SUP Chapter 32: Awesome! Cursed Again!

Chalk dust hung suspended in the classroom air. Outside, a bird’s shadow was pinned to the curtain, and even the sunlight had stopped flowing. This was some kind of ability belonging to Tessa, the reaper.

But Ian only caught a whiff of that pleasant fragrance.

He saw no figure.

“Hide and seek? Not my game.”

As Ian glanced around.

“It’s been nearly a day, and I feel like you’re not even a bit anxious?” Tessa frowned, stepping through the frozen teacher’s body from behind the podium.

She seemed to have changed outfits today, still all black, but now in glossy leather jacket and pants. Ian couldn’t help but wonder if a species like a reaper could even fart.

“Hm?”

Tessa sensed Ian’s odd stare.

“Who said I haven’t done anything? I’ve prepared a brilliant plan, want to know what it is?” Ian cautiously probed the female reaper.

“Hm?”

Tessa’s frown deepened.

“You think I’m watching you every second? Don’t be so narcissistic, kid,” she said, her tone sharp, but Ian’s smile instantly brightened.

“You’re right, I figured as much,” Ian said, his smile radiant, a true sunny, cheerful boy. But Tessa’s frown only grew more severe.

“I didn’t expect going to class to be more important than your father’s life. How should I put it, you’re a very dedicated student?” Tessa’s tone carried clear exasperation.

She glanced around. The physics teacher’s mouth was stuck forming the “Fl= Fl” shape, poor guy unaware that something defying physics was happening right now.

“It’s part of the plan,” Ian said, blinking.

“What plan?”

Tessa’s eyes narrowed. Like she’d learned teleportation from some evil spirit, she appeared right in front of Ian with a whoosh, without stirring a single breeze.

“I can’t tell you, that’s part of the plan too. Trust me, I really have a plan, but if I tell you, it might not work,” Ian said, tossing out a Three-Body Problem reference, though no one, moving or frozen, would likely get his humor or terrible pun.

“If you still want to save your father, you’d better hurry,” Tessa said, opting not to press further, instead demonstrating what a proper threat looked like.

“Maybe you could offer some help? You know… I’m just an ordinary person,” Ian said, not playing the victim, fully aware of his own strength.

Tessa frowned again at his words.

“What’s that got to do with me? You think I care?” She looked mildly annoyed, arms crossed, exuding a delinquent vibe, like a “keep out” sign.

“If it really had nothing to do with you,” Ian said, his fingertips lightly tapping the desk, his tone certain as he stated the fact he’d deduced, “you wouldn’t be here.”

Uncovering such secrets didn’t require profound insight.

“…”

Tessa fell silent, and the classroom’s temperature plummeted, perhaps influenced by her mood. Just as the tension reached its peak.

“You sly little brat, you win,” Tessa said, shaking her head as if nursing a headache. Her concession made Ian increasingly convinced he might truly be the Metropolis Gambling God.

The boy gave himself a mental thumbs-up.

“Why not start with yesterday’s plane crash? Your father hasn’t failed in a long time, has he?” Tessa offered a hint.

“Metropolis General Hospital, right?” Ian responded quickly, aligning with his earlier thoughts. Maybe he had the makings of a Metropolis detective.

“Hm.”

Tessa’s eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly.

“Looks like you’ve done some investigation and research.”

Her tone softened considerably, confirming she wasn’t constantly monitoring Ian’s progress. Fair enough, reapers must have plenty of business to handle.

“I told you, I have a plan,” Ian emphasized again. As he prepared to ask for more clues, he suddenly saw Tessa raise a slender finger.

“Let me save you some time to execute your plan,” she said. The pale-skinned woman snapped her fingers, and the black-and-white frozen world peeled away like a torn canvas.

Ian felt the world spin. When his vision cleared, the smell of disinfectant flooded his nose. Under the stark white lights, the large sign reading “Metropolis General Hospital” hung before him, rainwater puddles reflecting their figures, the world somehow restored to color.

But time still seemed frozen.

Ian looked at Tessa’s hand in surprise. No gems, no Infinity Gauntlet, yet a single snap had reshaped the world.

“Is this a reaper’s power?”

Ian knew little about this peculiar species, only that reapers existed in the old American show Supernatural, which made him realize what his [Death Knight Kin] status might mean.

“If you want to be a reaper, I can submit your application, the early-hire kind,” Tessa said, clearly exasperated by the curious boy.

Her tone carried a hint of veiled irritation.

“Calm down, no need to panic,” Ian said, looking up at the hospital building’s name, lost in thought, prompting another question from Tessa.

“What are you staring at?”

She tilted her head, puzzled.

“I think the hospital’s name isn’t great,” Ian replied.

“???”

Tessa took a deep breath.

“If I ever feel like running for mayor, I’d definitely rename this place Metropolis First People’s Hospital…” Ian rambled on.

“Stop!”

Tessa couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Has anyone ever told you your brain might have issues?” The woman, who prided herself on her patience and refinement, was losing it, even starting to regret her choice.

“Yeah, I’ve got a doctor’s note to prove it,” Ian said, rummaging through his school uniform and pulling out a crumpled diagnosis sheet, originally kept with the meds in the living room drawer.

The pills were gone, but the proof remained.

“??????”

Tessa was ready to return him.

“Hurry up.”

She took a few more deep breaths.

“This is the only help I’ll give you from now on.”

With that, like she was rushing to clock out, she poked Ian’s forehead sharply. Before he could react, the female reaper vanished completely.

The next moment, the world roared back to life. Ambulance sirens, gurney wheels, and medics’ shouts flooded his ears. Despite the bustling crowd around him, Ian noticed.

No one seemed to see the boy who appeared out of nowhere.

[Temporary Curse: For the next 24 hours, you are immune to death.]

On his status bar.

A clear icon flashed.

A seemingly negative status with a positive effect.

The outrageous ability made Ian nearly unable to resist slashing himself twice on the spot.

[NEXT CHAPTER]