Zero caught up with them less than a mile from the clearing. He found them huddled at the base of a large oak tree, the first real sign that they were nearing the edge of the Amber Zone. Professor Finch was attempting to apply a proper bandage to Elara's wounds, his hands still trembling, while Elara herself sat propped against the trunk, her face pale and beaded with sweat, but her sharp, analytical eyes were alert and focused. The brutal, cauterizing heat from Zero's knife had done its job; the poison's advance had been halted, leaving her with a trio of angry, seared gashes but a body that was slowly regaining its motor functions.
Zero stumbled into their view, putting on a convincing show of exhaustion and pain. He favored his left leg, clutched his side as if nursing cracked ribs, and his breathing was deliberately ragged. He collapsed against a nearby tree, sliding down to sit on the damp earth.
"Is it… gone?" Professor Finch asked, his voice a hopeful, quavering whisper.
Zero nodded, wincing for effect. "The… the mushrooms… they exploded. The flash… it must have scared it off." He offered the simplest, most believable explanation. An explosion of light was a phenomenon a scholar could understand and accept. The truth—that he had weaponized the local flora by broadcasting a sliver of his soul's chaotic essence to overload them and then un-made a monster from the inside out—was a truth he would carry to his grave.
Elara's gaze was sharp, cutting through his performance. She wasn't buying the simple story. Her eyes darted from his feigned injuries to his steady hands, from his ragged breathing to the cold, calm depths of his eyes. She saw the inconsistencies, the cracks in the facade of the terrified F-Rank Porter.
"Scared it off?" she repeated, her voice a little stronger now, laced with a familiar, cutting skepticism. "A Fen Lurker doesn't scare. And that wasn't a flash of light. It was a wave of pure null-energy. I felt it, even from here. It felt like… like the world went silent for a second."
Zero met her gaze, his expression a carefully constructed mask of confusion. "I don't know what it was. There was a bright light, a loud noise… and then it was just gone. I ran." It was a perfect lie, wrapped in a kernel of truth.
Finch, however, was more than willing to accept the simple version. He was a man of science, and a freak natural phenomenon was infinitely more palatable than a battle beyond his comprehension. "A sympathetic detonation! Of course! The creature's own magical aura, combined with the concentrated Abyssal Mana, must have overloaded the Whisperwood Caps' absorption capacity! A one-in-a-million ecological event! Astounding! We must document this!"
His academic brain had already processed the terror of the last few minutes and filed it away under 'anomalous data.' He was safe, his prized student was alive, and he had witnessed a new scientific marvel. In his mind, the day was a resounding success.
Elara didn't look convinced, but she lacked the strength to argue. The antidote for Fen Lurker poison was a standard, if expensive, potion available in the academy infirmary. Her life was no longer in immediate danger, thanks to Zero's brutal but effective field medicine. This fact created a logical and emotional dissonance in her that was plain to see. She was the C-Rank noble from the elite track. He was the F-Rank commoner. She had been the helpless victim; he had been the unlikely, unnervingly competent savior. The world had been turned upside down, and her analytical mind was struggling to right it.
"We need to get you back to the infirmary," Zero said, his voice soft, reverting to the 'Ashe' persona. He pushed himself to his feet with a convincing groan. "Professor, can you help me support her?"
The journey back to the academy was a long, tense affair. Zero and Finch created a makeshift crutch for Elara, allowing her to take some of the weight off her numbing legs. The silence between them was thick with unspoken questions. Finch filled it with excited babbling about the paper he was going to write. Zero remained quiet, playing the part of the stoic, tired boy. Elara was the most silent of all, her sharp eyes periodically flicking over to Zero, her mind clearly working, analyzing, and re-analyzing the events in the clearing.
They arrived at the campus gates just as dusk was beginning to settle, a trio of battered, mud-stained survivors returning from the wild. Their appearance immediately drew attention. The sight of the esteemed Professor Finch and the elite Elara Vance being helped along by a lowly F-Rank Porter was a spectacle that set the rumor mill churning at full speed.
They went straight to the infirmary. Master Elara, the Head Healer (and no relation to Elara Vance, a common source of confusion), took one look at the seared, cauterized wounds and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.
"What in the Founders' name is this? Did you fall into a blacksmith's forge?" she demanded, her voice sharp as a scalpel.
"It was my field assistant's quick thinking," Professor Finch explained, puffing out his chest a little. "He used a heated blade to denature the Lurker's poison at the point of entry. It seems to have worked."
The Head Healer peered at the wound, then at Zero, her expression a mixture of disbelief and grudging respect. "Barbaric. But… effective. It likely saved your life, girl," she said to Elara. "Another fifteen minutes and the toxin would have reached your heart. Now, get on the bed. This is going to require a full course of regenerative salves and an anti-toxin regimen."
As the healers went to work on Elara, Professor Finch pulled Zero aside. His face was a mixture of gratitude, awe, and a healthy dose of academic guilt.
"Ashe, my boy… I… I am in your debt," he stammered. "I froze. I was useless. You… you saved us. You saved Elara Vance. Her father, the Baron, is a powerful man. He will be… very grateful."
Zero looked at the floor. "I just did what anyone would have done, Professor."
"Nonsense!" Finch insisted. "You were calm, you were resourceful! Your knowledge of field medicine is… astounding for a boy your age. I must say, I have completely misjudged you."
This was the moment Zero had been waiting for. The hook was set deep. Now, it was time to reel in his prize.
"It's nothing, sir," Zero said, his voice laced with a weary sadness. "But… I don't think I can be your assistant anymore. It's too dangerous. I'm just an F-Rank. I was terrified. I was lucky. Next time…" He let his voice trail off, painting a picture of a boy traumatized by his brush with death.
Finch's face fell. He had just found the most useful field assistant of his entire career, a boy who not only discovered new species but could also fight off monsters and perform emergency surgery. Losing him now was unthinkable.
"No, no, my boy, don't say that!" he pleaded. "This was a fluke! An anomaly! We'll request a more powerful escort next time! An A-Ranker, perhaps! But your eye for discovery, your practical skills… they are invaluable! I can't lose you."
"But Professor, I need to focus on my studies," Zero said, twisting the knife. "And… I need to earn a living. My family… they don't have much. I can't afford to take risks that don't pay." It was a complete lie, but it was a believable one for a commoner student.
The desperate, calculating look in Finch's eyes was exactly what Zero wanted to see. "Pay! Of course! You should be paid! I'll… I'll allocate a portion of my research grant to you! A stipend! For your invaluable contributions as a Senior Field Researcher!" He was inventing a title on the spot. "Five silver a week! Is that… is that acceptable?"
Five silver a week was a small fortune for a first-year student. It was more than enough to cover his living expenses, with plenty left over for acquiring tools, information, and other resources.
Zero feigned hesitation, then looked up at the professor with wide, grateful eyes. "Professor… I… I don't know what to say. Thank you."
"It's the least I can do," Finch said, beaming, relieved that he had secured his asset. "You just rest up now, my boy. We'll plan our next expedition when Elara has recovered."
Zero nodded and limped out of the infirmary, leaving the professor to fuss over his official report. The first part of his plan was a resounding success. He now had a steady income, a plausible cover story for his skills, and a sanctioned reason to continue exploring the forest.
He paused in the corridor outside, just out of sight of the infirmary's entrance. He leaned against the cool stone wall, the facade of the weak, tired boy falling away. He knew Elara would be told of his new position and his stipend. She was smart. She would understand what had just happened. He hadn't just saved her life. He had leveraged it. He had taken a crisis and turned it into a promotion and a pay raise. He had treated the entire life-or-death situation as a transaction.
A soft, clear voice came from the infirmary doorway. "You're a very unusual Porter, Ashe."
It was Elara. She was still pale, but she was standing on her own, a fresh white bandage wrapped around her torso. The healers' magic worked fast. Her sharp, grey eyes were fixed on him, all traces of weakness gone, replaced by an intense, burning curiosity.
Zero turned to face her, his own expression unreadable.
"The price for a life is steep," she stated, her voice flat. "It seems you've just collected yours. Five silver a week. You did very well for yourself."
There was no anger in her voice. No gratitude. Only the cool, detached assessment of one calculating mind recognizing another.
Zero offered her a small, enigmatic smile. "The first payment," he corrected her softly. "On a very long-term debt."
He then turned and walked away down the corridor, leaving her standing in the doorway, a thousand new questions swirling in her brilliant, analytical mind. He had not only earned her debt; he had captured her complete and undivided attention. And for a manipulator like Zero, that was a far more valuable prize than silver.