[Nightmare]

"Are you ready, Master?" Helix asked.

The two were in nearly pitch-black lighting.

"I have the magic circles on the ground ready to trigger and our own armor circles."

Tyrene's heart was pounding.

"Yes. I'm ready when you are." She whispered with her sword out.

"Okay. Which set of circles should we activate first?" He asked hesitantly.

"I…. I don't know. What is the average level in Izian Forest?" Tyrene asked nervously.

"Second-evolution Level 40. Warpshires gave its level rating because they're third-evolution." Helix replied.

Tyrene felt an icy chill crawl down her spine.

"W-What did you just say… boy?" Tyrene asked nervously.

"They're third-evolution. I know monsters evolve, but I've never seen evolutions be used in research before." Helix replied nervously.

"How many roam in packs?" She snapped.

"Four… why?" He asked with a beating heart.

"You fool!" Tyrene snapped.

"Why… does it matter? Monsters evolve, but their levels are the same, right—"

Tyrene took a deep breath to get her breath under control.

She reminded herself that Helix was new to Myriad and that most people had never fought any beast higher than second evolution.

"Boy. You should've mentioned that detail if you had never seen it before." She said in a strained voice.

"Most monsters we face as humans are second evolution.

Genesis is babies, first evolution is children, and second evolutions are what we fight.

However, if your research hasn't extended far, you don't know that levels restart [after] every evolution.

So its level is probably closer to 300."

Helix trembled.

"Three… hundred…."

"While I've fought fifth-evolution Colossus, it required preparations and an army.

We could easily fight one of those Warpshires in normal lighting.

Humans have a defense stat and the armor they wear, while monsters don't.

So humans are normally stronger than monsters as long as they have magic.

But in this lighting, we have no chance.

Four…We need to leave this place immediately."

"Understood." He replied with a serious tone.

"Let's prioritize battle capabilities.

So start with our lights and then trigger the second as fast as possible.

After that, we're sprinting." Tyrene ordered.

"Understood." He replied while triggering the magic lighting circles on their bodies.

—

"The second the lighting circles activated, all hell broke loose."

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley grimaced.

They wish that Helix had never told them this story.

Everyone else listened with bated breath.

—

Tyrene's body trembled.

Helix didn't notice because he quickly made preparations to activate the lighting circles.

Suddenly, he found an arm around his waist, and he felt his body yanked to the left.

"T-Tyrene—" Helix gasped after he recovered his breath.

He looked around him, and his body froze.

"GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAT!"

"Caaaaaaawwwww!"

"GUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHH!

"Yaaaaaapakapaka…."

Strange noises from varying distances cried out in an instant.

A dozen massive beasts had been stalking them and were now burying their faces in the ground.

BOOOOOM!

A rock hit Helix's face, and he grimaced in pain.

He shut his eyes.

"GUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHH!

BOOOOOM!"

"GRRRR RAT! GRAT!"

Booom!

"Boy! Get your damn senses together!"

Helix opened his eyes.

"I'm activating the lighting circles! Done! Let me down—"

He trembled in fear as the lights lit up.

They faintly glowed in the distance.

Tyrene jumped again, flinging his body in another direction.

BOOOOM!

Another ground explosion rocked the area.

"Tyrene!" Helix cried.

She released her hand.

Helix hit the ground at a fast momentum, and he worked to regain his balance.

However, he was already moving forward—

—the last place he wanted to move.

"KYEEEEEAAAH!"

CRACK!

The tree next to the two groaned and fell to the ground.

"Jump!" Tyrene screamed.

He jumped high to avoid the tree that collapsed not too far from their position.

"Tyrene, we're going in the wrong direction!" Helix cried.

"Does it look like we have a choice you idiot!?" She roared.

"N-No! Tyrene, we're moving toward the Warpshires!"

"GUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHH!

BOOOOOM!"

Rocks and debris hit the two from the back.

"Then… fucking lead us or something, boy!" She yelled.

—

"When we turned on our lights, we noticed the twelve high-level monsters stalking us in the darkness!" Helix announced in a passionate voice.

Gasps spread through the otakus and weebs.

"Then BOOOOOM!" Helix yelled.

"Rocks and debris flung at us from all sides!"

Many people had closed their eyes and were tucking their arms close to their chest.

Charlotte was the only person excited, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"BOOM! BOOM! Tyrene threw me out of her arms, and large flying creatures were smashing into trees randomly." Helix recounted dramatically.

The pacing of his words was increasing.

Soon the servants afraid to approach were listening as well.

"The lighting circles leading out of the forest were in the opposite direction," Helix announced with a grim expression.

Gasps followed.

"But that wasn't the worst part…." Helix recounted with a serious voice.

Wide eyes stared at him from all directions.

Hearts were pounding.

Souls were screaming.

"We were encircled, and the beasts were attacking us and leading us toward the Hellhounds!"

—

"I'm on it! Give me five seconds!" Helix requested with a booming voice.

"You've got it!"

Helix touched his neck and pulled out a dozen deprivation battle discs.

"Prepare to lose your hearing!" He yelled.

"Wait! What!?" Tyrene cried.

Dead silence followed.

Helix grabbed Tyrene's hand and led her in the direction of a massive monster.

Her eyes were wide, and she couldn't understand what was happening.

However, the massive red gorilla-looking creature wasn't attacking them as they approached.

It was attacking trees even when it stared right at them.

Helix led her around the beast.

He gripped stronger when she tried to break free from his wrist to increase her battle capabilities.

Tyrene could withstand the pain but understood his message.

Helix's message was for her to trust him, and he'd release her if necessary.

She watched him closely.

He took another battle disc out of his pocket and threw it in front of him.

"Where's your sword?" Tyrene called out.

However, no voice came out.

Only an eerie quiet remained.

She looked down.

"When did he…."

Helix had sheathed his sword already.

Which meant—

Helix released her wrist, turned around, and punched her chest.

Then he jumped out of the way.

Tyrene flew across the area and hit the ground.

Still, no sound followed, so she wasn't prepared to be hit with a dozen rocks.

—

The pulse in the room.

The otakus and weebs' hearts were pounding faster and faster.

The rhythm was increasing.

War drums were beating in their chests.

"I pulled out a dozen Circles of Silences." Helix recounted with a fast-paced tone.

The minute the first one activated…."

Helix panned their faces to capture their attention.

"Silence. Dead silence followed."

The room felt still-born.

The quiet was crushing.

The pressure multiplied.

"Trees were crashing down, rocks were falling, and we couldn't hear anything." Helix continued with narrowed eyes.

"However!"

The Knights jumped in their chairs.

"With pupils that adapted to darkness, any amount of light was blinding and filled their entire vision." Helix grinned.

"So they couldn't trail us by sight, only hearing and smell.

I grabbed Tyrene and built a route of Circle of Silences through the field.

We were already using smell masking circles, so we were invisible at that point.

We weaved in and out of monsters until…."

Gasps followed.

"A Warpshire came from the hearing zone."

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)