Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Maria, who was wearing armor, was not seriously injured, but she was still traumatized.

Just as she was about to get up and fight again, she looked up and saw Xia Yu squatting in front of her with a smile.

"Hey, young lady, would you like to experience what it feels like to have power?"

"Power?" Maria stared blankly at Xia Yu.

"Didn't we agree not to activate your Originium Arts?" Zofia stepped forward and said with a frown.

If you can't even break through that turtle shell after unlocking Originium Arts, what's the point of training?

“No, no, no, I wasn’t talking about armor,” Xia Yu shook her head upon hearing this. “You know, my Originium Arts can be used on more than just armor and weapons.”

"You mean," Zofia reacted quickly, "it can also be used on people?"

“Yes, of course,” Xia Yu said smugly, looking up. “Can it only be used on inanimate objects? My Originium Arts are not such inconvenient things!”

"Of course, just like its application to armor, it also has limitations."

"That's the duration. After all, living beings and armor are different; they can't last forever."

"It can be used like that?" Maria's eyes widened when she heard this, and then she immediately looked at Zofia in a flattering manner.

She was very curious about what that feeling was like.

The latter glared at her irritably, then asked Xia Yu, "But even if you buff her, what good will it do? Make her harder? Make her immune to pain? How is that any different from when she activates her armor?"

The underlying message is the same: this won't serve as training.

"Um, you seem to have some misunderstanding about my Originium Arts," Xia Yu paused for a moment, then explained, "Was I not clear enough yesterday?"

"My Originium Arts are not just ordinary enhancements, but rather an elevation of the concept to the existence of an object."

"When applied to armor, it enhances the armor's capabilities; when applied to a person..."

At this point, he patted Maria on the shoulder, "Your reaction time, martial arts skills, stamina, strength, and so on will all be improved."

"If you maintain this state of training for a while, and then return to the unsupported state of training, you can experience the difference between the two and quickly find your direction."

"This is how I use my Originium Arts on people!"

"This...this is possible?" Zofia's face was filled with disbelief. If this were really true...

"Sister Zofia, I want to try!"

Maria looked eager to try.

"It won't do any harm to your health, will it?" Zofia asked helplessly, looking at her expectant face.

"Of course not. Oh, maybe it's a muscle strain?"

"So... is it really okay for you to reveal your Originium Arts to us like this?"

"Zofia asked with concern."

“Of course, no problem,” Xia Yu gave them a thumbs up. “You’re Margaret’s family, of course I can trust you!”

“I see,” Zofia said, speechless. “Then let’s begin.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu immediately activated Merlin's Spirit Origin and then used a Hero Creation to strike Maria.

“Ah, power,” Maria stared blankly at her hands, then clenched her fists tightly, “It’s surging up!”

174 Amazing effects

clang!

Zofia pursed her lips and frowned as she received Maria's attacks one after another.

"I...I understand!"

With an excited shout from Maria, she thrust her training sword at a very tricky angle towards Zofia.

clang!

Zofia managed to change her move and block it.

But what followed was Maria's fierce and relentless attack.

clang!clang!clang!

The crisp sound of swords clashing together was incessant.

Maria's attacks grew faster and faster, as if she had inexhaustible stamina supporting her.

Zofia found it increasingly difficult to block, and she grew more and more surprised.

This so-called enhancement... its effects are simply too astonishing.

In the instant she lost her focus, Maria's eyes flashed, and her sword struck Zofia's right wrist at an incredible angle.

With a groan of pain, Zofia let out a muffled cry, and the training sword fell limply from her hand.

Maria was stunned when she saw this.

But she quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly threw down her sword, running towards Zofia.

"Auntie! Are you alright?" she asked in a panic, blurting out, "Are you hurt?"

“Auntie, hehe,” Zofia looked up at her niece’s concerned gaze and returned a bright smile.

"Maria, I'm telling you, you're finished!"

"I'm so sorry," Maria said, clasping her hands together and pleadingly, "Sister Zofia, I was just so worried about you."

"By the way, are you hurt? Let me see..."

"You think you can hurt me?" Zofia said irritably, shaking her right hand. "It's just a little numb."

After all, both of them were fully armed and wearing armor, and Maria's sword only hit her gauntlets, not enough to cause injury.

"Phew, that's good," Maria said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I was so scared."

"Heh," Zofia rolled her eyes silently upon hearing her words.

If I hadn't been distracted by Xia Yu's amazing Originium Arts, how could I have revealed a flaw?

But then again, this Originium Arts...

She recalled Xia Yu's previous introduction to her Originium Arts.

Does strengthening something lead to a fundamental improvement?

As expected... that's quite the essence of things.

He instantly elevated Maria, a novice with only solid basic skills, to a level where she could defeat him, who fought using her right hand.

It's a pity that my left hand is unusable, otherwise...

Sigh, there's no point in saying all this.

“Maria,” she said with a bright smile to her niece, “it seems the enhancement period has passed, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Maria replied blankly.

“That’s good, let’s continue,” Zofia’s smile grew even brighter. “I hope you can learn something from your previous experience.”

“Uh,” Maria suddenly understood everything she was about to encounter when she saw this.

"Sister Zofia," she looked away guiltily and asked, "Are you sure your hand is alright? Or should we rest for a bit?"

“Don’t worry about me,” Zofia smiled and took her hand. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Training you is the most important thing right now.”

No, I know you're okay!

But I know I'll be in trouble if I keep fighting!!!

Maria tried hard to pull her hand away from Zofia's, but failed.

Looking at her aunt's increasingly radiant smile, Maria felt as if she had returned to the past.

Before my older sister participated in the knightly competition, and before my grandfather passed away, I and Zofia studied swordsmanship together.

My aunt was so competitive back then. Every time I beat her by even a little bit, she would go without food to win back her winnings.

Only later...

Later, his sister was expelled from Kazimierz, his grandfather passed away, his uncle became completely disillusioned with the country, and he himself, facing the drastic changes in his family, gradually gave up his swordsmanship training.

Only Zofia persevered.

He didn't dare to ask any more questions until he heard that she had participated in the knightly competition, but because of his uncle, he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Back then, I was a timid child.

Later, after hearing that she had been injured and forced to retire, Maria defied her uncle for the first time and went to the hospital to visit her.

Although she didn't know that when she slammed the door and left, her uncle was watching her from behind and didn't stop her.

It's been so many years since I've seen Zofia like this.

Maria was pulled back to the lawn, which served as the training ground, in a daze.

She didn't come to her senses until Zofia shoved the training sword into her hand.

Maria looked at the smiling Zofia with horror on her face.