Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

However, the level of surprise for Warfarin on the other end of the communication was no less than that for the former.

"Wait, you're saying he can use Originium Arts with his physical body?" Warfarin's voice reminded Tommat of Kroos's reaction when she saw the airship. "I originally thought he just had special blood... Hey, I think we can put aside our previous discussion about the dosage of anesthetic; we have something new to do!"

The communication was cut off immediately after he finished speaking, leaving the instructor, who had seen many strange people and events, still astonished by what he had just witnessed.

"If you were to actually use Originium Arts, it would be a huge subversion of common sense. And I retract my previous statement. After all, if having such an ability leads you to go to the battlefield at the age of six... I'm sorry, that's not something I should concern myself with."

"Ah, don't imagine me having a miserable and painful childhood. Compared to the bad things that have happened to me recently, my childhood was actually pretty good."

Immediately interrupting the other party's reverie about who-knows-where, and under the strange gaze of others, after completing the filling out of some details, Thomas was finally arranged for further testing.

The testing site was moved to a nearby spacious room, which included a closed, transparent, separate space made of what appeared to be reinforced glass. Nearby were various electronic devices, seemingly for observing and recording the internal conditions.

[AO 0401, please come up to the stage to undergo a test related to Originium magic.]

"My turn." Hearing his assigned number being read aloud, Thomas stepped forward into the enclosed space, brushing past the other trainees who had just finished their tests. "But it's a caster operator test..."

Those who use offensive Originium Arts are often assigned to the Caster Group, and the test is to test the power of their spells. Of course, there are some exceptions who will be assigned to other groups. For example, those who use weapons to cause melee spell damage instead of ranged attacks will be added to the Guard Department. Or, those whose skills are not offensive but can provide other amplifications or obstacles to living beings will be trained as support personnel.

Thomas initially felt he was better suited for the Guardian team, but under the strong recommendation of his instructors, he decided to undergo the Caster Operator test.

For Tomat, it's just a matter of smashing the target with his fists or blowing it up with an air bomb.

Just before the door to the testing room closed, Thomas seemed to remember something, paused for a moment, and asked the recorder outside the door:

"Are your protective measures robust enough?"

"Of course, as you have seen, the previous tests had almost no impact on the outside world. The military-grade protective material can perfectly isolate the impact of Originium Arts."

The recorder spoke confidently, then a button closed the door, locking Tomat inside.

The floor of the enclosed space split open, and a humanoid target, heavily armed as if it were made of iron, slowly rose up—you can't use a real person for the impact test.

"These are the weapons we captured from the rioters. Their protective capabilities have reached the standards of most military equipment." The instructions from the outside world were transmitted into the room. "There is a recording device in this target that will calculate the impact and penetration damage caused by Originium Arts in real time... provided that you can penetrate this protection."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Skyfire, today is the day the Doctor is supposed to return, but I still have to ask you to guide the new operators on their testing."

Among the recorders intently watching the screen, a girl with brown hair and cat ears, wearing a red coat, wasn't focused on recording the data like the others. Instead, she was observing Tomat herself and replied in a lazy voice, "I don't know which side will be more boring, so it doesn't matter where I am."

"But what's wrong with this guy? Is there a mistake in the records?" She picked up Tomat's resume. "His clothes are strange, and in the exposed areas, you can't see the Originium crystals on his skin. He's not a moderate to severe infected person, yet he can perform Originium Arts with his bare hands?"

Having always guided the testing of new recruits here, this girl known as Tianhuo never thought she could see a talent as worthy of discovery as herself or her companions, and the man in front of her was no exception.

Mediocre, offering no surprise whatsoever; at most, one can only feel doubt about the form of his technique.

"If you're prepared, then attack the target."

He gave the order in a tone devoid of expectation, while at the same moment, the gas blast in Tomat's hand condensed into shape inside the room.

"A spherical impact? It's maintained quite steadily, but there's nothing special about it. It's just a simple launch. It's an overly simplistic technique. There's no talent or beauty in it."

Skyfire commented on Tomat, who seemed to be making some adjustments as it hadn't launched yet.

"Um... Miss Skyfire?"

The recorder's remarks interrupted Tianhuo's commentary.

"What's wrong?" she asked, somewhat displeased.

"Although it hasn't been officially attacked yet, but..."

The recorder kept their eyes glued to the screen, reporting intermittently.

"Hmm, I think this size should be about right."

Tomat didn't fire because he was adjusting the power level.

And at the instant the energy blast—what they call Originium Arts—is released and makes contact with the target...

The entire island of Rhodes seemed to feel a tremor.

The transparent protective layer is now reduced to the one behind Tomat. The impact of the explosion carried debris to every corner of the test room, and the wall facing the launch direction was completely dented, twisted together by the high temperature and impact.

As for the test objectives...

It had already evaporated along with the sensor.

"Did you see that power?!"

Tianhuo snapped out of his daze and shouted at the recorder.

"Tell me the data!"

The people recording the incident were mostly facing away from the direction of the impact, so they were mostly shocked by the power and the loud noise rather than suffering too much damage.

"...It's zero, there's no reaction at all! But the recording equipment for the physical impact burned out instantly..."

This was a simple yet powerful attack, but no Originium Arts reaction was observed on the other still-operating machines, while another physical impact recorder went off the charts.

This kind of thing seems to have only happened in the Guardian Operators' testing center.

But what I'm seeing now is a potential caster operator?

At this moment, Tianhuo had the idea of ​​giving up thinking.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Skyfire was chosen because of its base building skill.

[Main Text] Saiyans, reporting for duty!: Chapter Eight: Three Peaceful Days

"Don't panic, it's just a matter of technical adjustments."

Skyfire thought to herself, ever since she came to Rhodes Island as an Originium Arts instructor, she has seen all sorts of incredible people. Although she still considers herself a genius in magic that no one can easily match, she has gradually accepted the mixed nature of Rhodes Island. Moreover, in terms of destructive power, some caster operators can occasionally cause similar damage.

However, she is now struggling with the evaluation of operators.

While he's classified as a caster operator, his attacks don't exhibit any Originium Arts effects and are primarily physical damage. Although they can't penetrate physical defenses like spells, their sheer power is enough to inflict devastating damage on heavily armored units.

If he is a sniper operator, he is not carrying any shooting weapons or projectiles.

"A caster operator who can instantly vaporize enemies with physical attacks"?

After careful consideration, Skyfire wrote two paragraphs on the file: "It is recommended to join the special operations team" and "The skill itself is worth academic research."

With the surrounding walls destroyed, Tomat didn't need to wait for the exit to open. He went to the recorder at Skyfire's location and hesitantly asked:

Do I need compensation?

That's what he asked, but he didn't have any cash or anything like that on him.

“Non-malicious acts of sabotage during testing will be treated as accidents and no compensation will be required. Similar incidents occur several times a month. The remaining personnel will be transferred to other testing rooms.” Skyfire thought Tommat would say something more special, but he only asked about compensation. “Judging from the results, you are qualified... which means that from now on you have the status of a Rhodes Island reserve operator. All that’s left is to wait for formal training and work assignments.”

This process was similar to when Tomat was assigned to the legion's combat team. After Skyfire signed the test document, he immediately received an ID card with his portrait printed on it from the personnel department. Without a code name, the only note under the portrait was his real name.

In addition, there is a set of standard Rhodes Island male operator uniforms and a key card marked PRE-E3, which is Tomath's group number.

A warm cabin, decent food, and not the menacing colleagues he expected—at least most of them weren't. Three days had passed since he arrived at Rhodes Island from the ruins of Chernobog. Although he couldn't see any resemblance between this place and the "pharmaceutical company" in their name, Thomas was used to and satisfied with his current life. However, the sudden regular training and physical tests were still a little disorienting for him. After all, he had previously been holed up in the airship, repeatedly going through cryogenic sleep. But getting back on track was only a matter of time. Having received a meal from them, all he had to do was help them when necessary, and that was all he felt he should do.

[Rhodes Island Conference Room, 7:00 AM, the third day after the Chernobyl rescue operation]

“ACE regained consciousness last night. Although he insisted on getting out of bed, I put some sleeping pills in his food. His organs, which were burned by the high temperature, are much more delicate than his personality.”

Warfarin rarely attends meetings exclusively for medical personnel, and the presence of managers from various Rhodes Island departments in the same meeting room already indicates that this meeting is not some secret drugging seminar.

"As for the doctor, after three days, his body has recovered from the fatigue after cryosleep, and I have also shown him around the operations of each department." Amiya's small stature meant that she couldn't even touch the ground with her feet when sitting in the conference room chair, and whenever she stood up to speak, she looked even shorter.

"His command in the simulation battle was also excellent, and he got along well with many operators." The operators' chief instructor, Dobermann, also reported on the situation of Rhodes Island during this period. "The psychological trauma left on some operators by the Battle of Chernobog is not so optimistic. According to him, E3 Squad led by ACE has already... while Scout Squad is still missing."

Each high-ranking operator reported in turn, and Kal'tsit ultimately gave instructions for the next phase of the Rhodes Island operation.

"Thank you for your report. The success of the Chernobog operation was based on enormous sacrifices, and we cannot relax just because the operation was successful. You should all have received reports of what happened there. The Reunion Movement has changed its behavior. The fall of Chernobog is just the beginning. We will face an even more difficult situation, especially now that people are directing their anger further at the infected." Kal'tsit said in her usual calm tone, "As for the Doctor who has now returned to the command of Rhodes Island's high command, I cannot say that I expect his value to be equated with the sacrificed operators. After all, no one has the right to ask others to sacrifice for them. However, I will still entrust him with the command he has always held, with Amiya supervising him."

Kal'tsit turned around and changed the Rhodes Island logo displayed on the conference room screen to a bustling mobile city-state.

"Next, we will head to Lungmen to negotiate with Wei Yanwu, the leader of Lungmen, regarding the Reunion Movement incident in Chernobyl."

For the next period of time, Kal'tsit explained in detail to those present the basis and guidelines for the next action—until the meeting was about to end at the scheduled time.

"Alright, that concludes the main points of the meeting. Thank you all for your hard work. You can now return to your workstations. If you have any further questions or if there are any unexpected events, please feel free to contact me."

As soon as the meeting was adjourned, Doberman raised his hand and said:

"Won't Kal'tsit explain anything about that new operator?" Dobermann pulled out a reimbursement form for damaged items, which was densely filled with the names of various training equipment. "That operator frequently experienced equipment damage... or rather, equipment being scrapped during training. Of course, that's not the focus of the discussion. What's more important is the operator's outstanding level of physical strength and battlefield mobility. So much so that after the first test, I crossed out his combat training content because there was a high possibility of causing serious personal injury to other training partners."

“I’m aware of that operator’s situation. Dobermann should just follow the current training plan and arrange the equipment training for him. Let the technical team prepare testing machines with higher capabilities,” Kal’tsit replied. “Dr. Warfarin, you should also continue the research on that operator’s blood samples. There’s no need to be secretive.”

"How...how did you know?"

Warfarin's face turned deathly pale, though that was her natural color.

“Then I’d also like to apply to study his equipment!” Seeing that Warfarin’s actions were permitted, Corosil from the purchasing department eagerly raised her hand. “Mel said he’s also very interested in this.”

“After he passed the operator test, I communicated with him about the relevant matters, and he also allowed the technical development team to study the replaced armor. The person in charge is Mechanist.” Kal'tsit extinguished Kroos’s newly ignited enthusiasm with a cold tone. “By the way, Mel went to assist Mechanist’s team that day.”

"Mer, you tricked me!" Kroos was truly astonished that her friend had secretly run away without her knowledge, but she still asked, "He refused to let us study the spaceship and that thing also called Scout?"

“I didn’t even ask about it.” Kal’tsit turned to Dobermann. “In short, we should treat Agor’s agents the same way, satisfying their need for freedom of movement as much as possible, without overly restricting their personal actions.”

"Why not just make him a full operator?" Dobermann didn't understand why, given so much freedom, the other person was still kept as a probationary operator.

“Because it’s simpler to avoid confrontation than to win him over. Giving him enough freedom will allow him to consider more options, rather than just ‘having only one path to choose from.’ We can’t guarantee that the path he chooses will be one he’d be happy with, and besides…” Kal’tsit said, “Our focus should be on the trip to Lungmen, not adding another unstable factor that we have to worry about.”

[Main Text] Saiyans, reporting for duty!: Chapter Nine: The Night Banquet at Rhodes Island

In fact, there were many more things about Tomat that left a deep impression on the Rhodes Island members, but these people were unable to provide feedback because they were unable to attend the meeting. At the same time, it was a trivial matter for them, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

For example, his appetite.

Rhode Island, second cabin, public dining hall, noon.

"personnel?"

"Everyone's here!"

"Ingredients?"

"Ready!"

"Target status?"

"They've left the first canteen and look very hungry. Their target is heading this way!"

All the chefs were on "battle mode" for no other reason than that Tomat had just eaten a huge meal for nearly fifty people at the first canteen, including the "Medical Operator Hibiscus Special Nutritional Salad".