The next room they visited was, once again, of little use to them. In fact, as much as Nero prided himself for his self study in high school, he could not even understand what the purpose of that room was.
He was able to gather, through a trend, that they were in some kind of warehouse or storage portion of the Vault, which is why each room simply stored specific items or items of a similar nature.
The items in this room seemed to be components of some other, larger machine that neither of them could make heads or tails of. The fact that everything was written in old Valen did not help either.
But they were able to gather that it was not relevant to them, so they moved on.
The fourth room they entered was a little special. It contained small plant samples. What was interesting was that each plant sample was alive.
Considering the fact that this facility had been abandoned for 1210 years, the fact that the plants were alive was amazing! Especially since Nero could identify most of them! They were just the native flora around Aetherpeak.
"Do you think that this facility has some kind of research on immortality?" Gabriel asked as he rubbed the leaves on a tree sapling. They felt completely ordinary.
"The berserkers, dark berserkers, and mutts have been alive for hundreds of years, and all it took was being corrupted beyond recognition. I wouldn't call that immortality, I would call that eternal damnation," Nero said.
He checked the computer to see if there was anything special about the plants, but since he was unable to discover anything with a quick search, they left the room.
"Man, even cursed creatures don't naturally live that long," Gabriel said. "Assuming there's a steady supply of aether to feed cursed creatures, their natural lifespan is directly predictable using their body mass. The greater the mass, the longer they live. Neither of those have enough mass to have survived a thousand years."
Nero frowned for a bit, then confessed a suspicion he had.
"I think they were testing on creating biological weapons. If they were, then it's only a matter of time before Kolar gets its hands on that research."
The fifth room actually contained something Gabriel recognised. They were stacks and stacks of boxes, each contained a small, wrapped item about five centimetres long.
"This is good stuff," Gabriel said as he went through one of the boxes. "They're called Aether candies, or at least that's what the records I read said. The potions we drink are a pale imitation of these. We should definitely take some of these back."
After going through the computer, they discovered that the Aether candies in this room had rapid physical rejuvenation qualities. It was tough to gauge how good they were, or if they had expired or not - if they even expired to begin with - but these were absolutely valuable, especially in times of war.
Nero regretted the fact that he could only take a few as he did not want to weigh his bag down.
"By the way," Gabriel asked, as they exited the room and walked into an adjacent hallway. "What was that about with Jessie? I was waiting for you to explain but you didn't say anything."
"Jessie was only a few minutes ahead of us," Nero explained. "Not enough time to hide far if she was truly in the fuel storage room. More importantly, she knew how to open the Vault while the rest of us had no idea, not even you. I don't think we're going to be getting a rescue party after we accomplish our mission - not after how the entire team was torn apart.
If we want to escape, we're going to have to do it ourselves - through fog that blinds us but apparently not the enemy. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have someone as knowledgeable as Jessie on my side. Who knows? There might even be an escape hatch in here that can help us avoid all those dark berserkers."
They entered another room, and this time Nero paused right at the door, stunned. For a moment, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Right in front of him were a number of weapons racks, each containing different weapons.
There were swords, axes, maces, hammer, and many others. But most importantly, there were spears, and they looked magnificent!
Each spear was a masterpiece, crafted with an elegance and precision that defied belief. The shafts were a uniform, gleaming silver, their sleek surfaces reflecting the ambient light with a cold, flawless lustre. They were slender yet sturdy, etched with intricate patterns that seemed to call to him.
The spearheads were even more breathtaking, forged from a crystalline substance that caught the light and refracted it into a dazzling spectrum of colours. They were sharp, deadly, yet exuded an ethereal beauty that made it hard to believe they were instruments of war.
Each one was unique, some adorned with what looked like ancient runes, others with delicate filigree that seemed to hum with latent energy.
Nero did not realise when he crossed the room, or when he reached out to them. One moment he was standing at the door, and the next moment he was right in front of them.
His fingers brushed against the cool surface of a spear, sensing the smooth touch of the strange material. He was mesmerised… until he tried to pick them up.
That's when he realised that this spear, despite its slender frame, was much too heavy for him to wield, not unless he was constantly manipulating his internal aether. Realistically, he would have to leave these behind - not unless he found one that he could carry without being hampered. m|v|l|e m|p|y|r original content
The thought filled his eyes with reluctance. He was already suffering from a wounded ego after losing his spear in combat, and now he would be forced to leave behind these works of art.
But logic prevailed over his emotions, and Nero steeled his heart. The spears were great, but a spear was worse than worthless if it resulted in him getting killed rather than serving him as a weapon.
He knew he had to put it back, and focus on more pertinent tasks. But, on a final whim, he wanted to see what it would feel like using it. He manipulated his internal aether, and let a bit of his cryoflame loose.
That's when the spear began to hum.