After Knox finished his words, I stood in place for a few moments, watching the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon, its golden rays painting a sorrowful canvas across the village sky. His words didn't feel like a passing piece of information—they struck me like a slap, waking me from a deep ignorance.
The workday had ended, and the workers began to disperse. Some headed to the inn, others toward the market or resting areas. As for me, I dragged my feet, each step heavier than the last, a heaviness in my head as if something was trying to form inside. And just as I was preparing to return to the inn, my eyes caught a familiar sight.
Luxian was lying on a thick tree trunk, his head tilted back, hands folded behind it, as if no care in the world could ever reach him. Leaves were scattered around him, and the edge of the sun touched his golden skin like it knew him well.
I called out in a calm voice:
"Luxian, the day's over."
He lazily opened one eye, yawned exaggeratedly, and said without moving:
"I'll go later... It's more comfortable here than those lousy beds at the inn."
I hesitated for a moment, but Nox's words kept circling in my mind like a vortex. I decided to ask him.
"Did you get your unique ability through the Status Window?"
He didn't look at me. Instead, he smirked sarcastically, closed his eyes again, and replied in a mocking tone:
"Yeah, didn't you know?"
I fell silent. I couldn't respond right away. I didn't know if he was mocking me or genuinely surprised.
But then he turned to me suddenly, a real look of surprise on his face this time:
"Wait... You seriously didn't know?"
I said nothing. I just looked at him with a blank expression.
Then he burst into loud, obnoxious laughter—fittingly annoying, just like him—and said between cackles:
"Hahahahahaha! Man, you shock me every time we meet! Even something this basic, you didn't know?! That's amazing!"
My irritation grew—not just at him, but at myself too. How could I be unaware of something this important? Something everyone else seems to know, something they treat as utterly obvious?
I ignored his laughter and stood up. I started walking away without looking back.
He shouted behind me:
"Hey! Where are you going? At least tell me first... how have you stayed alive this long without even knowing about the Status Window?! Hahahahaha!"
With every step I took, his voice faded, until all I could hear was the sound of my footsteps on the path and my own breathing.
…
I entered the inn with heavy steps, not saying a single word. Luxian's laughter still echoed in my ears like a repeated slap—not just because of his mockery, but because he was right. How could I not know something so simple?
Before I could gather my thoughts, the innkeeper appeared at the entrance. As usual, she wore her calm warmth and a soft smile on her face. She spoke in a gentle voice:
"Welcome back. Did you get something to eat?"
But I interrupted her without thinking, as if something inside me had suddenly exploded:
"Aunt Melissa... Do you also have a unique ability through the Status Window?"
Her expression changed quickly. A trace of unease slipped into her eyes, like someone whose secret had been unintentionally exposed. She raised her hand to adjust a stray strand of hair, then said with a faint smile:
"Oh... I forgot to tell you. Yes, I do have a unique ability. I got it through the Status Window."
I fell silent, while her words knocked gently but persistently against my heart—an annoying rhythm that wouldn't stop.
She continued in a lighter tone, almost jokingly:
"The Status Window, yes... it's right here now, floating beside me. You don't see it, do you? But it's here, just above the ground."
She gestured to the empty space next to her, as if she truly saw something invisible—something I didn't have, didn't understand, didn't even know how to reach.
I wanted to say something. I wanted to ask, to understand, to scream even—but my tongue failed me. And before I could find the words, she went on without giving me the chance to interrupt:
"Actually... I'm not the only one here who has a Status Window. My little daughter, Liana, has it too."
I froze in place. Her words hit me like a bolt of lightning, quietly slipping into my core. A ten-year-old child... knows about the Status Window and I don't?
I wanted to laugh, to cry, to release all this pent-up frustration—but nothing came out.
Melissa spoke gently, as if unaware of the wound she'd just opened:
"My unique ability is water manipulation. I can move it, shape it, even freeze it sometimes. As for Liana, her ability is called Shadow Cloning."
I looked at her in stunned silence, while she continued with a proud motherly smile:
"She can make five clones of herself... not as strong as the original, but smart enough to confuse any opponent."
Five clones... a ten-year-old girl... and me? A pen, a phone, five dollars... and zero answers.
Silence hung between us for a few seconds—but they weren't ordinary seconds. They felt like they were stealing something from my soul, from my dignity, which was slowly eroding in this strange world where everyone seems to understand the rules... except me.