Maximilian ignored the comment, though not because he wanted to hide the details of his card, or keep his secrets close to him. He just hadn't recovered from the intensity of the fight yet.
Never in his life had he been so focused on anything before, and never had he reacted under such immense pressure - even if he was the one putting himself under pressure. It was to the extent that he genuinely seemed unable to process the fact that enemies had stopped coming, and kept searching for any signs of approaching berserkers at all.
It was only when Nero slapped him on the back that he woke up from his state of hyper focus, and even then it took him a few seconds to remember what was happening.
He then looked at Nero, who seemed to lack a single wound on his entire body, and was not showing even the slightest signs of exhaustion. He tried to understand how exactly Nero was so strong, for he hadn't shown anything that special.
His ability, while impressive, was nowhere near as lethal to the berserkers than Arter's, yet he handled them like an adult handling a child. He genuinely couldn't come up with an answer, so he could only attribute it to the advantages he had gained from the weapons, even though he knew that wouldn't be enough to explain it.
"I can tell you how you can upgrade your innate ability, but I want one of those weapons and a card to keep away the fog," he said directly, ignoring everything else. He was not dense. He knew what Nero really wanted. Anyone in his shoes would want the same thing, though not everyone would have shown the same restraint as him.
Even with oaths preventing each other from harming one another, there was always the possibility that he found a way around it.
Nothing in this world was ever certain, especially in places like the Vault which were full of miraculous things.
"You'll just tell me how to do it? That's a lot you're asking just for a piece of information. Now if you helped ensure I could do it as well…"
Nero didn't elaborate, but the insinuation was clear.
Maximilian looked from Nero to Arter, who was glaring at him ruefully.
"Don't be like that," Maximilian said firmly. "There is no point in trying to keep benefits if you won't survive to realise them. They don't even need to harm us. They just need to not help us with this fog and we'd be doomed. Look past whatever is holding you back, because even if you can't, I don't intend on dying to sate your ego."
Maximilian had nothing against Arter, but he was the one who insisted that they not share these gains with Nero and Gabriel. He wouldn't mind helping him out if it cost him nothing, but he was certainly not willing to blindly risk his life for him - especially when Nero and Gabriel had been quite upright in their desire to trade.
Sure they had applied some pressure, but at least they had openly shared their gains. Technically speaking, Maximilian and Arter hadn't even done that yet.
While Arter grappled with the reality of his situation, Maximilian picked up the black briefcase and brought it to Nero and Gabriel.
"This contains four injections, each of which needs to be administered in order, and at regular intervals. Be warned, the process is extremely painful - more than anything I have ever experienced. Don't expect that you'll be able to just go through it easily. You won't. You'll need a lot of time, and you'll need someone to administer the injections for you.
It'll take you roughly half an hour to go through the whole process. Don't open the briefcase until you're ready to take the injections - once they're exposed to the open air, the injections automatically start undergoing a strange process. If you wait too long, they'll become inert."
Nero raised an eyebrow and looked at the briefcase, and then at Arter. One briefcase would only be enough for one of them, and if they had to choose between Nero and Gabriel, then it might end up ruining their relationship. In that case, the best scenario is to have enough for both of them.
On the floor near Arter were two briefcases, and though no one had reached for them, Arter glared at the group challengingly, as if daring them to reach for them. Yet the sight only made Nero chuckle.
"Do you think having a stronger innate ability will allow you to become stronger than me, Arter?" Nero asked out loud. "I'm sorry to inform you, but it won't. If you don't believe me, you can challenge me to a fight right now, and we can find out which one of us is stronger. But the result won't be what you think. The difference between us was never of our innate abilities to begin with.
On top of that, now that you're afraid of me, you'll never be able to overcome me."
"I am not afraid of you," the scion declared, yet his voice reeked of someone throwing a temper tantrum. Nero wondered how much of a sheltered life he had actually lived? Had he never lost in anything to anyone before? That was just setting him up for failure.
"Let me give you a lesson in basic psychology. The reason why you, to the point of putting yourself in danger, refuse to allow me access to these briefcases is because deep down you think that if I get them, then you will never be able to defeat me. That is called fear.
"On the other hand, I do not fear you at all, even with your upgraded abilities. Do you want proof? I am so confident that I can defeat you as is, that I don't even need to take this upgrade."
Nero chucked the briefcase Maximilian had given him to Gabriel.
"Here, you take this. Looks like it's your lucky day. Let's see if we can turn your red sand into red pebbles."
Gabriel snorted at the sheer disrespect, but he couldn't prevent a massive grin from appearing on his face. He genuinely wondered what his ability would be like once it upgraded.
Nero stopped looking at Arter, and instead looked at Maximilian.
"You wouldn't be opposed to swearing an oath that you're telling the truth, would you?" he asked. "As soon as you confirm that, I'll help you with-"
Wait!" Arter said loudly, interrupting Nero. He looked angry. He looked miserable. But more than anything, he looked like he had made a difficult decision. "I'll give you one of my briefcases as well. Trade with me too."
Nero raised an eyebrow, as if he did not care either way, but internally he was ecstatic. He had said it before but… manipulating kids really was too easy. Of course, there was also the chance that Arter would have become even more stubborn, and refused to help out at all, even at the risk of suffering harm.
Fortunately it had not come to that. Nero's plans for what to do in that situation were not exactly foolproof, or savoury.
After having both of them swear that they were telling the truth about the injections to upgrade their innate ability, Nero handed both of them a single copy of the three unranked cards he found, and then led them to the armoury.
What Nero, nor anyone else for that matter, noticed was that in the shadow of the corpse of a berserker, a figure of a young woman had been hidden.
Vanessa dared not look at Nero - she was convinced he had some uncanny ability to sense if others were looking at him - but that did not really matter, for her gaze was fixed on the last briefcase which Arter was holding onto for dear life.
Injections which could enhance her innate ability even before she became an Initiate… If she took that, she'd be ahead of everyone else in the world as far as the potency of her innate ability was concerned. Well, almost everyone, considering that surely Nero and Gabriel would take the injections at the first opportunity, and Maximilian and Arter had already done so.
"We'll have to part ways from here," Nero said, once he brought the others to the armoury. "You guys can pick your weapons at your convenience, and then decide how you want to proceed. Gabriel and I will go find a safe place to take our injections."
Gabriel gave Nero a certain look, but didn't say anything yet. The news was, to a degree, expected. After all, if they brought the cases out then the army would confiscate them and they would never get a chance to use them. The only option was to use them now. But it wasn't like there was any place left that was safe.
At the same time, Arter and Maximilian didn't really want to wait in the basement anymore. Who knew what other dangers lurked down here? It was best to exit as soon as possible, as swiftly as possible.