Looking at the options in front of her, Eileen’s vision went black for a moment.
What kind of options were these?
In the game, she wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong with them. If she were still sitting in front of a screen like before, she would have probably chosen C without the slightest hesitation.
As the saying went, the easier something was to obtain, the less one would cherish it.
Female characters as easy to romance as Atia numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands, in the game. Sacrificing one side character whose affection was maxed but who wouldn’t give any rewards in exchange for a chance to survive — no matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a loss.
But now…
Why were all these options either telling her to go die or telling her to be a scumbag?
Looking at Atia, who was trembling all over yet still refused to take even half a step back, Eileen made a bold decision.
In the past, she had scummed countless female characters just to obtain rare items. But this time, she only wanted to be a pure love warrior.
So she chose D!
Eileen grabbed Atia and pulled her behind her.
“Atia, run! I’ll hold it off here. Go find someone nearby to help!”
“M-Miss Eileen, you’ll die!”
Atia was terrified. She tightly grabbed onto Eileen’s skirt. “I-I’m just a useless person anyway. If someone has to die, it should be me. Miss Eileen, you should run!”
“Who said I’m going to die?”
Eileen pretended to be calm and said with a light laugh, “Atia, don’t forget that my class is mage. I still have a teleportation array in my hand. Once you’re safe, I’ll teleport to a safe place and come find you.”
“This…”
Atia didn’t really believe her.
Teleportation magic was something only high-ranking mages could master. Eileen was just an E-rank adventurer. No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t seem like someone who could use teleportation magic.
“Don’t worry. I promise you nothing will go wrong.”
Eileen gently pried Atia’s hand off her skirt and lowered it. “If something really does go wrong, you can come find me to settle the score anytime.”
“But…”
“No more ‘buts.’ Get out of here right now!”
Eileen’s expression changed. She glared fiercely at Atia.
In that instant, a layer of mist rose in Atia’s eyes.
She could feel Eileen’s determination.
Her determination to let her live.
If she still refused to leave now, she would be betraying Eileen’s good intentions.
“I-I understand, Miss Eileen. You have to hold on. I-I’ll go find help right away!”
“That’s more like it. Take this money for the road.”
Eileen casually took out a silver coin from her pocket and stuffed it into Atia’s hand.
This was the emergency money she had kept on her. She would never use it unless absolutely necessary.
But keeping it on her now was useless anyway. It was better to give it to Atia.
After all, there was a setting in the game that upon death, equipment and gold would drop, and you could only pick them up again after reviving at the place of death.
She wasn’t sure if the revival mechanic from the game still worked now, but she could only take a gamble.
If she could revive, she could still go find Atia and ask for this silver coin back.
“I-I know. Miss Eileen, you have to be okay!”
With that, Atia turned around and ran into the distance.
Seeing this, the Minotauros immediately wanted to chase after her. But Eileen stepped in front of it first.
“I won’t let you pass.”
Eileen picked up the cheap staff that had fallen on the ground earlier and pointed it straight at the Minotauros. “Your opponent right now is me!”
This move made Eileen feel pretty cool for a moment. But when she opened her skill page, there was only one initial skill — Fireball.
It had a ten-second casting time. Against an A-rank magical beast, this damage was pure scraping…
The Minotauros glanced at Eileen. Its bull head tilted slightly, as if it was saying…
Is this person sick?
The next second, the Minotauros raised its axe and was about to cleave the Eileen in front of it.
Eileen almost pissed herself.
This wasn’t a game. The fear of facing death head-on was enough to destroy anyone’s psychological defenses.
Please let the New Game+ also have a revival setting…
Whoosh!
At that moment, a golden light flashed across the night sky. The sound of it tearing through the air cut through the darkness.
Eileen looked up and saw that golden light shooting toward her and the Minotauros like a meteor.
In an instant, the golden light accurately struck the Minotauros right on the forehead. It pierced straight through its entire body and nailed it firmly to the ground.
The Minotauros fell straight down, dead beyond any doubt.
The scene became so quiet afterward that it was as if nothing had happened, aside from the golden knight’s spear that was now half-buried in the ground with blood still on it.
Saved?
But Eileen didn’t think so.
Because she recognized that golden spear.
She really wanted to cry.
Being scammed out of all her money and saddled with high-interest debt by the Light Society was one thing. Even running into an A-rank magical beast like the Minotauros while trying to escape was somewhat acceptable.
But now…
“Deceived a young girl’s feelings, then faked your death and abandoned her… Eileen, oh Eileen. Five years have passed, and your methods for tricking young girls haven’t changed at all.”
A familiar voice came from behind her. Eileen’s entire body instantly tensed up.
Tap. Tap. Tap…
The sound of armor clinking was soft, but at this moment it sounded especially grating to her ears.
She mechanically turned around and looked at the knight clad in golden holy armor. She forced a smile on her face that looked worse than crying. “L-Long time no see, Kate…”
“Yeah. It’s been five years.”
The knight removed her helmet. Her golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, gently lifted by the night breeze. The moonlight cast a cold silver glow upon it. Her face also emerged from the shadows.
Her nose bridge was high and straight, her lips slightly pursed. Her deep green eyes were calm yet sharp. There was a heroic air between her brows that added a touch of weathered cold beauty to her appearance.
The current her was far more mature than the battle-obsessed girl who had been struggling at A-rank five years ago. At the same time, she had also become much more dangerous.
“Yeah, it’s been five years. I heard you’ve already reached S-rank. Congratulations…”
Eileen kept avoiding Kate’s gaze, not daring to look her in the eye.
She was truly afraid that Kate would attack her without another word. If that happened, her ending would probably be no better than the Minotauros lying in front of her…
“No, no, no. I should be the one congratulating you.”
Kate said in a strange, sarcastic tone, “You successfully got rid of another woman you got tired of playing with again.”
Alarm bells rang wildly in Eileen’s heart. She quickly tried to explain, “Kate, it’s not what you think. She and I are just friends. We’re not in that kind of relationship…”
“Eileen, do you really think I would believe your nonsense?”
“I’m sorry…”
Eileen immediately lowered her head and apologized.
“Five years have passed and you only plan to say sorry?”
“Uh… Then what should I say?”
She couldn’t exactly say something like “Sorry for scumming you five years ago, come chop me a couple times to vent your anger,” could she?
She still wanted to live!
“You should say…”
Kate suddenly reached out and wrapped her arm around Eileen’s slender waist, pulling her into her embrace. “I’m back, you fool.”
Before Eileen could react, a soft touch pressed directly against her lips.
It was overbearing, without the slightest hesitation.