[Nightmare]

"When you put it that way, it does make sense to invest in our servants." David pondered.

"Besides—" Helix said with a genuine smile.

"Isn't that bright smile worth it?" He asked with a warm gaze.

Everyone present turned to look at the young woman again.

While she stood in the corner gossiping with the other servants, she had a dazzling smile while showing off her dress.

The other female servants were touching the fabric and commenting on her earrings.

"Can I sit with you guys?" A female voice called out from behind him.

He found a cute blonde with glasses holding a small white puppy.

"Soul beast?" He muttered to himself breathlessly.

It was a white canine curled in her arms, periodically sneezing.

Her large pink glasses popped against her blonde hair.

He immediately noticed that there wasn't a curve on the lenses.

They were fake, and he found the touch charming.

Her clothing was a simple white v-neck with pink and purple jacket split horizontally between the two colors.

It was unique and memorable.

"Of course." Helix replied without hesitation.

"There's a seat next to David that has opened up."

The women giggled when they saw David's face cramp up as Charlotte sat down.

"The name's Charlotte, and I'm a hero recruit.

It's exciting to meet Alzeria's famous troublemaker." She announced with a grin.

Helix frowned.

"My name is Helix, and I'm Alzeria's famous troublemaker.

It's great to meet a hero recruit." He replied with lifeless eyes.

The women at the table giggled amongst themselves when they heard his reply.

They were all secretly watching him with interest.

Unfortunately, so were the men, who had bitter jealousy in their eyes.

Like Lina, they had achieved a handsome appearance for the first time.

Yet the women were still interested in the above-average young man that chose to accept a library as his gift.

"I've been watching you. You're interesting." Charlotte declared while taking a bite of her steak.

Her manner of eating was strange.

She cut the steak with a straight back and dainty demeanor, but she tossed the meat into her mouth and ate it like a savage.

"It seems that you're always up to mischief." Charlotte said with a grin.

"Judging by the way you're eating, you're an expert on the subject.

So it seems that I can't deny it." He replied with a mocking smile.

Charlotte shrugged and continued her charade.

David looked between the two of them with confusion in his eyes.

He wasn't great with social skills, so he didn't understand the strange, high-level conversation unfolding.

"What are you after?" She asked casually before taking another bite.

"I want to survive." He replied without hesitation.

"Hmmm? No way. There's something else.

What are your goals?" She clarified.

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"To survive." He reiterated.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him and then looked at David.

"You two seem close. What would you say that Helix is interested in?" She asked.

David's heart started racing.

"H-He really just wants to survive." He replied.

"Really? How boring." Charlotte remarked.

Helix sighed inwardly.

He couldn't figure out why he found women like her so attractive.

"Then tell me, why would you spend so much money on a woman you just met?

Feel guilty about using her?" Charlotte asked with a grin.

Helix raised his eyebrows before chuckling and shaking his head.

"No. We went to the Burlow Street Market.

I bought her a few outfits like that for less than a gold coin." He explained with a smile.

The table fell silent.

"Wait, what?" Charlotte asked with a bewildered expression.

"It's the commoner district, so it's super cheap there.

You can buy a house there with our paycheck." Helix chuckled.

The women at the table were shocked at the economic revelation.

However, Charlotte couldn't care less about the prices of the clothing.

"Then what about that fancy jewelry?" She asked.

"The pendant on her neck is a stone called Zithranite." Helix chuckled.

"It's created by taking a common stone and infusing it with magic, giving it that red, regal appearance.

While it looks luxurious, it's just a cheap stone."

"But it looks beautiful, doesn't it?" He asked while admiring Emelia for a moment.

"Why the hell do you know that?

Are you a spy sent to earth to rope people into showing up?" Charlotte asked with a serious expression.

The table fell silent again, and the atmosphere became heavy.

Helix looked at her in shock for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Charlotte asked with an annoyed tone.

Helix touched his neck, opened the Myriad Library, and then used thought commands to make his query.

"If I was a spy, I switched sides with the enemy and needed to be extradicted." Helix laughed.

"Give me your hand for a moment." He requested with a mocking smile.

"W-Wait, what? Do I look like a babe in the wilderness to you?" Charlotte growled.

Helix gave her a mocking expression.

"I'm trying to answer your question." He said with an annoyed voice.

"Fine, take my hand. I'll enjoy breaking it with my freakish strength stat if you trick me."

Helix grimaced because he knew she could do it.

"Okay, I'm sharing my interface with you." He said.

When he touched her hand, his interface opened, and she looked at the Myriad Library.

—

[Query: Cheap stones for jewelry and where to find them in Alzeria.]

[Results: Common stones in Myriad are often infused with spirit particles to make them look precious.

Popular choices are Zanthite, Mira Stone, Zithranite, and Marksfire.

Most can be found at the Burlow Street Market.

Other locations include….]

[Printed menu charts]

[Marked maps of Alzeria]

[Sort by color]

[Research stones]

[Change query]

—

"What the hell is this?

This is a cheat search engine on space steroids!" Charlotte cried with shock in her eyes.

Everyone at the table was left slack-jawed after her assertion, and eyes burned with a desire to view it.

Most had already finished eating, but they were still at the table listening to Helix speak.

He saw a few women were disappointed that [they] couldn't see the Myriad Library and immediately pounced on the opportunity.

"Would any of you also like to see the Myriad Library?" He asked with a charming smile.

Suddenly the entire area erupted into a frenzy.

Female excitement to view the library.

Enthusiastic death plotting from the jealous men.

"Hello! My name is Marie. Can I see it?" A young woman asked.

"I'm Sarah! Can I see it too!" Another chimed with an excited smile.

"Petra! I'd love to!" A third followed.

"My name is Riley. It would be wonderful if you'd share with me." A fourth added with a sickly sweet tone.

"Hi… I'm Millie." A small, nervous brunette whispered as Helix looked at her.

Helix took each of them by the hand for a few seconds so they could see the Myriad Library.

While many of them saw the sight with envy, they were overcome with a slight blush when he took their hand.

The constant gossip about him had made Helix a mysterious celebrity without the girls realizing it.

So he became more attractive and exciting to them as a result.

A few of the men shot up from their seats.

They couldn't stand the sight of [Helix] any longer.

Their pride couldn't take it.

Helix didn't pay attention to them; he focused on three men who hadn't left their seats.

"You're going to get yourself killed." Charlotte announced while taking the final bite of her steak.

Her casualness shocked everyone at the table except for Helix.

She had been watching Helix's move with a mocking smile, and he didn't fail to notice her intelligent gaze.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Besides, the Knights will get over it once they start fighting with their broken stats." Helix shrugged.

"Hmmm… stats… it's strange that you didn't say the word [Nightmare]. Curious." She said with a wicked grin.

"I have an extremely powerful Nightmare," Helix confessed nonchalantly.

"However, I've been informed that I have the lowest stats in Alzeria's army."

The table fell silent, and everyone looked at Helix with a shocked expression.

"The Royal Army?" She asked with fearful eyes.

"No, the army." He chuckled bitterly.

Charlotte's eyes widened in panic.

"Are you an idiot!?" She seethed quietly.

"You're pissing off immature men that were given power for the first time.

They probably think this is a video game with PVP stats." She whispered aggressively.

All of the women stared at Helix with bated breath.

Helix snuck a glance towards a group of men before chuckling.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" He asked with a mocking smile.

"My Nightmare accidentally activated when I got it, and people have thought I was the [protagonist] of this story ever since."

Charlotte fell silent when she saw his raging bitterness.

"We're in a strange world, without our loved ones or comforts, and the people around us are gaining things we aren't.

The Knights need a scapegoat to vent their frustrations on, and I was the unlucky person that attracted the most attention."

Everyone at the table looked at Helix with complicated expressions.

"Since everyone's going to target me anyway, why wouldn't I be warm and welcoming to the people around me?" Helix chuckled while glancing at the women.

"My, my." Charlotte chimed while waving her hand.

"You're risking your life to charm the ladies?

You're quite the player, aren't you?" She mused with a playful expression.

Their faces turned bright red when they realized he was risking his life to speak to them.

After what they had just heard, they knew Charlotte wasn't joking.

"Can't you at least say the word chivalrous or something?" He asked with a sigh.

The table burst into laughter.

"You're a loner with sharp, mysterious eyes.

There's no way that you're a popular crowd favorite that woos the ladies." She said with a mocking smile.

Helix glanced to his right again before continuing.

"Well, if I'm under the scythe, I might as well give it a shot." He replied casually.

Giggles and laughter emanated from the table for another thirty minutes.

He drew the attention of everyone still in the dining hall.

Charlotte looked at Helix with a pensive expression.

While she didn't know [what] Helix was doing, she could tell he was executing a strategy.

She had been watching him closely, so she knew he was also a loner with a melancholy demeanor.

Helix wouldn't be charming women or flaunting his weaknesses around people who would kill him during their delusions.

Charlotte was certain because Helix was actively sneaking glances at people that looked like they wanted him dead.

Her curiosity was burning.

"I need to go now. Before I go, is anyone interested in the shops I visited today?

It's Friday, and there isn't any training over the weekend.

So if you're interested, I can give you directions and suggestions." Helix offered.

The table erupted into a frenzy again, and all of the women quickly took him up on his offer.

David watched the abnormally perfect and beautiful women around him with wide eyes.

He couldn't understand where the charming, popular Helix popped up from.

Helix had the weakest stats, a Nightmare he couldn't use, and didn't change his appearance, but now he had the attention of every woman.

Charlotte was also watching Helix with a vibrant level of interest in curiosity.

She wanted to know why he was so eager, thorough, and patient in giving all the women directions to the shops.

After saying goodbye and walking away, she turned around to look at Helix one last time.

"I'm not sure what you're doing, but I'm excited to find out." Charlotte whispered.

After scanning the dining hall, she saw a dozen young men still present and listening to Helix's conversations.

Each of their abnormally perfect faces was burning with jealousy.

Two looked like they were plotting to kill him.

"At this rate, it won't take long." She chuckled with excitement flickering in her eyes.

"I have high expectations. Don't let me down, Helix Hellsworth Margrave."

—

[A/N: I updated this chapter, so I'm sorry if your comments were deleted.

On an important note, [Nightmare] has flashbacks and time leaps for psychological elements. Keep that in mind for the next chapter.]

Disclaimer: Grammatical mistakes and minor inconsistencies = more content.