"Pacho."
At Talon's call, Pacho, struggling to his feet, stumbled toward him. He looked better than expected, even remembering to pick up his severed fingers.
'I should have cut off the other hand too.'
There was still a feeling of insufficiency. Pacho bowed his head and spoke in a low voice.
"I apologize, Lord Talon."
"No, first we need to treat your injuries. You're in bad shape."
Pacho drank a potion Talon handed him. Helmut frowned.
'It would be troublesome if he recovered and attacked.'
Fortunately, the potion didn't seem potent enough to reattach severed fingers.
Having regained some strength, Pacho straightened his back and stood up. There was no time to stand around. Helmut gathered his belongings and turned away from them.
"I'm leaving. You'd better disappear quickly."
"Ah, wait a moment."
Talon called out to Helmut before he could leave.
"I have a piece of advice for you."
Helmut looked back at him with an expressionless face.
"What is it?"
"You have good skills and judgment."
It was an unexpected compliment. Helmut maintained his impassive expression.
"If there's one flaw, it's either you're too soft or too calculating, but you hesitate. Sometimes it's better to cut the enemy's throat right away, regardless of what they say."
Was he suggesting it would have been better to kill Pacho? The comment was made calmly but strangely resonated with Helmut. Though it seemed like unnecessary advice, Helmut listened because there was a need.
In moments of life and death, a person's mouth can spill a lot of information. Also, Helmut had the constraint of the Seed of Darkness.
It meant he had to ponder whether each killing was necessary.
"That may be true. But I'm a student at Greta Academy."
"Being a student means you refrain from killing? Interesting."
"Think whatever you want."
With those final words, Helmut turned his back again. This time, Talon did not stop him.
Behind him, he sensed Talon and Pacho moving away. Being accustomed to acting covertly, they would have no trouble leaving the forest.
Helmut considered what to do with the cloak, eventually stuffing it inside his clothes and wrapping it around his waist. The cloak, enchanted with space expansion magic, was thin and light, not very noticeable.
He sensed magic ahead. Professor Dwayne must be using magic to search the area. Helmut immediately headed in that direction.
"Helmut!"
Instructor Alan exclaimed in surprise upon seeing him.
"Are you alright?"
Helmut spread his hands to indicate he was fine. He had sustained some injuries while breaking rocks, but there were no bleeding wounds. His extraordinary recovery had already begun.
Approaching, Instructor Alan tapped Helmut's shoulder and sighed.
"Chasing an assassin alone! How reckless!"
"It was nothing. I couldn't catch up with him anyway."
Helmut lied casually.
"That's not the point. You chased an assassin alone. Regardless of being angry because your friends were hurt, if something had happened to you!"
"Nothing happened, so it's fine. Let's go back."
Helmut's straightforward response left Instructor Alan speechless.
"There, found you. That's a relief."
Professor Dwayne appeared, his face sweaty.
This area, with its steep slopes and no proper paths, had prompted Alan to rush over as soon as Dwayne detected Helmut with his search magic.
The instructors had shown a sense of responsibility typical of their roles, not considering their own safety in a forest with an assassin. Helmut tilted his head slightly and added.
"I'm strong."
He felt the need to reassure them. To let the instructors know he was neither reckless nor in danger.
"I know. Anyway, let's talk when we get back."
Instructor Alan shook his head, not entirely convinced.
'I need to find the horse.'
Helmut knew where the horse was but had no way to explain how he knew. Therefore, he couldn't go looking for it right now.
Was someone else riding it? Helmut felt slightly anxious.
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While Professor Dwayne was casting healing spells on the injured, Helmut explained what had happened to him, omitting certain details for brevity. Since Andro had already given an explanation, it was easier to tell his story.
Hearing his words, Instructor Patricia quietly touched her forehead.
"So the assassin escaped? You didn't even see him?"
"Yes, I lost his trail and came back."
Continuing to lie made Helmut's conscience sting. He thought he had adapted quite well to Greta Academy. The fact that he now had a conscience indicated this.
"I'm not sure about Dino's condition."
Helmut didn't elaborate on how he had saved Dino from his rampage.
However, given Dino's unusual state, it seemed necessary to inform them about what had happened to him.
Helmut briefly explained the reason for Dino's rampage. The enemies had injected magic into him, and during their confrontation, Dino had collapsed at some point.
Although Helmut omitted the part where he extracted the magic, it wasn't a lie.
"There's still a trace of magic in his body. It seems we'll need to take him to the temple for purification."
After examining Dino's condition, Professor Dwayne added his observation. The mention of the temple made Helmut twitch slightly.
"It's really lucky. If the magic and vis had clashed, his blood vessels could have burst, leading to death. Somehow, the magic was drawn out of his body."
"Black Hawk, truly tenacious. I didn't expect them to send someone here."
"We should have contacted sooner. It's our fault you were put in danger. I'm sorry."
Instructor Patricia apologized, patting Helmut's shoulder. The scene they had arrived to was indeed shocking.
Asuka spitting blood, James battered and bruised, Dino unconscious with severed fingers, and Helmut missing. Only Andro was relatively unscathed.
'The danger was my own doing.'
Not informing the instructor was Helmut's own decision. He had enjoyed the fact that the enemy was lurking nearby, relishing the tension.
But at some point, he could no longer enjoy it, perhaps because his teammates were in danger.
When he returned to the campsite and saw his fallen comrades, he was angry. That's when he realized he had changed.
The current Helmut wasn't the same as before, who only thought of himself and didn't need to consider others.
Another cumbersome constraint had emerged. Bound by this restriction, he felt restricted, an unfamiliar sensation.
However, he didn't feel averse to it. While he wasn't thrilled about the change, it wasn't unacceptable. It felt like taking a step further into the world of others.
Instructors Alan and Patricia, along with Professor Dwayne, began discussing among themselves.
They had hurriedly left the campsite. Moving everyone would be too much for Professor Dwayne, who had already used healing magic.
Deciding what to do with the five students and how to handle the remaining day of the hunting trip was also necessary.
'When will I find the horse?'
For Helmut, this issue was of utmost importance. Solo actions seemed no longer permissible. But he couldn't just leave his beloved horse behind. He felt somewhat anxious.
"Ah, I feel a bit better."
Asuka, who had been lying down, drank water after receiving treatment. He seemed unfazed for someone who had nearly died, confident because he had successfully landed a hit on the assassin. Typical Asuka.
In contrast, the other two looked gloomy, eager to return.
Why two? Because Dino was still unconscious.
As Asuka drank water, he suddenly widened his eyes and pointed.
"Hey, look there."
Helmut was already looking in that direction. The sound of hooves approached, and a white horse emerged from the forest. Helmut raised his eyebrows.
"White."
The horse seemed cheerful, as if it had been playing in the forest. Recognizing its name, White calmly approached and stood in front of Helmut.
Helmut stroked the horse's mane, and White neighed pleasantly. It didn't seem tampered with. Perhaps a form of after-sales service.
'Not bad.'
Helmut found himself liking Talon. Despite almost killing his prey, the slight resentment he had felt was dissipating.
Soon after, four more horses appeared in line. Andro and James got up.
"What's happening?"
"Why did the horses come back?"
Confused but happy to have their horses back, it's natural for a swordsman to cherish the horse they've ridden for a long time, as it's as personalized to them as their sword.
"The missing horses returned, how odd."
Professor Dwayne checked the horses with magic. Finding nothing amiss, he shrugged.
"It doesn't seem like any tampering has been done to the horses."
Instructors Patricia and Alan chimed in.
"It feels strange that the assassin would return the horses."
"It could be that the horses we chased off came back or the ropes they were tied with came loose, but it's certainly odd."
"We need to take the students back now."
With the horses available, things became easier. The three agreed on what to do next. Instructor Patricia addressed the five members of team 9.
"We've requested support from the academy. It's an emergency, so professors from both the magic and swordsmanship departments will arrive soon.
We'll go ahead to the campsite with Dino, as we need to welcome them and gather the other students.
The remaining five will have a bit of a struggle. You have luggage, so you'll have to ride back with Instructor Alan."
It wasn't possible to move everyone with magic without overburdening Professor Dwayne.
"No problem!"
The one who seemed relieved was Asuka, burdened with many items since he packed various things for the hunting trip, thinking it would be useful.
Among them, a magic scroll that created a vacuum in a specific area proved valuable.
"If anything happens on the way, contact me with the crystal orb, Alan. We'll go ahead."
"Yes, Patricia. See you at the campsite."
With that, the return method was decided.
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After Professor Dwayne and the others left, the remaining members packed up and set off immediately. The journey back to the 9th zone took exactly four hours, just like when they arrived.
Healing magic only treated wounds. Everyone was exhausted from lack of sleep and fighting. They were hungry, with nothing to eat.
The physical exertion alone was more demanding than their training. But the intense stress drained them even more.
When they saw the first campsite again, the tired members of team 9 all felt a wave of relief. Helmut was no exception.
"Helmut!"
As they entered the campsite, a man ran towards them.
"Instructor Ethan."
Helmut nodded respectfully. Ethan, usually composed, looked anxious. He approached Helmut, who had just dismounted, and grabbed his shoulders.
"Helmut, you told me, but I never thought it would actually happen."
It seems he already heard about the Black Hawk attack.
Ethan Kudrow knew about the incident between Helmut and Black Hawk because Helmut had told him before. Helmut responded lightly.
"I didn't expect it either, so don't blame yourself."
"I should have been there... I'm sorry."
Ethan smoothed his troubled face. Feeling someone worry about him was quite nice.
Just as Helmut had changed, so had the people around him. That change was significant.