---

<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Chapter 147>

As soon as Eden resolutely accepted the event Quest, radiant light burst from the diary in her hand.

“Ugh…”

The unbearable brightness made Eden instinctively shut her eyes. In an instant, her body was sucked into the diary.

Thud.

The diary that swallowed Eden lost its shine and fell to the ground.

“Gasp…”

Eden lifted her head and looked around. The warm room I had been in a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and where I now stood was a dark and vast garden filled with a sinister energy.

“…!”

Eden noticed that there were about a hundred people lined up not far from me.

Holding her breath, she cautiously approached the tense crowd, observing these individuals closely.

‘They’re just kids.’

They all wore matching cloaks, and the commonality among them was that they all looked to be about twelve or sixteen years old, just a bunch of young boys.

They didn’t seem to notice that Eden had just fallen into this place.

Everything had happened so fast that my head was spinning, but Eden quickly recognized the situation since she had experienced it several times before. She had entered someone else’s memories.

And perhaps the owner of this memory was…

“Hagen’ti…”

Spotting a distinctive pink-haired boy among the many, Eden found herself murmuring his name.

At that moment, it felt like Hagen’ti heard something, as his gaze shifted towards Eden.

“…!”

Startled, Eden held her breath as she met Hagen’ti’s piercing gaze. But soon, his eyes returned to the front, his expression blank as if he hadn’t seen anything.

A small sigh of relief escaped Eden as she sneakily watched young Hagen’ti. This was truly a unique experience. Seeing Hagen’ti as a child.

I had thought his face was already full of boyish charm, but seeing the face of the real boy made me realize just how much he had matured.

Even though he was much younger, just looking at Hagen’ti seemed to slightly ease the tension that had filled her.

‘So this is what his expression was like originally.’

That indifferent look that seemed like he wouldn’t reply even if you sent him a hundred texts wasn’t just due to a curse.

His impassive face was even more pronounced because of the boy next to him who looked like he was about to wet himself in fear.

It was a face that seemed disinterested in anything in this world. That much hadn’t changed at all.

‘He’s even cuter than I thought.’

Just as Eden was about to smile and forget her own situation, a deafening explosion echoed behind them.

Boom—!

Eden and the boys instinctively flinched, but Hagen’ti remained still, staring at the source of the explosion.

‘W-What was that?’

Clutching her startled chest, Eden turned to see a building shaped like a coliseum, constructed in a perfect circle.

Unlike a coliseum, all its walls were thoroughly hidden, and from high up, thick smoke was billowing out as though something had exploded.

‘What is that?’

While Eden was still trying to figure it out, someone suddenly appeared before the trembling boys.

A tall, sharp-looking man, with a facial expression as blank as Hagen’ti’s, scanned the boys.

“Next, number 17.”

Instantly, the frozen Hagen’ti stepped forward, indicating that he was the 17th.

“Go inside.”

The man commanded curtly, and without looking back, Hagen’ti headed towards the building still engulfed in smoke.

Eden, astonished, shook herself out of her daze and hurriedly followed Hagen’ti.

As she got closer, a space appeared between the previously solid walls, creating a door. Hagen’ti strode in without hesitation, and Eden rushed inside before the door closed behind her.

‘It’s enormous…?’

Eden gasped as she beheld an expansive arena that was unimaginable from the outside.

The Hesmoro Empire flag hung everywhere, and in the high seats made for spectators, solemn figures gazed down at Hagen’ti.

‘Is this some kind of test?’

Just as Eden pondered, the wall opposite where she and Hagen’ti stood opened wide, and a fearsome monster burst forth.

“Gasp…!”

Eden froze in shock.

The monsters with glowing red eyes were all roughly five times Hagen’ti’s size, and they came charging madly towards their prey.

“Hagen’ti, move!”

Eden completely forgot that this was a memory and screamed at the top of her lungs.

However, Hagen’ti didn’t budge an inch. Instead, he merely stared at the monsters with a nonchalant gaze.

At that signal, all the monstrous creatures suddenly froze in place.

“…!”

They were all looking at Hagen’ti, completely paralyzed. When he raised his hand and lightly gestured, the still monsters toppled over like they’d been hit by a gigantic bowling ball.

The monsters rolled over onto their backs, as if they were being pressed down by an invisible force, not moving an inch.

It was only then that the tense atmosphere dispersed, and a booming voice rang out.

“Hagen’ti passes!”

Eden stared at Hagen’ti with her mouth agape. In just one minute since entering the arena, Hagen’ti had devastated the place, yet he still gazed blankly into the air.

Just as she was processing the shock of his power, the surroundings darkened once more.

At that moment, white letters appeared on the black background as if on a screen.

《Hagen’ti was a member of ‘Esir’, the clandestinely formed group of ‘Killing Battle Mages’ under the Hesmoro Empire, and he was their most exceptional mage. ‘Esir’ was a grand scheme to select children with magical powers, rigorously train them, and use them for war and monster extermination.》

“Killing Battle Mages…?”

A combination of horrifying words caused Eden to frown involuntarily. Before she could grasp the full meaning, the surroundings brightened once again, and the next memory began to play.

The background of the next memory was a dark corridor.

Eden held her breath as she saw Hagen’ti hiding in the shadows, eavesdropping on someone’s conversation. Behind the wall where he was hidden, two men were having a secret discussion.

“Don’t worry. As you know, they’re all orphans. They were selected as orphans from the beginning to avoid any trouble during the war. We’ve been constantly casting a spell to erase emotions like fear and pity.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Each of these kids will be worth more than a hundred royal knights.”

“I hope that’s true. I heard there’s a useful item?”

“Yes. There’s a kid named Hagen’ti, and he’s truly special. He mastered all forms of magic before he even turned ten. His magical power has already surpassed the strongest mage’s metrics in the Magic Tower.”

“A mage at such a young age?”

“Exactly. So he will be an incredible weapon. You could say this war is practically won with just him.”

“Wow, is it really that much?”

“Yes. So how about we let him join this war? You’ve invested, so you should see results. These kids will change the history of the Hesmoro Empire.”

“Hmm. Alright, I understand. I’ll tell the king tomorrow. Let’s prepare for battle without delay.”

Hagen’ti listened to that brutal conversation without a hint of anger or surprise, merely staring into space.

The shock landed heavily on Eden.

‘They deliberately selected orphans…’

Eden’s throat felt tight. Plus, they had been continuously casting spells to erase their emotions.

Now she understood why Hagen’ti had been so indifferent. It wasn’t merely because of a curse.

As the memories shifted again, the background changed. As soon as the scene changed, deafening noises and screams along with the sound of battle crashed in.

It was the battlefield.

“Aaaah!”

Eden frantically looked around for Hagen’ti. He was in the middle of the battlefield, facing enemies head-on.

With each gesture he made, dozens of heads flew off. No one was a match for Hagen’ti. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the horrific scene, and the memories shifted once more.

The next memory was of hunting monsters. Huge and terrifying beasts charged relentlessly, only to fall continuously. The sounds of horrifying screams echoed around her.

The memories streamed past like a hastily rewound film.

Back to the imperial war.

Then back to monster hunting.

Hagen’ti’s memories were steeped in blood.

“…”

Watching those memories was agonizing, so Eden began to focus solely on Hagen’ti’s face. Eventually, his face transformed into the remarkably mature visage of the present.

At a certain point, Eden realized his irises were shifting from red to their original color and back again.

Just as she pondered this strange phenomenon, the surroundings darkened once more, and white subtitles appeared.

 

---