Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 52

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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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A strong and vigorous morning!
I snapped awake thirty seconds before 4 AM, decisively silencing my alarm, and splashed my face with bracing water. After braiding my hair neatly and throwing on my jacket, I stepped out of my room only to collide with Hubert returning from his night shift.
“Mother, are you heading out already?”
“You seem quite drowsy. I am not your mother.”
“Oh, my apologies, Evan Laef.”
Half-asleep mistakes happen. I graciously accepted Hubert’s apology and retrieved my harpoon. Though I was heading out to hunt squid today, something felt incomplete without the weapon in my hands.
“You don’t have to repay that money, you know.”
“That’s impossible. The closer the relationship, the more important it is to keep financial matters clear.”
“Father must appreciate that about you, Evan Laef.”
“Gerth has always been rather principled.”
“Shall I give you a ride?”
“No. I’ll run there and use it as skill training.”
Even without investing skill points, daily training could accelerate skill level progression. As the saying goes, little by little builds mountains—steady accumulation yields visible results. Much like how I performed morning exercises every day and received a one-point improvement in my grades at semester’s end.
“Hehe, forgive me for saying this, but I’m genuinely happy living with you, Evan Laef.”
“I find it pleasant too. Though the commute to work has become somewhat inconvenient.”
“Then perhaps I really should give you a ride….”
“It’s fine.”
I exchanged morning pleasantries with Hubert and leaped out the window. Creating a couple of massive ice pillars as makeshift steps, I bounded down them and reached the Tower’s main gate in no time.
“Your Majesty the Serpent King’s Consort, had you called, I would have climbed the rope immediately.”
“I am not the Serpent King’s Consort.”
I greeted the Spider Woman Lakne with a morning salute and stretched diligently before beginning my run.
“Are you really going to catch squid?”
“There’s no such thing as pretending to catch squid.”
“You’ve certainly met the Serpent King well, Evan Laef.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Please prepare breakfast for White One.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare fresh meat.”
After telling Lakne, who was sweeping in front of the Serpent King’s Tower’s main gate, that I’d see her later, I began running lightly, gradually increasing my pace.
The terrain was uneven, which made the journey to the Harbor take longer than expected. I wished I had Hubert’s talent for leaping through trees, but my current abilities didn’t permit it. A skill that ignored terrain would certainly be convenient.
“Hey! Isn’t that Evan Laef!”
Sailors preparing to set sail recognized me. Just in case Thomas was taking the day off or lacked squid-fishing equipment, I exchanged a few words, considering where else I might impose. But from the distance, Uncle Thomas came rushing over and positioned himself between me and another ship’s captain.
“Evan Laef is ours! Don’t even think about it!”
Earlier he’d told me not to come because Mother would beat him to death, yet here you are, enslaved by capitalism just like everyone else. Still, seeing you out here at dawn means you’re heading out for squid too.
“Uncle, squid?”
“That’s right. Squid.”
If it was the right season, nets would haul up squid by the bucketful—an opportunity no fisherman could afford to miss.
“Say, you have that ice thing, right?”
“I can butcher them at sea. If we’re lucky, we can sell them as live catch.”
“Yes!”
A live squid was naturally more valuable than a dead one. The old man grinned, saying he’d make a fortune thanks to me, and ushered me aboard his boat that gleamed brilliantly with mana stones, treating me like an honored guest.
Squid-fishing boats all looked the same whether here or there. The difference was that one used light bulbs while this one used mana stone mines, but otherwise they were identical.
“Let’s go! Evan! Your detection skill is still intact, right?”
“There’s a slight problem with that.”
Since my detection skill had fused with the vitality skill to become a superhuman skill, it remained uncertain whether I could locate schools of fish as precisely as before.
“Let’s set sail first. If you can’t do it, then it’s time to show off a fisherman’s instincts.”
That’s right. The old man had spent half his life catching fish—if he couldn’t find the right spot to cast his nets without my skill alone, he’d have to turn in his fisherman’s credentials.
“Hey! Raise the anchor, we’re setting out! Evan’s with us today!”
“Is Evan already on break from school?”
“Don’t talk about school! You didn’t get into fights with the nobility, did you?”
“That must be a school uniform! The color’s completely different from the rags we wear!”
“Shut your mouths and get to work! You’ll have plenty of time to chat after we’re done!”
With Thomas barking orders, the crew members fell into their roles, and I stood at the bow, concentrating with my superhuman skill. If the superhuman skill was a fusion of detection and vitality, then at least some of those abilities should have been inherited.
“….”
I couldn’t quite tell. With the detection skill, I could pinpoint exactly how many meters away my target was, but now I couldn’t be certain.
“Perhaps…, if we head to the port side, something might show up.”
“Port side, you say? Got it! Everyone hear that!”
No, it’s just a hunch, so if they blindly trust me like this and I’m wrong, it’ll be embarrassing.

N) Premonition lv.1 skill has been created.

“….”
Hmm, I guess I have no choice but to invest in this.
To avoid future embarrassment, I opened my status window. I expected the skill to appear on Evan’s side, but strangely it was added to Mitchell’s instead. Was it because this skill was more compatible with Mitchell in terms of synergy? I still didn’t understand the criteria the status window used for assigning skills.
In any case, Mitchell’s side didn’t have any urgent skills needed right now, so I invested all my experience points into Premonition. I was hoping that if the skill reached max level, it might convert to a higher-tier skill or trigger a fusion.
Or perhaps it wasn’t just hope. I had a strange premonition about it.
…, this Premonition skill—isn’t it actually quite useful? With just this, couldn’t I avoid danger and make the best choices?

Mitchell Neftis
Status: Blessing of Ursh
Experience: 202
R) Ice Throw Magic lv.3 – 3,000 until next level
R) Accuracy lv.1 – 1,000 until next level
R) Superhuman lv.1 – 892 until next level
N) Premonition lv.6 – 600 until next level
UR) Fusion

Now I’m getting greedy again, wondering if there’s a way to shift the plot. What could I possibly do in the near future to change the course of events? First, if I can keep the Dragon King docile through Gerth, I might be able to prevent Eugene from dropping out of the Academy.
“Evan! Lowering the nets!”
“Coming now!”
I set down the harpoon and joined in the manual labor. Though we used pulleys, ultimately the nets still depended on human strength to spread and haul. I continued working, finding strange joy in the screams of my muscles being pushed to their limits. Destroy the muscle fibers thoroughly, rest well, and they grow back stronger. More muscle means more power, and muscle building is the shortcut to increasing weight class. Once I get home, I’ll need to eat massive amounts of protein.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! A bountiful catch! A bountiful catch!”
“Now that’s something to look forward to, Captain! The bonus today should be decent!”
Fortunately, adjusting the route based on my hunch about leveling up, I managed to find a school of squid. Thomas, who brought the squid alive all the way to the Harbor using my ice, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He borrowed a hand cart, filled a tank with squid, and told Mother, Titi, and me to have a squid party together.
“Oh right, Evan.”
“What is it?”
“Your house burned down, didn’t it?”
“You’re asking that now?”
“Well, I was too busy catching up since it’s been so long.”
“I have something I want to ask too.”
Uncle, did you happen to set our house on fire? I asked him directly to the point.
“Are you the arsonist?”
“I didn’t set the fire, damn it!”
“I didn’t ask if you were an arsonist, so why are you denying being the one who set the fire? Typical.”
“Based on the circumstances and context, it’s the only way to interpret it! Why are you leading me like this?”
Uncle, shuddering at the memory of old times and telling me not to bring it up, muttered about how the Crowell Coast Guard had a genius talent for framing innocent people, then pushed the hand cart from behind.
“But where did you, your mother, and Titi sleep yesterday? Without a house and all.”
“At a friend’s place.”
“Do you have just one or two friends in Ilam?”
“The friend lives outside of Ilam.”
“Ah, is that so? Must be far then. Want me to push you there?”
“It’s not hard work, but having someone to talk to makes it less boring. Thanks.”
“You really do speak strangely.”
As if this was something new. When I replied like that, Uncle laughed heartily, saying I had a point, and we headed toward the Deep Forest. After walking about thirty minutes past my house—now nothing but ashes—Uncle said the friend’s place was quite far, and when giant beasts began appearing around us, he asked what exactly my friend did. Since he’d find out anyway once we reached the Serpent King’s Tower, I told him my friend was Gerth, the Serpent King. Uncle said the name was quite unusual.
Certainly, in Ilam where names like Thomas and Eleanor were everywhere, suddenly hearing Gerth and Hubert would feel out of place. I nodded and told him that house wasn’t unique just in name, but the entire world around it was peculiar. Uncle relaxed his guard and put more strength into pushing the hand cart.

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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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