Dark Fantasy Normalized - Chapter 78



77 – System

Something suddenly appeared in the corner of my vision.

It was something that couldn’t be explained by any concept or phenomenon in this world.

Even the most learned masters of the magic tower wouldn’t be much different.

If I asked Sir Meltas or Ms. Didoa about it, the answer would likely be a single tilt of their head.

In that regard, my memories from my past life are a great help.

They bring a way of thinking, a perspective, and experiences that people in this world can never have.

I recognized what it was at a glance.

“A window…?”

Something in the shape of a semi-transparent bulletin board attached to the air.

It was clearly a window you’d only see in a game.

In an instant, a myriad of thoughts raced through my mind.

Normally, I would have been lost in deep contemplation, staring blankly for days or even weeks from such a shock.

A window that appeared out of nowhere in my life was that kind of existence.

But – perhaps it’s fortunate.

Because the content implied by the window was so profound, I was able to cleanly forget those thoughts.

[43:05:21:54:55]

I’ll be honest.

I’m bad with numbers.

I almost got possessed by inner demons while learning multiplication tables as a child, and ever since equations started including curly languages, I had to use my innate *qi* just to understand them.

From my sad mathematical perspective, this was a jumbled array of numbers with no rules or formulas apparent.

Normally, I would never have figured out the meaning within.

However-

[43:05:21:54:52]

“Uhhh…”

The numbers began to change.

From noble mtl dot com

[43:05:21:54:47]

No.

[43:05:21:54:43]

It started flowing.

Following honest and simple rules.

Even a number idiot like me could see it at a glance.

That fluctuating array of numbers, it signified time.

The time remaining.

In other words, that window was a kind of timer showing how much time was left.

“Seconds… minutes… hours… days… and… weeks?”

According to the timer, about 43 weeks remained until the remaining time was exhausted.

And—

…that was it.

The window just told me how much time was left, it didn’t say what would happen when that time was completely used up.

That really drove a person crazy.

Because humans are creatures that read anxiety within limited time.

That anxiety led me to one possibility.

To the most symbolic concept that limited time represents.

“…Nah, no way.”

I tried hard to deny that possibility, but no other possibility came to mind.

There had been too many things that could point to it lately.

The sudden manifestation of ability.

Rapid growth.

The fatigue and burden that had accumulated in my body because of it.

The otherworld I’d tasted, scorching hot, during the overload.

“…This, no way it’s my remaining lifespan, right?”

Yeah.

It doesn’t make sense.

That suddenly appearing window, telling me my remaining lifespan.

And that time, not even a year left.

He nodded, jaw working, with an expression that screamed disbelief.

A clear sign his happiness circuits were firing on all cylinders inside.

Those circuits were powerful things, with a penchant for sending people’s lives down the drain with baseless optimism.

Just one more line, right?

Nope.

Surely my life isn’t going to be ruined, is it?

Ruined.

Surely I’m not going to die, am I?

Death.

This time, I’m really counting on that power.

Please, for the love of god, save me from the awful possibility of a terminal illness.

That’s how I was, shaking off the anxiety with a swarm of random thoughts, when it happened.

***

──────────

Select a target for experience distribution.

[Self] , [Jinyoung]

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Failure to select within the time limit will result in automatic distribution.

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…

…

…

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Automatically distributing experience.

Target: Self

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[Level Up!]

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“`

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■Lishir

Level : 39 ＞ 41

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[Reached a specific Level (6th Tier)]

[Perks will be granted]

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…

…

…

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Unspent Experience remains.

Choose the target to allocate Experience.

[Self] , [Faction]

──────────

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If no choice is made within the time limit, a target will be automatically selected.

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***

“…!”

Shit.

Now of all times?

And it’s huge.

Comparable to that Gerhen thing back then.

Maybe even bigger.

“Phuh…!”

I felt lukewarm liquid seeping from every hole in my face.

Probably blood. My current state must be critical.

And yet, what the hell am I thinking?

“`

The very first thing I did amidst all this, was check the window.

[00:00:39:02:12:54:23]

There was no need to painstakingly compare the time with before, to see how much it had decreased.

A whole major digit had vanished in one fell swoop.

“Ah, this is fucked.”

A splitting headache slammed into me.

I can say with certainty, this wasn’t due to overload.

My body was a mess from the overload.

And, as if reacting to that, the timer’s time had decreased.

That confirmed it.

That window was linked to my lifespan.

Meaning.

My remaining lifespan wasn’t even a year.

The shockingly short time made my head spin.

A dreadful sense of powerlessness, like sinking into a swamp, took over my entire body.

“…Cough!”

Still, I had to do what I had to do.

It was better to live even a year longer than die right this instant.

I gathered the mana swirling inside me, as a blue breath.

“Cough-…! Haaah… Ugh…! Haaah…”

You’d think I’d have gotten the hang of this after doing it so many times, but it wasn’t easy.

I’d thought the last time was comparable to when I fought Gerhen, but trying it now, it was way harder than back then.

If it was tough then because I lacked experience dealing with the overload, now it was just purely because the extent of the overload (the increase in magic power) was immense and difficult to bear.

I suddenly felt utterly wronged, like I could die from injustice.

What the hell was this sudden surge?

All I’ve done recently is normalize some low-level desert demons.

And that caused my mana to increase like this?

It doesn’t make sense.

Normally I’d be like ‘Well, it’s good my magic power increased!’, but—

I guess because I know this process is just ripping away at my remaining lifespan, all that’s left is pure, unadulterated indignation.

“Hah…! Hah…! Hah…!”

How much time had passed like that?

The gathering of mana was over.

All that remained was a body soaked in blood and sweat, and the landscape outside the window, now painted with sunset.

I had planned to finish moving today and go greet the folks at the magic tower, but that’s all gone to shit.

And more than anything—

Another day of my dwindling lifespan has been wasted meaninglessly.

“Fuck…”

With that sigh, I promptly lost consciousness.

***

“Master! Are you okay!? You can’t die! I’ll be sad!”

“…!”

The chirping sound brought me back, and the first thing I did was check outside the window.

It was a clear morning without a single cloud.

But, as I looked at that sky, my insides were being consumed by dark clouds by the second.

“Oh, what a lovely, deep, sweet sleep I had… Just completely blew a whole day…”

Is this really the reaction of someone who just rested after explosive growth and woke up in the morning?

I felt utterly miserable all over again.

Now, I’d probably react like this even in the most joyful of situations.

That my life, once full of optimism and positivity, is ending with such a bitter sense of cynicism.

I think I finally understand why the elders are so grumpy.

“Master! Are you okay!? Does it hurt somewhere!? Is it hurting because of the blood!?”

Then, a chirping sound came from my feet.

A little girl, as if made of translucent sand, was looking up at me with bright, sparkling eyes.

Berbandes.

I patted her head.

“It’s okay. I’m just a bit troubled because my remaining lifespan is less than a year.”

“Really!? That’s good! It’s nothing serious! Master can’t be sick! It’s hard if you’re sick!”

“That’s pretty philosophical of you.”

Just like I had realized why the elders are so grumpy a moment ago,

I felt like I understood why old folks were so soft on little kids.

Watching that little girl chirp away like she didn’t have a care in the world, my own pessimistic outlook felt… different.

“…Yeah.”

I got my head straight.

My lifespan’s running out?

Then more than ever, I need to ditch the gloom and embrace the bright side.

There won’t even be a chance to regret it later, you know?

“…”

A feeling of fullness washed over me in that moment.

Was this… enlightenment?

Now I understood.

It wasn’t about living long that mattered for a human.

It was how you lived.

The true meaning lay there.

I let go of everything, but embraced everything, and checked my remaining lifespan.

To plan how to spend the rest of my days in the most precious way.

[51:01:55:42:15]

“?”

Huh.

Why did it come back, my lifespan?

It’s even *longer* than it was when I first saw it?

“…Good?”

I could feel my lip twitching.

Yeah.

Who cares how you live, anyway?

In the end, for humans, living a long time is the best.

There’s a reason they say even rolling in shit is better than death.

My motivation is surging.

Something way more fun than “planning to live out my remaining days meaningfully” is coming to mind.

It’s “planning how to make my remaining life longer!”

I sat at my desk, retracing my memories.

I began to record the notable parts of this whole process.

***

[Title: WTF is with this timer?]

Content: I pushed Kehlin and a timer suddenly popped up,

no way, is my character wearing a bomb collar or something?

-: Nah, it’s not that.

-[OP]: Whew.

-: Dude, it IS a bomb collar.

-[OP]: ?

-: When the time runs out, it’s the world ending.

-[OP]: What the hell, out of nowhere?

-[OP]: Why does pushing a fate quest suddenly start the world’s countdown?

-: It’s not that the countdown suddenly started, it’s that you got closer to fate, and so can now feel its presence – it’s the setting~

-[OP]: This is only 30 weeks left, is there no way to increase it?

-: If there was, this game would have a happy ending, duh.

-: Seeing a dogshit ending because you can’t clear the final area in time VS seeing a slightly-less-dogshit ending because you *do* clear the final area in time

-[OP]: Ah, for fuck’s sake.

***

…

…

…

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Automatically distributing experience.

Target: Self

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***

There was progress.

I figured out the ‘lifespan increasing mechanism’, which is the most important thing for planning how to extend my remaining life.

I don’t know what the hell happened, but anyway, it was thanks to another magical surge that happened just in the nick of time.

Another overload.

Another surge of mana growth.

[53:01:55:42:15]

And another life extension.

This confirmed that my remaining lifespan is tied to my mana.

Unstable mana causing overloads shortens life, but refined mana that becomes part of the body actually extends it.

A truly honest mechanism.

And a despairing one as well.

Yesterday.

When I was still stuck at late 5th tier, my remaining lifespan was 43 weeks.

And now, having reached the early stages of 6th tier thanks to repeated mana surges,

I have 53 weeks left.

The infamous wall of 6th tier is one that countless people never overcome in their entire lives.

I broke through that wall, and it only extended my life by 10 weeks.

It couldn’t be more inefficient.

…But.

Like people around me constantly mention, my constitution is somewhat abnormal.

Mana that grows when I normalize evil energy or villains.

And, the intermittent rapid bursts of mana that occur for unknown reasons.

I’m the guy who’s been on the brink of death multiple times because my mana was both insufficient and overflowing.

So, maybe it’s possible.

‘To live until I’m shitting on the walls…!’

Remaining lifespan, a mere 53 weeks now.

About a year.

I still have a long, long way to go.

Grandchildren? I’m the kind of pathetic person who wants to see great-grandchildren before lying in my coffin without regrets.

If possible, I’d also like to somehow achieve immortality with the power of mana.

So— I didn’t have time to be doing this.

I immediately got up from my seat.

‘Normalize… Please, let me normalize…’

Stepped out of my place to find a normalization target.

***

They say humans don’t appreciate the obvious.

I’m starting to grasp the meaning of those words.

‘Where are you… my warlock friends…’

Targets for normalization.

Those evil b*stards.

Until now, they’d just roll in on their own, get normalized, and dump their magic on me. It was just annoying.

I thought I could find them whenever I wanted and achieve my dream of extending my life, but I guess that was just arrogance.

The last few days.

I’ve been frantically roaming Bondales, searching for ‘anomalous auras.’

Zero results.

Looking back, it’s obvious.

If highly skilled b*stards like warlocks were just scattered all over the city, wouldn’t this world have faced a crisis of destruction a long time ago?

This world was peaceful.

Painfully so.

“Haa…”

Came back to my place empty-handed again today.

‘What day is it today, again…’

Checked the calendar, and it was two days before I promised to leave the magic tower.

I’m screwed.

I wanted to get some results before going back to being a freelancer, my original job.

The thought of having to balance my profession and this whole thing made me feel like my world was turning pitch black.

‘…Thinking about it, it’s so unfair.’

A surge of resentment.

I glared at that damn spear.

Now that I think about it, I desperately wanted that spear.

Back when I first regained my memories of my past life, I mean.

How much did I fantasize about getting a status window and having an easy time of it, just like all those other protagonists who are reincarnated?

But reality was nothing like that.

I called out, just in case, but as expected, nothing happened.

At that point, I gave up on the idea that there would ever be a system or screen in my life, and I lived on, completely forgetting about it.

And now, it’s suddenly appeared, abruptly telling me how much time I have left, and it’s treating me like a dog.

‘If you’re gonna be like this, couldn’t you at least offer some other functions?’

As I sulked, saddled with this pure, 100% joyless responsibility, a memory surfaced.

-Status window…!?

When I first became aware of my past life, that was the first phrase I had uttered.

…Probably, in some language that formed part of my past life’s memories.

“…”

No way.

Could it not be?

A thought suddenly popped into my head.

Carefully, I put the thought into action.

“Status window…?”

For the first time, I spoke those words in this world’s language.

“Ah.”

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■Lishir

Level : 41

Race : Human

Class : ???

──────────

“Don’t do this to me, seriously.”

I messed up the language settings.

My mind was reeling from it all-

“…Huh?”

There was information that caught my eye.

“…Level 53, how many ranks is that?”

From noble mtl dot com

Something was off about my party members’ states.