Reverse Mountain was an artificially created mountain range.

    It was a masterpiece of humanity, crafted over more than a decade by hundreds of talented mages and thousands of scholars.

    The mountainous area, spanning several kilometers, was filled with flora and fauna from another world.

    It was as if a piece of a destroyed world had been transplanted here.

    In fact, most of the rare ingredients used in the first task were sourced from here.

    Whether for research purposes or species preservation, Reverse Mountain held immense value.

    It was no wonder the Fixer Association strictly prohibited external access.

    If left unregulated, poachers would turn the place into a chaotic mess.

    Protecting its value from human greed was an unavoidable choice.

    ''That’s why Reverse Mountain is particularly dangerous at night. It’s when the ferocious carnivorous creatures from another world roam. They’re nothing like ordinary wolves or bears without magical power.''

    To replicate the otherworldly environment as closely as possible while keeping civilians out,

    Reverse Mountain was home to numerous dangerous predators.

    Animals infused with magic were stronger and more vicious than Earth''s creatures.

    For this reason, Reverse Mountain was considered one of the most dangerous places on Earth.

    Of course, if someone found themselves in real danger of being devoured, the staff would help.

    But asking for help meant forfeiting their candidate status and quitting the exam.

    There had been cases where candidates stubbornly refused help and ended up losing their lives.

    ''In short, it’s like the world’s most dangerous mountain. Though looking at this... it makes me doubt that.''

    The wilderness was so perilous that even an active Fixer could end up in critical condition if they weren’t careful.

    However, the scene before me was so gruesome that it made those dangers seem unreal.

    A giant eagle, over 3 meters tall, lay on the ground with its head severed.

    An emerald tiger, its back split open, vomited blood that shimmered like jewels.

    A flame monkey, its heart pierced by a branch, lay dead where it fell.

    It was a horrific scene—so much so that without resistance, one might faint from the sight alone.

    It was grotesque, like something from a nightmare.

    The blood and entrails scattered around resembled a brutal crime scene.

    Yet the person responsible for this showed no sign of concern, only blinking innocently at me.

    "Oh dear, they startled me so much I ended up using magic. Baby, you’re not hurt, right?"

    "...."

    I nodded to Vespera''s question.

    She had unleashed her magic the moment the beasts appeared.

    There was no chance of getting hurt, even if I had wanted to.

    In a way, you could say she had helped me.

    These magical beasts were far more dangerous than ordinary animals.

    With a weapon, defeating them might not be impossible, but it would be a significant risk.

    But despite the situation, I couldn’t shake the cold sweat and rising tension.

    She had no hesitation or emotion about taking a life so brutally.

    Her actions exuded a twisted indifference towards life, too clear to ignore.

    ''Her perspective is definitely warped. Just because someone is nice to you doesn’t mean they’re a good person....''

    It was like this: imagine a rat suddenly fell from the ceiling.

    A dirty, filthy rat—a disgusting intruder in your space.

    So killing it wouldn’t seem like much of a problem.

    But even if you killed the rat, you might use poison or an electric trap—indirect methods.

    No matter how unpleasant the intruder, making its death too gruesome would be unsettling.

    You would try to eliminate it as painlessly as possible.

    However, if you deliberately stepped on the rat''s head to crush it,

    Or burned it alive to make its death as horrifying as possible, stabbing it with a knife...

    If that was a regular habit, it wouldn’t just be unsettling—it would be deeply disturbing.

    Especially if I was in the position of a pet hamster, so to speak.

    ''If we’re not careful, other candidates might end up like those animals....''

    Vespera was a progenitor who saw humans as nothing more than food.

    If it had been a human instead of a beast, she likely would have killed them just as brutally.

    She had always done so without hesitation, and she would continue to do so.

    The rule that intentionally causing a candidate’s death led to disqualification was a relief,

    But if someone angered her, it was obvious what would happen next.

    I couldn’t afford to relax.

    I collected my thoughts and quietly followed Vespera as she strolled leisurely.

    The path ahead, filled with blood and entrails, was now void of even the wild beasts that had once been watching us.

    Walking behind her, I started to feel like I was becoming a monster myself.

    "I smell something around here.... Ah, found it."

    "...?"

    How far had we wandered into the chilly night of Reverse Mountain?

    Just as boredom seemed to set in, Vespera looked somewhere and spoke.

    I turned quickly to follow her gaze.

    Indeed, faint lights could be seen in the distance.

    Starting a fire in this dark mountain? Surely, they knew light could be seen from kilometers away.

    I couldn’t help but feel bewildered by the lack of caution.

    ''No way... It’s not Alice or David, is it?''

    It was a possibility I couldn’t ignore.

    If someone was confident in their abilities, they might not bother hiding.

    I could only hope the light didn’t belong to Alice or David.

    And perhaps my prayers were heard.

    As I followed Vespera toward the light, closing the distance,

    I was relieved to find it was a group of male candidates.

    "How carefree. They don’t seem particularly strong... Baby, wait here? Big sis will be right back.... Okay?"

    "...!"

    As Vespera began to move away, seemingly to "take care" of them, I urgently grabbed her sleeve.

    If I let her go alone, who knew what could happen?

    What if she felt irritated and caused a massacre? That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

    And what if, by bad luck, someone I knew got caught up in it?

    Staying close to her would be my best chance to influence whatever happened.

    This decision wasn’t an impulsive whim but a carefully considered strategy.

    However, she seemed to interpret my actions differently.

    She looked down at me as if I were a nervous puppy,

    Her expression filled with fondness as she gently patted my head.

    "Okay, you don’t want to be apart from big sis, huh? Then stay close and watch how cool I am when I work. Got it?"

    "...."

    This is strange. Isn’t her affection toward me growing at an alarming rate?

    I found myself somewhat flustered by Vespera’s seemingly disarmed attitude and nodded as if I understood.

    I was only trying to keep my guard up, fearful of what she might do next.

    Yet, without realizing it, I seemed to have raised her affection level by meddling here and there.

    Perhaps she could see through my mask and felt a genuine sense of familiarity with me.

    A face so charming it could even captivate the world’s worst criminal—maybe hiding behind a mask was indeed the right call.

    "Aah... What a letdown. Those guys are Red Team. What we need are two blue marks... Tsk, should I just clean them up since it’s a hassle?"

    "Huh? Who’s this chick...?"

    "Hey, look! She’s got a white mark on her chest. White Team!"

    "Whoo! Two easy targets just rolled right up. Lucky!"

    As we got closer, it was clear the candidates gathered around the fire were from the Red Team. Seven of them.

    Judging by their faces, none of them seemed familiar—they must have been extras.

    Well, Vespera was practically a walking disaster in Reverse Mountain.

    These guys weren’t going to make it to the final pass anyway. Bad luck, I suppose.

    "Since my baby seems a bit sensitive to gruesome things, maybe I should go easy this time? Like this?"

    "Huh? What do you... Guh!"

    "M-Magic! She’s casting without incantations! Take her down first—Aaaagh!"

    "M-Monster...!"

    What happened next was nothing short of one-sided violence.

    Even without using her main power, blood magic, Vespera was still an exceptional mage.

    With incantation-free wind magic, she sent the candidates flying.

    Before they could even put up a proper fight, they crashed into the ground and trees, knocked out cold.

    At the very least, it seemed like she was aware of the rule not to kill anyone.

    Vespera appeared to be restraining herself, showing a measure of self-control.

    But still, arms twisted in unnatural directions, heads hit the ground first—

    She was handing out wounds that could take months to heal, or might never heal at all.

    She truly was a vampire devoid of human empathy.

    The candidates sprawled on the ground, screaming, crying, and wailing—my heart went out to them.

    But what could I do? At least they weren’t dead. I could only hope they’d recover quickly.

    "Seven red marks... and three white ones. No blue, huh... Ugh, more wandering around, what a pain."

    "...!"

    I began jumping up and down on the spot beside Vespera, who looked annoyed.

    If she got too irritated, someone might end up dead.

    It was a thoroughly calculated gesture, a performance to keep Vespera''s mental state in check.

    Perhaps my little act was enough of a comfort.

    Her growing displeasure seemed to shift back toward a more motivated mood, as if she would keep searching.

    Fixer Association, are you seeing this?

    I’m literally saving lives right now.

    Maybe I deserve a special pass? Just kidding, of course.

    "W-What the hell! I’m wearing ten anti-magic rings! T-There’s no way... Aaargh!"

    "Ugh, what a bother. Should I just cut off his hands so he never tries this again...?"

    "...!"

    The second candidate we found while wandering Reverse Mountain turned out to be from the Blue Team.

    He introduced himself as a swordsman who hunted mages, wielding a katana.

    His secret weapon was the ten anti-magic rings he wore—designed to resist magic.

    But such things were useless against Vespera.

    She slowly escalated her magic, pressing him to the ground with powerful wind magic.

    The swordsman collapsed with his arms and legs bent at odd angles.

    Because anti-magic items were deeply unpleasant to a mage like Vespera,

    She conjured a blade of wind as if to cut off his hands.

    But when I clung to her and begged her not to, she hesitated and then dispelled the blade.

    She must have decided maintaining my favor was more valuable than a brief outburst.

    "Oh my, this guy has two Blue Team marks? Was he a traitor or something? Well, not bad."

    For some reason, the swordsman had two Blue Team marks.

    Maybe he had betrayed his own team—whatever the reason, I couldn’t know.

    At least the good news was that we now had what we needed without further searching.

    ***

    Now all we had to do was wait until 5 p.m. tomorrow.

    I let out a sigh of relief, glad that nothing too disastrous had happened.

    Nothing much occurred after that.

    When we returned to the initial hideout, it was already 2 a.m.

    My eyes felt heavy—sleep was creeping in.

    ''Even if I could stay awake, maybe I should pretend to sleep.''

    I lay down gently on the blanket we had set up in the hideout.

    Vespera, who had been sitting on a tree stump gazing at the moonlight, spoke.

    "Going to sleep, baby? Hehe... Don’t worry. Big sis will keep you safe. Sleep tight, I’ll protect you."

    "...."

    I relaxed my body, nodding weakly as if I was too tired to respond.

    Then I lay back down, slowly closing my eyes.

    One minute, two minutes... and soon ten minutes passed.

    I breathed steadily, pretending to sleep.

    In the darkness, Vespera, who had been quietly watching me, moved.

    "Well then... I’ll be back in a bit...."

    Where was she going?

    I focused all my attention on her movements as she left the hideout.

    One step, two steps, three steps...

    When she was far enough away that I couldn’t hear her footsteps,

    And I felt confident she wouldn’t notice any movement from my side,

    I shifted as if dreaming, naturally sliding my hand into my pocket.

    ''Echo. You there? I need a favor.''

    [ Yes, just say the word. ]

    ''Hack Vespera’s watch. Make sure there’s no sound—if she talks to someone, filter it through to me.''

    [ Understood. ]

    Echo, an invader in the form of a device,

    Could still function even with the power off.

    In other words, it could hack another device without being detected by my own watch.

    Of course, using it like this would consume more energy than usual.

    But considering the advantage of remaining undetected, it was a worthwhile trade.

    Not long after, it seemed Echo had successfully completed the hack.

    Through Echo’s voice, I began to hear Vespera’s words, translated from the other end.