[Nightmare]

"I'm afraid I don't understand your question." Helix replied.

"How did you convince your servant to accept the request to join you so easily?

My servant would freeze up and desperately convince me to reconsider if I made that request." Marie commented.

"Same with mine...." Riley added in wonder.

Helix gave her a slight smile.

"I made Emelia my aid instead of a servant." Helix explained while looking at Emelia with a warm smile.

"When we went shopping for new clothes, I explained that she represents me and needs to look nice and be confident.

After explaining that, she enthusiastically made it her mission to find the best clothes." He chuckled painfully.

Marie and Riley contemplated his insights with discerning expressions.

"The outcome speaks for itself, but why do I get the feeling that buying her clothes was a serious mission?"

"I find it important that Emelia is happy, but it was also a serious task." Helix confessed.

"I purposely dressed her as flashy as possible that day.

The idea was to make them jealous of the attention she was getting and spark competition to see who could treat their servant better.

It's depressingly typical human behavior."

"Well it worked like a charm. So much it almost got you murdered." Marie commented with a complicated expression.

"So I don't know whether to praise your brilliance or scold you for being an idiot."

Riley giggled and fell silent again.

It was clear she was quiet and reserved at a glance.

Helix looked to the ceiling with a satisfied expression.

He was too busy talking about important issues to be informed of the social revolution he sparked.

"I guess you're under the idiot category since you're celebrating after almost dying." Marie commented lifelessly.

"Why did you choose to spark jealousy when you knew people would hurt you?" Riley asked curiously.

"I wanted to spark their jealousy over something simple I bought in the city." Helix replied with a wry chuckle.

"The idea was to get people into the city to find neat things.

Then, people would stop talking about me and speak about their treasures and new power, but…."

"But what?" Riley asked.

"It bothered me that many servants showed up with grave expressions the day after we arrived." Helix explained with a bitter smile.

Marie and Riley winced in understanding.

"The servants that had the gravest expressions belonged to two men I met recently." He commented.

Everyone's eyes shot open.

"You mean—"

"That's right, Lucas and Ethan." Helix confirmed with a slight smile.

"Why does your strategy to make people treat their servants better perfectly align with your meeting the perpetrators?" Marie asked with narrowed eyes.

Helix locked eyes with Marie before turning to Riley.

"Telling you that will put my life in danger.

Can I trust that you won't tell a soul?" He asked while making eye contact with both of them.

Marie and Riley's eyes shot open in panic.

"Y-You'd trust us with your life?" Marie cried.

Marie was appalled, considering that Helix was almost killed a few nights ago.

"I won't live long if I can't find people I trust." Helix sighed with a serious expression.

"You two are showing concern on my behalf, so you're the type of people I'm willing to confide in.

Moreover, you both were very kind and welcoming the first real night in Myriad.

At the very least, I trust you both won't fall into delusions and kill me without understanding the consequences."

Marie cringed after his assertion; it was a reminder of why [they] were in the room as well.

They didn't have to worry about anyone treating Myriad like the real world; they only had to worry about people treating it as a light or video game.

Emelia put tea cups in front of each, then sat with a concerned look.

She could tell the conversation was getting serious, making her nervous.

"I-If you're willing to trust me, I promise not to betray you." Marie stuttered in response.

"You can trust me as well." Riley added with an earnest expression.

Helix nodded, his eyes became sharp, and the atmosphere became heavy.

"I met Lucas and Ethan because I lured them into a trap in hopes they'd attack me."

Marie, Riley, and Emelia stared at Helix with shock in their eyes.

"Y-You lured them into a trap!?" Marie cried.

Helix leaned back into the brown leather couch and stared at the ceiling again.

"Yes. I needed someone to attack me, so I baited the worst people that deserved to—"

"Why the hell would you have people attack you when you knew getting hit would be a death sentence!?" Marie cried.

Emelia had the same reaction, only internally.

"Please calm down, Marie." Riley requested.

"I doubt someone would do that without reason."

Helix was grateful for Riley's words.

"What's worse? People with zero combat experience trying to murder you, or people that do?" Helix asked with a bitter smile.

Everyone's eyes widened in confusion.

"It was only a matter of time before someone attacked me." Helix sighed.

"They'd want to challenge me to a fight without understanding the consequences.

People believe I received a special Nightmare, and once I stop showing up to practice next week, they'll think I'm more special.

Everyone wants to be the protagonist right now, so the jealousy will only grow."

Marie's eyes trembled in an emotionally tumultuous fashion as she tried to process his words.

The same was true of Riley.

Everything he was saying was true.

They could firmly confirm it through the gossip that they were hearing.

"While Macron knew that, he couldn't protect me because the idea people would attack me so soon was absurd." Helix explained.

"To get protection, I needed to be attacked to send a message to future attackers that challenging me was akin to murder.

Now I have bodyguards outside the door, and Emelia and I are safe. Do you understand?"

Emelia had tears in her eyes, and Marie and Riley's expressions were strained.

"Don't get me wrong. It wasn't the right time to confront those two, and it was a mistake on my part." Helix confessed.

"I realized that when Lucas declared he would use his fire based Nightmare next to the library." He chuckled painfully.

Everyone stared at Helix, slack-jawed in disbelief.

"If they had gone through a single mock battle, they wouldn't have used so much force or treated the situation like a video game.

That was my mistake. However, I don't regret it because I only had so much information and time." Helix reasoned.

"In short, my strategy was to let people attack me when I had the highest probability of living.

It wasn't a perfect survival strategy, but considering I'm alive and Emelia and I have bodyguards, it wasn't a bad strategy either."

The four sat in silence for a minute after his revelations.

"Why did you lure Lucas and Ethan into the trap specifically?" Marie asked.

Helix looked up toward the ceiling again.

"The look on their servants' faces the day after we arrived is carved into my memory.

Since I needed protection, I figured I'd remove dangerous people that deserved to fall.

I hope you're not afraid of me now that you know I led people into a trap with malicious intent."

"Afraid of you? We're grateful for what you did!" Marie exclaimed.

"That's why we're here. We're here to thank you on behalf of Leera and the other women." Riley clarified gently.

Helix looked down from the ceiling and stared at the two in astonishment.

"Why are you thanking me?" Helix asked in confusion.

"I'm not sure what happened, but I was told you women experienced something disturbing afterward." He added with surprise.

Marie and Riley gave him complicated expressions.

"That's true, but that's also why we're grateful." Riley began.

"All of us women felt unsafe around those two.

They stared at us like predators looking at prey.

Our fear increased when their servants showed up the first morning with harrowed expressions.

The kingdom ordered the servants to seduce us.

So the fact they look battered was disturbing." Riley concluded.

"You confirmed it for us. Helix, you can't provoke normal people into killing you.

They were future killers willing to assault people as if they were NPCs." Marie added.

"Yeah. If they were people with a normal mindset, I wouldn't be on bed rest and we wouldn't be having this conversation." Helix sighed.

Everyone but Emelia laughed, and they sat silently while Marie worked up the courage to ask the question on her mind.

"You said you ended up in the hospital from spirit particle deprivation." She began hesitantly.

"Did… you use special magic on the two?

Things got… disturbing after your trap, so can you tell me more about it?"

"Sure. After provoking those two at dinner, I announced where I'd be that night." Helix responded without hesitation.

Marie looked at Helix with a stunned expression when she processed he was answering her.

"Is that why you were so flashy and bold when speaking to us?" Riley asked.

—

"A group of us women are going shopping tonight since it's Friday." Marie offered in a shy voice after Helix gave them directions.

"I know you already went, but you're welcome to join us."

"Thank you so much for inviting me to spend time with you women." Helix said graciously with a subtly elevated voice.

"However, I was granted a late-night pass to the royal library today.

An employee is being paid to work there until midnight upon my request.

Therefore, I can't turn it down even though I have a library now.

So I'm planning to stay there until eleven." He explained.

Then he gave a sidelong glance to Lucas to check his reaction.

The man was staring at him with a murderous glint in his eyes.

Helix smiled inwardly.

"I might be willing tomorrow, though.

I'd love to spend time and become friends with you all." Helix said with a charming smile.

"I'm not sure why cute women decided to chat with an anti-social otaku like me, but I enjoyed it.

To be honest, Myriad officially feels like a fantasy world." Helix chuckled shamelessly.

The group of girls giggled with flushed expressions, and Lucas and his new [friends] started whispering while sending Helix glances.

Lucas glared at Helix with killing intent oozing from his pores as he chuckled with his friends.

—

"That's right. I wouldn't have the confidence to do that if it weren't for a purpose." Helix chuckled.

"Why the library? Isn't that a well-known location?" Riley asked.

"Exactly, it was easy to find and access at any time.

Therefore, they could strategize if they planned to attack me.

It is also an isolated area that is empty after it closes." He said with a gentle smile.

"That's cunning and fearless." Marie muttered with astonishment.

"I like the terms pragmatic and desperate." Helix chuckled painfully.

Marie and Riley giggled before falling silent for a moment.

"What type of trap did you set?" Marie asked.

"I marked the floor with a disorientation spell.

It's called the Circle of Disillusion, a beginner trap spell." He lied without hesitation.

"Is it a powerful spell? I'm not sure if you heard what happened, but the aftermath was beyond comprehension." She asserted.

"It's not powerful… by default." Helix replied hesitantly.

"The Circle of Disillusion is a mental attack spell that leaves a person disoriented and distrustful of their surroundings."

—

[Query: beginner trap spell that provides mental interference.]

[Results]

[Minor Sensory Distortion Circle]

[Circle of Disillusion]

[Sensory Deprivation Circle]

[13 other options available with less relevance]

-

"Dear lord, these traps sound terrifyingly overpowered at a glance!" Helix muttered in disbelief.

"What would advanced traps look like?"

"Is everything alright, Helix?" Emelia asked while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just reading something interesting.

Please go back to sleep." He replied with a gentle smile while pulling the covers over her shoulders.

"Okay…." She replied with sleepy eyes before instantly falling back asleep.

Helix chuckled and gazed gently at the beautiful young woman before returning to his system.

"This one looks interesting." He whispered.

-

[Circle of Disillusion]

[Difficulty: Beginner]

[Usefulness: Legendary]

[Activation Time: Works for sixty seconds after activation]

[Cooldown: None]

-

"Wait… legendary? What's going on with this spell?" Helix whispered in disbelief.

-

[Description: A mental attack spell that leaves a person disoriented and distrustful of their surroundings.

Leaves the enemy vulnerable to suggestion for a short period.]

[Notes: A magic circle that's commonly used to disorient their enemies in a fight.

It is known for causing enemies to attack their comrades.

Warning: also causes erratic behavior.]

[Advanced Use Cases:

Perform interrogations on a battlefield by persuading the victim to distrust their comrades.

Seed thoughts into an enemy's brain that grow into long-term distrust.

Cause trauma by convincing an enemy that something is present or happening that isn't.]

[Research Case Studies and Examples]

-

"This is nothing short of disturbing, and anyone that uses it is a monster." Helix whispered.

After staring at the screen with a conflicted expression, Helix sighed.

"I better memorize this circle and research it thoroughly.

This spell is depressingly practical, and I need that right now." He asserted with a defeated tone.

"You can't be a hero if you're dead."

—

"It's a spell that makes people distrustful?" Riley asked in confusion.

"While it's a beginner spell, it's used by mages of the highest order." Helix nodded.

"During the period of disillusionment, your enemy is suspicious and susceptible to arguments that confirm their suspicions."

Marie's eyes widened with shock.

"That's terrifying! Such a simple spell can cause—"

"Long-term trauma?" Helix asked with a slight smile.

Marie opened and closed her mouth multiple times in shock and disbelief.

Riley was stunned in disbelief.

"You… how do know they're traumatized?"

—

[A/N: I hope you enjoy Helix's strategies; this chapter is what this is about.

If you're looking for a face-paced with clever, strategic fight scenes from chapter 1, read my other , Nerve Network. It's what you're looking for.

[Nightmare] isn't that . It's a dark comedy that explores the relationship between light cliches and reality. It's the opposite of wish fulfillment.

While Helix does become extremely powerful, he rarely fights enemies weaker than him and relies on strategies to overcome his weaknesses. That's the point and what makes this different.

I hope you'll enjoy [Nightmare] for what it is. If not, at least skip to the summary chapter 46 right before the level-up arc, or read Nerve Network.

Thanks for reading! :)]