Back then, the era when Helmo had not yet been called "despicable" was the end of B.C., when ancient Greece turned from great prosperity to division.

At that time, Helbo was just a very ordinary young man...... Yes, at least from the outside, it's pretty ordinary.

He has three-dimensional facial features that are quite common to the Greeks, and because he comes from ordinary daily work, his physique can be called strong. But before his first encounter with magical culture, the impression he had had was largely mediocre.

That's right, even if he is working on weekdays, he occasionally has some bad thoughts about stealing chickens and dogs. But under the background of the magnificent era at that time, his sense of existence as a small citizen of the market was as inconspicuous as fireflies.

It's just that when his day-to-day ordinary life slowly continued, Helbo, who had not even imagined his future, finally met the person who changed his life.

It was a wizard, a true wizard who was incomparably mysterious in the eyes of the civilians of the time, but incomparably powerful!

Regardless of what historians today call the "heyday of ancient magic", because magic at that time had extremely strict requirements for users, so that there were very few people who could actually become wizards.

Not to mention wizards, even those who are only accepted as apprentices by wizards are often one in a million talents. And even those who are extremely talented wizard apprentices may not all become wizards.

It can be seen from this that a real wizard is such a rare existence.

I remember that at that time, it was Helmo who had finished a long day's work and was going to go to the shabby tavern in town to get a drink, the cheapest drink, and a bedtime pastime.

At that time, lighting at night was still a luxury for the common people. Every day when it is dark and it is impossible to continue working, and then thinking of the long night and getting up early is also dark, finding a place to spend time with entertainment and relaxation has become the most acceptable way of "nightlife" for the majority of people.

But at that time, Helbo didn't expect that he would accidentally find a scene of a wizard taking apprentices that night.

As night approached, the local lord accompanied a wizard he had known in the big city to preside over the open selection of apprentices. When the young Helmpo saw that there were many families dressed in the sunset, and the family sent the older children to meet the wizard for the other party to carefully select, he immediately went over to look lively.

To be honest, with his age, he was long beyond the range of wizards. So at first, he didn't think about what he could gain, he just squeezed in to see what the wizard he had never seen looked like.

By the way, it would be even better if the wizard could show his hand or two!

However, most of the civilians who had the mentality of "watching the bards perform their work" like him soon fell silent one by one.

They weren't like this because they saw something terrible, on the contrary, the so-called "wizard-sama" didn't look like an ordinary person at all.

And the reason why they were all silent without leaking a word was because unconsciously, a sense of awe rose in everyone's hearts from nowhere.

"That's it...... Sorcerer...... Is it? ”

Helbo pursed his lips tightly, his eyes fixed on the robed old man for a moment, and his heart was gradually filled with some kind of fear.

For most of the night, even with his usual unstingy temperament, he didn't dare to take a breath from beginning to end. When the old wizard had left the only square in the town, he staggered a little limply towards his home.

For nearly half a month after that, the phrase "Is that a wizard?" lingering in Helmpo's head. ”

Half a month later, Helbo, who had been in a state of semi-distraction day and night, became haggard. He began to wonder why he hadn't encountered wizards coming to town to pick apprentices when he was a child.

Even that night, the old wizard still didn't pick a suitable apprentice until the end, but becoming a wizard became Helbo's only wish later.

At his age, it is impossible to become a wizard? No, Helmo didn't want to think about that at all, he just wanted to be closer, even a step, to the wizard.

How wonderful it would be to be a person who can make people feel fearful unconsciously!

As a result, this simple "ideal", derived from his first encounter with a wizard, became one of the foundations that laid the foundation for his first steps into the wizarding world.

After that, more than half a year passed, and Helbo, who had saved up some more travel expenses, finally decisively gave up the ordinary life in the past with no future at all. He packed his small bags and set out on foot to a nearby city to save money.

In those days, wizards and nobles were usually associated with each other, and it was even possible that a lord was a wizard himself. Helbo found out that the lord of the big city was a real wizard.

In order to beg the other party to accept him as an apprentice, he racked his brains to approach the other party and put forward his wish in person.

It's a pity that the expected twists and turns naturally appeared, and he was ruthlessly rejected by the city lord and wizard, and was even expelled from the city by several knights mercilessly because of his entanglement in front of the city lord.

He spent the night in a roadside wasteland. Because he didn't carry the tools to make a fire, he was blown by the cold wind all night, and his hands and feet were frozen and unconscious.

When he wakes up in the wee hours of the morning, he finally meets his first teacher, the sorceress Kern, who was dubbed the "Goddess of Death" by many dark wizards around the first year of the Common Era.

That's right, it's the woman Helbo once mentioned to Maca, the woman who once touched the "rules of death" and was rumored to have stepped on the "border of life and death", but eventually became inhuman.

However, when Helbo first met her, she was a gifted girl who had just become a wizard.

"Awake?"

It was still dark, and Helbo, who had just opened his eyes, was startled by the girl who was crouching next to his head. But then he found that he couldn't move.

Is it frozen? No, he didn't know, because he did feel very cold. But other than that, the chill that comes from the heart seems to be a little familiar.

"Don't be afraid, this is just a very ordinary mind magic, I just studied it, and I just used you to practice it."

Kern, who was still a girl, lowered his head, said nonchalantly, and patted Helbo's cheek. Under the not-so-bright moonlight, Kern's short black hair swayed with the night breeze, and he looked inexplicably free and easy.

Just at first sight, she made a very deep impression on Helbo, a girl who doesn't care much about anything or anyone.

Moreover...... Maybe a wizard too!

"Witches, I"

"Huh?"

Seeing that the young man in front of him trembled his lips and struggled to speak, Kern glanced at him again, and then said:

"What's wrong?"

“…… Please...... Take me as your apprentice......"

It wasn't angry scolding, it wasn't begging for mercy, it wasn't flattering Kern's reaction that he had seen in ordinary people in the past, but the young man in front of him didn't show any of it.

Although she could clearly feel that the other party was also afraid and wary in her heart, the first thing the other party said was to beg her to take him as an apprentice.

"No, I'm not interested in another burden!" Kern waved his hand and said, "I don't even bother to ask for a child around ten years old, let alone someone your age, what do you think you can do for me?" ”

"I, I don't know......," Helbo's voice squeezed out of his throat was a little dry, and the speed of his speech was slow, but his tone was unusually firm, "But, as long as you can become a wizard...... I'm willing to do anything. ”

Helbo, who was able to have such a reputation later, was naturally not simple, and his dedication to what he asked for began to be revealed from that moment.

Of course, almost all he got after that was a "bad reputation".

"Would you like anything?" After hearing his insistence, Kern couldn't help but shake his head, "Then I want you to die, are you willing to do the same?" ”

"As long as ...... If I can still come back to life and learn magic, I'm willing. ”

The fear of death is human nature, but other details beyond fear are different from person to person. Just like Helmo, while he was a little frightened by the words "I want you to die", he also showed the firmness in his heart.

"Are you really willing to die?" When Kern heard this, he finally became a little happy, "Well, if what you said is true, if you can survive from beginning to end and help me complete the magic experiment, then I can't have an apprentice like you." ”

Using the body of an ordinary person to cooperate with a wizard to do magical research? Others may not be able to hold on, but Helbo's eyes have long since left only the desire for a wizard.

"I said that...... It's true," Helbo said vigorously, "as long as you don't die, you'll do it!" ”

"Oh, then you're going to die first!"

In the next second, Kern picked up the slender staff in his hand and immediately slashed at Helbo. And a moment later, the latter, who had been feared for no reason because of the power of the psychic magic, lost consciousness in the blink of an eye.

Thankfully, this isn't something that can make people actually die, and it's impossible to resurrect them.

However, at that time, Helbo had completely fainted, and it was not easy to wake up again.

When Helmo awoke at dawn, the maiden Kern seemed to be gone.