The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar opened his eyes. The light from the stone garden poured in from the ceiling of the underground cavern, and he flickered his eyelids before regaining some much-needed clarity. Conducting a body check, Oscar found most of his movements had recovered and stood up, limping slightly.

It was over. All around him, Oscar saw the colorful grass dying and withering, no longer holding up its dim glow. Most of the pollen was gone except for a few faint and struggling dots. The loss of the Forest Heart did have such an effect, but the rate at which these plants died was faster than he had observed.

"You're up, Oscar. You were out for around half a day." Erden got to his feet and shook his body, shaking off all the dirt and grass stuck to his fur.

"Half a day?" Oscar was surprised to hear that. He thought his penalty for using Demon Deer Eirin Mantle was around a whole day. His tests before this battle showed and proved it. Suddenly, it dropped to half. After pausing for a moment, Oscar thought less of it. Perhaps his proficiency increased during the battle, and why should he be concerned about a great positive change?

"That was quite the fierce battle, but the blasted plant never stood a chance against our combined might!" Gol-4 boasted, drowning out everything from Oscar's left ear.

"Our? A spectator doesn't count." Erden said.

"Having a support crowd never hurts. Sometimes, the cheers of your peers can boost your mood and help you achieve victory." Gol-4 said, turning back to Oscar. "So, how does your Meld work? I saw everything, but how did you transmit your Eirin into Erden? Was that one of your new powers?"

Gol-4 clammed up when Oscar started a fire and started to cook a meal for himself and Erden. Right now, Oscar wanted to eat instead of talk. The meat cooked quickly and entered Oscar's stomach. Yet, Oscar still hungered and licked his lips, feeling his throat run dry even though he ate an oily meal and drank fruit juice. The meal should have been enough to fill his already large requirements, yet he was unsatisfied.

Rummaging in his space pocket for more, Oscar paused and felt the round object in his hand; a growling came from his stomach in response to this object. He pulled it out and stared at the red core harvested from the red root. Again, his stomach growled as if the large meal from a minute ago was a lie.

'It smells delicious….' Oscar wiped the drool from his mouth and smelled the red core. It smelled like a sweet slice of cake, an intoxicating and pleasurable smell that filled his nostrils and looked so appealing he almost wanted to swallow it whole. Snapping out of it, Oscar wondered what was going on. A core never smelled this good and incited his hunger.

"Gol-4. Why does this core look and smell so delicious?" Oscar asked.

"Delicious? In what way?" Gol-4 was confused.

"I have a feeling like I can eat this. Is that odd? What about you, Erden?"

"All cores have a flavor and smell to me. As an Exalt Beast, cores should be appealing so we can enjoy the taste as we take in power within." Erden tilted his head in confusion as well. "But that one you're holding…smells the greatest. I've never had something so good."

"Oscar, can you take out another core? Before Erden loses control and takes this one from you." Gol-4 instructed.

Oscar pulled out another core he had kept from a Grovekeeper long ago. The smell and look were far below the red core, yet Oscar eyed it in interest, turning it over in his hands. After becoming a Knight Exalt, he hadn't checked his stockpile since they were all Elite Exalt cores, so he never felt this change.

"This also seems tasty. What's going on?" Oscar detached Gol-4 from his shoulder, allowing the head to roam freely.

"So it isn't only the red root. All the cores seem like tasty meals to you now, don't they?" Gol-4 asked as Oscar took out more cores to confirm his suspicions. "Try eating one."

"Eat one?" Oscar held one of his cores. There was no way this would fit down his throat; his teeth surely couldn't crunch through it. Trusting Gol-4, Oscar placed the large core into his mouth, unable to close his lips as he felt his cheeks expand like a balloon.

'This damned thing!' Oscar squeezed down and managed to swallow the core whole. He coughed and rubbed his neck, strained from the ordeal, while wondering why he had done it. His stomach churned as the core sat in it like a rock.

Suddenly, the core disappeared. Oscar grew confused and patted his stomach multiple times, trying to see if he could feel it through his skin. As he turned to Gol-4 to ask what was happening, a sudden surge of Ein flooded and entered his core. It wasn't a large amount, and his core barely responded, but it progressed slightly.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"My core absorbed the Ein?" Oscar said in disbelief. A human should never be able to digest and absorb the cores of beasts, which was why they turned to plants, herbs, and alchemy. But Oscar wasn't just a human anymore. Struck by this realization, Oscar trembled and turned to Gol-4 with an incredulous face.

"The Blood Transmutation…I can eat cores now?" Oscar asked.

"That appears to be the case. I've heard rumors of such a possibility, but it all depends on the pair. You gained tough organs, preventing you from dying from Reis, and the digestive qualities to eat cores." Gol-4 drew closer to Oscar, eyeing him like a researcher finding an incredible specimen.

"Can I still drink elixirs?" Oscar wondered.

"More than that. You can take both at once. The elixir will still be taken in at the rate of your grade four Exolsia, but the cores can be consumed without worry. Keep training. Your progression will be faster than the norm." Gol-4 laughed. "How exciting to see such marvelous things happen."

"Does that mean I must share my cores with you now?" Erden sighed and grunted in dismay.

"It's alright, Erden. All we have to do is hunt double the amount for each of us." Oscar clenched his fist with a smile. His training speed had always weighed down on him, and he feared being left behind like with Charles. 'My speed may not be as comparable to the grade eights or nines. I'll need to test it out.'

"Oi! Let's start looting the palace. There's a place I want us to go to, and we need to find the control room." Gol-4 said.

"Maybe there are more tasty cores upstairs. Though, after advancing, the usual cores seem quite lackluster." Erden trotted into the air.

Oscar flew up with his friends, back through the hole in the ceiling, and returned to the stone garden, now free of the red root's presence. There was nothing to find here besides the smooth stone platforms protruding from the crater walls. Flying higher, Oscar made a quick turn to exit the stone garden.

With the powers of a Knight Exalt in Oscar and Erden, the remaining stragglers of the central palace were naught but prey. There were no Cleaners out at this time since, as Gol-4 mentioned, they were most likely in stasis for the next opening. Thanks to that, Oscar looted everything he could find in every nook and cranny of the Outer Halls and Inner Sanctum.

"I wish there was something more. Everything here is suited for Elite Exalts." Oscar had a bag of space pockets full of cores, armaments, grade-two spell holders of various attributes, and rare plants and ores. "All of this should make me rich."

"Not rich enough for a Knight Exalt and certainly not any of the realms beyond that," Gol-4 added. "Make a left and go down the stairs. There's an empty room, but it contains something I want you to have."

Something Gol-4 wanted him to have? Oscar was curious about what the former Primaere wished to give him and hastened his steps. He arrived in an empty room and waited for Gol-4 to make his move.

Gol-4 was released and began floating around until tucked into a corner. Light beamed from his blue glass eyes into the edge, setting off a reaction as the walls trembled and the floor opened up in the middle. Oscar backed away from the large hole, peering down into its depths.

"There's nothing. Just an empty hole." Oscar said.

"If I built a room right under it, it would have been found long ago. Surely they got my blueprints and searched the whole place. I placed many rooms like this with empty places under them so none would be the wiser." Gol-4 landed on Oscar's shoulder, urging him to fly down.

Oscar descended slowly as Gol-4 looked around, searching for something. At a certain point, Gol-4's excited cries caught Oscar's attention, and he saw the golem fly over to some plain rocky walls.

"What do you have here?" Oscar stood behind Gol-4. The rocks fell apart and tumbled down to reveal a small door. Flabbergasted, Oscar reached for the doorknob and opened it. He entered the small room, a humble place with a small table for people sitting on the floor and a single box.

Oscar's heart thumped faster as he held the box in his hands. Ergen peeked over his shoulder to get a good look while Gol-4 shook up and down. Oscar calmed down and opened the box, and his expression went blank.

"Huh?" Oscar saw a single neatly folded paper, a crystal necklace of a seven-pointed star, and a black cube. Placing the box back on the table, Oscar took out the paper and unfolded it.

"What a beautiful lady." Oscar lost his breath.

"My dear Evelyn. I have not seen her face in so long…." Gol-4 said sadly.

The paper was a captured image of a woman with deep azure ocean eyes and free-flowing blue hair, which seemed to sparkle with the two hairpins of stars on her sides. She seemed to be dancing around in her light green casual dress. Oscar lost his mind for a moment and quickly recovered. He had never seen such a beautiful person ever. Was she really human or a goddess?

"That's enough staring at my wife or Isaac's wife," Gol-4 knocked his head into Oscar.

"I'm not that kind of idiot and scum. Though, how in the world did you ever marry her? Is she a goddess?" Oscar scratched his head.

"Hah? Are you suggesting I'm unworthy? I'll let you know that our love was mutual. You should be happy for a good friend to have such a wonderful partner. She and I had amazing journeys and adventures together."

"Joking. I'm joking. I am just curious where someone like her came from." Oscar continued to stare into those eyes, reminding him of someone. "Her eyes are almost identical to Gilbert's—the same jewel-like shine. The hair is also quite similar. Did you two ever have children?"

"Unfortunately, no. For some reason, it never happened." Gol-4 dropped his head, saddened by his own words. "I've never met this Gilbert before. Does he truly resemble Evelyn? Her features and aura are quite distinct. I've never met anyone else who came close to her."

"Interesting, and his mother vanished as well…." Oscar mumbled and placed the paper to the side to let Gol-4 eye it longer. The striking resemblance between Gilbert and Evelyn was suspicious. No doubt, there had to be some connection between them. Oscar sighed and watched his good friend mechanically sob and cheer at the image.

'I don't want to associate with him, but Gilbert may be the key to discovering what happened to Evelyn. Ah man, I'll only do it for you, Gol-4.' To his dismay, he added one more item to his list of to-dos when getting out, finding Gilbert to find clues related to his mother and Evelyn.

But to associate with Gilbert…was less than desirable. Oscar cursed at how everything had to be so complicated.

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