VIP Chapter 331: The Future He Wrote (Part 4)
Even though she knew they had to depart at five, Iaar, who had returned to her room for a brief “rest,” lay in bed, tightly clutching the chapter of the “Quest System” written by Will specifically for her.
“I won’t be able to sleep…”
Lighting a candle and placing it by her bedside, Iaar took a deep breath and opened her “Quest System.”
“Young Master… what kind of quests will you write in Iaar’s chapter?”
The first page revealed early handwriting. It contained no specific “quests” but rather summaries and overarching goals.
[Iaar, a timid and cowardly wolf-girl maid. Reason for defeat: Lack of self-confidence, inability to take initiative, failure to express herself, always missing the best opportunities.]
“Is this… an evaluation?”
“But it doesn’t quite sound like it’s about… the current Iaar?”
[Overall Story Arc: Adopted by the Hysterm Family and raised by Will (me) as a personal maid…]
“What’s described here seems like things Iaar has experienced, yet… there are many, many details that differ.”
Iaar read slowly, processing things much slower than the other two who had immediately understood after reading their “Quest Systems.” However, through her years of close observation of her Young Master, she could sense that when he wrote this “Quest System,” he already had a “future” in mind.
“For example, our ending?”
She wasn’t a strong reader, her fingers tracing each line, reading word by word to avoid skipping ahead. As she moved to the next line, she saw the passage:
[Ending: Defeated by the Fire Dragon, kneeling and crying.]
“What’s this? The fairy tales Young Master told were actually going to happen.”
[Blackening Goal: Super maid who takes initiative, never gives up easily, and seizes opportunities by instinct!
Target to defeat: Defeat the BOSS of “Apex of the Galaxy” Dungeon, 50th floor, the Fire Dragon Al, using “Ice Array.”]
“Young Master… This, this isn’t Iaar at all!”
Yet, seeing these goals set in a way that was both chaotic and “orderly,” with incredibly exaggerated descriptions, Iaar felt as if she was seeing Will again.
“Every sentence sounds exactly like something you would say in person.”
“But why didn’t you tell me about these things?”
Iaar curled her feet up on the bed and flipped to the next page.
[Quest: High-temperature direction training: First, get used to the steam at the lowest temperature, trick her into thinking it’s a new bathing system I designed that can wash her tail fur completely clean.]
“Did he actually lie about this? I have absolutely no memory of it…”
[Quest: Physical fitness training: If you want to counter the Fire Dragon, you’ll need at least a bit of physical agility. (Strikethrough) Let her run with me first. Or let her run alone.]
“…These are things Young Master would write, and yet he’s being lazy himself.”
[Quest: High-temperature direction training: Train Iaar’s Ice Armor Infusion to withstand 500 degrees Celsius sauna for ten minutes.]
[Reward: Iaar’s new item x1]
As Iaar read on, a smile inadvertently appeared on her lips. Her fingers moved away from tracing each word on the paper; she could now easily understand the content.
…
[Quest 38: Block one blow, intimidate the witch, find an opportunity, negotiate with her, use threats and inducements, gain her trust, enter Teacher Liya’s chapter.]
[Reward: Get a good night’s sleep.]
“It’s… related to Liya. That incident… it truly changed a lot…”
…
[Quest 158: Have Iaar master the basic activation phrase for “Ice Array.”]
[Reward: Iaar’s lap pillow. (Note: Ask Iaar to stop her daily endurance runs; her muscles are getting too firm from lying down.)]
“No wonder Young Master always asks for a lap pillow at strange times… Is it because of this?”
…
[Quest 169: Check Iaar’s progress on reciting the “Blackening 300 Questions.”]
[Completion Status: She can now recall the answer immediately upon being given a sequence number (even I can’t remember them all myself). She can barely tell, I hope she has truly memorized it all.]
[Reward: Get a brand new collar for Iaar!]
…
[Quest 171: Have Iaar use the basic “Ice Array” magic on monsters by surprise once. You can pretend to be ambushed by a monster first.]
[Reward: Eat her freshly baked cake tonight!]
Flipping page after page, Iaar, who had been sitting, turned over and lay on the bed, wagging her tail as she read with great interest.
…
[Quest 230: Test the advanced magic of “Ice Array.” The goal this time is to withstand approximately 30,000 units of continuous output for five seconds.]
[Reward: Bought Iaar a brand new tail brush. Let me brush her fur more.]
…
She never expected that this thick “Quest System,” once taken apart, would contain such content.
As one quest after another, some seemingly written long ago, others revised as if written in the last three years, unfolded, it felt as though the past three years with Will were replaying before her eyes.
“However, doing all this… is it truly to make Iaar stronger, more confident… and also more… strangely in control?”
[Quest 300: Give Iaar a “Snow Song Holy Shield.”]
“It’s called that…”
Iaar glanced at the shield she had carefully placed by her bedside.
She suddenly realized that the page below contained “things that have not yet happened.” By the time these words were written, Will had already left the team and never opened this notebook again.
So, what would be on the next page…
Was it the future Will wished for them?
Iaar lightly dipped a bit of her saliva and reached out to turn the next page.
[Note: From here on, I will likely be dead. I cannot continue to be Iaar’s Young Master and stay by her side, so what is written here is perhaps “the future I wish to see.”]
After a few brief quests, he drew a line and wrote the following note beneath it.
The smile on Iaar’s face gradually disappeared.
Although she was mentally prepared, having already seen the quest where Will wrote about his own death, a single line of text appearing before her now, so close to the present time, caught her completely off guard.
With trembling hands, Iaar’s fingers once again traced each line, reading word by word the content below:
[Quest 400: Iaar can withstand more than five minutes of intense lava with “Ice Array.”]
[Quest 401: Iaar can skillfully switch between offense and defense with the “Snow Song Holy Shield.”]
[Quest 402: Iaar can calmly recite the contents of the “Blackening 300 Questions” without thinking.]
…
[Quest 433: Iaar defeats the Fire Dragon Al, earning the achievement “Revenge of the Loser!”]
[Quest 434: Iaar can hold the one she loves in her arms.]
Reading the last line, Iaar closed the final page of the booklet.
The candle burned down its last wick and slowly extinguished, but the night seemed to have reached its end, no longer so dark.
“…It was… Young Master’s doing…”
Iaar spoke, finding her pillow soaked with tears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liya closed her room door, not heading to bed, but walking to her desk and picking up the oil lamp that had been there for a long time, lighting it with her fire attribute magic as a matter of course.
She leaned by the window, her side view revealing the moon outside—she felt it would help her tell the time, as the clock hanging opposite her, which Will used to limit her experiment time and prevent her from working overtime, had stopped ticking.
“What rest time? Who could sleep soundly after receiving something like this?!”
Standing, Liya opened the “Quest System – Witch Liya Chapter” under the light of the oil lamp and the faint moonlight from outside.
“So you knew from the beginning that I was a witch? The rest was all… all an act!”
Undoubtedly, Will’s habit of writing project summaries and overall goals on the first page when writing project proposals originated from when he started writing this “Quest System.”
[Liya, an tsundere, avoidant, and inarticulate old witch. Reason for defeat: Saying one thing and meaning another, unable to make a direct move, she’d lose to a blockhead.]
“Wi-ll! You… Is this how you see me?!”
“A-alright. You’re not wrong. It’s just… I’ve changed all that now!”
[Overall Story Arc: A witch of a long-lived clan, pursuing the ultimate flame ancient magic, “Candle of First Creation”…]
“He understands me very well. Is this something he foresaw, or… did he see this destiny before? So, how old was his soul?”
For some reason, Liya felt a sense of parity between them after realizing that inside Will’s small body might reside a more mature soul, much older than his physical appearance suggested.
“But if he truly learned about ‘destiny’ for himself and the rest of us through some means… would it include my future, or rather… my ending?”
Her eyes slid down, and Liya saw those two words—
[Ending: Trapped by the Ice Demon’s ice wall, unable to do anything, sitting on the ground and crying uncontrollably.]
*Thump.*
Angrily, she slammed shut the lightly bound “Quest System Excerpt,” close to throwing it on the ground.
But in the end, she turned it over.
[Blackening Goal: An incredibly, incredibly, incredibly loving witch who shines and only has eyes for you!
Target to defeat: Using the flame magic of the Candle of First Creation, defeat the BOSS of “Apex of the Galaxy,” 70th floor, the Snow Woman.]
“…I can only say, your goals are always so ambitious.”
But Liya knew well that Will was by no means someone with “unrealistic ambitions.” The goals he wrote down seriously, he might actually achieve them.
“Do you… truly consider me a shining existence in your eyes?”
The moonlight behind her cast her shadow, which shifted slightly, turning on the paper.
She turned to the next page.
[Quest 39: Let Witch Liya experience the goodness of Blood Mint, and make her obey you in the end!]
[Reward: Perhaps… an obedient witch?]
“This guy, he was intentional from the start. How could something like Blood Mint Essential Oil… be used so casually?”
Liya chuckled, though her tone still carried a hint of her usual scolding.
Yet, just a few lines brought back memories.
When Will appeared at school, when he cornered her at school to ask for information about clients…
He had truly come for her, and his attention was solely on her.
…
[Quest 40: Help Liya with her stalled ancient magic research. Note: Important item, Blood Mint Essential Oil.]
[Quest 41: Help Liya win the research competition and obtain “Ice Array” from the Vice Dean!]
[Reward: Milestone Reward: Desserts from the capital’s Borel family (remember to invite Iaar).]
[Reward: Milestone Reward: Booked a deluxe restaurant for a turkey set meal.]
“You said… you wanted to be my student and help me, so that’s what you planned… And eating together, don’t forget I’m the teacher!”
She straightened from standing rigidly, her body almost touching the wall, and relaxed slightly, crossing her legs clad in thigh-high socks.
…
[Quest 185: Piece together ancient texts with Liya to understand the overall design concept of the Candle of First Creation.]
[Reward: Make Liya stare at you for ten minutes and draw her pupils. (Note: She actually only let you look for three minutes before covering her face and running away. What a pity.)]
“Idiot Will, why is drawing your pupils a reward!”
As she read, Liya began pacing by the window. Her brown leather shoes made a *thump-thump* sound on the ground.
She glanced sideways and saw her reflection in the glass, her red pupils reflecting hearts—if Will were to ask her to stare at him now and draw his pupils, he would be greatly surprised.
…
[Quest 187: Have Teacher Liya participate in the school singing competition! Let her realize how captivating she is when she’s direct and shines!]
[Reward: Secretly grab a newly made flame stick from the laboratory and cheer her on from below!]
Seeing this line, Liya’s footsteps abruptly stopped. Her gaze became distant, and she twirled a strand of her ponytail.
…
[Quest 253: Conduct preliminary research on wicks.]
[Reward: During the school festival, give Teacher Liya an invitation. She’ll surely be fooled by my masquerade ball costume.]
…
[Quest 301: Give Liya a “Staff of Ancient Flames.”]
Liya, having walked quite a bit, slowly sat on the floor, knees together, placing the book on her lap as she continued reading.
She was also a teacher at the academy, and seeing this line, she knew why Will had written it—according to their energy calculations, the old staffs were no longer able to support Liya’s magic.
“Because you made it yourself, you even drew the witch’s mark. The metal staff body, I like it very much.”
She seemed to have been mistaken. Until this line, Will hadn’t been taken away by that detestable woman, Shuna. So, he had been watching her grow, and…
She turned to the next page, and the sentence accompanied by a line stung her eyes—
[Note: From here on, I will likely be dead. I cannot continue to be Teacher Liya’s student and help her with her research, so what is written here is perhaps “the future I wish to see.”]
—expecting her future, like this.
[Quest 501: Teacher Liya successfully finds the wick material as planned.]
[Quest 502: Teacher Liya successfully masters the method of forging wick materials in ancient magic.]
[Quest 503: Teacher Liya successfully creates the wick for the Candle of First Creation.]
…
[Quest 542: Teacher Liya defeats the Snow Woman, earning the achievement “Look at Me Properly!”]
[Quest 543: Teacher Liya can shine in the eyes of the one she loves.]
Liya closed the thin book, which was remarkably thin for an academy teacher, and threw it away with excessive anger.
The moon outside had completed its arc across the square window, disappearing from the visible view.
“Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! You… you don’t understand at all, what… what are you thinking…”
She buried her head in her knees, tears soaking the front of her shirt.
“A future without… without your gaze… How… how could I possibly accept it?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Treya sat at her desk, pulled out a notebook from the meticulously organized surface, and took out a pen from the front pocket of her uniform—knowing that a pen left there for so long would surely be unusable.
She lit the lamp, sat up straight, and, as if reading a sufficiently “solemn” “holy scripture,” placed her notebook to one side, positioning the contents of the “Quest System – Treya Chapter” beside it and opening it.
“Since it’s something he wrote, I must read it carefully—this is the purpose of my request for ‘rest.’ Just one day, a well-trained person doesn’t need sleep… these few hours can be used for reading.”
She opened the first page.
“Only by knowing what you truly think can I understand what to do next.”
[Treya, a pure, eccentric, and icy princess. Reason for defeat: She doesn’t even know what her own feelings are, how can she win?]
Treya’s expression remained unchanged. Like an exemplary student, she wrote on the adjacent paper: Eccentric? Needs careful consideration of its meaning.
[Overall Story Arc: The Ninth Princess, neglected by the Royal Family, narrowly escapes its downfall and subsequently embarks on her “Princess’s Revenge” path…]
“It’s long, but let me summarize…”
Treya abbreviated this lengthy passage, writing “A brief life that slightly deviates from my current one” on the paper. Then, she lightly tapped her pen on the surface.
[Ending: Defeated by the Undead Swordsman, crying without knowing why, even when sitting in the third row.]
“Yeah… why cry?”
Treya tilted her head, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear. After reading this, she wrote “Ending” in her notebook and added three question marks.
[Blackening Goal: A cold princess who is cool enough and has clear goals, who will obtain whatever she desires! No, an Empress!
Target to defeat: Using the Demon Power of the Entak Royal Family, defeat the BOSS of “Apex of the Galaxy” Dungeon, 40th floor, the Undead Swordsman.]
She wrote down the BOSS’s name and reread it carefully. She wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with “this type” of BOSS, as “ghosts” and “demons” shared some commonalities. However, the “Apex of the Galaxy” dungeon didn’t seem to exist at present.
“In the development you envisioned, I seem… unchanged from before. But… when you saw my changes, were you happy, surprised, or even… sad?”
Treya was slightly surprised by her own words. She had only read a few pages, and for some reason, she had so deeply identified with “Teacher Will”…
Specifically, she wasn’t just concerned with what he was thinking, but also his emotions.
[Series Quest up to 90, Reward: Treya’s exclusive sword art – Demon’s Black Blade]
[Quest Hint: The crucial point for triggering the engagement termination plot is about two weeks after entering the cold storage. Do not miss it. It will not refresh if missed.]
Treya’s pen paused slightly, then she wrote, “He actually valued the engagement banquet very highly.”
…
[Quest 86: Make Treya doubt her sister, doubt her father, and even doubt her past self, causing her to change her perspective.]
[Reward: Eugenie’s resentful failure x1]
Her overly “serious” and “stern” face revealed a rare, slight smile—even she didn’t know if it was because Will’s quest rewards were genuinely amusing.
“Yes… You’re right. My views were completely changed by you from that moment on.”
…
[Quest 88: Have Treya master the method to gain the demon’s favor at the Crowning Festival.]
[Reward: Have a birthday for the first time, and have it be a very happy one.]
This brought Treya back to that afternoon in the royal palace, celebrating her birthday with Will.
Her rigidly upright posture relaxed slightly, and she propped her head with her hand.
…
[Quest 89: If possible… have Treya understand her “desires” before the Crowning Festival.]
[Quest 90: Treya successfully passes the Crowning Festival and gains the demon’s recognition.]
[Reward: Order Treya to let me smell the black stockings she’s worn.]
“From this point on, I haven’t taken off my black stockings… not once.”
…
[Quest 199: Experiment with Demonic Sword Arts against nearby monsters with Treya.]
[Reward: Monster barbecue set meal. (Although it was cut a bit too finely, it ended up as minced meat, but the taste was still good.)]
“For royalty, it was actually a very novel experience. I remember it clearly.”
…
[Quest 201: Create models of various royal family members and let Treya cut them freely to reduce her psychological burden.]
[Reward: Taste the Royal Family’s new dessert with Treya!]
Treya herself didn’t realize that she had put down her pen, and was no longer reading Will’s “Quest System” as a lesson, but rather enjoying it as a light read.
Because in such a read, it seemed that “colorful” memories were hidden, capable of resurfacing just by seeing the words.
…
[Quest 205: Check Treya’s swordsmanship. Let’s sneak out at night to fight monsters together!]
[Reward: Take over her maid duties and wash her stockings for her!]
…
[Quest 302: Give Treya a “Shadow Nightmare Sword.”]
“A good name.”
Treya nodded in agreement.
As she turned to the next page, she hesitated slightly, because she understood…
If Will’s belief in “destiny” was highly accurate, the closer it got to the “present time,” the closer it got to his “death.”
[Note: From here on, I will likely be dead. I cannot continue to be Treya’s strategist and help her think about subsequent steps, so what is written here is perhaps “the future I wish to see.”]
As she expected, she saw this statement.
Treya wasn’t without “mental preparation,” but even so, the relaxed smile vanished from her face upon seeing this line.
Simple, straightforward, yet more devastating than a direct declaration of “death.”
From this line onwards, all that was written were “quests,” with no “quest rewards”—
[Quest 601: Treya completely eradicates Eugenie’s influence from the Royal Family.]
[Quest 602: Treya fully inherits the demon’s legacy and becomes the supreme master of the Entak Style.]
[Quest 603: Treya achieves victory in the royal struggle, or at least ensures her self-preservation with minimal losses.]
…
[Quest 651: Treya defeats the Undead Swordsman, earning the achievement “This is My Love!”]
[Quest 652: Treya enables the one she loves to understand her love.]
Treya silently finished reading the last line. She picked up the pen she had just put down, wanting to write something on her patchy notebook, but her pen tip paused a few millimeters above the paper, unable to write anything other than meaningless dots and lines.
“Teacher Will…”
After reading, she called out the title she had used most often when addressing Will, sincerely.
Now, she seemed to understand what the moist teardrops falling onto the trembling, blurred, messy dots and lines in her notebook truly meant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five o’clock.
Almost in sync, the three opened their room doors and met eyes in the narrow corridor.
Moreover, seeing each other’s red-rimmed eyes and visibly tired faces.
“Good morning to you both? You look like… you didn’t sleep well?”
Iaar raised her hand in greeting.
“Yes. Didn’t sleep well, but this happens often. No need to ask.”
Treya replied to Iaar in a very cold voice, walking past her and heading downstairs.
“Yes. Of course… of course, I didn’t sleep well. Anyone who reads something like that wouldn’t sleep well, okay!”
Liya gritted her teeth and followed Treya downstairs.
Although they knew what had happened, the three remained silent, without explanation or inquiry in the dilapidated “Shining Star Cottage”—their “battleground”—before heading outside to the waiting royal carriage.
And so, clutching Will’s “Quest System” papers, the three silently boarded the carriage.
Heading towards “Dust Bone Corridor”—the dungeon destined to kill Will.
Author’s Note: This is a transitional chapter with equal treatment for the three, written a bit longer. Next, let’s see what awaits the three individuals who learned about Young Master Wei’s actions and received quests from the “System”!
