The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Dawn broke out over the Blue Ocean Pavilion. The two suns rose as their soft morning light beamed on the Halls of the Pavilion, followed by a breeze that tickled the blades of trees and swayed the tree branches.

None of the students were out yet, as they were still asleep. Only a few of the Pavilion staff and elders woke up to do their early morning duties.

However, there were two boys up and about outside their dorms. Oscar was lying on the wide plain, not minding the grass staining his blue uniform.

"Os, why did you wake me up so early?" Frederick yawned as he lazily sat down. Just moments ago, Oscar woke him up to go out when the sun hadn't risen yet.

He did not enjoy going down the numerous flights of stairs so early in the morning. Although he grumbled the entire way, he still followed Oscar outside.

"I wake up all the time at dawn to help my family on the farm. You'll get used to it, Fred." Oscar smiled as he felt the soft grass underneath him.

"Next time, I'm ignoring you and going to sleep," Frederick stated.

But the two began to laugh and talk as they relaxed. There was still no hint of anyone else coming out of the dorms. Oscar felt this was the perfect time to meditate.

In Ein Meditation, he fell into the astral state and sensed the Ein, guiding it into his core. But unexpectedly, Oscar felt another wisp at the same time. Two Ein wisps were floating around his body.

Slowly, they made their way to his core, brightening it up more than before.

"Fred!" Oscar was delighted and wanted to tell his friend.

"What?" Frederick was amid meditation. He didn't want to fall behind Oscar.

"I was able to sense two Ein wisps." Oscar boasted.

"Congratulations, I can sense four." Frederick gloated back, dampening Oscar's excitement.

"Four? How is that possible?"

Frederick shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I've trained in meditation since I was young, so I'm well-versed in it. Also, being a Grade Five Exolsia means I can gather more. Your core is starting to wake, so you'll eventually see more."

"I see…." Oscar immediately started meditation. He did not want to fall behind others.

Time passed as the two meditated, took a break, and meditated again. They noticed a figure walking toward them; it was Elder Saul.

"The two of you are up quite early." Elder Saul spoke in the same monotone voice.

"Greetings, Elder Saul. I always wake up early to do chores, so it's a habit." Oscar explained.

He noticed Elder Saul holding a sickle and asked, "What is Elder Saul doing here?"

"I trim the grass so that they do not grow uncontrollably. You leave them alone, and they will take over in no time." Elder Saul dryly replied.

"It's the same at my farm. We pluck the weeds and chop the grass. I'm glad to see the place is well cared for. I also thank you for helping me yesterday, Elder Saul." Oscar was also thankful to Elder Saul for maintaining these gardens. It helped him feel comfortable and almost like at home.

"That was nothing but a whim. You can leave it at that." Elder Saul dismissed Oscar's gratitude.

Frederick, silent in the back, acted at this moment and asked, "Elder Saul, you said relaxation is a way to help your mind. What about my methods."

He explained his version of relaxation and wanted Elder Saul's opinion on the matter since Oscar was not that supportive.

Elder Saul looked at Frederick like a fool, then voiced the same sentiment.

"Are you an idiot? That's not relaxation. You would just drown in indulgence and pleasure. Your mind would be the farthest from clear and balanced."

Oscar failed to hold in his laughter. Frederick turned red in the face and looked fiercely at Oscar.

"You dare laugh? Watch how I wreck your clothes later."

The sound of laughter continued. Frederick's childish threat was ineffective as Oscar kept up his laugh. Finally, it died down as Oscar apologized.

"Today is a unique day." Elder Saul's words stopped Oscar and Frederick's friendly banter.

"Unique?"

"You'll see later. They will announce all students to make their way to the auditorium." Elder Saul departed with these mysterious words.

"Weird." Frederick mumbled, but his grumbling stomach drew his attention. "I am hungry. Let's get breakfast."

The dorms were set up in a courtyard with three buildings. One of the buildings belonged to the boys, and the other to the girls. A tall wall separated the two buildings for obvious reasons.

Oscar and Frederick's destination was the third building in the center and connected by paths to both dorms, the Commune.

The Commune was where students could interact and mingle. It contained a series of meeting rooms, a large spacious common area with comfortable seating, and a cafeteria.

Inside the cafeteria were a few students who had just woken up and come down for breakfast. They were all tired after a long day prior.

Some older students glanced at Oscar and Frederick before returning to eat and converse. Other students were newcomers who wore nervous expressions.

"Hey, check out some of the girls here. They look pretty." Frederick mischievously whispered in Oscar's ear.

The uniform the girls wore were attractive. They wore the same kind of white dress shirt and blue jacket. But they wore blue skirts and thigh-high white socks, leaving a small portion of skin in between.

Frederick eyed them with great enthusiasm until Oscar smacked his head to behave.

Oscar was inexperienced, but his constant closeness with Isabella gave him some resistance. However, a faint blush showed on his immature face.

Ignoring more of Frederick's sinful talk, Oscar got his breakfast and sat down. There was a nice heap of eggs and bacon, followed by toasted bread and a salad. Oscar started wolfing down his meal partly because he was hungry but mostly because it was delicious.

"It's delicious," Frederick remarked.

As they ate, more students arrived for their breakfast. One of them noticed Oscar and Frederick and made their way over.

"Hey."

Oscar and Frederick looked up to see another boy around their age. The person was the one Oscar and Frederick had fought off during the trial, Samuel Carter. His face was twisted in anger, and he bared his teeth like a malicious tiger.

"What do you want, Samuel Carter?" Frederick looked annoyed, and his cheerful face changed to one of silent anger.

"Oi, is that the right way to talk to a member of the Carter Viscount?" Samuel arrogantly declared. His family was viscounts, a rank higher than a baron like the Klein family.

"This is the Blue Ocean Pavilion, and there are no rankings here except your strength." Oscar retorted.

Samuel stared coldly at Oscar but laughed.

"If it's strength, you, with that lowly Grade Four, can't hold a candle to my Grade Six." Samuel recognized Oscar back then. After separating, his proctor Stan behaved coldly and dismissive to him and the others.

He felt offended but could not do anything to Stan since he was a Knight Exalt. Then during the trial, when he was about to finish off Frederick, this Grade Four brat came from nowhere and beat him down.

When he entered the cafeteria and saw the Grade Four boy with the upstart Frederick, a fellow noble whom he despised, he felt gratified he could put both of them down and get his revenge.

"Say that when we're Exalts, and we'll find out. Or would you want a repeat of last time?" Oscar clenched his hands and stared at Samuel with undaunting eyes.

Samuel was taken aback at how this low-born fool could stare at him with disrespect. He was about to yell before Frederick clasped his shoulder.

"If you want to talk about our families, let me get my aunt. I'm sure she'll be happy to show you the difference."

Samuel went pale. Ivanka Klein was a Judge and known amongst the barons and viscounts as a very vindictive person. If she had a case against someone, she would not hesitate to make them suffer.

"Don't think she can protect you or that Grade Four runt all the time." Samuel knocked off Frederick's hand and left to get breakfast.

Having lost their appetite from the unsavory encounter, Oscar and Frederick retreated to their rooms.

"That guy is a bastard." Frederick nearly spat on the floor, thinking about Samuel.

"You know him, right? He was gunning for you in the trial." Oscar was calm but furious inside.

"He's one of those old families that insult mine as upstarts. They've existed for 500 years. At some banquets, he would always try to pick a fight and insult me." Frederick said but sneered.

"500 years and still viscounts while my family surpassed them in everything but title. Sooner or later, we'll be viscounts, and they won't have their precious rank to hold over us."

"So, he's just trying to look big?" Oscar suspected.

"His family is stagnating and will decline, so he's eager to make a name for himself. But trying to act like he's above everyone else and bully lower Grades is pathetic." Frederick chided Samuel's unpleasant behavior.

"I'm going to meditate. I won't let that guy get any step ahead of me." Oscar said.

An unwilling feeling burned in Oscar. Time and time again, his Grade Four was how people judged him. He needed to prove them wrong.

Seeing his friend so serious and already meditating, Frederick went along.

For hours, they were deep in Ein meditation. Oscar saw three Ein wisps around him. As he absorbed more and more, his core glowed brighter.

Reaching his limit, he turned to Frederick, who was still meditating. His Grade Five Exolsia gave him a better rate of Ein accumulation, allowing him to meditate slightly longer.

A loud horn resounded all over the Outer Hall, interrupting their session. Students came out of their rooms and looked at each other in confusion.

Once the horn stopped, a loud, booming voice was heard by everyone.

"All students of the Outer Hall must come to the auditorium in twenty minutes. Latecomers will be punished."

All the students rushed out of their rooms in a frenzy. Like a chaotic mob, they sprinted over the grass plains to the auditorium. Oscar and Frederick were shocked and stared at each other.

"Elder Saul was right?" Frederick was surprised.

"Don't linger around. Let's move!" Oscar sprinted like the other students, making his way to the auditorium.

Fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived. Oscar was ragged and gasping from the trek and sat on one of the rows.

Eventually, the entire auditorium was filled up. Oscar didn't realize how spacious this auditorium was. There were thousands of other students seated and chatting away in this place.

Oscar spotted Samuel, who was laughing with others, rebuking some of the students around him and making them feel uncomfortable.

"Bastard." Oscar thought.

Finally, twenty minutes had passed since the announcement. A group appeared on the stage of the auditorium. They gave off the aura of seasoned veterans, silencing the entire crowd.

"Why are there so many elders gathered together?"

The audience could not help but wonder what event would bring together a group of elders. Not even the Inner Hall would have this sort of gathering.

The elder in the front stepped forward and spoke, his voice echoing across the vast crowd.

"We are here to announce our Pavilion will give a Grade One Ein Amassing Elixir to all students in the Outer Hall once every three months."

Silence.

There was silence for a few moments until the crowd erupted in chaos.

The older students were completely astounded with cries of shock or complete speechlessness. Some of the newer students were also the same, but the clueless ones were concerned by others' reactions.

"Fred, what is this Ein Amassing Elixir." Oscar was one of the clueless ones.

Frederick recovered and said, "Elixirs are special substances created by Alchemists. There are many different kinds of Elixirs. The Ein Amassing Elixir allows you to absorb Ein faster than before, almost twice as much."

Oscar was speechless at the miraculous effect of the elixir. But Frederick wasn't finished and continued.

"It is also a mass of concentrated Ein, more than you could normally absorb. By drinking it, you also intake all that Ein. It can be a boon that boosts you faster than before."

"Why are they giving away such a precious item?" Oscar exclaimed.

Frederick looked confused. Typically, they gave out the elixir every half year. What was the reason for changing it? They would be burning through more resources, not to mention the monetary costs.

The elder resumed speaking to dispel their confusion, "There is news of a great event in the future. Therefore, we must improve the power of our Pavilion."

A great event?

Everyone grew anxious. What kind of event would force the Pavilion to take such a loss? In all the years of the Pavilion, there had never been this big of a change.

Oscar wondered if Elder Saul could tell them.

Everyone was granted their Elixir. Oscar stared at his in interest. The Ein Amassing Elixir was a bluish liquid placed in a medium-sized vial about the length of his palm. The liquid was bubbly and slightly glowing.

Frederick knew somewhat about the elixir and advised Oscar.

"They say it's best to use this when trying to advance. I suggest using this when you are close to awakening your core."

Oscar grasped the vial and put it away, nodding at Frederick. He could not wait to return to his room and begin meditating earnestly.