Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 23

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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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“P-Professor!”
I steeled myself for another fainting spell today and retrieved my counter device, when Little Shiny Stalker raised her hand frantically and stammered in confusion.
“Um, um, magic, two of them…, a, a person.”
This stalker possessed two magical skills when most could barely acquire one?
Contrary to appearances, her impressive credentials sparked whispers among the other students and me. The professor handed over the attendance roster and approached the female student.
“Only Sharpen is recorded here. Could you tell me the others?”
Sharpen—a magic that hones objects to razor sharpness? That explained why those scissors earlier were so lethally sharp. At first glance, it seemed like merely a skill for sharpening blades, hardly worthy of being called magic. But if it could be applied to roadside pebbles or twigs, it became remarkably practical.
Anything you could hold in your hand could become a weapon? Absolutely deserving of magical classification.
In the original story, the Academy truly lost a talented individual. Pondering this, I strained to catch the hushed conversation between the professor and the stalker. I’d be taking a practical exam later anyway, so knowing the opponent’s arsenal would prove useful. Besides, in the original story, this person had already retired before the second semester even began. Information was always valuable.
“Sh-Sharpen and, poison combination….”
Little Shiny Stalker, why do you only possess such lethal magic? Were you raised in an assassination family? Did your ancestors pass down skills through the maternal line across generations?
But this is perfect timing! Poison combination, you said?! You definitely said poison combination just now! Then you’re exactly the talent I desperately need right now?
“For this class, use only Sharpen. Rest the other magic for now, then submit a separate report on it later.”
Oh, Little Shiny Stalker, come here for a moment. Let’s become friends starting today.
“Friends.”
“Huh, huh?”
“What’s your name?”
“Uh, uh?”
I approached Little Shiny Stalker in a friendly manner and linked arms with her. The small stalker, having finished her conversation with the professor, nestled perfectly into my embrace. Little Shiny Stalker trembled at her shoulders, hesitated, and finally managed to tell me her name.
“K-Kanna. My name is Kanna Sabah.”
“So our friend’s name is Kanna Sabah. That’s truly beautiful.”
“Skill! Flame!”
“Skill! Ice Projectile!”
What is this crazy bastard doing again?!
I clicked my counter device and cast magic to block Reina’s attack. This lunatic was determined to fill up her count against me, hurling fireballs indiscriminately, while I continuously clicked and hurled ice projectiles.
“Skill! Flame…! Cough, cough, hack!”
“I won!”
You, who start from scratch by cultivating flames, could never defeat me in a war of attrition when I’m using tricks! Reina exhausted her mental power, coughing and spitting blood. I deliberately taunted her by creating an ice prison around her with ice spears, clicking my counter device repeatedly with glee.
Our raw power was comparable, but my maximum magical capacity easily exceeded hers by twofold. Deeply shocked by this, Reina didn’t even attempt to escape the ice prison, merely spitting blood. I found it exhilarating and laughed with wicked delight, clicking my counter device for the fiftieth time when the Department Head Professor, who had been silent, approached me.
“Evan Laef.”
“Yes?”
“Remove the ring on your hand and try again.”
“….”
“….”
How did he know?
Using Neftis’s heirloom to skip the intermediate process of magic and simply freeze and throw—there was no way for an opponent to detect this unless I revealed it myself. Not unless they summoned the Oracle of Destiny itself.
I wondered how the Department Head Professor, who was so remarkably impressive and absurdly powerful, could even appraise skills. When I asked how he knew, the middle-aged man began with “Ma…” and then stood with his mouth open, thinking for a long moment before finally continuing after fifteen seconds.
“I have a Magic Appraisal skill.”
“Ugh!”
“This is practice to understand your limits, so no shortcuts. It won’t help your growth otherwise.”
There was no arguing against such sound logic. This wasn’t a life-or-death battle, and as a student, I needed to reveal my hand to some degree if I wanted to aim for growth. Besides, if my mental fortitude improved, that was good for me. And there was always the possibility that Neftis’s heirloom could break—I hadn’t gently dropped it into the Sea; I’d just tied it to a weight and sunk it. What if some passing whale happened to swallow it?
I had no choice but to remove the ring and use my Ice Projectile skill. My mental fortitude drained rapidly. After casting magic over fifty times already, I could feel that one more spell would bring me to my limit.
“Cough! Hack!”
“I’ll need to measure Evan and Kanna separately, side by side.”
At the Practical Magic Professor’s instruction for them to measure together while watching each other, Kanna’s face brightened. And I, in commemoration of reaching my limit, collapsed onto the floor.
“H-Evan? Evan!”
“Student! Evan! We’re moving Evan to the Infirmary!”
I’d expected it, but here we were again. So why, exactly, do other students cough blood and remain conscious while I pass out every time?
As I lay there deeply aggrieved, the Department Head Professor stepped in, hoisted me onto his shoulder like cargo, and instructed the class to continue.
I was deeply upset, but the Department Head Professor stepped in, hoisted me up like a piece of baggage onto his shoulder, and instructed the class to continue.

I was about to get up once I’d regained my senses, but the Department Head Professor who’d carried me here was explaining to the Infirmary staff why I’d been brought in. The middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes—utterly unremarkable—started to say “Ma…” before raising his hand and striking the staff member across the head.
“Sleep.”
He must have found it too bothersome to explain.
The Department Head neatly seated the forcibly sedated staff member in a chair and approached the bed where I lay. I tried to play dead out of fear, but the man either already knew I was awake or didn’t care—he launched into his explanation anyway.
“I’ve seen types like you before. Collapsing when your mental fortitude depletes is overload.”
“…”
“Usually it’s because you have far too many skills, or you’re dual-core.”
“…”
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, sir!”
Fearing he’d slap me awake if I didn’t respond, I answered quickly and knelt on the bed.
I was afraid she might slap my cheek or shake me awake, so I quickly answered and knelt on the bed.

◇ ◆ ◇

Kanna Sabah bolted the moment Practical Magic Professor’s class ended. For the first time in her life, someone had called her a friend—and that person was in the Infirmary. According to plan, she would have bought Evan Laef’s favorite fruit and visited calmly with a get-well gift, but circumstances had changed.
Reina Letem, who not only lingered annoyingly around Evan but also shared a dorm room with her, was the reason Kanna needed to hurry.
“Hey, you—get out of here. You’re heading to the Infirmary, aren’t you? Evan won’t like seeing you. She’s dying of illness; why would she want to see that gloomy face of yours?”
“B-but Evan dislikes… loud… n-noises… even m-more.”
“What do you know about Evan!”
Evan truly despised this trait of Reina’s. Kanna genuinely pitied Evan for being forced into a double room by the countess’s daughter, and her eyes gleamed with determination.
If someone asked what I knew about Evan, it was only natural to answer.
“Evan Laef, female, eighteen years old, birthday July seventh, one hundred sixty-two centimeters tall, fifty-two kilograms, measurements thirty-two, twenty-six, twenty-nine from top to bottom, from Ilam, mother Eleanor Laef also from Ilam but no address change records from birth until six months ago, presumed to have wandered with her mother, possesses numerous skills besides ice throwing, favorite food is tuna, specifically bluefin tuna, favorite fruit is yellow peach.”
“What the—this is infuriating!”
Reina, whose purple hair made her look like a pouting pufferfish, genuinely irritated, leaped backward to create distance and scratched her arms frantically. It bothered her that I was rattling off Evan’s profile, but what truly grated was that someone who had stammered throughout our entire acquaintance suddenly spoke fluently—like water flowing—whenever discussing Evan.
“Th-this is… j-just… an occupational h-habit.”
“It’s infuriating!”
Occupational habits couldn’t be helped—without proper presentations and reports, I couldn’t make a living. I had plenty to protest, but I swallowed my words and dashed toward the Infirmary. Dwelling on the subject would only be troublesome.
My family was so renowned in the industry that the organization name of our retainers had become the etymology of the profession itself. If Evan discovered this, she might find it distasteful. Of course, Evan wasn’t the type to harbor prejudice based on occupation, but still—I wanted to keep it secret for as long as possible.
Evan was precious to me. Though we’d known each other less than a month, she was undeniably precious. After all, Evan was the second person to treat me kindly without expecting anything in return, and the first person to call me a friend.
My father once told me: there’s no one in this world who will love a hopeless wretch like you unconditionally. If such a person exists, they’re genuinely good-hearted—so either make them your friend or marry them.
Following that advice, I initially watched for opportunities to trip up Professor Heinrich, since he was the first man to show me unconditional kindness after I left home. Believing such a person would never appear again, I investigated and followed him around, but along the way, I met Evan.
Evan also showed me unconditional kindness—she even gave me bone-deep advice that one shouldn’t do things others dislike, and she called me beautiful despite being the family’s shame and a failure.
That’s when I realized: what Professor Heinrich had given me was common kindness anyone could offer. Evan was undoubtedly the one with whom I could build genuine affection. So I changed my target.
Following Evan’s advice, I cut my own bangs, and when Evan used her own scissors to hold my face and carefully trimmed my hair, my heart began racing in a way that didn’t feel like the friendship I’d imagined—but regardless, I was secretly exhilarated.

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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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