After a bit of polite and civilised conversation—

by which I mean a very controlled session of broken fingers and the occasional mana-induced heart palpitation—they spat out everything they knew.

Honestly, I hadn't really done this before. I mean what kind of sane pers would even try this for fun.

Still, it didn't feel as disturbing as I thought.

I mean, I've killed plenty of beasts, monsters, and cursed abominations but humans?

Nah. Never crossed that line. At least not yet.

So when I saw them crying and sobbing, their skin bruising like mine would, their bones snapping just the same…

Yeah, it felt odd.

For a moment.

But I adapted.

Because in this world, there will be more. More humanoids. More blood. More eyes looking at me like I'm the villain in their story.

And if I stay soft… If I hesitate?

That's a one-way ticket back into the arms of my toxic ex—Death, who was probably waiting with her makeup done, heels on, ready to screw me over again.

And I'm not planning on dating her again anytime soon.

Besides, what even is the difference between beasts and humans, really? Speech?

Sure, monsters—those mindless abominations—were dangerous and beyond reason.

But beasts? Beasts were something else.

They built settlements. They hunted. They protected.

They mourned. They remembered.

They had families.

And yet, I never hesitated to cut them down.

Even Bearlo—who was more human than these two combined—I had killed him once.

So why should these two be any different?

Just because we share the same species? Because some rusted moral code says I should forgive them for trying to kill me?

Yeah. Screw that.

Morality like that only looks good in bedtime stories… right before the monsters crawl out from under the bed.

And these bastards? They tossed that morality out the window the moment they aimed for my head.

So why the hell should I be the one playing saint?

Especially since I wasn't the first one they tried to kill.

Apparently, these two were part of a small group that had taken over an abandoned orc settlement—trying to survive the full seven days by turning it into a temporary base.

A smart move, honestly.

They had been actively recruiting other students, building numbers, forming patrols and setting shifts.

Turning this exam into a damn group project.

And these two? They were patrolling guards.

Only, instead of doing their job like decent meat shields, they tried to kill me.

Because they thought I looked weak.

And that Bearlo was just my summon.

So, in their brilliant little rat brains, if they killed me first, Bearlo would disappear like a puff of smoke.

They had done the killing before as well by ambushing solo students, taking their stuff and probably left a few to die bleeding in the dirt.

So yeah…

I didn't feel even a flicker of guilt when I shattered their bones.

Not one damn bit.

Still, even idiots had their use.

Because thanks to them, I finally found the one thing I had been chasing:

The ugly, wailing goat monster.

Turns out, Redhead wasn't lying when he stammered about being attacked by it.

For once, his terror was actually useful.

And now?

Now I knew exactly where to go.

They had seen the goat monster chasing a girl.

Even the description matched.

I turned toward Bearlo.

"Kill them." I ordered without any hesitation or second thoughts.

"You can't—wait—ARGH—"

They tried screaming but Bearlo was faster.

He followed the order like the loyal assistant he was—snapping bones and silencing screams like he was swatting flies.

I would've done it myself, honestly…

…but I didn't feel like getting my hands or my clothes dirty.

"Take anything useful off them," I said.

Because really, it was only natural.

They tried to kill me. The least they could do was offer a donation.

Call it… a tax for stupidity.

With everything done, I started walking forward towards the direction the redhead pointed.

—

As we walked towards our destination, I looked at Bearlo who walked beside me with his usual plain expression.

"You can't come with me to where I am going next, Bearlo." I said softly.

Honestly, I had no intention to take him to the second layer from the beginning.

His head dipped slightly… but he didn't protest.

"Understood, my liege," he murmured, loyal to the bone.

I tilted my head. "Not even going to ask where I'm going?"

"I am sure, you must already have some plan, my liege." He replied like the faithful subordinate he was.

Truly the perfect meat shield.

"Good," I nodded. "Because I have another very important job for you."

That made his ears twitch, just slightly.

"Once I vanish into a monster's mouth…" I began, as if that wasn't the most insane opening to a sentence, "you'll head east to find a river."

He didn't interrupt.

"Follow it and somewhere along the bank, you'll find a small cave. Inside, there's an artifact and you just have to get it.."

Bearlo just nodded without any hesitation.

Like I hadn't just told him to go artifact-hunting in cursed terrain after I willingly get eaten alive.

The artifact was something a villain was supposed to get.

So by snatching it, I was literally reducing the number of bastards I might have had to face.

Still, I couldn't just send Bearlo empty handed… so I planned to give him my cloak before entering as well.

There was a reason I couldn't take Bearlo or the cloak with me.

Because in the second layer… there were no allies.

Only enemies.

The layer made sure that even allies couldn't be trusted.

So, going alone was better than carrying a cloak which might strangle me thinking I was an enemy.

And besides, the cloak would serve as a guide once I was done—when I came out of the other side—I wouldn't have to go looking for Bearlo.

Either I would sense it and find Bearlo…

…or it would come to me.

Just then, I felt the shift.

A wailing sound, distant but wrong, rippled through the forest.

My steps quickened.

Bearlo followed, right behind me.

Not long after, we arrived in front of a clearing and there we saw the monstrosity… standing right behind a girl with lavender hair and golden eyes.

The monster paused for a moment as well as sensing our presence.

As my eyes locked on the duo, only one thought crossed my mind:

What the actual hell is she doing here?

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