The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Interesting. I hope you become a Greater Knight Exalt before I try for the Marshal Exalt realm. I haven't fought against anyone who made me feel the true thrill of battle yet." Adam stretched his body, his tight muscles outlined underneath the white shirt. He smiled at Oscar and extended his hand out. "You're quite close to it."

Staring at the outstretched hand, Oscar scoffed and clasped it. He released a slight Ripple Shroud, and it clashed against Adam's. The ensuing shockwave blasted across his hair, pounded on his skin, and scattered dust away. Oscar chuckled at the ridiculous greeting and farewell Adam taught him. According to Adam, this was the formal exchange between Reis users.

"By the time I become one, I'll be long gone from this place." Oscar refused to stay any longer in this place, more than necessary. He felt grateful to Sevon and Adam for training him and Avril and providing resources for their professions. But it wasn't enough to fully gain his trust. They still had not told him anything about the supposed enemy of Reis.

Passing through the unstable cliffs and gorges of the ravine, Oscar returned to their cavern abode. Avril and Erden had not returned yet. Sevon and Tort must have taken them far away for their final training, unlike Adam, who only wanted to fight. Oscar entered the hot bath Sevon had set up in the cave, a well that tapped into the hot water deep in the earth.

Tens of minutes later, the ground shook, and one loud, dull sound after another resounded through the cavern. Tort finally returned. He had felt Erden's presence getting closer during his long bath. The Soulbond was incredibly useful for keeping track of his beast. Oscar exited the cavern, waving over to Tort and Erden. Not surprisingly, Erden's body was battered with loose patches of fur and wounds.

"Welcome back, Erden. How was training with Tort?" Oscar rubbed Erden's head. Erden snorted and grunted in return while Tort repeated some low groans resembling laughter. Erden sent a playback of his memories through Oscar's mind, and Oscar laughed at its contents. He wasn't the only one to suffer at their trainer's hands. "Tort may look lazy and slow, but he's surprisingly brutal. Look at how haggard you look."

"I'm back! She desires a fresh bath right now!" Avril's voice cut in from the other direction. Oscar turned to her with a smile. Her hair was loose and nearly falling off the braids, her clothes roughed up and torn in some places, and her face was covered in dirt. Next to her, Sevon was smiling with a pipe in his mouth.

Just how rough was her training? Oscar tried to get Avril to tell him multiple times during the six months, but she stayed silent. Her lips were sealed tight, an admirable quality but still annoying to Oscar. In the end, he decided to respect her privacy and stop asking. He hoped Sevon hadn't gone overboard.

"Avril is quite the astute student. Oscar, I'll leave it to you to help her progress in Reis after you all disembark." Sevon put out his pipe, watching Avril enter the cave with the doting eyes Oscar had seen on Elder Saul, his Father, and his Mother. It was funny how Avril's strange cheerful behavior and quirks made her likable to anyone.

"So, what kind of training did you do?" Oscar asked. He only stopped asking Avril but never stopped for this old man.

"Avril told me not to tell you. She doesn't want you to keep worrying and wants to surprise you later with the results." Sevon relit his pipe. "I can tell you that she hasn't made much progress in Adamasreis."

"That's obvious," Oscar grumbled as he went inside. After a while, Avril and Erden had cleaned and tidied themselves up, joining him in the main quarters.

"Ah, I'm so tired. I just want to sleep." Avril leaned, resting her head on the stone table.

"It's the last day. Sevon and Adam want us to meet up. I wonder if they'll finally tell us about the enemy." Oscar couldn't get the unknown enemy out of his head. Sevon was always solemn when referring to them, and Adam always lost his usual smile, replaced by a face of pure fury. "Though, when they do, I'll judge whether these enemies are enemies to us or just Sevon and Adam's vendetta against someone."

"Right, right. She leaves the hard part to Oscar, knowing he'll make the right choice. She just wants to rest right now." Avril yawned.

"Hah…Also, I have a gift for you." Oscar took out a white staff with a large embedded gem on its tip from his space pocket. "Try it out."

"Is this a grade-three armament?" Avril perked up from her slump and held the long staff, her gold eye glittering wonderfully. "When did you make this?"

"Just finished yesterday. Grade-three armaments are trickier than I thought. The large gem is not a decoration but a conduit. I thought about other ways you could use your scroll anima and created an outlet for the Ein to blast off in a concentrated beam. It'll be a nice surprise for any enemy who doesn't know." Oscar went on in a long explanation about the intricacies of the armament. The gem for the outlet was a concept of golem-crafting he learned from Gol-4 long ago. He smiled, knowing he was carrying on his friend's legacy in the present.

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Avril listened attentively with a smile and focused gaze. After Oscar finished explaining, she hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her sudden movement caught Oscar off-guard.

"Thank you. This is the best present I've ever received." Avril laughed.

"Just don't lose it or break it. Hehe. You make others worry with your clumsiness." Oscar said. He knew Avril was a person of many mysteries, but it all pointed to a history of pain and agony. With this, perhaps, she could open up more to him. Even if she didn't, Oscar felt it was alright.

"Hey! That's mean!" Avril let go of Oscar and tapped him on the head with her new grade-three armament. She hugged it closely with a hum from her lips and affection from her eye.

"Oh, it looks like something good happened." Adam and Sevon barged into the main quarters, carrying several plates of food and jars of drinks.

"What's all this?" Oscar asked. Though, he already knew the answer. Was there any way for him to avoid this? One look from Adam was enough for him to know it was impossible.

"A party to celebrate the completion of your training and to send you off with good wishes for your success. Now, drink!" Adam and Sevon poured several cups of wine and passed some to Oscar, Avril, and Erden. "To our success!"

"To our success!" Oscar and Avril said. Avril was highly enthusiastic about the celebration compared to him. Wait! Oscar thought as he downed the cup. Was Avril good at drinking, or was she a complete mess? He got his answer when he glanced at Avril. A single cup of wine made her face dripping red as a tomato, and her body swayed erratically.

He wasn't any better, either. He was never good at drinking, even back at the Pavilion, and these wines were fit to affect Knight Exalts. His vision grew hazier by the moment, and his hands doubled, tripled, quadrupled. He shouldn't have drunk. He cursed Adam under his breath.

The night was well underway despite the red sky ever still. After seeing her condition, Oscar decided not to allow Avril to keep drinking and downed her share of the wine. The food was a good reprieve from the water of life. As Reis users, they all ate continuously without end. Avril didn't eat meat but ate all the unique plants they collected from the Burning Valley.

"Ugh…." Oscar felt his head aching, a dull pounding of his skull. His eyes couldn't see much from the haze, but he felt odd. What was this softness his face rested on? It wasn't his pillow or mattress. Oscar wanted to move, but his hand was squished under something and wrapped around it. His nose caught a whiff of a fragrant scent, an intoxicating smell that numbed his mind.

"Mmmm," Avril's voice came from above. Shocked at what he was doing, Oscar tried to shake off the lethargy to no avail. He screwed up. He screwed up badly. Right now, he was embracing Avril, burying his face in her soft chest. This was a rude action toward Avril, and Oscar tried to move away. His body, wracked by alcohol, could barely move.

Then, Avril's arms, wrapped around his head, hugged tighter, burying him deeper in her embrace. Oscar felt hot, heard her heartbeat reverberating across his head, and breathed roughly and shortly. He needed to pull away. Suddenly, her hand stroked the back of his head with great affection as a hum came from Avril.

"Don't cry. Don't worry. I'll protect you. I'm here for you." Avril whispered in her sleep. Oscar wondered to whom she was talking in her sleep. It certainly wasn't him. However, it would be nice if it was him. Resting on Avril's chest, surrounded by her embrace, and stroked by her caring hand, Oscar was lulled back to sleep.

The next morning, Oscar woke up in his usual spot. He wondered if last night was a dream. There was no way he would do anything so uncouth toward his friend. Avril also woke up with a yawn.

"Good morning, Oscar." Avril rubbed her eye.

"Good morning, Avril." Oscar kept his calm. Last night had to be a dream. Right. He breathed out in relief. There was no way that last night was real.

"Funny, I didn't know I drooled in my sleep. Though, it's strange how did my chest get wet?" Avril patted her chest.

Oscar's head stormed with thunderous sparks, bringing up the memories from last night. He wanted to refuse it happened. There was no way. But the evidence was clear by the wet stain on Avril. 'Did I really do that? Was last night real?'

'Yes'

'Yes'

Erden and Demon responded instantly. Oscar rubbed his temple in distress. Why now? Even in previous times when he got drunk, he kept his wits about him. So how did he lose control? Oscar decided to stave off drinking for a while.

"Are you alright?" Avril said in front of Oscar.

"I am. Don't worry." Oscar laughed dryly, tearing his gaze away from her.

Oscar gathered his things, tidied up the room, and exited with Avril and Erden. Outside, Sevon and Adam waited for them on top of Tort.

"This is where we separate. You all know the plan. Oscar and Avril will head to the outer regions while Adam and I gain more ground closer to the Four Lord's domains." Sevon nodded to each one of them. "I wish you all good fortune in battle and success. May we meet at the rendezvous later."

"Good luck, Oscar. Hurry up and climb to where I am." Adam waved goodbye.

"Go eat some dirt. I'll shoot past you very soon." Oscar gave him a thumbs-down.

After Sevon and Adam left, Oscar, Avril, and Erden all sighed in relief. Erden, especially, screamed with laughter.

"I can finally talk with my mouth. Six months of keeping shut, and I almost forgot how to move my lips." Erden groaned.

"You did a good job hiding it. I don't know what they would have done if they discovered you could talk." Oscar laughed.

"So, are we going to follow along with their plan? Sevon is a nice person, but I trust you more." Avril asked. Her gaze fixed on Sevon's direction. It seemed she had some misgivings about betraying her master.

"No, we'll follow along. For now, they seem trustworthy. But we need to be careful. Let's head on to the outer regions." Oscar got on Erden with Avril. With Avril so close in front of him, Oscar recalled the last night and nearly choked on his words. Calming down, Oscar departed for their destination.

A few days later, they broke through the gate of a makeshift town.

"Excuse me, marauders. Let me speak to your boss." Oscar stepped through the wreckage with a smile. "I'm the leader from now on."

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