The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Within the unending sandstorm encompassing the marshes, ruining the fragile tranquility of the environment, countless sparks brightened up only to be choked out by the obscurity of the sands. These sparks came from the exchanges between Oscar and Orden, Oscar's bulwark and deer anima scraped against Orden's two hammers, creating more red-hot sparks to become part of the sands.

Oscar clenched his teeth as his face became covered in sand, irritating his skin, but he kept his mouth shut to avoid eating a mouthful of sand. Orden's attacks came from anywhere and anytime, but Oscar managed to hold on, but the effects showed on his trembling arms and legs. 'The Adamasreis cannot be used forever. His blows are dangerous and too much for even my powerfully forged body. Bastard.'

Then a large boulder shaped like a fist came swinging down on me, and the earth began to split as spikes shot up.

'Silver Burst'

Oscar sidestepped the spikes and used 'Shattering Wave' on Orden's heavy and powerful stone fist because his Adamasreis was running out of time. The stone fist cracked and collapsed into small rubble that pelted down on Oscar, who cursed when he saw Orden's hammers come into sight. Firmly grasped in Orden's large hands, the hammers swung down on Oscar.

'Flowing Mountain'

Oscar stepped forward to one hammer, taking in the Reis from its mighty power, and redirected it to his 'Silver Lance' to stab at Orden's hammer anima. His deer anima grunted as it rushed in with its antlers to attack Orden's defenseless body. This chance came through Oscar's design by deterring the two hammers from interfering with his deer anima's wild rush.

Earth spikes came up from below, but Oscar clad himself in 'Silver Sheen' to prevent the spikes from impaling him, and his deer anima stomped heavily with its metal hooves which burned with Oscar' Ein. The antlers hit Orden with all the force Oscar's deer anima could handle, but Oscar did not smile in victory but frowned at the thick layer of stone that his deer anima had stabbed into. The stone covered Orden, looking like a small tower.

'Tower of Stone'

Unlike Emily's 'Stone Wall', this spell encased the user in a thick stone tower that only went as tall as the user. It did not have the versatility of 'Stone Wall' but maintained a stout defense that even Oscar's deer anima's sharp, piercing metal antlers could not completely get through. Orden stood still within his stone tower but also frowned at the small silver tip that made its way to the interior. 'That penetration is horrifying, as expected of the metal element.'

On the outside, Oscar looked exhausted as he stared at his silver lance that could not move a single step further. The stone tower trembled and exploded, revealing Orden's large figure, his hammer knocked away Oscar's spent silver lance, and he retreated into the twisting sands.

Oscar wanted to give chase against Orden but held himself back due to not knowing what may lie ahead. The sands were irritating but not harming, so there was no issue staying inside for a long while, and Orden had to come to him or keep wasting Ein. But the question remained in Oscar's mind, how can he defeat Orden?

This battle was the first time he ever met someone of his similar realm with physical power to match his, but cases like Orden were so rare that it never occurred to Oscar that he'd run into one. Other times when he had lost were due to the difference in Ein and anima or the naturally high physical powers of someone in a higher realm. His eyes stared dead into the sands as his Ein surged higher, and his knuckles cracked in anticipation.

"You seem to be enjoying this a lot." Orden's voice came from an unknown place as the sands carried his words and scattered them all over. "I like that smile you have on your face, one that can't wait to keep fighting."

"What sort of bullcrap are you spouting?" Oscar did not realize how his smile grew wide and how excitement ran down to the ends of his hair. The battle felt intoxicating to Oscar. "Are you going to waste time talking, or will you come?"

"Fine," Orden rushed toward Oscar, and they clashed again in a thunderous exchange, sparks lighting up the sandstorm.

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Oscar's sense sharpened because Orden was missing another hammer, the hammer anima. Since the hammer could be remotely controlled, Oscar had to be vigilant about its whereabouts, keeping his deer anima close. However, the stone fists and earth spikes continued to barrage him, keeping him and his deer on the move.

Suddenly, a loud whistle resounded from behind him, and Oscar dodged as fast as possible, allowing the fast hammer anima to pass by. Then he suddenly felt pain because Orden knocked away his deer anima and came in fast with the two hammers back in his hands. Recoiling from the pain and having no time to do anything else, Oscar activated 'Silver Sheen' and Edureisclad.

The full force hammers at thousands of times their weight, and Orden's impossible physical power pounded into Oscar's side. Even with his spell and Edusreisclad, Oscar felt shockwaves across his entire body and a crushing pain near his stomach, and he was pushed back across the mini-island.

Cracks scattered all over his fine silver armor, with the point of impact completely exposing his stomach. Oscar coughed as he canceled his spell, standing up from the clutter of silver. His hands clutched his stomach, the skin bleeding and bruised horribly. "His anima mastery is incredible. I've never met someone who wielded their anima so well. Perhaps only Phillip. But I still have a chance."

Oscar's deer anima returned to him and grunted while Oscar stroked its head. "My anima still has a long way to go." He closed his eyes and focused as the sand spun around him. His Ein flowed carefully and turned into ten silver stars for each of his fingertips.

'Ten-fold Shattered Star'

Oscar clenched his teeth as he split the power of his Adamasreis into each silver star and spun, shooting them out in every direction. The silver stars exhibited the erratic motion that came with being infused with 'Shattering Wave' and exploded out, sending out shards everywhere.

It was not the end as the shockwaves from each star blew away large patches of sand, revealing Orden's figure as he twirled his hammers around as a makeshift shield to deflect the fast shards. Seeing Orden in the open, Oscar charged in with all his might.

Noticing that Oscar had locked onto him, Orden laughed and canceled his sandstorm, seeing no point in wasting his Ein if Oscar could get through it. "Bring it on!"

'Silver Lance'

'Stone Fist'

Oscar's lance stabbed into the stone fist, but it did not shatter the rock because Oscar did not infuse it with 'Shattering Wave'. As the stone collapsed, Orden's hammer bore down upon him, and his other hammer moved in from the other side. Underneath, the earth rumbled as spikes came up.

His deer anima swooped in and swung its antlers to pluck the spikes before they could grow to harm Oscar. Swinging his bulwark, Oscar scraped past one hammer, using 'Flowing Mountain' to deflect the other. With a single step, he closed in on Orden and clenched his fist.

'Treble Lance'

From his standing position, Oscar thrust his silver lance straight at Orden; his deer anima ducked under his arm to add the two lances that formed from its antlers, resonating with Oscar's blow. He had never used his 'Treble Lance' without the running start atop his deer because it was easy to set it up while riding this deer anima. However, what would define Ein if not for its versatility?

The resonance sparked with the Ein flowing from him and his deer anima, combining their lances into one. Like swinging a punch, Oscar unleashed his deadliest attack on Orden in close range, putting forth his Adamasreis and focusing his Ein on the tips.

However, Oscar felt a tremor run down his spine, and a hint of fear crept into his heart. The giant Orden stood firm with a wide-open smile with crazed bloodshot eyes that unnerved Oscar even as his silver lance approached the behemoth's chest.

Orden swung his hammer fast to stop Oscar's 'Silver Lance'.

'My lances can't be stopped even by two of your hammers, so why are you only swinging one?' Oscar thought he had already judged enough of Orden's attacks and felt their weight and power with his arms. He would not have executed this strike without proper confidence in himself, but Orden seemed not to care.

Suddenly, the gray hammer anima hit Orden's hammer from the back and shined in a way Oscar had never seen an anima shine before. Before his shocked gaze, the hammer anima fused into the red-black hammer, which released a shockwave as it transformed into a larger hammer with a black handle with large heads that grew wider to the edges, completely red with a single gray point in the centers of each head.

Oscar's silver lance thrust against the new hammer but shattered into pieces without much struggle. Letting out a shout as the pieces of silver metal flew around, Oscar commanded his deer anima to cover him as he used 'Silver Burst' to retreat and put up 'Silver Sheen' for good measure. From a single throw, Orden's hammer flew toward Oscar and crashed into his silver armor, destroying it instantly and hitting his chest.

"HURK!" Oscar felt his ribs breaking; he could hear the small cracks that became loud and audible as each rib broke, and he fell into the swamp's murky waters. His deer anima had its antlers shattered but ran toward Oscar to drag him out of the waters. After being freed from the waters, Oscar dropped to the mud, clutching his chest and vomiting blood. "Impossible."

His obsidian eyes peered up at the hammer that floated in the air before returning to Orden. With a pale face, Oscar could not help but exclaim, "Meld Stage?"

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