The Eldrim Cards Legacy

The officer, Orion, clearly did not look pleased to hear the orders given by Lieutenant Earl. Yet now that they had been given, he no longer voiced his opinions. It would be up to their superiors to decide whether their actions were just or not.

Nero, on the other hand, was not too excited to hear that the number of Neophytes would be increased for two reasons. The first reason was that he genuinely felt that between Vanessa's stealth and his increased speed, they would be able to avoid most fights. The second reason was that he knew his push for more excursions into Perilith wasn't for anything other than personal reasons. If other Neophytes got involved and got hurt, it would weigh on his consciousness.

Yet he was not so conceited as to think that he single handedly influenced this decision into being made. He knew that many people were just waiting for an excuse to make these excursions happen. He had just provided a convenient excuse for them.

"Nero, you and Vanessa may leave. You will be assigned new team members at dawn for your next excursion. Vanessa, go report to the Coordination Department to determine the locations that need to be checked. You and Nero will be on the team that will hit the high risk zones, and the other teams will go to the high yield zones. We don't have much time left, so be quick!"

The two of them left the office after the very clear dismissal, yet only a couple of moments later they saw more soldiers running out of the meeting room. In just a couple of minutes, right before their very eyes, the base came to life with activity as soldiers ran from one corner to another and jeeps zoomed through the streets.

Nero and Vanessa split up, as she needed to pick out what spot to investigate and he needed to go prepare. A map of Perilith surrounding the tavern had already been compiled based on reports from the numerous teams, but the pond she was searching for had never been found.

In fact, neither Nero nor Vanessa even knew if there would be a pond that could be found near the tavern, but they had to try searching for it. It was too good of an opportunity to simply miss.

By disqualifying the areas that had already been searched, they could narrow down their search area and increase their chances of finding it. Moreover, she could eliminate areas that were unlikely to have such a pond to begin with.

Nero, on the other hand, needed to see Dr. Iris. He was not exactly fit to go out on an expedition and he knew it. Pure will power wouldn't keep his bones from breaking, nor would the power of friendship keep his endurance from fading.

A few of Dr. Iris' pokes and prods as an Ayurvedist would definitely do the trick. The difficulty would be in convincing her.

When Nero asked around, he discovered that the doctor was preparing to go into surgery so she was short on time. That was actually perfect, for the time constraint would limit her. After all, if she wanted to continue testing on Nero's body, she would need him to stay alive.

"What do you need?" she asked directly the moment she laid eyes on him. "The fact that you're walking around means you're not in any great need, so hurry up. I'm out in four minutes."

"I'm being deployed in two hours," Nero said, getting straight to the point. "The situation has changed, and we might not have many excursions left. There's no way I won't be deployed, so I wanted to get into the best shape possible before going."

Nero hadn't even finished speaking when the doctor moved. She was a blur, and one second she was reading from a chart, and the next she was holding Nero from the collar of his shirt.

The anger in her eyes was abundantly clear, though Nero wasn't concerned as he could tell she wasn't angry at him. Moreover, he was proud of himself for not reacting instinctively like he had with those cops so long ago.

In the end, she didn't even say anything. She let him go and took a step back.

"Follow me," she said, walking into the operating theater where a patient was already laying on the operating table. Instead of focusing on him, she found a free table and pulled it to the center of the room.

"Take off your shirt and lay down on your back. I'll need to put protective measures in place so your overexertion doesn't affect your organs once again," she said, her voice seething with rage.

"You don't have to be so upset. This is necessary, and war is like this," Nero said as he removed his shirt.

"Don't talk to me about war, kid. And don't tell me what's necessary. I know bureaucracy much better than you, and I know exactly what those guys in their command tents are thinking when they choose to send you out."

"I volunteered to be sent in," Nero said, laying down.

The doctor turned to look at him again, and the two of them maintained eye contact. Even the other doctors and nurses in the room froze, unsure of what exactly was going on. The poor patient had the worst of it, for he was so confused about what was happening.

Eventually, though, the doctor's eyes softened.

"You're an idiot kid. If you want to go kill yourself, can't you wait till you heal perfectly? If you die during treatment it affects my patient survival rates. I'm trying to get a promotion as a surgeon here."

Nero smiled, and was about to respond but never got the chance. Despite seeming calmer, clearly she wasn't in a good mood. With a single poke to the back of his neck, Iris transferred a stream of aether into Nero's body and knocked him unconscious.

Then she began her procedure, using acupuncture needles to transmit her aether into key points in his body, adding a layer of protection deep within his body. It wouldn't keep him from dying if he got hurt really badly, but at least his body wouldn't wear out as quickly given his current predicament.

"Someone get me a bottle of Reverberry tincture," she said, beginning to give out instructions.

The patient who had been brought into the theater for surgery lay on the table, completely ignored and forgotten, yet he dared not interrupt the crazy doctor.