Ancient Dragon in Arknights

This change can only be experienced quietly by him, and he will benefit greatly from it.

......

With his inner turmoil severed and his mind as clear as a mirror, it goes without saying what Nesario will encounter in this state.

Looking at the towering stone mountains and the enormous dragon crystal soaring into the sky, I felt a burning sensation on my skin—the temperature of the molten lava beneath the earth.

"As expected of my sister, a single letter can solve all my problems. It's like sending me straight to a new world. Amazing!"

Nesario muttered to himself. This time, there was neither the research team nor the Palicoes around him. He was truly alone, with no way out.

"Nergigante, the second round has begun. Obediently become the authority in my hands!"

Lightly equipped, the hunter fearlessly ventured into the Elder's Recess. As he became more familiar with the route, strange sensations began to creep through his body. Neltharion found the lair of the Nergigante. On their first meeting, it had cleared a path blocked by crystals; now—that path led to its lair.

Nesario's steps were firm as he walked along the passage, one step at a time, until finally—at the end of the passage, an open-air circular valley appeared before him.

Nergigante had been waiting for a long time. It sensed Neltharion's presence, but unfortunately, it still remembered the time when Neltharion caused trouble and Kushala Daora escaped, so its expression was very unfriendly.

"Nergigante—Come, face me!"

Neltharion was arrogant and seemed to completely disregard Nergigante.

"Roar--!"

The familiar dragon roar rang out once more, and with this roar, Neltharion's previously suppressed heart instantly surged.

*Thud thud*—sharp thorns pierced through the body, and intense pain spread throughout the entire body.

Boom! As Nergigante soared high into the air and then crashed down, Neltharion, without the protection of the Azure Star, was instantly transformed into Neltharion.zip.

After receiving guidance and gaining clarity about their inner thoughts, they then defeat a previously invincible enemy in one fell swoop, carrying the friendship and bonds of their companions—this kind of plot only appears in adventure movies.

The reality is that Nesario is still far from being a good fit.

Chapter 125 Reply

In the days that followed, Nesario lived an extremely regular life, getting up early every day, exercising, studying, and using the school's resources to learn the lessons and tactical skills to come; and about once a week, he would reappear on the New World.

He had informed Azure Star beforehand and conveyed his will—to face the Nergigante alone and challenge the limits.

Azure Star initially disagreed—although Neltharion always revived unharmed, no one knew the cost of this ability.

Nesario himself was unaware of it, and no one else knew anything about it. No one had ever witnessed such a miracle; resurrection only existed in fantasy stories.

Is this gift forever? What if it suddenly disappears one day? So Azure Star believes that Neltharion should cherish his life even more—treat every resurrection as if it were the last, since they can hunt Elder Dragons together, and even Nergigante is no match for them.

But Nesario doesn't see it that way—"Others seek advantage and avoid harm because they only have one chance; it's a biological instinct, the trend of all things. So it's understandable. But I'm different. God has given me chance after chance, so my goals should be much higher."

For example, conquering Elder Dragons! The last time I defeated Nergigante was just a clever trick, and besides, it wasn't completely defeated; it ultimately survived.

Neltharion's goal was to make the massive dragon's head bow down, to completely and thoroughly transform the Nergigante into his own authority.

Since things had come to this point, Azure Star had no way to stop Neltharion in the first place. She couldn't possibly stay in the Elder's Recess every day waiting for Nergigante and Neltharion to fight, so—she could only wish Neltharion well and hope he returned victorious.

"Hmm...this is the fourth time I've failed today..."

Upon waking from the dream once again, Nesario was not panicked; his repeated experiences had made him completely accustomed to the process.

At the beginning, a single roar from Nergigante could drive its body into a berserk state; now, the effect of Nergigante's roar has been greatly reduced. At least, Neltharion can stand firm in front of it and even exchange a few blows.

"Unfortunately, it still won..."

Neltharion skillfully walked to the bathroom, stood in front of the glass and examined his own body—on his broad chest, there were several more scales and thorns, all traces of the Nergigante.

The constant conflict with Nergigante comes at a price: Neltharion's influence is deepening.

From a small piece of scale at the beginning to multiple infections now.

Fortunately, it was already winter in Londinium, and everyone was wearing thick winter clothes. Neltharion could maintain a relatively high body temperature at all times through the metabolic functions of both the Blademaster and the Odogaron, so winter clothes were not a necessity.

But it can serve as a concealment – ​​when wearing winter clothes, a girl's curvaceous figure will be hidden; not to mention some small scales and thorns.

"Today's schedule... Ah. Chen and the others' reply seems to be arriving soon?"

Communicating with his older sister is important, so Nesario can freely choose the most expensive Universal Messenger service. But communicating with his three classmates... let's not even talk about the importance of the matter; the main issue is the number! Three people! That's a threefold increase in cost!

Therefore, I could only choose the most basic logistics service. So, it took a whole month of back and forth to receive a reply; Universal Messenger truly delivers on its promises.

After going to the messenger service station and receiving his three replies, Nesario found a corner snack shop to sit down.

Londinium recently embarked on a voyage to avoid a potential natural disaster—due to the change in location, many new resources have flooded into Londinium, and many foods that Neltharion had never seen before are appearing, which is good.

The first letter Nessario checked was naturally Fiona's—[To Nana: I got home on the fourth day after leaving school. To be honest, I regretted not bringing you back with me. Winter came even faster this year, and there's still so much wheat left to harvest. My family's, Aunt Julia's family's, Uncle Ben's family's... In short, very busy!]

【If I brought you along, you could definitely handle it quickly with your strength. I was doing farm work with my mom, telling her stories from school; she said I'd only learned the basics and was far from being a real soldier—how could she say that! The teachers all say we're top students. And...my mom is very interested in you. She said Vaiva is rare, especially outstanding ones, and she wants me to maintain a good relationship with you.】

[She doesn't need to worry about that at all, we're best friends, right! My mom was quite surprised when your letter arrived. Hehe...]

Besides the letter paper, there was something else in the envelope—Nesario looked closely and saw it was a bookmark made of wheat.

Just looking at it, I can almost hear Fiona's energetic voice. With her personality, farm work probably wouldn't make her sad; on the contrary, she'd be quite excited.

"As for this... it seems she put in a lot of effort."

Nesario looked at the wheat bookmark in his hand—the specially treated wheat still retained its golden hue, clashing with the surrounding wintery atmosphere. Fiona excelled at physically demanding tasks like assaults and battlefield raids; however, she was ill-suited for delicate tasks such as maintaining and repairing electronic equipment.

Behind this wheat bookmark may lie dozens of failed attempts and a girl silently striving for excellence; it is very precious.

Nesario carefully placed it in the inner pocket of his clothes, intending to put it in the book he was currently reading when he returned to his dormitory.

Chen's reply was more formal; she first reported that she was safe and sound, and then described the scenery and customs of Longmen.

Compared to Lontinem, Lungmen has a more down-to-earth atmosphere. There isn't a privileged class like the nobility in Lungmen, although... there are still many people of high status. However, compared to Victoria, Yan has more restrictions, making Lungmen more free and open. You're welcome to come and visit sometime; I'll do my best to be a good host.

Compared to Fiona's cheerful and lively demeanor, Chen clearly seemed to have something on her mind—she also appeared to come from a prestigious family in Yan Country, but compared to Rita's maturity and composure, Chen carried a more melancholic air.

In the letter, Nesario didn't glean any description of her family; her description of Lungmen was filled with resentment, suggesting she was extremely dissatisfied with Lungmen's current situation. It seems Miss Chen has quite a background.

Can Nesario consider himself to have a large and distinguished guest list?

Chapter 126 The Flame Eater

Finally, there is...

Neither Fiona's nor Chen's letters evoked much emotion in Nesario. To Nesario, the former was more like a lively and enthusiastic younger sister, while the latter was a friend with an unfortunate past.

Fiona's enthusiasm and sunshine always uplifted Nesario's spirits, making him laugh heartily without any reservations; Chen, on the other hand, showed Nesario her unwavering willpower, as well as a sense of justice and integrity that he had never possessed, which was something he could learn from.

But Rita is different; she is different from both of them.

Nesario trusted her, and her maturity and composure made Nesario consider becoming dependent on her.

Incredibly, Rita is the second woman Nesario feels he can rely on in his life; the first was Nesario's sister, Saria.

Nesario's affection for Rita was not the kind of love described in the poet's words. Although Rita's every smile and gesture was very beautiful, it was far from enough to make Nesario's heart flutter.

What truly captivated Nesario was her calm and collected command in the face of danger, and the unwavering profile of her standing firmly by his side; if he could, Nesario wished he were just an ordinary Vaiva.

In that case, he could accept Victoria's invitation without any pressure and join the country that Rita loved; then after graduation, he could join the army with her and naturally walk side by side with the passage of time.

Unfortunately, Nesario's future is uncertain, and Rita's role in it is not crucial.

Opening the letter, its contents were unremarkable—a written expression of condolence, the handwriting as rigid and formal as Rita herself.

I've returned to Scamanderos Territory, and to be honest—I preferred my time at the academy. The elders in my family haven't commented much on my acceptance into the Victoria Royal Guard Academy, but some still think it will attract unnecessary attention; conversations with my siblings are limited to a few words...

Nesario, sometimes I envy you. When you talk about your family, although you don't overly praise them, you always smile. I really envy that—the Scamanderos family is like an old man on his deathbed, somber and oppressive.

I'm sorry to tell you this. Sometimes, I just really need to confide in someone... I hope you're doing well at the academy. Winters in Londinium are very cold, so please take care to keep warm.

The more Nesario looked at it, the harder he squeezed his fingers, until finally—a corner of the letter was crumpled into a mess.

He had initially guessed that Rita's letter would be more about inquiring about Lentinium's current situation and urging Nesario on, but it turned out to be her outpouring of emotions...

It's hard to imagine that Rita, who is as strong as a riot shield, would show such emotions.

But Nesario somehow understood—the Cumberland family, as dukes, had become like that after the old king died; how much better could Scamanderos, a mere earl, be?

In order to protect their families and accumulate power, contemporary heads of households will inevitably make many "wrong" decisions; this is the cruelty of politics.

Having understood this, Nesario concluded that Rita's father was quite indulgent towards her.

The fact that she was able to come to Lentinium bearing the name "Scamanderos" would have brought unnecessary trouble to her family, but her father allowed it.

Rita, naturally strong and brave, clearly finds it hard to accept the gradual "death" of the Scamanderos family; the oppressive atmosphere alone probably makes her uncomfortable.

"Sigh... This is not a conflict of feelings between father and daughter, but a conflict of two directions and ideologies within the family."

The head of the Scamanderos family represents a conservative approach, sacrificing most of the family's interests and honor to survive, waiting for the new king's call; while Rita represents a more radical approach, with Scamanderos not relying on the new king, but relying on herself to turn the tide.

Nesario couldn't answer who was right and who was wrong; but he knew very well that Vina was still a long way from getting there, and the long night of Scamanderos would continue.

Nesario put away the letter, a slight ripple in his heart—Rita was not happy at home, and if he were to visit Scamanderos' territory at this time, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

Rita's heart would be in turmoil because of his action, and Victoria's political situation would take a dramatic turn for the worse—just imagine what the nobles would be saying at their gatherings.

“The most famous royalist—'Scamanderos'—has defected.”

"Ha, this is good news! Another part of Aslan's power has collapsed, and we will be the masters of Victoria!"

"But they didn't join us."

"Why?! Where did they go?"

"They joined Drake."

Throwing all the chaotic thoughts and speculations out of his mind, Nesario finally abandoned the plan—there were too many variables and crises, it wasn't worth it.

Rita was just feeling depressed and sad at home, not being tortured—so I'll make it up to her when school starts.

Nesario suddenly felt that his "love" and "like" were all hypocritical, and in the end he chose his own interests.

After finishing the last sip of his milk tea, Nesario stood up and left, ignoring the prying eyes of passersby.

......

At night, Nesario lay in bed, clearing his mind to rest.

Today is not a "hunting day," so there's nothing to worry about.

Consciousness gradually faded, and finally, darkness enveloped them...