The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Oscar, are you a fabricator? You possess a hammer in your space pocket along with some grade-three ores." Sevon asked, a glow of interest in his eagle eyes. "If you are, then what star fabricator are you?"

"I am a two-star fabricator. I haven't found a suitable place with a furnace, kiln, and anvil to attempt forging grade-three armaments. Maybe if I had an armament, I wouldn't have been in as much trouble earlier and gotten out before Adam appeared." Oscar grumbled. If only he had found a furnace beforehand. Part of his plan was to find a foundry or smithy in Rockfell, but then the whole massacre had to happen.

"Oh, is that right?" Adam laughed with a wide smile and daring eyes, seeming provoked by Oscar's words. "I wonder how much better our battle would have been if we fought with armaments?"

"Enough, Adam!" Sevon waved Adam to stop and led everyone outside.

Near the entrance was exactly what Oscar wanted, a fine workshop with an anvil, portable furnace, and a kiln. Crafting one for himself and Avril would do wonders for their survival against future enemies. Oscar felt around the workshop, familiarizing himself with the environment. A top-notch fabricator would sense every ember, dust, and more. Details mattered most.

"It's a good workshop. But what's the other station?" Oscar pointed at the table on the other side. "Cauldrons, vials, and pestles? Why do you have an alchemist's setup here? None of us are alchemists."

"You're not?" Sevon rubbed his chin with a frown of disappointment. He turned to Avril. "Seeing the plants, herbs, and strange medicines, clearly handmade, all nicely put together in her space pocket, I thought she was an alchemist. What a shame to have set this up for nothing."

A flash of enlightenment raced through Oscar's mind. That was right! Avril had shown her interest in herbology and surprisingly keen insights whenever mixing up her unusual medicines. Also, her anima was perfect for providing the necessary boost to refine an elixir whenever needed.

"Avril, do you want to learn alchemy?" Oscar asked. She was the perfect candidate to learn some alchemy.

At Oscar's suggestion, Avril tilted her head and nodded. "But who will teach me? I don't think anyone here is an alchemist."

"Don't worry about that," Oscar smiled and thanked Gol-4 in his heart. "A certain insistent person made me forcibly memorize so much alchemy that my head would burst from it. It's not ideal, but it's the only way for you to learn."

"Ho? How interesting. Why do you have so much knowledge of alchemy?" Sevon smiled. He seemed even more interested in Oscar.

"Trade secret," Oscar said, turning back to Avril. "So, will you learn alchemy from me? I sure could use an alchemist."

"Ok! She burns with excitement to learn. Always had she been curious about the mystical art of alchemy, only able to watch from afar." A bright smile crossed Avril's face. She bowed and thanked Oscar for this chance.

"Then, it's set. In the first half of the day, Oscar and Avril will focus on fabrication and alchemy. The proper training with us will be in the second half." Sevon smoked his pipe, blowing large clouds of white smoke into everyone's faces.

"What is the second half?" Oscar coughed from the harsh smell of the smoke. Complaining about Sevon's rude actions would only make things worse for him and Avril, so he kept his complaints in his heart. Instead, the second half of the training was intriguing. His master's maddened training was harsh enough, so how about another Reis master's

"Adam will take care of you, Oscar. You'll be with him for half the day." While Sevon talked, Oscar glanced at Adam, who smiled with a thumbs-up. Not a reassuring smile but one of excitement, a battle-crazed smile. Meanwhile, Sevon continued, "I'm sure he will take good care of you. Now as for you, Avril. What do you want to do? I honestly don't know what to choose for you."

Avril stepped forward, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Her eye glanced at Oscar for a moment before turning back to Sevon. "If you would have me. May I learn Reis?"

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"What?!" Oscar shouted. What did she say? Did she want to learn Reis? Oscar grabbed her wrist, not too forcefully. "Do you understand what you're saying? Reis is not a good power to have. You're a Grade Seven with a unique anima. There are other ways for you to be stronger."

"If it's not a good power, then what about you? What about them?" Avril gestured toward Sevon and Adam. Her eye stared straight, her gaze sharp like an arrow through Oscar. She held a hand over her chest and said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I don't want to be useless. Alchemy is one thing. My anima is another. But I want to fight alongside you. I'm tired of being helpless."

"I learned Reis because it was the only way to keep up with others. You don't need to suffer as I did. Besides, you're in the Knight Exalt realm. Starting this late will be too slow. Not only that, how will we know if you can handle it in this realm? My master said I couldn't handle it at the Knight Exalt realm." Oscar urged her to reconsider. Learning the Reis was tantamount to signing a will. "I only escaped the suffering through luck."

"The basics are enough. With that and my scroll anima, I can fight better. She refuses to budge on this. She needs to be stronger for her own sake and Oscar's." Avril said.

For a few seconds, their eyes stared, unblinking. Seeing not a hint of hesitation or desire to back down from her glowing gold eye, Oscar sighed and nodded. "Fine. But the moment you feel like it's killing you, you'll stop right then and there."

"I promise!" Avril said. She faced Sevon and bowed. "Please teach me the Reis."

"Hahahahaha! I like the determination. Then it's settled. As for your beast, Tort will take care of him all day. Your days will be split up into three eight-hour cycles. The first eight hours will be for your profession. The second eight hours will be with me and Adam. The last will be for rest and sleep. Adam needs to move out soon. I'm always here, so if you need any advice or want to talk, just come back in." Sevon smoked his merry way back into the cave. Adam waved goodbye and exited the ravine to parts unknown.

Erden nodded farewell to Oscar and Avril before leaving with Tort, the giant turtle. Already, Erden gave Tort the stink-eye and raced across in provocation. Oddly, Exalt Beasts were very temperamental to each other.

"Is this what you really want?" Oscar asked.

"Of course it is! Now, teach me some alchemy!" Avril tugged Oscar toward the alchemy station.

Oscar explained everything about one-star alchemy to Avril. The knowledge might have been outdated because of Gol-4's separation from society for thousands of years, but it helped her get started. While Avril got to work on alchemy, Oscar focused on crafting a grade-three armament.

Hours later, Oscar made no progress in his fabrication. The wall that was a three-star fabricator was quite large. His talent wasn't on par to break through it with ease. He needed time and focus. Meanwhile, Avril showed significant growth in her field, creating a quasi-elixir, just a step below grade one, mainly used by non-Exalts. Her talent truly made anyone envious.

Then, the time came. Adam returned, and Sevon emerged from the cave. Oscar took one last look at Avril, and she nodded reassuringly. She was telling him not to worry. But how could he not worry? He feared she might be reckless as himself and lead herself to death.

"What's with those idle thoughts? They're showing on your face like pimples." Adam mocked. "Stop worrying about her. You should worry about yourself first."

"Just tell me what we're doing," Oscar spat out. Avril was not here. Sevon had taken her somewhere else to train her in Reis.

Adam smiled his battle-crazed smile, baring his teeth. The next instant, he punched Oscar without warning, forcing him into the rocky cliff. "For the next six months, you will fight me. We have some grade-three spells in our possession for you to learn. Use everything, Oscar. Spells, anima, Reis, Ein, Vis. Use it all. There's nothing for me to teach you. There's only the battle as your master."

"Crazy bastard…." Oscar freed himself from the cliff, sending rock and rubble tumbling to the floor. Feeling the thrill of battle as well, Oscar smiled, his body rippled with the Pseudo-Guise. "Let's fight."

…….

As time passed, Oscar, Avril, and Erden trained hard. Their routine every day was the same. They woke up in the early morning. Erden would leave with Tort while Oscar and Avril trained in Fabrication and Alchemy. However, Oscar spent half his time explaining more alchemy concepts to Avril.

Then as the sands of the hourglass flowed out, Sevon and Adam took them to their respective training. Oscar fought tooth and nail against Adam, exchanging fierce blows. In all that time, he never landed a single hit on Adam, always beaten to a pulp.

Oscar would return to his room, tired and sore. Erden and Avril would return in the same manner. He and Avril were so tired at the end of each day that they dropped right to bed after washing up, not even hung up or embarrassed about sleeping right next to each other. Every day in his dreams, he saw his friends and family. Just a little more, he thought. He needed just a little more time.

Finally, six months went by.

"I can't believe it's been six months. Time flies by fast." Adam put on his white shirt, pulled his suspenders from his pants over it, and strapped on his bowtie, tweaking it to perfection. "You're completely different from six months ago. Instead of the rampaging beast, you are now a honed blade. How is it, Oscar?"

"One day, I'll defeat you. Make sure to remember that." Oscar said, resting on a large boulder cut from the wall. Oscar put on his long-sleeved shirt and vest, staring lazily at the red sky. His training finally ended.

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