Varocia : From Gamer to Mentor

Skill: Rage (Passive)
Level: 10 (00.00% EXP) (MAX)

Description: Your injuries fuel your strength, increasing STR, CON, and AGI based on current missing HP. When HP falls below 50%, you will gradually be consumed by rage, losing HP each second. The lower your percentage Max HP, the lower your sanity, decreasing PER, INT, and WIS. (Note: If any of these stats fall below 0%, you will lose your sense of self permanently.)

Warning: If you remain in a [Rage] state for over an hour, you will lose 10% of PER, INT, and WIS permanently.

Current HP: 176/176
Stats (STR/CON/AGI) Increase: +0 bonus each
Percentage Stats (PER/INT/WIS) Decrease: -0% each
HP Degeneration: -1% per second

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It took only half a day for Edith to upgrade her [Rage] skill to Level 10—maxed out. Both of them had missed lunch, but Edith beamed with delight, while Lenna struggled to suppress a smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, making her look quite comical.

To Olgan's delight, his own Level had also risen to 10, marking him as a maxed Novice Class. This accomplishment had come in just a single day, thanks to the feedback from Lenna, the poweful Princess Knight.

When he shared the good news, Edith congratulated him enthusiastically, while Lenna turned her head away, icy as ever. "I have never acknowledged you."

"Then how did I reach Level 10 so quickly?"

Lenna's eyes darted around, searching for a plausible excuse.

Finally, she replied, her voice cool yet slightly stammering, "I-it's simply because you have regained your lost Level from before you fell and hit your head, losing your memories."

A clever excuse, indeed… but it made sense. Olgan couldn't help but smile, enjoying the playful challenge of teasing a tsundere like Lenna.

To be honest, he found any tsundere entertaining as long as they weren't the unreasonable physically violent type.

After some testing, they discovered the skill hadn't changed much. The positive and negative effects remained the same, but the warning had altered. Originally, it stated a 100% loss to PER, INT, and WIS permanently; now, it was only 10%. Furthermore, the skill no longer forced users into a [Rage]-related Class, a significant improvement by removing a negative factor.

When he asked Edith about it, she speculated that the skill would likely evolve once she transitioned to the "Berserker" Class. No one really knew what the Class name would be—including Olgan—so they were using "Berserker," a term suggested by him, as a placeholder for now.

In a cheerful mood and under the calming night sky, Edith retreated to the tent after dinner to rest.

"You haven't slept at all yesterday, and now you want to take on night guard duty after training Edith all day?" Olgan asked, turning to Lenna, who still appeared energetic despite her exhaustion.

Lenna shot him a brief glance before returning her focus to her guard duty. "A Princess Knight's duty is to protect those we swore to protect. We don't need sleep."

"That doesn't change the fact that you must be exhausted and sleep-deprived."

"You don't need to concern yourself with me." She cut him off, resuming her patrol around the camp.

He sighed, pondering the need for two bodyguards for Edith, allowing them to take turns.

It didn't necessarily have to be another Princess Knight; perhaps any loyal guardian would be enough... or maybe it would have to be specifically a Princess Knight to ensure loyalty? He kept this thought to himself, knowing there were no easy answers.

As for volunteering for night duty himself? That was out of the question. It would jeopardize everyone's safety, and he knew well that both Lenna and Edith didn't fully trust him yet, especially Lenna.

Their vigilance seemed a little excessive despite him saving them earlier. But, he mused silently, it was fitting for noble life—fraught with betrayal, assassination, and danger.

He gazed up at the stars, reflecting on their beauty.

He hadn't had a chance to observe them closely the night before, but so far, there wasn't much difference between this sea of stars and those of Earth. Yet, he couldn't find any familiar constellations.

Three moons illuminated the night sky. Two resembled Earth's moon, though they were much larger, while the third glowed with a mysterious green light.

Of course, their large size might simply be due to distance rather than actual size. He couldn't tell.

Lenna, also gazing at the stars, suddenly spoke softly without changing her line of sight. "There was another Princess Knight assigned to Princess Edith. Her name was Pokia."

Olgan turned his attention away from the moons to Lenna, listening intently. "She sacrificed herself to save Princess Edith a long time ago. Compared to me, Princess Edith was much closer to her.

"Princess Edith is always cheerful, but those smiles often conceal deep sadness from losing something dear.

"Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if Princess Edith would prefer Pokia to be alive over me."

Olgan opened his mouth to respond but found no words. He had barely acquainted himself with them, feeling he currently had no right to intrude on their relationship. Two days was hardly enough time to consider himself their friend.

After a long pause, Lenna continued in a softer tone, "So when she was forced to use Reset, it felt like my world has collapsed. I had one duty… and yet, I failed.

"But she's strong, so I realized I needed to push through and support her as best as I could, even if the road ahead was fraught with obstacles and hardships.

"That's why… From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for bringing a true smile back to Edith's face…"

Olgan couldn't see Lenna's expression, as she had turned away, unwilling to reveal her emotions.

He murmured softly, "Does that mean you acknowledge me now?"

At his words, a deathly killing intense surged from Lenna, an aura that made him break out in a cold sweat.

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In the morning, Edith glanced between Lenna and Olgan, confusion etched on her face. "What's wrong with both of you?"

"I-it's nothing," Olgan replied, dark circles under his eyes.

He hadn't slept at all, tormented by the palpable tension directed at him every time he almost drifted off, making his hair stand on end.

It felt like prey being stalked by predators in the night, unsure when they might pounce and devour him.

Fortunately, he had eventually fallen asleep, even if only for a little while.

"Hmph." Lenna snorted coldly, but a small smile flickered on her lips, brighter than before.