Hunter was fast and surprisingly efficient. He didn't linger at the training grounds but simply gestured for Jasper to follow. He led him across the campus to a private training villa behind the school's mountain, surrounded by high walls and warning runes. This was the Hunter family's private property, a place where he usually meditated and digested potions—an absolutely safe haven.
The villa's medical room was spotless, filled with the fresh scent of expensive disinfectants, a world away from the filth of the goblin cave in Jasper's memory. Hunter said little, walking straight to a safe made of obsidian in the corner, engraved with runes for temperature control and preservation. After a series of complex spiritual password verifications, he carefully retrieved a palm-sized crystal vial. Inside was a single drop of viscous liquid that glowed with a soft green light, like molten jade. The liquid seemed to have a life of its own; just looking at it made Jasper feel a faint spark of vitality return to his own spirit, which had been depleted from constantly nurturing Nidhogg.
"This is the 'Diluted Sap of the Tree of Life'," Hunter's voice was grave as he held the crystal vial as if it were a priceless treasure. "It's a life-saving item my father bought for me at a sky-high price when I advanced to Sequence 8. You probably won't find a second bottle in all of Yangcheng."
Jasper didn't speak. With trembling hands, he took out the cold, ash-white Nidhogg from his coat and gently placed it on the sterile cloth of the medical table. Its tiny body, a stark contrast to the advanced medical room, looked like a small, forgotten, dying ember.
Hunter looked at the dying little lizard with a complex expression. He couldn't imagine what kind of power could allow such a seemingly weak creature to unleash such a devastating force, enough to turn the tide of battle. Nor could he imagine the price it had paid to become this near-death husk. He didn't ask, because he knew that the weight of some sacrifices could never be understood by outsiders. He simply took a sterilized silver needle, carefully dipped it into the green sap, and then gently, as if handling the most fragile of treasures, let a drop fall onto Nidhogg's closed lips.
The moment the sap touched Nidhogg, it seeped into its ashen skin as if it were alive.
A miracle happened.
Nidhogg's deathly gray scales regained a faint, almost imperceptible black luster. Its nearly stopped heart began to beat a little stronger, a faint "thump... thump..." like the revival of a war drum.
[Warning: Companion 'Nidhogg's' core life essence has been temporarily replenished. It is no longer in a near-death state. Current status: Deep Hibernation. Estimated time to awakening: 120 days.]
Jasper's heart first leaped with joy, then sank to the bottom of a pit. It was out of mortal danger, but a four-month hibernation was still a price he couldn't afford. Without Nidhogg, he was a Sequence 8 'Contractor' with depleted spiritual energy, even more fragile than an ordinary person. He would be completely powerless, unable to investigate the greater conspiracy, let alone survive at school.
"It's not enough..." Jasper's voice was hoarse, the flame of hope that had just ignited in his eyes quickly dimming. "It's still not enough."
"I know," Hunter nodded. He carefully put away the remaining potion, his face more serious than ever. "This diluted sap can only keep it alive. To truly restore it, and perhaps even use this opportunity for a complete transformation, we need a purer, more immense source of life energy."
He paused, as if making a difficult decision, before finally speaking. "In three days, there will be an underground auction for Extraordinary Ones at the 'Shadow Market' outside the city. I received information through my family's channels that one of the final items is a single drop of true 'Heartwood of the Tree of Life.' That thing is enough to allow a dying extraordinary creature to undergo a leap in its very level of existence."
For the first time, a true, burning flame of hope ignited in Jasper's eyes.
"The Shadow Market is not under the jurisdiction of any church or official authority. It's a true lawless land, fraught with danger," Hunter looked at him and said solemnly. "And the price of the 'Heartwood' will be astronomical. I... I can try to scrape some money together, but my father has been strictly controlling my expenses lately. The most I can come up with is $150,000."
"I'll figure out the rest," Jasper's reply was decisive. He tightly gripped the black crystal he had recovered from the Goblin Shaman's ashes. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel the vast and chaotic spiritual energy contained within. Perhaps this was his bargaining chip.
"Good," Hunter looked at his burning eyes and felt a strange sense of reassurance. He knew that although the young man before him looked weak, his will was harder than steel.
"For the next three days, you rest here," Hunter said. "The defensive arrays here can block most prying eyes. It's safer than the school. You need to recover your spiritual energy, and I need to... digest my 'gains'."
When he said the word "gains," an unconcealable pain and hatred flashed in the depths of his eyes. That humiliating experience was like a poison, corroding his soul. But he didn't succumb to it. Instead, he chose to turn that poison into the perfect fuel for the rage and ferocity required to act as a 'Barbarian'.
Jasper nodded. He knew they were both on a path of no return, a path of rebirth through death.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, Ryan was staring at his still-aching wrist with venomous eyes. Hunter's public defense of Jasper was a profound humiliation to him.
"A loser... and a genius whose brain got scrambled..." he squeezed the words through his teeth. "You just wait. The Shadow Market... hehe, that's a good place to kill someone without needing a reason."
He took out a communication rune and dialed a number.
"Hello, it's me. Get me in touch with 'Vulture.' I have a job for him."