In any case, it felt like the [Encouragement] skill had properly applied to Vigdis too.
I looked at the next target and spoke.
Attention
“Liolikin, you… don’t run away alone out of fear.”
“I won’t run away…!”
“Then that’s enough.”
“…Ehh? Already done? For the others, you said things like ‘work hard,’ ‘do your best,’ or ‘I’m expecting a lot.’ You even said that to them…!”
What I’d said to Svein was outright mockery, and what I’d said to the others was hardly any different from insults.
But seeing him beg like that, saying he wanted to hear even those words, made me more wary of casually speaking to him.
“No matter how tough you are, it’s impossible to take a Boss Monster’s attack head-on… but you might be able to charm it.”
“Oh…! Is that so?!”
“That’s just my guess, so take it with a grain of salt. After all, I’ve never even confirmed how strong that Boss Monster is. If you end up fighting it, decide for yourself whether to dodge or not.”
“Yes!!”
Liolikin answered with a rare voice full of confidence.
Even though I corrected myself belatedly, he didn’t seem to be paying much attention.
A wave of anxiety washed over me—what if he insisted on defense because of my careless words and got seriously hurt or died?
‘But Liolikin is a coward after all. When he faces an enemy several times his size, he’ll be terrified and naturally learn to protect himself!’
I tried to soothe my heart like that, deciding to trust Liolikin’s timid nature.
‘Now… is it only the Original Protagonist left?’
Before using the [Encouragement] skill one last time, I pulled up the skill’s description window in front of my eyes.
Honestly, I didn’t expect the proficiency to increase at all.
Even though I’d used this skill on myself and Yor every time I remembered during the break, the increase was a mere 0.01.
But…
‘It went up?!’
And by as much as 0.05.
That was fully five times the result of my two months of effort.
More than joy, I felt a sense of futility, and even that was swallowed up by doubt.
‘Why did this happen?’
Was it because this was the first time I’d used the [Encouragement] skill on someone other than myself and Yor?
Or because I carefully crafted personalized words of encouragement?
Could it be because I stirred their hearts and stimulated their motivation?
“Are you reading the skill description? How is it? Did the proficiency go up?”
Maybe the Original Protagonist thought his turn had finally come, but when he saw me silently staring into space, he grew impatient.
Reysir asked in an anxious tone.
“Surprisingly… yes. Originally the skill description said ‘Aether Attribute Skill [1.11] times enhancement,’ but now the number has increased to [1.16] times.”
“Wow! Proficiency rises that fast?! Is it because it’s an exclusive skill born from reflecting your attribute?”
No way.
The skill effect won’t increase like this every time.
A crazy S-rank skill that enhances others’ Aether Attribute skills growing this fast is absurd.
Moreover, this does nothing good for me.
If this skill inflates our combat power, Author Senna will just introduce stronger enemies in the future.
If an incident happens in a place where I’m not present, like today…
‘…everyone will get seriously hurt due to greatly weakened combat power, and someone might even die!’
If others get stronger while I stay still, I’ll end up dying by enemies that have become stronger to match their level.
So I need to strive for growth.
But it’s not good to make others too dependent on my Buff Skill.
“That’s probably because this is the first time I’ve used this skill properly today. Skills usually improve quickly at the start, don’t they?”
I shook my head firmly as I spoke.
Then the Original Protagonist nodded with a mix of understanding and regret, saying, ‘I guess that’s true.’
“Anyway, if the proficiency went up, does that mean the skill was used properly…?”
“That’s obvious.”
“It’s too far from the feeling I had in mind…?”
“So? Are you disappointed?”
“No, not that much. I’m a bit sorry, but still, I like it because it’s so you.”
I had thought a lot about how to maintain Karbaldr’s unique character while using the [Encouragement] skill.
I felt a sense of accomplishment, like I’d safely handled one difficult task.
“Then, Karbaldr, won’t you say something empowering to me too?”
It seemed that the words “not disappointing, rather good” weren’t a lie.
I could see anticipation in Reysir’s face, his golden single eye shining as he spoke like that.
I faced him and spoke threateningly.
“If you can’t smash the Magic Core in one shot, even though Yor provided rain and I cast buffs…”
“And if I can’t? What happens?”
“Well… I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“You haven’t thought about it, have you? That means you believe I’ll succeed!”
The Protagonist of Another Novel interpreted my words in his own favor again today.
The truth was, I was sure he wouldn’t succeed.
And if I declared a severe penalty for failure, he might push himself too hard to achieve the goal.
‘…I just fudged it out of necessity.’
Before the real Boss Battle even began.
If our strongest member complained of Aether depletion and staggered around exhausted, that would be a huge disaster.
“Don’t be overconfident. Make sure to manage your power properly. If the plan fails and we’re forced to fight that thing, and you can’t participate, all our lives will be at risk.”
“Don’t worry. Even in the worst case, that won’t happen.”
The Original Protagonist grinned and adjusted his eyepatch.
That action clearly meant he could use Silver Ethere without hiding it if necessary, so I shouldn’t worry.
‘The setting is that he can’t handle Silver Ethere properly yet… but I can just claim the [Encouragement] skill temporarily allowed control.’
I nodded lightly to show I understood.
Seeing this, the Protagonist of Another Novel—
“But if I succeed in destroying the Magic Core and dispelling the Demonic Realm in one blow, what will you give me?”
—said such nonsense.
“Time is already delayed. Stop joking and attack quickly.”
“Hmm…”
Only after I pressed him with a serious face did Reysir put on a grave expression.
He closed his lips calmly, stared at the enemy with a cold gaze, and focused his energy.
His appearance was so solemn that I couldn’t recall his usual playful demeanor.
Golden Aether gathered at the tip of his firmly gripped spear, and crackling sparks danced around it.
But the sparks didn’t bounce around and deliver small shocks to the surroundings.
They stayed only at the spearpoint, meaning Reysir had complete control over the Lightning energy.
And when the golden light became too dazzling to look at—
clatter
A sound of rocks colliding came from the direction of the Boss Monster.
Even though the distance was considerable, the sound reached here.
When I turned my head, I saw the pile of rocks heaving greatly.
The Boss Monster sensed the powerful Aether energy and reacted.
Reysir’s gaze had been fixed on that being the whole time, so he must have noticed this change long ago.
Yet he didn’t rush at all, maintaining calm like the protagonist of the original novel.
Just as the rocks coalesced into a human-like form, Reysir finally raised his spear high and shot golden Aether into the sky.
The moment it reached the dark clouds Yor had created—
grrrrrumble…
A heavy vibration seemed to shake the air,
BOOM!!
With a tremendous roar, a thick pillar of light struck down toward the giant Boss Monster.
The rock pierced by the powerful golden Lightning split apart with a cracking sound.
The stones forming the Golem’s body scattered, thudding and shaking the ground.
Seeming to feel awe at the sight, someone let out a ‘Wow…’ exclamation.
But I looked at the sky instead of the collapsing Golem.
As expected, the ominous gray barrier was still there.
“Tsk, it failed.”
I deliberately made a loud clicking sound to snap the dazed ones back to reality.
Only then did they all look up at the sky in surprise and lament.
Deep shadows of anxiety and worry fell over their faces.
They must have become uneasy about how to deal with a Boss Monster that couldn’t be defeated even with such a powerful attack.
As the scattered rocks on the ground began to stir and gather again, I had to feel frustrated too.
No matter how much I expected it, that strike just now was incredible.
“There’s no point in trying again, is there…?”
When everyone was silent with dismay, the Original Protagonist cautiously spoke.
From his voice, I could tell his spirit had been completely broken.
“If you think you can succeed, it’s fine. But if not, it’s better to stop considering the risk of failure.”
“Hmm…”
It seemed he just brought it up because he felt he had to do something, not because he was confident in a second attempt.
After all, even though he didn’t pour all his golden Aether out recklessly, he had exerted the maximum power he could control and still failed to defeat the enemy.
It was natural to feel helpless.
‘Author Senna seems to enjoy Reysir struggling, but that doesn’t mean she wants her protagonist to look incompetent!’
So the fact that Reysir struck with full confidence and yet dealt no damage to the enemy must be an outcome even the Original Author wanted to avoid.
This is something I can exploit.
Therefore, in order to provide plausibility for weakening the Boss Monster, I said the following line.
“Still, I don’t think your attack was meaningless. Didn’t you see the Boss Monster lose its form and scatter to the ground? The engine that gathers the rocks and moves them must have been damaged.”
“You mean…?”
Did the plan work?
Or did the development the Original Author had in mind accidentally align with my wish?
“You don’t need to ask me to know that the enemy’s condition can’t be normal.”
The moment I said this, the Golem, which had just fully reformed, suddenly toppled backward.
Because of the malfunction in the Power Engine, it could no longer properly support the weight of the rocks composing its body.
Thank you for the chapter!
I wanted him the sincerely praise Liokin so sad