Nero kept his gaze fixed on Gabriel as he watched him drink the liquid from the vial. It wasn't that he doubted Gabriel's statement, but even so it would not hurt to be cautious. The thing that Nero was especially focused on was how Gabriel specifically knew what he wanted, whereas Arter had only reacted after he had been told what the vial contained.
They both knew about Liquid aether, but Gabriel seemed more familiar with it, as well as with Vaults. Considering how a new Vault hadn't been accessed in centuries, Gabriel's intimate knowledge of what it was and what it contained was noteworthy.
Nero watched as Gabriel closed his eyes after drinking from the while, a satisfied look on his face. Arter and Maximilian did not hesitate either, chugging down their vials.
It didn't take long. Only a few seconds later Gabriel opened his eyes, and upon discovering that Nero still hadn't drunk his vial gave him a curious look.
"What does it feel like?" Nero asked.
"It's warm, and instantly spreads throughout your whole body. It's going to take a while to absorb. Considering our low level, it might take up to a couple of weeks, or even more to absorb it. But don't bother taking more than a vial. The amount of liquid aether we can contain is already less than the contents of this vial, and everything extra will just permeate out of our bodies as natural aether.
It's a waste."
"It just permeates out? No risk of poisoning or over consumption?" Nero asked, surprised.
"Like I said when I first introduced it, this is liquified and purified. It's the easiest form of aether to absorb. This thing… this single vial is worth at least a few hundred million Krims."
Nero's eyebrows shot up! Hundred million Krims? That was more than the networth of his entire family, even considering the fact that his mother might be a Mystic by now! Nero was not a greedy man, but even he felt light headed as he thought about how much money he was holding in his hands.
But the feeling barely lasted. The thing Nero cared about least was money. As long as he was strong money would naturally flow in.
Seeing that all three of them were fine after consuming the liquid aether, Nero chugged the vial as well.
The liquid aether tasted refreshingly minty, though the sensation of warmth being associated with that flavour was strange. As the liquid travelled down his throat, even before it reached his stomach, Nero could feel it being absorbed into his body.
A strange, euphoric sensation filled his entire body as the influence of the liquid spread, and Nero realised why each of them wore such a satisfied expression as they drank.
For a few seconds his entire body was warm, and Nero was certain he broke the 10% card absorption threshold, yet the feeling faded. If Gabriel was to be believed, over the next couple of weeks, the increase in percentage of his absorption would skyrocket. As for how much it increased, that remained to be seen.
"Do you want to know something absolutely crazy?" Gabriel asked as he looked at Nero with a smug expression.
"What?"
"What we just drank… is actually rocket fuel!"
Nero raised an eyebrow. He was familiar with rockets. It was said that Nova had experimented with building a so-called rocket with the intention of flying over the fog, or at least going high up enough in the atmosphere so that they can catch a glimpse of their world beyond their 'small' enclosure. It was, of course, a failure of a project.
There had yet to be a single successful launch, at least as far as he knew.
"What you're saying is that the Nova rocket initiative was inspired by Eldrim technology?" Nero took another look around this room and saw nothing that looked like a rocket. But then again, they were in the fuel storage area, technically speaking.
Gabriel clicked his tongue in disappointment. He was hoping for more of a reaction from Nero than simple curiosity.
"Everything we have is based off of Eldrim tech," Gabriel responded blandly, now that he lost interest.
"There are more benefits for us to find in this Vault, but none of them are as simple and straightforward as drinking liquid aether. We also have to account for the fact that we might encounter new things that weren't in any reports of what other Vaults contained.
"From here on out, I think we should search for the security node while keeping an eye out for any research on Eldrim cards. If we discover anything new, we can take some time to explore it but we have to be careful. I know of at least two Eldrim augmentation machines that put a person to sleep for a few weeks while they enhance the body that were recorded in previous Vaults.
If any of us get stuck in things like that… then they're going to have to find a way to survive down here for another year at the very least before help comes."
"I propose we split up," said Arter suddenly. "We can cover more ground, and if any of us finds the security node we can alert the others."
Nero and Gabriel shared a look, before looking at Maximilian who seemed hesitant. Out of them all, he had the least information about this place, and had the least access. He certainly couldn't go alone, and Nero and Gabriel seemed like they were more than happy to work together. If they did split up, it would either be teams of two, or Arter heading off alone.
"Of course, we cannot be completely alone. Who knows what Jessie might plan," Arter said. "We can move around in teams of two. Max and I can go together, and you two can go on your own."
After seeing that Maximilian was amenable to the deal they split up, though Nero and Gabriel stayed back in the fuel storage room and watched the others go. Maximilian kept the bomb with him, since leaving it lying around was not a good idea.
"You think he's planning something?" Gabriel asked as he watched Arter leave.
"No, he just doesn't like being reminded that we beat him up. On top of that, Jessie's betrayal has resulted in him facing two failures, all within the span of 24 hours. He's just in a bad mood," said Nero.
"What about us? Are we planning something?" Gabriel asked, referring to why Nero had him stay back.
Nero smiled. Instead of replying to him, he looked around the room, and especially towards the first cylinder which was already open when they arrived.
"Getting out of the Vault might not be as easy as you imagined, Jessie," Nero said out to the room. "Right after you came in, the entire escort group was attacked, and realistically speaking, annihilated. Whether we can truly exit safely or not is still in question. So… if you, perhaps, want some help exiting when we're about to leave, feel free to reach out to me. I'm sure we can work out a deal."
The room returned to silence after Nero spoke, and nothing unusual happened. It was as if Nero had spoken those words to an empty room. But he only smiled, and walked out with Gabriel, who was also looking around curiously.
A few minutes after the two left, Vanessa stepped out of a shadow, grinding her teeth. She didn't believe Nero had found her. He had to be pretending. He had to be! thank you for using mv _l _e _mpy _r
She clenched her fists and stomped one of her feet.
That stupid boy was messing with her, she knew it! If it were anything else, she would not have cared. But Vanessa was especially proud of her stealth and infiltration skills. After all, her innate ability allowed her to hide perfectly inside a shadow.
From the day she woke up this ability she had been training especially to be a spy, even though she didn't need to, and even volunteered for this mission. There was no way she was going to mess things up just because Nero had a strange way of flirting.
Vanessa snorted, then walked up to the computer. She had no way of knowing that she could enter a Vault inside Lumina, but in case she had, she was fully prepared.
Getting her hands on a few vials of liquid aether was great, but the thing Nova really needed was to understand how to manufacture it. Sure, there were other great things inside the Vault, but this was her primary goal.
Vanessa could not help but snort once more as she recalled Nero's statement about needing his help exiting from the basement. She would show him. Without the need to fit in with the rest of the group, her stealth capabilities inside the fog were unmatched. It would be impossible to find her.
She would see who needed whose help when the time came.