The difference between chivalry and stupidity is too thin.

Some people craft their own codes and start acting like they're knights-in-the-making.

You decide to punish yourself to a near-death experience just because you were powerless and helpless for them, yeah, that is the peak stage of chivalric stupidity.

I mean, if you feel weak or helpless, become strong.

There's no need for tears, and definitely no need to turn your body into a punching bag for guilt.

Why bother crying about it? Or trying to punish your body about it?

Guilt is a strong emotion, but most people don't understand its essence. It's not meant to punish you. It's meant to teach you... To stop you from repeating the same mistakes.

But most stupid people interpret it differently. They let it hijack their brain and steer straight into idiotic decisions dressed up as redemption.

And that was the exact point I have been trying to explain to this stupid crimson bear for the last half an hour.

"I understand, my liege."

Finally, this dumb bear understood.

I mean, obviously, I definitely wouldn't want someone I've invested so much in to go off and die because of some glorified emotional parasite like guilt.

Now, sure, if he wants to take a bullet for me because I can't dodge in time? Go ahead. No complaints.

You can be a meat shield for me anytime I am not able to protect myself.

But guilt?

Bro, be serious. Since when did we even start taking that bitch seriously?

Guilt's like a blind date your friends set you up with—talks too much, makes everything awkward, and leaves you wondering why you even showed up.

Honestly, I would rather fake my own death than have a coffee with her again.

And I would prefer it if my subordinates saw it the same way as well.

I looked at Bearlo again.

"Listen up, Bearlo, because I won't say it twice." I said, looking him straight in the eyes. "You are my subordinate, so act like a damn one."

"Next time something like this happens, take the damn potion. Because if you're too injured to move, how the hell are you supposed to protect me?"

A flicker of guilt crossed Bearlo's eyes again.

But this time, he got the point. I could see the subtle shift in his expression.

He understood.

And that somehow pissed me off even more.

This bastard was trying to play chivalrous knight while I was lying here unconscious in a damn cave.

What if something else had shown up after those goblins?

What if I'd taken longer to wake up?

Bearlo would've died. That much was certain.

But I wouldn't have been spared either.

And all because of some self-inflicted redemption arc no one asked for.

"I am sorry, my liege."

He apologised.

"It's good as long as you know." I replied. "And if you want to protect me, just grow stronger."

…like a meat shield is supposed to be.

I didn't say the second part aloud.

I mean, I am a benevolent person, after all.

Bearlo nodded with determination.

With that, I started thinking about my next step.

It had already been a few hours since I woke up from my little post-battle nap.

Bearlo was fully healed, surprisingly quiet now, like a bear trying not to piss off his boss again.

But more importantly…

I had been unconscious for nearly twenty hours… or at least that's what Bearlo had said.

No wonder those goblins found us so fast. The forest must've shifted again, moving this cave somewhere closer to a wandering goblin herd.

That's the thing about this place, it reshapes itself every night like some twisted organic maze.

Keeping track of your position was almost impossible.

Which is why no one has ever made a reliable map of this godforsaken forest.

Not that it would've helped much anyway.

In any case, my next goal was to find the entrance to the second layer.

Now, some sane people might imagine some cursed forest entrance glowing ominously or crackling with dark energy, maybe a fancy magic gate, right?

Yeah, no.

This place doesn't play by most of the convenient fantasy tropes.

And of course, the Great Sadist himself, Noah Verdant, made damn sure of that.

A normal entrance? Where you just walk in and—boom—second layer?

Hell no.

That bastard was way too pleased with himself for that.

I still remember the maniacal grin on his face when he revealed how to get in.

Noah had always been a weirdo. Genius, sure, but the type who makes you rethink your life choices after spending five minutes with him.

But that day? That day was the first time he genuinely gave me chills.

"You see, Rael," he had said, eyes shining with that twisted excitement, "to enter the second layer, a person has to be… gulped by a hideously ugly monster…."

"There are few other ways, but this one is the most efficient and easy one."

I had just stared at him with my mouth open, holding back countless profanities.

Who the fuck even comes up with that!?

And more importantly, getting eaten by a monster was easiest… What kind of horror was there at the other entrance?

I had asked him back then, very politely, of course.

"What kind of shitty logic is that?"

Being the chaotic bastard he was, he had answers to almost all of the questions about the story.

He had said. "The second layer is not just forest, Rael… It's a trial ground. There are quite a few divine artifacts there, waiting for the perfect heir."

"And that monster is the guardian in charge of bringing the worthy successors."

That was what he said back then, with a smile, no less.

I had dismissed it as complete bullshit.

I mean, why the hell would there be countless divine artifacts in some random beginner forest where no one above D-rank could even enter?

It seemed illogical to me.

So, I just shrugged it off as a plot device, something to give the protagonist his broken cheat-code weapon.

A weapon called the Sword of Chaos.

It was called a sword, but it was, in fact, a weapon capable of shifting into various bladed forms.

A divine-ranked growth-type artifact that grows with the user and is soul bound. The full protagonist package.

But now that I am here…

It doesn't feel illogical anymore.

From everything I gathered so far, this forest wasn't just cursed, it was a place where literal gods had fought and died.

The ground was soaked in their blood.

And even as gods, it seems, didn't wish to vanish without leaving behind a legacy. So, they left their traces… their divinity behind as artifacts in the second layer.

At least that's the conclusion I reached.

That also explains why, despite so many deaths, the Noxvalen academy continues to follow their tradition of sending students to this forest filled with death at every step…

Most people probably have no clue.

Hell, maybe even the academy staff are just following orders, blind to the bigger picture.

But maybe… just maybe… It has more to do with the gods than anyone realizes.

As for how I was so sure that most people didn't know? Well, it was simple.

Noah told me that.

Back when we were discussing the forest, he said none of the academy staff—not even Principal Morvana herself—knew how to enter the second layer.

Sure, they all knew it existed.

They knew it was dangerous.

They knew no one had ever made it back.

But what actually lies beyond? What the second layer truly was? They had no clue.

And yet, those same people warned students not to enter the second layer.

"Don't go beyond it, even by accident," they said, like they actually knew how someone could even get there.

Honestly? I found it hilarious. They were just trying to scare the crap out of the newbies before throwing them into the forest.

A little dramatic flair to spice up the entrance exam, I guess.

Maybe this forest could have been testing grounds for eligible heirs of divine artifacts, but with the passage of time, it twisted and became nothing more than an entrance exam to Noxvalen Academy.

…Noah didn't say anything about the Demon King, but I wouldn't be surprised if he knew something about it. That bastard was always too sneaky.

In any case, if I want to get to the second layer—if I want to evolve my class and maybe even a few divine leftovers—

I need to find that damn monster within time.

And let it eat me.

According to what I know, the thing has sixteen eyes, looks like a twisted hybrid between a human and a goat, wails like a baby on loop, and has a skull where its head should be.

Basically a nightmare fuel wrapped in eldritch flavor.

It chooses sixteen students every year—completely at random or maybe with some hidden requirements—and sends them to the second layer.

But none of them ever came back.

Well… except for one.

The protagonist—Noah Ashen Noctharion.

The only person who ever made it out alive. Not that anyone else ever found out.

From what I know, Noah didn't get eaten, that bastard jumped in himself after spotting some hidden path inside the monster.

He entered on Day Two.

Which is today

When the monster had exactly twelve of its sixteen eyes opened,

Meaning it had already chosen twelve students.

Which means if I want to get in there—if I want my shot at the divine artifacts, the class evolution, and whatever secrets that layer's hiding,

Then I need to find that ugly bastard before it picks the last four students today.

Or I miss my ride.

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