"Leon, where have you been all this time? Albert has been looking for you for a while."
Helmud was standing in front of the palace's main gate, leaning against the massive pillar positioned near the door. As usual, Leon replied to Helmud, saying: "I was just taking a stroll, nothing more."
After this, Helmud spoke to say: "Fine, since you are back, everyone is waiting for you upstairs, so hurry up." Leon did not know what Helmud was talking about, so he said to him: "What do you mean by everyone is waiting for me?"
Helmud replied with a tone of ease, saying: "You are our trump card; therefore, I believe you must be involved in what pertains to the planning of the upcoming confrontation."
After Leon learned this, he followed Helmud, who led him up to the second floor of the building where Albert was waiting.
As soon as they arrived, Helmud pushed the door to enter, and Leon entered directly behind him. The moment Albert saw him, he said: "Oho, there you are finally. I thought you had lost your way in the streets of this city."
Leon replied to him, saying: "Don't worry, this city of yours is far too small for me to get lost in." This response carried a hint of insult, which Albert accepted with an open heart, adding: "Well, since you have arrived, take a seat. We need to discuss some matters before the reinforcements arrive from the capital."
Leon sat opposite Albert, while Helmud sat in the chair next to him. To Leon's right, near Albert, sat the commander of the city's knights, Christine. When Leon looked to his left, he found that same conscript who had saved him from the mouth of the giant worm.
His face was very familiar to Leon, and this made him remember him quickly: "Oho, you are that brave conscript." The conscript felt a bit embarrassed and then replied: "Uh, I don't think the name 'brave' fits me much, so call me Alfred; that is my name."
After a brief scrutiny, Leon said: "Fine, Alfred the Brave, that will be appropriate."
At that timing, Christine spoke, saying: "Ahem, well, since all those concerned are present, I will enter into the subject officially. Mr. Leon, you are our trump card in this war, so the most difficult task will fall entirely upon your shoulders."
After Leon thought about the matter for a moment, he answered: "And what makes the most difficult task fall on my shoulders? There are a thousand golems; you don't expect me to crush them all by myself?"
Albert replied to Leon, saying: "No. After investigating the matter, we saw a brilliant opportunity for victory in this battle without incurring great losses. Golems usually do not move in such an organized manner; basically, they are said to be guardian monsters that protect areas where high-quality magical ores are found."
This information was slightly interesting, as Alfred spoke in a somewhat hesitant tone, saying: "They guard areas where high-quality magical ores are found?"
Albert replied to him, saying: "Yes, they do. According to the information recorded in ancient books, golems are not living beings; rather, they are a magical core that succeeded in forming or crafting a body from clay or rocks. These magical cores usually grow underground in areas with high magical density, which is why the closest possibility is high-quality magical ores."
Information like this was apparently not widely spread among adventurers and mercenaries; that is what Alfred's behavior suggested moments ago. However, there was still something misunderstood, which led Helmud to wonder about it: "So, what does the origin of the golems have to do with their defeat?"
This question was pivotal, and Albert answered it, saying: "Good, this is exactly what we need to know. After re-searching the magical records, it turns out there is a type of golem known for its ability to lead the rest. We assume the existence of one of these golems, and it is the one responsible for leading this army; otherwise, there would be no other logical reason for such behavior as the golems are doing now."
Leon spoke after listening to Albert's words regarding this matter, saying: "And you expect me to be the one who gets rid of that golem leader?"
On behalf of Albert, Christine answered him, saying: "Yes, that is what we hope for. We want you to eliminate that leader golem, and by doing so, its army will crumble and become easy prey for us. I hope you can do that, Mr. Leon."
In his mind, Leon addressed the Alternative Assistant, saying to her: "Assistant, what is the probability that the golem I saw for the first time before arriving at Helmud's house is the leader?"
[Notice: Processing in progress]
[Notice: Operation completed successfully]
[Notice: After searching, it appears that the probability is high. The size of that golem and the amount of magical particles it was emitting were very large, much larger than the golem that the player Leon defeated days ago.]
After Leon confirmed the possibility of this, he appeared completely satisfied, as if he had been waiting for this opportunity impatiently. On that day, Leon was forced to flee in a disgraceful manner because he was unable to defeat an entire horde of golems along with that massive golem. But now, with the presence of help that would distract the rest of the golems away from him, fleeing again would be nothing more than an act of cowardice.
In the hearing of everyone, Leon said: "Fine, the matter is settled. Then, I will take down the golem leader. In exchange, make sure not to disturb me while I am doing so."
At this point, Leon's role in this session ended, and he retreated toward the door, leaving the rest to perform their work. But before he went out, he asked Albert: "Hey Albert, do you have a library in your house?"
Albert was slightly surprised by the question but answered yes, saying: "Yes, I have a decent one. Although it is not large enough, as I am not very well-versed in reading. It is on the lower floor; ask the servants and they will guide you."
After this, Leon descended the stairs and found one of the servants and asked him about the library as Albert had requested. Indeed, he guided him to it. it was a modest library as Albert had said, but it was large enough to catch Leon's attention.
The latter began searching among the books for a book that might catch his interest. While he was wandering, his hand passing over the books one after another, his hand settled on a certain book that caught his eye slightly.
The book was titled "The Masters."
Leon already knew that the term "Masters" in this time and in this world referred to the players who were described as having disappeared from the world for more than two thousand years.
Leon began flipping through the first page, in which it was written: Since the dawn of history, monsters emerged in Wonderland to wreak havoc and make humans live in a state of instability and loss of security. However, strange beings appeared who took forms completely similar to humans; they used supernatural power just as the monsters did, but these were closer in thinking to humans than to monsters. This caused a war to break out between these great entities and the monsters, which led to the victory of the Masters, and thus they installed themselves as rulers of the continent.
The words mentioned on this page were similar to what actually happened in the past, as the goal of the Wonderland game was to cleanse the continent of monsters and rise in power. Therefore, Leon admired the words written on the first page, for they did not carry any hint of distortion so far. Then Leon continued reading the second page.
Despite the Masters' enmity with monsters and non-human races, they created a special classification for monsters in which they included humans as well. There were a few races of monsters that showed the ability to understand and communicate with other races, and this made the Masters reconsider the issue of exterminating all non-human races. From here began what is known as the Law of the Masters. The Masters declared themselves rulers of the continent, but for a period, they were without subjects. This made them command all races on the continent to obey them and submit to their rule.
This was a surprising request for humans and other races alike. However, despite that, many races did not accept the idea of serving these Masters who had slaughtered them mercilessly in the past. This made many take a position of refusal. Of all the races inhabiting the continent, there were only six races that decided to follow this law and work under the banner of the Masters.
Those races were "Humans, Winged Ones, Dwarves, Beastmen, Elves, and Spirits." These became known as the Servants of the Masters, who hunted down all the races that declared their rejection of their masters' rule and killed them under the pretext of opposing the Law of the Masters.
Despite the power and might of these Masters, they met their end as well. Without warning, a civil war broke out between these Masters, and this war led to the disappearance of them all. However, their memory is still deeply etched within this continent; their magic, their weapons, and all the technology they possessed became, in the future, exclusive to the six races that served the Masters before their disappearance.
Each of them declared their right to rule the continent as successors to their masters, and this caused the outbreak of the First Race War, the war that arose for the leadership of Wonderland.
This was the summary that Leon understood from the book after taking more than an hour to complete it: "Not too bad. Although there are some incorrect matters, it was very acceptable considering that the inhabitants of this world are the ones who authored it."
[Notice: Most likely, the inhabitants of this world think that the players all died in the midst of their war, but it remains a mere thought and assumption, for they do not know the truth of their disappearance completely.]
Leon said at that moment: "I already know, but look at it; it seems our presence has greatly affected this world. I remember the first time I entered this world, it was just a primitive world, nothing more. Even humans were not capable of using magic, and they likely became capable now because they learned from us in the past. But taking that into account, their magic is very poor compared to the magnificence of the magic that the players possessed in the past."
After finishing reading this book, Leon took another tour inside the library, but he did not find anything of value. Therefore, he withdrew from the place to head outside.