Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 18

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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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This one had terrible footwork. Reina Letem deflected my trident strike and immediately launched into a second kick aimed at my abdomen. I seized her ankle and twisted it with the intention of breaking the joint, but she rotated through the air in the direction I was turning, landed gracefully, and put distance between us.
“Let’s get along for the next four years, friend.”
“Disappear.”
“Aw, come on. We’ve already mixed blood and limbs.”
“Become homeless.”
“That actually sounds kind of romantic. If all else fails, we can sleep under the stars together.”
“Become homeless alone.”
I clutched my trident like a talisman and hurried out of the Dormitory to escape this lunatic. When I walked, she walked. When I ran, she ran. Even when I parkoured across the grounds, Reina bounded from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit, never faltering.
She was absolutely insane. A mage with superhuman physical abilities—a miracle of a superhuman. How did someone like this even exist? I exhausted myself before she did, gasping for breath.
“Friend! This is my first night walk with a friend!”
Next time I write to Mother, I’ll have to ask her to send me medicine for stress.

◇ ◆ ◇

I couldn’t tell if this was Reina Letem’s scheme or what, but eventually we became the type to fight whenever we had nothing better to do. It was only me who was genuinely irritated, but Reina had a masterful way of getting under my skin. And whenever we were alone, she’d act like some ancient schemer, but the moment there were witnesses, she’d adopt this passionate warrior persona and charge at me—it was maddening.
Stop with the act already!
I attacked with genuine intent, and we fought every single day, destroying the training grounds in the process. The incoming freshmen who arrived early at the Dormitory already spread rumors that we were locked in a death struggle.
As a result, I became the center of attention at the entrance ceremony—from my classmates, seniors, and professors alike. Come to think of it, this was my first time attending university, but I had no time to feel excited. How could I, with Reina Letem constantly by my side?
Desperate to distance myself from her, I arrived early for the entrance ceremony and sat in the front row. Fortunately, there was no sign of Reina within a five-meter radius of me. If she’d been there, she would have already done something to spark my attention.
During the entrance ceremony, this brief moment of peace was my only happiness.
“Now, we shall hear remarks from our top freshman representative, Aten Polat.”
Good. The Third Princess’s songbird is still intact, just like in the original story.
Aten Polat, who possessed the teleportation magic skill yet applied to the Academic Department and entered as the top student, was one of the Academy’s most brilliant prodigies. The Empire’s Third Princess had taken a liking to the intelligent, handsome, and kind Aten Polat from the entrance ceremony itself, recruited him into her Social Club, and eventually developed their relationship into romance.
The reason I kept calling him the “songbird” was because in the original work, the Third Princess referred to Aten as “my songbird.” It was surely because of the beautiful harmony between his brown hair and green eyes. The color combination was indeed that of a songbird.
“Ah.”
Now that I thought about it, I’d completed the entrance ceremony properly, but my abnormal condition hadn’t been lifted. I’d been thinking about graduating, achieving success, and bringing Mother to the Capital, but first I wanted to confirm whether that cursed time limit had disappeared.

Evan Laef
Status: Blessing of Ursh
Experience: 100
R) Beast Charisma lv.1 – 1,000 until next level
N) Horsemanship lv.10
N) Mining lv.8 – 800 until next level
N) Cold Resistance lv.3 – 300 until next level
N) Poison Tolerance lv.1 – 100 until next level
L) Smooth Talking
EX) Do Whatever It Takes to Survive

Mitchell Neftis
Status: Blessing of Ursh
Experience: 1,602
R) Ice Projectile Magic lv.2 – 2,000 until next level
R) Accuracy lv.1 – 1,000 until next level
R) Superhuman lv.1 – 1,000 until next level
UR) Fusion

Well, both of them have properly disappeared. This blasted system window—could you at least inform me of important things in a timely manner? Every single time, you just blast useless notifications into my ears.

The Twilight has been updated. Failure to secure the top rank of the first semester midterm examination in the Magic Department results in death. D-59.

You absolute bastard.

Throughout the entrance ceremony, I stared blankly at the deadline details in my status window. First in the department? Top of the year? Not the kind of “first” that meant collecting stones, but the kind that meant ranking number one?
All things considered, the missions I’d faced so far had been manageable. To escape execution, I just had to beg the Emperor. To enter the Academy, it was simply a matter of “let me try gathering a hundred million once!” and it was done.
But now I had to rank first in the department. If it were a place with only practical exams, that would be one thing, but to rank first in a place where liberal arts and written tests existed?
It was impossible. I couldn’t do it even if I died. Let me emphasize again—I was a blockhead.
I just breathed heavily and stared blankly ahead. When others clapped, I clapped. When they stood, I stood. I shuffled out of the ceremony hall and trudged along. Then I tripped over something and tumbled forward—it seemed Reina had deliberately stuck out her foot.
“Geez, you’re really dumb.”
Reina laughed heartily at me and left. Then, after all the students had exited the hall, she came rushing back, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me.
“Friend, snap out of it! Are you hurt anywhere? Want to go to the Infirmary?”
If you were going to worry, you shouldn’t have tripped me in the first place, you crazy girl. I was too exhausted to even be angry, so I just swayed along as Reina shook me. Then, with surprising strength, she hoisted me onto her back and bounded toward the Magic Department’s Infirmary, saying she’d already scouted the location.
“Lie down here. I’ll bring whatever you need.”
Reina threw me onto a bed, slapped a cooling patch on my forehead, explained to the Infirmary staff that her friend wasn’t feeling well, and rushed off.
The girl was more capable than I expected. Of course, in the novel, Reina was a reliable colleague and the dependable older sister type… but I really hoped she’d drop this act and just live as her true self. At this rate, she’d be buried under blankets in a few years. Most of all, having to deal with her was annoying.
“Friend! I brought your schedule! The professor looks really kind!”
If there was anyone in the Magic Department who looked kind, it had to be that person. If I was lucky, maybe Reina would learn the valuable lesson that you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance alone.
I still hadn’t regained my senses and accepted the schedule with my mouth hanging open. The Magic Department predetermined which lectures each year had to take, so schedules were simply distributed without course registration. Fourth-year students had set schedules because they mainly focused on practical training and monster subjugation, while first-year students had no choice—mandatory liberal arts courses were packed in. The only years where you could pick and choose electives were second and third year.
“Sigh…”
There probably was one. There had to be one.
I scanned through Practical Magic, Combat Training, Ethics and Etiquette, and Criminal Law, and eventually I found it. Calculus. There was calculus.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you also, like, find the volume of cylinders using integrals and stuff?”
“That’s just the basics. Everyone learns that as a kid.”
Mitchell had barely survived, I was a blockhead, and the children of the wealthy in this world had absurdly high educational standards. Why on earth would humans diligently learn to find the volume of a cylinder using integrals? My head ached. If I were ranking first in the back, I’d be really confident.
“The first class takes attendance too, so come once you feel better. Don’t forget to leave the Infirmary at a different time than me. Don’t forget to sit far away from me! I deliberately left early today to make sure our paths didn’t cross during the ceremony! Give me some credit!”
She’d noticed.
Really… if only she’d drop that act, she’d actually be a great person. Who turned Reina Letem into this? Did her family make her this way? But if that’s the case, what about Reina’s personality as described in the novel? Seeing how kind she is, it seems her true nature really does match what was written. So if there are differences from the novel or variables… it’s me. Surely I’m not the cause, right? That can’t be. Anyway, it’s not my fault.
I stood up cheerfully, grabbed my schedule, and headed toward the calculus lecture hall. She said to leave at a different time, but what do I care? I don’t listen to people weaker than me.
Actually, I’d muttered a small “Hello” when I saw Reina before, and the words came out properly. That means Reina is currently stronger than me. This damned automatic combat power meter. But I decided to just live anyway. If I died from status abnormalities, so be it—I had no desire to respect that girl.
Just in case, perhaps, one in a million chance. Maybe if I listened to lectures and studied hard, I could manage some decent scores? So I received the course syllabus and read it carefully. The top ranking wasn’t determined by averaging grades across the entire semester including assignments. Instead, there was just one test, and the results would be announced. If I studied desperately, couldn’t I at least manage to pull off acting like a decent person? That was the dream I had.

The Magic Department was such a den of lunatics that there were restrictions on entering the Academic Department and Combat Techniques Department grounds. If a mage entered another department’s grounds without permission, they’d be reported. They’d lose points and get demerits at the Dormitory. Because so many troublemakers gathered there, the Academy had implemented strict measures.
Only those who achieved high scores on the midterm exam of this first year, first semester would be selected as excellent students capable of normal social interaction and rational thinking, earning the qualification to exchange with other departments. It wasn’t for nothing that Criminal Law and Ethics and Etiquette were included in the curriculum. Moreover, these subjects carried considerable credit weight.
The Department of Magic was such a den of crazy people that there were restrictions on entering the Academic Department and Combat Techniques Department grounds. If a mage entered another department’s area without a permit, they would be reported. They’d lose grade points and receive demerits at the Dormitory as well. It was a strict measure put in place by the Academy because so many troublemakers were concentrated in that department.
Only those who achieve high scores on this first-year, first-semester midterm exam are selected as excellent students capable of normal social interaction and rational thinking, and are qualified to exchange with other departments. It was no coincidence that criminal law, ethics, and etiquette were included in the curriculum. In fact, these subjects were allocated a considerable number of credits.

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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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