The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The entire theater was silent. A four-way standoff was not the ideal start Oscar wished for. He glanced behind him to the door he came from. He noticed Maia had done the same. When their gazes met, she scowled, and Oscar gritted his teeth. The drawn-out silence was broken by Gail.

On the stage, Gail sat down and munched on some crackers. Every single bite, crack, and teeth grinding gnawed at Oscar's ears. It took some nerves of steel to eat leisurely in this tense moment. Either she was confident in herself, or it was a trick. Oscar tightened his guard, focusing on all three of them.

"Ahem," Gail coughed and sipped some water from a jug. She smiled with her cheeks cupped in her hands, looking like an adorable girl, flapping her legs over the edge. "I introduced myself, so shouldn't the rest of you do so? If you want to start over, sure. I'm Gail Wunther, Grade Seven. Nice to meet you all. Well, I do know of your names except for bluie over there, but hearing it from the person themselves makes it more personable."

"Orden Aesn." Orden played around with Gail's little game. "Grade Seven. I killed several of your people already." He didn't hold back at all with his usual taunts, the same as when he called Erik a shorty.

"Oscar Terr. Grade Four." Oscar cooperated for the time being. Gail's purpose in drawing this out still eluded him, which was worrisome, but it still worked in his favor. With more time, he had more thoughts. Already, he was considering all his options. What was the best way to get out of this?

"Grade Four?!" Gail nearly dropped her bag of crackers. Her playful face was covered in shock and awe. "You're only a Grade Four, and you were fighting Orden and somehow got Maia to hate you? How interesting!"

"You were watching?" Oscar glanced at Orden, who stared blankly at Gail. What a scary woman. She had been here since before them and watched their battle. Yet Oscar never sensed her presence. The seemingly innocent and playful woman turned out to be the most worrisome of all.

"I heard rumors of someone who had instilled fear in our camp. A silent killer who passed through people like a breeze. Others didn't realize what happened until their heads were cut off from their bodies." Maia's hateful eyes turned from him to Gail. Promising. If Maia's attention went away from him, he'd have an easier time running away. Right as he thought this, Maia's eyes turned back to him, sending a warning not to try anything.

Oscar sighed as Gail laughed softly. "I wonder what you're so angry about. This battle has no place for those who seek revenge or allow their emotions to run high. However, Oscar!"

Oscar flowed his Ein outward. His Prinstyct glared at her. He could not foresee any intent or movement of her body and Ein. Was she really making chit-chat, or did she somehow have others hidden around?

"Ah! No need to be so wary," Gail waved her hands close to her chest.

"Coming from a person who cuts off others' heads with that innocent expression. I'd rather not listen to such advice." Oscar scoffed.

Gail's lips quivered as she held back her laughter. Every single action and sound from her screamed out something was wrong. Gail wiped a tear of laughter from her eye and sighed. "Well, I have to say–"

Oscar's eyes widened. Something fluttered from within the peripherals of his Prinstyct—a small flicker of distortion in the air. From the moment he saw it, Oscar strained his body and released a shockwave resounding in a loud bang. The combination of Shattering Wave and Ripple Shroud spread, and Oscar encased himself in Silver Sheen.

Something shattered. Oscar heard many objects being torn apart by his shockwave, and some fragments shot forth against his Silver Sheen. Staring down, Oscar saw the tiny swirls of wind dissipating into nothingness. When it was over, he released his Silver Sheen.

His heart started to race. Oscar thanked Elder Saul for the training in Azure City; otherwise, he would have been severely injured even with his alertness. Due to his hardships of following Elder Saul around in Azure City all night, Oscar managed to use his Prinstyct in other ways. To avoid all the bypassers while focusing on Elder Saul's violent distortion, Oscar trained to catch glimpses of the area around him while not breaking his focus on his target.

Orden and Maia remained tense and at the ready for a battle.

"Huh?" Gail scratched her head in wonderment. Without a single warning, Oscar's Silver Star shot toward her teal eye. Her body suddenly shifted a few feet to the right without changing positions, still stretching her head.

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'Her movements are strange as well. I couldn't keep up with my Prinstyct.' For the first time in a while, he finally found an enemy whose movements surpassed his Prinstyct's ability to predict well enough. Her speed was beyond exceptional.

Oscar put his hand down, not wanting to attempt any more attacks, not while the other two were here. What to do? Oscar smiled and said, "What sort of person who relies on ambushes and assassinations would show themselves in the open? I was wondering the entire time why you sat there. You already had a trap set while Orden and I fought, right?"

"Aw, man! I thought I found some easy prey, and the two of you were too distracted. I sprung the trap on you, but you caught on." Gail kept her smile despite Oscar's defense.

Red flames burst from the other side. "Enough of this boring talk." She waved her hand, and several large balls of flame swirled by her side. The flames burned brighter like the fleeting light of a shooting star. Maia bombarded the entire room with her flames.

'This is my chance!' Oscar exited the room, returning to the large black stone hallway. He closed the door, not allowing Maia's flames to spread outside. He held faith in his enemy Orden to keep Maia busy while he made his mistake. Wait! What about Gail?

In a burst of Ein and Reis, Oscar spun around, swinging his bulwark in a circle while several Silver Stars shot from his fingertips, leaving no room for Gail, even with her slender figure, to slip through. Not a single hit or unknown sound other than his stars hitting the walls.

"Guess I was too paranoid." Oscar let out a breath. He raised his bulwark like an umbrella over his head. Sparks fell onto the floor. Sounds of scraping echoed across the halls. Oscar peered up; his Silver Lance stabbed above. A shadow moved out of the way. Gail's sky-blue hair twirled around, and her teal eyes were wide from shock.

"You're too silent and fast. When did you slip past the door?" Oscar asked. His deer anima grunted and scraped its hooves on the floor.

"First, you blocked my trap which activated on a timer, and now you deflect my attack from above." Gail still had her innocent smile on. Her body shifted a few feet again, dodging another one of Oscar's Silver Stars. Oscar smirked. His Silver Star exploded, and fragments shot toward her.

Still smiling, Gail's hands moved like a blur. The fragments were knocked to the floor. Around her hands, Oscar winds swirling. Incredibly fast. She was a speed demon on top of her lack of presence. How should he tackle this problem?

"Daaaamn," Gail said. "There's no helping it. I hate direct confrontations." She leaned closer to Oscar, lifting some odd fingers in some kind of signal. Her hands carried nothing but air. Where were her armament and anima?

Oscar stared at a small cut on his hand. In the small instant when he deflected her attack, this wound appeared. It should have been impossible. His Prinstyct saw nothing and only a normal flow of Ein. He knew too little about her capabilities, and time was ticking away.

Oscar stepped to the right. Suddenly, Gail appeared in front of him with her hands moving close to his neck. Edureisclad hardened his neck. Right at the moment when he felt something scraping against his neck, he swerved his body. Acting as a nimble and flexible leaf, Oscar evaded both strikes and countered with a short kick.

Gail shifted to somewhere else. Oscar refused to let her get off easily and shifted his body again. His extended kick landed on the floor, giving birth to a new Reis. The Reis flowed to his other leg and propelled it like a slingshot. Surprisingly, Gail sidestepped, and parts of her sky-blue hair fluttered like grass in the wind.

'She didn't use her instant sidestep this time, and there was no resistance to my kick. Does she not have any defenses?' As he wondered, Oscar felt something hot pierce through his shoulder. Again, another invisible attack. Oscar evaded Gail and her invisible attack with a Ripple Shroud from his body and some proper dodging. He gripped his bloody shoulder and ran back into the theater.

Inside, Maia and Orden were fighting. Orden threw his hammer against the incoming flames, dispersing them into embers that died down on the floor.

Oscar didn't bother to close the door and ran across their battlefield, blocking Maia's flames and dodging Orden's hammer. He made it safely across to the other side, though, with a few burns on his skin.

"Shoot. You hightailed out so fast." Gail shrugged with an expression saying it couldn't be helped.

Orden and Maia stopped their fighting and stared at the two.

"Oscar, I'm glad you came back. This woman doesn't provide much fun. Can we switch the pairs for now? I take on Oscar, and you can take on the blue girl." Orden laughed and turned to Maia.

"What kind of idiot are you to suggest that?" Maia said coldly.

Oscar frowned. He was right back where he was and now with no exit behind him. The closest was Maia's. Only an idiot would want to jump through all those flames and have Maia follow them around like a vengeful demon. It was frustrating. After everything he did, Gail foiled his escape plan.

'That invisible attack. Just what is its nature? Frederick also uses wind, but he only injures me with the aftereffects of his spells. Her attack is more focused and deliberate.' Oscar needed to unravel this mystery.

Suddenly, the floor trembled, and the doors from Gail and Maia's sides shut tight and refused to open. Oscar gritted his teeth, annoyed at the constant turn of events. The floor disappeared, and everyone fell right in.

"Reminds me of Tectusen, Oscar." Orden couldn't stop laughing.

"Shut up…." Oscar cursed.

Gail's innocent face and Maia's ferocity were both replaced by fear. Oscar chuckled. At least these two were shaken. Oscar returned to stare below, wondering where this place was leading them. Gol-4 remained silent by his side the entire time, turned off.

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