Chapter 221: The Cost of a Moment

‘Since Fjodra’s gaze just shifted over my right shoulder…!’

There was no need to look around. I immediately spun around and stared directly in that direction. As I did, I saw a faint turquoise light growing in brightness.

This wasn’t a guess; I was able to throw the dagger by aiming precisely at the target.

Since it was a blunt training dagger, I aimed for her torso, thinking it wouldn’t be dangerous even if it hit. However, the dagger struck her arm, not her torso. She had thrown herself to the side the moment she completed her teleportation, causing my aim to be slightly off.

‘It’s not my place to judge since I missed the exact target, but the time it takes to cross through space is a bit too long…?’

If she got used to moving her body as soon as the **[Space Leap]** skill finished, she could probably avoid most pinpoint attacks like my dagger throw. I added the qualifier “most” because I suspected it would be difficult to avoid attacks that traveled at extreme speeds, like Reysir’s lightning.

‘And she’ll definitely be vulnerable to area-of-effect attacks!’

The confrontation between Fjodra and me was merely a part of our training. In an actual battle, Fjodra would be fighting on the same side as me. Knowing that fact, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

Once she completed the goal Professor Radbisin set—to “instantly identify and move to a safe location”—I should suggest that she train to reduce the time it takes to transition.

‘It might be awkward for me to tell Fjodra directly, so maybe through Professor Radbisin…?’

The timing hadn’t been right to mention it, but once the **[Encouragement]** buff, which enhances Aether Attribute skills, was applied to **[Character Analysis]**, maintaining it became much easier. Consequently, the effect of **[Mental Acceleration]** didn’t disappear even if a “few” stray thoughts mixed in.

However, if those stray thoughts persisted, the **[Character Analysis]** skill would eventually deactivate.

‘Let’s focus on the battle and watch Fjodra’s movements closely again.’

Fjodra emerged from behind a tree, shot an arrow at me, and then moved behind me to attempt a melee attack.

Afterward, she reappeared in the distance and hid behind another tree. By repeatedly moving from one tree to another while staying hidden, she tried to make me lose track of her position.

Because of that, I actually lost track of her a few times. Fjodra seized those opportunities to fire arrows from outside my field of vision.

Fortunately, I managed to spot them before they reached me, responding by deflecting them with my dagger or narrowly dodging them.

However, this was merely me barely keeping up with my opponent’s movements. Even then, I was relying on the **[Mental Acceleration]** effect of the **[Character Analysis]** skill, which I couldn’t maintain for long.

‘The first and last time I succeeded in an attack was when I hit her arm while trying to aim for her torso.’

After that, she stopped using **[Space Leap]** immediately during close combat. Instead, she would retreat to secure distance, fire arrows, and then teleport. She was trying to delay me so that I couldn’t immediately throw a dagger at her destination.

Unless Fjodra let her guard down, I painfully realized that with my current level, winning against her was beyond my capabilities.

‘Holding out is starting to get difficult…!’

My head had been throbbing for quite some time now. I could feel two possible endings rushing toward me. Either I would fail to maintain **[Character Analysis]** and lose my ribbon to Fjodra, or I would lose it to Pret, who was returning after taking Vigdis’s ribbon.

Finally, I reached my limit.

The moment Pret burst out from between the trees with Yor flying close behind him, my head suddenly spun, my mind went blank, and **[Character Analysis]** deactivated. When Fjodra used **[Space Leap]** to move behind me, I couldn’t react at all. As a result, my back was struck squarely by the bow she swung.

As mentioned before, Yor was flying toward me while chasing Pret.

“Nyaargh!!”

Yor let out a scream that was almost a shriek when he witnessed me being struck and falling.

‘If I knew it would turn out like this, maybe I should have given up the ribbon earlier instead of holding out until my limit.’

That thought flashed through my mind the moment I collided with the ground. To make Yor worry even a little bit less, I hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from my **Inventory**, covered my nose, and sat up. I wanted to stand up because sitting on the dirt was unpleasant, but I figured that if I stumbled, it would only increase Yor’s worry instead of lessening it. This was the best I could do.

As for why I was covering my nose… well, it was for the reason the readers are likely expecting.

“Meow, meowooo….”

Unlike Pret, who stopped a distance away, Yor reached my side without stopping. The baby dragon examined my condition closely with an expression full of concern.

He didn’t wail like he did in chapter 94 when I had my first nosebleed, but still.

‘To think he’d react like this when I only got hit once during a duel…’

The thought naturally occurred to me that it would be a disaster if I got hurt in a real battle. The problem was that just because I resolved not to get hurt didn’t mean I could actually prevent it. While I was worrying about how to reassure Yor, Reysir rushed over.

“Karbaldr, are you okay?!”

The Protagonist of Another Novel knelt in front of me, nearly falling over as he did, and asked his question.

‘Did he see me fall and get so worried that he momentarily unleashed power beyond his limits to escape the marks of Liolikin and Lausa?’

I thought it was entirely possible. Breaking through one’s potential and suddenly becoming stronger when seeing an ally in danger is a specialty that every fantasy novel protagonist possesses. I was sure that was the answer.

“Reysir, you… what happened to your ribbon?”

I couldn’t help but ask because the neck of the Protagonist of Another Novel was bare.

“Ah, hahaha….”

“The Imperial Princess’s familiar took it. He got distracted when Master Yor screamed.”

Liolikin was the one who explained the situation on behalf of the protagonist, who was trying to laugh it off. I looked at Reysir, the question of whether this was true written plainly on my face.

“……Yeah, that’s how it happened.”

I stared at the face of the man who smiled sheepishly as he spoke. I was so flabbergasted that I was speechless. The owner of that face was in a state where he had nothing to say for himself.

Breaking the silence that followed, Fjodra spoke up.

“Are, are you alright…? I naturally assumed you would be able to dodge this time as well….”

Her face was full of bewilderment, making it clear that it wasn’t an excuse; she had truly swung her weapon thinking I would dodge.

She even seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to take my ribbon. There was no reason to doubt her sincerity.

“It’s fine. Isn’t it normal to get hurt during training? If Your Highness shows such weakness, I won’t be able to face you with my full strength, nor will the other students. We’d be afraid of facing repercussions for accidentally hurting you.”

“……!”

Fjodra flinched at my remark, and the expression of being at a loss because of her guilt instantly vanished. Fjodra was a character with a setting that made her adept at hiding her emotions and managing her expressions. Knowing this, I simply felt a sense of fascination at how quickly her expression changed.

‘But in the eyes of others, couldn’t her showing confusion look like an act?’

Just as I was beginning to regret saying anything, Fjodra luckily pulled a glass bottle containing a translucent red liquid from her **Inventory**. It was the **[Highest-Grade Healing Potion]** that Yor had used on Liolikin back in chapter 134.

“It seems you hit your nose when you fell. The bleeding doesn’t seem to be stopping, so drink this. Only then can we continue the training, can we not?”

Her comment made me think it might have been better if she had just handed over the potion without saying anything. I also had potions, so I considered refusing, but I reached out my clean hand as if to take it.

Then, I snatched Fjodra’s wrist and pulled. Unlike Reysir, who had knelt of his own volition, Fjodra found herself in the same position against her will, caught off guard by the unexpected surprise attack.

“What is—!”

Just as Fjodra was about to reflexively snap in anger at my sudden action, I quickly snatched her ribbon. Soon, the anger disappeared from her face, replaced by a look of defeat.

“Ah… I see. Come to think of it, I forgot that I had to take your ribbon.”

“Your finish was a bit sloppy.”

The one who answered just now wasn’t me. It was Pret, speaking as he pulled and untied the purple **[Training Ribbon]** hanging from my neck. He had been standing far away when I looked earlier; I didn’t know when he had moved to crouch beside me.

“Senior Karbaldr was also caught off guard.”

As he spoke, Pret playfully waved the ribbon he had just untied. Since I wasn’t in a physical condition to jump back into combat immediately anyway, I didn’t feel particularly regretful.

‘I ended up losing my ribbon to Pret, but at least I succeeded in taking Fjodra’s ribbon before that!’

The fact that I was able to grab it was only because Fjodra was flustered after I fell and got a nosebleed. Since I practically got it for free, it wasn’t exactly a satisfying victory. Still, it was some consolation.

“I’m going to go untie Senior Vigdis from the trap and return her ribbon. I left her there because I wanted to join up with Senior Fjodra quickly.”

Pret stood up and headed back in the direction he had come from.

‘Does that mean Yor also left Vigdis in the trap…?’

Well, being caught in a trap wasn’t particularly dangerous, and since Pret was heading toward me, Yor probably decided that helping me was the priority.

As I was thinking that, Yor pushed the potion toward me and meowed. When I had taken Fjodra’s ribbon, Yor had taken the potion on my behalf, opened the cap, and was now offering it to me.

As I drank it, not only did my throbbing headache vanish, but the nosebleed also stopped instantly. It was just a shame that there was a setting where the effect would be halved if used again too soon, preventing abuse.

Setting that aside…

“I told you to fix your habit of swallowing your screams because I want to help you without delay when you’re in danger. And yet, you lost your ribbon because you couldn’t focus on your own battle when Yor screamed?”

I spoke while glaring at the Protagonist of Another Novel. Knowing he was in the wrong, he kept glancing at me and gave another sheepish smile. He must think I can’t spit on a smiling face.