The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

If someone told him the winds turn into a frenzy during the night, Oscar would have considered it a lie or misunderstanding because the plains before him were still a stagnant realm where time does not pass. How else can the grass be so still? Was each blade of grass crafted by an artisan? Moreover, not a single piece of dirt or rubble fell along the mountain's slope.

Sadly, the frozen time of tranquility ended abruptly. Avril went up the slope, scattering the rocks under her feet and starting a reaction of pebbles falling, a cacophony of drumming erratic earth. The mountain wasn't too steep at the base, and Avril hastened her steps to climb higher.

"Wait!" Oscar grabbed her shoulder, only exerting enough to hold her back without hurting her. Avril tilted her head at Oscar, an earnest and innocent gaze pouring from her one eye. Oscar nearly coughed at her display of ignorance of everything around her. "Your one-track mind is very troublesome. Before you start, check everyone else first and go together."

Avril gasped, her face the look of sudden realization. She nodded and apologized for her mistake. "I understand. Are the two of you ready? Or do we have to wait? She can't wait to go around and explore, but she must keep calm and allow Oscar to be ready. Right. Right."

"First, here," Oscar took a space pocket from his belt and handed it to her, placing it on the palm of her hand. "Each person needs a way to store their findings and equipment. You don't want to lug around the bag the entire time, do you?"

On Avril's back was her large, worn-out bag with the seams loosened and about to break apart. It looked uncomfortable just watching her carry it around; he could only imagine how it must feel to be the one holding it. Oscar sighed and felt some pity because Avril's circumstances were too poor and harsh.

"Really?" Avril's gold eye widened, her lips lifted into a smile, and her body leaned closer to Oscar while she clutched the black space pocket in her hands. "This is too precious! You know how expensive this is?"

"Ahaha. Don't worry. I have twenty-six of those, not including my own." Oscar said. He thought of the other space pockets and dimensional cube sitting in Erden's stomach. Yesterday, Oscar had Erden spit one out and thought better of giving this one to Avril as a faint unpleasant scent wafted from it. After swapping the contents with his space pocket, he kept the new one after cleaning it and decided to give his old one to Avril.

"Twenty-six?!" Avril shouted. A completely stunned and shaken expression took hold of her, and she stared at Oscar, her mouth agape in awe. She circled Oscar in contemplation and then went to Erden, glancing all over his body until prying his mouth open. "I didn't see twenty-six space pockets back in the cave…where are you keeping them?"

"Secret," Oscar raised an eyebrow and peeked at Erden. She had the right idea in opening Erden's mouth, and he wondered if hiding them in Erden's stomach was too easy for someone to figure out. Never mind the useless thoughts of hiding his wealth, Oscar peered up the mountain and at Avril. "Second, we stay close. There's no knowing what may be up here and what strange occurrences can separate a group. Understand?"

"Thank you for the gift, but I'll return it after we're done." Avril was still on the topic of space pockets. She gazed with great interest at Oscar's eyes. Avril held the space pocket close to Oscar's face, right near his eye. "You know….The space pocket resembles your eyes. How pretty."

"Thank you?" Oscar wondered where her head was at. At least her compliment was nice. He felt some gratification, a washing sensation of uplifting moods and pleasure swirling in his head. After years of spending so long with Gol-4's sarcastic praises and weird comments through their bantering, it was nice to hear a straightforward compliment.

"In any case, " He cleared his throat to regain his bearings. He needed to keep his sense sharp for the journey ahead and not be swayed by mere words. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Of course. She boasts about her attentive mind and open ears. No instructions or orders fail to reach her head." Avril tugged on Oscar's hand and Erden's antlers, her position between them. "With this, we won't be separated. Hold tight and never let go. Can we go now?"

"Yes, yes. Let's go." Oscar chuckled and nodded. He had dealt with many people in the Pavilion but never met someone so random. No matter what, he was pulled along to her weird pace without warning or preparation. She took his words to heart because she wouldn't release his hand. "Be careful and stay sharp. Tell me if you see something."

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"Noted!" Avril went first, dragging Oscar and Erden with her.

They climbed up the huge mountain toward the peak obscured by a ring of clouds, circling the natural structure at varying heights. A strange place, indeed. Despite its location on an abundant grassland, plains of vitality, the mountain yielded not a single blade of grass or the faintest sprout of rejuvenation. Nothing existed here other than the gravel of the earth.

With each step up, Avril snapped her head from left to right, darting her eyes around the land before whining in disappointment. Oscar felt her grip tighten as irritation trembled in her eye. For an adventure she had been so hopeful for in the morning, the mountain provided nothing, standing dully and bleakly over the plains.

"There's nothing here!" Avril complained, kicking her feet to scatter more gravel.

"Calm down. Just because there's nothing so far doesn't mean it's pointless. Look at the peak and wonder what amazing things might be waiting there?" Oscar pointed up.

"You're right. There's still the peak. The rest of the mountain is so boring." Avril muttered.

Oscar felt differently. His fabricator's eyes glanced over at the rocks, seeing some which glimmered and piqued his interest, stroking his instincts. He put his thoughts aside for later. Avril was still pulling him along, and her eyes fixated on the obscured peak.

"I like this slow walk. It's relaxing to go up these mountains. I never had such luxury back home." Erden spoke in a deep voice.

"Home? Where are you from, Erden? Come to think of it. I don't know anything about you two." Avril asked.

"I'm from Ashen Grove, formerly known as Stonehaven. There were no such mountains devoid of trees and grass like these. It's a fresh experience." Erden answered.

"I'm from the Brilliant Drake Empire. Have you heard of it?" Oscar hoped Avril might have some knowledge.

"Nope. I never heard of it. Do you know what continent?" Avril scrunched her face in thought.

"Farsky Continent."

"Never heard of it. I'm from the Everest Continent. I only know about the ones closest to it." Avril shook her head.

"I see…." Oscar looked up at the sky, exhaling strongly. The same two suns were there, though in an awkward position due to the strange properties of this area, so where was his home? Suddenly, he felt his arm being whipped around and found Avril swinging it with her held hand.

"She grows sad because of Oscar's homesickness and gives some advice. If it's too far, don't worry about it, right? Take it step by step. Our destination is the mountain's peak, so focus on that. Then find the next step and the next until you reach home." Avril lectured him.

Oscar stared blankly at Avril. "Where did that come from? Surprisingly, you say good things from time to time."

"What do you mean by that?" Avril smiled, a piercing gaze from her gold eye.

"I mean, your words are correct. But there's a reason I have to get back as fast as possible." Oscar replied. The possible war for survival bothered him, but what made him more restless was everyone thinking he was dead.

"Then why are you here? You agreed to climb this mountain." Avril stepped on some loose gravel and nearly tripped. Oscar held her up and kept her stable.

"Unfortunately, the beasts outside are too strong for me to break through. Here it is relatively safer and may offer a chance for me to get stronger. The mountain could have something I need. I'll leave once I'm in the Middle Knight Exalt realm." Oscar sighed.

"That's still taking it step by step. Just stop thinking about it and keep going. The next thing you know, you're already home." Avril said.

"Then, what about you? What do you want? Is it to go back home? To travel? Why were you in this strange place? What steps are you taking to reach your goal?" Oscar asked.

Avril fell silent and stopped, looking at her feet. "I don't know. The only thing I knew for sure was I wanted to run as fast and far away as possible. After that, I don't know. I guess you can say my goal is to find a goal. Hahaha. Sounds strange when said."

"That's not strange at all. Not everyone has something to work towards." Oscar tugged her along to keep climbing. "How did you end up here?"

"I popped through a portal and landed in the forest a year ago. She remembers her hard time when she first came here, covered in wounds. Luckily, the large tree provided some natural medicine to use and cover from the beasts." Avril remarked at what a close call it was.

Nearing the peak, they carried on in silence. All the questions in Oscar's heart were buried for later. Passing through the veil of misty clouds, washed by the droplets of moisture carried inside, Oscar and Avril reached the very top, seeing the familiar sight from yesterday when they first arrived.

"Hmm. This view makes the trip worth it. It's so pretty." Avril hummed and sat down, watching the movements of the clouds.

Oscar looked up and closed his eyes, hearing nothing but the slow flows of the clouds and the occasional kicking of rocks from Avril. They stayed up for a few minutes until Avril stretched her back and let out a loud cry of relief.

"At least this wasn't a waste," Avril grabbed Erden's antlers and extended her hand to Oscar.

"No, it wasn't," Oscar grasped her hand. "But, there is something to this mountain. I noticed it earlier. Do you want to see it?"

"I do!" Avril exclaimed.

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