Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 385 (Part 2):
Helmut spoke up, somewhat reluctantly.
“It’d be tough for you to beat me.”
Not just tough—if he was honest, it was nearly impossible.
Alea hadn’t reached the level of an Archmage, while Helmut had attained the realm of a Sword Saint.
He was just being honest, but naturally, his honesty rubbed Alea the wrong way.
Her violet eyes turned icy in an instant.
“We’ll see about that once we face off.”
‘She’s not seriously planning to cut me down with my sword, is she?’ Helmut didn’t even need to entertain such absurd thoughts—drawing his blade against Alea felt uncomfortable enough as it was.
But cruelly enough, he had a hunch Alea wouldn’t hesitate to unleash her magic on him without a second thought.
Her eyes blazed with an intense determination to win.
‘…Guess there’s no helping it.’
He couldn’t entirely blame her. A flicker of anticipation stirred in Helmut too.
Ever since their first meeting, Alea had occasionally sparked a competitive streak in him.
She was a powerful mage. He wanted to test himself against her, even for once.
It was an instinct that rivaled his attraction to her. Although one instinct clearly held dominance, it could never fully smother the other.
‘If I can’t defeat her, then I don’t deserve the title of champion.’
Anything worth having always came with trials.
It was a shame this particular trial happened to be his mage girlfriend.
She probably knew it too—that she couldn’t beat him.
With a touch of arrogance, Helmut let it slide magnanimously.
“You don’t want to fight your girlfriend, huh? Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Alea for you,” Asuka said, patting Helmut’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’ll make it to the finals, right? No way she’s getting that far.”
A smug grin, typical of a swordsman confident in his skills.
Alea snorted derisively.
From Helmut’s perspective, the idea of Asuka defeating Alea was just as unpleasant. If someone had to beat his girlfriend, he wanted it to be him—a peculiar sort of possessiveness.
“Why don’t you focus on getting permission to join first? You haven’t even secured that yet,” Sian jabbed.
Asuka’s face crumpled instantly.
“Like you’re one to talk. You’re not planning to enter anyway. You’d just get knocked out in the early rounds!”
“Who’s getting knocked out early? Spirit mages have an edge in one-on-one combat over regular mages, you know.”
Spirits exist partially in the spirit realm. Ordinary people sense only their presence but cannot see them. They are sentient beings, and as a spirit mage’s level increases, so does the spirit’s intelligence.
That was the key difference between regular mages and spirit mages.
Spirits could act independently while reflecting their master’s intent, making them dynamic.
Their unpredictability—impossible to anticipate—and the lack of casting time were huge advantages.
If a mage commanded multiple spirits, their opponent would feel like they were facing not just the mage but a whole group.
It wasn’t necessarily more mana-efficient, but an invisible foe attacking from multiple angles was naturally a headache to deal with.
“Fine, I’m in too,” Sian declared after a brief moment of thought, his tone resolute.
“I survived the Forest of Roots—dealing with people should be easier.”
Though he hadn’t fought much there, merely making it back alive from the Forest of Roots gave Sian a boost of unfounded confidence.
Asuka’s face lit up with curiosity as he made an offer.
“Really? Then how about we spar?”
“Sure, let’s do it.”
And with that, the two of them left the room. Helmut didn’t need to watch to guess the outcome. It’d be a rare treat for Asuka.
Helmut and Alea faced each other.
“How about we spa—”
“No.”
Alea cut him off sharply.
“I’m a mage, and I’ve got ways to handle a swordsman in a one-on-one fight. There’s no reason to show you my tactics ahead of time.”
It already felt like she was sizing up a rival. Helmut pointed out one fact.
“Even if the temple’s excluded from this tournament, you were a big name at Greta Academy. If it gets out that Alea’s a woman, people might connect you to Heike.”
If it came out that Alea was Heike’s granddaughter, she’d become a public enemy of the temple.
Sure, the temple had fallen out with many nations, but receiving a formal declaration of enmity from them was still dangerous.
But Alea, ever methodical, was ready for that.
“Who said I’d join as ‘Alea’? Traditionally, the martial arts tournament allows pseudonyms. Disguise magic’s off-limits, but masks are fair game.”
She answered primly, then headed for the door.
“Well, then. I’m off.”
Left alone, Helmut watched as Elaga slunk over from the corner where he’d been napping.
[Hey, any chance I could join the tournament too?] Elaga’s voice rumbled in his mind.
The demonic beast seemed intrigued. Beasts like him loved a good fight.
Helmut glanced down at the small cat-like figure at his feet and muttered, “How are you supposed to fill out the paperwork? No tournament’s going to let an animal compete.”
Naturally, that one remark sparked Elaga’s indignation.
[It’s because those Weak little humans are terrified of a mighty demonic beast like me joining! They probably stacked the rules so it’s just them, all equally puny, fighting among themselves!]
Frankly, it seemed unlikely the organizers had ever considered that scenario, but Helmut didn’t bother explaining.
One thing was clear—Alea and Elaga didn’t give a damn about Helmut’s ambition to win.