[Nightmare]

"Those ass clowns are luck that they're roy—"

Charlotte started exposing the position of the guards, but Helix pressed his lips against hers to stop her.

He was fifteen feet away when she started speaking.

The speed was so ghostly it left people trembling in confusion.

Someone started clapping at the insane PDA following a ridiculous display of force.

Then many joined in awkwardly.

"Please don't expose [who] those people were." He whispered during the clapping.

She nodded hesitantly.

Once he stepped back, she huffed with discontent.

Helix turned to the stress clot of otakus and weebs.

"Lesson time! Five people tried to kill me a moment ago over a misunderstanding." He announced.

"What have you learned by how I handled it?"

Everyone stared at him nervously.

They expected a speech, so they didn't know how to react.

"Helix is asking for your participation." Marie announced with a kind voice.

A wave of awkward understanding washed over the group.

One power-weeb spoke up.

"You didn't kill or hurt them despite having the ability to do so?" He asked.

Helix nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Samson! Yes, that's right!" He announced in a booming voice.

"I had the power to resolve the situation without anyone getting hurt.

As a result, I used that opportunity to calm them down and explain the situation."

Students started nodding hesitantly.

"When and if you become a Cheat Knight, you'll have the power to maim your way to victory." He continued.

"Trust me… the moment that man swung his sword at me, the first thing that entered my mind was [hmmmm, that's cute]." Helix laughed.

The group burst into laughter.

"Then I thought, [Is this guy serious? Can he not see the big fucking creature I helped kill behind me?

He just heard I helped kill that thing, and now he's attacking me]!?"

The weebs and otakus started cackling.

"After that, I was immersed with the desire to rip the guy's head off." Helix scoff-laughed.

"That high-level guard was trying to cut me in half right after meeting me. If I were you, I'd be dead."

Everyone quieted down.

"So why not, right? If he's trying to kill me, why shouldn't I show him why you can't do that." Helix chuckled.

Awkward chuckles passed through the crowd.

"I didn't attack him. I showed overwhelming force.

Even then! Even then… hahaha… when I asked him to calm down… haha… the fucking idiot kept trying to mouth off!" Helix laughed in bewilderment.

The awkward chuckles started becoming vibrant after Helix started laughing.

"Now this tool is staring at the skull… hahaha… of a 350 foot Colossus he knew I helped kill… haha… and he couldn't cut me… and he was still an asshole!"

Helix erupted into laughter.

The exciting atmosphere returned and the group roared in laughter with him.

"I thought, damn… haha… now that I have cultivator-level power… I can understand the temptation of meeting all my problems with force." Helix laughed in bewilderment.

The laughter continued without pause.

"When it was happening… haaaah… I considered knocking dude-bro out because it… hahaha… would be more convenient…. Hahaha… I was feeling lazy!"

People were bending over laughing now.

Charlotte had a huge grin on her face.

Marie started chuckling again.

Riley wasn't laughing, but her worries disappeared.

"Haaaaaah… haha… hah." Helix chuckled his way to composure, and the others tried following him.

"Alright… wheeeeew. Putting aside the fact that wrecking people out of laziness and convenience… haha… is wrong…." He cackled between breaths.

Everyone else was having the same difficulty.

"Can someone tell me why… I didn't immobilize the guards or use my killing intent?" He asked with a strained smile.

Murmurs and whispers rippled through the Knights as they pondered the question.

Maze raised his hand.

"Is it because that person was really important?" He asked.

"That lady was killin' the fancy girl vibe."

A few chuckles.

A set of giggles.

Otakus and weebs burst into laughter.

Helix was chuckling with bewilderment in his eyes.

"That… is an excellent way of describing the situation…." Helix affirmed before roaring with laughter.

More laughter followed in waves.

"Yes. Haaaaaaah. Those guards were weak on their own.

Yes. I could have easily hurt those men.

However, we're fighting a battle soon, and making political enemies is dangerous." Helix reasoned.

"A million ants can kill an elephant. If that woman was important, and I offended her, you would have a lot of trouble training.

They can prevent you from entering cities, stop selling you products, and harass you everywhere you go.

Economic warfare."

The group's eyes widened.

Since they were Knights in training, they hadn't considered the ramifications of dealing with outsiders.

"This is the real world. Being physically stronger won't make your life easier." He continued.

"So for the sake of true laziness—don't offend people. In general. It's a pain in the ass."

The group started nodding in assent.

"Okay!" Helix clapped with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Now for the training portion. Can someone tell me why that high-level guard's sword didn't cut through this coat even though he had a higher level?"

The Knights gasped with astonishment.

The area fell silent.

"It's cuz your defense stat prevented the sword from touching you in the first place." Mayzie replied with a bored expression.

"Exactly." Helix chuckled.

The otakus and weebs looked at him with confusion.

He was lying. The real reason was that Warpshires were third-evolution monsters.

Its level of 157 was closer to level 300 because levels restart at every evolution.

The Colossus' level was unknown, but they estimated it was close to 1000 at least.

It survived a dozen calamity spells from stats higher than Tyrenes, calamity circles, and hundreds of spells and attacks.

That includes ballista arrows and high-level sword and spear attacks.

Humans align with second evolution leveling systems, and the beasts are the most common evolution type.

Most monsters reach that level by the end of their first year.

So their levels are comparable.

However, what he was explaining was the same regardless.

That fact didn't matter.

"My demonstration was true because I can give anyone this coat, and those men couldn't cut through it even though their stats were well over 157.

It does make you practically invincible for a short time, even if the opponent's level is above 157." He explained.

Their confusion became aggressive.

"It wasn't accurate because anyone wearing it makes it impossible to cut at it with their full strength without risking their lives.

Who knows how the defense stat works?" Helix asked with a slight smile.

"It envelops your body in spirit particles that work as a layer of armor." Leo called out.

"Core~rect. Defense stat isn't [health], but it's similar. It protects you with a limited amount of armor." Helix affirmed.

"Humans forget that Monsters don't have a defense stat.

Their protection is in their hide. A level 157 beast has a 157 level defense stat.

When a human wears it, their defense stat works as the first defense barrier.

So if you wear this coat, your defense, for a time, will be well over Level 250 by Myriadian standards.

The cheat armor on a cheat…. This coat's more badass than you thought, huh?"

Excitement passed through the crowd.

People started whispering excitedly.

"I'd estimate the number of fighters in Alzeria greater than 157 number less than 100.

So you are practically invincible in this coat.

However! It's limited. If that level 170+ man hits you multiple times, your defense stat weakens.

Once it breaks, you will get slashed to ribbons. We're still human." He chuckled.

Wide eyes stared back at him.

"So! With that in mind, why did I purposely sacrifice my defense stat to let him slash me?" Helix asked with a mysterious smile.

"The question isn't what it did. I'm asking you why it was the strategy I used.

If anyone can answer this question with a strategic analysis of why it was the [best] option, I'll let them choose an uncommon Roshak card of…."

Helix panned the audience to get their attention.

"... their choosing. Let's see those hands."

Excitement rippled through the crowd.

A dozen people came up with decent arguments.

They got the concept but not the strategic value.

"You've all done well. Tammy was right that it gave me an aura of invincibility.

It breaks a person's spirit to fight.

Many said it was an intimidation tactic which was also along the same lines." Helix began.

"Ramond spoke about the second half.

He mentioned that the coat was demonstrated as invincible.

However, they knew the Level of the coat, so they attacked, thinking they could kill me because of that.

So it's not exactly true with its context."

The Knights listened to him with wide eyes.

He panned over the group to see their faces.

"You've explained concepts but not why it was the [best] option. That was the criteria." Helix noted.

"Now, I'll tell you. I created a demonstration with the coat to seed the idea of invincibility.

When Kurt attacked, he didn't touch me. However, that man knew his stats were higher, so he was so arrogant.

I'm higher than 157, therefore, I can cut it."

Helix chuckled with a devious expression.

"He was thinking of the level but forgetting my defense stat.

I let him hit me and used my stats to give the same effect.

I [reinforced] a prior demonstration to make myself appear invincible." He continued.

"Following that, there are two takeaways.

First is confusion on why it didn't hurt me.

Wasn't it 157? Was it even higher?

The second came when they realized they didn't even touch the coat.

They experienced primal fear when they learned I'm so strong that the coat wasn't necessary." Helix declared with an evil grin.

The otakus and weebs felt truly beneath Helix for the first time.

He gave them an evil laugh when he saw their wide eyes.

"See? Look around you!" He chuckled with an amused grin.

When the otakus and weebs looked at each other, they saw the same frightened gaze.

"Now you think I'm invincible!" Helix cried with a bright smile.

The Knights looked at him in confusion.

"The illusion that the coat was invincible made me look strong.

That demonstration was still fresh in their mind.

By sacrificing my defense stat, I looked like I reinforced that belief even though I would have cracked if they kept attacking me.

Normal people would recognize that defense stats will go down and keep attacking.

They connected the constant passive invincibility of this coat to my defense stat, which made them believe they had no chance of ever hurting me.

They lost their spirit completely from a [bluff]."

Helix looked at them with an evil grin.

"That's right. It was a bluff. I'm strong, but those men believed I was invincible because of acting.

I used their misguided beliefs from an earlier demonstration against them and achieved an overwhelming victory without fighting them.

The decision took advantage of the situation to maximize its impact." He pointed out.

"That's why it was the [best] option."

—

[A/N: Helix uses a powerful bluff to break someone's will to fight.

That's what he did.

The Warpshire pelt is closer to Level 357, so there is no way the guards could cut it.

However, once the defense stat breaks, someone can cut his head off or pierce his hands.

Those are realities.

I've disclosed this to point out that you shouldn't confuse Helix's bluff with reality.

His bluff is masterful, and he used it to break the fighter's spirit.

Sometimes people accept death if their spirit breaks. That's a reality.

But they lose their threat factor. Keep that in mind.]

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