There must be some of you who already guessed from the last narration of the previous chapter.

The fact that Ríolíkin is currently being helplessly pushed back.

No matter how well he blocks the opponent's attacks, he can't even attempt a counterattack because he's too busy defending.

No matter how you look at it, it seems far from possible for him to knock down Nidr.

'Although I concluded that even if he fails to achieve the objective, I should give him a chance by attaching this and that excuse...'

If possible, I want Ríolíkin to achieve the proposed condition.

That way his growth will be faster, and having a useful tank will drastically increase my chances of survival.

In the end, that is why I'm doing this; it's not like I have any affection for Ríolíkin...

'No, wait a minute. Even though Ríolíkin is a character in the original work, isn't his case a bit different from Reisir or Vigdís?'

Reisir is the original protagonist who will become the center of angst and killing after the graduation ceremony, and Vigdís is a member of the Heroine Must Die victim group, destined to harbor unrequited love for him.

On the other hand, Ríolíkin in the original work died because he was lumped together with the villain Karvaldr.

And the current him wants to become my person, not Reisir's.

'There's no need to draw a line blindly and be wary of getting close, right...? If I don’t get involved with him after Reisir’s withdrawal, Ríolíkin won’t get involved with the original protagonist and die either.'

Thinking of using Ríolíkin as a tank was also due to that reason in the first place.

Because Ríolíkin has been sticking close to Reisir lately due to tournament preparation, it seems I unconsciously categorized him as 'a character in the original work to keep my distance from.'

Since the two seem to have grown quite close, it's still too early ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to completely let my guard down.

But still, I thought I could lower my alertness toward Ríolíkin by about one level.

'Well... Even so, I have to maintain the possessed body's character traits, so I have no intention of changing my attitude toward him.'

The fact that my heart has become much more at ease carries significant meaning.

Even as I lightly maintained that mindset as the first-person narrator controlling the work's atmosphere, Nidr continued to unilaterally drive Ríolíkin into a corner.

It is a situation advantageous to Nidr no matter who looks at it.

However, he abruptly leaped back and cut off the flow of the match.

As I felt puzzled by his sudden widening of the distance, I saw Nidr’s lips move as he said something.

I couldn’t hear it, so I don’t know the exact content.

Still, if I had to guess, he likely told him to brace himself because he would start attacking seriously now.

Why do I think so?

Because Nidr spun his sword in the air with flashy movements and then rushed at Ríolíkin again, and his movements became much faster and more unpredictable than before.

'It's as if he's claiming that until now, he was just going easy to gauge Ríolíkin's skill.'

Compared to Nidr’s now even sharper agility, Ríolíkin’s movements were too dull and sluggish.

The frequency of Nidr’s attacks slipping past the shield increased.

Although they still only grazed or tapped the surface of 【Armor of Protection】, before long they would start piercing through those gaps.

Ríolíkin seems to have sensed this as well.

Did he decide he had to achieve the condition quickly before being defeated?

He tried to push the opponent down by raising his shield and charging.

However, his opponent was a talented individual who secured the runner-up position in the original work.

'There's no way he would fall for such a reckless attack.'

Nidr sidestepped at the perfect moment like a skilled matador.

Then he swung his sword toward Ríolíkin’s flank, exposed through the gap in 【Armor of Protection】.

Startled, Ríolíkin twisted his body in a hurry, but he couldn’t completely avoid the attack.

Red blood seeped from his flank where the blade grazed past, soaking into his training uniform.

'If this were a real sports match, it would have been stopped immediately and then some...'

Is it because this is a martial arts tournament in a fantasy novel? Or because the foundation of this world is an angsty killing story?

Although I don’t know the exact reason, no one stepped forward to call for the match to stop.

Only a faint tension lingered on the faces of the professors standing just below the stage, prepared for a possible accident.

Everyone simply watched.

'Withdrawal... is he not doing it?'

Reflexively hugging Yor tightly, I closely examined Ríolíkin’s face.

The expression that had been filled with resolve before he stepped onto the stage had, before I knew it, become filled with distress, gradually turning tearful.

Not a trace of composure remained in that face as he clenched his teeth.

I doubt he could achieve the condition even if he tried to aim for an opportunity calmly.

Now that he has fallen into a panic state, there is no hope.

'But isn’t it something that he’s holding out without withdrawing even after seeing blood? This isn’t just sufficient, it’s beyond expectation.'

Should I think of some words of comfort in advance for when Ríolíkin returns to his seat?

The moment that thought crossed my mind—

"Ugh..., Aaahhhh─!!"

Suddenly, Ríolíkin let out a loud shout that reached my ears.

Closer to a roar than a battle cry.

"Kraaaah─!!"

To think Ríolíkin, who is timid beyond comparison, could make such a sound.

That alone is surprising, but his impulsive action didn’t end there.

Abruptly withdrawing the 【Armor of Protection】 he had been wearing, he condensed the Ivory Ether that formed it into his mace and shield.

And then...

—Bang!

He swung a gigantic tower shield at his opponent.

Nidr barely managed to block the attack by raising his sword, but he staggered and was pushed back several steps.

Then Ríolíkin—completely different from before—

rushed at Nidr with agile movements that didn’t suit his large build, swinging his mace, and when that was blocked, he followed up by swinging his shield again.

To think he would show such aggression, not satisfied with just letting out a strange scream.

That state is surely...

"【Frenzy】...?"

Reisir looked at Ríolíkin on the stage with his eyepatch lifted.

No, he muttered while looking into the Skill Window that appeared as he focused on Ríolíkin.

To explain for readers who couldn’t read the original novel 《NaSE》, this skill called 【Frenzy】 is not an Ether Attribute Ability.

'Although it gets registered in an Awakened’s Skill Window, strictly speaking, it should be regarded as a status effect, not a skill.'

A runaway phenomenon that occasionally manifests when extremely impulsive and highly aggressive warriors become excessively immersed in combat.

That is 【Frenzy】.

Once activated, like berserkers in ordinary fantasy novels, one becomes unable to distinguish friend from foe and becomes obsessed only with attacking, disregarding defense.

'However, if it were just simple madness and rampaging, it wouldn’t even be registered in the Skill Window.'

No—before that, it would have been treated as a mental disorder, not even a runaway 'phenomenon.'

The reason it isn’t is because of the added effect that, while rampaging under the influence of 【Frenzy】, most defensive capability is converted into attack power.

The 'defensive capability' mentioned here refers to both defense-related skills and stats.

Abruptly deactivating 【Armor of Protection】 and gathering the Ether that composed it into the shield and mace must be due to this as well.

'Why did such a status-effect skill appear in Ríolíkin, who is the epitome of defensive inclination?'

Since Reisir covered his Silver Eyes with the eyepatch, I shifted my gaze back to the stage and fell into thought.

Did the condition I proposed—my remark that he could easily do it—

push his timid mental strength to its limit?

Thinking so, a sense of regret surged within me.

Even more so because, in this world’s setting, once 【Frenzy】 manifests even once, from then on it can activate on its own whenever one’s reason is even slightly clouded during combat.

I couldn’t help but regret it.

'If a tank, who is supposed to draw aggro and take all the attacks, suddenly goes berserk and loses defensive capability, it becomes extremely dangerous. Both for the tank himself and for his teammates. And the fact that he can’t distinguish friend from foe is also a huge problem...'

My heart grew heavy as I watched Ríolíkin continue attacking like a madman.

A sense of guilt welled up, wondering if I had ruined his future potential by proposing an unreasonable condition.

That wild, screaming state felt like struggling in fear.

Meanwhile, Nidr continued to respond while steadily backing away.

But eventually, I saw him get overwhelmed by the berserker’s superhuman strength and fall flat on his back.

'Condition... achieved.'

It was the desired outcome, but I couldn’t feel happy about it.

Because Ríolíkin had no reason left, so even he himself couldn’t be happy.

Without even realizing what he had accomplished, he roared and raised his shield high.

It seemed he intended to smash Nidr’s head with its edge.

Did he only feel a sense of danger once it came to this?

Nidr finally used the Earth Attribute Ability he had been holding back, causing the ground to surge upward.

The stone wall created in an instant collapsed just as quickly when it collided with Ríolíkin’s shield.

In that gap, Nidr sidestepped, leaped up, and struck Ríolíkin’s temple with the pommel of his sword.

Due to the effects of 【Frenzy】, his body—whose defense had dropped to the lowest level—collapsed to the ground as if crumbling.

"Waaaaah──!"

The audience erupted into cheers loud enough to shake the stadium, celebrating Nidr’s victory over the terrifying berserker.

Amid the frenzied crowd, my mood sank heavily.

If the same result had come without Ríolíkin falling into 【Frenzy】, I feel like I could have been genuinely moved.

"Don’t worry too much. Ríolíkin will be fine."

As I quietly watched Ríolíkin being carried off on a stretcher below the stage, Reisir spoke words of comfort.

Turning my head to meet the original protagonist’s gaze, regret surfaced that I should have just eased the condition as he had suggested.

However, I couldn’t show that.

"...Who said I was worried?"

"If you’re concerned because Ríolíkin lost his reason and went berserk just now, you don’t need to worry."

Reisir let my words pass and repeated that it would be fine.

Thinking he might not fully understand the risks of 【Frenzy】, something surged up inside me, and just as my expression twisted—

"I guarantee it."

The original protagonist looked straight at me and spoke with unwavering conviction.

Although it’s still unclear whether Reisir has fully accepted Ríolíkin within his boundary, it’s certain that he has marked him as my escort.

Naturally, it’s impossible to use someone who goes berserk and can’t distinguish friend from foe as an escort.

And yet he guarantees it.

'There’s something...?’

I have no choice but to think so.

I recalled the setting in the original work that, depending on an individual’s disposition, additional effects can be attached, so even the same skill can produce different results.

If so, there is a high possibility that Reisir’s assurance isn’t empty.

Through the 【Truth-Reading Eye】, he must have seen something in Ríolíkin’s 【Frenzy】 description that could be called a safety mechanism.

That conclusion naturally followed.

My worry eased, and my mind felt lighter.

Noticing this change, Reisir grinned.

"I-I didn’t become relieved because I trust your words. So don’t misunderstand."

"Is it really my misunderstanding?"

"It is."

"Swear to heaven, really??"

You uselessly persistent and tenacious protagonist of someone else’s novel.

I glared at Reisir for a moment, then lowered my voice and spoke.

"...Weren’t we supposed not to tease in public?"

"Ah, right."

"What is that reaction? You brought it up first—don’t tell me you forgot?"

"Sorry, but I couldn’t help it. You tempted me by saying something so blatantly tsundere."

"What kind of nonsensical logic is that...!"

We whispered and bickered, but it didn’t last long.

Because Nidr, having secured victory over Ríolíkin, was walking toward us.