The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Emily tried to calm herself down to no avail. Her frustration increased as she and Samuel fought in a stalemate. Her bruised body had several cuts, and her staff had cracks all over it.

Likewise, Samuel was also in a pretty bad condition. Several bumps and bruises covered his originally attractive appearance. The tiger beside him was also injured. "You can't keep up. Your staff is almost done for." His feet trembled under his weight.

"Speak for yourself. Your tiger is quite wounded." Emily cursed.

The battle between these two had fully exhausted their Ein and Anima. They could no longer use their spells, and their Ein aura was very faint on their body.

"DIE!" Samuel and his tiger charged. In the end, there was no chance for tactics or tricks; only force could break this situation.

Emily focused all of her Ein onto her staff and charged to meet them. She let out a warcry, bringing her weapon onto the tiger. The staff met the tiger's claw.

The last bits of orange and yellow Ein exploded.

The ground underneath quaked from the last hurrahs of the two Middle Apprentice Exalts. Samuel became free and tried to attack Emily, who was occupied. However, a large painful sensation burned throughout his entire body as if his nerves were on fire, and he could not speak, only letting out a helpless yelp of pain.

Off to the side, Emily's staff overwhelmed the tiger's claw, breaking through the tiger. It was all spent and unable to continue manifesting, collapsing into nothing.

"NO!" Samuel's eyes flared with unwillingness and frustration. He was the son of a viscount, a noble with a bright future as an Exalt; he could not lose here, but his body limped and fell to the ground like strings cut from a puppet. He glared upward in pure hate, but his eyes blanked out in bewilderment at the next moment.

Emily gripped her heart and vomited out dark red blood. In her hand, the staff crumbled into pieces that faded away. She lost balance but managed to lean on the cavern walls. "Piece of shit."

Clinging onto the cavern walls, she slowly stepped toward the entrance. She could not muster the strength to finish Samuel off. The best option was to call for an ally. If they lost, then she's dead anyway. 'I need to hope that one of them won their battle, so we can go back and kill Samuel.'

"You…." Samuel struggled for a moment before crawling toward the cavern walls. Like Emily, he dragged himself forward. He could not allow this woman to escape and get help.

In the depths of the second cavern, Frederick and Austin were still in a deadlock. The initial surprise attack from Frederick allowed him to land a few blows, but since then, he has been unable to gain an advantage.

The threat of Austin's 'Acid Coat' was still imprinted in his mind. Judging from how it corroded away his sleeve, being hit directly would spell trouble. His hawk still employed hit-and-run tactics, but none of it created an opening for Frederick.

'His skills with the dagger are too good. One moment, he's blocking my hawk; the other, he's able to turn to me.' He admired Austin's fluidity with the dagger, much like Emily and her staff. Weapon anima users were naturally inclined and skilled towards the weapon it represented.

Austin kept his cool and made multiple slashes with his dagger. But his sweat-covered face showcased his irritation that he could not hit Frederick.

"This damned movement spell. Stop scurrying around." Austin coldly protested Frederick's choice of a spell. No matter where he slashed, his opponent would dodge like a leaf in the wind.

Frederick tiredly laughed as his back was soaked in sweat and his feet were numb to the bone. "Let me beat you to death, and it'll be over."

Austin retaliated with the same expressionless face with precise attacks. He would never give his enemy a mental advantage over him.

'Does this guy not have any ears?' Frederick cursed out in irritation. His words were a very good weapon he used multiple times to piss off Samuel and Emily, though both retaliated violently.

Frederick tried to create distance, but his enemy would not let him rest, clinging to him like a leech. The weakness of his 'Wind Steps' was he could not use them for long-distance travel, only good in short bursts, about a meter each way. It would have been easier if he had mastered the spell more.

Frederick grumbled, wishing Austin was like Oscar. Oscar left more openings for Frederick to use his spell to catch him off guard, but Austin was too good at defending his own space.

Fearing the moment his feet could no longer use 'Wind Step', Frederick made a desperate move. He was being pressured constantly under Austin's relentless attacks.

Hastily, Frederick took off his jacket, madly swinging it around like a whip. This forced Austin to halt warily at the makeshift whip.

Frederick's face was full of concentration. His plan was very risky and needed to be done exactly right.

Austin shifted his stance; his eyes gleamed with arrogance at the young, upstart noble. He recognized the tactic Frederick was trying. However, he would not be caught by such a juvenile trick again.

The hawk soared as a distraction, and Frederick charged forward with 'Wind Steps'. But Austin focused on the torn jacket. He had to make sure his dagger was not caught.

'As long as I land one 'Acid Coat', I'll take the initiative.' Austin grasped his dagger in a defensive stance. He was ready to counter any of Frederick's attempts.

Frederick approached Austin, attempting to kick from the side.

Seeing this, Austin raised his dagger to defend. However, a strip of cloth whistled through the air toward the dagger. Frederick lured Austin's dagger for his tug.

Austin's expressionless face broke out in a small smile for the first time. Frederick was a fool for trying the same thing again. He tossed the dagger, slicing through the air until it was grasped by his other free hand.

He grasped the jacket firmly with his right hand, not letting Frederick take it back. His newly equipped left hand thrust the dagger at the now defenseless Frederick.

'Even if you back away with your spell. You would only be able to keep running without your jacket to protect you.'

However, Frederick betrayed Austin's expectations by moving closer and clutching Austin's hand.

He tore his white dress shirt and wrapped the newly torn cloth around his right hand.

"Are you serious?!" Austin was shocked to the core, knowing what Frederick was planning. His dagger was grabbed by Frederick's loosely covered hand.

Frederick sweated out bullets as the dagger started to melt through his thin layer of cloth. He hoped to grab the wrist, but the dagger was too fast, forcing him to put his hand in the way.

"My dagger will melt your hand!" Austin was confused but shook it off. Frederick had no more options, and they were too close to kick. Smiling, he moved his dagger, inching it forward.

"GUH" A loud hiss came from the dagger. Frederick felt immense pain in his hand, unlike any other. The dagger dissolved the cloth and was starting on his skin as blood dripped to the floor, bubbling and dissolving away.

"You lose." Austin declared proudly. He was usually stone-faced, but victory stirred his heart.

"Too bad." Frederick wheezed these words through the pain. "You forgot one thing."

A green light flashed toward Austin, who was caught off guard. He tried to escape, but Frederick had firmly held him in place.

It was the hawk anima. Responding to its master's resolve, it dove bravely, reaching incredible speeds.

"You held the dagger to buy time for your bird, so what? What can it do?" Austin confidently said. The bird was a nuisance, but it could not deal any real damage to him.

"Oh, there's one place it could attack. A very vulnerable spot." The skin on Frederick's hand was slowly melting, but he did not care. This was his revenge.

"Bastard!" Horror and realization enveloped Austin's face. For the first time, he felt a sense of dread. He tried to escape, but it was too late.

The hawk closed in and dug its sharp beak straight into Austin's right eye. A mess of blood and fluid exploded out of his eye socket.

"GRARRAAAHH" Austin let go of his dagger and the jacket, retreating with his hand clutching his eye.

Immediately, Frederick let go of the dagger. His hand was a bloody mess of melted skin and hot blood. Thankfully, his bird came before his bones and nerves were affected.

"YOU SCUM!" Austin could not see from his right eye as half of his vision was gone. In his hand were chunks of his right eye the hawk had dug out.

"Want to continue?" Frederick taunted and clenched his fists, even the one that was a mess of boiling flesh. A hand for an eye was the best exchange Frederick could hope for.

'I need to finish this and help Oscar.' Although he was at an overwhelming advantage, Frederick did not act rashly. Austin was still deadly with his dagger.

But Austin turned around and started to flee.

Frederick was stunned, watching this person turn tail like a coward after all the horrific things he had said. Anger reddened his face as he gave chase.

"Don't think I'll let you off." He used up too much Ein, so he was in no condition to use his 'Wind Steps.' Additionally, Austin was too far for him to catch up without tiring himself.

Outside in the ravine, Emily finally staggered her way out. She stared icily at Samuel, who was at the other end. It was appalling, but she could only get a draw against this fool.

Samuel limply went out into the ravine's center and started his Ein meditation. He knew Emily could not do anything at this moment.

He was correct, as Emily begrudgingly sat down to meditate as well. They had to recover as fast as possible.

A few moments later, they recovered enough to recover their movements. Their Anima and Ein would take more time.

Emily's ear perked up. She turned to the cavern where Frederick had gone into. Her face fell when she saw Austin come out.

'Did he lose?'

Samuel was elated to see Austin appear. They should make short work of this girl together. However, his face paled, seeing Austin was bleeding from his right eye.

Emily stood up. "Looks like my friend gave you a nice parting gift. I'll finish the job and take revenge for him." Her face twisted in anger. Although Frederick was an idiot and talked too much, they were companions who fought together.

If she could not avenge him, she failed as a leader and companion.

Right after, Frederick rushed out with a roar, "Come back here, you asshole!"

Dumfounded, Emily's face was completely blank. All the emotions she felt just before fizzled out. She glanced at Frederick, breathing heavily but with a fierce look in his eyes.

'What the heck? Is that Frederick?' The face was a stark contrast to his usual behavior. He looked determined and strong. She felt a tinge of embarrassment recalling when she chastised him for not having either.

Frederick glanced around and locked eyes with Samuel and Emily. He rushed to her side and asked, "Are you alright?"

Emily's thoughts were interrupted as she stumbled on her words. "We got to a draw and made our way out here to find aid."

"Hah? Don't worry about that. We can take them on without issue." Frederick stepped forward with a fire in his eyes. Emily was confused by Frederick's sudden change in demeanor but held back her thoughts to focus on the enemy.

Samuel shot grievances at Austin with his stare. He did not expect Austin to be so weak as to lose an eye.

"What are you staring at?" The usually calm and expressionless Austin was currently overwhelmed by rage. His right eye was gone forever, and this guy was staring at him as if he was at fault.

"You lost an eye. After all that boasting, you were just some trash." Samuel let out his complaints and blamed it all on Austin. This was supposed to be an easy mark. He held the wild girl at bay while this guy lost horribly.

"You fucker. Don't make me kill you." Austin raised his dagger. Despite the pain from his right socket, he would not be insulted while he was down.

"You and Greg both. Greg isn't even out yet; he should have killed that Grade Four trash by now and helped us. Bugger off; I don't need trash like you." Samuel let his blood get to his head and forgot that two enemies were staring them down.

"Idiot." Austin realized what a fool Samuel was. He must have been blind to take this job from this miscreant. Ignoring Samuel's fuming face, he turned to Frederick. "I won't forget this. You better watch yourself."

Before Frederick could respond, Austin leaped out of the ravine and left.

Samuel looked at the pair of green and orange enemies and paled. He was all alone.

Emily stared icily at Samuel, who realized his mistake. With no choice, he also made his escape, leaving the two alone.

"Wait! You…." Frederick tried to chase, but his legs stumbled. Emily grabbed Frederick and supported him before he could fall.

"I want to bash his head in as well. But we need to check on Oscar." Her words shook Frederick out of his rage. He had forgotten his best friend.

"Os! We need to help him." Frederick muscled through the pain and ran into the cavern. Emily did not want to fall behind and forced herself to follow.