Chapter 100 : Competition - 1
Chapter 100: Competition - 1
That was how we ended up doing the bungee jump on the third night.
Once again, I was the first to jump.
Then Aina suddenly spoke.
“Wait. Something just came to mind.”
“Yeah?”
“The destination, the Akrad Jungle, is about 1,000 kilometers away, right? I don’t know how fast Magireta will fling us this time, but assuming it’s around 100 meters per second... uh, hmm. Yeah.”
“……”
“Ah! Then it’d take a hundred thousand seconds for one person to reach the destination, right?”
“It’s ten thousand seconds.”
“No, it’s a hundred thousand. You think I’d mess up something that simple?”
Aina said that and began counting on her fingers.
After quite a while, she cleared her throat and continued.
“It’s ten thousand seconds.”
“You.”
“Don’t say anything. Anyway, ten thousand seconds means roughly 166 minutes. So if all thirty of us have to jump, the total time would be…”
Aina once again dove into her calculations.
Then Berseum spoke.
“4,980 minutes. That’s about 83 hours.”
“Ah, I was almost done calculating!”
“Still, good point. You’re worried about dawn coming before everyone jumps, right?”
Aina nodded.
But I wasn’t particularly concerned.
Rule number three.
3. Jumping time is from night until before dawn of the next day. If even one person fails to jump within the time limit, everyone is disqualified.
“It says in rule number three that if even one person doesn’t jump before dawn, everyone’s out.”
“Isn’t that exactly what I meant?”
“Not quite. It means we don’t need to wait for someone to come back to the platform before the next person jumps. We can just jump one after another.”
At that, expressions of admiration appeared on everyone’s faces.
All that mattered was that they jumped within the time limit.
Even if the rope length scores weren’t announced yet, jumping itself wouldn’t violate the rules.
Seeing everyone nod, I grabbed the Diary Book.
Then I started a secret conversation with the group.
[The distance is absurdly long this time, but the method is the same as before.]
[Got it.]
[I’ll tell you just before we hit the destination, so be ready to shout “Stop” at that moment.]
[This time, you and we will be flying almost simultaneously, just a few seconds apart. Even so, can you still know the remaining distance?]
[Yes. I can. I’ve got the Third Eye, after all.]
Aina snickered.
She probably thought I was speaking metaphorically, but I meant it literally.
‘Take care of me, Diary Book.’
[Yes. Don’t worry.]
After hearing the Diary Book’s reassurance, I continued speaking to the others.
[Assuming we’re moving at 100 meters per second, according to your earlier calculation, that’s 83 hours... meaning we’ll be flying for more than three days straight. Keep in mind—you must never open your eyes during that time.]
[…]
[Three days is long enough that you might fall asleep several times without realizing it. If you wake up and open your eyes out of habit, it’ll be a disaster, so stay cautious.]
Then Aina spoke.
[Then let’s drink this first.]
She took out a small vial.
A potion to stave off drowsiness, perhaps?
Aina noticed my expression and nodded.
[You’re right. With this, we can stay awake for about three days.]
[Impressive.]
[Remember the “Pop Quiz” quest? When I was keeping watch on the rooftop over Matets, I stayed awake by drinking this. It might mess up our bodies a bit afterward, but Her Highness will fix us up somehow.]
We each gulped down the potion she offered.
Then Benjamin stepped forward.
[There’s another issue—meals and bodily functions.]
[Don’t worry about that. I have to fly for three days straight to get first place, but you all just need to stay in the top fifty percent.]
[…]
[If it gets too hard, speak to me mentally. I’ll check how many participants remain. If it seems safe, I’ll let you know.]
Everyone nodded.
Even as I said that, I realized it meant I’d have to endure three whole days of hunger and various bodily needs.
‘This’ll be quite the endurance test.’
Aina spoke.
[If it’s really impossible, just do it while flying. The wind will dry it off anyway.]
[…]
[I’m kidding.]
[Didn’t sound like a joke.]
[As for the bodily function problem, maybe your brother can help with that?]
Benjamin, as if waiting for the cue, opened his toolbox.
[Aina, couldn’t you do it yourself?]
[If I use my potion, it dulls all my senses. I need to time my “Stop” command precisely, so I can’t.]
[Fair enough. Then I’ll handle it.]
After that, we all received appropriate “treatment” from him.
He pricked various points on the back of our necks with a needle.
‘So this makes us not feel the urge, huh.’
I considered whether to offer the same treatment to the ordinary participants but quickly decided against it.
They didn’t need to go for first place, after all.
They just had to rank within the top fifty percent.
Doing something unnecessary that might risk my first place would be foolish.
Click.
As Benjamin finished, he closed his toolbox and said,
[Of the two types of bodily functions, one will definitely be fine. The other... might be a little tricky. Try to endure the rest with willpower.]
[Which one’s fine, and which one’s tricky?]
[Hmm... want me to be specific?]
No.
I was already soaring through the sky, having been kicked off by Magireta.
Whoooosh.
The sound of the wind rushing past was incredible.
Yet, strangely enough, I couldn’t feel the airflow at all.
It was because Berseum had cast a defensive spell on me just before the bungee jump.
“If you fly for that long against the headwind, your body might take some damage. Let me handle that for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it. I’m sorry I can’t do more. If only I could fly myself…”
“Please don’t say that. You’ve already been a great help.”
Berseum nodded, though a faintly bitter smile appeared on his face.
Remembering that expression made my chest feel a little heavy.
That was when the Diary Book spoke.
[I have a suggestion for you, Mason.]
‘That’s random.’
[Wouldn’t it be good to have Berseum take an Awakening Pill too?]
‘Huh? Oh right, the shop level got upgraded.’
[Yes. We’re now proudly selling Sienne’s Awakening Pill as well. Just 500 points apiece!]
I was the only customer, so it was doing its best to hustle a sale.
‘What ability would he get from it?’
[Who knows.]
‘Not buying.’
[Aw, come on…]
Chatting idly with the Diary Book like that made the endless flight a bit less boring.
From time to time, I also sent secret messages to the others.
Usually, our conversations revolved around the quests, but now—being right in the middle of one—we were actually able to talk about our situations and personal stories.
‘A productive time, really.’
I wondered how long we had been flying like that.
One by one, our group began to drop out from exhaustion.
I couldn’t see them with my eyes closed, but thankfully, the Diary Book gave me real-time updates.
[Another one just said “Stop.”]
‘How many are left now?’
[You can assume all the ordinary participants have given up.]
‘I see.’
I spoke through the Diary Book.
[All the ordinary participants have given up. That means you all automatically make it into the top fifty percent—within the rankings.]
[Not particularly something to celebrate.]
[You can call “Stop” anytime now.]
[I’ll keep going a bit longer. It’d be lonely if you were the only one left flying.]
I couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment.
The others decided to keep flying with me for a while longer.
Time passed again.
Before long, our own party members began saying “Stop,” one after another.
Judging by the time we’d been flying, there were about five hours left until the destination.
Once I sent them back, a crushing boredom set in.
My mind began to drift into sleep.
[You mustn’t sleep!]
‘Ah, sorry. Even after drinking Aina’s potion, I’m still like this.’
[Don’t you think you’re being a bit too relaxed?]
‘Even if I doze off, you’ll wake me, won’t you?’
[No.]
The Diary Book shook its head firmly.
[If your consciousness falls asleep, I can’t communicate with you.]
‘What?’
[Think about it—have you ever met me in a dream?]
Come to think of it, no.
A chill ran down my spine.
If I actually fell asleep, that would be the end.
I forced myself to shake my head and stay awake.
Then I stretched out my limbs, a long yawn escaping me.
Thanks to my brother’s spell, I could move even in midair like this.
[There’s not much time left now, so hold on just a bit lo—Ah!]
‘What is it?’
[You asked me to let you know when a new Insight appeared. Since you can’t open your eyes, I’ll read it for you.]
The Insight the Diary Book read aloud was from Jones Wagon.
[“Is shocked after seeing Karin Oblang’s rope length.” That’s what it says.]
“Shocked”? Just how much did she extend it?
I opened a secret message to Jones.
[Mr. Jones.]
[Yikes—please don’t suddenly message me like that. I’ll never get used to it.]
[You’ll have to eventually.]
[Sigh… fine. What is it this time?]
[I heard you were shocked after reading a record about someone named Karin.]
I asked carefully.
[Have you finished the fourth bungee jump over there?]
[Yes. We finished a bit later than usual, right?]
[No, we’re still on the third jump here.]
[What in the world is going on over there?]
[First, could you tell me about Karin’s record?]
Jones answered, his voice tinged with excitement.
[A total of 3,231,256 meters. Over 3,000 kilometers!]
For a moment, my mind went blank.
What? Why?
The last update I’d heard was barely 782 kilometers.
[Up to the third jump, it was…]
[Yes. 782 kilometers.]
[So in the fourth jump, she flew more than 2,400 kilometers through the air?]
[Exactly. She said—]
He changed his tone, mimicking Karin’s voice.
—“Even boredom becomes familiar after a while.”
I immediately understood what that meant.
Her previous record of 782 kilometers hadn’t been because she lacked ability or grew tired.
She’d returned simply because she was bored.
And now, she had grown used to that boredom.
[We waited a long time for her to come back. That’s why she’s only now starting her fifth jump.]
[…]
My rope length was far shorter than Karin’s.
And yet, my third jump still wasn’t over.
‘That means she’s flying at a much faster speed than Magireta sent us.’
Just what kind of person was she?
Flying at that speed would destroy her body.
Could it be that Karin was a magician too, protected by a barrier like my brother’s?
[Understood. And your rank now, Mr. Jones?]
[Ha! I’ve got some guts, so I’m holding 5th place. Nowhere near 1st, of course.]
[That’s good. Don’t let your guard down till the end.]
[Yes, Mason. When this quest is over, let me buy you a drink!]
I could only give a faint, bitter smile.
He spoke as though it never even crossed his mind that I might be eliminated.
‘A drink, huh.’
I might not be around to have one.
After ending the conversation, I mapped things out in my head.
If the pattern so far continued, the fourth jump should take place at the location of the fourth quest.
If it was where our group had done it, that would mean the Imperial Palace.
If it was where other participants had done theirs, I had no way of knowing.
‘Let’s assume it’s the Imperial Palace. Then how far is it from the Palace to the Mogiren Territory? To the Akrad Jungle?’
No matter how many ways I turned the imaginary map in my head, the distance remained the same.
The set distance could not change.
‘There’s no way… I can’t surpass 3,200 kilometers.’
Suddenly, my stomach churned.