Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 137

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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“Now that Stoker is dead, Lakne is returning to her Hometown?”
“Not quite. She says she’s grown disillusioned with the villagers who were deceived by Stoker.”
“I suppose there’s nowhere quite like Serpent King’s Tower. Everyone there is kind.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Gerth let out a soft laugh, and something about it—a richness that seemed to carry the weight of years—made my heart flutter. This was all Eugene’s fault for planting such ridiculous ideas in my head. Who would have thought I’d harbor such tastes? I found myself fantasizing about doing something scandalous with Gerth while on a video call with Hubert.
“Evan. You seem to be in good spirits.”
The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, and Gerth complimented me on how lovely my smile was. I couldn’t let myself lose a compliment battle, so I told him what had made me laugh.
“I was thinking of you, and the smile just came naturally.”
“Is that so? I’m quite fond of you as well, Evan.”
“Thank you.”
“The gratitude is mine.”
No, no—I’m the one who should be grateful. As our compliment exchange shifted into a gratitude contest, Eugene cleared his throat and asked if we’d like him to call Reina. Now that I thought about it, he’d mentioned earlier that we’d need Reina’s help to drink that mysterious potion. Besides, she was probably bored anyway—she’d come running the moment we called.
“Reina will come right away if you call her, Gerth.”
Eugene, you certainly know Reina well. What else would she be doing without us besides lying in bed, scratching her backside while reading novels with plenty of illustrations?
“While you’re at it, call Professor Ha as well.”
“The Department Head Professor should be at Zibenstein. I’ll make inquiries.”
Eugene, aren’t you understanding Gerth’s words better than I do now? I barely managed to comprehend what Gerth says after listening to lectures from that legendary professor, and experiencing this difference in talent made jealousy and envy well up inside me.
“While we wait, would you like to see some of our collection?”
But a friend who shares rather… suggestive collections is better befriended than envied. I felt grateful, yet I found myself opening up about my preferences, which diverged somewhat from Eugene’s.
“Don’t worry. Mother collects that sort of material.”
Ah, so Mother had those tastes. Now that I thought about it, the Border Earl did seem more refined and melancholic than his actual age would suggest—the sort who’d be popular with people of particular inclinations.
While we waited for Reina and the Department Head Professor to arrive at Brandenburg House, Eugene and I delved into a fascinating discussion about the nature of married men and women. Our conversation was thoroughly engaging, but Gerth still wore an expression of lingering doubt.

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“These lunatics called me over just to look at indecent books.”
“It seems unsuitable for students to read. There’s no official publication code.”
“Evan Laef. This is beyond your years. Read such things after you’ve grown up.”
Damn it, now that there’s a professor among the group, they’re all lecturing me in unison.
I had spent some time with Eugene exploring the world of adult literature, laughing and enjoying myself with “kehehe” and “ahahaha,” but it was only a brief indulgence—ever since the Department Head Professor arrived, I’d been getting thoroughly scolded.
How thoroughly? I was literally kneeling and standing in punishment for the crime of reading indecent books as a teenager. With the Department Head Professor and Gerth right before my eyes, my knees bent without resistance. I am utterly powerless.
“Why did you call me here, old timer?”
“Evan Laef consumed Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng last year.”
“Is that so?”
“Now she will consume Mita Sacred Water.”
“I see.”
“It will likely arrive soon.”
What? What’s arriving? More importantly, did the Department Head Professor just call Gerth “old timer”? Given Gerth’s age, it’s not entirely wrong, but the Department Head Professor looks far older himself, so cognitive dissonance was about to set in.
“Wouldn’t it be better not to do this indoors? The aftereffects could be severe?”
“Eugene. Is there a wide, open space here?”
So what exactly am I about to go through?! Like when I consumed the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng before—eat it, pass out, wake up, and it’s over, right?!
“Gerth. What are you planning to do to me?”
“You’re the one doing it.”
Please use the five W’s and one H when you speak. I’m begging you!
My pupils trembled visibly from my anxiety, but Gerth remained unmoved. It was the Department Head Professor who offered the bare minimum explanation, bending down to whisper directly into my ear as I knelt in punishment.
“You will become a mana user.”
“Pardon?”
“If you don’t, the elixir’s potency is too strong and you’ll die.”
“Pardon?!”
“After that, it’s classified—I cannot speak of it.”
“What?!”
The Department Head Professor moved away from me, saying we’d discuss it again once I could use mana. Wasn’t it supposed to be that humans couldn’t use mana according to the original setting?
In the novel “Twilight’s Repentance,” mana was the exclusive domain of the demon race. Without detailed explanations, I don’t know much about it, but I do know that what people call demons or spirits are mana-based lifeforms. And in regions where mana lifeforms congregate, something called mana stones grow. These mana stones are formed from accumulated mana, and humans use them as batteries for magical tools.
Since only the demon race has close ties to mana, research couldn’t progress among humans. That’s why common knowledge extends only this far.
However, the novel revealed slightly more about mana’s true nature. The demon race, including the Serpent King, use mana to enhance their physical abilities and cast magic. While humans exhaust their mental and vital forces to use skills and cough up blood, the demons are sucking honey using mana as a resource.
The presence or absence of mana usage is a major distinction between humans and demons. But what did the Department Head Professor just say? That we’d talk again once I could use mana? Could that be acquired after birth?!
Now that I thought about it, facts I’d been forced to forget because the Department Head Professor told me to forget them came flooding back. The Common Professor would often start to say “Ma…!” and then hit my head to erase my memory. Could it be that when I was asking for advice on using magic, he was trying to tell me to use mana?
“Once Evan Laef drinks the Mita Sacred Water, I’d like Reina Letem to use fire magic immediately.”
“Really?”
“Evan Laef will not die.”
“Really?”
Reina, isn’t this a bit too half-hearted when I might actually die? When I glared at her with wide eyes and complained, the brat laughed and patted my shoulder repeatedly.
“Come on, I’m doing this because I trust Gerth.”
Since when did you build such a trusting relationship with Gerth? Stop spouting nonsense.
“Evan Laef. Outside.”
Gerth seemed intent on force-feeding me the Mita Essence without hesitation. With people gathered around and the atmosphere demanding that something be accomplished, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
I understood that Gerth was doing this for my sake, but still—being human, I possessed at least a baseline fear of the unknown, didn’t I?

Dawn has been renewed. Failure to consume Mita Essence results in death. Just One 10 MINUTES♪

Fine, fine! I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it, you lunatics! But more importantly, Status Window—how do you even know that song?!
“If I had to choose a location, it would be here.”
“Understood.”
The Department Head Professor and Gerth, examining the surroundings like real estate agents, positioned me before an ancient tree at the Pond Side and handed me a glass vial containing the Mita Essence.
“The moment you drink it, Evan will freeze solid. Reina, don’t panic—use Blaze.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Even if Evan dies in the worst case, it won’t be your fault.”
“Y-yes, sir…?”
Didn’t Gerth just say I wouldn’t die? Reina’s face twisted strangely at his words. It was too late to panic now. I had to drink this within ten minutes anyway.
“Bottoms up!”
“Refreshing.”
“Evan. Don’t be startled if you see something unfamiliar.”
Couldn’t you have mentioned that before I drank it?!
I tilted the vial and let a single drop of Mita Essence slide down my throat. Sensation vanished from my throat downward—not a freezing sensation, but an absence of feeling itself. Reina frantically cast Blaze, yet I couldn’t perceive the heat. My eyes seemed closed, then open, then my vision disappeared entirely for a moment.
My vision became completely obscured, then frosted as if covered in condensation, then warm, then dark again. As I cycled through this repeatedly, a notification chimed.

R) Mana Operation Lv.1 skill has been created.

R) Mana Operation Lv.1 skill has been created.

Race value has been changed.

Title category has been created.

Title: Demon has been granted.

Title: Mana User has been granted.

Why does the notification about Mana Operation sound duplicated? Is my hearing malfunctioning? What’s a race value? There’s a title system here too? And surely the changed race value isn’t… Demon, right?
My mind reeled with questions when another strange sound reached my ears. A tinkling, chiming noise that sounded like skills were skyrocketing.

UR) Free Freeze Magic has been created.

“Cough!”
Damn it, I coughed up blood. One strike down. It was a natural consequence of my skills rising endlessly. But this time felt different.
“Gah!”
Wait—I just coughed up blood twice in rapid succession without any time to recover. That meant my stamina was completely drained. All that remained was my life force itself. If I coughed up blood again, I would surely die. Even worse, sensation was beginning to return. My entire body burned with intense heat.
“Open your eyes, Evan!”
Ah, so the darkness surrounding me was because I had my eyes closed.
I forced my eyes open at Gerth’s cry and surveyed my surroundings. Everything within a ten-meter radius of me was frozen solid except for people, and something strange glimmered in the air. Around Gerth and the Department Head Professor, something particularly luminous floated about, while everything else had gathered beneath a massive frozen tree.
I understood instinctively. That was mana. Since time was critical, I needed to borrow some of Gerth’s immediately. I reached out toward Gerth while mentally invoking my mana control skill. The mana hovering around Gerth flowed toward me without resistance.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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