Ret Forest[1].

Charlotte watched as Ethan finished his meal; she didn't want to waste any more time, already feeling anxious.

"Get up, you've finished eating already. Let's be on our way."

Ethan grumbled, then whined,

"My leg isn't fully healed."

"I'll carry you there."

Charlotte grabbed Ethan and slung him over her right shoulder before rushing off into the distance.

She had already accepted that Ethan would take advantage of the contract to enjoy himself and do whatever he wanted to his heart's content. She wasn't a fool.

Since he knows I'll kill him, he wants to make the most out of me.

A few minutes later—

They arrived at the entrance of the Rat Forest. The forest was shaped like a rat: the entrance was in the rat's mouth, while the exit was by the rat's anus...

Actually, both openings could function as entrances, but once someone entered through one, they could not exit through the same opening.

Charlotte and Ethan stood side by side, staring at the entrance.

According to the novel, once you enter through the rat's mouth, you end up in the first level... even if you enter through the anus, it still leads to the first level.

However, according to the gamer's forum, entering the Rat Forest while holding a packet of cheese decreases the forest's difficulty. It also lets players skip most of the levels and go deeper.

Of course, these methods are used by speedrunners.

Still, what I need is at the seventh level, and what Charlotte needs is at the sixth.

With Charlotte's strength, we'll barely survive the seventh level. Thankfully, those damned monsters can be distracted with cheese for a while—that might be our only way to escape.

"Hand me the backpack," Ethan said, stretching his hand out to Charlotte.

Charlotte glanced at him but didn't move.

"I'll use a special method to enter the Rat Forest. It'll let us skip most of the levels," Ethan said, nodding proudly. "Ha… I remember doing this several times. Once, I even cleared the entire forest without a single fight."

Charlotte's face twisted in disgust.

He's growing into a shameless person. What a headache he'll be for the Hargrave family... It's a pity I'll have to help them get rid of him.

I should definitely increase my fee.

Charlotte passed him the backpack, then continued to stare at the entrance.

"We'll be going in now, Miss Charlotte. Would you close your eyes for a second?

I can't have you seeing my secret method. I went through a lot to get it, you know.

Those damned guys locked the method behind a paywall. You know what I did? I inspected the page element by element until I found and deleted the block.

Guess they didn't expect anyone to do that... Truly, I'm the smartest one."

"Shut it! Why should I close my eyes? Even with them closed, I can kill you. Don't even think about escaping."

"Escaping? From who? You? Please.

There was a time when I had to run from a god—imagine that, a god chasing a Level 3 Awakened. Thankfully, I know a lot of—"

"Okay, okay, I'll close my eyes," Charlotte interrupted. "Just don't talk anymore."

Ethan looked displeased.

Charlotte closed her eyes, following Ethan into the rat's mouth.

As they entered the Rat Forest, Charlotte immediately drew her dagger, expecting a fierce clash with monsters.

But—

There was nothing.

Instead, they found themselves in a strange dark space, lit by torches lining the walls. It looked like an underground garden.

Ethan shook his head and shouted,

"Greedy! If you can hear me, you're greedy!

Do you know how much that cost?

This beautiful lady here spent her life savings buying that, and you only sent us to Level Five?

I expected Level Six at least! Greedy—too greedy!"

Charlotte was stunned.

They had skipped four whole levels and arrived straight at Level Five.

How many people had ever reached Level Five on their first entry? Twenty, maybe? And those twenty weren't ordinary people.

He really does have a method to skip levels... If this information leaks out, the world would be in turmoil.

Clans and families would kill to get their hands on it.

If I can obtain this method…

Even if he can't cure my sister, this method would let me earn enough to find famous doctors to treat her...

Charlotte's eyes glowed as she thought about the items in the bag.

"Don't stress yourself," Ethan said, glancing at her.

"I knew how greedy you are, so I hid the item pretty well.

Who knows—you might find the method after buying everything in the market."

He laughed, picking a torch from the wall as he headed toward the next level.

Suddenly—

Ethan froze.

Standing before him was a giant rat monster.

It stood on its hind legs, wearing battered leather armor. Its two front teeth gleamed dangerously.

Its forelimbs ended in sharp, blade-like claws, and its hungry eyes were fixed not on Ethan—but on the cheese in his pocket.

Of course, the rat didn't mind eating both human and cheese.

Fuck. It's angry I called it greedy. Now it wants to show me what real greed looks like.

"Charlotte, there are rat monsters ahead! Take care of them!" Ethan shouted.

Charlotte, already swinging her sword, gritted her teeth.

At first, she hadn't disliked Ethan.

She had only wanted to do her job.

But after enduring his constant nagging, she couldn't help but dislike him.

She forced herself to stay calm.

She only needed to protect him until they got out of the forest.

As Charlotte engaged the rat monster, Ethan retreated.

He noticed that Charlotte was hiding her true strength—she didn't want to finish off the monster too quickly. She was keeping an eye on him, probably hoping he would skip the level again.

"Since you want to kill me," Ethan said casually, "have you considered that I might just decide both of us should die together, right here in this forest?"

Charlotte froze for a second.

In that second, the rat slashed her arm with its razor-sharp claws.

Charlotte retreated immediately.

"I won't be lonely on my way to the afterlife," Ethan continued. "Since we'll go together, maybe your sister can join us too. A nice little family reunion."

"What are you saying?" Charlotte hissed.

"All I'm trying to say is—

You, Charlotte Gray, are a very stupid human being."