Chapter 299: The humble warrior
Nero also made one important decision, though the consequences of it might be more than he could bear. Virtuous Moonlight was one of the most formidable tools at his disposal, but he was always hesitant to use it too much in front of others in case the truth of it was exposed.
But having his secret exposed was a lot better than dying - probably. But such a thing would still have to wait for a critical moment. He wouldn’t be testing out what Virtuous Moonlight looked like here inside the armoury where the armourer was studying his every move.
"I think I’ve got a good handle on the capabilities of this weapon," Nero said. "I will submit a written report on it once I return from today’s mission."
The armourer nodded, and then gave Nero a few documents to peruse and sign, stating that matters pertaining to the Neo series were confidential, and he could not easily disclose them to others.
The fact that Nero was only signing a document instead of taking an oath already spoke volumes about how much leverage he was being given regarding this matter. But the more it was like this, the more wary Nero became.
Why was that old scientist being so nice to Nero? Was he truly just interested in gathering information on the weapon?
Since he had no way of discerning the truth, Nero simply geared up, though he made a minor change to his card set up from before.
The first five cards, which were the Serene Wind, Linen Wraps, Mud Fortress, Snowflake and Radix Augmentation, could not be changed for they were either mandatory, or too useful.
The last card, Keen Insight, was also a tremendous help since it enhanced his already strengthened senses, allowing him to detect dangers quicker and react faster. Unfortunately, after thorough consideration, he had to change the card out for one with more direct utility.
He decided to replace it with This is us.
Name: This is us
Image: Three identical people pointing at each other.
Type: Illusion
Star rank: 0
Ability: [Create illusory duplicates of yourself for 10 minutes.]
Flavour text: "Being alone is for the weak."
Although there was no author mentioned for the quote written on the flavour text, everyone knew it was from Maxim Dawnlight, the owner of Maxims Card shop. The man had... peculiar tastes, but his skills could not be denied.
This card, despite only creating stationary duplicates of the user, had great potential and could save Nero in critical moments, or serve as excellent distractions for certain enemies.
He also planned on replacing Radix Augmentation as soon as possible. He had decided to bring himself to the peak of the Neophyte level before replacing the card with another one that could aid him out in Perilith. Nero hadn’t yet decided which card that would be.
Once he exited the armoury, he found his team already waiting for him. Besides Vanessa, the team included Noman and Dave, two people from his previous team, while the fifth member was someone Nero did not recognise.
It was quite surprising that he knew most of his teammates, but even more surprising was that some of the people he expected to be on his team were missing. Clarissa and Bael, for example, seemed like they should have survived relatively unharmed, considering their unique innate abilities. But the fact that they weren’t on this team clearly meant that they hadn’t been cleared yet. Conversely, spotting Noman was a huge surprise, considering he was the youngest. Dave, on the other hand, was not a surprising inclusion with his danger sense.
"This is Ursula," Vanessa introduced Nero. "Her innate ability is a passive that has augmented her eyes. Among other things, her scouting ability is one of the best we can hope for."
"It’s great to have you on board," Nero said looking at Ursula. But the woman did not respond. Instead, she just looked at Nero’s face for a few seconds, before looking away in complete silence.
"Ursula is a bit of an introvert," Vanessa said. "Social communication is not her strong suit, but she is completely reliable during a mission."
Nero nodded, though he reserved his judgment for now. Of everyone on his team, he only trusted Vanessa, and even against her he had his guard up.
"If everyone is ready, should we go over our plan for today?" Nero asked Vanessa, who only nodded, and brought the team towards a map.
"Today we’ll be heading towards one of the regions suspected of possibly having a Sage level herb. It is an incredibly valuable ingredient, even among Sage level items. But the innate nature of the herb attracts a lot of curses, though the herb itself rarely suffers from curses - at least according to the information we’ve been given.
"We’ll be following a partially explored path, first going uphill for a while, before hiking across some large boulders to cross a valley onto another hill. If we move fast, we should be able to reach our destination in four to five hours, assuming we don’t encounter too much resistance."
Nero showed no change in expression, but the entire team suddenly underwent a huge shift. It was as if they were thoroughly intimidated by the mission in front of them. Noman at least tried to put up a brave front, but Dave almost started to hyperventilate. Ursula, in comparison, merely began chewing on her nails.
Nero frowned. The mental state of the team was much worse than he expected.
"Don’t worry too much," Nero said, trying to reassure the team. "As long as the danger is just curses, I will go in alone while you all just hold position from a safe spot. We are attempting a new strategy, making use of my ability to resist curses using my innate ability."
The team suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and gave Nero a grateful look, while Nero tried to remind himself to be humble, and not get himself killed trying to look cool.
’ Be humble, be humble, be humble... ’ he kept repeating to himself, trying to temper his mood and his heart. To an extent it worked.
It did not succeed in making Nero humble, but it did bring him the self awareness of being a little more cautious in his actions. As for truly being humble, that was something he likely would never be able to achieve.
As the team stepped through the wooden tavern, entering into Perilith, and Nero smelled the sweet scent of the wild in the other dimension, excitement began to fill his heart. How could someone who found the thought of challenging death, and trying to come out the victor, as exciting ever be humble?
This dangerous world, where a calamity waited around every corner, was not one that filled him with a feeling of dread. Instead, it filled him with a great drive. He wanted to conquer this world using his own strength.
But he didn’t let his surging emotions get the better of him. Instead, he cooled his emotions, and strictly followed the path that Vanessa had described to him, studying the changes in Perilith since he had last come.
It had been only a few days, and yet everything looked so different. Besides the massive barrier, blocking out the region where he encountered the Primal Exarch, a lot of the region looked like it had suffered great devastation.
"We weren’t the only ones who suffered from the curse on that thing," Vanessa said, looking out at the valley in front of them. "The valley has changed a lot since it left."
"Almost like someone wanted us to take it out of here," Dave whispered with a trembling voice.
"Focus up," Nero said, his voice suddenly a lot more firm and commanding than before. "There is no need to focus on needless conjecture. The soldiers outside are fighting a war beyond the walls, so that we can fight the war here. Not a single one of us is safe from danger, now or ever, so quell the fear in your heart, for it is completely pointless. Fight well, and death will not be a companion we embrace today."
Nero’s words were only slightly rousing to the group who had suffered a lot so far. Noman, for one, could not quell the fear that was gripping him no matter how hard he tried - but he also felt a great amount of respect for Nero, and so he followed.
The beginning of their journey was easy, as it always was. Near the tavern, no creature dared to approach. But as they went further and further, Nero finally found an opportunity to wield his new glaive.
"I see movement on the right," Ursula whispered, though her voice was heard by everyone.
A flock of birds that looked more like carrion than living beings leaped out of a nearby tree, silently and without warning. Their ugly bodies pulsed with sickness and corrosion, though for once curses did not seem responsible for their ugly appearance.
The team reacted quickly, by now used to the dangers of the dimension. Even so, none of them reacted as quickly as Nero, the humble warrior who rushed in alone with glaive in hand, ready to unleash a slaughter.