[Nightmare]

The women got excited when they heard Atlas was willing to talk about his relationship with Helix.

He wasn't a person to share unnecessary information unless it was necessary for context.

[Especially when it came to Helix].

"I'd love to know how you met." Riley announced with a warm voice.

"Me too." Marie followed.

"Yeah. It's been a mystery." Charlotte said with a discerning tone.

"Haaaaah. Alright. So I got kicked out of a gambling den a week after we arrived." Atlas chuckled.

"A… week!?" Marie cried.

"Why are you so surprised?" Charlotte asked in bewilderment.

"...."

"Okay, continue." Charlotte chuckled.

"Yeah… so I lost my sword in a bet and needed to get it back because I didn't want Macron to rip out my stomach to use as a canteen." Atlas explained awkwardly.

Helix started rolling in laughter.

Elsa was chuckling in bewilderment, and the women were giggling.

"So, you know. Helix never turns anyone down." Atlas said awkwardly.

Helix didn't know the women were giving Atlas death glares, but… he knew they were giving him death glares.

"I~see. So this is why you never talk about your life." Charlotte said with an evil grin.

"... Yes. When I showed up, Helix gave me the sigh of a lifetime.

I'm talking twenty years of compressed depression type sigh." Atlas recounted dramatically.

Helix chuckled in bewilderment, and a laugh parade followed.

"Helix asked me if I was stupid.

His words were, [Atlas, you wasted enough gold to buy you a year's worth of high-class hookers, and you're promising to pay me back?

Please… I'll help you, but don't insult me]."

Helix burst into laughter, and the women followed again.

Tears were streaming down his eyes when he recounted the event.

"I gave him a mythical-grade wry smile, but my eyes almost popped out when I realized he said he'd help." Atlas chuckled.

"The dude touched his neck twice and started reading through his interface.

Pulls some chalk out of thin air and says [turn around]."

Everyone was listening with grins on their faces.

Helix could hear it in their lack of breathing.

"He starts drawing on my damn back.

If he were anyone else, I'd have assumed he was writing [kick me] and beat his ass." Atlas laughed.

Everyone burst into giggles and laughter.

"But he was… you know, sigh machine, and I was Mr. Desperation."

Helix chuckled in amusement.

"So I grinned and bared it. Finally, Helix turned around and said, [this is a Circle of Vanity for the prettiest woman I can make with a Level 2 circle.

Using this, you should be able to gain entry with another person's appearance.

You should be able to get a sword from any man for free with this]." Atlas dramatized.

"The… prettiest?" Marie asked.

"That's strange." Riley mused.

"Ooooooh. I get it~" Charlotte said with a grin.

Helix chuckled with an evil smile and was grateful someone else got it.

Atlas let out a deep sigh.

"So I'm stoked, yeah? I'm not just getting back in, but I can gamble with style.

So I ignored the stupid, evil grin on his face." He recounted bitterly.

"I still don't understand…." Riley confessed.

"Oh." Marie giggled.

"Now~you got it." Charlotte grinned.

"So, yeah. I changed my appearance, got my 10/10 rack, and started strutting around." Atlas sighed.

"Turns out, he didn't give me a voice changer."

Everything burst into raging laughter.

Elsa gave Helix an evil grin that gave him redemption.

"That was only the first of my worries." Atlas chuckled bitterly.

"What happened!?" Marie asked excitedly.

"Atlas, hurry up. I might… hahaha… die… my sides… my sides hahaha!" Charlotte requested between gasps of breath.

Riley giggled quietly.

"Haaaaaah. So I can't talk much, right?" Atlas sighed.

"But everyone, their mothers, and their dead grandmothers wanted to talk to me!"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

"I didn't find this out till later, but son of bitch put me in a commoners dress!" Atlas roared.

"Commoners dress?" Riley asked softly.

"It~means… hahaha… that people didn't fear him as a no~ble… haha…." Charlotte cried with an evil voice.

"If he were a noble, people wouldn't be rude to him." Marie giggled.

"But because he was a commoner and going to a sleazy gambling den—"

"Everyone started approaching and cat calling me instantly." Atlas sighed.

"I've always rolled my eyes at sexual harassment and thought, hmmm… must be hard getting free drinks…."

Helix burst into laughter.

"But now? That shit's scarred into my memory." Atlas groaned.

"People slapped my ass so many times before I got my sword that I locked everyone in a barrier and got the hell out."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

"So naturally, I was banned from the place again." Atlas sighed, triggering more laughter.

"I walked up to Helix, and he said, [hmmm. Your face says you got offered every man's sword in the house] with a damn grin." Atlas muttered bitterly.

No one could breathe between breaths.

"I gave that kid a death glare, yeah, and you know what he said to me?" Atlas asked.

Everyone gave him the thumbs up because they were laughing too hard to say [what?].

"He sighed and said, [Look, Atlas. If I'm helping you commit a crime, I'll ensure I get something out of it, and you're too broke to offer me anything else]."

Roaring laughter took over.

Elsa was trying to calm Helix down out of reflexive fear his wound would be disturbed.

It was unnatural for a wound to be [completely] healed when someone woke up.

"Haaaaah. Well, I was still a degenerate after that, and Helix was the guy that always bailed me out.

So yeah… I guess what I'm trying to say is… thanks?

I'm still broke as hell, but the least I can do is tell an embarrassing ass story to your girlfriends."

Everyone froze when they realized they were speaking in the third person to a recording to Helix.

After they processed what happened, they burst into laughter again.

They were all embarrassed, but they understood Atlas' sacrifice.

Once the group calmed down, Atlas called out.

"Riley, when did you take interest in that idiot?" Atlas asked.

"I don't think he's an idiot, but I'll tell you my favorite memory." Riley giggled.

Everyone sighed with smiles when they heard her.

To her friends, Riley was sweet to the point of being one-dimensional.

That's what they loved about her.

Everyone nodded with gentle smiles.

That was the vibe Helix got from the recording.

"This one day, Helix ran up to me while talking to Macron and said, [Riley, I have an emergency! I need your help]!"