The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The final construct vanished from sight and reappeared right before Oscar with its two glimmering golden swords swinging at him from above. It intended to chop off Oscar's arms. Of course, it couldn't do it; it was machine perfect in knowing how to cut without causing the worst damage.

If it did enough damage to Oscar, the challenge would end, and Oscar would be ejected.

However, despite the incredible speed displayed by the golden construct, Oscar did not flinch, nor was he caught off guard. Everything was already within sight of his Prinstyct. He remained calm in the face of its imposing presence when it first arrived and activated his Prinstyct since he realized it was alone.

It wasn't that useful when it came down to a group battle unless he could lock onto more than just one person. But it was ideal for this one-on-one battle. The motions of its dual strike were already in view.

The air trembled, and the loud clash of metal echoed in the empty room.

Oscar's buckler had stopped one sword, inducing sparks as they ground against each other. He was covered in steel, and his other hand, now heavily fortified, had stopped the other sword. However, this wasn't the only defense; Oscar felt the extreme sharpness behind these swords and used 'Edureisclad'.

This defensive technique of Adamasreis layered the stored Reis into a thin, tough layer with the outer muscles under his skin. That, combined with 'Steel Scales' on the skin, brought his defense to impressive levels. Oscar was relieved that the golden construct was only at the power of the Greater Apprentice Exalt realm, or else his defense would have been for naught.

"Hmm?" Oscar still had his Prinstyct active and saw the rippling intents of the golden construct. It was moving to change its attack. He internally laughed at how easy it was to see it when it was quite the task against his master, Draven.

"Here it is." Oscar took a decisive step forward when the golden construct's arms were too in their motions to react properly. He was right in its chest, past its swords, and rammed his shoulder into it. A powerful amount of Reis flowed in from the ground, and the stored power in his Adamasreis joined the torrent.

'Shattering Wave Shoulder Form'

The shoulder was a powerful body part where all the weight could easily be transmitted. It was one of the most stable physical attacks but only practical if one could get extremely close. Thanks to the Prinstcyt, Oscar could find the timing to get close without worrying about retaliation.

The golden construct was blown back and sent flying in the air. However, it quickly turned, slammed its feet on the wall to avoid crashing, and leaped softly to the ground.

"It's a simple construct that doesn't use spells but only Ein coat on its weapons and parts of its body. However, it is quite agile, unlike the other ones." Oscar raised his buckler and charged ahead. Since it got the first strike before, Oscar should return the favor in kind.

The golden construct did not shy away and brandished its two swords with violent intent. The Ein around the blades spiked to a ferocious level.

The room remained still but the sounds of their battle reverberated endlessly through its empty space. Oscar dodged and parried most of the golden construct's strikes with frightening precision and countered its exposed weaknesses.

After a repeated onslaught, the golden construct started to crack in several places. Sensing its impending loss, the golden construct stepped back to retreat, but a powerful set of antlers rammed into it from the side.

"It's dangerous to forget one's anima." Oscar brought his buckler in from the other end, and cracks began to cover all of its body. He was about to use one final blow, but the room suddenly shook as a loud bell rang.

The golden construct fell to the floor like a puppet without strings.

It was Oscar's victory.

Oscar peered up at the larger banner, which announced its congratulations to him.

"Congratulations on clearing the last and final wave! You have been awarded 500 points. Here is a clue to the exit. Follow the flowers."

Oscar raised one eye in confusion. "Flowers? What sort of clue is that? When I arrived, it was an empty, white place with no defining features."

Suddenly, a loud creaking noise caught his attention. Oscar turned with his buckler at the ready but was shocked to see a new door appear. It had a sign on it saying it was the exit.

"If that's the exit, then what about the way I came from?" Oscar looked back at the door he came from, but it was gone. "On top of giving me a strange clue, it leads to me a different place. That is quite interesting."

Oscar packed his buckler on his back and opened the strange door to see where the room was taking him.

It was the same view as before.

The strange array of doors, stairs, and hallways made one's mind confused. Oscar peered around for something related to flowers that the clue suggested. Then he saw a small flower mark on the wall.

He put his hand on the small flower mark, but nothing happened. Oscar looked around the corner in the hallway the flower was leading him to; there was another small flower mark on the right side. Oscar ignored the various doors and stairways on the sides, not wanting to divert away from his clue, and turned to the right.

He checked the leaderboard list to see if he was lagging behind, but surprisingly, he was in first place after dealing with the three waves at 750 points. The second place was at 450. The many events and trials of the labyrinth had varying degrees of difficulty and options to keep going or quit.

Oscar had picked one of the more rewarding trials and completed it to its end, leading to his impressive lead. However, soon, the numbers flashed again, and the others were quickly catching up.

After a short while of following the flower marks, Oscar finally found a door with the flower mark on the front.

"Finally, I'm in danger of losing my first place." Oscar cracked his shoulders and prepared himself by wielding his buckler. He opened the door with caution and entered inside.

But the sight inside had completely caught him off-guard.

…….

"Something's strange." Elder Dustin said while reviewing the recording of Oscar defeating the final golden construct. He had played it back many times to the point he had memorized everything that took place. But his face was still scrunched up in confusion.

Ava Jones sighed and crossed her arms. "You're too obsessed with this particular student. I can understand being intrigued by how he bypassed the artificial core's defense against Ein, but this final fight didn't seem out of the ordinary."

Elder Dustin scoffed and mumbled, "This is why the younger generation is just so…."

Ava Jones frowned and smiled, but her eyes didn't match the smile. "Please tell this ignorant younger elder exactly what she is missing."

Elder Dustin pointed at the footage from Oscar's spar against the golden construct. "He did not take a single hit during this fierce exchange. He remained in control of the fight the entire time. All of it was done with precision and timing, whether it was blocking, dodging, or countering."

"So? That means he's a good fighter. Perhaps the Pavilion needs to rereview the effectiveness of Grade Four Exolsia Core." Ava Jones did not understand Elder Dustin's obsessive interest.

"In the battle against the groups, he fought fast and did wild tactics to get ahead. But he still took some damage."

Ava Jones rubbed her temple and paid attention back to her niece, Mary Jones. "People can have different fighting styles when against a group or one. You're overthinking it."

Elder Dustin remained silent but continued to watch Oscar's battle against the golden construct. He wasn't the most talented Exalt evident of his position at his age, but the many years of experience had made his intuition quite good. Right now, he could not shake off the feeling; something was extremely off about this student.

He looked at Oscar's current progress as he was tracking the flowers. "Well, the next room isn't combat-oriented. Let's see how he deals with this."

…….

Oscar could not believe what he was seeing. It was a dense forest. Oscar smelled the fresh scent of the trees, and the humid air dampened his sleeves.

"How is there a forest in here?"

Then a sign came out of the ground.

"Find your way through this forest to the exit but be careful not to be caught up in any traps. Haha."

Oscar's eye twitched. "Who the hell makes these banners?"

He looked around. There was not a single semblance of a path to follow. Oscar crossed his arms and pondered.

His eyes widened as a realization struck him.

"An illusion?"