Oscar carefully wafted through the golden grass, lowering his body to blend in.

It was the break of dawn. The Exalt beasts were waking up and walking off their drowsiness. It was the best time for Oscar to find one to fight.

But it was a matter of choosing the right target.

Oscar watched with hawk-like eyes, observing one beast to the next. Nearly all of them were part of their packs and herds and a considerable distance away.

However, Emily had taught him the basics of hunting. The most important aspect was patience. Be vigilant not to miss the opportune moment.

Moments passed with nothing happening to spur Oscar into action.

He remained crouched within the obscure grass with a stone look.

THUD THUD

A lone beast approached the river. It was alone, and none of its kind could be seen nearby.

Oscar smiled upon his good fortune as his patience was rewarded.

The Exalt Beast was a large lizard with great craggy scales that resembled a layer of rock instead of skin. Its large body was connected to its boulder-like head by a slender neck. The most defining feature was the tail.

It dragged its massive tail on the floor. The tip was like a massive broadsword with a sharp edge and point. It looked like one swat would cleave apart even the most durable foes.

"Rock Ankylon. The Creature Report mentioned them. They have an average strength of a Middle Apprentice Exalt. Their tough exterior makes them quite durable and resistant to attacks, but the most alarming is their tail that can easily break Exalt's bodies."

Oscar sensed that this Rock Ankylon was around his level. But that didn't mean this was an easy victory.

In this early morning, Oscar didn't want to fight such an opponent. However, there was no telling when the next chance would arrive. He removed his weights and stood up.

Oscar finally revealed himself, jumping across and reducing the distance between him and the Rock Ankylon to a few meters.

The Rock Ankylon turned its large body around to find a human looking at it as if it were prey. Its nostrils flared as it sensed hostility.

It roared to intimidate Oscar. The grass itself was forced backward from the force of its roar. It was warning Oscar not to come close.

Oscar stared resolutely at the lizard, unfazed by its scare tactic. He moved closer without fear. On his back was his buckler, but Oscar discarded it on the ground. This fight would be with his fists alone.

The Rock Ankylon realized Oscar was not backing down and took a heavy step, shaking the ground.

"Let's fight!"

Oscar charged at the Rock Ankylon, who remained unmoving yet sturdy like a fortress.

A large shadow fell over Oscar, who looked up. The large broadsword weapon on its tail tip blocked the light from the two suns. It extended out to crush Oscar on his head.

"Ein Awaken"

Everything darkened. There was only the Rock Ankylon and Oscar in this empty void. Oscar could feel the tiny movements of Ein that floated about.

Oscar focused his Ein into his fist while absorbing as much as possible from outside. Only his fist and body appeared to shine within this darkness.

In a swift motion, he sidestepped the incoming tail and punched out to the slender limb it was attached to.

However, before he could complete his attack, sharp pain washed over his head and core. The darkness tore apart to reveal the golden plains again. The sudden movements and the lack of tune-up interrupted his focus on 'Ein Awaken'.

Oscar's punch still landed on the tail but was not as effective as he had hoped.

The tail bent slightly before repelling Oscar's fist back, forcing Oscar to retreat. The Rock Ankylon grunted as if laughing at Oscar's weak attack.

"This lizard…." Oscar looked at his trembling fingers. The Rock Ankylon's tail was flexible but also incredibly hard.

"This would be simpler if I used Reis with 'Flowing Mountain', but that would be counterproductive." Reis would certainly even out the playing field, but Oscar wanted to train his Ein, not Reis.

Additionally, the strength of the Rock Ankylon was no joke.

"I suspect it's more powerful than Mary's bear in terms of physical power." During the Grand Gathering, Oscar's opponent, Mary, had a bear anima that Oscar fought head-on. Its physical power was so great that Oscar could only redirect some of the Reis and had to take some damage himself.

In addition to its physical power, another alarming factor was the Rock Ankylon's rock scales. Even if Oscar could redirect the Reis from its blows, its hard and rough scales would still hurt him.

If he had more expertise in Reis and was physically stronger, then perhaps, Oscar could break through its defenses with no problem. But Oscar was not yet at that level.

"I couldn't have asked for a better opponent. Only by truly entering 'Ein Awaken' can my Ein be sharp and focused to the level of breaking through your skin."

If Reis was like a hammer, then Ein was a sword. The sword could pierce through what the hammer could not break with its dull surface.

This time, the Rock Ankylon stampeded toward Oscar and swung its sword-like tail like a meat cleaver.

Oscar quickly dodged the crushing tail and used 'Ein Awaken' once more.

Again, it failed. Oscar's nose started bleeding from the backlash, and he leaped backward with an uneasy look.

"Tch. " Oscar wiped his nose off. He stared at the Rock Ankylon, which had an angered expression.

Twice now, it failed to crush Oscar.

Meanwhile, sweat flowed down Oscar's chin. The Rock Ankylon's attack had quite the suffocating presence.

ROAR

The Rock Ankylon swung its tail multiple times, hoping to impale Oscar or split him in two. The ground was uprooted by the constant battering.

Oscar maintained his composure and dodged each one, though there were some close calls. Occasionally, he would attempt 'Ein Awaken' again but fail. He wondered if he was doing this correctly.

"I'm fighting against a dangerous opponent. Any misstep could kill me. Yet, I haven't arrived at the first step. What else do I do?" Oscar asked himself, but in his mind, he was talking to an image of his master, Draven.

'Take my punch and survive!'

Oscar remembered. With a crazy smile on his face, Oscar stopped and stared at the Rock Ankylon.

It was dangerous and idiotic, but this was the only way.

"I could almost hear Master saying to do it." Oscar bitterly laughed. He put down his stance and looked at the Rock Ankylon charging closer.

The Rock Ankylon lifted its tail and lunged its tip straight at Oscar. It was attacking from the front.

The incoming blade of bone-crushing power made Oscar's hairs stand up. But he did not move but stood firm.

Oscar chose to face the tail attack rather than dodge. He was on the right track but was not fully committing to it. When Draven attempted to kill Oscar, he did so while blocking all manners of retreat. This way, Oscar had to bring it all to survive.

However, during all this time against the Rock Ankylon, he was never in that situation. Indeed, it was a life-or-death battle, but it wasn't inescapable. Oscar was dodging and evading rather than throwing himself against it.

"Don't move!" Oscar dug his feet into the ground and overrode all the instincts telling him to flee.

Time appeared to slow down as every sense in Oscar's body was flaring up in response to the impending doom. He felt the air and space being broken through by the sheer force of the tail.

"Ein Awaken!"

Wisps of Ein began collecting into his core more than before as if a magnet drew them.

He was fast approaching his usual limit, but the threat of death unhinged his body's self-imposed limitations. Limitations that were put up to prevent his self-destruction.

The Ein concentrated on his fist, but it was smaller and denser within the world of darkness. If it was like a flame earlier, it was now a sun focused on his knuckles.

Pain rode through Oscar's head, core, and nerves. But he persisted through it with blood pouring out of his orifices.

Either he dies, or this Rock Ankylon dies.

"Steel Scales." His Ein condensed into metal that wrapped his body right as his fist extended out.

CRACK

Oscar's fist met against the rock tail, creating a shockwave that blasted off the grass around them, leaving a large patch of fresh dirt. A fierce wind blew from the center.

"GRAAAAHH." Oscar shouted with all his might.

He was not backing down. His metal fist was still contesting against the Rock Ankylon's tail as Ein was in chaos around them.

The ground caved in below them. The Rock Anylon also roared at this unexpected situation.

Finally, both were forced backward several meters.

Oscar's 'Steel Scales' vanished. His face was pale like a white sheet with deep red lines of blood from his eyes, ears, and nostrils. His head was pounding as if suffering from a migraine, and his core was hot and painful.

His hand was a wreck of broken bones, and the skin scraped off, revealing the bloody flesh underneath.

"Emily's going to be mad at me. So is Celestina…" Oscar chuckled, spitting out some blood. He promised Emily and Celestina that he would cherish his life, but here he was, barely hanging on.

The Rock Ankylon snarled with his jaw wide open. It saw Oscar's pitiful state and knew its victory was close.

However….

CRACK

A large crack appeared on the sharp tip of its tail.

"My efforts weren't in vain." Oscar smirked.

Under the astonished look of the Rock Ankylon, more cracks spread out from the original until it covered the entire broadsword-like tip. It shattered into several pieces.

Blood splurted out and mixed into the fresh dirt into red mud.

The Rock Ankylon was silent before it roared in pain. The tip of its tail was the beast's pride, the weapon on which its status is judged. Now it was reduced to nothing by this intruder.

With reddened eyes, it charged toward Oscar.

"Bring it!"

Oscar's hand might be out of commission, but his other hand was still fine. He rushed out to meet the furious Rock Ankylon.

The two met again in a fierce clash that made the other beasts around them run to a distance.

Moments later, Oscar was kneeling on the ground, vomiting more blood.

"Breathe….I need to breathe…."

The piercing pain in his head stopped him from fully forming sentences. But he had a small smile as he glanced to his side.

The Rock Ankylon was lying dead on the ground. The top of its head was missing its rocky scales and was a mess of blood and flesh.

The last exchange between Oscar and the Rock Ankylon resulted in Oscar's victory. But at what cost?

Oscar could barely move, and both his hands were a mess. His head and core were in dire straits as he could faintly keep consciousness against the pain.

But with great effort, he reached his campsite and forcibly took out bandages and medicine from his bag with his broken hands.

With great pain and effort, his hands were set straight and wrapped tightly to heal properly.

"Looks like my hands are unusable for some time. Even with an Exalt's natural recovery, it will take two weeks for this to fully heal." Oscar could only move his fingertips for small tasks, but the rest was no good.

"I'll have to rely on my Anima more from now on. I guess we're on the right track. Hahaha." Oscar joked with himself to forget he was stupid enough to break both his hands. But it was true now that his Anima was more crucial than ever.

"Like with the training with Master before. Keep pushing the door with fierce battles to get the hang of it."

In the state of 'Ein Awaken' against the looming death, Oscar could sense the minute details of the flowing Ein even better now.

Control was necessary for spells and Exalts. However, at most, they could only reach 97% efficiency and control of their Ein. If used properly, the 'Ein Awaken' can help reach 100% proficiency.

After a moment's rest, Oscar took a deep breath and summoned his Anima.

Once the deer materialized, Oscar entered the 'Ein Awaken' state.

His vision was much clearer than before, and the blue stream of Ein between him and his deer anima was crystal clear. His body remembered the feeling and handled the 'Ein Awaken' better.

"Lower."

The blue stream shrank to half its size in an instant.

This time, the Ein reached the minimum point. The level he had been struggling with for so long.

The blue deer anima bleated in delight as there were no cracks on its antlers and pranced circles around Oscar.

"Finally, we've reached the first step." Oscar said with sweat on his brows. The 'Ein Awaken' still required some exertion.

Oscar looked proudly at his deer anima, who had endured all the failures. But it was all worth it.

"Now it's time for the real training. Let's help you get stronger!"