The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 5

「Reality」

「Saint Year 741, June 17, 18:44」

「Evaluation: Compared to your first simulation, your ability to gather information has significantly improved during the second one. You’ve also begun to lose your fear of death… Is that really a good thing?」

「Take this as a reward for your fearlessness in the face of death.」

「Reward: Fate Points *3, 【Death Reversal Lv.1】」

「Fate Points: 14」

“Haah—”

A sharp intake of breath rang out as Ciel propped herself up with her hands, sitting up abruptly in bed.

The left side of her face still throbbed faintly with phantom pain. No matter how composed she had appeared earlier, the sensation of her flesh tearing apart during death was not something that could be dulled.

Ignoring the system’s evaluation, Ciel immediately summoned the system interface in her mind.

「Simulation」

「Skills」

「Inventory」

「Point Store」

She focused her thoughts on the Point Store. A silver-white, translucent list unfolded before her, and several new items appeared on the screen.

Her gaze swept past the clothing entries and immediately locked onto one particular item.

It worked…

「【.450 Revolver (Battle-Worn)】」

「Fate Points: 1」

What?

Ciel blinked, slightly disbelieving what she was seeing.

Previously, the school uniform and graduation certificate had each cost 1 Fate Point, which she had found to be an outrageous rip-off since they were just ordinary items.

But now, seeing that the revolver also cost only 1 Fate Point, she found it hard to believe.

If 1 Fate Point for a piece of clothing was a scam, then 1 Fate Point for a gun was an absolute steal.

Still, considering the system’s past behavior, she suspected there was a catch.

“How many bullets are left in the gun?” Ciel asked warily in her mind.

「It’s a five-chamber revolver, and three bullets remain.」

「If you want to buy bullets, they’ll cost 1 Fate Point each. Thank you for your business.」

Only a fool would buy them from you.

It was becoming clear that the system’s valuation didn’t align with a normal person’s perspective. Whether it was clothing, a gun, or bullets, the system seemed to view them as equivalent.

Only by encountering more items in the future would Ciel be able to better understand how the system priced different things.

Even though the gun only had three bullets left, Ciel still decided to buy the revolver.

So far, this gun was the only thing that could give her a greater sense of security. No matter what other uses her Fate Points might have, securing the revolver took priority.

“Purchase.”

Ciel’s Fate Points balance dropped from 14 to 13. After exiting the Point Store, she noticed a golden glow at the top-right corner of the 「Inventory」 tab.

Opening the Inventory, she saw that the previously empty slots now held an icon of the revolver in the first slot.

With a single thought, Ciel reached out her hand, and in an instant, white light coalesced. A black, old-style revolver materialized in her palm.

It had some heft to it, and the grip felt far from ergonomic. The gun’s body bore several scratches, and even the trigger was a little loose. However, it was well-maintained, with the metal surface faintly gleaming.

It looked like a weapon straight out of the 1800s, perfectly matching Ciel’s understanding of the era she was living in.

She had once thought she was living in a parallel version of London. But now, it was clear that this world was no longer the ordinary one she had believed it to be.

After all, a gang leader had orchestrated her murder under the guise of some inexplicable “ritual.”

Combined with what she had learned from Amy’s letter about the gang’s dealings with a certain church member—and the existence of the system itself—Ciel was beginning to suspect that this world truly harbored supernatural elements.

Regardless of the unknown dangers lurking in this world, her immediate priority was to survive the crises directly in front of her.

Ciel stored the revolver back in the Inventory and opened the 「Skills」 tab to check the new skill she had just acquired.

In addition to her initial skill 「Dexterity Lv.1」, a new entry had appeared: 「Death Reversal Lv.1」.

「Death Reversal Lv.1: When you are on the verge of death, all negative states will be cleared, and you will expend a significant amount of mental energy to forcibly maintain a near-death state for a brief period. If you fail to escape the near-death state after your mental energy is depleted, you will die.」

Forcibly clinging to life for a few seconds…

Ciel’s expression turned strange as she read the skill description.

If this were in a game, this skill would be godlike, akin to a trump card.

But for her current situation, the skill was almost useless.

In the simulations, dying meant nothing—those few extra seconds wouldn’t change the outcome, at best allowing her to gather a bit more information.

In real life, if she suffered a fatal wound, a few extra seconds wouldn’t be enough to save her. Performing life-saving measures within that timeframe was nearly impossible.

On the bright side, however, the skill could potentially be useful in simulations, allowing her to forcibly “lock her health” to steal weapons or other items, or even exchange her life for critical information.

If 「Dexterity Lv.1」 was primarily a minor enhancement to her physical capabilities, then 「Death Reversal」 was undeniably a supernatural ability.

Ciel also noticed a small golden “+” icon glowing beside the skill.

The moment she focused on the “+” icon, a system prompt appeared.

「Would you like to spend 10 Fate Points to upgrade 【Death Reversal】?」

No.

Ciel rejected the prompt without hesitation.

She only had 13 Fate Points remaining—barely enough for another simulation. If her next simulation didn’t yield significant progress, she would essentially lose the chance to simulate again.

So far, she had no other means of earning Fate Points, and the urgent situation left her no time to leisurely explore ways to obtain them.

Eddie had been targeting Ciel for half a year, constantly provoking her and her sister in a way that seemed calculated to push their buttons—almost as though he wanted to die. Now she understood this wasn’t just a coincidence.

The Blackwater Gang had taken action against her in the second simulation, but they hadn’t caused trouble in the bustling city center or targeted her sister. This marked a notable difference from the first simulation.

The only distinction between the two scenarios was that in the second simulation, it was Ciel who killed Eddie.

Could the “ritual” require either her or her sister to kill Eddie in order to initiate? Was that why Eddie had been so relentless in provoking them?

What if she and her sister stayed together in the bustling city center? At the police station? Or even at a noble friend’s residence? Would the ritual still proceed?

If possible, Ciel would test each scenario one by one.

But her dwindling Fate Points reminded her that if her next simulation didn’t lead to a major breakthrough or earn her more points, she wouldn’t be able to simulate again.

Rather than running away and gambling on the possibility of exploiting a flaw in a plan that had been meticulously crafted—down to the exact minute—over the course of half a year, Ciel leaned toward another option.

An option her enemies could never anticipate.

That option was to fight back.

Taking a deep breath, Ciel summoned the system interface and opened the 「Simulation」 tab.

Each Future simulation had been set at a different time. She needed to know whether the next simulation would place her on the following day, the day after that, or sometime today, so she could strategize accordingly.

「Future: 10h (Saint Year 741, June 18, 4:45) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)」

「Past: 30 Days (Saint Year 741, May 16, 7:30) (Cost: 100 Fate Points)」

「Old Days: ***, *** Days (???) (Cost: 10,000 Fate Points)」