[Nightmare]

"You've racked up three savage beatings, boy!" Tyrene shouted.

Helix was staring down a savage love child between a mongoose-like rodent with the hide of an alligator.

It was extremely fast and jumped between trees.

—

[Query: Marskaratt]

[Species: Reptile-Rodent]

[Threat Level: Intermediate]

[General Characteristics:

~50-70 pounds.

Light brown scales.

Body of a rodent with a long stomach.

Small sharp teeth.]

[Description: A fast reptile with the typical running patterns of a fast animal.

Jump and attach to trees to avoid attacks.

Their scales are extremely tough to pierce.

They are extremely nimble and have claws that attach them to nearby trees.

They will attack humans upon sight.

Indigenous to the following regions…]

[Known Weaknesses:

Must move in a straight line.

Susceptible to low attacks and defenses without trees or other objects to jump to.

They are highly reliant upon their senses to move quickly.

Fear the following beasts…

Weak to the following elements…

….]

[Known strategies for fighting them…]

[Research]

[New query]

—

Helix grit his teeth.

He wasn't in pain, but his mental stamina was fading, and his mind was jumbled from taking sudden attacks.

"Anticipate." He whispered while gritting his teeth.

"Wait…."

Helix's eyes flashed with inspiration, and he began running into an opening.

"You keep running and being attacked from behind!

Don't make me rip that armor off and beat you with it!" Tyrene growled.

Tilo watched the battle with amusement.

He grinned after realizing he could treat Helix harsher while maintaining the [cool teacher] status.

Helix ignored her and ran to a tree in the Marskaratt's range.

Then he turned at a 45-degree angle and ran to another tree.

"I guess this is what happens when he doesn't read—"

Helix used his recent boost in skills to cut the tree in half.

The motion was so absurd given his stats yesterday.

As a result, the two didn't know whether he was confident or arrogant.

"What is he—"

The moment the tree started to fall, Helix rolled to the left.

"Creeeeehhhk…"

BOOM!

Helix stood up and swung his sword erratically without form at the ground.

There was a sharp clang.

"KYAH! Kkkkaahahahahhhhhh!"

"What the hell just happened?" Tilo asked in confusion.

"KYAH KYAH! Kahhhhhh!!"

"He just…." Tyrene replied with wide eyes.

Helix struck the ground repeatedly as fast as he could.

"Kah… ha."

"That… had to be the most marvelously ungraceful, savage display of force I've ever seen!" Tilo declared before bursting into laughter.

"I… don't laugh! Tell me how you would approach my feedback!

That wasn't swordsmanship! That was clever barbarity!" Tyrene gasped.

Helix fell to the ground and panted.

Then he crawled to an area with good visibility and no backing to rest.

"I have no clue! Haha! But… but…. Hahahaha!" Tilo roared.

"Now you know what it feels like! Hahaha.

How… how… how does it feel—gah!"

Tilo received a chop to the back of his head and covered it with his hands.

After crying out, he jumped back and grimaced.

However, when he could think again, he started cackling.

"Hah. What are you so bent out of shape for?

At least he didn't try to blow up a city to win. Haha…." Tilo laughed.

Tyrene frowned.

"I suppose you're right…." She muttered.

"Still… it's hard to tell if the kid's tactics are genius or experimental because he knows he won't die…."

Tilo calmed down and gave Helix a serious expression.

They were watching on a hilltop in the distance.

As a result, he couldn't see them, let alone hear them, unless Tyrene was yelling.

"That… is what I'm trying to figure out, too." Tilo replied with a frown.

Tyrene nodded.

"Do you think he researched Marskaratts last night?" She asked.

Tilo nodded.

"Probably. No, I'm almost certain about it." He confirmed.

"Why?" She requested.

"The Marskaratt is too fast to quickly pick up their movement patterns.

It's hard to pick up because they move in straight lines since they attack at different angles.

It appears erratic." Tilo argued.

"The lesson was to discover their movement patterns and defend. Right?"

Tyrene looked at Helix with a complex expression.

"Yes. The challenge was to see whether Helix would realize that Marskaratt's have difficulty stopping their sprint.

If he learned they must use an object to stop their running, he'd move to that clearing and protect himself from a low angle." She reasoned while pointing in the distance.

"It was a test to learn a weakness and figure out how important it is to research your surroundings."

Tilo nodded and stared at Helix.

"Yeah. That's a great lesson.

Yet, he found a strategy to kill it. That… was unexpected. It was level 25, and Helix is level 13." Tilo commented.

The two had given him armor used to fight level 50 beasts.

As a result, he was invincible to real injury unless a beast clawed his eyes out or shook his internal organs enough to kill him.

The two grandmasters agreed to protect Helix with their lives last night.

At least temporarily until he was strong enough to protect himself without fear.

"Yeah… that was… wild." She nodded.

Helix attracted the Marskaratt in the direction of a tree.

Then he changed direction and ran to a second tree with a large boulder behind it.

When the Marskaratt attached to the first, he cut down the second tree.

As a result, when the beast jumped at him and missed, it smashed into the boulder at 50 mph.

Dazed and stunned, it couldn't prepare for Helix's immediate attack.

However, Helix didn't even look at the beast.

He swung violently downward, praying that he'd injure it.

It was a reckless move that showed he was gambling with his life.

Even once the Marskaratt was wounded, he didn't target its vitals and kept bludgeoning it to death.

"I think he feels helpless and angry.

Perhaps he wasn't trying to finish the exercise but taking out his frustration." Tyrene suggested with a complicated expression.

"He's been dealt five death cards, and his Nightmare is currently useless."

Tilo nodded.

"Indeed. If I were you, I'd praise the boy for surviving and chastise him for not working harder with the sword." He suggested.

"Hmmm. I think that's what I'll do." She replied.

"You better start practicing. I haven't seen you be that kind to a student for thirty years, master!" Tilo laughed heartily.

"I'm going to chop your spine and use it as firewood, Tilo." Tyrene warned with a murderous gaze.

Tilo laughed and walked away.

"Hah. That'll be the day, softy." He chuckled while lifting his hand with his back turned to her.

"I need to practice my scolding, so I'll see you later."

Tyrene chuckled and started walking in Helix's direction.

"Genius and idiot as always, I see." She declared when she approached him.

"Are you going to explain your reasoning for not running to the valley?"

Helix gave her a defeated smile.

"Running toward the valley would have been impossible if I was locked in with the others.

As a result, I searched for a solution that could be used if outnumbered." He explained with a slight smile.

Tyrene stared at him with wide eyes.

"I… am impressed with your reasoning." She muttered in amazement.

"However! I won't be lenient if you keep shirking your training goals for personal ones.

It's sacrificing half of tomorrow for last night.

Be reckless and experimental on your own time!" She scolded weakly.

Helix smiled at your expressions.

The woman was finding it difficult to keep up her facade.

"Yes, master." He replied with a hopeless smile.

"Now go, let Tilo punish you for your performance."

Helix didn't know whether to laugh or cry after Tyrene's demand.

So he settled on a half-worried smile and walked back.

"Oh, and Helix." She muttered.

"Yes?" He asked.

"It's okay to grieve with me.

But you must have a rational mindset when you're training with Tilo.

Just because he's an illusion master doesn't mean he understands how powerful your Nightmare is.

His knowledge doesn't mean he understands it.

None of us do." Tyrene said with a serious gaze.

"Don't let your frustration cloud your mind."

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)