Unlike the Adventurer's Guild in Ethan's memory, the Adventurer's Guild in Moon Forest City is situated atop a giant tree, with a spiral staircase at the stump that leads all the way to the topmost layer of the tree. Above the guild, one can faintly see other structures, and vine bridges are the main means of passage between forest buildings. Looking up, you can see the intricate "streets" among the treetops.

Ethan inquired a resident of Moon Forest City about the location of the inn, which was also situated above the treetops. This is when the advantages of flying creatures come into play.

Miss Keroy flapped her wings and brought the group to a room dozens of meters above the ground. Though it was already late, the city was still bustling.

They were fortunate to book the last available room, and Ethan exchanged some guild points for local currency.

As soon as they returned to the room, a little yellow potato emerged from below the floor and placed the dragon egg on the bed. According to Ethan's observations, this is a unique trait of earth elementals—as long as a surface exists, it can poke its head through without the bizarre scenario where you can see the rest of its body from below.

He suspected it to be some kind of spatial trick, where anything below the neck of the earth elemental doesn't actually exist in the visible space.

But the little yellow potato seemed listless; ever since arriving in this world, the spirits had been in a bit of a slump. Ethan guessed it was related to the unique structure of the realm. Besides Summoners, no other path of Transcendents existed here, and the locals were unaware of any paths beyond their own.

Miss Keroy chirped a couple of times, shaking herself and trying to fluff up her feathers as much as possible. She then retracted her wings and gently wrapped the white giant egg on the bed with the feathers of her belly.

Incubating eggs seems to be an innate ability of birds. Even though Miss Keroy hadn't reached the age to lay eggs, she had already mastered these skills on her own.

She squinted, her whole body radiating the brilliance of her home star.

At this moment, a loud voice burst into the room, a bat no larger than a palm didn't knock, but flew in through the window.

"I've investigated thoroughly. The Royal Capital is recruiting the best Summoners from all over to attend the Crimson Queen's tea party!"

Rowena took a deep breath. "The notice also states that the most powerful Summoner will have a chance to meet the Crimson Queen face-to-face!"

With a name format similar to the King of Gold, their identity is self-evident.

Yoda mentioned that guild administrators rarely interact with each other. Even as the King of Gold's earliest follower, he doesn't know much about the other administrators' identities, but he specifically mentioned the Crimson Queen.

The Crimson Queen seems to have a close personal relationship with the King of Gold. Before the King of Gold set out to conquer Merlin and during this current action, the Crimson Queen had met with him, but what was discussed is unknown to those like them, the "underlings."

This peculiar "rule" of the realm is clearly a gift from the Crimson Queen.

This is the administrators' privilege. They can transform the realm they rule into their desired form—making everyone wear golden masks or turning them into Summoners to participate in an "Ultimate Summoner" tournament.

Nevertheless, from any perspective, a tea party is far better than a war.

Perhaps she is a person of reason.

Ethan recalled a fleeting memory of Song Xian. In the pioneering team, there were two women; one looked like a young college graduate who dared to slack off during a "leaders'" meeting and had talked to him in memory. The other stood at the forefront of the group and never looked back at Song Xian.

"If you win the Summoner Tournament, you will meet the legendary Crimson Queen."

Rowena said excitedly, "Let's go sign up tomorrow. I asked about the rules; a Summoner can bring up to six companions. If we count the little guy yet to hatch, our team is complete!"

She came with a tourist mindset, naturally wanting to engage in any new adventure.

Rowena was quite satisfied with this world, her only regret being that her current form couldn't ride an electric wheelchair. She had to flap her wings alongside Miss Keroy to travel, but it didn't stop her from seizing any opportunity to snuggly settle onto Miss Keroy's back.

Miss Keroy's back feathers are soft and warm, irresistibly so.

"Surely on the way to the Royal Capital, we won't have to collect badges from various places? Gather eight badges to enter the main competition?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

Rowena was stunned. "Is this kind of rule popular among you ancient folks?"

"Sort of."

Ethan's intuition was confirmed, almost solidifying that the Crimson Queen was a Pokémon enthusiast. No wonder the rule of "a blackout" after defeat existed. People in the Pokémon world are all superhumans, capable of surviving and thriving after being hit by 100,000 volts. The leader of the Poacher Gang who was thrown off the treetop by the single-parent dragon mother probably also belonged to this type of "superhuman."

At the same time, somewhere in Moon Forest City.

"What do you mean your magical creature was stolen?"

Inside a grand building within the tree trunk, the speaker was a girl barely over one and a half meters tall with a golden ponytail, holding a riding crop. A white turban-wearing strongman knelt trembling before her, barely daring to breathe.

"His name is Ethan..."

"Where is he from?"

"This... I don't know either."

"You don't know?"

The girl seemed surprised, seeing the turbaned man stutter without a clear explanation. "So you planned to use him from the beginning, intending to kick him out after the loot was split? Little did you expect that he would turn the tables on you all."

"No, no, it's hard to explain."

The man with the turban hung his head, feeling as though he were sitting on pins and needles, aware that his previous words made him sound foolish.

But he never intended to ditch Ethan. If they could bring back the dragon egg and sell it at a good price, Ethan would surely get his share.

However, when the camp was destroyed, he and the other members realized a terrifying truth.

After much hesitation, he eventually confided his discovery to the girl, "...He appeared suddenly."

No one knew where Ethan came from or when he was recruited into the team, but no one ever doubted Ethan's identity. Even before his betrayal, everyone regarded him as a core member of the Poacher Gang, including the turbaned man himself.

It was as if this person was naturally a cadre of their group.

Not until all their magical creatures were taken, and everyone sat amidst the camp's ruins, did they notice something was amiss.

"I suspect it's also a result of the magical creatures around him."

"Interesting that such magical creatures exist."

The girl lowered her head, pondering, "According to what you said, his goal was the dragon egg. After obtaining it, he parted ways with you all."

What is more intriguing is that Ethan broke the long-standing rule of the Summoners.

He can actually seize others' magical creatures.

The bond between magical creatures and humans is unbreakable; once a contract is made, it cannot be severed unless initiated by the magical creature or its owner. This is why, despite the rampant poacher activities in Moon Forest City, incidents of stealing magical creatures from other Summoners rarely, if ever, occur.

"In light of the interesting information you provided, I'll let you off this time."

Whispered the girl.

Since Ethan had come to Moon Forest City, presumably for the Crimson Queen's tea party, they were bound to meet sooner or later.

As for these poachers...

The girl glanced at the turbaned man, who breathed a sigh of relief, "Investigate his background thoroughly, or spend the rest of your life in prison."