<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Episode 25>

“Ha ha…”

Eden chuckled as if losing her mind, then realized she was still sitting on Hagen’ti and quickly jumped down to the side.

Even with that movement, Hagen’ti remained completely still, lying there; however, his hand stubbornly held onto mine without letting go. Eden cautiously pried his hand off while glancing at him.

Thud.

Hagen’ti’s hand fell helplessly to the floor once he released Eden’s grip.

“……”

Yet, Hagen’ti showed no signs of getting up. After confirming his stillness by waving my hand in front of his face, Eden finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Ha…”

Now that things seemed to settle down, my brain slowly started working again. The first question that popped into my head was about the Chancellor.

‘Why is Hagen’ti’s castle linked to the Chancellor’s Office?’

At the same time, I remembered that I needed to return before Sereman got back. Eden stole another glance at Hagen’ti and looked at the Achievement window again.

Regardless of anything, it was a relief that I cleared the quest. When I clicked ‘Yes’ in the achievement window below, something dropped from thin air into Eden’s arms.

It was a small scroll, just the right size to carry around.

“What’s this…”

Just then, a notification window popped up in mid-air and answered Eden’s curiosity.

『You have been awarded ‘2x Level 1 Teleport Scrolls’.』

Upon learning the scroll’s identity, Eden’s expression brightened immediately.

“Awesome.”

Teleport scrolls were very precious items. With a teleport scroll, one could instantly fly to anywhere without needing a portal. Plus, being level 1 meant I could go practically anywhere in the Empire.

“…I need to use this wisely.”

With this, I couldn’t really complain about running into Hagen’ti like this. Taking a deep breath, Eden collected her thoughts.

“Alright. Next, the Prophecy Book.”

As a reward for the quest that raised my magical power, Eden chose the Prophecy Book. Like before, a Prophecy Book floated in the air.

“Please have something decent in it this time.”

No matter how you looked at it, just lumping all the quest rewards into Prophecy Books might seem like a safeguard against terrible content, but sometimes, the details weren’t worth much at all. Sometimes, it would mention where a monster horde was about to appear or some event happening.

Hoping this wouldn’t be one of those moments where I couldn’t see an inch ahead, Eden snatched the Prophecy Book and opened it.

“…”

As she slowly read through the Prophecy Book, her face turned pale.

“What kind of lunatic…”

Eden slowly covered her mouth in shock. The more she read, the more her eyes widened in terror.

“Wait a minute…”

Her face had gone as white as Hagen’ti’s, who was lying down.

“…Today, of all days?”

While Eden stood frozen, another quest window floated in front of her.

『【!】Basic Quest

: Save Asmun from Kiris’s scheme!

1:00:00』

Seeing the time flashing red at the bottom of the quest window, Eden shot up from her seat. The countdown began ominously.

It was a time-limited quest.

“Damn…!”

Eden was about to rush back to the Chancellor’s Office, but she paused to look back at Hagen’ti, still lying there like he was dead.

“……”

After hesitating for a moment, Eden found herself back beside Hagen’ti to check if he was breathing. Thankfully, he was peacefully exhaling.

“Ha…”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Eden stood up again and ran off without looking back.

When Eden finally reached the Chancellor’s Office, thankfully, it was still before Sereman returned. She pulled out the crimson book as if she hadn’t touched it and stepped out of the study, shutting the door behind her.

With that, Sereman wouldn’t even know she’d opened the door to the study, so he wouldn’t imagine she had gone inside.

Why Sereman had set up a portal connected to Hagen’ti’s castle remained a mystery, but there was no time to ponder that now.

As Eden hurried out of the tower, she recalled the Prophecy Book’s contents.

『Having lost his reason due to losing Leveim, the 1st Prince Kiris Deckland has decided to assassinate the 3rd Prince Asmun Deckland. The Emperor and Asmun will be attacked on their way back after inspecting the Leveim’s Mana Stone Mine by an ancient monster summoned by Kiris, <Letargolem>.』

Just as she’d feared, the worst had happened.

“Kiris, you madman…!”

Even if he had lost his mind, trying to attack with the Emperor present? He must be completely insane.

『If this is not prevented, the escaping Emperor will be safe, but to buy time, Asmun will be killed.』

The sentence about Asmun dying made Eden’s heart ache sharply. Having finally reached a remote area, she ducked into a corner, gasping softly. There was a metallic taste in her dry throat, but there was no time.

That was the end of the Prophecy. It was an unfriendly prophecy with no guidance on what to do next. The game dev had to be either quite lazy or a pervert who enjoyed the players’ suffering.

『00:22:54』

The quest timer was still ticking down. Eden had already wasted over 30 minutes just getting from Hagen’ti’s castle back to the Chancellor’s Office.

This damned game! Just wait until I get back, I’ll contribute to some serious star-rating terrorism!

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Eden pulled out the scroll she had stashed in her pocket. There were no instructions on how to use it, but that didn’t matter. When a person is cornered, their instincts kick in.

Eden simply unfolded the scroll and desperately whispered.

“Leveim, to where Asmun is!”

In that instant, Eden’s body vanished, leaving nothing but darkness at the spot where she had been standing.

“Protect the Emperor!”

“Guard the Emperor’s carriage!”

The sudden appearance of the monster turned the rugged mountain path into chaos in an instant. Asmun drew his sword and turned to Ronpell.

“Ronpell, I’ll buy time, so retreat with the Emperor. We must protect His Majesty at all costs.”

“Your Highness, but…!”

Ronpell tried to dissuade Asmun, but Asmun left that comment and charged towards the monster.

Ronpell looked around, pale with fear. Since they were in a narrow canyon, just as Asmun said, they couldn’t retreat without dodging the monster.

Ronpell caught sight of the colossal monster again. It reeked of blood and seemed to be made of hardened rocks, appearing like a type of golem he had never seen before.

The hastily fired arrows ricocheted off the monster’s tough body. Even the scrolls couldn’t find their mark and merely ended up collapsing the surrounding cliffs.

“All the scrolls have dropped!”

Moreover, the terrain was so rough and confined that not many troops could move through, so they didn’t have substantial backing. All were elite knights, but their strength needed to go towards protecting the Emperor.

“Ugh!”

The itchy attacks enraged the monster, which began tearing at the boulders above the cliff and hurling them down. The large rock landed right in front of the carriage carrying the Emperor, turning Ronpell’s face pale.

If a single hair on the Emperor was harmed here, Asmun would surely suffer severe repercussions. Ronpell’s head spun.

Ronpell believed in his master’s abilities, and since his true powers were still unknown, it might be better to keep Asmun’s monster-slaying prowess hidden for now.

“Damn it!”

Spitting out a curse, Ronpell finally turned his horse around.

“Retreat with the Emperor! Everyone, focus on protecting His Majesty!”

Hearing Ronpell’s voice as he moved back, Asmun continued to charge forward against the monster. After hearing the sounds of the carriage and hooves quickly fading away, Asmun stopped and gazed up at the monster.

Craaaack―!

At that moment, the excited monster rushed toward the escaping Emperor’s carriage. A huge blue flame erupted around the massive creature, halting its clumsy movements.

Undeterred by the towering flames, the monster charged forward but recoiled in panic when its body collided with the fire.

“……”

Asmun watched the monster, furious as it stomped its feet, unable to muster the courage to jump through the flames again.

The flames he created contained magical energy that would damage the monsters, but unfortunately, as Asmun was not a formal mage, his magic couldn’t last long.

This monster was a unique type he had never seen, but it was indeed a kind of golem, crafted entirely through magic, so it definitely had a weakness that could obliterate it.

He had to locate and strike that hidden core in one blow.

As Asmun narrowed his eyes, studying the massive golem’s viciously swinging arm, he spotted a magic circle inscribed upon its surface.

In that moment, the flames blocking the golem’s path suddenly extinguished, and the enraged beast let out a despairing roar as it charged directly at Asmun.

“……!”

Pulling the reins sharply, Asmun barely dodged as the golem’s fist narrowly grazed him, sending him tumbling off his horse.

“Ugh…!”

Hearing the panicked horse flailing, Asmun firmly gripped his sword. The wild golem was preparing to swing its fist at Asmun again. This time, instead of dodging, Asmun readied to slice through the fist.

There was only one chance. If he failed, he would die. A primal instinct shivered down Asmun’s spine.

And at that moment, the boulder-like fist came flying right at him.

“Get down!”