[Nightmare]

"Boy… I'm terrified knowing I tried to hit you when we met." General Lackbolt chuckled bitterly.

"That shit is going to give me nightmares for years."

"What are you talking about? I don't remember that." Helix replied with a slight smile.

"Hah. Suppose you're backing up your words left and right." The man replied with a wry smile.

His brown and grey beard was matted from constantly grabbing it during the battle.

"Besides, am I really that scary?" Helix chuckled.

"Boy, you used the [Intent Spell] for its head and had 100 men saw that thing's head off.

Once its skin dissolved, you put the four-ton skull into your fucking item storage like it was a damn shield.

You even stole its middle finger to taunt the Mad Queen." General Lackbolt replied sarcastically.

"Is… there something wrong with that?" Helix asked with a mocking smile.

"I found it charming."

General Lackbolt shivered and sent him a wry smile.

"No. It's your victory prize. I wouldn't do the same, but now that I have hand bones, I'm excited to show off my men's victory." He sighed.

"Moreover, I'm shocked you organized my soldiers fast enough to pull off ten tons of its hide.

Everyone in the army is going to have legendary armor now.

I'm sure that this [Samma Shaw] will make a fortune making battle armor once they can afford it.

After you mentioned her name, no one is willing to use anyone else." General Lackbolt chuckled.

Helix shrugged and gave him an evil grin.

The man calmed down, developed a serious expression, and peered into Helix's pitch-black eyes.

"Boy, was the real reason you came here to take charge to save us?" He asked with a firm tone.

"Real reason? I told you the reason." Helix asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, you did. It was a training exercise; that's the problem.

General Masney told me that you didn't want to be a leader right before the battle.

Yet you took on the full responsibility of the battle and protected [my] men as if they were your own.

It would be one thing to fight and another to give a rally speech for morale while your teacher was dying."

Helix gilded his eyes to the left in thought.

"Maybe I was always meant for it." He sighed in defeat.

General Lackbolt raised his eyebrow in confusion.

He could tell the statement wasn't sarcastic arrogance.

"I keep asking myself—why me?" Helix explained.

The man listened intently to his words.

"I don't know if you know this, but I was summoned from another world to help fight against the Mad Queen as a hero." Helix announced.

General Lackbolt's eyes widened in shock.

Helix chuckled when he saw the man's reaction.

"Do you think that I was stateless for eighteen years?" He asked with a mocking tone.

The general stroked his unkempt beard with a pondering expression.

"I suppose that makes a lot more sense now."

Helix nodded.

"We're summoned because we have higher stats.

As a result, my partners were capable of what you saw despite being below level sixty.

It's also why we were able to get strong so fast."

"What!?" General Lackbolt roared.

"Calm down." Helix chuckled.

"Sorry, boy. I can't do that." The man asserted while shaking his head.

"It answers a lot of questions, and I appreciate that.

But it could be a scandal if Kozen or any other country knew that Alzeria pulled that off.

Why would you tell me this? Are you an idiot?"

Helix chuckled and shook his head.

"Kozen does the same thing, so keep the secret." He asserted.

Helix knew because Princess Eliza gave him a self-deleting Circle of Remembrance that explained the history of Alzeria's Earthian program.

General Lackbolt gave him a shocked expression.

"Second, the rowdy bunch won't keep the secret long.

So I'm preemptively addressing an impending scandal once Kozen starts asking questions." Helix explained.

"It's not like we can hide that I leveled up into a monster in four months.

The math wouldn't explain how we have the power of Level 150 at eighteen.

I wouldn't tell you if Tyrene didn't mention it already, but now it's better that you know in advance."

General Lackbolt calmed down.

"The primary reason I told you is for the same reason that I took responsibility for your troops with my life.

It's accompanying a favor I wish to ask." Helix sighed.

The general raised his eyebrow with interest.

"I'm listening. I will do what I can for you after what you've done." He replied with a serious expression.

Helix looked into the man's brown eyes with a serious expression.

"I am one of the only people with the strength and skills necessary to fight the Mad Queen." Helix declared with a serious expression.

General Lackbolt let out a small gasp.

After watching Helix and his partners take down the Colossus that would have wiped out his forces and destroyed half of Kozen, he couldn't deny it.

"That's why Tyrene trained me and followed me." He continued.

"One day, I may be forced to seriously confront the Mad Queen, and they wanted me to prepare.

I've received intel that she is moving [something] towards Alzeria, and I have agreed to fight against it in one month.

That is where we were headed when we heard of the Stalkwalker and came here along the way."

The general's eyes widened in fear.

He was still rattled from the battle yesterday.

The idea that the young man was directly facing off against the Mad Queen was far more terrifying.

"General Lackbolt. The battle is quickly approaching, and I need experience for that time.

Now that we have achieved victory, I would like to preemptively ask that you send an emissary to ask for Kozen's military aid 33 days from now in the Alzerian Capital."

Helix's pitch-black eyes burrowed deep into his soul.

General Lackbolt would usually laugh and point the requester to the kingdom's Alzerian embassy in the Kozen Capital.

However, Helix and his troops saved his soldiers' lives alongside the country.

They owed him a blood debt, and Kozen owed him as well.

It was a tough situation to navigate, however.

It takes a month to get to the Alzerian Capital, so even if he sent someone and the king immediately agreed, they would be pushing the time limit.

That was the best-case scenario.

He put his elbows on his desk and rubbed his eyes with his palms.

There was an even more important consideration.

"Boy… do you even have the authority to formally request aid on behalf of the Alzerian Kingdom?" General Lackbolt asked.

Helix scoffed lightly and turned his head in understanding.

After a period of silence, he took a deep breath.

"No." Helix sighed.

The man took a deep breath and released his palms from his eyes.

"You understand if we show up with an army unannounced, it will be seen as a declaration of war?" He asked with a pitiful expression.

Helix gave him an equally helpless smile.

"Yes. However…."

He touched his neck, and items started dumping out on the table.

General Lackbolt's eyes widened in shock when he inspected the items.

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)