The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"This can't be for real!" Mary sounded very aggrieved. She had thought of Oscar's wariness based on fictional tales as a weak notion with no evidence. To be stumped by someone who based his actions on fictional notions hurt her pride as one who grew up with manuals of laws and facts.

However, she neglected the thoughts of the Pavilion that reveled in putting more obstacles in the students' way. She decided never to leave anything out of the realm of possibility and think about every possible outcome.

"Hurry!" Oscar shouted as they ran down the obsidian stairs. The icy pillars around them were breaking apart and collapsing. One nearly fell on top of Oscar, but he dodged it in time. "Go all out!"

'Adamasreis'

'Electric Steps'

Oscar and Mary sped up, avoiding the chunks of ice that fell all over the place. Looking back, Oscar noticed the ice was caving in to fill the entire area. They would be buried in ice if they were a single step too late.

Oscar quickly ran up the obsidian stairs back to where they came from. His face scrunched up after seeing the ice tunnel was starting to cave in. The stable footing was starting to decrease, replaced by debris.

They hastened their steps even faster because more of the cavern was starting to collapse. Everything was breaking down around them. Sharp ice nearly impaled them but was missed by a hair; an avalanche of ice threatened to suffocate them.

In moments, Oscar saw the light shining from the other side of the tunnel. "We're almost at the end. Don't let up."

Sweat covered their faces as the tunnel continued to collapse behind them. Oscar didn't relax despite the cavern exit becoming larger in his sight because they were still just a hair's breadth away from being crushed, suffocated, or impaled. A single moment of delay or hesitation could cost them the promotion.

Suddenly, the ground cracked and quaked under their feet. Oscar was still sprinting but glanced down in horror at the devastation that exceeded their position. 'It's getting faster? Dammit.'

Parts of the tunnel collapsed in front of them, leaving a small section they could barely squeeze through. Oscar wished he could summon his anima to speed them through, but this tunnel was not large enough, especially with parts of it caving in.

'Thunderclad'

Mary unleashed her most powerful spell while maintaining her 'Electric Steps' to boost her speed and power even further. She stepped onto the cavern walls, bouncing from side to side, avoiding the collapsing floor.

Oscar decided to follow suit and go up a notch. He was already at the maximum limit for Adamasreis on his feet, but there was no point in considering limits in this predicament. Reis overflowed into his feet, and some ruptured out of his skin, with blood wetting his soles.

The effect was what Oscar wanted. His speed increased to the point where the collapse was now behind him. The blood from his feet overfilled his shoes, leaving behind bloody footprints on the ice.

Oscar and Mary leaped with all their might as the tunnel collapsed around them. Oscar landed directly onto a soft pile of snow with a tired expression, clutching his heart due to overusing his Reis. A loud crashing noise reverberated across the mountain as the tunnel completely broke apart; the entrance was filled with ice debris, quickly covered by the snow falling from outside as if it had never existed.

"We made it out." Oscar's heart returned to normal, and he stood with shaky legs, feeling a sharp stinging pain in his feet. 'The skin must have torn off.'

Oscar looked around and felt something unusual. He gathered a clump of snow in his hand and played around with it, but not a single hint of blue frost showed itself on his skin. He felt cold, but it was manageable without the poisonous blue frost that wore down his Ein.

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"Is it this?" Oscar took out the Frost Orb from his pouch. It had lost its bright glow and looked like a large sapphire pearl. "This also prevents the blue frost from spreading."

"Oscar." Mary was breathing heavily from her exertion of Ein. "It's so cold."

Oscar turned to Mary, seeing the blue frost spreading on her hands and face. He quickly threw the Frost Orb to her and put up his Ein shroud to protect himself. "Catch."

Mary caught the Frost Orb with her numbing fingers, but her expression quickly turned to shock as she felt life in her fingers again. Before her eyes, the blue frost receded, leaving behind her usual blushed skin. "This is the power of the Frost Orb?"

"You used your Ein to escape the collapsing cavern. I can handle the blue frost myself on the way back. Hold onto the Frost Orb until we return to the small cave we found." Oscar helped Mary to her feet, and they slowly made their way back to the small cavern by the lake.

They didn't have any wood for a fire, but by rotating the Frost Orb, they could prevent themselves from succumbing to the blue frost. Oscar pulled out the tundra map and crossed off the Frost Orb on the list.

"With the Frost Orb so early, we have an advantage the other teams probably do not. While they might struggle with the blue frost, we can move safely without worrying." Oscar held onto the Frost Orb with a smile.

Mary reviewed the map with great interest. "If the Frost Orb has this ability, what do you think the other items might do for us?"

"Not too sure. Perhaps only the Frost Orb has an ability on it." Oscar circled a thick forest. "We were only in a small section of this forest by the ravine, but according to the map, there's far more we haven't seen. Birds make their nests on trees and fruits on them. One or perhaps both of the remaining items might be there."

"But we'll have to cross over the lake again…." Mary stared out their small cavern into the vast icy flatland. "Those Frost Anagrens are not easy to continue dodging."

"It's a risk we'll have to take." Oscar sighed. "If we get two items on the first day, we'll be very well off."

"Alright. Let's head to the forest." Mary got up and knocked the snow off her white fur coat.

Once again, Oscar and Mary braved the long trek across the frozen lake. The many holes and ruptures were also sealed by a thick layer of ice, indicating how cold the place was. The Frost Angarens were roused by the scurrying students on the surface and started their assault.

However, this time, Oscar and Mary were faster thanks to the Frost Orb providing a much-needed respite from using their Ein to prevent the blue frost. Mary would go all out with the Frost Orb, while Oscar went out with Adamasreis. Then when she was out of Ein, she would go on Oscar's deer anima and recover.

The Frost Angarens were still a real threat, but the pair's increased speed allowed them to avoid the incoming attacks much better than before.

"It seems a lot of what we've done in this tundra is run." Oscar joked while dodging the upcoming Frost Angarens. "The ravine avalanche, this lake full of monsters that want to eat us, and the icy cavern."

"Any complaints?" Mary chuckled as her feet roared with thunder. "If you ever become someone to direct the exams, then you can decide what it entails."

Their atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed despite the constant barrage of the Frost Angarens. As Oscar said earlier, they already went through this and more, so the pressure wasn't as daunting as before. Finally, the forest was in sight.

Oscar glanced at Mary, nodding, and she understood what he was planning. Before the Frost Angarens could put up their wall of bodies as before, Oscar took Mary and leaped off his deer's antlers. Their speed was like an arrow shot from a long bow.

The Frost Angarens were starting to erupt from the ice, but they were too late as Oscar and Mary descended into the forest's edge. They hissed and shrieked at the two but could not come out of the waters to hunt them. Twice now, they were robbed of their meal.

Oscar and Mary smiled at the Frost Angarens as if taunting the beasts.

"Go back to your lake and hide under the ice," Mary shouted.

"I didn't expect you to start taunting the Exalt Beasts. I thought you were the more serious type." Oscar scratched his head at Mary's behavior. The sight of a petite woman taunting large carnivorous beasts was comical to behold.

Mary wiped her hands and said, "I allow myself some moments of indulgence."

"Whatever you say." Oscar passed the Frost Orb to her. "We need to find shelter first as a base of operations."

Oscar wandered into the forest, looking around for good places to rest. There were some small caves, but not big enough for both of them. He furrowed his brows at the lack of good shelter, wondering where the original cave they found was.

"Who's there?" A loud voice echoed through the empty forest.

Oscar's face scrunched up as he thought of running away. He knew the owner of this voice very well.

"Oh, it's mister first place." Serena appeared from behind the trees. Her eyes curled like crescents with her bright smile.

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