The sky was still bright with clouds. Some places in the forest had been exposed to direct sunlight, making the leather jacket Adhitte was wearing a little shiny. She didn't want to change his clothes either. Because all her clothes are like that.
Helena, who was walking in front of her, also covered all of her body. They both walked silently, not knowing what kind of monsters would ambush them if they weren't careful.
[Some targets are within your range!]
"Helena, it looks like you have guests. About four people."
Helena stopped her steps. "I never have a guest."
At that moment, Helena came to her senses and immediately took position, while Adhitte tried to scan who was coming. From the signs, it seemed like they were humans, not monsters.
Srak!
A head appeared behind a large tree. It was a man's head with a blonde colored mane, it seemed like he wanted to hide but slipped so it appeared. Followed by the head of another person with black hair.
Helena just smiled as usual and covered her mouth area with a hand fan. She felt like the men were looking for her out of urgency to venture into the forest of her territory.
"Why are you looking for me? Is it because of this transcendent human?" Helena took Adhitte's hand suddenly.
Dean sighed and pushed Arthur's back forward. Arthur, who was not prepared, was immediately pushed forward.
Brugh!
'This damn body!'
Arthur fell with his arms outstretched forward, prone. He tried to get up on his own from his prone position. However, a beautiful hand was extended to him.
Helena reached out to help Arthur. Instead of accepting, Arthur immediately stood up and cleaned his body of any traces of dirt or leaves. Helena retracted her hand while commenting coquettishly. "Ouch, man's pride."
After successfully cleaning his body, Arthur looked at Adhitte there. That woman looked much friendlier than before. He didn't know what Helena had done to her. He thought Helena could have been killed by Adhitte. But instead, that two women were now even holding hands.
"You're still so sweet, dear." Helena commented when she noticed that Arthur was watching their hands together. Like a jealous person.
Arthur chuckled, "Tsk, you're still just as weak as last time."
Adhitte, who knew that the two men were aiming for her, immediately opened her voice. "What are you guys looking for me here for?"
Arthur reflexively replied, "We need your help, Adhitte."
Adhitte's response was beyond all of their expectations. She laughed in a strange tone. Arthur felt she was laughing in a... condescending manner?
"What do I have to gain by helping you? It's a waste of my time, move!"
Arthur was about to stop him, but Adhitte grabbed his arm first and pulled. That man lunged forward, then his body was twisted backwards. Adhitte locked his arms behind him.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Let go of my arm! It hurts!" Arthur struggled to be released.
Adhitte looked at Dean who was just clutching his hands and saw him with a cold stare. He pushed Arthur towards Dean, then spoke, "Take your useless friend with you."
Dean didn't catch Arthur, he let that man fall. When else would a young lord of a high-class noble be treated like that? So he was left alone. Dean looked at Helena intently.
He then opened his voice, "What are you doing? Making that woman into an experiment? She's even just a human."
Helena laughed coquettishly. "You're worried about her, aren't you? Are you afraid she'll become like your pet?"
"Shut your mouth before I kill you."
Adhitte moved forward in front of Helena. "Damn lowlife, you who are only human. You're the one I'll kill if you dare to touch even an inch of Helena's skin."
The prostrate Arthur tried to relax his neck muscles. He tried to separate the useless argument. "Hey, you look like you're used to being betrayed by mere mortals."
"Shut your mouth, skinny guy."
'I'm tired of getting all the body shamming because of Arthur Rudolf's useless body.'
Arthur held back his irritation. He flashed his best smile. "Tell you what, we'll help you achieve your goal and Helena's too. While you help us, we'll help you too."
That man snapped his fingers. Two people appeared there again. It was just as Adhitte had guessed.
A browned-hair woman and a tall man with red hair. Cindy appeared with her arm pulled by Count Rubel.
"I-I don't want to! They say that vampires can still drink human blood! I don't want to fall prey!" Cindy looked rebellious as she was pulled by Count Rubel.
Then she came to her senses as she was pulled from behind a tree into view by the creature she was talking about. The girl immediately felt her cheeks burn, feeling embarrassed. She immediately hid behind Count Rubel's body and tried to peek ahead.
Helena reacted to Cindy's appearance. She closed her hand fan and pointed at Cindy. "That girl... the mage who was in the sudden imperial assault on the old land of Garunam Kingdom, right?"
Count Rubel, who did have a high sense of pride for the Marithus Kingdom, immediately corrected. "That land has long been owned by the Marithus Kingdom according to the treaty."
"Oho... I'm sorry. I don't know many human activities and also that's all the chief told me." Helena covered half her face with the fan again.
Helena continued, "So, why did you bring that talented mage to me? Is this your offer to me?"
Arthur opened his mouth this time. "I know you made various experiments. As you might expect, I have a unique aura and mana, while Cindy has a circle as the heart of her unique mana. You can ask us to be one of the objects of your experiments, especially Cindy."
Helena nodded her understanding. She closed her hand fan and tried to walk closer to Cindy. Although prevented by Adhitte, she convinced the woman and walked slowly to Cindy.
Cindy still felt scared and hid behind Count Rubel's body, making that man immediately pull her forward. Helena said, "Relax, I haven't drunk human blood in a long time. Well, as that sweet man said, you have a unique mana heart. Hmm... in the Kingdom of Marithus it's called a circle, huh? Your circle rather than forming a container, it looks like a machine. How do you explain it?"
Clap!
Helena clapped her hands. "So, other mages usually collect mana around and store it in the circle for later use. As for your circle, it's to draw mana around and can be used immediately. Hmm... looks like you had the wrong upbringing. You're a mage but never learned magic, huh?"
Cindy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's right! I learned magic by myself. So my circulation capacity doesn't match the mana I use for magic."
Helena laughed flirtatiously. She winked one eye at Cindy. "I can help you better than any mage in the kingdom."
She moved back, taking up a position next to Adhitte. That woman opened her fan again and covered her face. "It's just, is this all you have to offer me? It can't just be an experimental object, right?"
Arthur had been waiting for that question. "Being the only vampire out of the clan, it's not good, is it? Weak to the sun because of the curse of the clan agreement. But, your goal is not to be healed."
Helena widened her eyes. She had no idea there were humans who still remembered vampire history. She asked, "Can you help lift this curse?"
There were only two ways to break the curse, death by decapitation or becoming another creature. Most ancient vampires preferred to become a litch, an undead who had a mind under the power of a necromancer. Therefore, in the novel volume "World of Level Up", Crown Prince Xavier somewhat regretted Helena's death after learning that the vampire had obtained the clan's curse. He could have made her a litch under him.
Arthur opened his mouth. "I can't, but your new partner can. Adhitte, you can help her."
Adhitte frowned. "What do you mean? Don't spread slander."
'I'll spread the queen's family background here.'
That man replied in a playful tone. "I have some of the queen's blood. Perhaps Helena knows that Queen Cosette is a descendant of necromancers, one of whom can see things. I can see a bit of the past."
Adhitte looked at Helena. Helena nodded to confirm the truth as she was the only oldest being among them.
"Hmm... your real name is Yoon Dalmi, right? What about the state of the earth after everything became a game?"
Dean watched their conversation in silence. He was especially interested in Arthur. That man did know a lot of things, even on par with him being the guild leader. From the crown prince's plan, Helena who had various experiments that no one knew about. Now he knew the purpose of the man from the outside world. Who exactly is that person?