When the sixth jackal's corpse crashed to the ground, Jasper finally collapsed, kneeling in a pool of blood and mud. He was drenched in blood, unable to tell if it was his own or his enemies'. A deep, bone-visible wound on his left arm burned with pain, and the gashes on his back made every breath an agony.
He had won, but at a heavy price.
Nidhogg lifted its head from the last corpse, its small belly rising and falling, clearly exhausted as well. It crawled back to Jasper's side and nuzzled its head against its master's hand, a trace of weariness showing in its dark-gold vertical pupils for the first time.
Jasper looked at it, his emotions a tangled mess of hatred, disgust... and a twisted gratitude he was unwilling to admit even to himself.
Without this little creature, he would have been a corpse under the claws of the first jackal.
['Beast Tamer' potion digestion +15%] [Current total digestion progress: 20%] [Acting Hint: A common enemy is the fastest bridge to building trust.]
"Shut up," Jasper growled in his mind. He tore a strip from his school uniform and clumsily bandaged the worst wound on his arm. He had to get out of here quickly, or the scent of blood would attract more trouble.
Just as he struggled to his feet, a round of contemptuous applause came from the nearby woods.
"Well, well, isn't it our class's loser Beast Tamer? Still alive, what a miracle."
Ryan emerged from the shadows with two followers. The three of them were clad in brand-new leather armor, holding standard-issue longswords, a stark contrast to the tattered, blood-soaked Jasper. They radiated a sense of power far beyond that of an ordinary person, a benefit of the Sequence 9 'Soldier' Pathway.
Ryan's gaze swept over the jackal corpses on the ground, finally landing on the inconspicuous black lizard on Jasper's shoulder. The mockery on his face deepened. "What, is this the 'ace' you're planning to use to pass the exam? A mutant gecko? Jasper, I truly feel sorry for you. Other Pathways strengthen the individual, but you... you pin your hopes on a pet."
Jasper said nothing, merely staring at him with cold, dead eyes. He knew that with his spirit energy depleted and his stamina gone, a direct confrontation with a physically enhanced 'Soldier' was suicide.
"Boss, stop wasting your breath on him," one of Ryan's followers licked his lips, his eyes greedily fixed on the jackal corpses. "These materials aren't worth much, but they can be traded for a few stamina potions. And that Three-Eyed Jackal's crystal lens is a real prize!"
Ryan nodded and spoke to Jasper in a tone of charity. "Kid, leave the corpses and get lost. For the sake of being classmates, I won't make things difficult for you."
Jasper's fists clenched tightly at his sides. His nails dug deep into his palms, the sharp pain keeping his last shred of reason intact.
He had paid for these jackals with his life! That Three-Eyed Jackal's crystal lens was the key material for his advancement to Sequence 8!
Just as Ryan's follower was about to step forward and start looting, a low, guttural hiss, filled with a primal malice, came from Jasper's shoulder.
It was Nidhogg.
It slowly raised its head. Its dark-gold vertical pupils no longer held any curiosity, only a cold, abyssal tyranny. A faint, almost imperceptible pressure made the advancing follower pause, a sudden, inexplicable fear gripping his heart.
Ryan frowned but paid it no mind. In his eyes, it was just a lizard with a bit of a temper.
Jasper took a long look at Ryan, then at the corpses on the ground. Without another moment's hesitation, he turned and, dragging his heavily injured body, limped away into the depths of the forest.
"Good, you know your place!" Ryan snorted in disdain.
Jasper didn't look back. He knew that today's retreat was so that tomorrow, he could return the humiliation a hundredfold.
[Time remaining until the start of the Extraordinary Qualification Exam: 48 hours.]
The cold system prompt appeared in his mind. Time was running out.