Rick Addison

About
Rick Addison is the commander of the Leazas Red Corps.

He is the strongest Swordsman in Leazas, and, since the death of Thoma Lipton, recognized as the strongest man on the continent. He is known across the land for his fearful strength, he has been nicknamed the "Red Death of Leazas" by his enemies.

The kanji 忠 written on his helmet means "loyalty". Underneath that helmet is a surprisingly boyish and shy face.

Personality and Appearance
Rick is generally a very polite and kind young man, but when he enters the battlefield he becomes a cold and merciless warrior, to the point of being compared to death itself by his enemies. According to Rance, when fighting, Rick always has a smile on his face.

Despite his immense talent, Rick has a very low opinion of himself and believes that he was appointed General of the Red Corps only because of the untimely death of the previous General.

He has great love for the sword, and admires anyone that can proficiently wield a blade. He has a very profound respect for Rance and his ability to use a sword.

Despite the fact that Rance doesn't like many men, he and Rick are very good friends. When referring to Rick, Rance has said "He's no trouble, he doesn't try to seduce my girls and he doesn't object to my choices." Likewise, Rick holds Rance in a very high regard due to his exceptional swordsmanship and skill at making decisions in the heat of the moment. During the events of Kichikuou Rance, he is one of the only people in attendance of Rance and Lia's wedding who expresses complete approval of Rance becoming King of Leazas, later stating that he believes Rance "was always meant to be a king."



Rick does have a great weakness: underneath his helmet, he has a very young and feminine face. Without his helmet he has no confidence, and gets scared of monsters and ghosts. When wearing his helmet, Rick throws away all insecurity and fear. Luckily for him, this secret is only shared by few, and it is not known outside of Leazas.

Abilities
Rick has a level cap of 70 and a current level of 55, making him one of the strongest humans in the continent. He's widely known as the "Red Death of Leazas" and is currently considered a strong candidate to the world's strongest man.



On the battlefield, Rick delivers incredibly fast attacks, even astounding Rance with the sheer speed of his strikes. Rick wields an enchanted blade named Byroad, passed down through the generations of Red Corps commanders. Because Rick is a level 2 swordsman, he can use a unique special attack. Rick's special move is called "By La Way", an attack that consists of three lightning-fast swings in a triangular shape. Rick is capable of destroying entire armies with this attack alone and it's what gave him his fame and title. Rance has stated that he doesn't like fighting with Rick because to be able to stand his ground against him requires "too much effort", but their strength is more or less equal at present.



As of Rance IX, Rick is capable of using the attack without the Byroad, albeit with much less power.

The only opponents that have been seen defeating Rick since he became the General of the Red Corps are the former General of the Helman 3rd Army, Minerva Margaret, and the golem apostle of Dark Lord Satella, Isis. In Minerva's case, however, she was specifically shown to have cheated in order to win, though she is also shown to have gotten the upper hand on him several times while conventionally fighting him.

Personal History
GI0990 - Rick is born to a small farming community in Leazas.



GI1??? - Rick, yearning for knighthood, enters the 32nd Leazas Parapara Tournament. He's eliminated in the first round by future Blue Corps second in command Kinkaid Brambla, but his potential is noticed by the commander of the Red Corps, Alto Hanbra. Hanbra takes Rick in as his son and begins training him.

GI1015 - At 25 years old, Rick becomes the 13th commander of the Leazas Red Corps, the youngest commander in history. In this year he repels an advanced Helman force by himself. T he battle is known as the Conflict at the Parapara Fort and  earns him the nickname of "Red Death".

LP0002 - Rick fights against Helman in the invasion against Leazas, but he is defeated and hypnotized by Dark Lord Ithere. He is later released by Rance and joins the Leazas Liberation Army, where he largely contributes in the war to free Leazas and, at the end of the conflict, in the battle against the Dark Lords. Months later, he joins the Rance Rescue Team in the expedition to Ylapu, where he aids him in his problematic situation to get out of the floating island.

LP0003 Kichikuou Rance (WHAT IF) - Rick is one of the few close friends who attends Rance and Lia's wedding. He expresses absolute approval of Rance becoming King due to his skills as a swordsman and as a leader. He is later used as a mediator to establish an alliance between Leazas and the Patton Faction due to his past with Patton, Hubert and Freak. Leila Grecni may also admit her feelings for Rick, causing them to begin dating.

LP0004 - Princess Lia of Leazas allows Rick to help Rance in Zeth.



LP0005 - Rick is considered as a candidate to be sent to aid Rance in JAPAN, however he is rejected due to Rance specifying that he wanted a female commander. He seems to have become closer to Leila around this time as Maria notes that she sees the two of them "spending a lot of time together".

LP0007 - Rick is sent as a reinforcement of Leazas to assist the Patton Faction with their revolution effort in Helman. Due to his infamy within the country, he momentarily gives both his armor and sword to Leila while traveling in disguise.

Relationships
He has a crush on Maris, which she is aware of but uninterested in.

He has a close relationship with his fellow General Leila Grecni, who harbors feelings for him that he is completely unaware of, instead viewing her as a friend and coworker.

He is one of the few male friends of Rance, who he absolutely respects as a magnificent individual and, Rick is one the few men Rance sees as a friend and respects the skills of.

He is the master of his second in command of the Leazas Red Corps, Menad Shisei, who looks up to him greatly. They both share some affinity, due to being young and prodigious warriors with a love for fighting prowess.

He is good friends with Ex Banquet, who he trained as a knight alongside. Both were equally depressed at the other's apparent betrayal during Kichikuou Rance. They both inherited their respective mentors roles as Generals of their armies and are currently the youngest commanders in their respective armies.

He highly respects Barres Province, who likewise admires him as both a prodigy of the sword and the protege of his best friend.

He holds his mentor, Alto Hanbra in a higher regard than any other person, and is given the strength to fight by wearing the helmet that Alto wore previously. He constantly worries about upholding the legacy Alto left for him which he seems to be doing a fine jobs of.

He has a mutual rivalry with Helman's Rolex Gadras, who he considers to be another fantastic swordsman, and has a similar interest in fighting Uesugi Kenshin, who is his main rival for the title of the worlds finest swordsman.

Trivia

 * Rick is an incredibly popular male character, consistently scoring high on character polls to the point where his brief cameo appearance was enough to secure the 2nd spot in Rance Quest's male character poll.
 * When Milacle Tou made her "dream party" ,conformed of the strongest males in The Continent, she didn't even consider Rick because she claimed that a man with such a low spirit and self-confidence is not worthwhile. However she did mention that he would make a great gatekeeper in her future country because of his admirable strength.
 * Rick is one of the few male characters that has managed to befriend Rance.
 * In the original game he first appeared(Rance III) Rick was just a random above average soldier but the character was surprisingly popular and was fully established and consolidated in IV.
 * The title of the World's finest swordsman belongs either to him or to Kenshin Uesugi.
 * He is the first commander of the Leazas Red Corps that uses the Byroad in battle effectively.
 * This article is about the original character Rick Addison from the Rance universe. For information for the Rick Addison in the game Mamatoto, see Rick Addison (Mamatoto).