Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Appearing Window
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Suddenly, something popped up in the corner of my vision.
It was something impossible to explain with any concept or phenomenon from this world.
Even the erudite masters of the magic tower wouldn't fare much better.
If I asked Sir Meltas or Miss Didoa about it, I'd probably just get a puzzled head tilt.
In that sense, my memories from my past life were a huge help in moments like this.
They provided ways of thinking, perspectives, and experiences that no one in this world could ever have.
I recognized what it was at a glance.
"Window...?"
To be honest.
I'm weak when it comes to numbers.
As a kid, I nearly lost my mind memorizing multiplication tables, and once equations started mixing in those squiggly variables, I had to burn my innate energy just to learn them.
Through the lens of my pitiful mathematical knowledge, it was a chaotic jumble of numbers with no visible rules or formulas.
Normally, I'd never figure out the meaning hidden inside in my entire life.
However—
"Uh uh uh..."
The numbers started to change.
No.
They began to flow.
Following a straightforward, simple rule.
Even a number dunce like me could spot it instantly.
That shifting array of numbers represented time.
Remaining time.
In other words, the window was a sort of timer displaying how much time was left.
"Seconds... minutes... hours... days... and... weeks...?"
According to the timer, roughly 43 weeks remained until it hit zero.
And—
...
That was it.
The window merely informed me of the remaining time; it didn't say what happened when it all ran out.
That was what drove a person insane.
Because humans are animals that extract anxiety from finite time.
That anxiety guided me to a single possibility.
The most iconic concept tied to limited time.
"...No way."
I tried desperately to deny it, but nothing else came to mind.
Lately, there had been far too many suspicious incidents.
Sudden ability awakenings.
Rapid growth.
The fatigue and strain building up in my body as a result.
That otherworldly realm where I'd boldly overloaded and gobbled it up.
"...This isn't my remaining lifespan, is it?"
Yeah.
It doesn't make sense.
A window popping up out of nowhere to tell me my remaining lifespan.
And less than a year, no less.
I nodded vigorously, my face screaming utter impossibility.
Proof that my internal happy circuits were spinning at full speed.
Happy circuits are powerful enough as a hobby to derail entire lives with groundless optimism.
One more line can't hurt, right?
No.
My life won't go to hell over this, right?
It will.
I won't die over this, right?
Death.
This time, I was pinning my hopes on that power.
Please, save me from the nightmare of a terminal life sentence.
I was shaking off the anxiety with a barrage of stray thoughts when—
...
...
...
...
...
...
"...!"
What the hell.
Of all times, now?
And it's huge.
On par with that time with Gerhen.
Maybe even bigger.
"Pfft...!"
I felt lukewarm liquid leaking from every orifice on my face.
Blood, probably. My condition right now was a race against time.
And yet, what was I thinking?
My first instinct in this moment was to check the window.
No need to diligently compare to before.
The biggest digit had vanished entirely.
"Ah, damn it."
An intense headache crashed over me.
I could declare with certainty: this wasn't from overload.
My body wrecked from the overload.
And the timer shrinking in response.
That confirmed it.
The window was linked to my lifespan.
In other words.
My remaining lifespan was less than a year.
My mind reeled at the brutally short reality.
A horrific sense of powerlessness sank into my body like quicksand, dominating every inch.
"...Cough!"
Still, what needed doing, I had to do.
Better to live a full year than drop dead right now.
I gathered the mana rampaging inside me with blue breathing.
"Cough—...! Hooo... Uuuph...! Hooo..."
I'd gotten the knack for this after a few tries, but it wasn't easy.
I thought it was on par with Gerhen's time, but actually doing it, it was worse than then.
Back then, it was tough due to lack of know-how for handling overload; now, it was purely the insane scale of the overload (mana surge) making it unmanageable.
Suddenly, I felt unjustly wronged to the point of death.
What kind of sudden acceleration was this?
All I'd done lately was normalize some desert trash demons.
And that caused this mana explosion?
It didn't add up.
Normally, I'd say, "Hey, mana up, all good!"
But knowing this process cheerfully shaved off my lifespan left only pure grievance.
"Hahk...! Hahk...! Hahk...!"
How much time passed like that?
The mana gathering finally ended.
What remained was my body caked in blood and sweat, and the sunset view outside the window.
I'd planned to finish moving prep today and greet the magic tower folks, but it all went to hell.
And above all—
A day of my scant remaining life wasted pointlessly.
"Fuck..."
With that lament, I blacked out right there.
"Quinny! You okay!? Don't die! I'll be sad!"
"...!"
I snapped awake to the chirping voice and first checked outside the window.
A clear morning without a cloud in sight.
But as I gazed at that sky, dark clouds gathered rapidly inside me.
"Slept like a rock, a total honey nap... Wasted a whole damn day..."
Was this really how someone who exploded in growth, rested, and woke to morning reacted?
I felt pathetically miserable anew.
From now on, I'd react like this even in joyful situations.
My life, once brimming with positivity and optimism, ending in bitter pessimism.
I finally got why elders turned grumpy.
"Quinny! You okay!? Hurt anywhere!? You're bleeding, it hurts!"
Then, a chirp from my feet.
A little girl who looked made of translucent sand stared up at me with big, round eyes.
Berbandes.
I patted her head.
"I'm fine. Just a bit rattled that my remaining lifespan is under a year."
"Really!? Good! Nothing serious! Quinny can't hurt! Hurting is hard!"
"That's pretty philosophical."
Just like how I'd grasped why elders get grumpy,
I now understood why they go soft for little kids.
Watching the tiny girl chirp away, oblivious to worldly woes, made my pessimistic self feel out of place.
"...Yeah."
I straightened my resolve.
Lifespan running short?
All the more reason to shun pessimism and embrace optimism.
No chance for regrets later.
"..."
In that instant, I felt a profound fullness filling me.
Was this enlightenment?
Now I knew.
For humans, it wasn't about living long.
It was about how you live.
True meaning lay there.
I let go of everything yet embraced it all, checking my remaining lifespan with a clear mind.
To plan the most valuable way to spend my dwindling life.
"?"
Huh.
Why'd the lifespan come back?
And longer than when I first saw it?
"...Nice?"
I felt my lips twitch upward.
Yeah.
How you live? Whatever.
In the end, for humans, living long is king.
Even rolling in shit, this life beats the next—that's why the saying exists.
Motivation surged.
"Planning how to live remaining life meaningfully" paled next to the fun idea that popped up.
"Planning how to extend remaining life."
I sat at my desk, reviewing memories.
I jotted down notable parts from the process.
Title: Wait, wtf is this timer?
Pushed Kehlin and suddenly a timer pops up
This isn't a bomb collar on my character's neck, right?
Progress.
In planning how to extend my life, I uncovered the key "lifespan extension mechanism."
Somehow, another timely mana surge provided it.
Another overload.
Another mana growth.
And another lifespan extension.
This proved my remaining lifespan was tied to my mana.
Unstable mana from overloads shortens it, but refined mana integrated into my body extends it.
A brutally honest mechanism.
And a desperately hopeless one.
Yesterday.
When I was still lingering in the mid-5th rank, 43 weeks remained.
Now, reaching early 6th rank via repeated mana fits,
53 weeks left.
The infamous 6th rank wall stumps countless lifetimes.
Crossed it, and only 10 weeks gained.
Such inefficiency.
...But.
As those around me often note, my constitution is somewhat abnormal.
Mana surges from normalizing evil auras or villains.
And intermittent sudden mana blasts from unknown causes.
I've teetered on death's edge multiple times from mana overflowing, not lacking.
So, maybe it's possible.
"Live long enough to shit on that wall...!"
53 weeks left now.
About a year.
Way too far to go.
I'm the type who needs grandkids' grandkids to die content—no regrets without.
If possible, chase immortality via mana somehow.
So—no time to slack.
I bolted up immediately.
"Normalization... give me normalization targets..."
I left my lodgings to hunt normalization fodder.
They say humans don't appreciate the obvious.
I was realizing that meaning.
"Where are you... my black mage buddies..."
Normalization targets.
Evil villains.
Until now, they rolled in on their own, got normalized, and dumped mana—more hassle than help.
I thought whenever I wanted, I could find them and chase eternal life.
Hubris, apparently.
Last few days.
I roamed Bndale ceaselessly, hunting "异質 energy."
Zero results.
Makes sense, thinking about it.
If elite scum like black mages littered the city, this world would've faced doom long ago.
This world was peaceful.
Despairingly so.
"Ha..."
Another fruitless return home.
"What day is it...?"
Calendar check: two days till my promised magic tower exit.
Tricky.
Want results before freelancing return.
Balancing job and this? Vision blacks out.
"...Come to think, it's unfair."
Boiling resentment.
I glared at the damn window.
Funny now, but I'd desperately wished for that window.
Right after awakening past life memories.
Like isekai protags, fantasized status screens and smooth sailing.
Reality: zilch.
Tried shouting hopefully; predictably, nothing.
I gave up, forgot it entirely.
Now it shows abruptly, drops lifespan bomb, and has me running like a dog.
"If you're gonna do this, at least give other features."
Pouting at the 100% duty no pleasure, a memory surfaced.
-Status window...!?
Back when I first awakened past life memories, that's what I shouted first.
...Probably in some past-life language comprising those memories.
"..."
No way.
Right?
A sudden thought.
I tested it cautiously, in practice.
"Status window...?"
Said aloud for the first time in this world's tongue.
"Ah."
"Don't do me like this, seriously."
Language settings were off.
In my dazed state—
"...Huh?"
One detail caught my eye.
"...What rank is level 53?"
Our party's statuses were off.