The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

There were no trees or obstacles to block his sight. Peering between the lonely mountains, Oscar saw more grasslands. Judging from its direction and the two suns' position, this place should be vertical from the normal ground. Constantly thinking about it only made him more confused.

"That mountain looks interesting. Should we climb it?" Avril rode on top of Erden, staring at the tall singular mountain in awe. "The winds breezed past her hair and felt like a refreshing shower. She wanted to run out and climb to the very top!"

"We need to find shelter first," Oscar was wary. Herds of Exalt Beasts, ranging from the Apprentice Exalt to Knight Exalt, migrated around the plains. Most minded their own business, while others fought savagely to defend or hunt for their survival.

"Awww," Avril deflated, resting on Erden's long neck.

They slipped past the large groups of territorial beasts, careful not to draw unwanted attention. Their natural presence as Lower Knight Exalts helped deter most beasts, but Oscar didn't wish to intimidate some into action.

Eventually, they found a good cave at the base of the mountain. It was empty and unoccupied. Oscar breathed easily now. At last, they had shelter and safety from outside. Settling inside, Oscar took out a book and started to read with Erden as a resting pillow.

"What is that?" Avril munched on her fruit, gifted by Oscar.

"It's a compilation, a collection of short stories and tales. I have had it for so many years since I was young." Oscar opened the book toward her. "It's a good read. Do you want to read it?"

"I don't know how to read," Avril's clear voice lowered into a whisper, and she fidgeted with her fingers as a blush of shame flushed her cheeks. She averted her gaze from Oscar, staring at her knees. "I can't read a single letter. I never learned."

Her confession was unbelievable to hear. Oscar was shaken to the core and took a moment to digest. It stood to reason the anima was a reflection of the soul in some way or form. Avril's scroll anima gave him the impression that she was very well-read.

After all, one needed to train with their anima and understand it to grow stronger. Sword anima users practiced swordsmanship. Beast anima users forged strong bonds with anima as real companions.

'Does that mean her powers are still undeveloped?' Oscar recalled the burst of Ein her anima provided. And it was only a fraction of her true capabilities? Astonished, Oscar's eyes never left Avril. When he trained with his anima, it was merely discovering new combinations and movements. He grew curious about what new powers or techniques she might unravel.

"Is it so wrong? She didn't know what Oscar was thinking. His stare made her uncomfortable. Maybe running away will be the best action." Avril dropped her head lower, almost bowing in distress. Her one gold eye was trembling, about to break out into tears.

"No! I didn't mean to stare so rudely. I was lost in my thoughts. I'm shocked you have such amazing power without properly training it. How envious. I wish my anima could have more to offer." Oscar ignored Erden's snort and continued. "If you train harder and learn to read, you'll definitely be stronger."

"Really?" Avril regained her smile, lifting her head high. "Is my power that amazing? What else can I do?"

"I don't know about the rest of your abilities, but your power is indeed incredible. You just need to work hard and read."

"Then, can you teach me how to read?" Avril leaned forward, her dazzling smile right before him. She held his hand, squeezed it between her palms, and begged him. "Please. I won't be a bother and listen well."

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Her hand was warm and trembling. Even with the gloves on them, Oscar felt the rushing of blood and raised pulse, the echoes of her rapid heartbeat. Her nervousness made him chuckle inwardly, and he clasped his free on top of hers in a reassuring manner.

"I was going to offer to teach you anyway. Since you already speak so well, learning the words and letters shouldn't take too long." Oscar smiled and nodded.

"Yay!" Avril cheered, holding up her hands high. Oscar's hands, which were still gripped by her hands, were also lifted high. In this cheering pose, Avril laughed heartily, and Oscar struggled to withdraw but gave up and let her celebrate. Eventually, she let go with a hum.

Making a makeshift table of cleanly cut grade-two bars of metal from one of his space pockets, Oscar took out Calvin's journal and tore a blank page off, placing it before Avril with a pen. He wrote down the alphabet and explained them to Avril, who focused hard.

"U. That's the letter at the front of words such as ultimate, union, and unusual." Oscar pointed at a letter.

"Those don't sound similar at the start at all," Avril frowned.

"Some have different sounds depending on the letters before and after it. Don't be too down. It's easy once you get into it. For now, let's start off by writing each letter 500 times." Oscar smiled broadly, passing more pieces of paper. It was a wonderful feeling to teach someone how to read and write.

"500 times?" Avril shivered but breathed in and exhaled. She opened up with a concentrated gaze and started to write. Each time she wrote a letter, she mumbled it to herself.

Oscar was happy to see her working hard and promptly retreated to his corner of the cave. There was not a moment to lose in training. Slowly, he absorbed the Ein, as did Erden, for a brief warm-up. He took out the cores he took from the Lower Knight Exalt Beasts along the way, passing half to Erden.

The red root core and the flame unicorn core were in the corner of his space pocket. For some reason, the red root core smelled tastier and more nutritious than the unicorn one. Saving these for a later advancement would be better.

Oscar and Erden each ate a core. With the ataerstone, he purified the Ein in the core further to allow faster absorption. His core hungrily ate the Ein, and suddenly, parts of Ein from Erden's digested core flowed into him as well, integrating into his core. Impossible!

'Erden…did you feel that?'

'The Ein which I took in was transferred to your core. Is it because we share a pool of Ein? Try eating one by yourself.'

Oscar took out another core from one of the many Greater Elite Exalt Beasts from Ashen Grove. They might be weaker, but their Ein was still digestible. Oscar ate it and absorbed the Ein from it. However, when it should have entered his core, it pivoted through a strange connection and entered Erden.

'It works!' Oscar's mind rumbled from the storms of realization. Erden was capable of eating and absorbing much more than him. If Erden could facilitate and make up for his slow absorption…he could progress faster than ever before, and that was without taking elixirs into account. If he took an elixir, a core, and Erden's bonus together….

'We should clear through all the Elite Exalt cores first. I'll send as much as I can to you without impeding my own training.' Erden understood the new way and was ready to utilize it.

The two sunk into their meditation and eating. It continued for hours until Oscar ran out of Elite Exalt Beast cores. The vast wealth he had accumulated drained to nothing. Yet, he wasn't at the point of advancement, but he was ecstatic. He had found a new way to surpass his old self.

Wiping off the sweat, Oscar heard the faint, slow breaths coming from Avril. Her head was snuggled in her arms on the table of metal bars, clearly sound asleep. Oscar glanced at her papers and read through them. Her penmanship was quite good and well-legible.

"She did it 1000 times instead of 500," Oscar was impressed. Not wanting to disturb her well-deserved rest, he covered her body with a fur blanket. He couldn't help but think about what Avril had said earlier.

She never learned how to read. Even a commoner like him knew how to read. It was perplexing and made him uncomfortable. He threw out his theory of her being a runaway noble. Additionally, the bizarre way she behaved and reacted to certain words and actions was evidence of something traumatic.

'Her eye….' Oscar stared at the cloth-covered eye with a frown. Who was Avril running away from? Someone who tortured her, isolated her, and kept her ignorant. He might run into this foe if he continued to journey with her.

'I should not overthink it. For now, I will watch over her.' He also was sleepy and took out his bedding to rest on. Today was exhausting, and tomorrow was certain to be the same. His mind became numb, and Oscar drifted off into his dreams.

Hours later, deep in the night, Demon opened his eyes.

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