The usual teleportation bridge greeted me as rudely as ever, making my stomach twist for a moment before I saw the exit and was thrown out. It took me a minute to adjust to the darkness of the new place as I looked around.

A familiar, dimly lit forest greeted me, its trees thick and tall enough to challenge the sunlight itself, while the ground beneath my feet was weirdly sticky.

I was in the place where the Treasury was located.

And I was currently standing in its first layer, from where I would have to reach the temple where the true trial awaited.

Right on cue, my [[Insight]] activated on its own as several status windows appeared before me.

[YOU HAVE ENTERED THE PATH OF QUALIFICATION]

[Description: Unlike what the name suggests, the Treasury of the Ancient Kings isn’t a place where treasures are scattered around for anyone to claim. Instead, it is a brutal proving ground meant to test the future talents of the world. Its other name is, after all... The Path of Qualification.]

[You are currently in the Territory of the Depraved Elves within the First Layer of the Path. Reach the Temple and complete the true trial to prove your qualifications.]

Damn...

So it could even do this?

I hadn’t known Insight possessed a feature like this but I had to admit, it was incredibly useful. If I had this in my previous life, I wouldn’t have wasted time slaughtering and trapping every monster for weeks just to realize that killing them all wasn’t the true trial.

Still...

Landing in the Territory of the Depraved Elves out of the four possible starting locations was enough to sour my mood.

I hated elves.

Last time, I had it easy as I started in the Slime Territory, which was relatively peaceful for the first few days before I eventually ran into those bastards.

Not that I needed to slaughter them all in this life. It didn’t provide any extra rewards and was nothing more than a pointless waste of time.

I had no intention of repeating that mistake but before I could dwell on it any longer, my senses flared.

Something was moving through the forest.

Without another thought, I drew Kosetsu because it was finally time to let it taste blood as four creatures slowly emerged from the darkness.

They were barely the size of dwarves, with patchy hair, long ears, barbaric clothing, jagged teeth and faces uglier than a blobfish.

Elves.

A status window appeared in front of me immediately.

[ Depraved Elves ]

[ Rank — Unranked ]

[ Type — Beasts ]

[Description: Depraved Elves are the ugliest creatures to walk the First Ring of the Great Sea. Their ranks are currently being suppressed to match the challenger’s level.]

[Note: The elves are the natural enemy of males across all species. Depraved Elves take great pleasure in dissecting males and feeding on their reproductive organs. It is therefore advised that you keep yours safe... though that may prove difficult considering your pitiful physique.]

Naturally, I closed the window without reading another word.

Unfortunately I already knew everything it had to say because some lessons only needed to be learned once, especially when they involved a pack of depraved elves trying to separate me from my manhood.

Right on cue, the one leading them looked at me as a creepy grin spread across its face.

"A HUM...AN."

Its voice was broken and raspy. It paused for a brief moment before its body shot toward me at incredible speed.

"GIVE... BALLS!"

Following its lead, the other three lunged as well and for mere barbaric beasts, their movements were surprisingly coordinated.

At the same time...

They were far too predictable and I already knew exactly where they would aim.

I gripped the broken blade of Kosetsu and slashed across the space in front of my groin while reinforcing the vectors within the blade to lessen the strain on my body.

I was still far too weak.

The leading elf ran straight into the swing, trying to bite my balls off and its neck was cleanly severed. Kosetsu vibrated slightly in my hand, its shattered blade humming with quiet satisfaction.

A smirk spread across my face as I looked at the remaining three perverted elves, now frozen in their tracks.

"You know, I am generally a benevolent guy. I was even considering sparing you since killing you isn’t useful at all."

I slowly raised Kosetsu.

"But you ugly bastards just had to remind me of something rather unpleasant."

My smile widened.

"So pray to whatever monstrosity you worship. Today... your tribe ceases to exist."

I didn’t give them even a single chance.

Forcing the vectors within my body forward, I glided across the ground before appearing directly in front of the stunned elves.

I thrust Kosetsu to my left.

Its shattered blade came apart slightly, the fragments shooting forward and burying themselves in the eye of the nearest elf.

At the same time, I swept my leg toward the one in the center. Vector mana surged through my body an instant before impact as the kick landed and the elf’s head burst into a bloody mist.

The last one was somewhat smarter as it turned and ran.

"Hum...an! Dang...er!"

It screamed but before the sound could fully leave its mouth, I held Kosetsu in a throwing stance and thrust it forward.

The vectors within the blade obeyed my will as the shattered fragments separated from the hilt, circled around the fleeing elf like a storm and sliced cleanly through its neck before returning to me and assembling themselves once more.

Honestly, I could have made this a lot easier with bloodlust alone. But Kosetsu needed blood... and I needed to know how much this pathetic body could endure.

And after doing so...

I had to admit.

It was rather pathetic.

Still... It was what it was.

At least it was better than my previous life, when I had spent days camping in this forest, relying on countless traps just to eliminate them.

I had no intention of wasting much time in the First Layer in this life,

But really...

How long could it possibly take to exterminate a tribe of a few hundred elves?