Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 162

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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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“H-hey, Evan, I, I prepared, something, for, you.”
Now that I thought about it, Kanna had mentioned bringing something from home. I wondered what it could be as I accepted the gift, which felt surprisingly heavy.
“Kanna. What is this?”
A box the size of my palm, yet it weighed what felt like dozens of kilograms. Suspecting she’d stuffed dumbbells inside, I opened it to reveal a silver shortsword of modest proportions. I was puzzling over why something so small could be so heavy when Makina examined it through his lens with a whirring sound, and his expression shifted to one of genuine surprise.
「My, this is eternal steel.」
Eternal steel—here of all places!
Well, given that Huli and Seolsam existed in this world, it wasn’t impossible that iron existed too. But why would Hashashin possess eternal steel!
Come to think of it, since this world contained Potala Palace, if one traveled just a bit further, the Hashashin territories would eventually appear.
“It’s our family treasure.”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Why are you stabbing me with your family treasure! I’d let my guard down thinking we were friends, but Kanna drove the shortsword straight into my hand. Then the blade began to writhe and reshape itself, transforming into the form of a harpoon. Even as blood streamed from my wound, I found myself at a loss for words at this magical phenomenon.
“I-it’s a weapon that, changes shape, based on the user’s aptitude. O-only, you can, use it, until, death.”
“Why would you give this to me when you could use it yourself!”
“B-because, I w-wanted, to.”
Stop giggling and listen—you’re the supreme leader of Hashashin! At your young age, you’ll need every advantage to lead the organization, so why would you carelessly hand this over to me? I lectured her, but Kanna simply continued her embarrassed giggling. Even Gerth and the others watched me with lukewarm expressions, offering congratulations on acquiring such a fine weapon.
And Reina didn’t miss this moment.
“Everyone’s giving gifts. Machine King, don’t you have anything to offer?”
「Huh? Me? Isn’t it strange to exchange gifts while we’re fighting?」
“That’s why today we’re skipping the fighting and just having a celebration party, remember? Don’t you have anything? You’re always praising Evan, saying how pretty she is and following her around. Seems the Machine King doesn’t have much to say.”
As Reina spoke with deliberate slowness, Makina began venting steam and said he’d look for something to give. Of course, Reina didn’t let the Machine King simply roll away.
“No, don’t do that. Our Evan has always been incredibly interested in mathematics.”
I’d distanced myself from mathematics, but now I simply watched. Reina flattered him, saying that if he solved just one unsolvable mathematical problem, I could receive prize money from the academic world and would respect him even more.
「Ha! Presenting a math problem before the Machine King! You’ve got nerve!」
Makina laughed heartily, boasting that it would be a trivial matter, and asked her to present the problem. Reina calmly retrieved a prepared pen and began writing out the Riemann zeta function.
「Hmm…, just a moment.」
Even for the Machine King, the calculation seemed to take time. This should be the signal for Wenri to attack at the right moment. Now that I thought about it, back in my days at the Construction Site, I’d seen a news report at the labor office while watching television—computers had solved an unsolvable mathematical problem that humans couldn’t crack. They’d connected fifty million personal computers together.
「J-just a bit longer, please.」
Makina, requesting more time, retrieved what appeared to be auxiliary computing equipment. After clicking and inserting it firmly into the nerve bundle region behind his eyes, he resumed his calculations, and Reina immediately began needling him again.
“Huh? Machine Kiiiing? Could it be you can’t solve it?”
「No! I can solve it! I just haven’t used my mind in a while, so it’s taking time, that’s all!」
The Machine King was like an omniscient brain operating all his subordinate machines twenty-four hours a day—what happens if he doesn’t use his mind?
Makina was spouting complete nonsense, yet even that seemed endearing. So this is what infatuation feels like. I should ask after the party if I can polish his eyeballs. Since it’s where the Machine King lives, there should be polish available, right?
“Our Machine King, you do understand the problem, correct?”
「This guy’s underestimating me! It’s a hypothesis about prime distribution!」
Well, I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.
While Reina discussed mathematics with Makina, I cut the cake with Gerth, Kanna, and the Department Head Professor. As I wielded the harpoon that Kanna had gifted me, the cake sliced cleanly, and not a trace of whipped cream clung to the blade. It was a fearsome weapon.
“Well then, let’s eat.”
“I forgot the plate.”
“Why? It brings back memories from when I was young, and I find it endearing.”
The Professor shared a nostalgic memory—when the dragon triplets were barely born, they didn’t even know how to polymorphe into human form, so they devoured the birthday cake Gerth brought while still in their dragon shapes.
So that was it. Gerth had raised the three dragon siblings from infancy.
“From the moment he was born, that bastard had an exceptional talent for escaping.”
“The other runts were just slow.”
All three would bite and fight equally, yet only Iyong and Samryong would get punished. Ilyong, the Department Head Professor, always vomited first and escaped the scolding. Well, he could use gravity, so he could flee faster than anyone else.
“So by evading responsibility and fleeing from Gerth, you met Dr. Bruno?”
“Every time I feel it—you speak with remarkable acerbity, student.”
Huh? Really? I thought I spoke prettily in front of the Professor. When I insisted on this, the response came back that I merely spoke in a pretty tone, but the essence remained acerbic.
That’s rather philosophical. People who’ve lived long really do speak differently, even with just a single word.
“What were you thinking just now?”
“I was thinking that the elderly have a distinctive way of speaking.”
“Precisely this sort of thing.”
Oh, I see. If Leri had been here, he would’ve gotten along well with the Professor.
“But yes, when I first saw Dr. Bruno, it was shocking. I’d never met anyone who could escape better than me.”
Were you an activist too, Professor? What kind of life did you live to end up getting captured alongside Dr. Bruno?
In any case, the Professor shared old stories about how he became close with Dr. Bruno after escaping from the Capital Guard. Come to think of it, friendships and romances among those types of people usually blossom during escapes or in prison. There are also youthful tales that begin as side stories—harboring fugitives in one’s own home.
「Kyieeeeeek!」
Goodness, you startled me!
I was absorbed in the Professor’s story while eating cake when I heard an indescribable sound—whether a scream or a screech from Makina. After one high-pitched note came a series of beeps like a motherboard with missing RAM, and it seemed like the right moment.
“Evan. I’ll break through.”
Right. My heart aches too much to breach Makina’s exterior. Faced with the horror of blue screens appearing on every monitor in the room, I closed my eyes helplessly as Gerth tore Makina open with a cracking sound and yanked out the power source from within.
Inside the cylindrical core that looked like a reactor, blue light moved infinitely in the shape of a Möbius strip.
“Student Evan! Run!”
Oh, it’s cold! I wondered why the power source was so cold, then realized the outer components must be a cooling system. With cold resistance, I could endure it, but this would definitely give me frostbite.
Gerth and the Department Head Professor remained to prevent the Machine King from restarting, and among those left, I was the fastest runner, so I bolted out carrying the power source.
After free-falling roughly a hundred meters, I drove a harpoon through the outer wall of the Tuxedo Bunny Castle Spire to slow my descent, and the stone wall tore like paper, crumbling down. Normally a human would have their arms torn off hanging from a harpoon under such impact, but my muscles weren’t ordinary, so I endured.
“Aaaaah!”
But my bones weren’t. The sound of compound fractures cracking echoed vividly in my ears. Before I even touched the ground, my arms would swell to twice their size. Still, I had to hold on. At this speed and height, even I would die if I fell. I shouted an incantation to steel myself.
“Barus! Barus! Barus! Barus!”
Crumble, Sky Island! Barus! Barus!
My muscles are impressive, but the weapon Kanna gave me is equally impressive! I tore through an entire spire lengthwise and it’s still intact! Truly, this eternal cold iron, selected as material for divine weapons in countless works, lives up to its glorious legacy!
Boom!
I landed creating a crater and immediately ran in any direction. Either way was fine—as long as I put enough distance between myself and the Sky Island, the countdown would end.
I burned through all my mana activating superhuman skills. Concentrating all my nerves on running, I covered the distance from the spire to the Bunny Land entrance in just three strides. Even I was amazed at myself. Did I just use spatial folding or something?
“Cough!”
It wasn’t a complete collapse, but blood surged from my throat. Running fast is good, but my body can’t take it. More precisely, my organs are failing. I’m going to die. I thought I’d try running a bit faster and now my bones are broken, my organs are damaged, and I’m going to die like this today.
“Gack! Gasp!”
Isn’t this far enough to be out of effective range? With that thought, I glanced back, but the Sky Island was still intact. I guess I need to run further. I swung my arms, now twice their size from the fractures, and ran desperately. I crossed a river where poison bubbled up, roughly drilled through a mountain with an ice drill, and then I saw the island that had been floating in the distance slowly beginning to descend. With superhuman skills fully activated, my eyes became like telescopes.

UR) Fusion Skill has been activated.

What? Now? Why couldn’t you fuse when I was dying back there!
I raised my middle finger mentally and opened my status window. I wanted to see what skill was fusing, but suddenly shocking news struck my eardrums directly.

L) Beginning fusion with the Machine King’s power source.

What the hell is this lunatic talking about.

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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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