After the last berserker died there was a moment of elation, followed by extreme exhaustion. Nero was better off, not only because he had long been training his body to have exceptional endurance, but because of his recent strengthening.
Even then, his condition was not exactly the best, let alone everyone else. It was easy to say that they had rested for a few hours earlier, but in truth their body had not recovered from the constant exertion of fighting so many curses.
Nero had thought that having low aether would be his greatest concern, but he underestimated the physical exertion he had to face. This may be one of the most important reasons most soldiers are encouraged to reach the Initiate realm as quickly as possible. The boost the human body received was much needed for such drawn out missions.
It was like they were asked to sprint at their fastest speed. Then, before they could rest properly, they were asked to do it again. No matter how excellent of an athlete one may be, after constantly sprinting at full speed numerous times in just a few hours, they would be thoroughly exhausted. But it was not like they had a choice.
If they avoided running at full speed during each 'sprint' they were at the risk of dying.
The fact that they had all survived this long was as much a testament to their skill as it was luck. Nero suddenly realised that no matter how things proceed from now on, unless his team was allowed to rest and recover properly, they would not be able to perform at their best. Compared to the other teams they would be at a severe disadvantage.
No amount of sheer grit and willpower could make up for the cold hard fact that their muscles were sore and that they were low on energy.
But although Nero had underestimated how exhausted everyone would be, it wasn't as if he hadn't foreseen this possibility at all. There were ways to handle this.
Nero used Aether Pulse once more, and upon confirming that there were no dangers around, relaxed.
"Guys, take turns and use Rejuvenate. I'll look around in the meantime."
Although he did not know if Leonard and his team had a similar card, Nero made sure everyone in his team was equipped with it. Rejuvenate was similar to Raise the dead, except that Raise the dead was more focused towards eliminating the need for sleep. Basically, it was more effective if one had been awake too long, and needed to stay awake much longer.
Rejuvenate, however, acted more in accordance with its name.
Name: Rejuvenate
Image: A man meditating with his legs crossed and arms resting on his knees
Type: Augmentation
Star rank: 0
Ability: [Use aether to constantly rejuvenate the body, relaxing and rehabilitating sore muscles]
Flavour text: "Rest is for the weak, so rest and allow the weakness to leave you," - Saint Codale
This was a 0 star version of a much more potent card with a stronger effect. Although it could not do anything about replenishing their drained energy, it would at least allow them to recover rapidly. Earlier on, when they were on the fourth level, everyone had taken some time to use it as well.
The thing about this card was that it did not have a fixed effect. As long as one kept using it, the card would continue to work. But as soon as one stopped using it, the effect would end.
At their current level, this was the best they could hope to get.
While his team dragged themselves to the far corner of the room, away from the entrance, Leonard and his team also began looking through their card cases. Recovery cards were more or less a staple, so he was sure they wouldn't make such a basic mistake of not bringing one.
Nero, instead, walked towards where the four berserkers had been eating. It was not that he was attracted to the mutilated corpses, but rather that he saw the broken body of the machine with the blade for an arm among them.
It was no longer moving, and it had clearly taken a beating. But more importantly, at this distance, even Nero could feel the strange aether fluctuations coming from its body.
He pulled the body aside, putting some distance between himself and the bloody puddle that the bodies were placed in, and began to examine the body. Everything seemed fine until he discovered its still clenched fist. According to the size of the hand it was shaped oddly, as if it was holding something within.
Nero pulled out his dagger and pried the fingers open one by one, revealing a white medallion. It was firm, as if made from some incredibly tough material, but at a glance it looked like marble. It looked like marble, just like the half destroyed statue in the middle of the room. More importantly, it was the source of the strange aether fluctuations.
Nero turned, and for the first time, examined the room in great detail. Compared to the other, relatively plain rooms, this one looked a lot more ceremonial. It was not just the pillars, but also the hanging lanterns, the carvings in the walls, the clear distinction in the ground tiles between in the inner and outer circles of the room.
Compared to the others, this room clearly held a great, and very specific purpose.
Nero approached the statue and studied it. It showed only a pair of legs, some kind of cape or gown behind it, rising up to the knees, after which it was destroyed. Since the statue was wearing shoes and pants, he could not determine if the legs were supposed to belong to a human. After all, who said that the Eldrim didn't have two legs? Maybe they looked quite similar.
Regardless, there wasn't much he could tell from just the legs alone.
He did, however, notice a small, circular indentation in the floor behind the legs. Without even considering that it might not belong, Nero brought the medallion up and placed it within the indentation.
The aether fluctuations suddenly vanished and after a long, silent moment where Nero began to think that the statue's hidden function was broken, the floor in the inner circle began to move. Nero nearly tripped, but caught himself just in time.
The tiles in the inner circle began moving in a counterclockwise manner, disappearing into a hidden opening in the ground behind the statue, revealing a descending, spiralling staircase.
Nero's eyes gleamed, and he turned to look towards Leonard.
Both of them, no, in fact every person in the room was thinking the same thing. This looked like the perfect place to hide artefacts.
Nero and his team were also weakened and tired, much like Leonard himself. Even so, if a betrayal was to come, it would be coming soon.
"Recover a bit yourself as well," Leonard said. "Everyone is tired. We don't know what we might face down there. There's no point in rushing down."
Nero pursed his lips. Rushing down did have a point. They could possibly get their hands on the artefacts and leave before the other teams discover them. Then again, it was true that there was no way to know what was downstairs. Going down just to get ahead of everyone might be a terrible mistake.
Resting and risking being discovered by the others might just be worth it.
Nero sighed, and then nodded.
"Everyone recover as much as you can. This might be the most integral part of this mission, so we should be in our best state."
With that said, Nero went and sat down with his team, taking out his own Rejuvenate card. As he activated the card, he felt his aether began to cycle through his body softly, diffusing into his muscles and alleviating aches and sores.
He was drained, just as much if not more than everyone else, but with each passing second, he was recovering.
He had taken a risk by waiting, but going down was a risk as well. Between the two, he had prioritised the one that gave the most chance of his team making it out unharmed. Compared to the unusual curses, and strange monsters they had encountered so far, Nero was the least bit concerned about facing the other teams. They were strong, sure. He never doubted that they would be strong.
But facing humans was also a lot easier. They were a lot less indestructible compared to curses.
Everyone sat there for nearly thirty minutes, recovering as much as they could. Just as Nero was considering ending their short rest, the sound of approaching footsteps began to echo down the corridor.
It seemed like one way or another, their short break was over.
Unsurprisingly, Arter soon came into view, followed by four other soldiers. Most of them Nero had already seen when they fought alongside Arter. One, however, was a new face.