Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 76 : Harsh Winter - 4

Chapter 76: Harsh Winter - 4
Magireta floated up into the air as if she had nothing more to say.
I signaled to my companions with a glance.
They quietly surrounded the pile of winter supplies as if guarding them.
I leapt onto the mountain of goods and raised my voice.
“Everyone, please don’t worry too much.”
“Y-you are…?”
“My name is Mason Gear. Has anyone here heard of me?”
Then, as always, positive reactions came back.
The anxious expressions lightened a little, and smiles began to appear.
I didn’t know what exactly they had heard about me, but in any case, that was a relief.
I spoke again.
“As you can see, we have more than enough supplies. You can wrap yourself in winter gear from head to toe, so please don’t be concerned.”
“Oh, ooooh!”
“However, I’m afraid the distribution will be handled by our group. We can’t risk a quarrel breaking out during the process.”
I worried that might cause resistance.
But unexpectedly, the participants nodded without objection.
“If it’s Mason, we can trust him.”
“Trust him? They said to follow whatever he says if you want to live long.”
“I’ve heard that too.”
“Please don’t worry. We’ll do as you say.”
Good.
Reputation really was something worth building up.
“Thank you. Then after we finish distributing the supplies, let’s spread straw on the ground and pitch tents. We’ll be staying here for a month, so we need proper sleeping arrangements.”
“That makes sense.”
“Please line up one by one and come this way.”
I said that and motioned to my companions.
They began pulling out items and distributing them one by one to the participants.
There were nearly a hundred people, but since we had an absurd amount of winter gear to begin with, there was still plenty left over even after everyone received some.
While they handled that, I sat down on the ground and pulled out the compass.
‘I want to see where the monsters are… this should do it, right?’
Soon, a large map floated up before my eyes.
Judging by the completely unfamiliar terrain, this clearly wasn’t the same world we had lived in.
And all across the map, countless red dots shimmered into view.
‘Good. It’s working perfectly!’
We had the winter supplies, this compass,
and an abundance of monsters that could serve as firewood.
On top of that, we had the power to wipe those monsters out.
There didn’t seem to be any problem with this quest.
“……?”
Then, I noticed something strange.
The massive map in front of me—
it was true that countless monsters were marked with red dots.
But one of those red dots…
‘There’s one here, too?’
It was marked right on the open ground where we were camped.
A chill ran down my spine as I glanced around.
‘A monster here? Don’t tell me it’s disguised as one of the participants…’
I cautiously asked Magireta.
“Sis, how many participants are there this time?”
“Hm? Including you guys, exactly a hundred.”
“A hundred… I see.”
Hearing that, I silently counted in my head.
Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven… one hundred.
The number matched.
“Don’t tell me a monster counts as one of the participants, right?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“No, then why…”
Before I could finish, the answer came to me on its own.
To confirm this, I probably needed to zoom in on the map.
As I murmured that, the compass map automatically began to enlarge.
A very convenient feature.
Thanks to it, I could check our campsite with precision.
‘As I thought.’
The red dot on the map was pointing precisely to Magireta’s location.
“…So you’re a monster too, sis.”
“Hm?”
“Well, not an ordinary one, of course. But if we had to categorize it, you’d still fall under ‘monster,’ wouldn’t you?”
“Hehe. Who knows? Well, I’m certainly not human.”
True enough, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Magireta’s form was human, but I had never thought that was her true appearance.
Rather than a simple monster, “Demon Lord” was probably a more fitting term.
Still, it was amusing to see that she showed up when searching for “monsters.”
‘Well, considering she calls hell her home, it makes sense.’
While I was thinking that, Armelia—who had finished distributing the supplies—spoke up.
“Mason, it’s done.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“I only memorized who got what.”
“No, that’s impressive enough.”
Aina chimed in.
“Now we have to build shelters, right?”
“We should, but I plan to ask the ordinary participants to handle that.”
“Huh?”
“We have other tasks to take care of.”
The companions who had already heard the details of the quest nodded.
They each began gathering their weapons.
Someone among the participants, noticing our actions, asked cautiously,
“Um… what are you planning to do?”
“We’ll be stepping out for a bit.”
“Sorry?”
“The rules say so, don’t they? That hellfire over there will extinguish in three days.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and continued,
“So we’ll have to gather firewood.”
First, I planned to use the teleportation bead for convenience of travel.
I clasped the bead tightly in my hand and murmured softly.
“I want to move to where the monsters are.”
But there was no response.
I had a faint feeling this would happen, but the disappointment still hit hard.
Armelia spoke.
“Was the condition too broad?”
“Seems so. Honestly, that’s no different from saying, ‘I want to go where people are.’”
“Right. It looks like you need a command that specifies a particular location—like a name or a region.”
She was right.
But it’s not like I knew the individual names of the monsters, or the regions of hell for that matter.
I even tried saying, ‘I want to move near the monster closest to us,’ as a test, but the bead didn’t react at all.
So it wouldn’t work that way either.
In the end, that meant we’d have to manually locate the monsters ourselves using the compass.
I felt a little gloomy but quickly shook my head.
At least we had a way to locate them.
I asked everyone,
“Can you see the map I’m seeing right now?”
“No.”
“Not at all. I was just thinking you were having another one of your episodes.”
“Episodes? That’s harsh.”
It’s just me talking to an invisible Diary Book, that’s all.
I handed the compass around to my companions one by one.
Thanks to that, they were soon able to grasp the locations of all the monsters scattered throughout the mountains.
Armelia, after checking it last, said,
“Huh? There’s a red dot at our campsite too.”
“Oh, that’s probably Magireta.”
“Magireta… well, it makes sense. What else would you classify that demon as if not a monster?”
She spoke with a dry, cynical tone before getting back to the main point.
“There are a total of 315 monsters—excluding Magireta.”
“You counted all of them?”
“Not exactly counted—just remembered and tallied them up one by one.”
My head hurt just hearing that.
Anyway, after a brief calculation with her fingers, she continued swiftly,
“The hellfire lasts three days, which means we have to endure the remaining twenty-seven. In hours, that’s 648.”
“Yes.”
“To survive for 648 hours, we’ll need 216 monsters. Since each one can extend the fire by three hours.”
And the total number of monsters was 315.
I could already guess what she was getting at.
Sienne also spoke in a relieved tone.
“So that means there are more than enough monsters for us to last through the time we need.”
“Right. The key will be planning our route carefully. If we only go after nearby monsters first, we might end up in trouble later.”
“How should we plan it?”
“Well… rather than explaining, it’s faster if I just take the lead.”
I nodded without hesitation.
After all, in the First-Come game, Armelia had guided us to the finish line using the most optimal route after just a single glance at the map.
The others, knowing her memory well, agreed easily.
I handed her the compass and said,
“There’s no guarantee the monsters will stay in the same place. Please keep checking their positions with this and adjust our route as needed.”
“Alright.”
“And if you get tired, please say so. Since Your Highness has the weakest stamina among us, we’ll base our return point on your condition.”
“Don’t point it out like that…”
Either way, our guide was decided.
We wrapped ourselves in winter gear from head to toe.
Once we were ready, Aina handed each of us a small vial.
“It’s a potion that keeps your body warm. I’m not sure how effective it’ll be, though.”
“I’ll drink it gratefully.”
“There’s plenty prepared, so if you can’t stand it, speak up anytime.”
With that, our preparations were complete.
After downing Aina’s potion, we walked to the very edge of the hellfire’s light.
‘With clothes like these and Aina’s potion, we should be able to endure a bit.’
Thinking that, I stepped beyond the boundary of light.
“Ugh!”
And instantly realized how overly optimistic that thought had been.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Guh… hah…”
“S-so… c-cold! N-no, cold doesn’t even begin to describe this!”
“M-my f-feet are already numb!”
“T-th-there’s f-frost on m-my gloves!”
Everyone’s voices trembled violently.
Our teeth chattered so hard it felt like they would shatter.
I hastily signaled with my hand.
It was the sign to retreat.
We all hurried back into the radius of the hellfire’s glow.
Pulling off my mask, I said,
“This won’t do. It’s far too cold.”
“Yeah. Our determination froze solid in just a few seconds.”
“But if we want firewood, we still have to go out there.”
“Hmm…”
I thought for a moment—and then a brilliant idea struck me.
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?
“What if we move the hellfire itself?”
“What?”
“We could make torches and each carry one around.”
“Would that even help with the cold?”
“No, look closely at the bulletin board.”
Rule number 2.
The range of light centered on the altar where the ‘hellfire’ burns remains at room temperature.
It said the range illuminated by the light was kept at room temperature.
The hellfire we were talking about wasn’t an ordinary flame from the human world.
“If it were just a normal fire, it wouldn’t withstand this extreme cold… but hellfire’s light itself keeps its range at room temperature.”
“Ah.”
“With one torch per person, it should be enough to keep us each warm.”
“The range of light will maintain room temperature… I see.”
It didn’t matter how hot the fire actually was, or how cold the surroundings were.
As long as the light reached, the area stayed at room temperature.
Hearing that, my companions eagerly began making torches.
We already had most of the materials in our bags, and for what we lacked, we simply cut down the poles meant for tents.
I poured oil on the tips of the torches and held them out toward the hellfire.
“…”
But the flames didn’t catch.
Even though, logically, fire should have spread—
the hellfire merely continued to burn atop the altar.
“Heh.”
Then came the mocking laugh of someone.
Of course, it was Magireta.
“Trying to take the easy way out, little brother?”
“…”
“Read rule number two carefully. It says, ‘the range of light centered on the altar where the hellfire burns.’ Not just ‘the range of light.’”
“So that means the flame can’t leave the altar?”
“That’s how it looks to me. Don’t you think?”
I clenched my teeth.
Magireta smiled slyly and pointed beyond the radius of light.
“Now go on. Hardship is what makes people grow!”