The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"He's finally made it!" Elder Dustin was laughing off his rockers; every one of his wrinkles flapped and creased with delight, forming an unpleasant appearance of a withered old man. He pointed his wrinkled finger at Oscar and Serena, who entered the great hall of the cavern, housing the large spherical monstrosity. "Brat! It's time for you to get your just desserts."

All the frustration and stress built up from Oscar's mindless destruction of the precious artificial cores and from being unable to see through Oscar's mysterious power compounded into Elder Dustin's crazed state.

Ava Jones facepalmed while seeing this fellow elder, several decades older than her, act so immaturely. "Elder Dustin, stop yourself before you accidentally drool over the table. I would recommend you get an attitude adjustment under Grand Commander Margaret."

Elder Dustin scoffed at Ava's words. "You don't understand how it feels to see your precious creations destroyed unexpectedly. As alchemists, we love all our works as if they were our children." His frenzied gaze focused on Oscar with glee. "Now, this boy will face off against one of my finer creations. There's no way he can destroy this one!"

"Destroying it is not the point," Ava Jones wished she didn't have to undertake this job because Elder Dustin was too much. The only reason she came here was because of Mary. She had been keeping track of Mary's progress but never interfering or aiding without just cause unless she wanted to incur the wrath of the Grand Commander and her enforcers, so she knew Mary was coming to this exam. "The whole point is to work together to fight the construct and meet the conditions to defeat it."

"Oh, but he will try." Elder Dustin smirked and drank some calming tea before the show began. "We've seen his recklessness and bullheaded attitude, true to his nature as a fabricator. He'll certainly try his mysterious powers to destroy the construct, but he's in for a shock."

"I can't even…." Ava Jones was about finished with this Elder; she made up her mind. After this, she was going to report him to enter forced seclusion or retraining as an elder. This sort of behavior was beyond what she could consider proper, and as a member of the Jones Family, she could not let this elder be. "Don't you dare tweak the construct somehow from your end! This is a completely impartial trial."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Elder Dustin said.

Ava Jones wanted to say yes but kept her thoughts to herself. She remained silent and stared at Elder Dustin with an indifferent gaze.

"Then why don't the esteemed lady of the Jones Family tell me what she expects from this fight." Elder Dustin had had enough of her disapproving tone and demeanor. He wanted to see what she thought and would pick her words apart.

'Is this bastard really an elder? Or did his brain get addled from the many herbs he's been in contact with?' Ava Jones sighed inwardly, not letting a ripple show on her face. She smiled and said, "I don't expect them to finish it today, but it all depends on their coordination. What I'm more interested in is something else…."

"Something else?" Elder Dustin was curious. "What is that?"

"Something an old bag of bones, with nothing but cauldrons in his brain, would never understand." Ava Jones looked at Serena and Oscar with great interest, wondering about their relationship.

She kept track and watched them as they crossed through the lava chamber, hand in hand and finishing off with that princess carry. The enjoyment in seeing a new love bloom was amazing, and she couldn't wait to see more; her gossipy inner self demanded more.

Ava Jones almost erupted from overflowing delight when Oscar hugged Serena tightly and covered their fall, just like a prince in a story. Afterward, she watched with enjoyment as Serena attempted to seduce Oscar, even blushing at some of her daring means.

'Geez, just get a room, you two! Wait a minute. What does my niece feel about this person? She seems to have a favorable impression of him, so it's not out of the question.' Ava Jones thought about how her niece seemed different after fighting Oscar, so what in the world should she do? She couldn't talk to her niece about love when they were somewhat estranged.

Ava Jones's changing expressions made Elder Dustin twitch his eye. He didn't want to know what was going on in her head. The strange transitions from heavy breathing to frenzied eyes to blushing to contemplative made him think about her mental stability.

Both of them thought the other was crazy.

…….

"Watch out!" Oscar summoned his deer anima in an instant. It tugged on Serena's jacket, moving her out of the way while he leaped away in the other direction.

The crystal eye of the spherical construct released a large beam of light that reached incredible speeds, sending a devastating sonic boom through the white hall. The beam of light barely missed Oscar and Serena, thanks to Oscar's quick reaction and Prinstyct. The light exploded at the closed entrance but left no marks on the doors.

"Are they trying to kill us?" Serena shouted as she clung to Oscar's deer anima. "Isn't that light beam too much?"

Oscar was sweating at the sheer speed and power of the unleashed light beam. His eyes narrowed at the crystal eye on the spherical head. It was still glowing, but not as brightly as before. Using his Prinstyct, he saw the construct wasn't gathering more for another shot. "It must be a one-time use, or it's charging up. Our best bet is to attack it now."

Serena nodded, and her yellow Ein surged forth like a bright flame. The Ein condensed into an axe with yellow edges. She brandished her two axes with a powerful glow in her eyes. "Ready, Oscar?"

As they were about to charge, a new banner appeared overhead.

"Subdue the Crystal Guardian."

The Crystal Guardian stood up from its resting position. The six legs on the bottom lifted its joints, supporting the weight of the hulk. As it did, it transformed.

The knees and elbows glowed, and large white crystals protruded like jagged spikes. Hard crystals, smooth like diamonds, coated all of its knuckles. Its feet also transfigured into sharp crystals with a fine point, making clinking sounds as they stepped around.

Oscar didn't wait for it to attack. The transformation made shivers run down his spine, and he poured all of his power into his 'Steel Drill' and 'Shattering Wave'. The powerful blow he had great confidence in collided against one of its legs, creating sparks.

Oscar's mouth was agape. The drill in his arm was stopped, unable to pierce through. He could feel how dense and hard the shell of the Crystal Guardian was. "Serena!"

Serena nimbly leaped into the air and poured a large amount of Ein into her axes. Fierce waters began to surge on its head like tidal waves pouring out from the edge.

'Grade One Tidal Edge'

This spell was the lesser version of the 'Grade Two Maelstrom Spike' that Leon often used during his fight against Gilbert. It worked by using the waters to form tidal waves from a weapon's edge or blunt head. The tidal waves aided in parting through defenses and strengthening the damage.

Serena threw the two axes at the Crystal Guardian. The tidal waves of the axes formed circles of torrential waters from the axes' spinning. These circles intertwined with each other into a crisscross of waves, Serena's own take on using the spell.

The axes and the torrential crisscrossing waters attacked the Crystal Guardian, but the waters could not do anything, splashing helplessly, and the axes bounced off its spherical body.

Serena cursed, controlled her axe anima to return to her side, shooting back to her hand, and used 'Grade One Water Whip' to grab her axe armament. Her face darkened, seeing as the Crystal Guardian wasn't affected. She turned to Oscar, who had come to her side. "This enemy is tough. I can't believe its defenses are this hard; who the hell decided to pit this against us."

Oscar nodded. "Its defenses are harder than anything an Apprentice Exalt can break through. Maybe the objective isn't to destroy it."

"It's not?" Serena asked.

Oscar was about to explain when the arms of the Crystal guardian contracted and punched out. With no time, Oscar held Serena and dodged the arms. The arms looked to have one joint at the start, but that was a deception.

There were multiple joints in the arms, and each joint could extend out to further its range. It was similar to how the Wendigos in the Spiraling Willow Forest had unique attack patterns with their flexible arms.

"Oscar?" Serena enjoyed being in Oscar's arms, but there was no time to indulge in the delight.

"Sorry, but it's easier to dodge like this, so I don't have to worry about you. I can see through its movements." Oscar continued to dodge the fists from different angles, but even he was sweating because the enemy had eight arms. It was hard to dodge continually as the arms worked together to draw Oscar into an unfavorable situation.

"Anyway, as I tried to say earlier, the banner only said to subdue it," Oscar said. "The objective isn't to pound this thing into dust but to find a way to win."

"But what can that be?" Serena asked, but her eyes widened. "Be careful!"

Oscar cursed as a fist right near him, about to slam into both of them. The crystal knuckles glimmered, showing many reflections of himself. It was ready to bash Oscar into a pulp.