Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 95 : Contract Guarantee - 3

Chapter 95: Contract Guarantee - 3
After returning to Deut Territory, we all gathered in one place.
Armelia spoke quickly, as if she had been holding it in for a while.
“More than anything, I’m glad that your safety is guaranteed in the next quest. Truly, I’m happy.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. But it’s not perfectly guaranteed yet.”
“Hm?”
“In the future I saw, the one who got first place was Edgar. However…”
That little thing the Diary Book had said earlier.
“That doesn’t mean I was second place, either.”
“……!”
“To be precise, I didn’t see what ranking I got in that future. Even if I manage to stop Edgar, if some unknown person takes first place instead, it’ll still be the end of me.”
At that moment, Armelia’s face turned pale blue.
Brrr.
Huh? The table seemed to be shaking.
Aina glanced under it.
“What the? Your Highness, are your legs trembling?”
“That can’t be.”
“No, just now—”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
Sienne cut in with a dry cough.
“Please don’t worry, Your Highness. Surely, besides Mr. Mason and Edgar, there’s no one else who could come close to first place.”
“…….”
“If such a capable person existed, wouldn’t they have won first place at least once in the past six quests?”
Armelia’s expression relaxed slightly.
Ordinarily, she’d be right about that.
But ever since the Diary Book’s remark, a feeling of unease hadn’t left me.
‘Well, there’s no point in overthinking it now.’
I had searched several times using the Search function, but there was no information on who had taken second place in the Bungee Jump game.
In the end, I could only improvise.
Berseum opened his mouth.
“By the way, wasn’t Edgar’s shoes the prize for the twelfth quest?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Somehow, that’s regrettable. We’ve lost the only way to deal with that immortal bastard.”
“I’m not so sure.”
Huh? Did I pick up that tone from the Diary Book?
Everyone gave me puzzled looks.
Instead of explaining, I held the Diary Book in my hand.
Then I spoke to the 217 registered on the administrator page — or more precisely, the 212 excluding my party.
[Greetings, everyone.]
I had done this once before.
A flood of noisy responses came back.
[Huh? This voice again?]
[Who’s that! Get out of my head!]
[That person must be new. This is already my second time.]
[Don’t act smug over two times, man.]
It was enough to drive anyone insane.
Clutching my dizzy head, I continued.
[I have a favor to ask of all of you.]
I told them about my contract with Edgar and the hidden rule, “Magireta’s Guarantee.”
I also kindly gave some examples of just how much of a bastard Edgar Tyler was.
Everyone registered on the administrator page were people I had saved at least once, and each of them had a certain degree of trust — they were my allies.
They listened carefully and sympathized with my story.
[I see. So that was the contract.]
[That Edgar guy’s completely insane. I can’t believe someone like that actually exists.]
[My friend once teamed up with him, got totally screwed over. Ironically, it’s thanks to him that they survived, though.]
[So basically, someone not worth dealing with.]
Good. The mood was on my side.
I seized the momentum and continued.
[So, here’s the thing, everyone.]
[…….]
[A quest is coming up that Edgar absolutely cannot win. When that time comes, I’d like one of you to step up and take first place.]
The contract guaranteed by Magireta had a specific condition.
It was to prevent me, my companions, and the ordinary participants who joined the game with me from taking first place.
In other words, helping ordinary participants who didn’t join the same game as me was perfectly fine.
[I’ll fully support you. I’ll tell you the game’s details beforehand, and during the game, if I come up with ideas, I’ll share them.]
[Ooooh!]
[And since first place comes with rewards, it’ll benefit you as well.]
[Of course! We can clean up the trash while we’re at it.]
[Hehe. We’ll count on you.]
Even I had to admit that laugh sounded a bit sinister.
[But which quest will that be?]
[I’ll tell you when the time comes. For now, I have to keep it confidential. Ah, but it’s not the next quest.]
[Hahaha. Understood. We’ll wait.]
After chatting a bit more, I canceled the Secret Conversation.
Yeah, talking to over 200 people at once was something no sane person should attempt.
When I shook off my dizziness, my companions were staring at me.
“What was that about?”
“I just wondered what kind of stunt you pulled this time. This performance’s new. Different from when you fidget with the air.”
“It’s nothing. Just took out a bit of insurance.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t have you getting your hopes up, so I’ll keep it secret. Hope you understand.”
Everyone looked full of curiosity but nodded for now.
Right. Better not to expect too much.
Even if I helped through secret conversations, an ordinary person couldn’t possibly take on Edgar.
But if you think about it differently — it’s not exactly a one-on-one fight.
On one side, there were 212 ordinary participants aiming for first place.
Of course, some might drop out or new ones might be added along the way.
On the other side, only Edgar would be going for first.
‘Under those conditions… maybe it could work?’
……
Well, if it doesn’t, I’ll make it work.
Like I always have.
And then time passed.
We had just finished lunch and were feeling a bit drowsy when—
—we were suddenly pulled somewhere.
“Hey everyone, it’s been a while! You all look healthy — I’m glad!”
Magireta appeared before us.
The seventh quest had begun.
I quickly looked around.
Sienne asked out of habit,
“Where are we this time?”
“Uh… it’s hard to describe exactly. We’re standing on top of some kind of unfamiliar structure.”
“Structure?”
“Yes. A very impractical one.”
Whoooosh!
The moment I finished speaking, a fierce wind blew past us.
It was strong enough to nearly blow us away.
Sienne remarked,
“Indeed, very impractical. No walls, no roof, it seems.”
“Right. It’s just the floor.”
Once the wind subsided, Armelia fixed her hair and added,
“There are thirty people including us. We’re gathered on a round, circular platform.”
“I see.”
“And from the edge of the circle, a long and narrow platform stretches outward. Just wide enough for one person to walk across.”
“You can just call it a diving board.”
Whoa.
Magireta had suddenly cut into our conversation again.
She smiled brightly and raised her voice so everyone could hear.
“The basics are simple. You’ll wait here until it’s your turn, then walk to the end of that diving board.”
“…….”
“And then you jump off. That’s it. Easy, right?”
“…….”
“I’d feel a bit hurt if no one reacts, but oh well.”
Tap.
Magireta snapped her fingers.
<Seventh Quest. Bungee Jump.>
Participants will take turns jumping from the diving board. Once every participant has jumped once, the location of the diving board changes, and this process repeats for six jumps.
No participant may jump more than once from the same location.
Jumping time is from night until before dawn. If even one person fails to jump within the time limit, all participants are eliminated.
Forcing participants to jump through violence or threats results in elimination.
Before jumping, each participant must set their own “destination.” Destinations can only be set in the illuminated zones.
Participants will be guided precisely to their chosen destination without interference from environmental factors.
If a participant collides with the destination and dies, it is considered a failure.
A rope will be tied to each participant’s leg. The rope will automatically extend according to the participant’s movement distance.
Participants must keep their eyes closed while falling. Opening them mid-fall results in elimination.
If a participant shouts “Stop” while falling, they will return to the diving board. The length of the rope extended until the moment “Stop” is shouted becomes that participant’s score.
Each participant’s total rope length from the six jumps will be summed. Those within the top 50 percent of total distance pass; those in the bottom 50 percent fail.
Even if a participant’s total distance ranks in the bottom 50 percent, they pass if the scoreboard cannot display the number due to its size.
Immediately afterward, the Diary Book opened.
<Hidden Quest. Ensure the survival of Armelia Kerr Dneroum in the “Bungee Jump” quest.>
<Hidden Quest. Ensure the survival of Aina Noel in the “Bungee Jump” quest.>
<Hidden Quest. Ensure the survival of Berseum Ferux in the “Bungee Jump” quest.>
<Hidden Quest. Ensure the survival of Sienne Katrin in the “Bungee Jump” quest.>
<Hidden Quest. Ensure the survival of Benjamin Noel in the “Bungee Jump” quest.>
I carefully read through the bulletin’s contents.
By the time Armelia finished reading the rules aloud to Sienne, one of the participants raised a hand.
“What is it?”
“Um, excuse me… about the jumping order…”
“The fact that’s your first question tells me you won’t last long.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. You can decide the order among yourselves. Draw lots, play rock-paper-scissors, whatever you like.”
She crooked a finger at them.
It looked like she was beckoning us over.
The place Magireta guided us to was the edge of the circular platform.
At first, people walked upright on two legs, but as they got closer to the edge, they dropped to all fours.
In the end, they lay flat on the ground, peeking over just slightly.
“……? I can’t see anything.”
Aina wasn’t exaggerating.
Beneath the diving board was pure darkness itself.
If not for the fierce wind blowing past, it would have been impossible to even tell whether we were standing at a great height.
“Ah, look there.”
At that moment, Berseum pointed toward something.
At the tip of his finger was light.
A ring of light about ten meters in radius illuminated the area below.
There were three light rings in total.
One at close range.
Another at mid-range.
And the last one at long range.
“So those must be the ‘destinations.’”
“Indeed. We’re supposed to fall toward those places.”
“‘Fall’ might not be the right word. The distance between here and there isn’t exactly vertical.”
“Magireta will probably send us flying somehow. The rules say once you set your desired destination, you’ll be guided precisely there without any interference.”
At that moment, Magireta chimed in.
“That’s right. Just because it’s called Bungee Jump doesn’t mean it has to be a vertical fall, you know.”
“I don’t even know what a bungee jump is, though.”
“You simply need to choose one of the illuminated spots as your destination. I’ll launch you toward it.”
“…….”
“I won’t tell you your flying speed, but I’ll make sure all participants move at the same velocity. I’ll ignore body weight, acceleration, and air resistance—everything. You’ll all fly at exactly the same speed. So calculate carefully and stretch your rope as far as you can.”
At first glance, it seemed obvious that choosing the farthest destination was the best option.
But the difference between near and far was significant.
Aina murmured,
“The closest one’s about three hundred meters away. The middle one’s six to seven hundred. The farthest… from what I can barely see, it’s over a kilometer.”
Some might assume everyone would naturally pick the farthest destination.
However, the farther the distance, the harder it became to sense how far you were actually flying.
Because there was a rule that you must keep your eyes closed during the fall.
That meant you could easily lose your timing.
If you shouted “Stop” too early, choosing a far destination would be meaningless;
if you waited too long, you could crash into the ground and shatter into pieces.
‘But if I choose the nearest destination, I might lose my chance at first place.’
It seemed I’d have to choose carefully.
Feeling a stiffness in my neck, I looked around.
As expected, there was nothing visible.
Except for those three glowing destinations, everything else was pitch black.
‘Hm? Darkness?’
Tilting my head, I asked Magireta,
“Noona, what time is it right now?”
“Good. That’s the first question you should’ve asked.”
“……?”
“When I brought you all here, it was lunchtime. So if it’s this dark now, naturally, you’d ask what time it is.”
Was that really such an important question?
She smiled in satisfaction and continued,
“To answer you—it’s one o’clock in the afternoon.”
“I knew it. So this darkness isn’t natural.”
“Correct. I’ve used my omnipotence to block all light beneath the diving board. The only light you can see is from the ‘destinations.’ Eternal light—symbols of brilliant, beautiful hope.”
Why the sudden poetic flair? It didn’t suit her at all.
I nodded along for the moment…
‘Huh?’
A strange sense of discomfort crept over me.