The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Climb."

The single word dampened what was left of Oscar's spirits. Oscar scaled the thirty feet long walls up to the exit at the top with his eyes. His face twitched in a mixture of confusion and self-pity.

By this point, any complaints were useless. Oscar knew his master was serious and was always shot down when he tried to complain. With nothing left to do, Oscar stepped right before the rocky wall.

Oscar grabbed tightly in a slight crevice on the wall and tried to lift himself. But, he felt the band on his wrist being a burden, trying to pull down his arm.  Oscar barely said as his body strained itself against the weights and gravity. "This band!"

Tensing up his legs, Oscar readied himself to climb upward. His legs lifted from the ground as Oscar arched his back. His free hand grabbed hold of the next closest climbing spot.

It was a similar concept to his shoveling. Oscar had gotten increasingly familiar with the process, adapting it to this rock climbing. But it only worked for the first step as Oscar tried to keep the momentum as he did with his shoveling, but gravity and his weighted bands kept him from continuing.

Unable to hold on, he succumbed and fell helplessly to the floor, kicking off a cloud of dust. His breathing was rough and hoarse from the dirt in his lungs.

"When I was shoveling, I was falling downward with the shovel. That kept my momentum as gravity forced it down. Now I'm going against gravity. That, combined with these bands, is killing my initial force upward." Oscar felt it when he tried to continue. The initial burst of his climb was fine, but it failed once it ran out of steam. "Do I just have to climb up with sheer strength?"

To test his options, Oscar began to climb again, ensuring his feet were firmly in place each time before moving up. But, this did not last long like his previous attempts, as Oscar no longer felt any strength in his arms and chest. Once more, his body crashed to the floor. "Master. I need another elixir!"

A vial dropped down into Oscar's open hands in response. The only way out was to tire out and build up his muscles to reach the level of escaping this pit.  He stared at the spot he was stuck on, a mere eight feet.

"This is the only elixir I will give you for this part of the training." Draven knew Oscar's thoughts and did not approve.

Caught off guard by his master's declaration, Oscar could no longer hold back his complaints. Oscar knew questioning his master was pointless, but this was too harsh. There was no way up besides sheer strength. "But how else can I climb up?"

"Find a way." Draven disappeared off to the side, leaving Oscar alone to brood.

…….

Back on the bright and beautiful surface of the Blue Ocean Pavilion, Frederick and Emily exited the Mission Hall. The best training was a real battle. To get accustomed to their new powers, Emily, with her new staff, and Frederick, with his Middle Apprentice Level, decided to take on another mission.

"What a shame." Emily griped. "Someone took the mission I wanted. Why did you stop me?"

Frederick looked deflated. "That pair had Grade Seven Exolsias, and you were also ready to fight them."

"What do you mean? I was going to talk to them."

"This crazy woman! You were clenching your hands! Besides, they had no reason to negotiate. Not everyone is as accommodating as Os." Frederick continued to scold Emily, who was getting more irate.

She let out a sigh of disappointment. "You just didn't want to take on that mission. You wanted this easy one from the start."

Because of the altercation, they had to settle on an easier mission to kill five blood baboons.

"The baboons are fine. We don't need to dash into the harshest battles to train ourselves. This mission will give us ample experience."

Emily knew Frederick was reasonable, but this mission did not give the best rewards. It gave a measly 500 contribution points. She was about to retort until Frederick suddenly grabbed her by the hand and moved away quickly.

"What do you think you're—"

"Quiet. Let's leave this place right now."

Seeing how serious Frederick was acting, Emily nodded and followed along. After they stopped, she sent a chop to Frederick's head.

"Explain yourself." To be suddenly taken by the hand and forced away was not proper. Her eyes looked threateningly at Frederick.

"I saw an awful person."

"An awful person?" Emily looked back at the Mission Hall in interest.

"See the girl with the red hair?"

Emily looked toward where Frederick pointed and saw a girl with bright red hair and eyes.

"Wow, she's beautiful!" Emily had confidence in her attractiveness, and her popularity in the Outer Hall proved it, but the red-haired girl was in a league of her own. The red-haired girl gave the impression of a vibrant rose in a field of blue.

"Beautiful on the outside with an ugly heart." Frederick spat on the ground.

"What do you mean? Did she break your heart?"

"No. That witch's actions toward Os were nasty." Frederick retold their altercation earlier and how Isabella treated Oscar. He got angrier the more he talked.

Emily stomped her feet, unable to crack the sturdy paved path. "What a vile person. Oscar may be a Grade Four, but that isn't even at the bottom. Even so, that shouldn't matter."

"I understand if Oscar did something wrong, but this was just for her selfishness."

For once, the bickering pair came to agree on two things. First, Oscar is a good person and a good friend. Second, Isabella is horrible.

"Os doesn't want to be involved with her anymore. He says he's fine, but I can tell it's still affecting him." Earlier, when Oscar had said he would move on and forget about her, Frederick could see his hands slightly shaking.

"That's why we should have taken the harder mission by force. How else are we supposed to catch up?"

"So you admit you were going to fight them for it!"

The two continued their bickering the entire way to the airship port. Since it was for a mission, they had free access to a means of public transport. The large airship in one of the pads was receiving passengers.

Stepping on the large airship, Frederick looked down. He pumped his fist out to his missing friend. "I'll be back, Os. Do your best to hang on."

…….

"ORAA!" Oscar's energetic voice reverberated through the caverns. His hands and feet moved quickly in an attempt to scale the walls. It was a failure as, once again, his body tumbled down to the ground. "This isn't working at all."

Oscar examined his body which was full of scrapes from the rough rocks. Thankfully, none of them cut deep, but it was counterproductive to continue this recklessly, or else his body would eventually give up.

'In trying it in one powerful burst, I reached ten feet. But that's not any good.' That was only a third of the way up. If he had the elixir to accelerate his strength growth, then Oscar would have been fine. But his master was adamant about cutting him off.

"Curses. What on earth is it?" The frustration was visibly rising in Oscar. His hands were clenched to the point of the veins popping. From above, another round of rations fell, more than usual.

"Little one. You should eat and sleep. We will resume tomorrow."

"Master! I only have six days left to learn from you. I can't waste any time." He just needed to get out of this pit, and the real lessons could start.

"Impatience is not elegant. I've given you more rations. Rest." Draven's plan did not include this rest period; he would have kept Oscar resting for thirty minutes every so often. However, Oscar progressed faster than he expected. 'He's a fast learner, but the faster he advances, the quicker he will break down. One needs ample rest for their progress to be cemented.'

Oscar sat to eat his meal. It was different from the usual pasty dough-like food that he normally ate. It was a delicious feast of meat, vegetables, and bread. He devoured the rare meal with gratitude toward his master.

After the hearty meal, Oscar could not help himself from lying down. The break from his strenuous training seemed to take hold and force his eyes to close. His tight body loosened, and Oscar fell asleep.

In an instant, Draven appeared right next to Oscar. He looked up at the mark Oscar made ten feet above. "It's not bad."

…….

'Oscar! Stop reading and help your father collect the harvest.'

'Ok, ok. I'll go, Mother.'

'Remember to swing the sickle properly. Swing from the left to the right and back. You'll destroy crops if done wrong.'

'Father, sorry. I cut all of it wrong.'

'Don't worry about it. We still have the rest of the fields.'

"I'll swing it properly this time!" Half awake, Oscar blurted out the last part of his conversation with his father. This strenuous training reminded him of when he had trouble using the sickle for the first time. His young body was run dry of stamina, and his mother scolded his father for being harsh.

Oscar chuckled as he remembered this fond memory but soon turned his attention to reality. Slowly, he recovered his senses, sighing sadly. He was only gone for less than a year but already missed home.

'It should be nearing the harvest season.' The last few months of the year were cold, so they harvested the crops before the chill winds blew. If Oscar did not enter the Blue Ocean Pavilion, he would be right next to his father, swinging the sickle around and eating nice cheese soup from his mother.

The Pavilion did allow students to return home for a visit. But that was only reserved for students in their second year and above.

Oscar stood up, determined to escape this pit. He needed to get stronger to return proudly to his family.

"You have a better look now. Your complexion is healthier."

His master, Draven, was correct. Oscar felt his body was unusually light and comfortable. His mind was no longer disordered from irritation.

"Master, thank you for guiding me." He had been stressed from the Night Raptor mission, Samuel's ambush, and this prison. Oscar forgot the first teaching he had received.

Elder Saul taught him to relax. In relaxation was the clarity of mind.

One sought relaxation to sharpen the mind.

The other taught relaxation to forge the body.

This lesson gave Oscar an idea.

'If I relax to meditate and condense Ein. Can't I try the same but with my body?' Oscar sat down to meditate but not to gather Ein. This meditation was to feel his body's blood, veins, and fibers. 'I've constantly strengthened my body, but I should have become more acquainted with it.'

Time passed, but Oscar was still and seated. He continued breathing in and out; Oscar fell into a trance akin to Ein meditation but focused on his skin and body rather than Ein and his core.

It was incredible. Oscar witnessed his skin vanish, allowing him to see everything inside. He saw his organs and blood moving about.

'Breath in…Breath Out.' Oscar saw his muscles react to his breathing. They contracted and expanded with each breath. Finally, after some time, Oscar got on his feet and began to climb.

This time, he closed his eyes and meditated while holding on to a stable protrusion. He brought his own body to its ideal condition.

Snapping his eyes open, Oscar grabbed upward and brought himself up. It was easier than before. It was because he settled his heart back down and moved right when his muscles contracted.

Once more, Oscar's body went up the wall another step.

Each time, he'd calm himself and close his eyes. Oscar would meditate to enter his optimal condition and then grab the next spot to pull himself up. He did it by quelling the erratic movement of his muscles and stabilizing his bones.

Doing so with an accuracy of which parts to control was possible due to the unique state of meditation.

'I'm already above my previous limit.' His hands were above the mark he left the last time he climbed. Oscar felt emboldened to continue.

Oscar steeled himself ahead. Finally, after a long climb, Oscar could not keep it up. His arms refused to listen, and no meditation could calm them down.

'Tch, this is my limit. But I have made great progress.' Pumping his fist in the air, Oscar saw the mark he had left on his new milestone. He managed to climb twenty feet up. There were only ten more to go.

"Nice job." Draven shocked Oscar by suddenly showing up next to him.

"Master!" Oscar called out excitedly. These words were the first praise he had received from Draven since they started.