Prolonged agitation can damage an Alpha's spiritual power, making the development of auxiliary medications essential.
Their purpose is to calm an Alpha's spiritual power before an Omega can perform their soothing.
This type of herb is forbidden in the joint exam, but there are places in the mountain range where it happens to grow. Without purification, the herb loses about thirty percent of its efficacy compared to its tablet form.
But out here in the wild, no one would care about that loss in potency.
After all, not every team can find their Omega right away. In some unlucky squads, their Omega gets eliminated by another team right at the start.
Just like Ethan Grant.
Apparently, this bargaining chip was enough for Nathan Lockwood to spare his life for the time being.
He released his hold on Ethan Grant's twisted arm. "Show me your team's location," he said.
Once a two-person team checks in at a point, the other members receive their coordinates and can head in that direction.
As for sharing the locations of other individual members, they need to create a private channel face-to-face.
Nathan Lockwood wanted to see how far away Ethan Grant's team was.
If he could buy himself some time, he would. Ethan Grant quickly pulled up his squad's location. They were still 10 kilometers from the destination. This wasn't flat terrain; it would take them even longer to get there.
Nathan Lockwood retracted his leg, his cool, narrow eyes squinting slightly. "Alright."
"We'll look for the flower first."
"After we find it, you can leave once the three members of my team are together."
The condition was harsh. There was no telling how long it would take for three team members to gather, but Ethan Grant had no choice. It was either obey or die.
Ethan Grant felt numb. He obediently nodded, resigning himself to his fate.
And so, Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood acquired a laborer.
A real laborer, at that. Zoe Pierce watched Ethan Grant, who was being forced to climb a tree to pick fruit, then her gaze shifted to the composed and unruffled Nathan Lockwood beside her.
"What is it?" Nathan Lockwood noticed her staring and met her gaze.
'He was the perfect embodiment of a capitalist right now.'
But Zoe Pierce didn't dare say it. She just blinked. "Nothing. I just wanted to ask if your spiritual power is feeling any better?"
This was her first time providing spiritual power soothing, and she wanted some user feedback.
Nathan Lockwood's gaze swept over her face as he gave a slight nod. "It's fine."
'It was unexpectedly good.'
Nathan Lockwood had never found spiritual power soothing to be so calming. Her spiritual power enveloped his spirit sea like gentle water, channeling and pacifying the roiling turbulence within, smoothing over every trace of agitation.
It was also quick, over in just a few short minutes.
He had experienced soothing from other Omegas before. Not only did it take longer, but the relief felt forced and abrupt, as if his agitation were being crudely suppressed, always leaving a sharp sense of withdrawal.
Afterward, he would always need a period of adjustment to fully recover.
But it was different with Zoe Pierce. In the blink of an eye, he could already use his newly purified spiritual power.
He studied Zoe Pierce's face. A healthy blush remained on her cheeks, with no sign of pain. Even her complexion after the soothing was completely different from other Omegas; she didn't seem to be in any pain at all.
Hearing Nathan Lockwood say it was "fine," Zoe Pierce breathed a sigh of relief.
Ever since realizing her spiritual power was different, Zoe Pierce had been constantly testing its limits.
First, she learned it could detect imminent danger—the car that had nearly hit her was proof enough of that. Second, she learned it could conceal her presence.
That second point still needed testing. So far, she had only managed to conceal her presence from Damien Pierce. She had no idea if she'd be discovered if she tried it on someone like Nathan Lockwood.
Now, her soothing ability—the skill most crucial to her future—had been proven effective, even on an S-Class Alpha.
She hesitated for a moment, tempted to run another experiment. If she used her spiritual power in front of Nathan Lockwood, would he notice?
She took the washed fruit from Nathan Lockwood's hand. 'His attitude toward me seems a bit better, doesn't it?'
Ethan Grant walked in the lead. Nathan Lockwood had stored all the supplies from the checkpoint in his Space Button. Zoe Pierce nibbled on the fruit, her mind elsewhere.
'Should I give it a try? Fortune favors the bold, after all.'
'Nathan Lockwood already knows about my family. Revealing a little more should be fine, right?'
After a long hesitation, temptation won out. She couldn't help it. The only thing she could rely on right now was her spiritual power, and she wanted to become stronger—to have more leverage—more than anyone.
The spiritual power she had kept coiled within began to unfurl with the rhythm of her breath. She carefully sent out a sliver, then slowly wrapped it around herself.
The process was slow. Zoe Pierce was even consciously dampening her presence, hoping to make her disappearance seem less abrupt.
Ethan Grant, up ahead, seemed to feel nothing. But the moment Zoe Pierce shifted her gaze to Nathan Lockwood, a large hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Nathan Lockwood turned back, his brow furrowed as he looked at her. "Zoe Pierce?"
The enveloping spiritual power instantly dissipated. Zoe Pierce's heart hammered in her chest. She licked her dry lips. "Ah? What's wrong?"
Her presence returned.
Nathan Lockwood's gaze was deep. Zoe Pierce looked down at the hand gripping her wrist. Only then did she notice a faint red mole in the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger. His palm was searing hot against her skin.
"Nothing." Nathan Lockwood withdrew his hand.
But the way he looked at Zoe Pierce was now even more profound than before.
'He had clearly felt it—the sense that she was gradually fading away. The moment he grabbed her, the feeling vanished.'
"Walk in the middle." He scanned their surroundings, unleashing his spiritual power to investigate. The presence of the man's unrestrained spiritual power was so overwhelming that even Ethan Grant couldn't help but grimace from the innate pressure.
'Looks like he doesn't suspect me.'
Zoe Pierce moved into the middle. Now, with an Alpha both in front of and behind her, she was in what was arguably the safest possible position.
Sure enough, when Zoe Pierce felt Nathan Lockwood's spiritual power sweep the area and come up empty, she let out a small sigh of relief.
'It seems an S-Class Alpha can still easily sense when something is off with me.'
"This is it. We're here."
She was still lost in thought when she heard Ethan Grant speak from up ahead.
Nathan Lockwood moved past her, his eyes fixed on her. "Keep up."
An undetected danger is the most unsettling kind. Nathan Lockwood didn't want Zoe Pierce to be eliminated right at the start.
Zoe Pierce quickly fell in line beside Nathan Lockwood, staying just a step behind him, making sure he would see her the moment he turned around.