Chapter 101 : Competition - 2
Chapter 101: Competition - 2
After flying for a few more hours, the Diary Book finally spoke.
[It is now.]
“Stop!”
So I returned to the diving platform.
My companions immediately welcomed me warmly.
“Mason. You worked hard.”
“No. Your Highness more so. Everyone, you all worked hard.”
“How’s the record?”
“Just a moment.”
<Mason Gear’s Record>
-01,056,118 meters
<Current Team Ranking>
-1st place
About one million meters.
1,056 kilometers.
I didn’t even reach one third of Karin’s 3,200 kilometers.
While my face turned pale, my companions smiled contentedly as they looked at the Bulletin Board.
“Was it 782 kilometers? That Karin person.”
“A good pace. If this continues, we might be able to win.”
“But what kind of person is she really? I’m so curious.”
“When this Quest ends, why don’t we go meet her? She could be a talent that might help us.”
“That’s a good idea.”
While they chatted, they all turned to look at me.
Probably because I was too quiet.
I quickly relaxed my expression.
And I shifted the topic.
“I think that would be fine. Let’s go meet her later.”
“Mason. What is it?”
“Yes?”
“Your expression looked very bad just now.”
I touched my face.
Managing my expression had been my specialty since my worker days.
Armelia asked, her face filled with endless worry.
“Karin must have made her next bungee jump in the meantime, right? It’s already been three days, so it seems likely.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“The result must have been better than expected. Judging from your face.”
“Yes… well.”
“How much was it?”
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should answer honestly.
But then I scoffed at myself for even thinking about hiding it.
If it were someone else, maybe. But what would I gain by hiding anything from these people? Why would I?
“They say it’s over 3,200 kilometers.”
Silence.
Their expressions said they weren’t sure they heard correctly.
I quickly continued.
“Don’t worry—”
“This is really serious.”
“Brother.”
“Scholars are divided, but on average the full length of the continent is 8,800 kilometers. No matter what destination we set, the length of the Rope extended overnight can never exceed that.”
“……”
“But for Karin, who flies through the sky, anything longer is entirely possible. She can fly across the continent back and forth however many times she wants and only land at the destination in the end.”
His point was precise.
This was an even greater despair than last time.
Honestly, even I wondered if there was no answer anymore.
But then I saw my companions’ faces and changed my thoughts.
‘Get a grip. You’re the leader.’
If I gave up here, everything would truly end.
It wasn’t just me getting dragged to Hell.
My companions’ fate also depended on this moment.
I took a deep breath and said,
“We need to negotiate.”
“Negotiate? With whom… don’t tell me?”
“Yes. Fortunately, we have someone who can relay my words to her.”
“Mason.”
I continued, as if making a vow to myself.
“We have to somehow make Karin stop flying around.”
Time passed.
Karin Oblang had now finished her fifth ‘flight’ and returned to the diving platform.
She first checked her own record.
<Karin Oblang’s Record>
-06,445,730 meters
<Current Team Ranking>
-1st place
Her lips tingled with amusement.
Then Magireta’s voice came.
“You look like you’re about to die from happiness.”
“Hey, what rank is that bastard Edgar right now?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“I just want to smash that guy’s face somehow.”
“Why don’t you smash it physically? If you want, when this Quest ends, I can send you near Edgar. You know this rule by now.”
“Oh. I like that.”
She exhaled sharply through her nose.
Then it happened.
Someone approached Karin timidly.
Karin didn’t know him, but he was a man named Jones Wagon—he was the one delivering Mason’s message.
“Excuse me, Miss Karin.”
“…? Did we ever exchange names?”
“It’s written on the Mini Bulletin Board.”
“Ah, right. That’s true.”
Karin nodded.
But then she narrowed her eyes sharply and spoke.
“So what do you want? I don’t plan on getting friendly with you.”
Even though she only glared lightly, Jones felt every hair on his body stand up.
‘Ah, why do I have to go through this… No. It’s a request from my benefactor. I need to endure it.’
He forced himself to appear calm as he spoke.
“I have a message to deliver.”
“A message? From whom.”
“Ah. It’s probably from your little brother.”
Suddenly Magireta chimed in.
With a leisurely tone, she continued,
“These days I’ve been having fun observing my little brother, and it looks like that kid can communicate in his heart with people he’s saved once.”
“What kind of fresh nonsense is that? Who’s this little brother?”
“Ask him. I’m out.”
Swoosh.
Magireta vanished.
Karin stared at Jones again.
Her face said, “Well? Speak.”
“His name is Mason Gear. He’s currently doing the bungee jump game at another location.”
“And?”
“He apparently must take overall first place this time for certain reasons. But since Miss Karin is too overwhelmingly ahead, it seems to be causing trouble.”
“How does that guy know my score? Ah. So you’re a spy.”
Karin said that and lightly flicked her index finger.
Then—
“Ugh. Gah—!”
A water droplet the size of a head suddenly appeared in midair.
It wrapped perfectly around Jones’s face.
He kept producing bubbles inside the water droplet.
Water rushed into his esophagus and his airway.
The whites of Jones’s eyes rolled upward.
“Tsk.”
But then, when Karin flicked her finger again, the water droplet disappeared as if it had been a lie.
Jones collapsed onto the ground, coughing endlessly.
“Cough— kuhuek.”
“Hey. Tell that guy this. It’s probably a message asking me to hand something over and give up first place, right? Tell him to wake up from that dream.”
“Huhhh.”
“I don’t care about the first-place reward. I’m doing this to see that bastard Edgar—who screwed me over in the First-Come game—watch his face twist. Of course, achieving the score itself feels good too.”
“…….”
“So tell him not to pull pathetic tricks and just play the game properly. I don’t even know his face, but he already annoys me.”
Jones shut his eyes and muttered something under his breath.
He was relaying Karin’s words to Mason through the Secret conversation.
Of course, Karin had no idea what he was doing, but she decided to wait quietly for now.
“……Ah, yes. Understood. I’ll deliver it that way.”
“Were you talking to me?”
“No. That was my mistake… anyway, Mason has replied.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Jones wiped the water off his face and continued.
“He says he also has a lot of complaints about Edgar, so why don’t you join hands with him instead and crush that guy together.”
[Yes, yes. Please relay it like that.]
I asked Jones to deliver the message and sank into thought.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
So Karin had already encountered Edgar before.
And she seemed to have a strong grudge against him.
Well, who wouldn’t hold a grudge against Edgar?
‘Wait.’
Karin’s current distance was over 6,400 kilometers, right?
“What on earth is going on.”
“Hm? What do you mean.”
“Well… Karin’s total distance just now exceeded 6,400 kilometers.”
“…Things are getting darker and darker. That’s not something to say so calmly.”
“That’s true. But something else is bothering me even more.”
My companions looked at me like they couldn’t imagine what I meant.
It wasn’t complicated.
“In the future I saw, Edgar beat someone like Karin and took first place.”
“……!”
“What trick did he use? No matter how immortal he is and how much he calls himself a once-in-a-lifetime genius, there’s no way he can fly like Karin.”
Berseum had said the continent’s length averaged 8,800 kilometers.
Even if Edgar used the same method I did, he would have to struggle within that distance limit.
If the Karin inside the future Diary Book flew around like she was doing now, Edgar could never have beaten her.
So how did that guy get first place?
Everyone folded their arms and groaned.
Of course there was no easy answer.
I tried to think more, but before I could, Jones’s voice came again.
[Mason. She says she refuses.]
[What? You relayed my words exactly, right?]
[Of course. But Edgar says he’ll handle things with his own hands without anyone’s help. And also, uh, it’s hard to say, but……]
[It’s fine. Tell me exactly.]
[Yes. He says someone like Mason, who only knows how to scheme, isn’t his style. Honestly, he finds you annoying.]
I was shocked.
Feeling desperate, I asked Jones once more to relay various counteroffers.
I even tried tempting her with the First-place reward we had obtained in the past.
I also said that since I could see the future, I could tell her about her future as well.
But no matter what I offered, Karin simply refused.
A little later, Jones spoke with a trembling voice.
[S-She says to stop now.]
[…….]
[I honestly almost died earlier. A giant water droplet appeared in midair and covered my face. I nearly drowned on the ground.]
[Yes. That’s enough. Thank you for your hard work.]
[Please… survive, somehow.]
I ended the Secret conversation.
My companions all sighed, clearly seeing everything just by my expression.
“Isn’t there any way?”
“What if we return the Replication Sack saying we’ll give up the first-place reward?”
“Say something that makes sense.”
“I’m worried, that’s all…”
“Speaking of the Sack, what if we put our Rope inside it and extend its length that way?”
“If we do that, it won’t lengthen—there will simply be two ropes. And more importantly, Magireta would never approve of such a thing.”
I thought for a long time, then opened my mouth.
“For now, let’s do everything we can.”
“Mason. But—”
“Don’t worry. I’m not giving up.”
Hearing that, my companions quietly nodded.
After that, we devoted ourselves to the Quest with everything we had.
Fortunately, the feared “strike” did not occur anymore.
This was thanks to the drastically increased travel distances.
No matter how large the gap looked now, everyone had the belief that they could recover it in the next bungee jump.
‘That much is good, but……’
I still couldn’t think of a way to beat Karin.
I no longer asked Jones to deliver messages, but I did ask him to keep updating me on Karin’s current record.
Despite the ordeal he suffered, he willingly helped with that much. I was grateful.
And when I finished my fifth bungee jump and returned—
Karin had just finished her sixth and final jump.
Comparing our records at this moment:
– Karin Oblang’s Rope length: 11,700 kilometers
– Mason Gear’s Rope length: 5,256 kilometers
I had chased as hard as I could, but in the end, the gap was more than double.
After hesitating several times, I finally told my companions the truth.
Their expressions were swallowed by despair.
Then—
“Heh heh. Ah, lovely. I really like what I’m seeing. Those faces of yours.”
Magireta quietly approached us.
Tap.
Without permission, she placed her hand on my head.
Then she ruffled my hair roughly and said,
“Little brother. Can you express it?”
“…Express what.”
“Your feelings right now. Probably the feelings of a death-row inmate one hour before execution.”
“…….”
“You know, little brother.”
Swoosh.
She brought her face right up to my ear.
And in a voice so quiet even my companions couldn’t hear, she whispered,
“I wanted you to survive until the very end of all the Quests. But there’s something I wanted even more, you know? Do you know what that is?”
“I have no idea.”
“For you to become my plaything.”
Magireta’s voice grew even softer.
“I’m going to study you thoroughly. First, I’ll start by cutting you into tiny pieces—about one centimeter each. And until the very last piece is carved, I’ll make sure you feel pain in every single cell of your body.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll put you back together. But I’m not sure if I can put you back the same way. A chunk of your brain might end up in your anus, and a piece of your heart might stick to your eyeball, right?”
“…….”
“It’s fine. I’ll just redo it. Cut you apart again and stick you together again. And when I get bored of this game, I’ll burn you. No—maybe I’ll melt you? Or freeze you?”
I inhaled through my nose with difficulty.
Then I slowly turned my head to look at Magireta.
My eyes widened.
Just like last time, she had removed her hood again.
Her eyes shone with a madness that looked like they could pull me in like a whirlpool.
She whispered her final line.
“Let’s have fun together in Hell. Forever.”
Ah. Damn it.
Now I really had to take first place no matter what.
Magireta stepped back.
Then, after putting her hood on again, she floated into the air and spoke cheerfully,
“Well then. Tonight will be the sixth and final jump. Rest well until then, everyone.”