The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

A large manor in the middle of the Spiraling Willow Forest was the strangest thing Oscar had seen in his short time in the forest. Even the mutated Wendigo Alpha did not give him too big of a shock because this was its habitat, and mutations occur. But what the hell was this place?

In the few records Oscar had found on the Spiraling Willow Forest, there was never a mention of a large manor. In this deep dark forest, a large manor like this would have been the first thing people found if they survived long enough. It was inconceivable to Oscar.

How was this manor even built? Who built? And why? There was not a single willow tree growing on the manor grounds. How was it concealed all this time?

Questions ran rampant in Oscar's mind. To his side, Emily was still staring blankly at the large manor, her mind unable to process what her eyes were seeing. Oscar turned to look around and noticed something odd.

The willow trees of the Spiraling Willow Forest were thick, tall, and extended high up to block the two suns. But the trees around them were twice as tall as the usual willow trees. The strangest was the willow trees around the manor; they grew the tallest out of the rest, arching around the manor to conceal it like the rest of the forest.

This answered one of Oscar's questions. Next, he noticed the ground was slightly declining. It was a small angle, but there was no doubt they had been traveling further down, below the normal ground level, by following the path.

'It was small, but we traveled for hours. As the ground levels dipped, the willow trees grew taller to match the tops of the preceding trees. This is why the forest looks uniform from above.'

It would be obvious if people saw a mound of willow trees larger than the rest. But this unsettled Oscar. Was the forest naturally this way? Or did the manor owner change it to keep up the illusion?

The unknowns before him froze his feet and chilled his heart.

Next, Oscar scanned the walls; they were twice his height and adorned with blue lamps. These lamps were spread out evenly, about a full meter away from each other, but the most light was centered on the gate, which was a grided metal entrance with sharp poles.

The gate had opened on its own, welcoming them in and making Oscar wary of its purpose. There was no chance it was a coincidence or opened on its own. Whoever was inside was inviting them in.

Should he go in?

Oscar turned to Emily and patted her shoulder. Emily jumped up from the sudden touch but was relieved after realizing it was Oscar. She fiddled around with her staff to calm herself down.

"Emily, are you ok?" Oscar asked worryingly.

Emily did several breathing exercises to regain her composure and replied, "Better now. I did not expect this place to exist here. I blanked out for a moment."

"We should go around it. I don't know who or what opened these gates to let us in, but it can't be anything good." Oscar led Emily to take a few steps back, but she suddenly halted after seeing something.

She ran forward, making Oscar shout as he had no choice but to follow her. Thankfully, she stopped right before the gate.

Oscar caught up and was about to say something when she pointed into the manor grounds saying, "Look! There's the root of the Luna Willow!"

Oscar looked at where Emily pointed. A large root was sticking out of the manor ground, the largest of all the roots they encountered. The root was almost completely silver-blue in color. These features indicated that it was one of the main roots, meaning the Luna Willow was not far away.

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"With how large it is, Oscar, the Luna Willow must be inside this place." Emily looked at Oscar intently. Her thoughts were as clear as day; they had to go inside the manor.

Oscar was silently staring at the root, then at the manor. Every fiber of his being screamed that it was a trap. There was no way this manor would be conveniently placed where the Luna Willow was.

However, there was a high chance that Frederick was inside this manor. This place was the natural destination if Frederick survived long enough to follow the roots. If so, then they couldn't leave because Frederick was certainly in trouble inside this place.

Oscar could almost hear Robert Raeven criticizing him for the foolish decision he was about to make. But there were times when a man had no choice despite the odds and unknowns. Survival was important, but Oscar had to save Frederick.

But he was no fool. Oscar took Emily aside to check their supplies and status.

"One Heal Elixir, some bandages, and some salves. Your staff and my buckler are slightly cracked from the previous battle." Oscar cursed their lack of supplies. The anti-healing effect of the Wendigos and the unexpectedly mutated Wendigo Alpha drained much of their Heal Elixirs.

"If we had someone with a healing spell, it could have been easier." Emily sighed at the sad state of their supplies. To enter an unknown place with who knows what inside without proper supplies was a fool's errand.

If they could return and get more supplies, it would be fine, but there were two problems. One, they were out of money because Oscar and Emily had been using it all up to buy elixirs. Second, there was no knowing if they could enter this manor the next time.

Its very existence was strange, and the gate may not open the next time they come. It was wide open now, but it could close any time it wished. Oscar went to the wall and utilized the fullest power of his 'Reis Awaken' without Adamasreis, but the wall did not budge.

Hard!

Oscar's knuckles bled slightly. He patted the incredibly tough wall in shock while considering using Emily's 'Rock Barrier' to go over it. However, it was a dangerous endeavor because whoever was inside clearly wanted them to use the gate they opened.

SQUEAK

Oscar and Emily quickly turned like chickens at the gate. It constantly squeaked as it began to withdraw slowly. In a minute, it would close and deny entry to Oscar and Emily.

"Oscar!" Emily yelled. "We have to go in! Frederick must be inside; this is our one shot."

Oscar cursed at the manor and its unknown resident, but time was running out. The gate was about half closed.

"Fine! We'll play it your way!" He shouted at the manor.

Before the gates could fully close, Oscar ran in with Emily.

The gate closed shut as sounds of mechanisms came from the locks. Oscar returned to the gate and tried to push it open to no avail. They were now locked in this place with only one way forward.

Oscar looked at the manor grounds. Unlike the outside, there was no hint of moss and mushroom. The dry air was also different from the damp, moist air of the forest.

There was a great stone fountain with a sculpture of a beautiful woman with a vase, but no water flowed.

The Luna Willow was the likely source of this barrenness. The Luna Willow grew, absorbing so many nutrients from the ground that the vicinity around it was lifeless because there was no chance of anything else taking some of the nutrients.

A strange manor in the lifeless grounds of the Luna Willow was a fitting combination that Oscar wondered if he had entered a horror novel.

Again, Oscar considered using Emily's 'Rock Barrier' to scale the walls and see if they could escape later. Emily was one step ahead and erected a large 'Rock Barrier' to match the height of the walls. She didn't like the fact someone was toying with them, using the Luna Willow and, by extension, Frederick, as bait.

But suddenly, to Oscar and Emily's dumbfounded faces, large roots rose and impaled through the 'Rock Barrier', entangling it and crushing it with great pressure. It was a display of force and a threat to Oscar and Emily that if they chose to leave, then they would be reduced to mush to supplement the trees.

"Emily."

"Oscar."

The two nodded and walked forward, basically tied at the hips. The only way to survive was if they stuck together. Oscar had read enough horror novels to know that separation was the idiot's death.

'How strange that I'm living through what would make for a good horror story.' Oscar joked to himself to play down the situation. If he let terror enter his heart, then their future would not be bright.

"No matter what, do not separate. Look for Frederick and escape as fast as we can." Oscar warned Emily on their way.

The path to the main entrance was well-paved and clean, like the path before it.

"Sorry, Oscar…." Emily said.

"Sorry?" Oscar asked. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"If I see Frederick, I don't know if I could calm down. He's…." Emily did not finish her sentence.

"Geez. You and Fred don't like making it easy for me." Oscar gave a small smile to comfort her. "I don't think I can calm down either. If we both see him, let's bolt toward him."

Emily giggled. This brief moment amid all the darkness and unsettling things they had seen was heartwarming to her.

Then the main doors of the manor opened.

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