Chapter 289 Primal Exarch
Chapter 289 Primal Exarch
Chapter 289 Primal Exarch
The nurse was still talking, but Nero only half paid attention to him, and instead started to look around the room for some kind of mirror, yet found none. He had a small amount of hope that nothing had happened since all of the abnormalities the nurse was listing sounded like they were the side effects of using Radix to strengthen his body. He had not mentioned the hair colour at all.
"Can I use the bathroom?" Nero interrupted the nurse, getting off his bed even as he asked. Moving felt slightly awkward, and all his muscles were sore, but it wasn't really a problem.
"Oh, yes, please, go ahead. It's the door on the left. I'll go call the doctor in the meantime."
With wobbling legs, Nero made his way to the bathroom, also noting the condition of his body.
Though he felt like he had no injuries, he was far from recovered to his best state. He closed the door behind him, locking it, and then made his way to the mirror, feeling a wave of relief flood through him when he noticed that his hair and eyes were still blue.
He hadn't really had time to test it before, but one of his lead theories was that it wasn't switching his innate ability that triggered the colour change, but actively using the ability. The more he used it, the quicker the colour would change.
Since he barely used Virtuous Moonlight, the change hadn't been triggered at all. Nero took the opportunity to observe his body, and lifted the gown to take a look at his condition.
He had weakened, that much was visible at a glance. He had lost a significant amount of muscle, and there were light scars on his body where his skin had been torn off.
Scars were not really an issue. There were countless cards available that could remove scars, not to mention that generic healing also removed scars. But even if they didn't, who in Kolar didn't walk around with a few scars, boasting of their various accomplishments?
After Nero used the restroom and left, he found that not only had a few doctors arrived, but so had Corporal Thomas, Lieutenant Earl, Colonel James Carter, Vanessa and a dozen other senior officers.
"Gentlemen, I must insist that this wait until I've done a thorough test of the patient's condition first," the doctor said, looking irritated.
"Nonsense, he's fine. Look at him, he's even been to the bathroom to check out his new scars," said a man in uniform with a hint of a smirk. "But more importantly, it's been two days and the Private has crucial information we need. You can do your tests later."
Thomas made a hand gesture indicating Nero to follow him, and Nero quickly began to move behind the group, who promptly brought him out of the hospital and to an office nearby. They entered a conference room, and just from looking at how energetically everyone was moving around the camp, he could tell something had happened while he was unconscious.
"Makes sense," Vanessa said. "Almost every bone in your body was fractured when we found you. It's a miracle you didn't die immediately. If it weren't for the fact that all other creatures stopped attacking us after that, we would not have been able to rescue you."
Nero frowned. It made sense that the only reason they survived was because they stopped getting attacked, but he didn't like the implications. That meant that the Exarch had complete control over the hill, if not all of Perilith.
"Is there any more information you can provide us with?" Earl asked, his expression just as mean as it usually was, which made it hard to read him. None in the room reacted to hearing news of the Primal Aeon, but Nero didn't know if that meant they were unfamiliar with it, or if they were just very good at controlling their expressions.
"There's nothing else," Nero said, shaking his head. "Has anyone tried going back to Perilith since? What's the situation?"
"The southern part of the hill where the rock outcrop was has been covered in some kind of barrier. We can no longer enter," said Vanessa. "But nothing else seems to have changed. We haven't seen the Exarch since then either."
Nero merely heard the news and didn't even have time to ponder over it when the Lieutenant dismissed him.
"Private Nero, you can return to the hospital and proceed with your medical check up. There will be a few days of rehabilitation for you, where you will be treated and go through some light exercises. You focus on recovering as soon as possible. You have proven yourself an asset to this mission."
Nero merely saluted and got up to leave, while the rest remained. Corporal Thomas, who was not in the meeting, was waiting outside for Nero.
"Good to see you made it back in one piece, and that you did your mission well," Thomas said with an approving nod, as he walked back with Nero. "There have already been casualties in the missions that went in without you."
"What?" Nero asked, taken aback. "They're already doing more missions? Shouldn't they wait for everyone to heal first?"
"More Neophytes have come in since your last mission. Now there are three Neophyte teams that are deployed for independent missions each day, but the results aren't good. Even your own team suffered a casualty in their one mission without you."
"Who was it?" Nero asked somberly. He had already seen Vanessa, and he found it hard to imagine Bael dying so easily, but the rest...
"I don't know her name, but it was some girl with a movement ability. She could move short distances quickly, which should have helped her avoid trouble. But she died in the most unusual way. An autopsy reported that she died due to asphyxiation."
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