When the plot-skips players into the game world

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It was only after the fierce-faced man left that Isabel managed to climb out from under the covers, feeling dizzy and shaky.

Her head felt heavy, as if there was a lead weight inside, causing intense pain with even the slightest movement. This made her reluctant to move too quickly, as her body felt so weak that she could barely stand.

As she tried to get out of bed, she nearly missed her step and tumbled down.

Intense fear instantly soaked her back in cold sweat, followed by throbbing pain in her temples.

This caused her to grimace, curling up on the side of the bed.

Nausea surged in her stomach, and her skin and bones ached constantly. Even the touch of her hand seemed to exacerbate the pain.

"...It hurts so much."

She murmured softly, struggling to get up.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck outside.

The next moment, the candles inside the room went out without any wind, and simultaneously, the windows were abruptly pushed open by a gust, and the sound of the howling rain grew louder.

She instinctively wanted to scream, but Isabel held it back.

—Screaming was pointless anyway. Don't embarrass yourself, Isabel... You won't die anyway.

She firmly told herself this in her mind.

This time, there was no one to help her. Isabel had no idea on which floor Aiwass and Sherlock were... If they were below her, they couldn't help her at all.

But she could be certain of one thing—that on her current floor, there definitely was no one else.

And it wouldn't matter even if she died, it would just mean falling down one level. Although Isabel didn't quite understand what she should be doing, she at least understood the rules—she couldn't end up on floor zero, so dying didn't matter.

Plus, if she was on a lower floor, someone should come down quickly. If she hadn't seen anyone for a while, it would mean she might be on a higher floor.

—So what she needed to do was to hold on as long as possible and investigate as best as she could.

Perhaps there was something that could only be seen on her floor.

"...At least, I can't be a burden."

Isabel gritted her teeth and, holding her head, staggered to her feet.

The last time she went through the advancement ceremony, she didn't call for help either—it was just by good fortune that she encountered Aiwass and Sherlock who decided to help her.

That was their kindness and her good luck. But it was not an entitlement to protection.

They couldn't protect her forever, and she would have to walk on her own someday.

...Her grandmother would eventually pass away, and she would succeed to the throne.

Someday she would become queen—compared to a nightmare from which death didn't matter, the reality was a promotion ceremony with nightmare-level difficulty and no second chances!

She couldn't disappoint Aiwass!

"If I must die... it should be after making an effort, not just killing myself seeking help..."

With this thought, Isabel stumbled to the open window.

The torrential rain drenched her in an instant. She first tried to close the window but realized she couldn't reach it—perhaps she could if she stood on a stool, but she was uncertain if she could maintain her balance or if she would fall.

And at that moment, her eyes widened. She noticed something.

It was something she had to face the torrential rain at the window to see—

Outside the window, the stars in the sky were blinking on and off, seemingly forming a word.

She stood there, drenched in the downpour, concentrating for a long time. Completely soaked by the rain, she finally made out the word.

It wasn't a word at all, but the number "201."

The starlight was guiding her to room 201!

Isabel's spirits lifted.

She quickly wiped her face with a towel. With no clothes to change into, she could only rush out, hugging her rain-soaked body, stumbling along.

As she walked, she realized her dizziness was making her unsteady. Isabel quickened her pace only to nearly smash her head on the doorknob.

Realizing her body was in worse condition than she thought, she became more cautious, slowly walking along the wall for support.

Her steps grew weaker, and her vision began to blur.

The storm beat against the windows, and around her, she faintly heard a little girl singing, arguing voices, the loud sound of something hitting the ground, and a woman's scream. But Isabel couldn't tell if these were hallucinations; she just felt her consciousness blurring, the world spinning before her eyes.

The short distance from room 202 to 201 took her a very long time.

—Is this really just a cold and fever?

Such doubt surfaced in Isabel's mind.

She approached room 201 and was about to tiptoe to the door handle.

But just then, the door handle moved by itself. Following that, the old door creaked open on its own.

Isabel instantly held her breath, her heart stopping. She stood rooted to the spot as if spellbound.

—Was there someone inside?

But after a long while, she heard no sound from within. Even the singing, noise, and loud bangs had vanished. All that was left was the roaring rain and the erratic clatter of the windows battered by the wind.

She bit her lip and pushed the door open. As soon as she let go, the door closed with a thud behind her.

The room was pitch-dark and showed no signs of anyone having lived there. Yet for that reason, she felt even more unease.

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Even if someone suddenly charged out and killed me...

Just then, another bolt of lightning struck.

In the flash of the lightning, she clearly saw a blond girl with a ghastly purple complexion standing outside the window.

—Yet this was the second floor.

Isabel finally screamed aloud.

She immediately turned back, leaped up, and pulled down the door handle. But the door seemed to be stuck, it wouldn't budge no matter how much she pulled.

With a sudden burst of strength, she yanked the door handle down, flung the door open, and was about to dash out—

But outside the door was not a corridor at all, but a bricked-up wall made of red bricks. She hit the wall, her skin felt even more pain, and her arm, which she instinctively placed in front of her face, was even scraped a bit.
Enjoy new tales from empire

She turned back in terror, only to find that the girl outside the window had vanished.

The house had once again returned to a state of emptiness.

Isabel struggled to swallow, took several deep breaths, and forced herself to calm down.

She had a faint suspicion, closed the door again, and then opened it once more.

This time the area outside the door had changed—it was a staircase going up.

This time Isabel did not rush out; instead, she opened the door wide and bravely headed to the window.

She stuck to the window, looked out for a long time, and found that indeed, there was nothing outside.

And by the occasional lightning outside the house, she could vaguely make out the interior decor—it was clearly more lived-in than her rented Room 202. Specifically, there were some books scattered messily on the table, and a somewhat worn teddy bear.

If the person who lived here had disappeared a long time ago, then these items should have been put away.

Isabel carefully walked over, touched the books, and discovered that there was no dust on them.

She picked up the only open book and waited for the lightning to strike by the window.

After a while, with the flash of light—she saw the cover of the book.

"... 'The Sage of the Oak.'"

She frowned and murmured, "This is a story about Merlin."

Isabel had read this book before.

The book told of how the Great Sage Merlin, as an Angel Envoy while still human, was once imprisoned by his ex-girlfriend Vivian inside an oak tree.

He could hear everything outside, and he could speak, but he couldn't come out, nor could he use magic. The oak tree that sealed him was exceptionally hard; even wielding an axe, no one could chop down the oak tree to free him.

So he became known as the "spirit within" the oak tree.

People heard there was a tree imbued with wisdom and a spirit, so they came from all directions to ask him questions. Later, a Knight carrying the Red-Hilted Holy Sword traveled here, thought it was an evil oak tree that bewitched people, and thus cut the tree in half with a single stroke. Unexpectedly, this act released Merlin.

Merlin was grateful to the Knight, brought him back to Lancelot, and made him one of the Knights of the Round Table, becoming the ancestor of the Founding Families of "Camelot."

—But Isabel, as a descendant of Lancelot, of course knew that this book was incorrect.

Because only Galahad could properly wield the Red-Handled Sword, and he received this Holy Sword only after Arthur left the Material Realm and Lancelot became Lancelot I. By that time, he was already one of the Knights of the Round Table.

...And moreover, there's a saying in the Du Lac Family. It suggests that the Camelot family could indeed be a branch of the Du Lac Family.

Because it's possible that Galahad was an illegitimate son of Lancelot I, and Galahad didn't have Guinevere's lineage.

Yet here is this book…and it's even open. Clearly, the house's owner was reading it before leaving.

Did this hold some inner meaning?

"...If only Aiwass were here," she said.

Isabel bit her lip, somewhat disheartened.

She wasn't as clever as Aiwass and Sherlock; right now, her body felt like it was about to give out, and there wasn't much she could do. Her Path power had been sealed... there wasn't even anyone else to communicate with. She had never felt so alone and frightened, as though the whole world had abandoned her.

She circled the room a couple more times and saw nothing else unusual. So she simply stuffed the book into her waist and wedged it in front of her belly with her pants. Then, she picked up the teddy bear and left the room.

Just as she set foot on the stairs, the door behind her closed automatically and locked itself.

Isabel paused in her steps. There was no going back now, she thought.

But it didn't matter—she had grown used to it by now.

But as she walked, she never seemed to reach the end. It wasn't until then that Isabel suddenly felt something was very wrong.

She leaned against the wall to prevent herself from falling. Struggling to look upward, but she could see nothing clearly, not even knowing how many more stories there were above.

There was no use going back; the door below had already been locked, she thought.

But perhaps it was an illusion; she felt as though her surroundings were growing brighter. And the rain outside was growing sparser and eventually quieted down.

The voice of the little girl singing suddenly came through clearly, startling her—the voice was coming from the teddy bear she held in her arms.

"Lock her up with the key... lock her up, lock her up... Lock her up with the key, my dear friend..."

Isabel let go, and the teddy bear fell to the ground.

The bear dropped downwards, and Isabel instinctively tried to squat and grab it.

But as she turned back and bent over to catch it, she felt a cold little hand lightly push her from behind.

—Isabel tumbled down, falling from an unknown height down the stairs.