The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"I didn't expect that," Oscar said, his voice carried by the passing winds.

"Expect what?" Serena asked, her wavy red hair floating about with the breeze. The flowery scent from her freshly washed hair wafted close by.

After Mary told Oscar about the whereabouts of Frederick and Emily, he rushed out in a hurry after a hasty farewell. Even though she had just returned from another outing, Serena joined him, and the two sprinted westward toward the Golddew Fig Tree.

"Even though Austin is in love with Mary, I didn't think he'd be a straight-shooter. He's too expressionless and not very emotional." Oscar recalled the scene of Austin embracing Mary and couldn't believe how quickly he could change. Austin's stoic and stern face had melted into a relaxed smile.

"It was shocking," Serena laughed. "When he first came to the middle region with that other one, Erik, he beelined for Mary, hugged, and kissed her."

Serena's face flushed red, and her eyes shone with admiration, staring at Oscar, looking at him expectantly. Oscar knew her thoughts and sent a chop to her head, inducing a sheepish cry, but she smiled with an enamored face and rubbed her head affectionately.

"Why is a strike to your head making you so happy?" Oscar shuddered slightly from Serena's strangeness.

"I just missed you. Besides, these kinds of actions show how close we are." Serena came close, her face a few inches away from his own. Oscar shrugged off her advances and sped up, partly to avoid the awkwardness from Serena and to rush to his friends.

"Ah, wait!" Serena pouted and put more effort into her feet.

After a short while, Oscar and Serena arrived near a small group of Blue Ocean Pavilion students who were huddled and resting by a fire, roasting some food. The group noticed his arrival and immediately brandished their weapons in alarm, but Oscar smiled and showed himself by leaping down onto the ground, cracking it.

"Hey, everyone!" Oscar rushed in, swiped off some food, and ate it. "This is delicious."

The people around Oscar were stunned, but soon they smiled and ran toward him.

"Os!" Frederick wrapped his arm around Oscar in a playful chokehold. The large scar on his face did not dampen the happiness he expressed upon seeing his friend.

"Fred, you're still alive?" Oscar overwhelmed his friend and reversed the position, having Frederick in his chokehold. His friend did not seem to be injured in any way and was still lively, relieving him of the stress and tension that had built up. Although Mary and Serena had told him about the others' safety, he felt more assured to see them for himself.

"Don't leave me out of this. How could you forget me?" Emily went in between the two with a bright smile and radiant orange eyes, beaming like orange amber stones. She tussled both of their hair and gripped tightly in a pull, causing them to jerk their heads back as her smile turned cold. "However, we are near our target; let's talk lower. Understand?"

"I got it." Oscar pulled himself away, setting his hair back into place.

"You don't need to be so rough," Frederick rubbed his vibrant green hair.

"If it isn't Oscar! It's been a while." A tall, lanky person with a thin body and arms smiled. His black hair was sleeked back, revealing his bright blue eyes, and his hands fiddled with his silver bow. A lump of sapphire spikes moved by his side and let out a small sound. It was George Harper and his companion, Buddy the Sapphire Hedgehog.

"George, it's been a while indeed." Oscar came up and shook George's hand. Then he looked at the other person. She had blond hair tied into a side ponytail, a pair of devil-red eyes, and a polearm in her arms.

The beautiful woman smiled and said, "Rachel Foster, nice to meet you. I've heard George talk about you from time to time."

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"So you're Rachel? Sorry, I've never met you until now." Oscar heard about Rachel from George multiple times during their one outing to the Floating Islands of Edin. From what he heard and seeing George's fervent gaze, he knew Rachel was George's love.

"So, are we going to have a triple date, then?" George laughed while Rachel sighed. He looked at Serena and Oscar teasingly and clicked his tongue. "The two of you look good together."

"I reject that." Oscar sighed. "We're not like that. Also, is this an appropriate conversation before we head toward the Golddew Fig Tree?"

"Do we really look good together?" Serena smiled and ignored Oscar's comment, heading to George to inquire more. His comments made her very happy, and she felt like flying.

"Enough," Emily and Rachel stated but then gazed at each other, wondering why the other had spoken up over her. They did not mesh well together due to their fierce and dominant personalities that always conflicted with each other.

"How did you two handle this?" Oscar couldn't believe this kind of behavior within Ashen Grove.

"They don't fight. Both aren't idiots, but they can't stop arguing." Frederick looked tired and seemed to deflate, seeing the two women argue again.

George patted Frederick on the back with the same helpless expression. "I wonder if they'll ever get along."

After the two blew off some steam, everyone sat down around the fire to finish up their food and departed with full stomachs and refreshed energy. Oscar and the others caught up on everything they had been through, but the main focus was on Oscar, who told them about Oen Fortress and Tectusen.

"Orden is one insane person. To be able to achieve the Meld Stage as a Lower Elite Exalt. Even though the realm doesn't matter, it takes time to learn and understand." Frederick remarked in awe and a hint of fear at this dangerous enemy.

"Though, he seems to be a nice person," Emily said.

"More like a fair person. He only pays his dues, and since there's nothing left to owe, he'll kill me in a heartbeat when we meet again."

"Then we just need to be there with you when that happens." Frederick puffed his chest. "Can't let my friend die on me."

"Thanks," Oscar laughed. It was truly great to be back with them.

"Focus, we're nearing the Golddew Fig Tree." Rachel gave everyone a stern look, and Oscar nodded in return.

The Golddew Fig Tree was a wonderful tree with black figs containing golden dew, which was a wellspring of Ein. One fig could provide enough to create ten high quality Ein Burst elixirs for Exalts, or if one was daring enough, they could eat and take in the Ein all at once at their own risk. If Oscar and the others could procure these figs, they could boost everyone at the base and bring some back for the Pavilion to recoup some losses.

However, the main concern was the presence of another faction, the Undying Flame Sect. Oscar twitched when he heard that name, recalling Maia Claude, who hated him and wished to grind down his bones to dust.

"We discovered it yesterday." Emily started to explain. "However, some scouts from the Undying Flame Sect saw us and the tree. They escaped before we could catch them. You'll know when we get there, but we couldn't just go and pick the fruits. When we returned to the base, we asked many groups to help us."

"Where are they?" Oscar looked around but did not find anyone.

"Some had other places they were eyeing and wanted to avoid a direct confrontation. The others have split and said they'll meet us at the fig tree." George replied. "All in all, there should be ten of us. Our numbers are quite limited."

Only a total of 500 Elite Exalts were prepared by the Pavilion and deemed suitable to enter Ashen Grove. Out of those, there were the fabricators and alchemists who didn't fight and the division between realms. Gathering a force of ten in the middle region compared to the outer region was already an amazing feat.

"If we run into the Undying Flame Sect students, we must be wary of Maia Claude. Her seduction spells could render some of us out of commission." Oscar warned. He had beaten her once before, but that came at great risk to himself and having to defend the ones trapped within her spell. If she came here, the awe-inspiring number of ten people might be pointless.

"Don't worry, she may be Grade Eight, but I'll do everything with my water spells to counteract her," Serena spoke confidently with a wide smile.

"Haha,"

Her words relieved some tension, and the group stopped when they spotted a large tree with many branches but few leaves spread around in a scattered manner. The area looked enchanting, with rivers of sparkling water foaming as they flowed down the steps of rocks. The tree rested on the hill, surrounded by paved stone platforms with stone stairs leading upward.

"What is this?" Oscar wandered to a stone tablet by the side. "Enter the trial and be rewarded with the fruits. Time until the trial begins, 1 hour."

"That's what we didn't tell you yet. This place is surrounded by a barrier and doesn't allow anyone to pass, but in an hour, the trial will start." Frederick scraped his swords against the empty air, but sparks flashed out. Oscar placed his hand and felt a sturdy wall blocking him from entering.

With nothing else to do, they sat down to wait but stayed vigilant of their surroundings. Then with 30 minutes left, the other Pavilion students joined them, adding onto their numbers, ten total.

Finally, as time passed until the five-minute mark, noises came from the other side, and many people appeared from the trees, wearing the red uniform of the Undying Flame Sect. Among them, a white-haired and red-eyed woman glared vehemently at Oscar.

"You?!" Her voice cracked through the air as her Ein rose.

Oscar sighed. "Just my luck."

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