Ch.5353. The Protagonist?

Somehow I’ve made it this far.

Gilbert was calmly collecting himself in the stadium filled with cheers.

His original goal had been to achieve a decent rank and then drop out midway, but considering the academy attack incident, he might have gone a bit overboard to motivate the cadets.

He wondered if he’d been too conspicuous in a situation where there might be an insider at Demeia Academy, but he didn’t regret it.

While he wasn’t an idealist who only pursued noble causes, he wasn’t a cold-blooded person who would ignore what was clearly about to happen right before his eyes.

In his original world, he had been a soldier, and soldiers were shields protecting their country and citizens. He was simply following that path, just as his comrades had done.

Turning away from something he could do was unacceptable to him.

Having organized his thoughts, he exhaled deeply and looked at the giant mech displayed on the screen. It was Ian’s mech, the playable character and protagonist of Tactical Combat.

He already knew that Ian had dominated all the competitive matches with overwhelming skill, living up to his title as the protagonist. To be honest, he was deeply concerned about what direction Ian might take with his free will.

In the game, his gaming skills and know-how as a veteran player could have made Ian a legendary figure with an undefeated record, but as he kept reminding himself, this was reality.

No matter how overpowered Ian’s trait skills might be, their effectiveness would vary depending on who was using them.

Even with the same character, wasn’t there a huge difference between a newbie’s play and a veteran’s? Unless Ian was a regressor who had lived multiple lifetimes, the possibility of him showing piloting skills surpassing Gilbert’s was extremely low.

In fact, there hadn’t been any direct clashes since the entrance mock battle, but his struggle against the Resistance during the comprehensive evaluation made it clear. Even if it was due to carelessness, nothing changed. Ian had essentially died once in actual combat.

Since then, he must have trained hard to improve his skills, as his mech piloting abilities in this competition were remarkable. Considering how his use of trait skills had become more sophisticated, it was fair to say his skills had improved dramatically.

But Gilbert wanted to experience Ian’s abilities firsthand. When playing the game, his own skill had been the measure of Ian’s abilities. When he was a newbie, his skills were terrible, and like everyone else, he couldn’t even get close to the ending on his first playthrough.

As time passed and he shed his newbie status to become a veteran player, he became capable of clearing the game using all sorts of methods.

In other words, the in-game Ian was the epitome of genius, unmatched by anyone.

So what would Ian’s skills be like now that the game had become reality?

Could the records of his gameplay somehow influence this world, allowing Ian to demonstrate piloting skills beyond his own?

Or would Ian show some extraordinary abilities that surpassed his?

His racing heart wouldn’t calm down. As he waited for the match to begin with excitement, a private magic communication request came from Ian.

Was it to wish each other good luck before the finals?

Without much thought, he accepted the connection.

“Is that you, Ian? For the finals, I hope we—”

[My destined rival.]

“What…?”

Gilbert was taken aback by Ian’s sudden manner of speech. Destined what?

[It has been a long time. Even as you, Gilbert, my destined rival, made your name known to the world, I remained curled up, waiting. Waiting for that day to come. The day I would spread my wings and soar. And finally, that day has arrived. The greatest stage has unfolded before us.]

Ian, wearing a solemn expression, began spouting strange words in a tone matching his face. Since the original Ian was handsome, it somehow felt like watching a theatrical performance.

Of course, considering the historical background of Tactical Combat, it was within the realm of understanding. It was a world with magic and giant mechs, but it was still modeled after the medieval era.

It was a society with monarchy, strict class divisions between nobles and commoners. In other words, compared to the South Korea he knew, it was as if he was now in the Joseon Dynasty. Considering that era, speaking in a historical drama style would be normal.

However, there was something beyond that in Ian’s manner of speech. It was a tone that gave him an indescribable, unsettling feeling.

[Your expression doesn’t look good. That means I’m making you nervous. Don’t be too tense. You are more than worthy to be my rival.]

As the conversation continued, he felt a chill run down his spine. It could be described as a physiological aversion.

A manner of speech that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.

As Gilbert searched his memories, something clicked.

Wait… isn’t that the “chuunibyou” concept?

It hit him like a blow to the head. In Tactical Combat, the personality of the protagonist character Ian is determined by the choices the player makes.

Like many veteran gamers in other games, there were many who played without much thought, and one trend that had been popular was maintaining this chuunibyou-like personality throughout the game.

No matter how medieval this world might be, using such exaggerated vocabulary earned the disapproval of other nobles. They spoke in a cultured manner, not in theatrical tones.

Of course, Gilbert had also played the game with such a concept before. The interesting thing was that in Tactical Combat, which boasted high AI, if you showed overwhelming skill, people would no longer look at you strangely or avoid you.

Instead, the chuunibyou speech pattern would spread rapidly through noble social circles, as if setting a new trend.

However, if you didn’t show truly overwhelming performance, you would just be treated as an eccentric. Even though Ian was from the Linbarrel family, there were limits.

Especially among high-ranking families like those of counts or above. It was just a chuunibyou build that existed only for veteran players to enjoy their role-playing.

[In that sense, what I want to say is…]

So, his personality turned out like this because he’s following that chuunibyou build?

Gilbert’s head was spinning. When he first met him, he was just relieved that Ian wasn’t a coward, but this wasn’t a good situation either.

Such an eccentric personality wasn’t suitable for a commander, and if his abilities fell short, he would quickly lose his leadership. The only advantage over a cowardly personality was that he wouldn’t run away from fights. That was it.

[Therefore, you must clash with me with all your might. I am an impregnable fortress, a barrier of protection.]

He ended the communication with a laugh and strange word order. It felt like a storm had just passed through.

He was too dumbfounded to even curse. All he could do was let out a hollow laugh.

Well, if he’s already on the chuunibyou build, there’s nothing I can do. He’s not the game character I used to control.

He gave up cleanly. Just as he had given up on becoming Lily’s companion, Gilbert abandoned the idea of correcting Ian’s personality.

However, one thing he couldn’t give up on was that Ian’s skills needed to be at least above the passing grade he had in mind. Considering the main quests ahead, such a personality wouldn’t be very helpful.

The chuunibyou build always required playing with the mindset of being the protagonist, making one self-centered and constantly craving attention.

To create situations where they were always the center of attention, they had to act unpredictably.

In other words, no matter what meticulous plan was made, Ian could become an obstacle.

For Gilbert, there was no need to take on the risk of bringing along an Ian who didn’t even possess overwhelming skills.

So there was only one thing to do.

He needed to confirm Ian’s abilities.

[Cadet Gilbert and Cadet Ian, please proceed to the arena when ready.]

As the announcement came through, Gilbert cleared away all his complicated feelings and drove his mech into the arena. On the opposite side, he could see Ian’s mech entering.

Somehow, the arrogant Ian he had seen during the magic communication seemed to be projected onto the mech.

– Ian! Ian! Ian!

– Gilbert! Gilbert! Gilbert!

The spectators chanted the names of the two finalists. Remembering the skills both had shown throughout the competition, the audience eagerly anticipated what kind of match they would display.

He saw Ian slightly raising his mech’s hand to acknowledge the crowd’s cheers.

If he hadn’t known through the recent communication that Ian had taken on the chuunibyou build, he might have thought it was just good fan service, but not now.

He could see it was just an action to draw people’s attention to himself.

As the spectators’ cheers reached their peak,

The signal announcing the start of the final match sounded.

At the same moment Gilbert heard the signal, he drew his iron sword and charged at Ian like a raging tide.