For a moment, I saw Reisir's eyes widen.

Then they narrowed again, a smile appearing on his face.

His lips moved as though he were saying something.

However, deciphering a voice stretched thin by slowed time required both patience and concentration.

So I decided to make a rough guess instead while maintaining the Thought Acceleration Skill.

Is he praising my reflexes? Or saying that sequence of movements was pretty decent?

If I carefully observed his lips and listened to the distorted voice, I could probably figure it out.

But this was a match.

I should be watching his eyes, his stance, and every movement of his body—not the shape of his lips.

Besides, it isn't exactly the first time I've ignored something Reisir said.

There was no need to answer.

So I silently swung the whip.

Even though I completely ignored him, Reisir showed no sign of displeasure.

The faint smile remained on his face as he leisurely avoided every attack.

Then he tilted the tip of his spear toward the sky.

A movement to send Ether upward.

The reason was obvious.

He intended to call down lightning.

If I move too early, he'll simply redirect the strike to wherever I relocate.

But I couldn't afford to stare up at the sky waiting to dodge.

Not only would I lose sight of Reisir's movements.

More importantly, by the time the lightning became visible, it would already be too late.

The Thought Acceleration Skill did not make my body move any faster.

It merely accelerated my perception.

Anticipating that problem, I threw a prepared dagger straight upward.

Using it as a lightning rod.

Then I threw myself aside.

A flash exploded overhead.

A heartbeat later, thunder roared through the arena.

Honestly, I wasn't certain the idea would work.

Fortunately, it did.

Crackle.

Crackle.

I had no time to watch the smoking dagger fall.

The whip continued to lash through the air without pause, preventing Reisir from advancing.

Even so, like the protagonist who spent the original novel chasing overpowered monsters and carrying the burden of everyone around him, Reisir avoided every attack with ease.

Though considering he failed to save even a single person close to him, calling him a true overpowered protagonist feels questionable...

I retreated while continuously attacking.

Yet the distance between us kept shrinking.

Even with the Thought Acceleration Skill.

Even with the enhancements from 【Encouragement】 and 【Exaltation】.

The difference in combat ability and physical capability remained overwhelming.

Whenever I threw a dagger with my left hand while attacking with the whip in my right, Reisir simply knocked it aside with his spear.

I hadn't brought many.

Only enough to avoid hindering my movement.

Since they couldn't hit him anyway, wasting them carelessly would be foolish.

Thinking that, I drew another dagger.

Not to throw.

Reisir had already closed the distance to the point where swinging the whip became difficult.

And I had reached the edge of the stage.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Driving forward with the dagger, I slipped past Reisir at the exact moment he drew his spear inward to defend.

One should never expose their back to an opponent.

So I immediately spun around.

Reisir did the same.

The moment we faced each other again—

The tip of Reisir's spear flashed gold.

Even under the Thought Acceleration Skill, the lightning launched from that spear looked impossibly fast.

Dodging physically was impossible.

Then what about blocking it with Ether?

There was no time to think.

The lightning was aimed directly at my left thigh.

I drew Purple Ether from my lower dantian and wrapped it around the target area.

The instant I did—

Golden lightning collided with the purple membrane.

The timing could not have been any closer.

"...!!"

Reisir's face filled with surprise.

Apparently he hadn't expected me to block it.

His eyes widened.

His mouth parted.

Before the expression could fully settle, I attacked.

The whip cracked through the air.

This time, surely...

Not even close.

Reisir casually swept his spear and deflected the whip.

The wall called the original protagonist was simply too high.

Then again, considering how long Reisir devoted himself to relentless training... perhaps this outcome is only natural.

If I actually managed to land a clean hit on him right now, that would be the real violation of plausibility.

So I abandoned my disappointment and focused on the match.

Perhaps because I had successfully blocked his lightning.

Reisir began using his Ether Attribute Ability much more aggressively.

If I relaxed for even a moment, I would be electrocuted.

To prevent the Thought Acceleration Skill from shutting down, my brain worked continuously.

If I were to describe every thought that passed through my head during that process, it would probably take another five chapters devoted entirely to combat.

To be honest, even most of the thoughts used to maintain the Thought Acceleration Skill throughout this fight have already been omitted.

For pacing's sake.

Even if Reisir is holding back, this fight has lasted surprisingly long.

That fact alone stirred something inside me.

I was doing well.

The effort I'd invested until now hadn't been meaningless.

If I continued to work hard, perhaps I really could survive in this dangerous world.

The emotion felt like excitement.

And relief.

And, strangely enough, a little sorrow.

Of course, that's merely an impression I recalled much later.

Right now, I had no room to analyze my feelings.

Remaining within whip range while staying outside spear range.

Maintaining that delicate balance was never easy.

At the same time, I had to watch for lightning strikes from above.

And lightning launched directly from Reisir's hands or spear.

Analyzing every movement.

Predicting every reaction.

Preparing responses.

My mind was completely occupied.

Yet even then—

For a single instant.

One blink.

I lost sight of him.

Lightning flew.

And by the time I noticed it, it was already too late.

I hurriedly gathered Ether.

But the attack struck before I could form a defensive barrier.

White exploded across my vision.

A violent tingling spread through my entire body.

A scream didn't even emerge.

Whether from the pain or the paralysis, I couldn't tell.

Instead, tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.

My mind blanked.

And the Thought Acceleration Skill shut off.

When I became aware of that fact again, Reisir was already standing right in front of me.

Wearing an expression of genuine concern.

Though surely he didn't approach just to check on me, right?

The Thought Acceleration Skill activated again.

Since I hadn't adjusted the flow of Sky Blue Ether, Reisir appeared almost frozen.

That gave me enough time to think.

What kind of person worries after electrocuting someone himself?

Because of the Thought Acceleration Skill, my own physical reactions were nearly frozen as well.

Even now, electricity seemed to be crawling through my nerves.

Phantom pain, perhaps.

Ignoring the strange sensation as best I could, I searched for a way out.

Once I ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) found one, I adjusted the flow of Sky Blue Ether.

Reisir began moving again.

Slowly.

Then pain stabbed through me.

Not imagined pain this time.

Real pain.

A sensation somewhere between stinging, burning, and tickling.

The aftereffects of the shock remained.

Even after reducing the power, that attack was no joke.

In the world outside this novel, being struck by the same amount of electricity would probably have left me foaming at the mouth in an ambulance.

But this was a fantasy world.

And this body possessed Ether.

Though my limbs still trembled from lingering paralysis, moving wasn't impossible.

Biting my lip, I barely managed to draw a dagger.

Then I slashed toward Reisir's neck.

A reckless attack possible only because I was absolutely certain it would never actually cut him.

Just as expected, Reisir leaned his upper body back slightly and avoided the blade.

That was the moment I had been waiting for.

I intended to use it to retreat and widen the distance.

Unfortunately, reality didn't cooperate.

While avoiding my attack, Reisir struck my leg with the butt of his spear.

The impact hurt.

But the greater problem was my leg becoming hooked around the shaft.

Because the paralysis hadn't completely faded, I couldn't maintain my balance.

No.

Even without the paralysis, I would have fallen.

Then the only move left is...

A dagger was already in my hand.

Throw it.

Reisir would either block it or dodge it.

That brief opening would give me enough time to roll away and create distance.

I finished the calculation.

But never got the chance to execute it.

One of Reisir's hands shot toward my wrist.

I tried to evade.

He was faster.

His fingers closed around my hand.

Then he pulled.

At some point he had released the spear.

A solid arm wrapped around my waist, preventing me from falling backward.

The next moment, he overlapped his hand with mine, guiding the dagger toward my own throat.

My defeat was decided.

So I deactivated the Thought Acceleration Skill.

Then I spoke.

"Did you really have to win in this position?"

At the moment, regardless of my own wishes, I was leaning diagonally against the protagonist of someone else's novel.

It looked less like a martial arts match and more like the finishing pose of a ballroom dance.

We had stepped onto this stage to compete in martial arts.

Not perform social dancing.

"I didn't have much choice. You were about to throw the dagger. If I hadn't stopped you like this, the match would have dragged on."

As he said that, the host's announcement declaring Reisir the victor echoed across the arena.

If the match had lasted longer, wouldn't that simply have given me more opportunities to learn?

The thought crossed my mind.

But there was something more important to argue about first.

"More importantly, how long are you planning to stay in this position?! Let go alrea—"

I never finished the sentence.

A sharp pain exploded through my head.

Something warm flowed from my nose.

And instead of releasing me, Reisir picked me up entirely and sprinted toward the healer.

"I-I only need support... No, I can walk by myself, so couldn't you just let go?!"

By the time I finished speaking, I had already been deposited directly in front of the healer.

Truly.

The man was absurdly fast.