The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar snapped his eyes open; a glow of blue streaks in his pupils made him seem unearthly. A coat of blue Ein flowed out, encasing his entire body. He felt incredible power flowing through him.

"That's how you do it! Congratulations, Os!" Frederick was happy about Oscar's success. He was worried when Oscar started bleeding, but it all worked out.

"Here's a napkin," Frederick said.

Oscar did not notice the blood until Frederick mentioned it. There was blood on his clothes and still dripping down his nose.

After cleaning himself, Oscar lay on his bed. He felt so light, as if he could fly. He turned to Frederick and said, "Alright, it's time to show off our Anima. You broke through first, so you show yours."

Frederick focused his mind, and the green Ein collected above him. Each wisp of Ein transformed into a feather, and they collected into a large bundle of feathers. The feathers parted into wings, revealing a beak and two green eyes.

It was a hawk, one of the many birds that occupied the wide sky. Oscar read about them and how they were fast divers, swooping in for their prey.

"How is it? It's majestic, is it not? Not bad for Grade Five." Frederick grinned while the hawk perched itself on his shoulder. It let out a piercing cry, matching its master's mood.

The Anima is said to be another part of your being. Thus it mirrors what you feel and your desires. Even Anima of inanimate objects would showcase such behavior in their unique way.

Oscar focused his attention on the deer standing on top of his core. It sensed Oscar's will and immediately rushed out of his inner space.

Outside, the blue Ein condensed next to Oscar and formed the deer. It let out a loud grunt, startling Frederick.

"A deer?" Frederick noticed the antlers.

"A deer." Oscar embarrassingly palmed his face. He did not know what his deer could do. But it looked really weak compared to Samuel's tiger. His deer anima next to him sensed his lamentations and whimpered.

"Don't worry, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with a deer. Those antlers look deadly." Frederick tried to console Oscar and come up with some positives about it. It was different compared to his hawk that could fly around.

Oscar was still a little down and knelt to pet his deer. It rubbed lovingly on Oscar's hand, letting out a cute sound.

'It's cute, but is that all it is?' Oscar sighed.

Frederick thought hard about how to cheer Oscar up. After some pondering, he had a brilliant idea.

"Hey, now that we're both Exalts, do you know what we can do?" Frederick asked.

"What?" Oscar listlessly said.

"We can go to the Neptune Archives."

Oscar immediately stood up while his deer began prancing around. How could he have forgotten about the Archives?

Various places and facilities in the Blue Ocean Pavilion were closed to anyone who wasn't an Exalt. Some examples were occasional lectures in the Outer Hall, the Mission Center, and the Neptune Archives.

After seeing Oscar's delighted face, Frederick knew he was right on the money. He saw Oscar reading many times when he was not training. Surely the books in the Neptune Archives would brighten his friend's mood.

"Let's head out." Oscar retrieved his Anima and quickly left.

The two set out on the path toward the Neptune Archives. As they traveled, their surroundings changed. Instead of the usual grassy plains, they saw more pristine and grand buildings.

The Neptune Archives was located in the town, the Azure City, inside the Blue Ocean Pavilion. It was closer to a city than a town due to its size.

A platoon of Knight Exalts guarded the gateway to this town. They stopped Oscar and Frederick from entering. The two released their Exalt aura, letting the guards know they had the qualifications to enter.

"You can go in, do not cause trouble." A guard waved them in but not before warning them. Any troublemakers in the town were immediately locked up in the Abyss Prison.

"We will make sure." Oscar and Frederick entered the town and beheld a lot of activity.

There were various restaurants and shops. Some shops were owned by outside merchants, while others were run by other students trying to sell their extra inventory.

"Selling a Grade Two Elixir. Ask me for more details."

"I have some good weapons for sale."

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Clamors and commotions abounded as Oscar nudged through the crowds of students. The Azure City was open to every student, who was an Exalt, so there was always a mass gathered inside.

"Over here!" Frederick guided Oscar through the crowd. They went through various alleyways that Frederick learned from his aunt, Ivanka. Finally, they arrived in front of the Neptune Archives.

It was a beautiful building. Large pillars upheld its marble ceiling. Great carvings of scrolls and quills adorned the arches. Water flowed from its peak dome down to the small pools surrounding it through aqueducts.

Oscar stepped onto the bridge to get to the entrance. What he saw inside took his breath away.

The shelves were endless, stretching all over the Archives. Oscar could not tell how many books were on the first floor alone. Oscar felt he could sit here forever and read until old age.

"What do you think? Isn't it amazing?" Frederick also gazed in wonder at the beautiful interior.

"Thanks, Fred." Oscar did not forget that Frederick brought him here to cheer him up.

Oscar ran to one of the bookshelves like a child running toward their presents. It was a section on herbology. Oscar eagerly picked up one of the books and started reading. Frederick turned his eyes to another section and took out a book.

Hours passed. Frederick was starting to get extremely bored, nearly falling asleep. He tried to focus more for Oscar's sake, but his inbuilt laziness took over. He preferred action rather than reading. Peering over, he saw Oscar was still engrossed in another book.

"What are you reading?" Frederick wondered.

"It's a book on Anima and how to utilize them," Oscar responded. He fell into depression earlier but coming to this place helped clear his mind. Oscar needed to be better at using his Anima, as Lewis mentioned. Although he was not sure about the capabilities of his deer, it was still an animal.

"I'm looking for advice on how animal type Anima works."

"I'm sure we have a lecture coming up for newcomers. It's one of the consistent ones they do every year. They will mention Anima and other auxiliary topics related to Exalts." Frederick remembered the schedule on the dorm bulletin board. The lecture was done one month after student admissions.

"Better to know more about the topic to ask better questions." Oscar's said in a scholarly manner, making Frederick wince as it sounded like something his mother would say.

'Os would have been better to be born as a scholar or a minister's son.' Frederick thought it was a tragedy since Oscar was obsessed with new knowledge and how he could apply them.

'Oh?'

Frederick's eyes brightened as he saw a certain figure enter the Neptune Archives. He nudged Oscar away from his book.

"Os, look who just entered." Frederick's face was slightly shocked.

Oscar was annoyed when Frederick dragged him off and wondered who Frederick was looking at. He had never seen Frederick look dumbfounded like this. Oscar turned to where Frederick was staring and stopped.

It was a girl around their age. She had beautiful silver hair that grew down to her thin waist. The student uniform was already eye-catching on other girls, but it suited this girl the most. To Oscar, the most beautiful part was her emerald eyes that shined like jewels. They gave off a divine feeling.

Everyone in the Archives stopped what they were doing to look at this goddess. She had an expressionless face and continued walking away. No one dared to follow her.

"Who is that?" Oscar shook his head, thinking he needed to focus on being a powerful Exalt and books rather than girls. But he could not help but be curious about her.

"She's the Grade Eight I told you about earlier. She's the princess of our Brilliant Drake Empire. Her Highness, Celestina Lovre Dragnar." Frederick spoke respectfully.

Long ago, he saw her at a banquet but never approached. After all, it was not his place to interact with her in the first place. That was why he never had any thoughts of trying to get close to her.

'That would be a calamity.' Frederick thought.

"Celestina?" Oscar mumbled.

Frederick smacked his head and said, "Princess. Call her princess."

"I thought we were not supposed to be concerned about ranks. Otherwise, I'd be calling you Great Frederick." Oscar rubbed the spot Frederick hit.

"It's fine for others, but she's a different case."

"Ok." Oscar blandly stated and returned to reading his book. Rather than think about a princess he would never interact with, he'd focus on himself.

"This guy…." Frederick palmed his face in frustration. Was Oscar addled in the head? Frederick tried numerous times to get Oscar acquainted with different girls. But most of his attempts were unsuccessful.

Oscar flipped through the pages as his reading speed was quite fast. He stopped at a page describing the uses of the Anima.

'Interesting, there are different stages in Anima as well.'

The first stage is the Manifestation Stage, which Oscar and Frederick were currently in. Their Anima manifests on the outside and can interact with the physical world.

The second stage is the Meld Stage. This one is more complicated since it merges the Anima with an object. The Meld Stage was where the weapon types like sword anima shined. Melding a sword anima into a real sword would have devastating effects.

The third and final stage is the Integration Stage. It is fusing the anima inside yourself; the resulting outcome is different based on the anima.

'That sounds amazing. What would happen if I integrated with my deer?

Oscar imagined having antlers and mowing down his enemies, though it seemed ridiculous in his imagination.

"Let's run, Os!" Suddenly, Oscar was dragged again into a corner away from the entrance. He tried to say something, but Frederick silenced him with an angry look.

"What is it now?" Oscar was annoyed. This was the second time Frederick stopped his reading.

"It's Gilbert," Frederick growled.

"Gilbert Lockwood? The Grade Nine?"

Oscar took a peek at the entrance. He witnessed everyone staring at a figure at the entrance in fear, awe, and unwillingness.

The man had a beautiful bed of blue hair with blue eyes. He was slim and tall, yet Oscar could see parts of his arm that showed parts of his incredibly toned body.

Gilbert glanced around the Archives in search of something. His eyes briefly met Oscar's, and Oscar felt like lightning shot straight into him. It was only a moment, but he broke out in a cold sweat.

Gilbert did not linger and walked further inside, to the relief of everyone.

"I told you, didn't I? That guy is bad news." Frederick drank some water to calm down and passed it along to Oscar.

"Why do you think he's here?" Oscar wondered.

"I heard he's trying to woo the princess. Out of everyone here, he does have the qualifications with that Grade Nine Exolsia." Frederick grumbled.

"That seems very likely." Oscar saw that Gilbert had no interest in the books and came here for another purpose. What could draw him here if not the princess?

"I want to head back," Frederick said solemnly.

"Sure. Let's go back to our room." Oscar agreed. After that small encounter with Gilbert, Oscar didn't feel like staying. Plus, Frederick was behaving strangely

'Grade Nine…. It truly is terrifying.'

Oscar furrowed his brows.

Could he catch up with his Grade Four? Or would he waste away like the student guide Nicholas? Such worries invaded his mind that he was not in the state to meditate for the rest of the day.

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