The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The slopes of True Sword Peak were majestic and imposing. Looking up, one could think the mountain was piercing the sky itself.

The tranquility and presence of these slopes were interrupted by strained woes of pain from Oscar. His forehead was figuratively being stabbed with a stamp of magma-like Ein.

It had been almost a month since he arrived at the Raeven Duchy with a grim and sour expression. But now, this face was back to its lively stubbornness and filled with eagerness.

The third eye was nearing its completion. Oscar saw as he poured his Ein into it that the slit was nearly completely manifested. The single dot had grown to a fine bright line on his forehead.

Robert heaved a sigh and meditated to recover. Although he was a Greater Knight Exalt, he still utilized a lot of Ein. It went to show just how troublesome it was to awaken the Prinstyct unnaturally.

"Your third eye is almost done forming. I feel like one more session will do it." Robert said to the pale Oscar, who was gasping for air. "We must take a break here. Refocus yourself and recover."

"I can still go on." Oscar shook his head.

"No." Robert rejected. "The last step will require far more Ein, and once the slit forms, an additional action is needed."

"What do I need to do?" Oscar followed Robert's advice without question and drank his water before asking. This month, he had seen Robert drain his own Ein without complaint for a lowly Exalt like him. He viewed Robert in high regard due to this.

"You must force it open. It must be done right when the slit is fully formed. Otherwise, we would have wasted our efforts here."

Oscar gripped his cup tightly and thought hard. "If we could do the previous parts in intervals, why can't we open the eye slowly over time?"

Robert pointed to his forehead and said, "The third eye is tricky. By instinct, it opens itself up when a person becomes an Elite Exalt. The advancement process is what forms the slit naturally. However, we have been forcing it; thus, the third eye will not allow itself to open."

Oscar was struck dazed by the strange behavior of the third eye. He rubbed his own forehead. "Any attempts to open it slowly will make it shut itself until I become an Elite Exalt. Does that mean it's different when I first form the third eye?"

"When the slit fully forms, the third eye will tremble for a moment. It will try to settle down when it realizes it is not time to awaken, then completely shut itself off. You must strike at that moment and wrench the eye open against its struggling. Once the eye is fully open, it will not close because a third eye will never close once opened."

Robert passed Oscar some more water. "However, if you miss this moment, the third eye will never tremble again. That is why even though this method is known to many masters, they do not do it. It can be a complete waste of time."

This period of rest did not feel so because of the pressure mounting on Oscar. If he failed in this next session, then everything he had been doing for the past month would be for naught.

A large puff of white air escaped Oscar's lungs as he calmed himself down. They had come this far, he couldn't let it fail here.

Oscar made sure to follow Robert's instructions and get back to his best condition. As Robert had taught him, he must know his own limits and do everything he could within them to grasp the victory.

"I'm ready." His voice was hoarse but carried a powerful resolve in them.

Looking at the young Oscar, Robert nodded in acknowledgment. Even if this failed, it would not deter or depress the current Oscar.

"Let's begin."

The familiar searing pain returned to Oscar's forehead, focused on the slit. Oscar watched carefully through the pain. From what he knew, the third eye showed itself after about a minute.

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He couldn't know the exact timing, so he had to watch and stay focused.

Finally, the slit started to pulse as the rest of its unformed parts flickered. Oscar hurriedly poured his Ein to finish it. The slit glowed brightly as its tips grew to the outline of the flickering image. The third eye was fully formed.

"Done!"

Robert quickly released his finger and gazed at Oscar. The rest was up to the boy. He could not help open the third eye since it would only open with Oscar's Ein.

In the world of darkness, Oscar watched carefully as the glowing closed third eye. The few seconds were nerve-wracking. Suddenly, Oscar felt a tremor. The third eye was trembling.

"Now!" Oscar's Ein surged and stampeded to the closed third eye. The third eye began to quiver more as it slowly began to open.

However, Oscar felt a powerful opposing force trying to fight back. His Ein was slowly receding away as the small opening he had created was closing.

A seesaw game ensued between Oscar and the third eye. He endlessly forced his Ein in as the third eye fought back. Opening and closing, the third eye did not give away an inch without causing Oscar trouble.

Outside in the real world, Oscar was coughing up blood as his veins were popping over his head. The strain was getting to him.

Robert's eyes narrowed as he looked down. Was it too early for him? Would it fail?

"Don't mess with me!" Oscar saw the third eye was three-fourths of the way open, but now it was a stalemate. His Ein could only hold back the third eye's rejection, unable to gain more ground.

If this continued, he would run out of Ein, and the third eye would shut itself. Oscar wracked his head for an answer, and then it came to him.

Oscar diverted his Ein towards a certain location in his chest. In this chest pocket was his ataerstone. If his standard Ein could not do it, what if it was purified and refined to a higher level?

The ataerstone shined as the Ein poured in and fed it back to Oscar, who flooded it toward the third eye.

This broke the balance as the third eye started to give in, opening more. The glow of it in the darkness was akin to seeing the moon's phases over the month. The purified Ein was doing it.

"Open up!" Oscar screamed internally as the third eye shook crazily in an attempt to fight back. But it finally opened completely. A large blue shine poured out from his forehead, illuminating the dark world.

When it settled, his third eye was now fully open. It had the shape of an eye but was completely blue everywhere with no pupils. Two lines extended out of the third eye and linked into the center of his black pupils.

His eyes felt like they were boiling. Oscar clutched them as many images began to flash across his eyes. He could not make out what they were. It was an incomprehensible mess.

Stars? Swirls of endless light and colors.

That was Oscar's last thought as he blacked out.

"He did it…." Robert stood up and rested Oscar on the ground, flat on his back. "What was that? His Ein became clearer."

He reached inside Oscar's chest and took out the ataerstone, looking at it stunned. He could feel the refreshing cool feeling from this stone. "Ataerstone."

Then he remembered a rumor. A rumor that the Abyss Prison was a mine for precious materials.

"Did the Warden give this to him?" Robert stared at the ataerstone. It was unclear what he was thinking, but he suddenly shook his head and put it back in Oscar's pocket. "If I did something like this, that would be rude to this boy."

Hours later, Oscar finally awoke in a daze and suddenly shot up. His eyes soon glowed with excitement, knowing of his success. He had felt the third eye open.

"You're up? Go check your third eye." Robert scoffed at Oscar's childlike excitement.

Oscar saw the third eye staying still on his forehead. It had an imposing presence with indifference and an otherworldly feel from its gaze. It did not feel human but like the eyes of one who stood above.

"It's incredible." Oscar said solemnly. "However, it's also unsettling and weird."

"You won't be saying that when you use it. Focus on your third eye and watch me. Tell me what I'm going to do."

"How do I do that?" Oscar knew there wasn't a third eye on his flesh, so it was strange.

"Pretend like there is a third eye and imagine it opening." Robert said.

Oscar focused hard. He recalled the shape and look of his third eye and imagined it opening its indifferent and detached self.

His obsidian eyes glinted as a weird new view entered into sight.

The rocks, the slopes, the grass, and himself were moving, distorting, and leaving behind echoes—traces of themselves. His vision kept focusing in and out from blurry to clear.

He felt like he was ill.

"Focus on me." Robert's voice brought him back from this stupor.

Oscar turned his attention and focused solely on Robert. The world around him seemed to calm down as he saw something strange. There was an echo and ripples resounding from Robert, forming a vague image.

"You're going to kick me from the right."

"Correct."

Then in the next moment, Oscar was kicked on his right side.

He gasped in pain as he heard Robert say, "Remember, just because you can see it doesn't mean you can stop it. Also, their ripples would be indiscernible if one is far stronger than you. I intentionally allowed you to see them."

Oscar tumbled over the ground, being roughed up all over. He coughed and got up, confused. The strange world he saw was gone. It was his normal vision.

"If you lose concentration, your third eye will shut. You must train until you can open your third eye naturally and keep it open through pain and other interferences. The Prinstyct is a unique vision; you must get used to it."

Robert pulled Oscar up by the arm and patted him to knock off the dirt. "However, for now, good job."

Oscar smiled brightly and bowed. "Thank you for teaching me!"

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