As Helmut almost reached the training grounds, he encountered her. It was truly coincidental. Remembering Alea's warning to be cautious, Helmut flinched.
"Hello."
Charlotte greeted him with a bewildered face. To be at the training grounds this early in the morning, she too was diligent. Not only did she possess remarkable talent, but she also didn't neglect her efforts. They had a lot in common, not just in appearance.
"…Are you here for training?"
"Yes, yes! I'll be going now."
Charlotte bowed her head and hurried away. Helmut furrowed his brows. She acted as if she had committed a crime. Why?
'At Greta Academy, there are…'
There are rules that must not be asked about or discussed. Helmut recalled Charlotte's reaction when he had asked her if she knew 'Margaret Elaine'.
"I, I don't know. Senior, according to academy rules, asking such things…"
She looked around nervously, flustered. Charlotte was not good at lying. Because of this, Helmut was convinced. He was certain there was a very close relationship between the woman named Margaret Elaine and her.
Suddenly, numerous questions surged up, choking him. Is she alive? Where is she? How is she living? Is she healthy? Does she… remember me? But the flood was halted by reason. The existence of the 'Seed of Darkness' clutched at his tongue.
"Right."
The only thing that came out of Helmut's mouth was a brief response.
"Forget I asked. It's nothing."
He found the answer quicker than expected. Charlotte was the key. Helmut reviewed what he knew about Charlotte.
Likely a child of a rather influential noble family. Definitely a noble. If she maintained her noble status, then so did his parents.
Then they must be alive. He had always thought finding them would be a task for the distant future, as daunting and arduous as escaping the Demonic Beast Forest.
But faced with this clue dropped so easily before him, Helmut didn't know what to do.
'Blood relations…'
He had lived his entire life apart from them. The only memory he had was from infancy. Even the voice that called his name was now a vague memory. Would his mother, believing her child dead, welcome his return? Or?
'If the child with the Seed of Darkness returns, she might not be pleased.'
The temple knows Margaret Elaine bore a child with the Seed of Darkness. If she suddenly had a son, suspicions would be inevitable.
His family likely wasn't just his mother. Although he only remembered her, it's improbable she bore him alone.
A father, siblings, and relatives. Being nobles, there would likely be more than one or two related by blood.
'I can't put them in danger.'
He couldn't leave even a fellow Swordsman Department student to die because of him. He didn't want his appearance to bring misfortune to them.
Helmut suddenly realized. He couldn't dismiss Dino, Andro, and James because of their circumstances.
It was similar to when he was thrown into the Demonic Beast Forest as a baby. Innocent, yet faced with death.
Deep down, Helmut found it unjust. Especially since they were endangered because of him.
The cause of Helmut being thrown into the forest was the Seed of Darkness and the temple. Helmut knew he couldn't change the past, and even if he could, nothing would be different.
But the future could be changed. Here, he could think, judge, and fight. Having the Seed of Darkness wasn't an insurmountable reality.
Helmut had survived the Demonic Beast Forest, emerged from it, and now stood on human land. As the great mage Antiol said, someday he would even master this power.
But that was the future. Currently, he wasn't safe enough.
There's never a perfectly safe moment. But was now the time to risk revealing his identity?
Helmut pondered but soon found his answer.
'Not yet.'
He wasn't ready to confront the temple yet. He wouldn't miss the right opportunity when it came, but it was too soon to seek it out.
And now, final exams were approaching.
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"Attention, everyone! You've heard the rumors about the final exam practical test, haven't you?"
One day before the final exams, Instructor Alan, hands on his hips, explained the practical exam as the class was ending. The Swordsmanship Department students were all abuzz.
"Illusion magic?"
"That sounds amazing. It'll be fun."
"Is it a test focusing on adaptability and real combat experience?"
"Monsters as opponents? Weak-hearted guys might faint at the sight."
Amid the commotion, Helmut quietly pondered Instructor Alan's words.
Inside the academy, there's a large dome-shaped building. The test takes place inside it. A robust building filled with the essence of various magics. Once inside and the test begins, monsters are conjured through magic. Although illusions, they have forms and speeds almost identical to reality.
Defeating them by cutting or hitting vital points makes the monsters disappear. Though the conjured monsters look quite real, they can't actually strike back. However, if hit in a spot that would be fatal, the exam immediately ends.
The exam consists of ten stages. It starts with easy monsters, gradually getting harder. How one fights against the monsters and how high a stage one reaches determines the score.
For second-year students, reaching the fourth stage would be challenging. Since it tests real combat skills, students enter with real swords.
"There's a caution. Using Vis is allowed, but don't swing your sword at the walls and damage the property. Unless you want to be cursed by the Magic Department professors. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Asuka approached as they listened to the explanation.
"Sian was right; this sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
"Confident? It's fighting monsters. Sounds terrifyingly awesome. Heart pounding, right?"
Asuka grimaced, making a fuss. Helmut recalled the monkey monster he saw during a convoy mission that devoured people whole. If terrifying was the word, then that was it. What stage would that be? For second-year students, about a dozen would need to gang up. One or two might die.
Or not. They all might die. Adding individual strengths together might overpower it, but this isn't arithmetic; it's a completely different problem. Fundamentally, one must not allow the monster to attack.
'If it were Ella, maybe the 10th stage? No, with their level of magic, they couldn't even conjure it.'
Helmut thought of the leopard the size of a house that ruled the central region of the Demonic Beast Forest. Although goofy in personality, Ella was incredibly powerful. Even if Helmut attacked with all his might, a swipe of its tail was enough to roll him on the ground.
Now, he had grown stronger. How much had the gap closed between him and it? Helmut decided not to think about it. It would only sour his mood.
'I've eaten Naho, so I should be stronger.'
Originally, Ella was slightly superior to Naho. With one of Naho's heads gone, there was no doubt about his victory.
Just as Ella believed Helmut would have escaped the Demonic Beast Forest.
'Anyway, reaching a higher stage here could widen the gap between Asuka and me.'
The exam style was welcome. Helmut hoped for the toughest and most challenging beasts. Asuka likely hadn't fought magical beasts before. At least, it seemed that way. And Helmut's guess was right.
"Ah, but what if something utterly brutal or grotesque appears? I might panic."
"You did well against humans."
Helmut suddenly thought of Pacho's face. That was more grotesque to him.
"Are humans and beasts the same? Humans look smaller and more manageable. Beasts have teeth like this and roar terrifyingly!"
As Asuka bared his teeth and roared, some students nearby almost burst into laughter but quickly covered their mouths. Even if Asuka acted cute or funny, he was still Asuka. The notoriety of the mad dog hadn't died yet.
"…There's nothing to fear. It's not like you actually die."
Sometimes, humans are stronger than beasts. Humans are cunning and fight in ways beasts don't.
"You seem to have fought with beasts quite a bit. So calm."
"Yeah."
Quite a lot, indeed. Even beasts that would be considered beyond level 10 by the exam's standards. Asuka's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Man, what have you been doing all your life to have experienced things most people never do?"
"It's the opposite. I've lived without experiencing things most people have."
"What does that mean?"
"Let's go get lunch."
Helmut gestured with his chin and moved first. It was best to cut it off at the right moment; otherwise, Asuka would keep probing. Asuka grumbled as he followed.
"Acting all high and mighty. Like you're hiding some dark past. Are you some criminal wanted by the temple?"
"…"
Asuka had a sharp edge.
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Around midnight, Helmut ran into Alea, who had returned early that day. When he thanked Alea for the notes, Alea suddenly turned his head away.
"Now that you've done well, you should maintain it. You were admitted through instructor recommendation, after all."
"Yeah."
Helmut didn't ask if Alea's exam preparations were going well. It would be a silly question for the top student of the Magic Department. Alea was surely doing fine.
Conversely, Alea asked.
"How's your exam prep going?"
When Helmut mentioned the Swordsmanship Department's practical exam, Alea tilted his head.
"Illusion magic exam? We have that too."
"Mages too?"
"Mages also need real combat experience, or so they say, so we have it too. It's harder for us. Magical beasts are faster than humans, and casting magic takes time."
That's why swordsmen and mages usually paired up. Several swordsmen to one mage. Hence, the Swordsmanship Department jokingly referred to it as princesses and knights.
"Isn't scoring full marks about passing level 10?"
The level of difficulty was unknown, but the facility was used even by upperclassmen for exams. Even for Alea, real combat experience didn't seem plentiful. Helmut wondered if Alea's perfect score streak would break.
"For the Magic Department, it's relative grading. The highest level reached gets full marks. And no one will reach a higher level than me."
Alea snorted confidently.
"But Sian has a spirit. If he cleverly reaches a high level in the exam, that's enough, right?"
Alea's expression slightly changed at that.
"You have a point."
Even if Sian used clever tactics, Alea didn't expect to score lower. But Alea didn't let his guard down. That was his secret to maintaining the top spot and perfect scores.
"Indeed, you have a point…"
Murmuring, Alea's gaze turned cold. Helmut wondered if he had said something unnecessary.
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"Did Alea suddenly start ignoring you, and do you know why?"
The next day, Sian, looking serious, asked Helmut in the dormitory.
"He's probably just tense because of the new exam. It's a challenging format for mages."
A slight mistake or error in magic could immediately end the exam. Alea rarely made mistakes, but he had quite a few rivals.
Sian's spirit could think and attack independently, unlike magic that simply follows the caster's calculations. It could adapt to unexpected situations more easily, potentially giving him an advantage in this exam.