Ancient Dragon in Arknights

'They're so light! Even with my current build, I can wear and wield them!'

Nesario kept telling himself that they were light, and as the number of repetitions increased, the weight on his body did indeed decrease.

However, it is not completely empty. If it were completely empty, Nesario's subconscious might think that he is not wearing anything.

He felt as if he were wearing a thick cotton-padded coat in winter, his movements were slightly restricted and he felt a certain weight pressing down on him.

As for weapons, Nesario looked at the large treasures he held in both hands.

A greatsword longer than his own height, its size and weight making it seem completely unlike a weapon used by a human, but only such a weapon could give him a chance to hunt monsters!

"Up!"

Nesario walked deeper into the valley, and as the surrounding scenery became more familiar, he unsurprisingly returned to that place—a hunting ground filled with corpses.

Even more striking was that the monster was not far away, lying on the ground with its claws tucked in and its muscles slightly relaxed.

Is she sleeping?

Nesario crept closer, realizing this was an opportunity!

Chapter Ten: One Move Off

A golden opportunity was presented to Neltharion. This monster was incredibly fast, and even with weapons equipped, his chances of winning weren't very high.

But at this moment, even the fastest beast cannot evade an attack while asleep.

Nesario used the gentlest movements, trying his best to avoid making too much noise. The monster's eyes were completely degenerated; even when sleeping, its eyes did not close at all, the thick gray cornea preventing the eyelids from closing.

The sacrifice of sight has been exchanged for powerful hearing and a sense of smell, and Nesario certainly doesn't want to walk up to it and get caught on the spot.

"Hiss...ha..."

Neltharion found the right angle, planted his feet firmly on the ground, gripped the greatsword with both hands, raised it high—and then brought it down hard!

*Thud*—As he felt the flesh being sliced ​​through his hand, Nesario confirmed that his attack had hit its mark.

Neltharion aimed for the monster's neck; ideally, he could decapitate it with a single strike.

But reality is clearly not so smooth; this monster has evolved entirely for combat.

The body, devoid of any hair, looked as if it had been skinned, but in reality, it was all muscles honed through countless hours of training, and its back had a thick layer of keratin stacked together.

Most of the power of that sword strike was blocked by the keratin layer, so the subsequent force could only penetrate the flesh but could not tear the body apart.

Once you've landed a successful blow, don't be greedy. This monster, awakened from its sweet dream by pain, will be incredibly ferocious.

Nesario couldn't withstand even half of that fierce attack.

With a series of tactical rolls and somersaults, Nesario successfully created distance between himself and his opponent.

"Roar--!!!"

The hoarse, terrifying roar assaulted his eardrums. After a brief moment of disorientation, Nesario saw that gaping maw and razor-sharp claws hurtling toward him.

The opponent is too fast. Even if Nesario dodges, he will be bitten immediately. At this time, offense is the best defense!

Nesario slung his greatsword behind his back, gripped it tightly with both hands, and only swung it when the monster was close enough to get to him.

clang!

Although Nesario was trying his best to aim, his opponent was simply too fast. His greatsword left a wound, but most of the force was avoided and the sword slammed into the ground.

A deep crack was left in the thick rock, but Nesario paid no attention to the mark he had made.

He was extremely nervous at this moment because the monster was right in front of him to the left. The monster had already noticed him, and this prey was capable of resisting and was quite troublesome.

It retracted its neck to gather strength, then suddenly charged out! Zhang Ka's fangs lashed out at Nesario in an arc.

Nesario's eyes were fixed on his enemy, and he had already caught the retreating movement. The way the enemy was gathering power like a venomous snake was all too obvious.

Roll to the right, and use the momentum to successfully lift the greatsword back onto your back.

“This feeling…”

Nesario found his inspiration—the imagined greatsword was so large that it was inconvenient for him to move around in it.

If you follow the traditional way of wielding a sword, you need to slow down the momentum of the swing, let alone launch a swift attack.

That roll just now gave Neltharion an idea—why was he stuck to the ground? Wouldn't it be better to utilize the momentum of the greatsword, reduce the recovery time, and increase the attack frequency?

The fleeting inspiration didn't take long. After its first pounce was dodged, the monster didn't stop. It retreated slightly before lunging at Neltharion again.

Nesario still opted for an offensive confrontation, but this time he was more cautious.

The slash interrupted the opponent's attack, followed immediately by a follow-up attack. The greatsword slammed into the ground due to its enormous inertia, but this time Nesario did not lift it up. Instead, he relaxed his body and let himself fly with the inertia. He used his hands, which were gripping the hilt of the sword, as a fulcrum to perform a somersault!

'It really works!'

Nesario seized the opportunity and incorporated this gravitational potential energy into his next attack.

Pfft!

The sound of the heavy sword blade slicing through flesh was so pleasant at that moment, and the spraying blood was so beautiful.

'There's a show! '

If this goes on for a few more rounds, I'll definitely kill this guy!

Nesario saw a bright and promising future.

The blood-red monster now appeared to be quite battered, with a deep, bone-revealing wound on its neck, and injuries inflicted by Neltharion on its cheeks and forelimbs.

Bright red blood dripped onto the ground; a mortal body that loses a lot of blood is not far from death.

Even though the monster was severely injured, it did not flee; rather, it became increasingly insane.

Its originally bright red body became even more vibrant, and red light even shone between the muscles on its chest—this monster seemed to still possess a second-stage burst form! However, this move came at a price; its blood flow rate increased significantly, and the blood that had been held back by its taut muscles began to gush out under the influence of blood pressure.

It charged forward suddenly, and Nesario raised his greatsword; he was already familiar with this kind of confrontation.

This move is definitely the final blow! Nesario didn't believe that his opponent could continue to move after losing so much blood.

He stared intently at the beast's massive head, but this time—the beast used a tail whip.

The body, which had been charging forward, suddenly came to a screeching halt as it lunged at Neltharion. Due to the immense inertia and the force of the turn, the mace-like tail slammed into Neltharion's side like a log.

Boom!

The thick, hard tail slammed into Neltharion's armor, deforming it. Neltharion himself spun three and a half times in the air before crashing to the ground, his weapon rolling to the side due to the massive impact.

This monster has actually changed its attack method and started using a tail whip!?

Nesario was careless; the opponent's thick tail could easily be used as a weapon, but he failed to realize this.

My vision gradually blurred... A heavy feeling came from my limbs and torso.

A tremor ran through the ground beneath his cheek—the guy was standing right in front of him.

Finally, Nesario woke up in his bed once again—he was back.

However, Nesario was not discouraged; on the contrary, he was extremely proud at this moment!

Being able to stand against such a terrifying monster and achieve results, although a large part of it was accomplished through idealistic power, does not stop him from boasting about his "power".

"We will definitely defeat it tomorrow night!"

Chapter Eleven: Seeing the Big Picture in Small Things

"Nesario, you don't look very energetic..."

"I'm fine... yawn—"

After a week-long vacation, Nesario and Saria are finally going back to school.

Toby and his gang are about to meet their end today, which is truly a cause for celebration.

On such a fine day, Nesario should have been happily heading to school, but at this moment, even mustering his spirits was a challenge.

He was swiftly defeated and even killed the first time he entered the "dream space," but the next day he felt no discomfort except for some palpitations; however, the "intense battle" the previous night was clearly not so easy.

When Nesario got out of bed this morning to prepare for the new day, he felt a heavy sense of fatigue.

He, who never sleeps in, really wanted to take a nap today, and the simply colored bed looked so comfortable.

Unfortunately, there were more important things to do today, so Nesario had to force himself to wash up and go to school despite his exhaustion.

'As expected, although the dream used idealistic power, it wasn't without its price.'

Nesario felt as if he had stayed up all night and then done some intense exercise.

The once familiar route to school now seemed so long; I must plan carefully when to enter the dream world in the future.

Saria could see that her younger brother seemed very listless, but she was at a loss for what to do. Physical wounds could be treated with medicine, but mental fatigue... how about letting Nesario skip school and go home to sleep?

Saria was confident she could persuade the teacher to grant her another day off, but Nesario himself probably wouldn't agree.

"Nesario, do you need me to carry you?"

"what?"

"You must be very tired right now, right? There's still a distance to school, let me carry you."

"No, that would only tire you out too."

In reality, Nesario's reason for refusing was simply that he didn't want to embarrass himself. There weren't many classmates on this stretch of road yet, but he would encounter more students as he got closer to the school.

At this moment, Nesario's image at school is probably that of a cold and aloof male god who is extremely good at fighting but has an aloof personality. If people see him having to be carried to school by his sister... it would be better to let him continue to fight that big monster for three hundred rounds!

When Nesario and Saria arrived at the school, they received quite a bit of attention along the way, especially Nesario. Although no one dared to come up and greet him, the prying eyes never stopped.

Some of the precocious girls started staring at him and giggling.

"After this, probably no one will dare to cause us any more trouble, sister."

Nesario still considered Saria the one who needed protection, but in reality, Saria was more eager than he was to encounter those who were looking for trouble.

She needs a trial! A trial to completely say goodbye to her past weakness!

"All students, please line up and enter the gymnasium under the orderly guidance of the teachers. The monthly assembly is about to begin."

The announcement was being broadcast repeatedly. Most people in the school were already aware of the theme of the assembly, and most were interested in it. After all, they weren't the ones doing the beating or the ones being beaten, so just watching for fun was enough.

The tournament was incredibly boring, at least for Nesario.