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 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.
For the next two days, Jasper and Nidhogg became a pair of dreaded phantoms in the "Land of Jackals."
After advancing to Sequence 8 'Contractor', Jasper's total spiritual energy and his precision in controlling it had taken a qualitative leap. The mental link between him and Nidhogg became incredibly clear, and their coordination grew more and more seamless.
Nidhogg was responsible for scouting and initial harassment, while Jasper, using his 'Damage Transfer' ability, hunted down any beast that dared to stand in their way with an almost insane, life-for-a-wound efficiency.
Gradually, the other candidates began to consciously avoid the lone boy who radiated an aura that warned everyone to stay away. No one knew what had happened to him, only that any team that had tried to rob him was never seen again.
On the evening of the third day, as the setting sun painted the sky a bloody red, Jasper finally dragged his exhausted body out of the western exit of the "Land of Jackals."
He was the fifth candidate to reach the finish line.
At the exit, the teacher, Sarah, was recording scores with several other examiners. When she saw Jasper, she couldn't help but be stunned.
The young man before her was a completely different person from the quiet, even somewhat timid, student of three days ago.
His school uniform was in tatters, caked with dried blood and dirt. His cheeks were gaunt, but his eyes were as sharp and cold as a hawk's. The oppressive aura that naturally emanated from a Sequence 8 Extraordinary One made several of the Sequence 9 students around him subconsciously take half a step back.
Most striking of all was the pitch-black lizard resting quietly on his shoulder. Its dark-gold vertical pupils were impassively scanning everyone present, as if sizing up a group of prey that could be torn apart at any moment.
"Jasper..." Sarah's lips moved, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Jasper ignored the surrounding gazes. He walked straight to the registration desk and placed his student ID on it.
"Jasper, passed," the examiner checked the information and quickly stamped the seal of approval.
Jasper picked up his ID and turned to leave.
"Stop," Sarah called out to him, her expression incredibly serious. "Jasper, I don't know what you went through in there. But I must remind you, on the Extraordinary path, the shortcuts are often the ones that lead to the abyss. Every leap in power comes with an equivalent risk. I hope you... will look after yourself."
Jasper's steps paused for a moment. He didn't turn back, only saying faintly, "Thank you, teacher."
With that, he walked into the twilight without a backward glance.
Sarah watched his lonely and resolute back, a complex emotion welling up in her heart. She knew that from this day on, this boy, once considered a loser by everyone, would walk a path different from all others, a path destined to be fraught with hardship.
Under the setting sun, Jasper's shadow was stretched long.
He had passed the exam, but this was just the beginning.
The ten-thousand-yuan debt still weighed on his mind, his mother and sister were waiting for him at home, and the path to higher Sequences was filled with unknown dangers and madness.
He glanced at Nidhogg on his shoulder. The little creature, heir to a mythological name, seemed to sense its master's mood and gently nuzzled his neck with its head.
In that instant, Jasper's gaze seemed to soften.
He was no longer alone.
This Shepherd's path, named for ashes, was one he would walk to the very end.