The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"All clean!" Oscar wiped his hands. They finished cleaning the Elire Manor of all the cobwebs, and the rooms were tidied and readjusted.

After it was over, Oscar, Emily, and Frederick exited through the back entrance into the back garden. Though it was supposed to be a garden, there was not a single bush or a blade of grass, only some roots protruding from the dead soil.

There were several silvery veined roots, the largest of all the ones Oscar and Emily had found before. The roots all led and connected to a single small willow tree.

The willow tree had white leaves and a black trunk. Sometimes it shimmered like the moon reflected in the ripples of the river. On its branch was a single fruit in the shape of a crescent moon with shining silvery veins, the Moonblossom fruit.

"Take it, Fred. It's your mission." Oscar patted his friend on the back. Once they finish their business here, they can return to the Pavilion and rest easy.

Fred nodded, walking toward the lonely willow tree in the middle of a barren garden. He plucked the single Moonblossom fruit; it was small, but he felt its denseness. It was tens of pounds in weight.

The white leaves of the Luna Willow flickered and dimmed from the loss of its fruit. The Moonblosson fruit was akin to its heart, and it would take a while for a new one to form.

Frederick heaved and relaxed his body; originally, this was a simple solo mission to take the fruit, easily accomplished by sneaking around. He never thought all of this would happen on such a mission.

"Let's go back." Oscar pulled out his compass. The tip was pointing toward Artomos City. With everything that occurred, he wanted to go back and relax for the night; he's had enough surprises during this mission.

Oscar led Frederick, who was holding hands with Emily, through the mansion, toward the back entrance. In the front garden, the gates were wide open. Oscar turned back and bowed toward the manor in one final act of respect and farewell to Abe and Albert.

Emily and Frederick did as well.

"Let's hurry back. I've had enough of this forest. Let's go to Artomos City." Frederick complained with a yawn. "I have a lot of catching up to do."

Emily smiled, "I have to hear about where you've been to all those missions. Especially that scar; where did you get it from? I'll resume our training when we get back to the Pavilion."

"Alright, please go easy on me." Frederick agreed without hesitation.

"I feel happy for you two lovebirds, but can we please focus on the way back?" Oscar scolded the two and laughed.

The rest of the journey back was uneventful. Oscar spoke about his experiences to Frederick's surprised and admiring expressions. Emily spoke at length about the missions she had been on.

When Frederick spoke about what he had been up to, going on missions without rest. Oscar and Emily listened attentively and with concern. The time passed until Oscar looked up and saw the stars; they were finally out of the Spiraling Willow Forest.

"You reckless idiot!" Emily squeezed Frederick's arm with her powerful grip. "You and Oscar both keep being reckless."

"But I survived and killed the wanderer. This scar is pretty bad, but I think it adds a certain charm, no?" Frederick pushed his green hair aside to show the wide scar over his left eye properly. There was a cheeky broad smile across his face.

"Hmmm. It's not bad." Emily hummed a bit but pulled Frederick's ear. "That doesn't excuse your lack of defense."

Oscar sighed and smiled while listening. "Fred, you're already a henpecked husband."

"What did you say, Os? I can't hear the words of someone who's single." Frederick teased. The previous cold and detached demeanor almost seemed to be a dream.

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"I'm glad you're back to normal, Fred. But are you really alright?" Oscar was skeptical and thought perhaps Frederick was pushing himself to act this way, behaving as normally as possible.

"Yea, I never felt so light in my life." Frederick breathed in the fresh air outside the Spiraling Willow Forest. "It's like a dense fog cleared up in my mind."

"What about Gilbert?" Oscar narrowed his eyes and uttered Gilbert's name. Emily tensed slightly and tried to act normal, but Frederick could feel her hand tighten in his grip.

Frederick sighed, and his eyes drooped, looking tired.

"I sometimes think about that time when we were children together. I don't know if being a Grade Nine somehow changed him or if that was his nature from the start. But the fact remains that he abandoned Teresa and me."

Oscar was silent. He thought about Isabella and how she discarded him and her father. She had openly revealed to him that she always wanted out of that life and didn't want to be tied down. Perhaps Gilbert was the same.

"For that, I can never forgive him, but…." Frederick locked his fingers with Emily's. "There is far more in this life than thinking about Gilbert. I finally realize that now. I mean, look at you, Os. You handled that red-haired witch's abandonment well."

Oscar did not respond but shook his head and moved on.

Finally, they arrived at the circle of guards overlooking the great elevator up to Artomos City. Their timing could not be more perfect as the great elevator had descended.

"Let's find a place to rest here." Emily stretched her back.

"We don't have any money…." Oscar groaned.

"Oh, I got plenty." Frederick raised his hand, holding a bag of coins.

""Thanks!"" Oscar and Emily cheered for Frederick's wealth.

That night, they hurriedly ran toward the Lodging District of Artomos City. To apologize for the trouble he had caused, Frederick rented out three rooms in the most luxurious inns. He had a lot of savings thanks to his frugality during his countless missions.

In his room, Oscar carefully removed the inhibitor from his ear. There must have been many moments where his affliction should have occurred. He growled and struggled as he felt his body being torn apart by a raging storm.

"If it weren't for this inhibitor, I would have died." Oscar clutched his missing ear in a cold sweat; his lips were blue.

Oscar sat down on his bed in meditation to calm down, using his ataerstone to funnel pure Ein to progress. There was one thing he didn't check on, his third eye. Within the view of his inner world, he saw the third eye, lofty and indifferent as always, staring dead into the deep darkness.

"This is what Abe put in." Oscar saw a faded purple ring within the third eye, resembling an outline of a large circle, around twice the normal size of a pupil. The purple ring dimmed and brightened constantly.

"It needs Ein."

The Ein flowed from Oscar's core through his body and into the third eye. The purple ring became to become more distinct and clear.; its circular edges were sharper, and the purple color was deeper. But this session could only last a short time before it dimmed.

"To see through illusions is great, but I need to train to increase its duration," Oscar grumbled before plopping down on his bed. The labors of today and yesterday's affairs finally caught up with him as his snoring filled the room.

The next morning, Oscar scrutinized his cherished Obsidian Glass Buckler. It was barely hanging together despite the large cracks spread over its surface. He patted and traced his fingers along the cracks and sighed.

"The mutated Wendigo was strong enough, but Kan's power was too much. Maybe it's time to get a new one." Oscar knew that his buckler would become irrelevant at the Elite Exalt realm, but he had hoped it could carry on a bit longer. "Can the fabricators even fix something like this?"

The damage was so extensive that the buckler resembled scrap metal rather than a shield. As Oscar's opponents were getting stronger, the buckler's defense could not handle it.

"I'll have to save up a lot of contribution points." Oscar heaved another heavy sigh and exited the room to meet with Frederick and Emily.

"Os!" Frederick called out to him with an energetic hand wave. "We already ordered some food."

"Good morning." Oscar said.

"Good morning." Emily greeted back.

"I need a new armament. Mine is damaged beyond repair." Oscar chewed on his food slowly.

"We're Greater Apprentice Exalts now. The best bet is to wait for the Elite Exalt realm, then get a grade two armament." Frederick downed a full glass of juice and wiped his mouth. "I want to get back to the Pavilion and rest. I haven't gone back to my dorm in a long time."

"Hang on. I have one business to attend to." Oscar pulled out a black core from his bag. "This is the core of the mutated Wendigo that Emily and I killed. The last time I had a mutated core, the City Lord of Tufall City wanted to have it."

"Of course, he would want it! A mutated core is a big item among Fabricators, Alchemists, and other interested parties. Even one from an Apprentice Exalt Beast can sell for a handsome sum." Frederick swiped the core from Oscar and eyed it with great interest.

"We need money. I need money." Oscar sighed. "We can also sell more materials from the beasts we've killed along the way, but I want to have an amount not to worry about."

"Being Exalts are expensive." Emily looked at her bag with not a single coin.

"We can sell the materials to the Guilds and get points on our memberships." Frederick still held the black core. "But there is one place that can give us the best value for this."

"Where?" Oscar and Emily asked.

"The auction!"

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