The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"What's going on?! Oscar!" Serena shouted, but Oscar couldn't hear her. She stared at the inhibitor in her hand and pondered. "It all started when I pulled this thing out; Maybe I have to put it back in."

Meanwhile, Oscar felt like he was being torn apart. Due to befuddlement from being forcibly woken and the weak feeling in his core and heart, Oscar was losing control. His mind was in shambles, and he couldn't produce a rational thought, lashing around like a beast.

'What is going on?'

'It hurts!'

The accumulation of everything he had been doing for the past two days had been unleashed. It would not have been this severe, but the inhibitor was removed without his knowledge and while he was unconscious. This double lack of preparation made the pain worse on his unsuspecting body and mind.

Oscar punched the nearby wall, breaking it slightly. But blood flowed out of his fist.

Serena's expression was grave, and she resolved to fix her mistake. "Wait for me! I'll put this back in your ear!"

Without hesitation, she sprinted ahead. Her body was drained, and she was short on Ein, but so was Oscar. "You may have incredible muscles, but your movements are too wide."

She sidestepped Oscar's wild arms and approached his ear. But as she was closing in, Oscar's leg slammed into her stomach. A mouthful of blood escaped her mouth, splattering on the cavern floor. "He countered?"

It wasn't a conscious decision on Oscar's part. But in the throes of pain, his body was reacting to the fullest on instinct. An instinct that had been honed by many fights, especially the spars against his master, Draven.

Oscar reacted to an encroaching danger.

"Bastard, you're making this hard on me." Serena wiped the blood from his lips. She took in a deep breath and charged in again.

Oscar reacted again and swung around, but this, Serena disappeared. With a few moments of rest, she recovered some Ein. But she used all of it on her feet for a final burst of strength.

With pinpoint accuracy, her fingers snapped and shot the inhibitor back into Oscar's earhole on the side with no ear. Serena could not keep her balance and fell to the floor, with some pain on her face.

Oscar became like a puppet with its strings cut off. He fell to the floor, breathing heavily. His eyes regained clarity, and his reason returned. "What happened?"

"You went berserk."

"Oh. it's you." Oscar groaned while trying to get up. "Berserk?"

Serena sighed and leaned against the rocky wall. "Sorry. It was my fault. I saw something odd in your head and removed it, but then you started screaming and hitting all around you."

"My head?" Oscar rubbed the inhibitor that was in its original spot. "You put it back in?"

"At the expense of being hit."

"Sorry." Oscar bowed. "But thank you for stopping it."

"Serena."

"What?" Oscar blinked.

"All this time, we never called each other by our names. You can call me Serena. That seems normal, right Oscar?" Serena smiled brightly, despite the pain in her stomach.

"Ok then. Serena, are you alright?" Oscar asked.

"It's nothing," Serena seemed to be glowing. "I won't ask you about your little object, but you should be more careful with that."

"I know. I never expected this to happen." Oscar grumbled.

The pair started Ein meditation to recover their Eins and fill their drained cores. Oscar heaved a sigh of relief and stood up, feeling refreshed. "Are you finished?"

"Yes, but there is a problem," Serena said while twirling a part of her hair. "I can't move my legs."

"Your legs?" Oscar came closer, making Serena blush a bit.

"My legs are very shaky. Can you carry me to the next place? We have a short amount of time, so we need to hurry." Serena looked pleadingly at Oscar with her green eyes.

"Carry you?" Oscar's eyes twitched.

Serena looked saddened and said, "What? You can't do that for your PARTNER in this trial." She emphasized 'partner' strongly.

Oscar was conflicted but ultimately sighed and lifted Serena as before in a princess carry. The soft feeling under his arms made him flustered again, but he held himself together and walked.

"So good," Serena murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing." Serena placed her red face closer to Oscar's robust chest with a smile. She quite liked this. Her heart was pounding with joy that she could hear it; she hoped Oscar could feel her heart as well.

After some time, Serena was sleeping soundly in Oscar's arms.

Oscar could not believe it and wanted to wake her up, but thinking about their time together, he decided to let her be for the time being.

Finally, they came upon a resting area. Oscar and Serena, who was still in his arms, were shocked to find a table of food and drink waiting for them. A sign said, "Congratulations on getting through the lava cavern. Here is a small token of appreciation."

"Oscar, can you place me on a chair?" Serena no longer had her prideful tone or demeanor when talking to him. In fact, she behaved more like a spoiled child.

Oscar said nothing but placed Serena carefully on one of the chairs. He didn't know Serena was looking at him with eyes that practically had hearts in them while he wasn't looking. When he was done, he tried to move away, but Serena's hand tugged on his jacket.

"Serena?"

Serena acted awkwardly and retracted her hand with weak laughter. "Sorry, I guess I'm still jumpy. Why don't you take the seat next to me?"

"No thanks, I'll be going to the seat opposite." Oscar rejected her idea.

While his back was turned, Serena pouted and decided to do something bold. She had always hated the men who looked at her lecherously, but she wanted to take the initiative this time. She took off her blue jacket, revealing the white shirt that was still somewhat wet, showing some of her pink underwear.

"What are you doing?!" Oscar looked away.

This action made Serena even more delighted to see Oscar was not some pervert, but at the same time, she felt indignant that he wasn't attracted enough to take a peek. "My jacket is all ripped up, and it's uneasy now. You removed your jacket earlier, didn't you?"

"That has nothing to do with this. Do you realize what you're showing?" Oscar continued to face away from her. Internally he was thinking, what the hell was going on with Serena? Before, she would ask him to look away, but she was acting so brazen and without care now.

Serena took a cup of tea and swirled the spoon in the cup with a mischievous smile. "What am I showing? Can you tell me?"

'What is happening here? It's almost like a complete 180 from before. What can explain this kind of behavior?' Oscar perused through all the knowledge he had collected from books while Serena brought herself closer to the table and leaned forward to reach for the bread, trying to give Oscar a closer look. 'Wait a minute….Where have I seen this before?'

A person who was quite loud and detached in the past suddenly became cute and acted pampered. There was only one person like that in his memory, Emily, when she and Frederick became a couple.

"Are you in love with me?" Oscar asked with a very confused look as if in disbelief. This time he decided to look at Serena while hyperfocused on her face.

The unexpected question made Serena choke on her tea and the cup shattered against the floor. The warm tea spilled over her white linen shirt, revealing more underneath it.

Oscar looked straight upward to avoid looking. But Serena's response shocked him.

"I am in love with you. Are you so hateful of me that you don't want to see?"

Oscar nearly fell off his chair in shock. Love? This woman loved him? He had never had anyone be in love with him or confess, so he didn't know how to react. So his mind turned to her question as a distraction.

"I-I don't hate you, but I don't feel it's right to stare." Oscar stammered a bit, biting his tongue to calm down.

However, Serena got up from her chair and came right beside Oscar. "It's ok if it's you."

Oscar looked at Serena in shock, seeing the hot gaze she was giving him. His mouth felt like it instantly ran dry, and he gulped while his eyes trembled.

"Why?"

Serena tilted her head adorably and pinched Oscar's cheek, sending his mind reeling into an endless storm. A confession of love combined with such brazen, straightforward behavior was too stimulating for the inexperienced Oscar.

The same could be said for Serena, who was red like a strawberry, but her resolve carried her onward. "At the start, I planned to use you and find your strengths. But as we continued going through the long trial, you supported me. Whenever I was frustrated, you knew what to do. Your eyes were clear, and you respected my boundaries, even while holding hands or carrying me. In the end, you went through so much risk, much more than me, to carry us through, even protecting me at the end of it."

Oscar felt the heat from Serena's hand. Either that or his head was overheating.

"Plus…." Serena looked embarrassed. "Plus, you have a killer body."

"What?" Oscar didn't know how to respond to that statement. 'A killer body? Thanks to Reis training and Fabricator work, my body is well trained and toned, but I didn't think this would be a result.'

"So, I'll say it again." Serena leaned forward; her green eyes looked straight into Oscar's. "I fell in love with you. What about you?"