Chapter 23: Leveling Assistance

I was tempted to sleep in the storage room that was still filled with the smell of sin and sex, but I had another blonde beauty that was waiting for my attention. Luckily, the meeting was arranged for late afternoon, which gave enough time to clean and dress into something more appropriate for a mysterious stranger, as well as stealing a better sword from the armory. It wasn't enchanted, but it had a sturdier construction, and allowed me to channel my arcana abilities much easier, and I needed that if I were to impress Helga today with my display. And while there, I stole a bunch of throwing knives as well. There was no harm in having some extra equipment.

I wished that I could have stolen Marcus' sword after killing the asshole, but going around with that kind of evidence wasn't the smartest thing to do, even for a precious enchanted sword.

Soon, I was walking towards the third -and the most dangerous- training forest, dressed in grays and blacks of a warrior. Ranger's getup would have been even more appropriate, but I didn't want to dress too similar to my Orlin disguise for Helga. The patrols around the forest were marginally more difficult to slip through due to state of alarm, but not enough to actually catch me.

After the patrols, it didn't take long for me to find Helga, who stayed very close to the entrance, afraid of facing the monsters inside alone. It was justified. This section was mostly filled with class two and three creatures, but occasional class four and fives weren't unheard of. Nothing as dangerous as the pack of elemental hyenas that attacked Aviada and me, but dangerous nevertheless. And with Helga's research-focused development, even class three's were a threat against her under the right conditions, not to mention her stamina wouldn't allow a long engagement.

I gestured her from the distance, followed by a small flare spell, the exact shape, and tone described in the letter, and she started walking towards me. Even from the distance, I could see her fingers tightening around her staff, cluing me about her doubts, but to her credit, determination shone on her face.

I slipped deeper into the forest as she followed me, trying to get out of the line of sight of the patrols, but staying close enough to allow her to follow. "Helga," I said with a cheerful wave that was rather mismatched with the general mood, but she took it in the stride, and waved back. Maybe she appreciated my gifts even more than I estimated.

"Hello..." she said before stopping in sudden realization.

"You can call me Caesar," I answered, not feeling concerned at giving my own name. With both Aviada and Marianne on the know, my identity was going to be revealed one way or another, so informing Helga about it wasn't a big risk; especially not with all the secrets I had on her.

She nodded in appreciation before looking around in trepidation. "Are you sure that this is the best area for training. What if we get attacked by a herd."

Her concern was not entirely unjustified. After all, this forest was dangerous not only because of the stronger monsters it contained, but also due to a limited number of students risking to farm here, occasionally allowing the build-up of a dangerous amount of creatures, such as packs of Dire Wolves, which was already dangerous with their class four status. "Don't worry, I can handle it," I said with a dismissive wave, choosing to punctuate my sentence by using one of my throwing knives into a bush about a hundred meters ahead, where a dire wolf was hidden, waiting for an opportunity.

Helga gasped at the sudden burst of action, which wasn't entirely beneficial. Unlike the rabbits and foxes, Dire Wolf didn't fear sudden confrontation, and dashed in an explosive rush, which met with an unfortunate end as I took its legs with a slash of my sword, arcana energy crackling around its edges. "Milady," I said with a mocking bow as I pointed at the helpless creature, which was almost as big as me, like it was a cute gift.

[+1 Melee]

It was another point to her credit when she delivered the final blow to the creature's throat using the small blade on top of her staff rather than wasting her magic. Then, her gaze turned to me, disbelief mixing with hope as she gazed me. It wasn't hard to decipher her shock. Taking down a class four creature wasn't an amazing achievement, but it couldn't be said for immobilizing it with just a slash without actually killing. That required a level of power and finesse that was hard to find in a student.

"That was..." she murmured, disbelieving. I had no doubt that she thought my level should be in the twenties, considering she had seen me display impressive abilities in melee combat, magical abilities, and research. Level twenty was rare, and most of them either took an important role in their families, or chose a cushy job in one of the large cities. If they were lucky, they could even get a guard post for the royal family. Someone close to that point that was willing to help an outcast like her was a miracle from her perspective.

And while I was not a level twenty -and couldn't exactly compare against them in their selected areas due to my generalist status even with my stats- Helga didn't know that. She lacked the combat experience to discern the details of my situation. And thanks to my extraordinary stats, I could put a decent fight against someone around level fifteen in a fight regardless of the type of combat thanks to my larger bag of tricks, which made her estimation not too inaccurate. "So, have you thought about the problem I outlined in my letter?" I asked her.

"Y-yes," she stammered in shock, not expecting to have that conversation in the most dangerous spot in the school. But nevertheless, she started explaining rapidly, clearly not wanting to anger her new benefactor. "I was thinking that the spell matrix can be stabilized through..." And with that, we started an interesting raid, killing monsters and discussing complicated magical theory at the same time.

[Melee +6]

[Arcana +11]

[-523 Mana]

[Achievement: Charm through Charms. Make great strides in seducing a brainy lady through great magical aptitude. +500 Experience, +2 Intelligence]

Our expedition took almost three hours, and several dozens deceased creatures. When I finally called it to end, the sun was about to set. I was tired, because I was rather generous in mana expenditure, using it to try some of the theories we came up with Helga, but it wasn't wasteful. How could it be when I had managed to develop a more dangerous variant of the mana bolt with just a couple hours of discussion, one that would have penetrated through the magical hide of a shadow wolf without depleting half of my mana.

I didn't want to risk a repeat of the shadow wolf incident with an almost empty tank. Moreover, Helga was even more exhausted. She didn't fight directly, but she also didn't have my irrationally high physical stats, and spell practice drained her mana as well. But despite everything, there was a huge smile on her face. "So, did you level up?" I asked while we returned, ignoring the social taboo around the question. Inquiring about people's status was one of the bigger taboo's, one that hadn't been processed lightly.

"Not yet, but I'm very close. I have gained almost eight hundred experience points in a day," she answered with a euphoric smile, dismissing my social blunder without a thought. I shook my head, once again appreciating the unbelievable advantage provided by my unique status. For me, a thousand points was a slow day. For anyone else, a small miracle. "Just four more days, and I should level up," she added, giving me a clue about her current level progress. But despite her enthusiasm, I wasn't really happy with her progress. I needed her to be stronger, because I needed the spells she would develop, spells that would fit perfectly for my unique combat style.

I didn't doubt that there was a challenge waiting for me in the future, and I needed to be prepared for it.

But while walking back, I realized that lady luck had other plans for me. When the familiar sound of the rush of dire wolves reached into my ears, I gestured Helga to take a defensive position while I stood in front of her, a sparkling mana bolt in my left hand, a glowing throwing knife on my right. I panicked, because I could identify at least five dire wolves attacking us.

When they dashed into the opening we were in, I realized my assessment was mistaken. It wasn't five dire wolves, rather, it was four dire wolves, and one dire wolf alpha, which hulked almost double the size of the others, its eyes shining with an unusual experience. Effectively, it was at least class six, maybe even seven...

Luckily, I had gone through worse challenges when I was weaker. "Distract the alpha for a moment," I ordered Helga.

"How?" she asked panickedly even as I dashed forward.

"Send something shiny towards it!" I shouted exasperatedly even as I met with the first wolf after throwing my knife and pulling my sword, who, surprisingly, was prepared for my display of speed. On my other hand, I still held my spell, ready to go. I felt the gaze of the alpha on me as it dashed towards as well, ignoring Helga completely, like it knew I was the real threat. Combined with the surprised adaptability of the other wolves, I suspected we had been observed during our hunt... "Wily bastard," I murmured in annoyance. The monsters capable of tactics was the last thing I needed.

"Let's see how adaptive you are, you bastard," I murmured even as I changed the shape of the spell on my hands, and converted it into an area-effect slowing spell, something I just managed to create thanks to Helga's clever ideas.

[-40 Mana]

Seeing the expression of surprise on the eyes of the Alpha was a delight, but not as much as when Helga's spell connected with the bastard, covering it with a thick layer of energy, immobilizing it momentarily. With a glance I could see that it was a weak one, barely last a couple of seconds, but that was enough. The formation of wolves was based on its presence, and with it immobilized, it allowed me to cut through rest in just a second, leaving two dead, two too wounded to move.

I was already behind the Alpha when it was ready to move, cutting the hamstrings of its hind legs with just a slash. I smirked, it was amusing that he had died to the favorite tactic of the wolves. "Not bad. Let's see whether we can double it the next time," I said, making her chin drop in shock. "The rest is yours, milady," I said exaggeratedly with a smirk, enjoying the way panic melted off Helga's face, just realizing that the danger she had thought to be deadly just ended in a moment.

[Achievement: Martial Might. Save a damsel through an overwhelming display of power and initiative. +500 Experience, +1 Speed, +1 Precision]

[Melee +2]

She tried to say something, but words failed her repeatedly. She took a deep breath and walked towards the wounded creatures, finishing them with a stab of her staff. "That was ... incredible..." she murmured when she looked at me once more, a familiar blush on her face.

I said nothing, but closed on her, far too close to be innocent, my breath landing on her ruby lips, which opened reflexively. I leaned forward like I was about to steal a kiss, only to stop at the last second. "Why don't you go ahead pass through the guards, and meet me with the storage room we had met the last time in an hour," I said, and before she could answer, already pulled back.

The expression of shock on her face, while she watched me disappear, was utterly delicious.

—

When I arrived at the storage room a couple of minutes more than an hour later, Helga was already there, waiting for me with a nervous expression on her face. "You're here," she gasped, her nervousness instantly replaced by elation the moment she noticed my presence. Someone was enthusiastic, I noted with a smirk.

While she tried to calm her excitement, I examined her. One detail was very clear. She used the break to refresh herself, and done that very successfully. Her hair was still damp, and her face alight -but still more than her usual amount- makeup, highlighting her beauty to a level it easily surpassed the most girls. It was smart of her not to use that normally, as her position at the school was too fragile to actually take such a risk.

But the more interesting change was her clothes. Her robe was open, revealing that underneath, she was wearing a blouse and a skirt, both much tighter than her usual selection. Even better, the top two buttons lay unlinked, giving me a delicious hint of cleavage. She seemed ready and enthusiastic about being seduced.

Though, I wasn't surprised. The civilian equivalent of our situation was a minor noble suddenly piling a maid with several precious gifts and great attention, with an implied mistress position to elevate her well out of her class. For Helga, supporting her leveling and research simultaneously was everything she needed, everything that had been denied in the school, and everything that she couldn't attain back home; so naturally, she was feeling grateful. Combine that with my charisma, my rather impressive physical state, and the fact that I had valiantly saved her from a dangerous ambush just an hour ago... Well, it would be surprising if it would take more than a word to make her panties drop...

Normally, I was planning to go for a quick seduction, but funnily enough, seeing her so enthusiastic changed my mind. I decided to play with her a bit. Luckily, I was prepared.

"I had an interesting idea about managing area effects of the volatile fields," I said even as I pulled a small blanket from my bag and spread it on the floor, gesturing her to sit. Her shocked disappointment was amusing. I sat down, continuing to talk about various implications of managing alternating magical currents. She answered my inquires perfectly, but failed to hide her disappointment.

I shook my head despondently. I had expected her to try better to seduce me, but apparently, her self-confidence was too weak after the struggle she had gone through. "Wine?" I asked, cutting our discussion on the magical theory to pull a rather impressive vintage of wine and a pair of glasses, both pilfered from the kitchen.

"I wouldn't say no to a sip," she answered, and I made sure to smile suggestively as I poured her a glass, which, in turn, allowed her to lean forward excessively, giving a deep view of her delicious cleavage. After she pulled back, I waved my hand, and a plate of cheese pulled itself out from the bag, following my magic, until it landed between us. I could have done it the same easily for the wine as well, but it required a personal touch.

"So, I think we were discussing the resonance effect between unequal constructs," I said, picking up the discussion where we left off. Helga was much more enthusiastic as she started answering once more, her answers garnished with a lot of unnecessary arm movements, which helped her breasts to dance alluringly. A particularly heated move even managed to pop another button of her blouse, enough to conclusively prove the absence of a bra — not that I needed a proof after watching the free dance of her breasts for the last several minutes.

[+100 Experience] 50% Penalty

The disappointment I felt from the rather excessive experience penalty didn't last for long as she lifted herself forward as she reached for the cheese plate, unnecessarily as she could have easily reached for it, but the reason was clarified when she decided to use the movement as an excuse to sit closer, desire clear in her eyes.

Well, who I was to reject such a beauty...

—

[Level: 11 Experience: 63075 / 66000

Strength: 15 Charisma: 17

Precision: 12 Perception: 11

Agility: 12 Manipulation: 17

Speed: 12 Intelligence: 14

Endurance: 10 Wisdom: 18

HP: 671 / 671 Mana: 345 / 957 ]

SKILLS

Expert Arcana [61/75]

Advanced Subterfuge [50/50]

Advanced Biomancy [44/50]

Advanced Melee [37/50]

Basic Speech [25/25]