The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Arrows and quills bombarded Oscar from the front and back from George and his Sapphire Hedgehog's unrelenting assault. Oscar desperately tried to block the incoming projectiles with a swipe of his buckler.

"Shit." Oscar wasted more stamina and Ein blocking and dodging without gaining a single inch closer to George. The hedgehog did its job well to deter Oscar from making a move. "I'll get rid of this annoying hedgehog instead!"

Oscar sprinted to the hedgehog and slammed his buckler onto it in a ferocious swing. Normally, the buckler would inflict severe blunt damage from the force of Oscar's blow, but the hedgehog curled itself up and raised its quills all over to create a buffer between its delicate body and the buckler.

It was practically unharmed. The hedgehog was blown away to the side, releasing some quills at Oscar in the air. At the same time, George shot several more arrows.

Oscar struggled and failed to dodge the combination. Two arrows penetrated his arm and stuck out like the quills on the hedgehog; they were weak on the sides but incredibly sharp at the tips.

"Your body is quite sturdy. However, I don't believe you can keep that up. I suggest you surrender." George drew his bow back but did not shoot. His hedgehog's quills were shaking, ready to shoot out at any moment. He respected Oscar for his efforts, but there was no way for Oscar to catch him, and his hedgehog was not affected by Oscar's attacks.

Oscar stared at George and the hedgehog. The two were a terrifying combination. George was faster than before because he no longer carried the beast, and the hedgehog was the worst for Oscar's physical attacks.

His deer anima was also unsuitable for this battle. It would only end up being double trouble for Oscar due to its weak defenses and slow movements, especially since George's bow was a Grade Six anima.

"No." Oscar calmed himself down and took his buckler out of his arm.

"Fine. There won't be any mercy this time." George and his hedgehog resumed their flurry of arrows and quills.

As he was about to dodge the arrows, Oscar was caught off-guard by the arrows' sudden movements. Some of the arrows changed directions in mid-air. Shock crossed his face, and his eyes reflected the arrows.

"Try this!" George spoke earnestly. The sudden change in the arrows' trajectory was thanks to another spell, the 'Grade One Shifting Vector'. George infused the spell into a limited number of arrows, invoking it at the right time to forcibly change their target.

Once the spell activated, it would disappear from the object it was bound to. George was only capable of changing each arrow once. 'I only have these two spells and no armament because of my beast, but it's enough to boost my archery to new heights.'

Oscar gritted his teeth and clenched his buckler, and spun to deflect off the 'Shifting Vector' arrows.

'Futile.' George thought. That wild spinning would only disorientate and waste Oscar's Ein. The next wave of attacks was already en route.

Oscar threw his buckler in a baffling move to the proctor and George. The arrows and quills were on their way, and Oscar had given up his defenses. What is this brat thinking?

The buckler flew through the air and crashed against George's arrows, stopping them. Oscar jerked his hand back, and the buckler suddenly flew backward like a spinning disk.

In Oscar's hand was a string attached to his wrist. It linked to the buckler, allowing Oscar to control it from a distance. The quills behind Oscar were taken care of by the spinning buckler.

George stood there with his jaw dropped. Most shield users were the type to stand their ground and bash their enemy's face. While Oscar also exhibited such behavior, he also put in this mechanism.

The buckler spun its way to George with Oscar safely in the distance, controlling it with his hand. Various options crossed George's mind. His hedgehog did not shoot out its quills yet, and even if it did, Oscar could easily dodge if the attacks were from one side while focusing on himself.

If he stepped forward, the string would catch and wrap around him. His feet were already at the edge of the stage; there was no way back. George made a hasty decision as the buckler neared him and ducked below.

Oscar immediately threw something at George, who was out of position near the ground. It was one of the quills that had impaled his arm earlier.

"Bastard!" George forcibly got up and dodged to the other side with his 'Wind Steps'. However, his leg was stabbed by something sharp. George cursed out in pain, staring at the wound, and saw a quill sticking out of his thigh. "You shot two?"

Oscar did not say and swung his buckler to the other side to stop the hedgehog's quills. It was as George shouted. When he threw the first quill, he also threw the second one immediately after.

He knew George was very conservative in his stamina and Ein, someone who minimized his movements and would surely only move slightly to dodge. With George's focus entirely on the first quill, the second one made its way like a bandit in the night.

The buckler made a whole revolution around the stage and spun toward George again. George pulled out the quill and ignored the pain. He charged his bow and shot multiple arrows at the buckler until it was finally put off course, missing him.

The spinning buckler was quite strong, and it was moving fast due to Oscar's strength. Oscar retracted the buckler, swinging it up and down in a circular rotation like a mace on a chain. This was an obvious taunt, and George's face flickered with ire for a moment.

George smoothly calmed himself down. As an archer, he had to be cool and collected in hunting down his targets. His arm knocked and loosed more arrows.

However, Oscar wielded his buckler to break the arrows before George could enact his 'Shifting Vector'. The same occurred for the hedgehog's quills. Sparks flickered in the area between Oscar and George and the hedgehog.

George frowned. He thought if he kept up his bombardment, Oscar would make a mistake. But, He saw Oscar masterfully and calmly maneuver the buckler to counter the incoming attacks from a distance.

While George tried to break his defenses, Oscar took a step forward. It was time to make his move. Each step Oscar took made George feel more nervous.

'Wind Steps'

George tried to move, but the wound on his leg reduced his speed. Oscar's feet were still closing in on him.

Once he reached a certain distance, Oscar bolted. The buckler returned to his arm like normal; Oscar was determined to settle this in melee combat. The reason why he slowly moved earlier was to reach the appropriate distance and then instantly close the gap to catch George off-guard.

Oscar's domineering figure came right before George, who staggered from the pain. His obsidian eyes gleamed with triumph as he raised his buckler to attack George. However, an unexpected intruder dove in to save George.

The Sapphire Hedgehog realized the danger its master was in. It ran as fast as possible to catch up to the two and jumped, curling up into a spiky ball. This mass of spikes started spinning in the air, aiming for the shocked Oscar.

Oscar turned his buckler to block the spinning ball of spikes. The hedgehog was still light, so it stopped in its tracks.

"Nice one!" George drew his bow back as an arrow appeared in his hand. There was no way for Oscar to dodge or block with his buckler at this point-blank range.

With a swish, the arrow flew straight to Oscar's chest. The proctor was about to stop the arrow when he noticed Oscar's Ein spiking up.

Oscar's skin turned a deep metallic iron color. The arrow tried to pierce him but bounced off helplessly to the floor. The metal skin immediately returned to normal, and Oscar slammed his fist into George's thin stomach while George was dumbfounded by what had just occurred.

George landed harshly outside the stadium and vomited. His hedgehog tried to keep fighting, but the proctor locked the hedgehog in place.

"Winner: Oscar Terr."

At the proctor's announcement, Oscar let out a breath of relief. He got off the stage and walked to George, still reeling from Oscar's heavy punch. "Good fight."

George choked a little before settling down. His eyes were still a little watery from the ordeal.  "Good fight. I thought I had you. Why didn't you use that hardening spell earlier? Using it as a surprise at that moment was a good choice."

The fight would have been much tougher for George if Oscar had used that spell. But George could have adapted his strategy and tried other avenues of winning.

"The spell, 'Steel Scales', covers my entire body with a layer of Ein transformed into metal. But it consumes too much Ein, and I can barely move using it." Oscar explained. "I wanted to keep it as a trump card for later, but your hedgehog made a very unexpected move. I'll ask it back to you; why didn't you have him do that earlier? Even with 'Steel Scales', I would have lost the match."

"I tried to teach him that many times, but Exalt beasts are like humans. Each innate ability of a beast is like a spell; they need time to learn. The most he could do was curl up and stiffen his quills as a defense." George laughed helplessly. That was why the earlier action of the hedgehog surprised him. George never thought his hedgehog would come to achieve rolling in the middle of the fight.

"That's a good companion you have. It did not hesitate to defend you and even gained a new ability in the crisis." Oscar smiled.

"He's the best." George petted the hedgehog that was freed and ran toward him. "Good luck in the next match."

"Let's go to the healing station." Oscar offered George his hand.

George graciously accepted. The hedgehog looked warily at Oscar the entire time.

"Calm down; it was only a match. Have this." To calm the beast, George took out a treat from his bag. The hedgehog ate it cutely, munching on it rapidly until its cheeks were puffed, making Oscar laugh.

The two reached the healing station. It was a big tent on the side of the stadium near the seats. Two guards at the entrance allowed them inside.

Inside were full of beds, along with healers attending to the students. These healers were Exalts specialized for recovery and healing; they were the best alternative to using expensive elixirs on students.

"Os!" A familiar voice called out.

"Fred?" Oscar saw his best friend lying down on a bed with burnt cheeks and scorched hair. Parts of his arm were also laden with burn marks.

"This your friend? Did he get burnt?" George looked shocked.

"He burnt himself." An expressionless voice interjected from the side. It was Austin Taylor.

"Holy! You're even more burnt than him!" George said. "You're also missing an eye?"

Austin's face twitched from George's insensitive comments.

"Austin?" Oscar saw how injured Austin was and grimaced. He turned to Frederick and asked, "What happened to you? He's saying you burnt yourself?"

"I was matched up against Austin here." He retold what occurred in the match, making Oscar and George gawk in awe at Frederick's reckless move. "...and that's what happened. I didn't expect Austin to be placed next to me."

Oscar observed Frederick's behavior and saw there was no malice or hatred against Austin at all. "Are you friends with Austin now?"

"Why would I be friends with this reckless idiot?" Austin's expression cracked, looking deeply offended. "But I am no longer seeking revenge or anything resembling it." Austin shut his mouth and sank into his bed, not wanting to converse any longer.

Oscar was confused. 'What the hell happened?'