SCT-Novel Chapter 160 : Possibility - 1
Chapter 160 : Possibility - 1
We returned to Deut Territory.Not that it hadn’t been the case before, but this quest in particular had drained a tremendous amount of mental energy, so we decided to return to our respective rooms and rest.
I fell into a deep sleep.
How much time had passed?
At some point, I heard birds chirping near my ears.
“Please wake up, Mr. Mason. It’s morning.”
“……”
I opened my eyes.
Without thinking, I threw a punch at the person right in front of me.
Thud.
“Ugh. W-What are you doing?”
“What are you doing, Kaid?”
“I came to wake you up! And this is how you repay me—with a punch?”
“Be grateful it wasn’t a kick. Why do I have to see your face the moment I wake up?”
“You’re really harsh.”
He grumbled.
“We finished our quest yesterday too. I came to check if you were safe.”
“Yaaawn. Is that so.”
After stretching, I tilted my head.
“‘We,’ you say?”
“Me and Ms. Louis.”
“You two did the quest together? Teams are supposed to be random.”
“I begged Ms. Louis. I offered your height as the price so she’d team up with me. Otherwise, I might’ve been eliminated since I’m so weak.”
“……”
“She looked at me like I was a bug, but she still accepted. That monster really is kind at heart. Even if she doesn’t look like it.”
I stared at Kaid.
He clapped his hands.
“Yes. That’s exactly the kind of look she gave me.”
“…Right.”
That’s enough. Talking to him only drains me.
“Ms. Louis is downstairs too. Let’s go.”
“This might be a meaningless question, but how did you get in? I definitely locked the door.”
“Ms. Louis broke it down. For the record, I tried to stop her.”
I didn’t respond and went downstairs.
The first thing I heard was Berseum’s furious voice.
“You broke the door?! Do you have any idea how I got this house?!”
“Ah, you’re so loud.”
“This house was bought with my blood, sweat, and tears—!”
“Hm? Hah. You’re here, Mason.”
I scratched my messy hair.
“What’s going on?”
“I was wondering if you made any progress. My request.”
“……”
“Don’t look at me like that. I know I’m impatient. It’s not like Arcane would’ve been in your quest anyway—”
At that moment, Armelia cut in.
“He was. With Edgar.”
“…!”
“And Edgar was eliminated. No—not just that.”
Armelia calmly explained what had happened in the previous quest.
How Edgar was eliminated.
And how he had become Magireta’s toy in hell.
“…I see.”
Louis tried to remain composed, but it didn’t work.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
For some reason, Kaid panicked.
“Aaaah. Please don’t cry.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? You’re too loud.”
“If Ms. Louis cries, I’ll be in trouble.”
“How exactly are you in trouble?”
“If you waste your mental energy on pointless things, you won’t be able to protect me.”
Louis stared blankly at Kaid.
Then she slowly picked up the teacup in front of her.
Of course, it was filled with hot tea.
“Is that something you say to me?!”
Whoosh. Crash.
“It’s hotttt!”
“That’s enough. I heard what I needed to hear, so I’m leaving. Kaid, don’t follow me!”
“I’m following you.”
“You…”
“I never know when my master might summon me again. Your group doesn’t seem that eager to protect me either. The only one I can rely on is Ms. Louis.”
Louis pressed her forehead.
Kaid’s words were so absurd that even the tears she had just shed disappeared.
“You’re seriously trash.”
“Haha. That’s correct!”
“…At this point, I don’t even care anymore. Do whatever you want.”
She stood up.
Before leaving, she turned and said to me,
“I should at least say this.”
“……”
“Thanks for taking care of Arcane. Now I can finally let go of the past.”
“What will you do now?”
“I don’t know. What should I do?”
She laughed bitterly.
“Like I said, I don’t really care anymore. Maybe I’ll just get eliminated in the next quest…”
“Don’t forget you also brought in the Shoes reward. You need to survive at least until the quest where the Shoes appear. If you’re eliminated before that, you’ll become Magireta’s toy.”
“I don’t think I’d mind that either.”
Then Kaid cut in again.
“No, no. That won’t do. You’re really stupid, you monster.”
“What did you just say?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? You need to survive until the end to protect me.”
“…Ha.”
Louis let out a deep sigh and walked out.
Kaid hurriedly followed her.
His voice faded into the distance.
“Let’s go together! Hey, wait! I said let’s go—ugh!”
And with what sounded like Kaid coughing up blood…
Click.
Aina closed the door.
“No need to worry about them.”
“Yeah. Not like we ever did.”
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
“Alright.”
The chaos passed, and peace returned.
We enjoyed a relaxed meal.
Breakfast the day after Edgar’s complete elimination—
it tasted unbelievably good.
While chatting, I called the Diary Book.
‘Diary Book.’
[Yes.]
‘Edgar is gone. Or rather… he’ll never appear before me again.’
[That’s right.]
‘Shouldn’t you congratulate me?’
The Diary Book fluttered.
Judging by the pages rustling, it seemed to be clapping.
[Congratulations.]
‘That reaction kind of kills the mood.’
[If I clap any harder, my arms might hurt.]
‘Arms…? Never mind. Show me the last page.’
Edgar had been responsible for many of our deaths.
Now he was gone.
There had to be changes in the Future Diary.
[Understood. But first—]
‘Hm?’
[Would you like to check the newly upgraded function?]
‘Ah… the Observer Perspective? I’m curious, but I want to see the last page first.’
[Understood. Then I’ll explain the Observer Perspective first.]
‘Do you ever listen?’
[It’s necessary.]
I tilted my head but listened.
The Diary Book cleared its throat.
[Until now, you’ve read the Future Diary in text form.]
‘…Obviously.’
[But now that the Observer Perspective has been upgraded, you can experience it directly.]
‘What?’
[Explanation complete. Now, I’ll show you the last page.]
What is that supposed to mean?
[Displaying the last page.]
[Points Consumed: 50]
[Remaining Points: 2,805]
The next moment—
my vision changed.
When I came to my senses, I was standing at the top of a mountain.
Below stretched an endless mountain range.
What… what is this?
I looked around.
“Huh?”
I saw myself.
My own face.
I also saw my companions, starting with Armelia.
They were all looking upward at someone, their eyes filled with exhaustion.
I followed their gaze.
There stood Magireta.
Smiling beneath her hood, she said,
“Seven people, huh. The final survivors of this cohort.”
What? Final survivors?
Wait… then this means—
‘What I’m seeing right now is…’
[The final page of the Future Diary. You are experiencing it through Observer Perspective.]
‘Diary Book.’
[Text alone lacks detail. Experiencing it directly allows for richer information.]
‘So from now on, I can experience all Future Diary entries like this?’
[Yes.]
That’s incredible.
I could even smell the air.
It felt completely real.
Observing the Future Diary like this would provide far more information than just reading it.
At that moment, Magireta spoke again.
“It’s time to say goodbye. Farewell. You’ve all worked hard.”
“……”
“I’m joking. Before that, I should grant your wishes, right? Tell me what each of you wants.”
“……”
“Why so quiet? Let’s start with you, little brother.”
Then ‘Mason’ spoke.
“I want to revive all participants who were eliminated by the quests so far.”
“……”
“And I don’t just mean this cohort. I mean all participants eliminated during the Human Era.”
At this point, ‘Mason’ was speaking casually to Magireta.
Well, the game was already over.
Even I planned to drop formalities at the end.
Magireta smiled faintly and looked at Aina.
“Let’s hear the others too. What do you want?”
“Die.”
“How rude.”
“Die, go to hell, and never interfere with the world again. That’s my wish.”
Magireta didn’t grant it immediately.
Instead, she moved on.
Armelia wished for the entire world to learn about the quests.
Berseum wished for all monsters in hell to be annihilated.
Sienne wished to uncover Magireta’s origin.
Benjamin wished for eternal prosperity in the Human Era.
Karin wished that even if people died, their souls would not be dragged to hell and turned into monsters.
‘That’s surprising. I thought Berseum would wish to revive his son. And Sienne too.’
[That’s already covered by your wish.]
‘Ah… right.’
Magireta listened carefully.
Then she said,
“I can’t grant any of them.”
“What?! This is a Wish Ticket from the final victory!”
“And what did you accomplish that’s so great?”
“What?”
“Do you know how many final victors there have been? Across all eras, countless. And yet you act like this is something special.”
“……Then explain why.”
“There are wishes I cannot grant, even with a Wish Ticket. They’re written in the Hidden Rule. Rules you failed to discover.”
She smiled.
“To grant your wishes… you needed to fulfill additional conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“Well… for example, arriving in an ‘Awakened’ state.”
“Awakened?”
“You were potential. But that’s all you remained—potential. Not one of you awakened. So there’s no reason for me to grant those wishes.”
At that moment, my whole body trembled.
Awakening.
She said Awakening.
I immediately thought of something.
The item in the Diary Shop—
—Awakening Pill.
‘Diary Book… the Awakening she mentioned…’
[You mean the Awakening Pill I sell?]
Why are you asking me?
‘Then that means… before the final quest, everyone has to take an Awakening Pill? We have to face the final game in that state?’
[That seems likely. Including your own Awakening as well.]
‘My Awakening?’
……
How much did mine cost again?