Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Nesario has done it, and others want to do it too!

Mark was well aware of his ordinariness in other areas, so he had absolute confidence and high expectations in battlefield mobility.

However, he didn't do his best this time. He was the first to enter the test and knew nothing about the venue.

If he also understood the environment of the venue, he could probably be even faster.

Whoosh—as Neltharion sprinted, a cloud of dust even rose from the simulated environment's path. Neltharion's running movements were nothing like the ferocious ones of yesterday; on the contrary—he moved with remarkable agility, easily accommodating the weakest walls and squeezing into the narrowest passages.

There were no obvious pauses between these movements; his movements were as smooth as a river flowing swiftly down a broken riverbed.

Without the dazzling spectacle of Mark's movements, or the tightly woven tension of Rita's, his actions were as fluid and smooth as a leisurely stroll.

5 minutes and 30 seconds!

This is the fastest Neltharion can do without Berserk and Claws activated.

*Crack*—Someone's heart shattered.

Mark Grant has burned out; his initial aura of outward humility masking underlying arrogance has shattered, and he has been surpassed once again.

In fact, Mark did not lose. The route that Nesario just took was mostly copied from Rita's. This girl's tactical planning ability is definitely not bad. In the battlefield environment, she managed to find a flat road that did not require much turning or jumping.

Of course—Nesario wasn't using his full strength either.

"Now it's time to watch Chen's performance. It's time to clear away these appetizers; the main character is about to make his appearance."

"Chenchen, are you really running fast? I didn't even know!"

"Um...actually, I'm not that fast."

"..."

Nesario was offering Chen his congratulatory words in advance, while Fiona was looking at her roommate with curiosity—she hadn't noticed this characteristic of Chen in the past few days.

Rita silently watched Nesario's previous recordings—learning from failures and growing from those who excel. Rita wouldn't be discouraged by two setbacks; on the contrary, she became even more determined, and she couldn't help but wonder what other surprises Nesario had in store.

"Next!"

"Chenchen, keep it up!"

"I try my best."

Chen's appearance still attracted a lot of attention. Although she didn't do much in the physical strength test yesterday, what made her stand out was not her ability at all.

Those are dragons! And dragons from the Great Yan Dynasty!

That Eastern country is full of mystery, and countless magical stories originated there. It is said that every person in Yan Kingdom knows kung fu.

In short, as the rumors evolved, many nations on the Terra continent remained curious about the Yan Kingdom. The students of Class 10, Grade 1, were no exception; they eagerly awaited Chen's performance.

After Chen stood at the starting line, she sprinted off at the starting command. Although Chen's speed was not bad, there was still a significant gap between her and Nesario and the others. Why did Nesario value her so much?

Chen soon encountered a collapsed ruin. The ruins were piled up on the ground, leaving almost no space for a person to pass. The only way was to climb over from above—the ability to climb and climb over quickly was the test of his skills.

Chen Maibu kicked off hard from below—such a steep place was absolutely unsuitable for jumping, because the landing point was difficult to control and it was extremely easy to get stuck.

But unexpectedly, Chen's steps on those rickety bricks caused almost no ripples. She seemed weightless. If you looked closely, you would find that her jump height and hang time were extraordinary.

'Indeed, only those who soar through the clouds can truly be called dragons. Her abilities in 3D maneuverability are indeed extraordinary.'

It wasn't just Nesario who noticed this characteristic; as Chen easily overcame each extremely difficult obstacle, everyone else recognized the uniqueness of this Eastern woman.

"She looks like a feather."

"I know! This is the lightness skill of the Great Yan Dynasty! Legend has it that once this skill is mastered, one can fly over rooftops and walk on water."

"Hey, we didn't lose unfairly this time."

Chen's subsequent progress was extremely simple; she moved with ease even on those high places where there was no foothold, and those buildings that had long hindered everyone became her stepping stones.

5 minutes—a full 30 seconds longer than Nesario!

"Wow! Chenchen! You're amazing! How did you do that?! Is it really the Great Yan's lightness skill? Do you know any other skills, like smashing a big rock with your chest or something?"

"Uh... I think you have a very deep misunderstanding of the martial arts of the Great Yan Dynasty."

"Teach me!"

"Let's talk about it later."

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Defects of Originium Arts

"Very good, after battlefield maneuvering comes the Originium Arts test. Ouch... To be honest, is this thing even necessary? I don't think any of you are particularly talented in Originium Arts but ended up studying here, right? It's only been less than a week since school started, you should transfer schools sooner rather than later."

Angelia's words only elicited a few scattered laughs; the matter was not funny at all.

At least for noble young masters and ladies, a sorcerer who can unleash powerful abilities while dressed in proper attire and wielding a staff is definitely better than a guard.

However, without the necessary qualifications, forcibly learning Originium Arts will not yield any results.

*Columbian profanity!* While there aren't any with good aptitude, there is one with exceptionally poor aptitude.

Neltharion is facing his moment of judgment; all the boasting he's done is now going to be paid for.

Several staff members pushed several trolleys toward the line, with several large boxes on the trolleys.

"Teacher Angelia, the package has been delivered. Please sign for it."

"Fortunately."

After the teachers and staff finished handing over the work, everyone was able to see the true nature of those things at a command—weapons!

"High-temperature cutting knife, composite explosive crossbow bolt, hand cannon, magic staff."

"The high-temperature cutting blade only requires you to activate the Originium circuit within it, and the pre-set thermite reaction will be triggered. Its temperature is sufficient to easily cut through a typical vault. It is easy to start, but because it is difficult to control, inefficient, and has high wear and tear, it is just the most basic Originium weapon."

"The composite explosive crossbow bolt requires Originium Arts to activate the device on the arrowhead. Considering the arrow's flight time, the Originium Arts manipulation required is more complex. It's a standard military weapon; once you can use this, you can handle most standard military weapons."

"Pistols—needless to say, they're the pride of the Sarkaz. The school provides pistols imported from Laterano. As long as you can fire them repeatedly and steadily—you can try out any weapon, no matter how complex. Trust my judgment, I certainly can't handle this thing."

"A staff, standard equipment for warlocks. Because there are no specific Originium circuits, the way spells are expressed is entirely up to you. If any of you can use this thing proficiently, you should just drop out and transfer to another school. A warlock academy is more suitable for you."

After the introduction, no further words were needed—Mark Grant, whose Dao heart was mostly shattered, stepped forward on his own initiative.

He himself has said before that, apart from battlefield mobility, he is mediocre in other aspects.

The high-temperature cutting blade lit up quickly in his hand, then emitted a scorching heat; the composite explosive crossbow bolt was successfully fired, hit, and exploded after being aimed for four or five seconds; as for the handgun... he held his breath for about ten seconds before firing the first shot; the staff was even worse, he almost had his hair set on fire by the stray flames.

Amidst everyone's cheerful laughter, he awkwardly returned to his seat.

After that, everyone's performance was similar. They were able to quickly master the first two weapons, and after holding their breath for a while, they were able to fire one or two shots with the pistol.

Miss Rita performed the best, emptying her pistol in one go, with all seven bullets landing very close together. However, according to her, while she could achieve this effect when shooting at a target, she would be unable to fire once she started moving.

And so—amidst all the attention, Neltharion made his reappearance!

Is this man truly omnipotent? If he can even use Originium Arts, what would his Originium Arts be like?

Even Rita was looking forward to it, having heard that the Vaiva soldiers were all quite talented in Originium Arts, especially in the area of ​​natural elements. When she was a child, she had witnessed her father's Vaiva soldiers demonstrate Originium Arts—a huge fireball shattered a set of heavy armor, which left a very deep impression on young Rita.

Nesario gripped the high-temperature cutting blade tightly, expressionless—until several tens of seconds had passed.

"Nesario, what happened? Has the weapon's Originium circuitry been damaged? The damage shouldn't be happening this quickly..."

Angelia stepped forward to replace the weapon, since the high-temperature cutting knife was meant to be a disposable item, so it was only natural that it would break quickly.

"Here, give it to me... Isn't it still usable?"

Angelia quickly lit up the high-temperature cutting blade. She glanced at the weapon in her hand with a slight sense of doubt, and then looked at Nesario with disbelief.

“Teacher... my Originium Arts are flawed.”

"..."

Yes, that's true.

Nesario had purchased an Originium Arts testing device when he was a child—that device was later given to Saria, and it successfully tested that she was capable of using Originium Arts. During the kidnapping incident, Saria first demonstrated her exceptional Originium Arts talent.

The cheapest staff, combined with her excitement, allowed her to successfully cast the spell and set the stage for victory.

At the time, Nesario did not use the testing device, citing a lack of energy to learn Originium Arts.

Later in high school, Saria took him to undergo testing—at that time, there wasn't a single Originium device in the entire testing site that Nesario could use.

God opened the door called "dragon's blood" for him, but closed the window called "spells".

"Sure?"

"Yes, absolutely certain."

"...This is really troublesome."

Upon hearing this news, Angelia immediately removed Nesario from her "promising" category in her mind.

For an ordinary person, Originium Arts are optional.

But it is essential for a warrior, especially a high-ranking one.

Powerful weapons require Originium Arts to operate, and various tactical effects require weapons to achieve.

Victoria's masterpiece, the Steam Knight, also requires Originium Arts to operate.

Those cannons, guns, and crossbows become even stronger with the help of Originium Arts—without Originium Arts, Nesario can only use the most basic and primitive weapons.

That's no different from a fire poker.

"You can go back now, next one."

"Yes."

Nesario returned to the group, and at that moment—all the gazes that had been focused on him dispersed.

Even those who had previously held him in high esteem turned their attention away.

Neltharion doesn't have Originium Arts—that will be the best weight on their internal scales.

No matter how outstanding he is, they can always comfort themselves with this reason.

Even if Nesario could kill them all if he wanted to right now, it wouldn't matter.

As time goes by, and as they begin to learn how to use and maintain the weapons, Neltharion will finally collapse. But who can predict what will happen then?

Who knows, maybe by then, Nesario had already awakened Originium Arts?