[Nightmare]

Helix ran up the hill at full speed and walked past Masov and Salkey.

The two men looked as though they had seen a ghost.

He touched his neck and pulled out special herbs he got hunting.

The terrified Gryphon's eyes perked up, and it looked in Helix's direction.

Helix threw the herbs in front of the Gryphon.

It was a bundle that was a foot high and six inches across.

"Here you go. Maliko Root. Go on, take it." Helix coaxed with a gentle expression.

The two men watched the scene in disbelief.

The Gryphon instantly became gentle, and light tears welled in its eyes as it sniffed the roots.

"Go on. I have more. I'll let you covet some for later."

Helix wore a truly warm expression that baffled the men.

His partners ran up but approached respectfully and watched the scene with gentle gazes.

The Gryphon took the smallest nibble of the herbs, and more tears welled in its eyes.

It chewed them with a smile.

No one could explain how a Gryphon could smile.

However, everyone thought it was smiling.

Masov walked up in a daze.

"Do you mind if I ask you what you're feeding it?" The general asked with a stunned expression.

Of everything he had seen, what he was watching was somehow the most unbelievable.

"It's called Maliko Root. It's an extremely rare herb that Gryphons covet in the wild." Helix explained with a warm smile.

"Tyrene and I traveled a couple of hundred miles during our training to obtain some.

I knew that I'd be traveling with Gryphons, so I thought it would be a good experience."

Masov gave Helix a perplexed expression.

"Why do they like the root?" He asked in a low voice.

Salkey walked up to listen as well.

His hearing was shot, so he had to get close to listen.

Helix smiled at Masov and then sent a gentle gaze back to the Gryphon.

"Gryphons can't obtain the third evolution without it." He continued.

"It's similar to how Warpshires covet the Liskaberry for the same reason.

Whether this Gryphon will reach the third evolution is irrelevant.

Beast tamers caught this one in the wild, so it's getting emotional because it reminds it of home."

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley gave the Gryphon a gentle gaze as it nibbled at the Maliko Root.

"How… do you know this?" Masov asked.

Helix chuckled and gave him a warm smile.

"I chose the Hourglass of Knowledge as my Nightmare Ceremony gift." He said with a slight smile, "It has endless practical use cases if it's properly utilized."

Masov nodded. He knew Helix chose the [now famous] Hourglass of Knowledge.

There wasn't a scholar or high-up official that didn't know that he had it, as it was a driving factor in sending teachers to Kozen with Helix.

The Nightmare induction ceremony wasn't something that knights received. On the contrary, some Myriadians were given Nightmares at birth or after completing random quests.

Only the Earthians had the induction ceremony, as the artifacts were passed down for centuries with the information on the ceremony itself.

It was one of the greatest mysteries for the Earthians and the people summoning them to Myriad.

Therefore, Helix was the only person in Myriad and may be the only person to ever receive it in their lifetimes.

That was why they treated Helix as such a valuable resource and let Grandmasters travel with him after he left instead of dropping him off.

After showing them that the Myriad Library had information on every type of magic circle imaginable,  they recognized that he could make Alzeria a superpower.

They regretted not protecting him sooner. Such is the nature of the world.

"I learned about Gryphons while locked up in the Royal Infirmary." Helix chuckled bitterly.

Masov gave him a wry smile, but his concerns were pulled aside when he saw the gentle face of the Gryphon.

It was a massive creature, so nibbles didn't make the small bundle last long.

It looked to Helix with a truly pathetic smile when it finished the herbs.

"Don't worry." Helix chuckled with a warm smile.

"I'll give you a dried pouch you can wear on your collar."

The Gryphon tilted his head.

"Trust me. You'll love it." Helix assured it with a gentle smile.

"Sawww."

The Gryphon gave out a very kind calling and nudged its beak in Helix's direction.

Helix reached up and patted it on its beak, rubbing it softly.

"Sawww."

He smiled when he saw the Gryphon's gentle face. It made him feel grateful that he could bring a taste of home to the Otakus, Weebs, and creatures in Alzeria.

"There are no more fires, and Riley will keep away the smoke." Helix said to the Gryphon.

"Do you think you can fly now?"

The Gryphon blinked twice but nodded its head.

"Glad to hear it. We'll load up now, and we'll send the smoke away when you're ready."

The beast nodded with a gentle gaze and then laid down for boarding.

Masov and Salkey were stunned with disbelief.

The strange situation nonplussed even the riders.

Gryphons were prideful beasts that riders trained through brutal classical conditioning.

So the idea that Helix walked up and asked it to fly after it was scared was appalling.

Helix chuckled at their baffled expressions but jumped twenty feet in the air and landed on the deck.

"Hey, Riley. If Masov and Stalkey want a lift, please give them one." He requested.

Riley nodded and turned to Marie.

Marie nodded in turn.

"[Wind Dance]."

Marie gracefully flew toward the sky like a fairy before landing on the deck.

Then wind lifted Charlotte into the air in a beautiful motion.

Riley looked at Masov and Salkey.

"If you're our allies, we mean you no harm." She said with a genuine expression.

"If you'd like a lift up as a goodwill gesture, we'll happily accommodate."

Her genuineness stunned them.

Riley was gentle unless someone close to her was in harm.

Then she would turn into a monster as much as Charlotte or Marie.

However, gentleness suited her the most and was why so many people treasured her.

Any stretch of the imagination cannot fake someone's true demeanor.

Masov and Salkey understood that she was being genuine.

At the very least, the group wouldn't drop them.

If they wanted the two dead, they could snap their fingers, so there wasn't any reason to lie.

"I'll try it out. Seems fun." Masov chuckled.

Riley bowed her head and lifted her hands to the sky.

Masov chuckled in bewilderment as he gracefully soared through the sky.

When he landed on the deck, his eyes were wide and a grin was on his face, thoroughly amused.

Helix was sitting in the executive area where Masov and Salkey were sitting.

Charlotte was in the same seat, but Marie was joining him.

"Is it okay if we sit here?" Helix asked with a genuine expression.

"Marie is my second in command for leadership operations. So I'd appreciate it if she could talk too."

Masov nodded in a daze and sat down. He wasn't expecting the sudden shift in tone but appreciated it.

A few seconds later, Salkey hit the deck with a panicked expression.

Marie giggled, and Charlotte grinned.

Riley gracefully floated onto the deck behind him and sat next to Charlotte.

Salkey looked around and realized the shift in the seating arrangement. It left him nonplussed, but he was grateful for it.

"As I mentioned to Masov, Marie is my second in command for leadership." Helix said to Salkey.

"So I hope you don't mind if she joins us."

Salkey's eyes trembled in confusion, but he nodded and hesitantly sat down.

Helix nodded and looked at Riley.

Riley nodded as well and reached out her hand.

"Are you ready, riders?" Helix asked.

The two riders with the reins gave him a hesitant nod.

They were confused about what was happening but knew the smoke would be a problem.

"Okay. I'm deactivating the barrier." Helix announced.

Then he activated a [Spell Trigger Circle], and the white barrier disappeared.

The entire area heated up instantly, but an icy wind pushed past the group a moment later.

Riley whipped the smoke into a light tornado.

"Let's get going!" Helix called out in a warm but firm tone.

The Gryphon winced. However, it flapped its wings and shot to the sky.

Riley controlled the wind to keep the Gryphon comfortable as it soared.

It amazed the riders, Masov and Salkey. Their use cases for magic were unparalleled and impressive.

Within less than thirty seconds, they were soaring back toward the Capital.

"Good job!" Helix called out.

The Gryphon nodded.

The group had never been so confused in their lives.

Helix chuckled when he saw their faces.

The riders and military men had no idea how valuable Maliko Root was.

If they did, they'd have a heart attack.

However, no matter how much gold it was worth, it paled compared to the value that Gryphons placed on it.

—

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