Helmut

Chapter 3

Helmut thought things over as he dragged his kill away.

Elaga, the leopard, was an intelligent creature. But she was neither a good teacher nor very talkative. She always got irritated and ran away whenever she was asked to explain something. Due to the leopard’s evasive tactics, Helmut was forced to develop a habit of reflecting in silence, which helped him find the answers nobody would give him.

This time, Helmut was reflecting on what Elaga had said earlier. Why would people have abandoned me here if I could just leave the forest anyway?

The journey to reach the forest’s edge was quite dangerous, but it was nowhere as threatening as the holy barrier, which was said to burn anything or anyone born with the seed of darkness alive. The same orb found inside the rabbit’s chest was buried in Helmut’s own heart.

For some time now, he had been well aware of the seed growing within him. This seed grew as he consumed things in the forest, giving him mysterious powers of immense strength, agile reflexes, keen senses, superior perception, and even language skills.

These powers aided his survival but also bound him to the forest.

* * *

The intelligent ancient leopard, Elaga, knew a thing or two about the ways of humans.

When she saw Helmut get a stomachache after eating raw meat as a child, she started a fire using demonic energy and began to cook the boy’s meals ever since.

Helmut grilled his fresh kill over a crackling campfire and finally spoke to the leopard after some thought.

“I can’t leave the Forest of Pahe because of the seed of darkness anyway. Then, I might as well eat the cores and become stronger.”

He decided to see the practical side of things.

Elaga answered him lazily as he gazed at the flame. “You might be able to leave.”

“But you’ve never left the forest yourself, Elaga.”

The leopard knew what the boy was implying. How would you know? she thought with a scoff. “You probably think that way because you’ve never seen anyone or anything leave the forest. But I was told it’s possible.”

“Says who?”

“A human I met somewhere east of here.”

Helmut’s eyes widened. The leopard had never seen him look so surprised.

“A human?”

Helmut had never seen any other humans here in his entire life. The Forest of Pahe was vast, and humans from the outside were always sent to random parts of it. Most of the babies bearing seeds of darkness died within a couple of days. While their adult counterparts who were banished into the forest only lasted a few more days than they did.

Only a handful of humans ever survived, and such cases were much rarer in Elaga’s territory, where many fierce creatures lived. It was only by sheer luck that Helmut had survived.

Elaga took me in. As a result of this, Helmut thought of the leopard as family. Nevertheless, they were not alike; they were different, down to the very roots of their being.

Elaga belonged to the Forest of Pahe, but Helmut often felt out of place in the dark and harsh forest. The idea of living out the rest of his days here seemed strange to him, probably because he was human.

“Are you thinking of seeking him out? Not a chance. He’s probably dead by now anyway.”

“How would you know?” the boy questioned, making Elaga swing her tail in frustration and snap a branch.

“He was old when I met him.” Helmut continued to stare at him, so Elaga reluctantly spat out an explanation.“He was quite powerful for a human. But the demonic energy in the Forest of Pahe weakens even the strongest humans. He didn’t have a seed of darkness like you, so he would’ve died by now since I met him long before you ever showed up.”

“Tell me where you last saw him.”

“Are you really going to search for the human after everything I did to raise you? You little ingrate!”

“You said I’m on my own once I reach adulthood. Well, I’m ten years old now.”

Ten years would certainly turn a leopard cub into a full-grown male. However, in Elaga’s eyes, a decade had only turned Helmut into a slightly bigger cub than he used to be.

She scoffed at the young boy. “You are a human, so you need much more time to grow up. Anyway, speaking of that man... Let me think.” The leopard tried to recall what she remembered of the encounter, having nearly forgotten all about it by now. “He must be about ninety years old by now.”

“You told me some humans live to be a hundred years old. So, where did you see him?”

Helmut had no particular reason for being persistent; he was simply curious. He had never seen a human before and wondered if he could meet someone who had survived the forest.

There he goes, bothering me again. I bet it will keep getting worse if I don’t tell him what he wants. Elaga stopped scoffing and finally gave in. “Even if he’s still alive, I don’t know if that’s where he settled.”

“If he isn’t there, then I’ll come back.”

She told Helmut that the man was strong. The leopard had faced all kinds of demonic beasts in the Forest of Pahe, so if she said the man was strong, then it clearly meant something.

The man wasn’t born with the seed of darkness, but he is very strong. Even with the seed of darkness, Helmut was nowhere as strong as the creatures in the forest. Naturally, he was intrigued by the man’s power. How can a human become as strong as a magical beast?

“Fine! Do as you wish,” Elaga burst out angrily.

She then told the boy where she had last seen the man. The location would take about three days at Helmut’s pace, and it was in an area he had never traveled before.

“You will get yourself killed, but see if I care.” Elaga turned away and sat down.

Helmut stood and gazed at the leopard briefly before setting off toward the location.

* * *

Helmut walked in silence, careful not to make any sound. Without the leopard’s protection, he was nothing more than an exotic meal for the forest’s inhabitants.

That’s why the first thing Elaga taught him was to conceal his presence. Fortunately, the boy still carried Elaga’s scent, and no magical beast was bold enough to touch anything with her scent in her territory.

Elaga said the place was beyond the patch where the flower vines grow.

The poisonous flowering vine had beautiful flowers of bright red colors, but it was a bad idea to trust anything for its beauty in the Forest of Pahe. The flowering vine was a carnivorous plant. It quickly snatched any organism that approached it, injected it with poison, and sucked the nutrients out of it. The plant was as dangerous as any magical beast. Fortunately, though, they only grew near the edge of the water.

Helmut carefully navigated through the forest and found the flowering vines after three days. He made sure to go around the patch of vines so he wouldn’t trigger them. Unfortunately, he found himself facing an obstacle he couldn’t overcome.

There’s no way I can jump over that gap.

The gap between the cliffs was far too wide. Elaga might’ve been able to jump over it, but Helmut surely couldn’t. Below the steep gap, he saw a rapid stream of water rushing underneath.

I’d better play it safe. He decided to take a detour and cross the stream once the cliff was low enough for him to wade through the water. I took a left here. Helmut marked a spot on this side of the gap and changed direction. The cliff gradually descended as he went downstream.

After a few hours, he reached a point where he could wade over to the other side. But upon closer inspection, the stream was relatively wide and deep.

Should I just swim across?

Helmut walked up to the stream. The current wasn’t too strong. The slightly green-tinted water was so clear that one could almost see the bottom, but it was likely to be freezing cold.

Wait a minute.

Helmut stopped himself seconds before diving in. He felt a chill run down his spine. It was a sensation built into his instincts that saved his life time and time again. He took a step back and stared into the water. This time, he noticed something gazing at him from below.

He was all too familiar with how predators looked at him as prey.

Splash!

Suddenly, something burst out of the water. Helmut immediately jumped sideways as something slammed onto the ground where he had been standing.

The fish had green scales that blended with the water. The creature, which was as long as Helmut’s torso, thrashed about, revealing its sharp, jagged teeth. It snapped its jaws in frustration, its eyes filled with hunger as it stared at him.

Helmut flinched. Then he quickly grabbed the sharp stone at his waist and slammed it down on the fish’s head.

Crack!

The fish’s tail flapped one last time before it perished. Despite its sharp teeth, the fish was one of the weaker magical beasts. Helmut let out a sigh of relief and took several steps back from the stream. That wasn’t the only one in the water.

He could sense subtle movements below the surface. More creatures of the same kind were waiting to try their luck against him. How am I supposed to get across now? The fish would tear him apart as soon as he dove into the water, but perhaps it was narrower upstream. He would have to double back to where he came from to get upstream, but it was probably the safer option.

The problem is that other magical beasts will target me once I leave Elaga’s territory. By going upstream, he would find himself outside the leopard’s territory. Judging by the distance of the gap, he would probably have to go quite far to find a spot where he could simply jump across, which would only put him in more danger.

His eyes sparkled with determination.

I can’t give up yet. Elaga was sure to laugh at him if he came back empty-handed. There has to be a way. He was only a young boy, but he proved that humanity’s true power was not born from its physical prowess. Unlike magical beasts, which were innately strong, humans found ways to compensate for their lack of physical strength.

Helmut calmly looked around and noticed the flowering vines, which gave him an idea. The poison from the vines paralyzed its target and rendered them unconscious. I hope it still works even if the water dilutes it. His heartbeat quickened as he picked up a jagged rock and approached the flowering vines. The vines, sensing his presence, began to slither away.

They were surprisingly quick for plants, but Helmut was quicker.

He grabbed the end of a vine and slashed it with the rock before it could strike.

Snap!

Blue sap oozed from the severed vine. The rest of the vine writhed in agony and retreated. Helmut repeated the process several times over to gather enough vines, until eventually the plant lay completely withered on the ground.