had risen from Magic Apprentice to Grand Magus in only a thousand years, thanks to Chaosforge Arcana.

  He had mastered powerful magic, which had given him the courage to seek revenge on Evelyn.

  Unfortunately, he still underestimated Evelyn's strength. That battle ended in a one-sided crushing defeat. Evelyn's ultimate ice magic was like an insurmountable iceberg, and he was like a small boat crashing into it, instantly destroyed.

  Thinking back now, Ryan could not help but mock himself:"I thought I could match her, but it was like an egg hitting a rock. She could crush me with just sixty percent of her strength. I hardly had a chance to strike back."

  As his thoughts drifted, a sudden crackling sound ran through his body, the sign that Chaosforge Arcana had begun to activate.

  The surrounding magical elements seemed summoned, converging into Ryan's body, flowing through his limbs and bones, constantly cleansing and reinforcing his skeleton and muscles.

  According to the Chaosforge Arcana, once a Third-tier Magic Apprentice reached this stage, they could forge their body into the legendary Chaos Body.

  Not only could they resist most low-tier magic, but the speed of absorbing magical elements would also increase significantly.

  As magical elements poured in, the pain in Ryan's waist gradually vanished, replaced by a warm, spreading sensation.

  He could clearly feel his body being continuously strengthened. A faint silver sheen appeared on his skin, a sign that magical elements were condensing on his surface.

  About an hour later, Ryan slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fists. He could feel his strength had at least tripled, and his body had become much lighter.

  "Third-tier Magic Apprentice, succeeded!"

  He stood up from the ground, moved his limbs, and felt no pain at all.

  Then he tried to channel the magical energy in his body and found the absorption speed much faster than before. It seemed this rebirth had enhanced the Chaosforge Arcana's effect more than previous times.

  "Ten thousand years… what has happened on the Esoth Continent? Even a Grand Magus like Evelyn has disappeared."

  Ryan walked along a forest path, scanning his surroundings.

  He was curious to see whether the continent's structure had changed over the past ten thousand years.

  But after running for almost an hour, he still had not left the forest.

  Ryan frowned, muttering to himself:"Is this forest just too vast, or is my magic tier too low, making me run too slowly?"

  At that moment, a rush of wind passed his ear. Ryan reacted instantly, almost instinctively reaching out. His fingertips felt something cold and slick.

  It was a bright green venomous snake, its fangs glinting with a faint purple aura, clearly poisonous.

  He hesitated for nothing. With a swift motion of his wrist, he tore the snake in two. Then, skillfully, he removed its head and tail and began chewing the body.

  Although it was raw and had a strong gamey taste, Ryan did not mind.

  In his eighth life, he had often survived in the wild and was long accustomed to eating like this.

  Moreover, the blood and flesh of beasts contained faint magical energy, which could aid him in mastering Chaosforge Arcana—a kind of alternative enhancement.

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  After finishing the snake, Ryan searched the surroundings but found no other beasts.

  He clicked his tongue in mild disappointment:"I thought I could have a full meal, but it's just this little snake."

  Ryan found a sun-warmed rock and sat down. With a thought, he summoned the Grimoire interface bound to him.

  Magical energy condensed in the air, forming a semi-transparent panel that clearly displayed his current status.

  Ryan

  Magic Tier: Third-tier Magic Apprentice

  Mastered Magic: Chaosforge Arcana

  Held Items: None

  Magical Essence: 0

  Overall Evaluation: A low-level apprentice in the magical world; even the weakest magical beasts can threaten you

  Staring at the pitiful numbers on the panel, Ryan could not help but punch the nearby tree.

  The impact of his fist against the trunk produced a dull sound. His knuckles were slightly reddened, but his frustration did not diminish:

  "Damn that woman Evelyn! If it weren't for her, how could I have fallen to this state? At least she's finally gone."

  He took a deep breath and returned his attention to the Grimoire interface, mentally clicking on the magical shop icon beside him.

  【The magical shop requires magical essence to maintain. Current essence is insufficient; temporarily unavailable.】

  Ryan felt a heavy sinking in his chest. A sense of foreboding rose, and he quickly clicked the other function buttons one by one.

  【The Elemental Lottery function requires 10 points of magical essence to activate. Current essence insufficient; temporarily unavailable.】

  【Magic Refinement function……】

  "What the hell is wrong with this Grimoire!" Ryan snapped, his voice rising several degrees.

  Without these functions, he could survive, but it would be a hundred times harder than in previous lives.

  The basic magic scrolls and elemental potions in the shop, the rare magical tomes that could appear in the lottery—all of these had been the foundation of his survival in past lives.

  【And you dare to complain?】

  【You are currently only a Third-tier Magic Apprentice. Even your most basic elemental perception is unstable.】

  【To help you reconstruct your body, I have already used the last bit of my essence. If I do not disable these high-energy functions, not only will the functions fail, I myself—the Grimoire—will completely dissipate in the magical current!】

  "Alright." Ryan's tone immediately softened.

  He knew well that the Grimoire was telling the truth. If even the Grimoire that had accompanied him through nine lives disappeared, he would truly be alone on the Esoth Continent.

  He also understood that in his eighth life, he had hardly dared to form deep friendships with any mages, for fear of exposing his identity.

  During those years, the only companion who spoke to him, who could lighten his mood, was this occasionally sarcastic Grimoire. Without it, he might have gone mad from loneliness long ago.

  Just as Ryan fell into silence, the Grimoire's voice sounded again:

  【Detected that the host currently has a clear goal (leave the forest), triggering a temporary task: Exit the Misty Forest. Task Reward: One Low-tier Elemental Condensation Potion (accelerates elemental absorption).】

  "Tasks can still be triggered!" Ryan's eyes lit up instantly. His previous frustration vanished.

  A task was exactly what he needed! In his eighth life, his rise from Magic Apprentice to Grand Magus had relied on the various tasks issued by the Grimoire.

  Completing tasks earned magical essence, which he could exchange for elemental potions and magical skill books, gradually building a solid foundation.

  In particular, the Chaosforge Arcana had been obtained from the lottery of an advanced task.

  He still did not know exactly what rank of magical secret art the Chaosforge Arcana belonged to, but it was certainly high.

  After all, it had allowed him to rise from Magic Apprentice to Grand Magus and even withstand an elemental storm during his breakthrough. Few in the Esoth Continent could match that.

  Looking at the Misty Forest on the task panel, Ryan stroked his chin:"So this forest has a name. How have I never heard of it?"

  He recalled that in previous lives, he had never heard of a Misty Forest.

  It seemed that over these ten thousand years, the continent's geography had changed drastically. Perhaps new magical forces had carved out territories.

  "First, let's get out of this forest."

  At the thought that Evelyn might truly be gone, Ryan could not help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward.

  Even the continent's top Grand Magus had perished. Surely, in this final life, he could finally live in peace.

  As the sunset gradually sank below the forest horizon and a purple mist began to spread among the trees, Ryan decided to first find a temporary resting place.

  He had originally planned to search for an abandoned magical outpost. These outposts, once used to monitor magical beasts, usually had reinforced stone walls sufficient to withstand low-level dangers.

  But after searching the forest for more than half an hour, he found no outpost. Instead, in the distance, he glimpsed the uneven silhouettes of wooden houses.

  "A village?" Ryan was somewhat surprised.

  He quickened his pace. As soon as he stepped into the village entrance, his brows furrowed tightly: most of the villagers had sallow faces, bodies so thin it seemed a gust of wind could blow them over, and even the children's faces were completely colorless.

  The women mended tattered linen in simple wooden houses, while the men carried rusted iron pickaxes.

  These were ordinary, unenchantable tools. In the magical world, only the poorest villages used such primitive implements.

  "Could it be a magical plague, or a failed magical harvest?" Ryan wondered, just as a sound of footsteps came from behind.

  "You must be lost, right?"

  Ryan reacted quickly. Almost instinctively, he shifted sideways, his right fist stopping just one centimeter from the newcomer's cheek.

  One more centimeter forward and the few remaining teeth in that mouth would likely have been smashed crooked.

  Standing before him was an old man with white hair, wearing a patched linen robe, and a vine-woven belt around his waist.

  Ryan slowly withdrew his fist and stepped back half a pace."I am indeed lost. I want to know how to get out of this Misty Forest."

  "Get out of the forest?" The white-haired man shook his head."That's impossible. You have to find your own way. The mist in the forest distorts direction. Even the most experienced hunters can easily get lost."

  "Then what use is your rambling?" Ryan rolled his eyes.

  The frustrations of past lives made him especially intolerant of answers that said nothing, and a hint of anger slipped into his tone.

  In the magical world, strength is the only truth. The so-called respect for elders always depends on whether they are powerful enough.

  But the white-haired man seemed not to notice his irritation, still smiling:"Don't worry. You should be grateful you entered our village. If you had stayed in the forest overnight, you probably wouldn't have survived until dawn."

  "Is the forest really that dangerous at night?" Ryan asked.

  "Of course it is." The old man stroked his graying beard, looking mysterious and inscrutable.

  "What exactly is dangerous? Are magical beasts migrating, or are there dark mages hidden in the mist?" Ryan pressed.

  But the old man merely twirled his beard, hesitating, leaving Ryan momentarily speechless.

  Ryan quietly activated his weak magical perception, the most basic function left by Grimoire, allowing him to vaguely sense the magical level and identity tags of others.

  The white-haired man in front of him showed the following identity tag:

  【Name: Barret】

  【Identity: Shrouded Village Village Chief】

  【Magic Tier: First-tier Magic Apprentice】

  He could not even perform the most basic elemental magic and carried no enchanted weapons.

  Barret finally spoke slowly:"Because at night, countless undead creatures and skeletal soldiers crawl out from the land around the village, along with wraiths shrouded in black mist. They attack all living beings."

  After speaking, Barret turned his head slightly, his eyes showing a hint of expectation, clearly waiting for Ryan to ask more.

  But he waited a long time, and Ryan did not react at all.