“I’m sorry for joking around. So please forgive me, okay?”
The Protagonist of Another Novel actually apologized.
He didn’t beg and plead like Liolikin said he would, but he was certainly acting humble. It wasn’t like he was genuinely curious about a skill name rather than its description. This was likely just a gesture to improve my mood.
Thinking so, I spoke lightly.
“If you ask me again next semester, I will answer then.”
“How petty!”
***
Indeed, Reysir let out a brief complaint, but unlike his usual self, he didn’t persist and just let it go.
However, if he were to find out that the Demonic Realm had appeared not just at Valhalla Academy, but all over the world, and was scheduled to appear in even more places… If he made the decision to quit the Academy and travel around investigating those Demonic Realms…
‘…Would he regret not prying it out of me until the end? Or would he just forget it quickly since it wasn’t particularly important?’
In case the dear readers think I’m being unnecessarily mean, I’ll take this opportunity to make an excuse.
There is a reason why I am not checking the name of the Sky-Blue Aether skill right now. I’m afraid that an unexpected ability, like the [Inspiration] skill I saw earlier, might be listed in the skill window.
If I were to show any kind of unusual reaction, it would obviously draw the attention of my fellow passengers. That is why I chose not to look at it at all.
“By the way, Reysir. Didn’t you say earlier that you could see skills other than the Aether Attribute skills? But all I see is [Iron-Blooded Steel Body]…”
“Oops! Now that I think about it, I didn’t tell you how to operate it, did I?”
At Vigdis’s question, Reysir used both words and gestures to explain how to manipulate the skill window screen.
Watching him, I also had an “oops” moment. Since I had read the Original Work and was a modern person accustomed to ‘touch screens,’ the idea of having to ask how to operate it never even crossed my mind.
‘If I had naturally swiped the window to the side to change tabs and check the list of Sky-Blue Aether skills… the Original Protagonist would have definitely found it strange!’
That was a close call.
While I was inwardly relieved, outwardly, I was feigning indifference by fiddling with the baby dragon’s mane. That was when it happened.
“Ka…rvald! In my skill de…description, your name is wr…written there, sir!”
What was this about?
A statement that was both sudden and incomprehensible burst out of Liolikin’s mouth.
“Explain in detail.”
“I’ll just… read the contents for you.”
Liolikin was trying to fix his stutter, but he was still awkward. Therefore, if I were to transcribe his speech exactly as it was, it would be overflowing with ellipses and commas. For the sake of the readers’ legibility, I have summarized and recorded it as follows.
==========
[Berserk] – (A)
: A type of rampage state. Upon activation, reason is lost and one is possessed by an attacking instinct, and most of the defense capability is converted into attack power.
: Reflecting {Disposition: Coward}, the special option is created.
•
: Timing of activation and termination, target of attack, etc. By handing over all authority associated with [Berserk] to another, the responsibility for everything done while the skill is active is shifted to a specific target.
: Registered Target – Karvald Austri
==========
According to the contents of the Original Work, Reysir’s [Truth-Reading Eye] skill should currently only be at Level 1. It was only after traveling through various Demonic Realms and inspecting things with that skill that the level rose and the descriptions became more detailed.
When Reysir looked into Liolikin’s skill window in Chapter 114, the explanation for [Berserk] would not have appeared in such detail, and he would have only been able to confirm a short summary.
For example:
“Attack power is maximized at the cost of losing almost all defensive capabilities, and one loses reason to follow the instructions of a specific person.”
…Something like that.
Perhaps because of that, after Liolikin finished stuttering through the description of [Berserk], Reysir was wearing an exasperated expression just like everyone else. Still, I think I’m the most flabbergasted person here at this moment.
“Why on earth are you trying to dump something like that on me?”
“I… it’s not like I did it on pur…pose… It’s probably because I find you the most r…reliable, Lord Karvald… and that’s why…!”
“So you’re transferring the responsibility?”
“What’s being transferred is the… authority, isn’t it? According to the des…cription here, even if Lord Karvald orders me to jump into a… extremely dangerous place, I… I’ll have no choice but to follow. In fact, it’s the same as en…entrusting my life to you. In short, it’s evidence of how much I tr…trust and rely on you…? It’s s…something like that!!”
After hearing Liolikin’s self-defense, the thought that this had become a headache grew even stronger. So, while pressing my temples, I voiced the conclusion that came to mind.
“Doesn’t that mean if you get seriously injured or die while in the [Berserk] state, it becomes my fault?”
“I trust Lord Karvald’s judgment…!”
“……”
Even if I told him not to trust me, it didn’t seem like it would work. The moment I realized that, a series of actions—running my hand through my hair and letting out a sigh—were automatically executed.
“Isn’t it something you don’t really need to feel troubled by? You said the decision to activate the [Berserk] skill or not depends on the Tsundere Young Lord’s will, right? If it’s too burdensome, just don’t activate it. Then there’s nothing to take responsibility for.”
“I agree with Helly. Even without using [Berserk], Liolikin’s attacks are quite powerful. I think increasing attack power to the point of giving up defense has far more disadvantages than advantages.”
A great writer named ‘Chekhov’ once said this: If you have hung a gun on the stage, it must be fired. This is a famous writing theory called ‘Chekhov’s Gun,’ which contains the principle that elements introduced in a story must be used meaningfully.
In other words, the reason Hailga and Reysir can lightly say ‘then just don’t use [Berserk]’ is because they don’t know that this is a world inside a novel.
‘Someday, a situation will definitely come where Liolikin has to use the [Berserk] skill!’
I wonder what kind of situation that would be. I was already getting anxious, but I couldn’t let it show. I nodded and muttered, “That’s true,” pretending to be convinced.
“Karvald. I feel like your touch while stroking Yor has gotten faster?”
“Mind your own business.”
Reysir showed a bit of suspicion for a moment, but he didn’t pursue it. Me doting on Yor was a common occurrence, and it just so happened that Vigdis provided a new topic of conversation.
“By the way, are the Roman characters written next to the skill names some kind of rank?”
“Yeah, probably. As you train, you sometimes get the feeling that you’ve crossed a wall, and it seems to change every time that happens.”
“I see. Hmm… [Swordsmanship] is only D, but [Iron-Blooded Steel Body], which I’ve only used a few times, is already A…”
Vigdis muttered with a complicated expression, staring into the empty air where her skill window was presumed to be.
“That’s because ranks aren’t based on proficiency. It seems like the more powerful or useful a skill is, the higher the rank it receives.”
To add to Reysir’s explanation: the more a skill is influenced by innate talent, the harder it is to cross the wall and raise the rank through effort. In some cases, there are skills where raising the rank itself is impossible.
“Look, even though Liolikin has only used [Berserk] once, it has an A next to the skill name, right? If it were a normal [Berserk] without the option, it probably would have been treated as B-rank or lower.”
Although it wasn’t innate but rather manifested later, I suspected this [Berserk] skill might belong to the case where raising the rank is impossible. Since it has the option, training itself would be possible, but in this case, the rank of the skill itself wouldn’t go up; rather, I would just become more accustomed to handling Liolikin in berserker mode.
“And if you just learned swordsmanship after entering the Academy and it’s already D-rank, that’s incredibly fast. The first semester started in March and it’s now the end of December, so it hasn’t even been a year, has it?”
“Is that so…? Reysir, how long did it take for your [Spearman-ship] to become D-rank?”
“It took a year and… maybe two or three more months?”
“I see! Then what is your rank now?”
“It went up not too long ago, so it’s S now.”
Not an A, but higher than that. When the literally ‘special’ rank was mentioned, everyone except Hailga was surprised. For the record, this ‘everyone’ included me. It was only natural because…
‘In the original work, the [Spearman-ship] skill only rose to S while fighting in the Demonic Realm after dropping out of the Academy…?!’
It wasn’t even when he defeated the Boss Monster earlier, but ‘not too long ago.’ I did give him the key to the Private Training Hall because I wanted him to build up a bit more skill before he dropped out, but I didn’t expect him to break through the thick wall from A-rank to S-rank.
‘As expected of the Original Protagonist, the center of this world, his talent is insane…?’
The fact that he frequently sparred with us while helping us prepare for the tournament must have had an influence. Still, to achieve S-rank without a special occasion being suddenly given and without even experiencing real combat—I wonder if there’s no problem with the probability.
“S-rank! Just hearing it sounds amazing. No wonder you were so strong.”
“Oh, it’s not that much. It’s only one rank apart from your Aether Attribute skill…”
Reysir acted humble with an embarrassed expression. However, according to the settings of , it was indeed amazing. While one could somehow reach A-rank through hard work, S-rank was a territory that only a tiny number of extraordinary people could reach. They say there are plenty of people who never reach S-rank even after decades pass from achieving A-rank until they die of old age.
‘Compared to that, because so many characters with S-rank skills appeared in the original work, that setting didn’t really resonate with me.’
To provide trials for the growing protagonist, the enemies inevitably had to get stronger. And while there was no problem with the companions being weaker than the protagonist, they had to at least avoid being a burden, so the level of newly joining companions also had to gradually rise. A power inflation phenomenon was inevitable. If the companion characters hadn’t repeatedly died and been replaced, the feeling that S-rank was common would have been less…!
For the record, when Vigdis joined Reysir’s party as a companion, not only her [Swordsmanship] but also her [Iron-Blooded Steel Body] skill had reached S-rank.
“I don’t have an S, but… I have two A’s…! [Berserk] and [Armor of Protection]!”
Liolikin glanced at my face with an expectant expression. He seemed to want me to be surprised and impressed by his words, but unfortunately, that was an impossible wish.
‘The Liolikin in the original work had also raised his [Armor of Protection] skill to S-rank by the time he reappeared.’
Even if that weren’t the case, considering the utility of the skill, it was only natural for it to receive an A-rank.
In case the dear readers are curious, I’ll add that Karvald’s skill ranks before his death in the original work were [Goyang] S and [Encourage] B.
‘But when I briefly looked at the skill window earlier, the ranks written were also S and B, weren’t they?’
Since going from S to SS is harder than going from A to S, it’s understandable that the rank of [Goyang] remained the same. However, the fact that the rank of [Encourage] remained the same…
‘Was it because there was no one I could truly consider as that I couldn’t cross the wall?’
Additionally, the [Inspiration] skill was also S-rank. Since Vigdis and Liolikin’s Aether Attribute skills are currently A-rank, it was only natural for [Goyang] to be S-rank. Since it was the hereditary skill of the Austri Ducal Family and increased stats by a certain ‘ratio,’ its utility was also excellent.
‘But the fact that [Inspiration] is also S-rank means it might be as useful as [Goyang]. No, maybe even more useful than that?’
I deeply regretted not looking into the skill window before fighting the Boss Monster.