Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 123 (Part 1):
“Keep an eye on the bear for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
“Hey, you shouldn’t go alone.”
“It’ll only take 10 minutes. I have my own personal training ground anyway. Any decent prey will do.”
Helmut’s attention was more focused on something other than the competition. Just participating in the competition was enough to justify his hunt.
Even with the incident, it would be awkward for someone who is the top of the swordsmanship department to return empty-handed.
“You’re going to hunt in just 10 minutes?”
“There are a lot of animals near the water, remember?”
Helmut nodded calmly.
“For now, go to where the bear is. It would be troublesome if a beast ate it.”
“That’s right! It’s my catch.”
They hurried their steps. They wondered if, like last time when the trap disappeared, the bear would completely vanish, but that didn’t happen.
Fortunately for Asuka, his bear was still in its place.
“Would bear meat be tasty?”
Murmuring with a pleasant face, Asuka lifted the bear. Although it was too heavy to lift, he seemed to think he could drag it back if he used a bit of strength.
“Then, I’ll be back.”
Before leaving, Helmut sternly warned.
“If anything happens, scream. I’ll come running.”
“I’m just going to sit here. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Asuka said, sitting atop the bear carcass.
Helmut looked at him for a moment. He felt he needed to warn him.
“The ones who targeted you last time might do it again.”
“Those Black Hawk guys?”
“Yeah, we’re outside the academy.”
“What, are you scared? This is an official event of Greta Academy. Besides, the guys who commissioned it last time are not in the academy, so what’s the big deal?”
Asuka scoffed. He didn’t seem to take it seriously.
‘It would be better to come back quickly.’
Helmut decided to withhold further explanation. At this stage, informing Asuka might only excite him unnecessarily and lead to mistakes.
After all, their target is him. He’s not going far from here, so if a fight breaks out, he should be able to sense it.
Asuka asked Helmut’s retreating figure.
“Where are you going?”
“To the place Basil said he saw something.”
The trap’s location was exquisitely unavoidable. There must be something beyond it.
“What if you step on a trap?”
“That won’t happen. I’ll be back soon, just stay here.”
Like leaving a child behind, Helmut warned again. Asuka reluctantly nodded.
“Got it.”
Helmut hurried his steps and soon arrived at the location where Basil was trapped.
Faint bloodstains on the ground. A smell that would attract beasts. But the forest was quiet. It wasn’t the time of day when beasts are most active.
‘It was over there.’
He slowly stepped forward, aware that the opponent could hide their presence.
Helmut was a human who grew up in the Forest of Roots. A human without a beast’s tough hide or tremendous regenerative abilities.
Therefore, a moment of negligence could cause him a fatal wound. Naturally, caution was ingrained in him.
‘There’s something there.’
Something that looked like fur was moving between the trees. Basil hadn’t seen things.
However, the problem was that it hadn’t been visible when Instructor Patricia and Professor Dwayne were here, only becoming visible when Helmut appeared alone.
‘Is it not a beast but something hanging?’
The movement was irregular. As he approached, there was a sudden noise from the side.
Helmut’s sword was drawn in a flash. This time, it wasn’t a trap targeting the ankle. He sliced through whatever was coming at him swiftly.
“Chord?”
A tightly stretched wire flew towards him. Sharpened as if to slice, it was sharp enough to cut through flesh.
It was fortunate that Basil had previously stepped on a trap. Given the wire’s speed and height, it would have been difficult for him to deal with. It could have inflicted a fatal wound on his neck or head.
“If some unlucky fellow came this way, they might have been killed.”
Leaving the wire behind, Helmut moved on. He didn’t feel anyone’s presence around, but he couldn’t overlook the possibility of more traps.
‘That’s it.’
Helmut soon realized what had lured Basil. It was a doe tied with a rope, struggling to escape. The rope was long enough to make its attempts noticeable.
It seemed to have struggled for a while, but the doe couldn’t break free from the sturdy rope.
The doe’s eyes, weary from the struggle, could evoke sympathy.
But Helmut was unmoved. He aimed his bow and shot an arrow straight through.
“Thanks to you, I’ve caught a good prey.”
He might even rank if lucky. It would be hard for those who roamed near the campsite to find better prey.
Approaching the doe cautiously, Helmut looked around. Someone who set the trap must be nearby, but he felt nothing.
‘But they must have been here until recently.’
It’s impossible not to leave any trace when passing through the forest.
Helmut carefully observed the place where the grass was trampled.
Probably a man. A well-muscled, heavy man. That’s all he could guess.
‘Are they waiting for the group activities?’
If so, let’s consider this as a greeting.