The gold-and-blue Pawney that players keep calling the secret variant is Pawney (Mountain Woods Form), the third-stage evolution of the golden Helmut. You cannot buy it, roll for it, or find it in the wild. The only way to get one is to catch a Helmut (Mountain Woods Form) and take it through the Warrior chapter of the Journey quest The Legends of Helmuts and Helgons, which ends with the Sword of Bravery.
Quick answer: Twine with a Helmut (Mountain Woods Form) at Aniimo level 45, break the stone spire in southeast Russet Highlands, then pick “Pull the sword out” to trigger the evolution into Pawney.
What the golden Helmut and Pawney actually are
Both creatures are Dark element and share the Helmut family, but they play completely differently. Helmut (Mountain Woods Form) is a stage 1 BREAK unit with more defense than offense. Pawney (Mountain Woods Form) is a stage 3 DPS unit whose attack and magic attack both jump to 125, which is where most of the interest in this form comes from.
| Stat | Helmut (Mountain Woods Form) | Pawney (Mountain Woods Form) |
|---|---|---|
| Role | BREAK | DPS |
 HP | 60 | 90 |
 Attack | 52 | 125 |
| Magic attack | 52 | 125 |
| Defense | 68 | 84 |
 Magic defense | 48 | 70 |
| EP regen | 51 | 81 |
| BP attack | 60 | 55 |
| Element level | 1 | 3 |
Helmut (Mountain Woods Form) stands 0.8m tall and weighs 9kg; Pawney grows to 1.2m and 18kg. Releasing a Helmut in this form returns Growth Bud (3), while releasing a Pawney returns Growth Flower (2). Reporting either one pays 100 Credits.
Requirements before you start the Warrior quest
Everything below assumes your story progress has opened up the Breezy Plains region and the Russet Highlands area within it. Get these four things sorted first, because the quest will stall on any one of them.
- Reach Chapter 3 and have the quest Ancient Sacred Fragrance in progress.
- Own a Helmut (Mountain Woods Form), the golden variant found only in Russet Highlands.
- Level that Helmut to Aniimo level 45 before you interact with the sword.
- Hold Night Stone x1, the evolution material the Helmut line consumes.
How to catch the golden Helmut in Russet Highlands
The Mountain Woods Form Helmuts hide rather than roam, and they bolt if you walk up to them normally. Spawns sit in the Russet Highlands, in the stretch between the Highlands and Berylline Causeway, at levels 45 to 50.
The same area holds a gold Rookey spawn in Mountain Woods Form. Rookey is the other branch of Helmut’s evolution tree, so grabbing one now saves a return trip if you want both forms.
Sword of Bravery location in Russet Highlands
Sorora, the enigmatic painter at her easel in Rainbow Woods, initiates the Warrior chapter. Take her questline and use the objective markers to work through the Russet Highlands clue hunt: speak with the Weeping Helmut at Hatos’s Ruins Stele, then interact with a Hiding Helmut. Twine into your Helmut before speaking with the Weeping Helmut, or the conversation cannot progress.
The sword itself sits southeast in the Russet Highlands at coordinates -0156, 1634, up the mountain past the red storm mist. Look for a circular platform with a single rock formation in the middle. It is the only one in the area, and it is the same arena where the Omega Infergon weekly boss appears.
Attack the red-crystal stone spire in the center of the platform. Any Aniimo can shatter it, so you do not need the Helmut for this part.
Once the shell breaks, the Sword of Bravery is left standing in its crystal base with the hilt exposed. Trying to pull it as your human character never works, no matter how many times you interact with it.
Pulling the sword out and the dialogue answers
Twine into your Helmut, use its Detection skill, and interact with the hilt. A conversation with the Will of ??? begins, and the last prompt is the one that matters.
| Question | Answer to pick |
|---|---|
| Could Helmut possibly challenge the formidable Infergon? | I have an unyielding heart! |
| Is that brave Helmut still alive? | Brave Helmut? |
| I dispatched it elsewhere, but I cannot tell whether it survived long enough to return. | It’s totally exhausted. |
| Do you have what it takes to draw me out and become a warrior? | Pull the sword out. |
Choosing “Pull the sword out” plays the evolution sequence and your Helmut becomes Pawney (Mountain Woods Form) on the spot. If a warning appears in the left side of the screen instead, your Helmut has not reached level 45 yet.
The Infergon fight and the rewards afterward
The evolution cutscene rolls straight into a boss fight against Infergon Lv. 50, so bring a team that is ready rather than one you were levelling. When it goes down, a chest spawns in the middle of the arena. Loot it, then interact with the Flame Flower on the rocky surface to pick it up.
Teleport back to Rainbow Woods and speak to Sorora to receive the Sword of Bravery itself. It is an Epic-rarity Mission Item described in your inventory as “A valuable item, consolidating Helmut’s understanding of evolution,” and handing it over closes out the Warrior chapter.
Before going back to Sorora, make the optional visit to the nearby Stonebound Sword Sanctum. Inside, use the platform’s sword-shaped slot: twine into your new Pawney, interact with the slot, and select “Return the Treasure”. The Stonebound Sword then unlocks.
How to confirm the evolution worked
Three things tell you it landed. Your creature’s entry reads Pawney (Mountain Woods Form) with the DPS role instead of BREAK, the Journey log marks Warrior as complete once Sorora hands over the sword, and the Sword of Bravery appears in your Mission Items list.
If the search for the Sword of Bravery stops progressing after you Twine into Helmut, check that you actually interacted with the sword. That stall was a bug the developers have since patched.
Once Pawney is in your roster, it slots in as a Dark DPS option built around raw attack rather than the defensive breaking Helmut did, and the gold armor is permanent. The Rookey branch stays available on any other Helmut you catch, since that path needs a passive talent and a counter kill instead of the sword.
