Fear is a strange catalyst. It can make a high-and-mighty 'Soldier' Pathway Extraordinary One forget all his physical advantages, leaving only the most primal instinct to survive.
Ryan lay on the ground, trembling, watching as the ominous black lizard drew closer and closer to his throat. He could smell the faint, sulfurous odor coming from Nidhogg's mouth.
"I... I give up!" Ryan's voice was sharp and shrill with terror. "Don't kill me! The materials... you can have all the materials! I also have... have two healing potions in my backpack, you can have them too!"
Jasper looked at him coldly, saying nothing. He could feel the surge of spiritual energy from his advancement slowly calming, but the crazed whispers in his mind had not completely faded. They coiled in the depths of his consciousness like vipers, tempting him to unleash a more thorough violence.
He issued a command to Nidhogg through their mental link.
Nidhogg halted, but its dark-gold vertical pupils remained locked on Ryan.
Jasper walked over to Ryan and crouched down. Expressionless, he retrieved his Three-Eyed Jackal's crystal lens and the Crypt Worm mucus from the new backpack. Then, without any courtesy, he also took the two healing potions and all of Ryan's rations.
"This is the interest," Jasper's voice was devoid of emotion.
He didn't kill him. Not out of mercy, but because reason told him that killing a classmate during a public school exam would bring endless trouble. And the one thing he lacked most right now was time.
After he was done, he stood up and turned to leave, as if the class ace who had just wet himself in fear was nothing more than an insignificant rock.
"You... you just wait!" Ryan roared at his departing back, his voice a mixture of bravado and fear. "I won't let you go!"
Jasper's steps paused.
He slowly turned back, his dark eyes like two bottomless whirlpools in the dim light of the ravine.
"Next time," he said softly, "I will kill you."
With that, he didn't linger, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Ryan lay瘫 on the ground, gasping for air. Only when Jasper's presence had completely vanished did he feel his heart begin to pound violently again. He looked down at his ankle, where the spiritual chain had bound him. A dark, brand-like rune was slowly fading away.
He knew the other boy had meant it.
...
Far from the ravine, Jasper felt a wave of weakness wash over him. The after-effects of the forced advancement were beginning to show, and his head throbbed as if pierced by needles. He leaned against a tree and drank a healing potion in one go. The cool liquid slid down his throat, and a numbing, itching sensation began to spread from the wounds on his arm and back.
Nidhogg crawled down from his shoulder and lay quietly on his lap, closing its eyes. The battle had exhausted its strength as well.
Jasper looked at the little creature on his lap, a storm of emotions raging within him.
['Contractor' potion digestion +10%] [Current total digestion progress: 10%] [Acting Principle: A contract is an equal exchange, and also a fetter of power. You protect your companion, and your companion will become your sharpest fang. Every battle fought side-by-side is a reinforcement of the contract.]
"Acting..." Jasper chewed on the word under his breath. He reached out and gently stroked Nidhogg's cool scales. This time, the hatred in his heart seemed to have faded a little.
In its place was a heavier, colder realization.
Jojo's sacrifice had bought him this power. If he couldn't walk this path with this power, then Jojo's death would truly become meaningless.
He had to survive.
At any cost.