Nero was supposed to serve six months in Fordham, some of which was spent in and around Perilith. The remaining time he actually did spend in Fordham, finding it to be extremely fruitful.
Although Nero wasn’t able to learn about all the classified research being conducted in the base since his clearance was low, he did befriend many of the soldiers and researchers on the base. Through them, he was able to learn about a special privilege reserved for those soldiers serving at the base!
Among the various researches being conducted, new card recipes comprised a major chunk of them. Some new recipes which were considered property of the army, and would normally only be issued under the appropriate circumstances, such as sufficient army rank or specific situations, could directly be ordered in the base. Since the original research artisans were here, they could directly make the card!
This was technically one of the kinds of perks that was reserved for higher ranking officers only on the base, but was not strictly enforced. Even the strict and upright Lieutenant Earl did not comment on it as long as things did not go too far. In this instance, going too far meant sharing cards that were strictly restricted or forbidden, or the cards being taken by serving soldiers nominally while actually being given to others not serving in the base.
Lucky for Nero, he counted as being served. Not only that, he actually had a chunk of money he’d received for his service in Lumina as well as his service in Perilith, so paying for some 2 Star cards was actually not an issue at all!
Thus, Nero was able to update his combat style, even though it didn’t seem like he would need it any time soon. .
More than that, with his constant spars with Thomas, Nero honed his skills even further, learning the limitations of what he could do with the spear and his newfound strength. Training in group combat, listening to stories of what service actually entailed, and getting tips and training from highly skilled researchers in card crafting also proved extremely useful, making it so that Nero’s skills practically exploded!
In fact, in his own spare time, Nero had already begun working on recipes to possibly alter his innate ability. More than his original one, if Nero could discover ways in which to change the phrasing of the exact ability of Virtuous Moonlight, he could use the ability more freely. The only reason he didn’t use it right now was because in the Type section, Virtuous Moonlight stated it was a Luminari card. Nero had no idea what that meant, and couldn’t risk others seeing it either.
Not only had Nero begun his research, he’d even made some progress in altering his original innate ability. He was certain that soon, as his understanding of recipes and ingredients deepened, he could achieve the same with Virtuous Moonlight.
While he was focused on his own growth, the world had not stopped. Although Fordham was generally cut off from external news owing to its nature, major news still made it in, if a little late.
The largest piece of news was the revival, and subsequent elimination of the Eldruin cult. In a joint operation by Kolar, Nova, Creta and Saint Codale, four Sages attacked the cult’s hidden base in Deadwood forest, eliminating them once and for all.
But news of the cults’ elimination was highly suspicious, unable to convince even the soldiers in the base. Details were scarce, and there was a lot of secrecy involved. Some rumors also reached the base, stating that the base that had been destroyed was filled with some kind of twisted human experimentation.
Besides that, the biggest piece of news seemed to be that Nova had officially partnered with Kolar to explore the Lumina ruins next year for the betterment of all mankind.
In the base, the news caused a lot of speculation, but Nero remained entirely indifferent to it. If there was one significant event that happened during this time that was worthy of note, it was that Flintlock tried to make contact with Nero. Unlike previous times where he just intruded into Nero’s dreams, this time he only left a message.
It seemed that the news he had about Vanessa was worth a lot, but Flintlock could not meet with him in Fordham. Their meeting, and Nero’s subsequent joining of Unity would have to be delayed until Nero left the base.
The news was not too surprising. He had more or less anticipated that Unity would still reach out to him, as the news he shared was highly valuable. Even Flintlock’s inability to reach Nero made sense. After what happened with Dave, and then Noman, it was obvious that the base’s security would undergo a massive overhaul and overall improvement.
One month after Nero’s return to Fordham base, he attended a solemn ceremony. A majority of soldiers, as well as all who participated in the Perilith missions, stood solemnly as a new monument was unveiled, bearing the names of all those soldiers who had died during that mission.
Among those honoured names, the name of Noman Earl came as a shock to many . Nero paid his respects, and stood in front of the monument for a long time, finding all the names of those who had perished under his command.
Death was all too common in Kolar. Heck, it was all too common in this world. This was not the first funeral ceremony he had attended, and it was not even among his first ten. One would think that by now, Nero had been numbed to the event. That by now, the sorrow of the passing of countless strangers would affect him less, and that it would become nothing more than ceremony.
That was not a reality Nero allowed himself to live in. The sacrifices of the honoured dead could not be overlooked, even a little. That was the sacrifice that preserved the fire of civilization, and without it, there would only be even more wanton death and destruction. Not to mention, this time, just as last time, Nero knew many of the names on the monument.
That night, in his dreams, Nero could still hear the voice of a boy proclaiming his dream of surpassing Nero echoing in the desolate darkness.
The days went by, and under Nero’s unwavering dedication to growing stronger, he did just that. With guidance from actual soldiers, his combat prowess saw a drastic rise and his battle awareness evolved in a whole new direction. His aether manipulation became unrivaled among Initiates, and even his innate card absorption percentage rose by a few percentage points.
But all things eventually come to an end. What should have been a bitter cold winter hardly felt that way to Nero, who was not bothered by the cold anymore. Instead, he spent those winter months working, training, sweating, and forging himself into a stronger soldier.
When his six month sentence was completed, Nero was brought by Corporal Thomas to the Lieutenants office so that officially, Nero could be discharged. During the past few months, Nero had hardly seen the lieutenant at all, and had even heard rumors that he would be leaving the base soon.
While he didn’t know the truth of the matter, all he knew was that when he saw Lieutenant Earl for the last time before leaving Fordham, he looked like a different man altogether. His hair had turned ash grey altogether, and the lines on his face became deeper making him look even more stern than before. The aura around him had also changed, making him seem much more dangerous than he used to be.
There were no unnecessary words exchanged between the lieutenant and Nero. He acknowledged that Nero had performed his service adequately during his time there, and that he would state so in Nero’s evaluation forms.
With that one, very simple statement delivered by a strangely unfamiliar man, Nero’s time at Fordham came to an end. He signed some documents stating that he would not reveal any classified information he had been exposed to during his time at Fordham, and then, in civilian clothes, Nero stepped onto a truck full of other soldiers being sent away from the base.
This time, neither of his parents would be coming to pick him up, not that he needed it. Instead, he would have to make his own way.
The truck brought him to a small town called Hailborn, mostly occupied by soldiers and used as a logistical and transit stop. From there, he found a way to travel alongside some soldiers to Abboton Town.
This was not some random, small town like Hailborn. No, Abboton town was the closest settlement to the Kolar Military Academy, which was Nero’s next real destination, and most likely, his home for the next five years.