This Novel is not my Novel

Needless to say, I connected Ether Attributes with personal inclinations because that information appeared in the original novel.

For example, the original novel's Karvaldr gained an additional buff skill called 【Encouragement】 through an inclination called 'Possessiveness'. The activation condition for this was assigning a target the keyword 'My ○○○'.

Karvaldr wasn't the only character whose 'Inclination' was mentioned in the Skill Window. While not all Named Characters gained such benefits, most acquired derivative skills or additional effect options based on their inclinations.

I knew this from reading the original novel, not from analyzing the Austri Ducal Family's accumulated data.

But since I couldn't reveal that fact, I had to lie.

"As you said, Professor, I reached that conclusion through information gathered in that way. However, this is merely a personal inference, not Family Secret Knowledge, so you don't need to speak to me privately away from the seniors."

"If it's information that others can know as well, how about writing a research paper on it?"

Professor Radvisin had likely lowered his voice out of consideration for me. It was probably also because he intended to keep his promise not to divulge the contents of my submitted report.

However, the connection between Ether Attributes and personal inclinations isn't really a secret. It's a fact that will naturally become known in a few months once the Awakened begin seeing their 'Skill Window'.

I had only said there was no need to be cautious because it wasn't information that could truly be considered secret, but instead I was suddenly met with a proposal to write a thesis.

"For my inference to be recognized as an established theory, wouldn't I need numerous examples and supporting evidence? To achieve that, I would need cooperation not only from my family members, but also from people in other Ducal Families or the Imperial Family, which is practically impossible."

"That's not true. While it's true that only the Imperial Family and the Four Great Ducal Families have maintained the same Ether for generations, cases where parents and children share the same Ether are actually quite common. We can gather examples through them as well."

"...I'm still a first-year student, so I don't know how to write a research paper yet."

"I will kindly teach you, so you don't need to worry about that. Just from the fact that your first thought was how to gather examples, I can tell you have talent for it, Mr. Karvaldr."

"......"

I should have just used my age as an excuse from the start.

By trying to persuade him logically, I only created the misunderstanding that I had talent for {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} writing research papers.

I repeatedly pondered how to overcome this sudden predicament, and eventually found a suitable excuse.

"For now, rather than clinging to a single line of research, I want to focus on developing myself in various ways."

"Well, Mr. Karvaldr, you are still a teenager, so this is the right age for that. I suppose I was getting ahead of myself. It's just that the more I look at you, the more I see you as a coveted talent, so I keep getting greedy."

It seemed I had somehow managed to overcome the crisis, but judging from the gleam in Professor Radvisin's eyes, this was only a temporary solution.

I deliberately looked away, pretending not to notice his burdensome gaze.

Just then, the senior research students staggered toward us and collapsed.

Only then did Professor Radvisin look away from me and stop his stopwatch.

'They've only gone around the lecture room once, right? But they're already exhausted?'

It didn't seem like they were pretending just because they hated running. Just from the sound of their breathing, I could tell they were on the verge of collapsing.

This practical training classroom was quite large, but even taking that into account, their performance was truly pitiful.

I thought the body I possessed was pathetically weak, but it was nothing compared to the research students before me.

'Can they really survive in this world, which is destined to become so harsh, with stamina like that...?'

Contrary to my concerns, Professor Radvisin seemed to think the research students' condition was perfectly natural.

Without the slightest hesitation, he burned with enthusiastic experimental spirit.

"Mr. Karvaldr, use your ability right now. I'm truly curious what will happen if you cast a buff on them in an exhausted state. Will it increase their maximum endurance and create an effect similar to stamina recovery? Or does it increase proportionally to their remaining stamina, leaving them unable to move in their exhausted state? And if it's the former? After the buff effect ends, or if you intentionally cancel it and cast it again, will they receive another recovery effect? As the possessor of this ability, aren't you curious as well, Mr. Karvaldr?"

The Status Window in 《NaSE》 doesn't have a separate health bar. There is only a stat called endurance.

Therefore, buff skills function based on the stats displayed in the Status Window.

In short, the professor's initial assumption was correct.

'So they will regain enough strength to run again as if their stamina has recovered, but...'

Even I didn't know what would happen if I cast another buff after they had completely exhausted the stamina gained from that increased endurance.

There had never been a scene in the original novel where Karvaldr did such a thing.

Even in Karvaldr's Skill Window, which the protagonist had read with the 【Truth Reading Eye】 skill, there was no explanation about it.

It would be too overpowered if stamina could be restored infinitely every time a buff was cast, and it would also overlap somewhat with the domain of healing-type Ether.

So there were two possibilities.

The stamina recovery effect could only be obtained once, and only if the buff wasn't cast before the battle started.

Or stamina recovered each time, but strain accumulated on the body, causing illness afterward.

"I am certainly curious."

"Right? It's likely not just us, but Miss Blida and Mr. Elska are curious as well. Though they are still research students, they are respectable scholars. So naturally, they would immediately begin jogging in place to expend the stamina gradually recovering even now. Naturally so, even without me needing to order them."

Anyone listening could tell this was clearly an order to get up and start jogging in place immediately.

As if responding to their advisor professor's command...

...the two senior research students, just like when I first met them, transformed into Zombie Research Students and began moving their bodies listlessly while groaning, "Ughhhh~."

"Now then, Mr. Karvaldr. Please use your buff ability right before your seniors collapse from exhaustion, on all of us."

Professor Radvisin probably added that last part because I needed to consume as much Ether as possible.

After all, I needed to reach a state of Ether Exhaustion to achieve today's main objective.

It would also allow him to personally experience the extent of the buff's effects.

The answer was obvious enough that instead of asking for a reason, I undid the fastener on the whip hanging at my waist and gripped it in my hand.

At that, the zombie-like seniors who had been staggering in place flinched and stepped backward.

Their frightened expressions made it obvious what they were thinking.

"I'm telling you this beforehand because I think you're misunderstanding. I'm not going to hit you. My buff skill's efficiency can be increased through sound waves, so I'm just trying to use the sonic boom produced when I swing my whip."

They must have been thinking, 'What kind of nonsense is this? He's not a Bard from an RPG game.'

I thought the same thing.

Was it remotely plausible for a character who used a whip as a weapon to have a 'buff effect increase through sound waves' option attached to his skill?

'Even when I use this method myself and focus on the flow of Ether, I have no idea what kind of mechanism produces these results.'

I had no idea what Author Senna was thinking when he designed Karvaldr's character.

Did he think it would look cool, imagining a scene where everyone's attention is drawn the moment the whip strikes the ground and simultaneously activates a buff?

Or did he add the sound wave setting to justify why the Austri Family insisted on using whips as their weapon?

'I don't know which it is, but carrying a whip is better than carrying an instrument like a harp or lyre, I guess. In terms of portability, the physical damage it can inflict when swung, and... the fact that I'm tone-deaf.'

In any case, it was a mystery that couldn't be solved, nor was it important enough to need solving.

So instead of racking my brain over it, I decided to think positively and move on.

Having reached that conclusion, I infused the whip with 'unfiltered' Ether and swung it swiftly just as the staggering seniors swayed and were about to collapse.

The moment the tip of the whip broke the sound barrier, the Ether condensed around it exploded.

A Slap-! and a Bang! rang out simultaneously, followed a split second later by the whip tip striking the floor with a Crash!

Even so, the floor remained completely undamaged thanks to the Ether Engineering technology that absorbed impacts.

"Ugh, ughhh...!"

"Uwaaahhh!!"

The zombie-like seniors, as though they had never been on the verge of collapse, screamed and started sprinting.

Was it because the buff increased their strength and agility, improving their kicking force and bodily elasticity?

Even just watching them, their running speed was much faster than before.

However, they soon began slowing down, and before they had even completed half a lap around the lecture room, they collapsed helplessly like puppets with their strings cut.

The stamina gained from the increased endurance stat had already been depleted.

'It can't be helped. Unlike the skill 【Encouragement】, which adds a fixed value to stats, the basic buff skill 【Exaltation】 increases proportionally according to the target's stats. If the original stats are poor, the increase is bound to be minimal.'

Still, if there was a silver lining, it was that since the seniors tired out quickly, I could quickly confirm the buff's effects.

If I had experimented with Ríolíkin, I wouldn't even have been able to apply the buff yet.

"Mr. Karvaldr, can you cancel the buff at will?"

"Yes, it's possible."

"Then cancel it and use it again."

I immediately followed Professor Radvisin's instruction.

Then the seniors, who had been lying limply like corpses, suddenly sprang back up, ran roughly the same distance as before, and collapsed onto the floor once more.

I felt a sense of guilt, as though I were doing something I shouldn't.

"...Do I have to do it again?" freewebnovёl.ƈom

"No, the hypothesis has been proven, so there's no need. But there is something else I'm curious about. What happens if you activate the ability completely silently? Does it fail to take effect at all?"

"That's not the case." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Even without amplifying the buff effect through sound waves, there was still a base increase value.

So that the professor could personally experience the base buff effect, I canceled the currently applied buff and cast it again without swinging the whip.

I designated only myself and Professor Radvisin as targets.

"When are you going to cast the buff again?"

"I already have."

"Hm? I don't feel any different."

"That's because the increase from the base buff effect is small, and... perhaps because your base physical abilities are too low, Professor..."

"Ha, hahaha... I suppose I should start exercising too."

As he said that, Professor Radvisin avoided my eyes and stared blankly into empty space.

He looked exactly like a man who constantly resolved to exercise but knew he never actually would.

Indeed, if he had any intention of exercising, he would have run alongside the senior research students earlier.

To experience the stamina recovery effect for himself.