Chapter 103 : 1st and 2nd Place - 1
Chapter 103: 1st and 2nd Place - 1
Just the fact that Karin had flown through the sky had already shocked our group.
And yet, wasn’t I now declaring that I would go to the moon?
Their faces showed how their imagination couldn’t keep up.
Sienne said.
“Tha… that place……. Is that really somewhere one can go? If you move physically, can it be considered a location you’ll eventually reach?”
“…….”
“To me, things like the sun or the moon, or stars, all feel like they exist in a completely different dimension.”
“That’s not true, Dame Sienne.”
Armelia cut in.
“Astronomers roughly calculated how far the sun is from our world, and how far the moon is from our world.”
“…….”
“They said it was actually easier to calculate this distance than the average length of the continent. The distance is roughly 380,000 kilometers.”
380,000 kilometers.
A number so vast it felt like I might faint.
“Y-yeah, if someone could fly that far, Karin would be no issue at all.”
“No need to fly all the way to the end. I just need to fly farther than the gap between Karin and me—6,444 kilometers.”
“It still doesn’t feel realistic. The highest mountain on the continent is only about 8 kilometers.”
“I can’t help it. I can’t tour the continent like Karin. If I want to beat her by just flying straight to the destination in one go, this is the only way.”
…….
As I spoke up to that point, a sudden thought passed through my mind.
“Wait. I see. So that’s why…….”
“What is it.”
“There was something that puzzled me when I first checked the Bulletin Board. Rule number twelve.”
Even if your combined length falls into the bottom 50 percent, if it exceeds the value the Board can display, you pass.
Everyone checked the Board.
I continued.
“I thought rule number twelve was useless. The maximum displayable number is 99,999,999 meters.”
“Mm. Almost 100,000 kilometers.”
“Yes. I considered it a completely impossible value. So I assumed Magireta had pulled another trashy stunt and I ignored it.”
Thanks to that rule, those in the bottom 50 percent might briefly hold onto hope.
But then they soon realize the number is absolutely unattainable and plunge into despair.
Magireta would enjoy watching that… or so I’d thought.
“But it wasn’t actually like that. It was a proper rule that told us a way to survive.”
“Hmm.”
“Magireta’s goal is surely to increase the number of dropouts as much as possible. Someone like her wouldn’t add a rule favorable to participants simply for fun if it were truly impossible.”
“You mean that if we set the moon as the destination, even the lower ranks can pass.”
“Yes. Though a normal person would probably die on the way to the moon, so it’s still a vicious rule.”
The story roughly came together.
I turned my gaze to the ordinary participants.
“Everyone. You’ve heard the explanation until now, right?”
“Ah, yes. Honestly, it was hard to keep up.”
“There were lots of details, but when you sort them out, it’s simple. Set the moon as your destination and soar into the sky. And once the Board shows a value it cannot display, shout ‘Stop’.”
“…….”
“If you do that, there’s no need to divide into top or bottom rank. Everyone survives.”
Everyone pressed their lips shut.
It was certainly not an easy choice.
Just rising into the sky was frightening, yet to fly beyond the unknown toward the moon?
Who would willingly attempt something so dangerous?
At that moment, a woman spoke.
“Let’s do it, everyone.”
“And you are?”
“I’m Ciel. Up until the second bungee jump, I was a coward stuck at rank twenty-seven.”
I looked over her mini Bulletin Board.
Her current rank was nine.
She was someone who had risen from the lower ranks to the upper ranks—a so-called ‘status transition.’
“At that time, I was certain I’d be eliminated if things continued, so embarrassingly enough, I’d joined the strike.”
“…….”
“But now my position has changed. I’m in the upper ranks. So this time, I want to be the one to give you all a chance. A chance for everyone to live.”
So there were people like her.
These were participants whose conflicts had once grown deep enough to break out into fights.
But after everything we’d been through, wasn’t an upper-rank participant now offering a hand first?
The change was quite moving.
Her words stirred people’s hearts.
For those in the lower ranks, this method was a chance to overturn everything, so of course they welcomed it. But even the upper-rank participants weren’t showing much resistance.
“True, it’d be best if we all survive.”
“Yeah. I’m sick of watching people die.”
“Heh. For someone saying that, you sure joined the strike last time?”
“T-that was because…”
“I’m joking. I would’ve done the same in your position.”
The mood gradually softened.
Soon, the ordinary participants narrowed their opinions down to one conclusion.
—We’ll do it. We’ll choose the moon as our destination.
Good.
A smile crept over my lips.
Suddenly, Magireta spoke.
Her tone was full of annoyance.
“You really think that’ll work?”
“Nuna.”
“This is why I can’t talk with idiots. You think flying to the moon from this world is that easy? Never mind breathing—your whole body will freeze. And there’s the issue of radiation.”
“What’s radiation?”
“You said the future you flew up to a certain height and gave up. Did you ever think about why he gave up?”
Magireta was plainly angry.
Of course she would be.
‘Because if I take first place here, she won’t be able to drag me to Hell.’
I steadied myself and refuted her.
“You’re the one who hinted that we could set the moon as a destination. Through the rules.”
“…….”
“So why change your tune now. Do you want to treat me like a toy that badly?”
“Of course. But I didn’t make things up. Humans can’t survive bare-bodied in the space beyond the sky.”
I had no knowledge about it, but instinctively, I knew she was right.
I turned to Berseum.
“Brother. While we fly to the moon, would it be possible to protect us with magic? Also to allow us to breathe?”
“Mmgh. Hard to say. The space between the moon and the world… the place scholars call ‘the universe’—I don’t know whether Mana exists there. No one has proven it.”
“Then what if we store up huge amounts of Mana here before departing? Like during the Hide-and-Seek game.”
“I can try. I can try, but…”
His expression darkened.
“If the future you attempted the same method and still didn’t manage first place… doesn’t that mean the Mana you can store here won’t be enough to reach the moon? The future me must have used magic too.”
“…….”
“We have to jump before dawn, so we’ll only have a few hours at most to store Mana. And we need the amount for thirty people.”
“I see.”
What to do.
Then—
The Diary Book, which had been quiet, spoke.
[That’s why I told you to buy it. Berseum’s Awakening Pill.]
‘What? Ah!’
[It’s not too late. There’s currently a 0-percent discount event, so don’t miss this chance.]
‘That means you’re selling it at full price.’
[No need to stress over such details.]
‘What effect does Brother’s Awakening Pill have?’
I thought I already knew what kind of answer would come back even as I asked.
I opened my mouth at the same time the Diary Book answered.
‘Well.’
[Well……. Don’t imitate me.]
‘Fine. I’ll buy it.’
[An excellent choice.]
Whirr.
The Diary Book opened.
<Always with you. This is the Traveling Service Diary Shop.> <You can purchase the items below for very cheap points.>
<Since you are currently lv.4, I will sell only four items.>
Awakening Pill (Armelia-exclusive): Purchase complete!
Awakening Pill (Aina-exclusive): Purchase complete!
Awakening Pill (Berseum-exclusive): 500 points
Awakening Pill (Sienne-exclusive): 500 points.
[Purchasing Berseum’s Awakening Pill.]
[Points used: 500]
[Remaining points: 758]
Soon, a vial was quietly placed in my hand.
I pretended to take it out from inside my clothes and held it out to Berseum.
“Take it, brother.”
“My turn, is it.”
“Isn’t that too calm of a reaction?”
“I’ve already seen it twice, and more than anything, perhaps because I heard I’d soon fly to the moon, everything else felt trivial.”
Berseum opened the vial’s lid and tossed it into his mouth.
Magireta watched that closely and spoke.
“You always gave your companions new abilities that way. What in the world is that thing?”
‘Well.’
“That’s an annoying answer.”
You heard that, didn’t you? Diary Book.
“So? What ability are you planning to give that old man this time?”
‘Well.’
“You really…….”
Just when she was about to say something more.
Suddenly, Berseum’s complexion changed.
His mouth dropped open and his whole body trembled.
Wondering if there was some kind of side effect, I asked him.
“Brother. Are you all right?”
“This. This is.”
“…….”
“Ooooh. Impossible!”
Berseum, who had always been the symbol of calm, was unusually excited.
He blew out snorts like a child receiving a gift and said,
“There’s mana!”
“Huh? Well, of course. Mana is an energy that exists everywhere.”
“No, no. I have it. Inside me. More precisely, mana is being ‘created’ in my heart!”
Since I wasn’t a magician, that didn’t really resonate with me.
And the others merely tilted their heads.
Berseum seemed frustrated that no one could empathize with his joy.
[You’ve awakened properly. The ability of ‘Infinite Power’.]
‘Infinite Power?’
That was when—
“Cut the crap.”
Magireta cut in, her expression stiff as stone.
“How could someone like you create mana. That’s not an ability allowed to you humans.”
“Why pick on me alone? The two before me received strange abilities from Mason as well.”
“…….”
“Heh. It feels strange seeing you so surprised, Magireta. It must be the same emotion we always felt when looking at you.”
Grit.
I heard Magireta grinding her teeth.
Then Armelia asked,
“My apologies. I lack magical knowledge.”
“Perish the thought.”
“You said you can now create mana on your own? Tell me what that implies.”
“It means I can freely use every spell I learned, anytime, anywhere.”
“Couldn’t you use them before?”
“No. Hmm……. To put it simply, it means I can use spells like Kanesella as much as I want.”
Only then did it start to make sense even to us.
Sienne and Benjamin, who didn’t know what Kanesella was, still looked puzzled.
Aina spoke.
“H-hold on. That spell can blow away an entire territory at once, right? You can use something like that freely?”
“In theory, yes. I can also use the spell that spies on Hell all year round.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Of course, but right now I want to use it for something more practical.”
He looked at me.
“Mason. I am ready now.”
“Brother.”
“Let’s go. To the moon.”
At that short sentence, we straightened our posture.
Berseum soon moved his lips.
I couldn’t see it, but I felt a solid, safe barrier forming around us.
“I’ve filled one month’s worth of air inside the barrier. I didn’t know how long it would take to reach the Board’s limit distance of one hundred thousand kilometers, so I made it generous.”
“I see.”
“But meals and bodily needs are the problem…….”
Then Magireta opened her mouth in an oddly gloomy voice.
“No need to worry about that. I’ll speed up the launching velocity.”
“Yes?”
“At the current speed, it’d take about half a month to exceed the Board’s displayable limit. I’ll shoot you at a speed enough to break through that in roughly an hour, so brace yourselves.”
I was very puzzled by that.
“Is it okay to reveal ‘one hour’? Choosing when to shout ‘stop’ is supposed to be the core of this game.”
“I said roughly an hour. I didn’t say if it’ll be a full 60 minutes, less than that, or more, so it’s fine.”
“Still…….”
“I don’t care anymore. Not now.”
Only then did I notice Magireta’s condition.
Her shoulders were drooping.
Despair.
Magireta truly despaired at that moment.
I scratched my head and said,
“Thank you. Then, sis, we’ll all set the moon as the destination this time.”
“…….”
“I’ll jump first. Gotta tie the rope, right?”
“Sigh.”
“Hurry, please.”
I said that and walked toward the diving platform.
Magireta quietly handed me the rope.
As I tied it to my leg, she spoke.
“Did you really want to toy with me that much?”
“Yeah.”
I’m getting annoyed.
An odd impulse rose in me, and I opened my mouth.
“Hmm……. It may be strange for me to say this.”
“…….”
“Cheer up, sis. Life never goes the way we want.”
Magireta opened and closed her mouth as if speechless.
I’d never seen that expression before.
Smiling brightly, I continued,
“If you keep living, someday a good day will come. Right?”
Magireta twitched.
She trembled, then suddenly kicked my backside.
‘That hurts!’
The next moment I flew toward the moon at a miraculous speed.
Somewhere behind me, I thought I heard Magireta’s voice.
“That’s punishment for spouting cheeky nonsense to your sister.”