The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

After losing Reis's negative effects, Oscar was confident to unleash his full potential without fear of self-harm. As his shoulders and head pushed against the heavy weight of Ein, Oscar wondered how he and Erden might fight against it. After all, he was a peak Lower Knight Exalt capable of Meld, so Erden counted as himself.

'Can we do it?' Oscar released his Ein to the fullest to combat the pressure, alleviating the burden from his shoulders.

'Interesting. I'm also intrigued.' Erden licked his lips, wanting to take a piece of the Middle Knight Exalt. His excitement resonated with Oscar as the two joined their Eins together. Oscar and Erden readied themselves to fight, fierce and competitive gleams burning within their pupils.

However, hands reached out to Oscar's ear and Erden's antlers, cool to the touch. Between the two, Avril pulled hard, raising Erden's head and tilting Oscar closer. She scowled at them and pinched harder with Ein this time. Even with his well-trained body, his ears were still sensitive, so Oscar felt some pain.

"She couldn't contain her anger and barely kept herself from smacking the two of them with her spell. What a pair of idiots. A Middle Knight Exalt stands before them, and they think of fighting. She needs to stop them, or else." Avril grumbled, pulling and pinching harder.

"What?" Oscar asked. Avril's strength wasn't that high. He could easily tear away from her grip, but he chose not to. Her concern was valid, and Oscar agreed it seemed reckless.

"That's a Middle Knight Exalt. What makes you so confident you can take it on? There are three of us, but it seems unlikely." Avril twisted Oscar's ear and Erden's antlers. Her one eye glanced back and forth between them, burning into both of them with a scolding gaze.

"Let me explain," Oscar felt he was too close to her from how much she pulled him and shuffled himself to stare at her directly. "Erden and I can fight as one. With the Meld, fighting together against a single opponent will make us far more powerful. And finally, we have you." He pointed at her nose.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Avril's voice grew chilly, and her gold eye dimmed. "Have me? In what way?" Her face darkened, cold hostility spilling forth.

"What I mean is you are the most important part of it. Your Ein boost and recovery along with your grade-three control spells are essential. The three of us can take it down." Oscar said, trying to sound as confident as possible to reassure Avril. For an odd reason, his previous words had set her off.

Thankfully, her grip on his ear loosened, and Oscar got away, rubbing his red ear. Avril stared dumbfounded into nowhere, tilting her head in puzzlement. Oscar waved his hand in front of her to no avail, and he grew confused about her state of mind.

"So…." Avril slowly rotated to face Oscar. "I'm important? I'm necessary? I'm needed?" Her face drew closer with each question before she was right before his face.

"You are. Then will you help us? I promise more fruits after this." Oscar nodded.

Avril's lips curled into a bright beaming smile, breaking out in a hearty laugh. She gripped her hands together and stretched, cracking her joints. Her foul mood from earlier seemed to be an illusion compared to her bright display now. She raised her voice with great fanfare, "Then, I agree. I can't leave the two of you alone if you request my help like that. Erden, let's go!"

They leaped off their platform and landed on the next where the Middle Knight Exalt waited for them. A mere breath from its lungs filled the air with dread. A single snort blew away the winds. The creature resembled Oscar's horses back home except for the single horn on its head.

"A unicorn. I've never seen one." Oscar was in awe of the majestic creature. Its pure white body had red flames sprouting from its hooves, back, and head. The blue eyes on the unicorn burned with a blue blaze. "Flames? Quite unfortunate but we still have a chance."

Jumping off, Oscar melded his deer anima into Erden, transforming his beast companion into a monster of metal. His Adamasreis hardened his body and rippled with power. Turning to Avril, he said, "Find the good chances to use your spells to trip it up and time your Ein empowerment only onto my attacks."

"Roger!" Avril stood behind Oscar and Erden as their support.

The flame unicorn neighed and stomped its hooves. Flames swirled under them and burst out in a tall wave of fire in all directions. The expanding flames melted parts of the land into lava.

Avril acted fast, raising her hands. Her own wave of roots, vines, and flowers traveled out to meet the burning inferno. The hot fires of a Middle Knight Exalt were nothing to scoff at. The same roots which held back the mice were burned to a crisp. It did accomplish its task of deterring some of the flames.

Oscar and Erden rushed ahead against the weakened flames. Erden enlarged his hooves and stomped hard, sending rubble and winds against the fire. Oscar punched with his Eirin Ripple Shroud, diverting the flames and opening a pathway.

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A hot hoof fell from above. Erden stretched his neck and enlarged his antlers to ten times their size, sparkling with a good amount of Eirin sent by Oscar. Oscar felt a third force worm its way into their attack, Avril's scroll empowerment. Oscar's Eirin, Erden's Ein, and Avril's boost combined into one.

Erden's antlers repelled the flaming hoof and knocked the unicorn off balance. Avril's roots came in fast and wrapped around it, constantly growing new ones to replace the burnt ones. Oscar dove in and charged his fist with Eirin. With a fierce smile, he released a powerful Shattering Wave.

The unicorn was no easy opponent. It freed itself from Avril's grasp and filled its horn with a hot, dense flame. Condensed to the fullest, the flames didn't look to cover the horn, which had turned red. It speared its horn against Oscar with incredible speed, not fitting its size.

Avril's wooden hands emerged and gripped the horn, instantly burnt to ashes. Oscar and Erden attacked together. Metal antlers and Shattering Wave collided against the sharp horn, spewing flames everywhere, turning the entire land into a fiery hellscape.

Oscar retreated and assessed his body. Parts of his hands were charred, and his body was sweating all over. Erden's metallic armor melted in some areas but held on tightly. "Not bad. We can actually fight against a Middle Knight Exalt. But to finish one off, we need more. Thank god for Avril being here."

"Hey, Avril. Can you wait to use your last two scroll empowerments until I say so? Let's use them all together in one great attack." Oscar shouted.

"Just don't get hurt too much. What will I do if my friends die?" Avril complained.

Oscar chuckled before his face turned serious. He and Erden entered a fierce battle against the unicorn. They swept across the fires, bashed their bodies against them, suffered burns and boils, and sent it tumbling to the ground. Never yielding and never stopping, Oscar and Erden continued their onslaught. Aid from Avril always came on time, something Oscar noticed.

'She has good timing and battle sense. I wonder where she came from.' Oscar wondered.

'Focus. You idiot.' Demon scolded.

"Avril. Now!" Oscar used his Silver Sheen to take the impact of a hoof. The silver melted like it never existed, but he had enough. He leaped up with Erden using the momentum, flowing the incredible Reis from the unicorn's blow. Avril's empowerment entered his fist and Erden's antlers, raising their power.

'Eirin Omnireus!' In the same likeness as his Treble Lance, Oscar combined his fist with Erden's antlers, coursing the Omnireus through both. Their attack destroyed any flame in their way, leaving only charred skin on Oscar's knuckles and melted metal on Erden's antlers.

Forcing their attack through, they struck at the forehead, right below the horn. The unicorn's face distorted as the blood churned like waves inside. The head exploded into a rain of blood and brain matter, killing off most of the flames on the ground. Gasping for air, Oscar laughed triumphantly with Erden.

"Disgusting…." Avril held her hand over her mouth and squirmed her way to them. She handed out some of her homemade medicine.

"Thanks. You are a big help." Oscar smiled as he applied the medicine to his burns.

"Can we get out of here now? I feel sick." Avril gagged.

"Hold on! I'll be right back." Oscar said.

Oscar plunged his arm deep into the body of the unicorn, taking off its precious white core. Stopping himself from drooling over the smell, Oscar put it away and harvested the rest of the flame unicorn, including the coveted horn—a very good haul to take back home.

Nothing else remained here except for the dying flames scattered around the rocks. Oscar took off with Erden and Avril, continuing their trek through the strange pathways. However, once again, they felt the oppressive pressure. But this time, it was far worse.

"There are more Middle Knight Exalts…." Avril counted them under her breath. In front of them were several shadows, covered by the sunlight.

"Five of them?" Oscar cursed out loud from behind Avril, causing her to block her ears with a frown. After apologizing, he gnashed his teeth, frustrated at the neverending obstacles. At this rate, he may never find a way home. But he had to keep calm. He could imagine Gol-4 right beside him, knocking on his forehead and screaming to get a hold of himself. This way was no good. He needed to find another.

"Erden, turn and head to our left. There are more routes that way." Oscar noted the other routes up, down, and right. He could have chosen any of them but decided to go left out of a guess. They went along the left route, pulled and pushed by the forces maintaining this strange environment. However, once again, Oscar found several Middle Knight Exalts in their way.

"Oi!" Avril pointed down. "Look at this place. When did it get there?"

Oscar followed her hand down and was shocked to see a large land obscured by misty clouds with the edges and mountains sticking out like shadows under the sunlight. It was a beautiful view as the clouds flowed like a fluffy river over the tall mountains and down the edges.

"Let's head down and see," Oscar urged Erden downward. After several attempts to go down, a force more powerful than ever dragged them down, sending them straight through the clouds. Wiping the droplets of water from his face, Oscar gazed upon the new land.

Wide plains encompassed the entire region. The land would have been flat without the towering mountains piercing the clouds and sky. These mountains were split off, each tall and isolated, surrounded by grasslands.

"Phew. That was close." Avril got off Erden and sat down to rest, breathing heavily. "The pressure always got much worse when I returned to the dark forest. This place is similar yet so different. How wonderful!"

Oscar got settled and scrutinized their surroundings. Above him, the rocks and debris floated around. He felt if he jumped right now, he would reenter the strange directionless pathways. The land under his feet was stabler.

"If the floating space above is like an ocean, then places like this and the forest are islands. Am I really on Talos? I've never heard of such a place." Oscar wondered.

"Don't worry too much. You'll grow more wrinkles if you keep squeezing your brows. Let's explore that place first. I wonder what we'll find?" Avril smiled and posed toward the large mountain in their sight.

"We're stuck until we can get stronger. Maybe something in this place can help us." Erden nodded.

"Alright. We might be here for a while. Let's find a place to sleep first. It's been a tiring day." Oscar sighed. "At least we're not in the dark forest anymore."

Was he one step closer to his goal or one step farther? Oscar watched Avril and Erden already walking away and smiled. At least he was better off than before. Now, what new things waited for them in this land?

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