I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

On the evening of the fourth day of being trapped in the Flower Sea Mountains, Amy began to seriously consider whether she would ever be able to eat a normal vegetable again in her life.

She sat cross-legged on the edge of the camp, with a huge patch of petals spread out in front of her, petals she had cut from the wildly growing flowers.

The petals are thick and juicy. One bite is a little sweet, but chewing them a little too much makes them a bit astringent. After swallowing them, you will feel a strange sense of fullness in your stomach.

She's been eating this stuff for three days now.

"Logically speaking, I should be used to it by now. I'm an S-rank adventurer, and I've experienced far worse wilderness survival than this. I've gnawed on tree bark in the northern snowfields and drunk my own—well, let's not talk about that."

She tore off a small piece of the petal, threw it into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"Sister, are you talking to yourself?" a voice came from behind.

Amy remained unfazed. "I'm talking to this petal; it's provoking me."

Lila tilted her head, carefully examining the petal in front of her, then looked at Amy:

"It doesn't look like it can talk."

"It's cunning; it hides its sounds in its scent. You see it so calm, but it's actually laughing at me in its heart."

After Amy finished speaking, she realized it was a bit far-fetched. She sighed, threw the petals back onto the stone in front of her, and said, "Never mind, I probably really was hallucinating, like I ate a poisonous mushroom."

She stood up, stretched her stiff shoulders, and glanced around at the campsite shrouded in vines.

The sky was still dark, and the shadows of the vines moved slowly in the twilight as if they were alive.

The sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance. The water level of the mountain stream from which they drew water every day had not dropped, indicating that the underground water source of the mountain range had not been affected.

It's a pity there are no fish in the water.

Marcus Aurelius was building a makeshift stove with stones at the other end of the camp, while his wife was folding a few washed flower petals and wrapping them in a clean cloth.

Several of Aurelius's ponies, which pulled his carriage, were eating the huge flower stems with great relish.

These horses are there as an emergency food reserve, since no one knows when they will be able to escape.

Amy withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes, and tried to sense the flow of magical energy around her.

There was nothing there.

She confirmed this disheartening fact once again.

The free magical energy in the air seemed to have been sucked out by something, leaving not a single drop.

She still had a little magic power left in her magic circuits, and a few magic crystals in her pocket as spares, but even a simplified version of a forbidden spell, down to its core structure, wouldn't be enough to unleash a forbidden spell.

"I used to think that forbidden spells were troublesome and useless, and I never needed them. Now that I want to use them, I can't cast them."

Lila stood up, dusted off her hands, walked over to Amy, looked up at her, and asked earnestly, "Sister, are you talking to yourself again?"

“No,” Amy looked down at her, “I’m talking about this absolutely terrible situation. It’s worse than that petal; it doesn’t even have a taste, it’s just pure…awful.”

Lila nodded, seemingly understanding, and offered words of comfort:

"But I believe that Brother Ji Tian will definitely come back to save us."

Amy asked in confusion, "Is he a hero?"

Lila nodded: "Yes, it's the Hero."

"Why does this name sound familiar? I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. Oh well, I must be hallucinating from eating too many flowers."

……

The following afternoon.

Ian was traveling incognito, arriving with only two attendants and without even a sword.

He dismounted at the gate of the manor, where the steward and servants bowed to greet him.

"Your Highness, please come in."

Ian handed the reins to his attendant, his gaze falling on the butler. "No need for formalities. Has everything been investigated regarding last night?"

Last night, he was busy dealing with sending people to Evan's side to assist him when he suddenly received news that the guests at the manor had been poisoned by assassins. Fortunately, the guests themselves discovered the abnormality.

The message was sent by the butler, who felt like the sky had fallen when he learned that the guest said, "Dinner has been poisoned, please make another one."

Fortunately, the guest seemed very kind and did not seem to want to pursue the matter, which relieved the guest, who then quickly reported to the eldest prince.

The steward bowed even lower: "Your Highness, it seems the guests have already investigated the matter themselves."

Ian raised an eyebrow, surprised that Mia's friends included someone skilled in investigation.

"Take me there."

The butler quickly stepped aside and led him through the porch into the main hall of the building.

Inside the main hall, a young man named Ji Tian was sitting at the table playing a game of black and white chess with Mia. He was focused and serious, while even the seemingly lively girl remained silent.

Ian stood in the doorway, his gaze falling on the bound bat sprite on the table, guessing that it was most likely the assassin from last night.

Finally, Mia put down the chess piece and sighed softly:

"I lost again."

Thank goodness, Mia displayed amazing talent after learning the rules of Go, advancing rapidly and defeating Ophelia and Elena in succession, although it was partly due to her opponents being distracted.

After winning several rounds in a row, Mia's confidence soared, and she directly challenged Ji Tian. Unfortunately, every time she thought she was going to win, her opponent would easily turn the tables on her.

Ji Tian waved his hand, then looked at the eldest prince who had just arrived. Ian spoke up at the opportune moment:

"I've heard about what happened last night. Thankfully, nothing serious happened, otherwise I, as the host, would have been truly to blame."

"It's alright, I'll leave this fairy to you. The mastermind behind it is most likely the second prince."

Ian understood immediately. "Indeed, it's one of my two younger brothers. You may not know, but when I left this world in an accident twenty years ago, I had six younger brothers and one younger sister. Now there are only two left."

Ji Tian wasn't interested in this "chicken dinner" style of succession struggle, and waved his hand, saying:

"Then I'll leave this matter to you."

"Thank you. I will handle this matter thoroughly and ensure that what happened last night does not happen again."

Mia asked directly:

"Where are Evan and Dean? Did something happen to them?"

"..."

"Could they all be dead? Where did they meet with that accident? I promised Amy I'd find them."

Ian sighed, deciding to tell part of the truth:

"A conflict broke out between Evan and Dean."

"Aren't they teammates? Why—"

"It was Dean who suddenly attacked, stabbing Evan in the abdomen with a short blade. If Evan hadn't reacted quickly and been tough enough, that stab would have killed him."

Mia was speechless for a moment.

"...Where is Dean now?"

"He was frozen. Evan didn't kill him. I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but it's the fact I can tell you right now."