<Wasn’t This A Strategy Game? Chapter 24>

Eden frowned at the man’s light pink hair, which looked like cotton candy.

‘Pink hair?’

She hadn’t seen any character with pink hair in this game. So, it was safe to assume he wasn’t the Chancellor or the Prince. A mix of disappointment and curiosity bubbled up inside her.

“Hah……. Ugh…!”

The man was lying face down on the floor, squirming, unable to even lift his head, and just watching him was painful enough.

Eden tried to see his face, but since he was lying down, it was still completely out of view.

“Aah!”

When the man clenched his fists and screamed in agony, Eden flinched and shivered in surprise.

“Ugh…!”

The man covered his mouth, but it was too late to stop the blood from gushing out. As he coughed, dark red blood spilled onto the floor, and at the same time, the whole castle shook as if it were experiencing an earthquake.

Boom―!

Ugh…!

Eden lost her balance and fell over from the sudden jolt, but it seemed the man was too preoccupied with his own business to notice her presence amidst the loud rumbling of the castle.

Despite the earth-shattering tremors, the castle didn’t crumble at all. Only the man’s labored breathing grew even rougher.

“Hah… Hah….”

Eden covered her mouth with her trembling hands to keep quiet and barely managed to rise to her feet. She had no idea what was going on, but it seemed she needed to leave before he realized she was even there. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing she could do.

Just as Eden was about to hurry back before another quake hit—

Dding!

The familiar notification sound made Eden freeze in her tracks.

Dding? Dding…?

Here…?

Startled, Eden slowly turned around to see a notification window popping up through the still-open door.

A notification window in a place like this was completely unexpected. Eden held her breath and shifted her gaze back toward the doorway.

Hovering above the man, who was still gasping in agony, was a semi-transparent window glowing brightly.

Eden’s breath hitched as she finally checked the profile window.

Hagen’ti?

“……”

Eyes wide, Eden averted her gaze back to the man. The once moaning pink-haired man lay still, no longer making any sounds. He seemed to have fainted for a moment.

…Is that really Hagen’ti?

Even after seeing the profile window, she couldn’t believe it. Her mind was in chaos, as if an earthquake was going off inside her head.

Though she couldn’t see his face, the man didn’t look old at all. He was entirely different from the image she had of a Great Mage.

As Eden pondered how a young man like that could possibly be Hagen’ti, she suddenly realized that all she really knew about him was his name.

Right, Hagen’ti has never appeared in illustrations. He had only shown up in notifications when he went berserk.

Her heart raced uncontrollably.

So, it turned out she had found Hagen’ti. Before he went berserk.

“……”

But, what should she do?

She never imagined she would meet Hagen’ti this way, and her mind went blank.

He looked faint, but maybe coming back here later would be—

Just then.

“Hah…”

Hagen’ti, who she thought was faint, let out a faint groan again.

“!”

Eden held her breath in tension as she focused on Hagen’ti; he slowly reached out with his hand as if summoning something. In a blink, something appeared above the air. Whatever it was fell onto his palm.

It was a dagger with a very sharp blade.

“……?”

Caught off guard by the unpredictable situation, Eden couldn’t blink as she watched him.

‘What is he trying to do…?’

A bad feeling crept over her. Sweat poured down her hands, but she couldn’t even attempt to wipe it away; the atmosphere was far too tense. Eden held her breath, barely making any sound as she watched Hagen’ti.

With the dagger in hand, Hagen’ti slowly rose to his feet. And then, his hidden face began to reveal itself.

“……”

Upon seeing Hagen’ti’s sweat-drenched white face, Eden instinctively held her breath. A bit of blood was smeared around his mouth; he looked no older than Asmun, if even that.

It was hard to believe he was someone who had been sequestered for 50 years. No, his delicate features seemed to be standing on the boundary between a boy and a man—bright and fresh.

His light pink hair was slightly curly, and his vacant gray eyes stared listlessly into the void.

Even drenched in sweat, his face wasn’t in the slightest bit distorted, rivaling the handsome appearances of Asmun and other攻略 characters. She couldn’t help but think he was overly attractive, even in such a situation.

Eden stared at him as if entranced, and Hagen’ti exhaled a tiny breath before raising the hand clutching the dagger high. Frowning, she looked at him.

‘What on earth is he doing…?’

“……!”

At that moment, Eden realized what Hagen’ti was about to do. The dagger’s blade was aimed directly at his heart.

Eden’s restless eyes darted back to Hagen’ti’s face. As he prepared to commit such a devastating act, Hagen’ti wore an expression so emotionless that it was frightening. It was as if he intended to put an end to everything.

No way……. Just a minute…!

Just as Hagen’ti seemed ready to plunge the dagger downward with all his might, Eden couldn’t hold back any longer and dashed into the room, grabbing Hagen’ti’s hand and pushing him down.

Thanks to her intervention, the dagger that was supposed to pierce his heart barely missed, and Hagen’ti’s body ended up collapsing beneath hers.

“……!”

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, Hagen’ti’s eyes widened as Eden straddled him, gripping his wrist tightly, where he still clutched the dagger.

“You can’t commit suicide!”

Eden shouted fiercely, looking into Hagen’ti’s stunned eyes. Suicide? If this act led to his berserk phase, everything could be over.

“If you die….”

With her trembling hand gripping Hagen’ti’s, Eden bit her lip. Those striking gray eyes of his glinted vividly, as if they were alive.

No, the man in front of her was alive.

“……”

Eden’s heart raced as if it were trying to escape her chest. In truth, it might have been better to just leave it alone. If Hagen’ti died, her chances of clearing the game would probably increase.

Berserk was just another probability, and the story was constantly shifting; if Hagen’ti died right here, he might never go berserk at all.

But ridiculously, that wasn’t something she could allow. Even knowing the man was just a game character, she couldn’t just let him die. Despite her rush and instant regret, she couldn’t do it.

“……”

Finally coming to her senses, Eden realized she had done something incredibly reckless. Unlike her, Hagen’ti still seemed bewildered; he looked at her with a face full of confusion.

“……”

Hagen’ti stared at her right wrist, still locked in her grip, with wide, frozen eyes. Gasping, Eden quickly let go of Hagen’ti’s hand, and his face contorted once more.

“Ugh…!”

Grabbing his chest in pain, Hagen’ti instinctively snatched Eden’s hand again, gripping it tightly. For once, it was Eden who gasped.

“Ugh!”

A jolt of intense pain shot through her hand like electricity. In an instant of realization, the contrast between Hagen’ti’s delicate face and the frightening strength of his grip flashed through Eden’s mind.

‘Magical Power: 99…’

99? She had never seen such stats. It finally hit her just how dangerous this situation was. She was face to face with the greatest Great Mage of the Empire. A shiver ran down her spine.

“So this is…?”

But she couldn’t make any excuses now. Hagen’ti, who had been holding onto her hand like it was a lifeline, had lost consciousness.

“Hah….”

Eden stared at Hagen’ti in shock. His limp hand was still clutching hers tightly.

“……”

It seemed Hagen’ti had completely fainted. Nevertheless, his pained expression had relaxed, suggesting that the suffering had ended. Yet still, his weary face, drenched in blood and sweat, was pitiful.

Pitiful? Hagen’ti? The Great Mage Hagen’ti who would bring ruin to the Empire through his berserk phase?

Eden blinked in disbelief.

“This can’t be real, can it…?”

It was hard to believe that she had entered the game, but even harder to accept that she had found Hagen’ti. And that, indeed, this Hagen’ti was so young and strikingly handsome.

Suddenly it struck Eden why she had chosen this game in the first place: the dazzling illustrations. There had been no exception for those brilliant visuals.

As Eden disengaged from reality, lost in this bombshell of a situation, yet again, she heard a familiar notification sound.

Dding.

Dding.

Utterly drained, Eden lifted her dazed head to see a completion window appearing.

Magical Power: 30?

Eden’s eyes widened in disbelief.

What did she even do?

Panic-stricken, Eden stared at the window below.

And it was a Hidden Quest on top of that.

Looking once more at Hagen’ti, she noticed that he lay still, eyes closed.

This young mage truly was Hagen’ti, it appeared.