"Asphyxiation? What happened? Did her mask break or something?"
"No one knows. According to the team, they were in the middle of a fight when she suddenly fell down. No one was able to see to her until the fight was over, but by then she was already dead. The actual cause of death is still a mystery. No one can figure out how she died, but they suspect some kind of invisible curse."
"How did the team take it?" Nero couldn't help but ask.
"Not so good," Thomas answered. "Physically they're fine, but mentally they're shaken up. But the army has a team of professionals on standby to address any such concerns. They'll be as good as new soon. You should focus on your recovery as much as you can - that will surely boost their mood."
Nero studied Thomas for a moment, the Corporal carrying himself well and with proper posture. The man was not only a good soldier, but a good leader as well. He genuinely cared for his soldiers, or else he wouldn't be here trying to give Nero a pep talk, no matter how dire it actually was.
"Is there any news about the Primal Exarch we faced?" Nero asked, lowering his voice. "Or anything about the Primal Aeon? I feel there is more to Perilith than we've been told."
Thomas gave him a look of warning and said, "Do not start meddling in affairs beyond your scope. Your mission is only to protect the researchers. Everything else is irrelevant."
"How can I protect them if I don't know or understand the threats?" Nero questioned.
In truth, Nero was taking advantage of Thomas' loyalty. The man cared for his underlings, and leveraging that Nero was trying to draw out additional information. He had nearly lost his life, and no matter how casually he acted, or how little he feared death, it did not mean he had any intentions of dying any time soon.
Thomas shook his head.
"There is no new information besides a sector of Perilith being sealed off. That has complicated matters a bit, since some objectives had to be forsaken, but that's about it. The other teams have faced problems, but none on the same scale as the Exarch you faced. Then again, none of the other teams have loudly announced their presence the way you guys did. Now just focus on recovering quickly. If there is any pertinent information, you will surely get it."
Nero merely nodded, and continued to head towards the hospital. Either he had failed at convincing Thomas, or there really wasn't any new information.
Either way, he would at least have a short while before he was deployed again. Although he had been healed perfectly through the use of various cards, his body had been thoroughly drained of energy and strength. But even then, he guessed that it would, at most, take a couple of days before he was fit to continue.
"Have they already let you go?" said a familiar looking doctor who spotted Nero walking back to the hospital. "For what, five minutes of conversation they dragged you out to another building? I swear, I want to meet the person who put these brutes incharge."
Nero studied the doctor with an amused expression. The doctor was clearly a very senior one, though she did not look much older than Nero himself. That was just a sign of how strong she was.
He read the name on her badge and said, "Dr. Iris, they had to interrogate me for some critical information. A sufficiently secure location was required."
The doctor looked at him with a hint of intrigue, though that look quickly diminished.
"There is no place safer and more secure than my hospital. Don't let my white robes fool you, I'm a certified badass."
She flashed her aura, freezing Nero where he stood. It was probably not because of her aura itself, but more likely because she had an ability related to auras. Either way, the end result was that Nero could not move in her presence, and he also learned that the doctor in front of him was a Mystic.
Retracting her aura, Iris gave Nero a look of satisfaction.
"Follow me young man. Until you're healthy again, you're in my hands, and I'm not used to my patients killing themselves because they don't know when to sit. Come here, quickly. Sit, sit!"
Nero didn't understand what she meant, until he actually sat down as instructed, and then suddenly felt the energy in his body disappear. His heart started to beat faster, and he felt out of breath.
"What… what is happening?" Nero asked.
"Your body recently went through a major reconstruction. Nearly every bone in your body was broken, and although we healed you right up, your body has weakened a lot. You were previously just operating based on an augmentation from a card - an augmentation that has just run out."
Dr. Iris tapped Nero's body using her middle finger, tapping his forehead, shoulders, chest and chin in that order. A subtle, warm flow of energy entered his body, alleviating some of the fatigue, though the excitement that filled his eyes was unrelated.
"You're an Ayurvedist!" he exclaimed.
Ayurvedist was the Profession known best suited for doctors, with Orchardists being a close second. Although none of their abilities directly correlated with healing, both of them could use their abilities to heal indirectly. Ayurvedists, especially, were very good at altering the balance within the body, ensuring their patients live through even the most dire wounds.
Alternatively, they could easily kill an opponent with the slightest, most insignificant of injuries. It was not without reason that Iris claimed to be amazing.
Unfortunately, for reasons Nero did not understand, Ayurvedists were a lot rarer in Kolar than Orchardists.
"Indeed, and you're a freak of nature, and I love it!" Iris said with excitement of her own, which, it turned out, quickly extinguished Nero's excitement. Freak of nature? Loving it? What was going on?
"Listen kid, I'm not going to ask you why your body is much stronger than it should be," Iris said, giving him a knowing look. "But as long as you cooperate with me, I assure you, you will heal a lot faster than anyone expects. In exchange, you'll do me a small favour. How does it sound?"
"What's the favour?" Nero asked. He was already balancing too many quests at the moment, and this particular doctor suddenly seemed very suspicious.
"Your body is a lot tougher than an ordinary Neophytes," she said directly. "I want to conduct a few tests on your body before you become an Initiate, what do you say? I promise you won't come out harmed at all!"
"How about I offer you a better alternative?" Nero asked. "There's another Neophyte whose ability allows him to constantly become tougher. I don't doubt that soon enough, he'll surpass even me in strength and toughness. I'll introduce you to him, and you treat me quickly like it's your job to do."
Nero met the Mystics' gaze unflinchingly. As a soldier in the army, within a military base, he did not fear that anyone would act out against him unfairly. Even if they did, he had his ways of getting around it. He would not fear someone just because they were a higher rank than him, or more powerful than him, or easily able to cripple him or hide a grave wound within his body…
Nero suddenly felt the urge to reassess his ability to provoke people. He was too needlessly skilled in it.
"Fine, fine. Jeez, kids these days can't even tolerate a little live human experimentation," Iris said, waving her hand. "Come on. First, I need a detailed analysis of your condition, and then we can begin your rehabilitation."
Instead of asking Nero to follow her, she had him sit in a wheelchair as she pushed him deeper into the hospital. Fortunately, a couple of other doctors soon joined them or Nero might have begun to suspect whether he would be able to survive the upcoming examination.
After bringing him into a small room covered in mirrors, all pointing towards a table in the centre of the room, Nero was asked to lay down.
"This might feel a little warm or unpleasant, but bear with it," Iris said. "The more detailed the examination, the better we'll be able to help you recover."
Once Nero lay down, the doctors all left the room, heading over to the observation room next door. After a couple of minutes of silence, the mirrors began to vibrate, and Nero sawn them all turn and look towards him, emitting a soft light that covered his body.
Considering what Iris had told him, he expected the test to hurt, or at the very least be uncomfortable in some way. What actually happened was much worse.
The light shining on his body was warm and soft, yet it seemed to be filled with a gentle, electric shock. It was barely noticeable at first, but as more and more lights shone on him, his clothes blocking the brunt of the shock, Nero was hit by the true obstacle of his examination.
The soft shocks were actually ticklish!