What pains had Nero not endured? For as far back as he could recall, though he had lived a happy, content life, it had also been filled with the pain of discipline. It had been filled with the pain of training. It had been filled with the pain of sacrifice.
When he fought a battle of life and death, his concern for pain was the first thing Nero gave up. Pain was simply a tool to tell him how severely he was injured, it was not something that could distract him, or weaken his resolve. It was exactly such a mindset that allowed him to rip his skin off just so that he could fight with more flexibility.
Of course, Nero had not perfectly reached the level of entirely disregarding pain, but his extraordinary self control allowed him to bridge that gap.
Nero did not fear pain. Recently, he had come across a new, unexpected obstacle. He always knew he had to learn to tolerate pain, but he had not anticipated facing immense pleasure. It had debilitated him momentarily. But Nero was not one to lose himself in the throes of pleasure, so he would be mindful of it in the future, able to resist it more easily.
He was a warrior with a mind of steel and nerves of titanium. Or so he had thought, because when the exam started, and he started to feel like he was being tickled, Nero felt something grip him from the very depth of his being: fear!
It was a secret he had never revealed, kept deep within his heart, never to see the light of day. Only he knew that, in fact, Nero was extremely ticklish!
To hide this fact, he had often dared his brother, mother and father to tickle him, but never reacted. It was a sacrifice, one that nearly destroyed him, but one that paid off. After his early years, once it became an established fact that Nero was not ticklish, no one tried to tickle him again.
By suffering more in a short period, he had saved himself from a lifetime of trauma. Yet who could have anticipated that this most heinous of evils would once again find him and drag him down to condemnation?
Nero did not show the slightest change in expression, as if he felt nothing, but internally he screamed. It was especially because the new skin he had regrown, in place of the skin that had been ripped off, was still unusually sensitive compared to the rest of his body.
Compared to the torment he was living through at the moment, the feeling of having a tentacle rip into his guts was a fond memory.
But to his credit, Nero did not allow so much as a single twitch or shift in expression. He could never let this secret come out to see the light of day.
To distract himself, Nero thought back to more pleasant memories, such as when the Exarch used him like a bowling ball to knock over his teammates who were like bowling pins, breaking his spine in the process.
He had not had much time to think back to that time, but now that he did, he recalled that the last thing he saw was Bael and Dave's expressions. Bael looked horrified, yet why was it that in Nero's memory, Dave looked relieved?
Was that stupid, insignificant, dumb, crappy piece of cursed worm excrement plotting against him?
Nero forced himself to calm down. There was no reason to take out his anger at being tickled on Dave. There were countless explanations for what happened, the simplest being that Nero misremembered.
Of course, Nero was not going to doubt himself, and would act as if what he recalled was accurate, but in his mind he still admitted that it was a possibility. Whether he plotted against Nero or not was irrelevant. What truly mattered was taking control of the situation, for it was surely not just one person plotting.
Nero himself had his own agenda, seeking to sway Noman. Vanessa had her own plans. If the Lieutenant and the strange scientist did not have their own agendas, Nero would genuinely be astounded.
Planning, plotting, scheming… everyone did it, so that is not what Nero had to focus on. He had to focus on accomplishing his own goals, gaining the maximum benefits, and coming out of this expedition unharmed.
Within the crucible of this agonising torture, Nero focused on his immediate future, and refined his plan. He also firmly imprinted the Exarch's appearance in his mind. He did not mind a superior being, displaying its might. But for the agony Nero was experiencing now, one day, there would be retribution.
The test lasted ten minutes, though it may as well have lasted ten thousand years. But Nero did not get up from the table once the test ended, as if he was ready to go through the test once more. In truth, while physically he was fine, he took that time to recoup mentally, for he had been thoroughly drained.
Dr. Iris stepped into the room and looked at Nero with a smile.
"That was pretty good. You're the first person I've ever seen not to react to that test. Anyway, your results are not great, but nothing to be too concerned about. Although it seems like you have recovered well, in fact your organ function for most of your organs has not recovered as much as expected.
"I will account for that in your rehabilitation. Fortunately for you, the first part of your treatment is usually everyone's favourite! Come on, it's time to eat up."
With a neutral expression, Nero followed the doctor who continued to inform Nero of his condition in the meantime. His rehabilitation treatment constituted three parts. The first part was to replenish his body's energy and nutrients. Eating an extremely calorie dense, and nutrient rich meal was a part of that, while the other part would come in the form of a drip.
The second part would be entering a hibernation-like state, where his body's inherent healing and regenerative abilities would be tapped as well as assisted through the use of numerous cards and abilities.
The third part was a series of physiotherapy exercises conducted within a special chamber, which would allow his body to rapidly return to its previous optimum state.
All of this would put an incredible strain on his body due to the immense amounts of aether involved, so after the treatment he would need to rest for a while in an aether vacuum. After that, however, he would be free to continue.
The mentally drained Nero merely nodded, as if the details of his treatment were entirely irrelevant.
He followed Dr. Iris to the cafeteria, and sat down while they waited for his specially designed meal to arrive, though they didn't have to wait long, and the sight of the tray before his eyes finally brought him a hint of reinvigoration.
There was a T-bone steak in front of him, upon which lay two fried eggs. On the side was an assortment of seasoned and steamed vegetables, and a large block of cottage cheese. That seemed to be the main course, but beside it were a number of smaller courses, such as a plate which contained boiled rice covered in spinach, a chicken noodle soup, a large load of bread alongside a thick, meat filled gravy as well as palm sized river fish.
The sight of food triggered something in him, and his stomach started to moan as if he hadn't eaten in days which, to be fair, he hadn't. But even for someone with his appetite, so much food seemed like too much food.
Yet he could not complain, for when he opened his mouth, his hands were already moving, stuffing his open mouth with food. It was impossible to protest. He had been sabotaged by his own hands!
Once Nero began eating, energy suddenly filled his still frail body, and his hands began to move even faster, and he began to chew faster as well.
He did not swallow blindly. He still savoured and enjoyed the food that he ate, it was just that the time he took to savour it was reduced drastically. A part of him recognised that he was eating way too much, way too quickly, but his body was still hungry, asking for more, so he complied.
He figured that Iris had used some kind of card to help him consume more food, and he was partially right. It was not that she used some card, but rather she used her ability as an Ayurvedist. Helping someone eat a little more food and digest it quickly… did something as simple as that really require a special card for someone like her?
Nero had barely just finished his meal when another tray was placed in front of him. This one contained dessert, and Nero could smell the vanilla from far away!