[Nightmare]

Helix raised his hand to call for silence, and the arena became deathly quiet.

"That's right! We will train you to defend your home and your ally's home from harm!

A select few defenders of the Alzerian Kingdom [may] earn the official titles of Cheat Knight and Broken Cheat Knight." He reiterated with his hand still raised.

The excitement was boiling over, and the silence was strained.

"To become part of the Cheat Elite, you must do three things.

First, you must protect the Alzerian Kingdom, its people, Queen, and Princess with your life!

Cheat characters get stronger by protecting what's important to them!

They never back down from a fight!

They'll face ten, one hundred, a thousand monsters with a smile…."

Helix panned the audience during a dramatic pause for ultimate effect.

"AND WIN!"

Battle cries reverberated through the stadium.

Eliza grinned.

She made eye contact with Helix, and three seconds later, he told them to [protect her] with their lives.

Macron and Lamath sighed breaths of relief.

"Yes! That is what a Cheat is!

So to become one, you need to prove you are one!

Who thinks they have what it takes to be called a Cheat!?"

Murderous cries rang out.

Eliza turned to her guards with a smug face and forced them to move towards the stands.

Helix sweated, knowing the group was about to [see] what that white structure was.

"Let's give you an example!" Helix announced.

Everyone quieted down.

"The princess of Alzeria, Princess Eliza, helped me escape with my life four months ago.

It's because of [her] that I'm alive."

Hushed silence washed over the stadium.

Whispers started speculating about it.

The super-otakus and power-weebs listened with bated breath.

Even as a master actor, Eliza had to resist blushing.

Helix was the only person she could honestly call a friend.

They grew reasonably close when he was in Alzeria.

She spent time talking to him daily, worked with him to save the Capital, and then kissed him to save his life.

Not mouth to mouth; her charm required a kiss.

He left 1000 miles away, barely survived, and then she got a letter telling her that he was coming [back] to fight for the kingdom.

[Now] he was engaging deadly creatures threatening the kingdom—to destroy monsters.

Yet, they were suddenly docile and declared to [protect her] with their lives!

It was a lot to process.

"Three days before people tried to assassinate me, people blackmailed me into a deathmatch at Level 1 when they were level 18."

The power-weebs gasped.

"Guess what? I'm still alive! I won that damn deathmatch and saved that idiot's life!"

His super-otaku allies started clapping, and soon everyone followed in a massive round of applause.

Helix chuckled and panned the group.

"Princess Eliza arranged to get me out of the Kingdom to safety the next day." He continued.

"The day before leaving, still fresh from surviving an assassination attempt, people stabbed me.

She got me out of the city and sent doctors, teachers, and resources with me.

I haven't forgotten about that!

I vowed to never return to the place where I almost died three times, lost a lover, and experienced daily pain."

Everyone listened with awe-filled expressions.

Eliza was tearing up slightly, and his words were moving her guards.

The group had stopped moving when they heard him speaking, so they didn't see the Stalkwalker skull yet.

"However, after the kindness of Princess Eliza showed me, not only did I return to protect this wonderful kingdom…." Helix paused with a wide grin.

"I… haha… thought about what gift I'd bring back… that would be big enough… haha… to show my appreciation… haha…."

The Knights laughed in minor confusion.

"Let me ask you… haha… do you think my [gift] is big enough?"

The Earthian Knights turned around to face the legendary jaws of the Colossus.

Once everyone understood, the stadium erupted into laughter.

Eliza and her guards were confused about what he was talking about.

They looked at the white thing that was directly in front of them.

The group decided to move to the stands while the laughter was occurring.

When the first guard turned around, he became pale as the blood drained from his face.

Eliza hurried up the steps and turned around.

Helix watched the young woman tremble in shock with an evil grin.

He was sending it to the crowd but directing it at her.

"When I first heard that a 357-foot, fifth-order Level 387 Stalkwalker Colossus came out from hibernation and was offered a chance to fight, do you know what I said?" Helix asked.

The crowd murmured with excitement.

Helix grinned and panned the crowd.

"I said, did you just say a 357-foot, fifth-order Level 387 Stalkwalker Colossus came out of hibernation?

Cut the political bullshit.

Just say [death woke up] like a reasonable human being so I can tell you to piss off with style!"

The super-otakus and power-weebs nearly doubled over laughing.

Many were clutching their sides.

Eliza's guards were shocked into a stupor but broke out when they saw their princess giggling like a schoolgirl.

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley were grinning.

Helix [would] have said that if [Tyrene] didn't order him to.

What he [really] said was "understood."

"But then I thought about it and started checking things off the list.

Large enough to destroy a country… Kozen is an ally of Alzeria… Kozen is only a month away from Alzeria…." Helix muttered under his breath.

"So dangerous to Alzeria… check!

Massive… check!

Flashy… check!

Risk my life to get it… check!

On the way to Alzeria… check!

This Colossus skull could be the only gift large enough to repay my gratitude to the person that saved my life!

Know what? I'm in!"

The laughter in the crowd became painful.

Eliza looked at the beast with wide eyes.

He never told Alzeria that he fought the Stalkwalker directly or was heavily involved with its takedown.

So he wasn't sure what the kingdom or Eliza knew.

However, he could tell by her dumbstruck expression that she was processing it for the first time.

"Cheat hopefuls! This story reflects the ideals you must have to become a Cheat Knight or Broken Cheat Knight!" Helix announced.

The crowd calmed after hearing his words, and a new form of excitement was taking root.

"We four went through grueling training, chose to fight for something we cared about, and fought an enemy that was beyond our means!"

Excitement was boiling over, and Marie, Charlotte, and Riley were wearing bright smiles.

"We never backed down, people died, and we almost lost our lives!

That is not an exaggeration. That's a fact!" Helix roared.

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley developed wry smiles.

The crowd hushed when they saw their faces.

"However! We fought with our lives on the line even though it wasn't our country…."

Helix turned to face them.

"AND WON!"

Thunderous applause boomed in the stadium.

"That's what being a Cheat is about!

It's about having overwhelming power but knowing how to use it!

Protecting those you love!

Fighting for others!

It's about training and obtaining treasures to help you fight!" Helix roared.

"And when you do that, you become comically strong.

Let me get a volunteer from Thyme!"

Excited hushes fell over the crowd.

Everyone was nervous.

"You'll get a rare Roshak card!"

[Everyone] from Thyme shot their hands up.

Eliza, her guards, Macron, and Lamath, were watching in disbelief when the nervousness in the crowd instantly did a 180.

"Kurt!" Helix called out.

Everyone was shocked to know that he knew the man's name.

He only met him one time. It was mind-boggling.

Kurt walked to the front nervously.

"Kurt. What level are you?" Helix asked.

He already knew the answer but wanted others to hear it.

"I'm Level 29." Kurt replied nervously.

"Alright, Kurt is Level 29! I think you'd all agree that's reasonably strong, yes?" Helix asked the Knights.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Good. Kurt, pull out your sword, and try to cut me in half with your full power."

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)