"Well? What are you waiting for?" Nero asked at the three others who were staring at him, waking them from their reverie. Gabriel and Arter were genuinely surprised, and Maximilian was excited at his chances.
Gabriel gave Arter a look, before he went and scanned his hand as well. Turned out, he was the 52nd generation descendant of someone called Anzem Fade, which was a remarkably close number to Nero's own ancestor.
It was quite curious to think that fifty-something generations ago, their ancestors might have known each other, just like they knew each other. Nero wondered what their relationship must have been like. Were they research assistants and partners?
Or was the timing more of a coincidental thing, and the truth was that they might never have known each other at all, and just happened to work for the Eldrim at a similar time.
The same could be said for Nero and any number of draftees in this war, so it was entirely plausible.
Arter went next, and he ended up being a 64th generation descendant of someone called Corvo Perth. It was not surprising, though, that Arter did not carry his ancestors name. In fact, the surprising thing was that Gabriel's family still used their family name - and his mothers family too, if they were alive somewhere out there.
Unfortunately, their great momentum was broken when Maximilain tried to scan his hand, and the machine did not recognise him or his ancestors at all. His excited expression suddenly fell, and he almost looked like he had lost a fortune. In truth, he had lost a lot more than that.
"Don't worry," Gabriel said. "Like I said, even if you can't use the machines yourself, there is much for you to gain here. As long as even one of us can use the machines, it's good enough."
Although his immense disappointment could not be hidden, Maximilian picked himself up. His resolve was not so weak, and he was still determined to get the most out of this opportunity.
The quartet head off, moving deeper into the facility through open doors. They completely ignored the dark berserkers still trying to crash through the door, but after a while that stopped. Instead, a bulky figure with a squirming outline appeared in front of the door, holding a spear.
This time, he did not try to touch the forcefield, but he did try to peer in, yet there was no one for him to see.
Nero once again let Gabriel take the lead, though they seemed to be following a path of open doors, probably following Vanessa's trail. There were many closed doors as well, though he got the feeling that he could open them.
Yet he did not experiment yet.
This Vault had its fair share of anomalies. Just being able to insulate the fog was not enough. What was more important was the absence of curses. In the research facility he could believe that the dark berserkers, berserkers and mutts had taken care of them all. Yet what was the excuse here?
If the barrier the Eldrim employed could successfully prevent curses from appearing… then that would be an earth shattering discovery! The impact it could have on life was no less than that of the discovery of the Eldrim cards themselves. At least, if the barrier was replicable.
Eventually, following a long, winding path through open doors, they arrived in a room filled with cylindrical glass pods, though each of them was sealed save one.
The pod revealed nothing extraordinary. Yet besides that, and a few other machines, there was no other prominent discovery here.
"She must have hidden in one of the other rooms," Arter swore as he scanned the room but discovered nothing. He seemed particularly pissed off at being deceived.
"Is that why we're here?" Nero asked. "I think we're focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of focusing on Jessie, we should focus on finding the security node, as well as getting as many benefits as we can from here."
"Oh don't you worry, that's exactly what we're doing," Gabriel said with a wide grin as he approached one of the computers and turned it on. "Did you think I was following the open doors? No, I was following the signs on the ceiling that led to this very room. It seemed our imposter had the same idea."
Gabriel began to use the computer, and though he was clearly struggling in figuring out how exactly to use it, it seemed like he was looking for something specific.
"What is this room?" Nero could not help but ask. He approached the open cylinder to take a closer look, and that's when he noticed that the walls of the cylinder actually contained a few empty vials, as well as racks that clearly held more vials previously.
Instead of immediately answering, Gabriel laughed as he managed to open one of the cylinders.
"This, my unenlightened friend, is one of the most valuable treasures you will ever get your hands on. This is purified, liquified aether!"
"No way!" Arter suddenly exclaimed, his sour mood suddenly forgotten as he approached the newly opened cylinder. He reached in and grabbed one of the vials, still filled with a light blue liquid.
"No way!" he exclaimed again, and his hands began to tremble!
"What the hell is liquified aether?" Nero asked. He was not dumb. The name clearly insinuated what it was. But the fact was that he had never heard of such a thing, and more importantly, he did not know what it was used for. Clearly, based on the reaction Gabriel and Arter were having, it was extremely valuable.
"Liquified aether is exactly what it sounds like," Gabriel answered with a grin. "As for what it's used for… Nero, this stuff can help boost your progress regardless of what realm you're in. Do you understand what I'm saying? Regardless of your realm! It can help you speed up your progress from Neophyte to Initiate, just as it can help a Sage grow stronger within their own realm! Can you imagine?
Even Sages want this stuff!"
Maximilian was startled as he heard those words, and rushed to the cylinder to grab a vial for himself. This… this was too valuable!
"Nobody knows how to make this thing," Gabriel said as he looked at the vial with a heated gaze. "But records have passed down from the Emperor's time. This is one of the reasons why the Emperor and his generals became Sage's so quickly! But after they used it all, it's never been seen again, and despite hundreds of years of effort, no one knows how to make it still."
Nero frowned as he saw how crazed each of them looked. He turned around and looked around the room. If someone wanted to assassinate them right now, it'd be incredibly easy. Not that he thought of Vanessa as an assassin, but still.
"Contain yourselves," Nero said sternly, his heavy voice a stark contrast to the feelings of the other three boys. "Don't forget that we're in a warzone, with a time limit counting down till the fog blows back. Not to mention, if Jessie got in here, there's nothing preventing others from coming in as well.
-official
Although liquid aether sounds good, we don't have the time to use it nor do we have the means to take all of this away. The second we leave this palace and return to the command centre they'll take these vials away from us."
Gabriel gave him a derisive look.
"As level headed as ever. But you're wrong about one thing. We definitely have time to use at least one vial each."
Since the other two each had one already, Gabriel handed Nero a vial as well. The cylinder had a few more, and there were approximately a hundred cylinders in this room, meaning that there were hundreds of such vials in this room.
"Liquid aether can be used at any level, but it is not absorbed over a short period of time, not to mention it does not hamper you in any way. That means, after drinking this, we can still keep a few more with us to turn in to the command centre for credit while our body slowly absorbs it. After all, remember, after we leave, and the fog comes back, no one can come here till next year.
So if we deliver a few of these vials, our credit will be huge.
"Meanwhile, our own progress will have sped up incredibly. Just make sure you don't break into the Initiate realm while we're still in the basement. It would be quite sad to survive this long, only to be killed by the fog."
Without explaining any more, Gabriel opened the vial and chugged it. Technically speaking, since this liquid could help even Sages, it was a huge waste for them to be drinking it. But none of them felt like it was a waste. Becoming an Initiate even a day sooner would make them stronger, and increase their chances of survival. After all, they were the weakest members of the army in a time of war.