After splitting away from the group, Phillip traversed a good distance away before turning to face his pursuer.

"You must be very confident to separate from your group to chase me." He calmly held his sword, shining in prismatic light. It made the surroundings gleam colorfully, enveloping Phillip.

The pursuer slowed down and calmly walked forward. "We are all Greater Apprentice Exalts. Is there anything to fear from a group with two Middle Apprentice Exalts?"

He was clad in regular armor with a helmet that covered his entire face. A thin slit was the only opening in this iron suit.

"That is an impressive suit of armor, but it's standard equipment, not exalt armaments. Do you think this can block my sword?" Phillip remained steadfast. He thought of the large man of iron as a wooden target.

"Haha. I remember when I was once a student like you. I left the Blue Ocean Pavilion a few years ago. Don't think that gives you an advantage."

"So you are a former senior. I assume you wanted to be a wanderer for the taste of freedom." Phillip wasn't bothered by this fact. Former senior or not, he was an enemy.

"You don't understand since you have it so good. I can feel your Grade Seven Anima. For those at the bottom, the Pavilion could care less." The iron man clenched his hands. Everything was stacked against him for his low Grade Four Exolsia.

"But now, you're here listening to the orders of another." Phillip retorted with a sigh.

The iron man stopped speaking and brought his arms up.

A torrent of Ein flooded the man's surroundings and manifested into a shield anima. It was a broad square shield that resembled a wall of iron.

"You're right. No matter where I go, there is no freedom."

"Come!" He was confident in his defenses. No matter how sharp this person's blade is, his deflection techniques can still work.

'Third Step'

The ground cracked as the surrounding trees were nearly uprooted.

STAB

"Huh?" The man of iron stared dumbfounded behind his visor. In that instant, Phillip disappeared and reappeared right in front of him.

"Ugh."

Blood spilled out from under the helmet. His mouth was choking with blood. He peered down to see his shield anima was destroyed and a sword piercing through his arm and chest.

"What….did you….do?" He gasped out each word.

"In a way, I feel pity. You're right that some are born with gifts, and others are shunned and forgotten. But…." Phillip recalled Oscar's unyielding last stand during the Grand Gathering. "That is if you accept it to be so. Even though you became a wanderer, it was only out of acceptance, not determination."

Phillip pulled out his sword, spilling a river of blood from the man. "I recently learned that strength and opportunity only come to those who stand firm."

The man dropped to his knees with choked gasps. "That's easy for you to say! You don't know how it feels to have a low grade!"

Phillip looked on with pity and decided to give this former senior of his a parting gift.

"Do you know who my toughest opponent was so far?"

"?" The man looked up at Phillip in confusion. Was this boy boasting of his achievements?

"It was a Grade Four in the same year as me. He fought with a shield, similar to you."

A pool of blood gathered beneath the man's knees, but his body stayed frozen. His eyes locked onto Phillip's.

"Are you insulting me?"

"No. I am serious."

The two did not speak for a while until the man lowered his arms in laughter.

"Hahahahaha. What the hell?"

He recalled the moments when he was a student, entering the Pavilion with hope and aspirations. But when did that go away? The enormous gap between him and the higher grades broke his confidence, and he started to try less.

Why couldn't he go on more missions? Why couldn't he keep persisting? He stopped struggling and let the waves wash him away.

"Best regards to that Grade Four…." The man dropped dead to the floor, knocking off the helmet. His face was a mix of regret and peace.

"Rest peacefully, senior." Phillip bowed for a short moment. Although he could have defeated his enemy earlier, he wanted to know their motivations and aspirations.

"Hmm?"

A powerful Ein appeared out of nowhere. Phillip staggered, feeling overwhelmed by this power.

"This Ein is…."

…….

As Phillip and George disappeared into the woods, Oscar and Emily retreated in another direction. The person chasing them was a Greater Apprentice Exalt like his compatriots.

"What are the odds of running into an entire group of Greater Apprentice Exalts?" Emily griped.

"Rare but not impossible. There are so many Exalts that we can't account for everything." Oscar was by her side. "We need to buy time for Celestina to defeat her opponent. Don't do anything rash."

"No need to tell me th–Watch out!" Emily kicked Oscar away while leaping aside.

BOOM

A powerful blast of thunder struck the spot where they were, breaking apart the ground and burning the grass into ashes. If Emily and Oscar had been hit while defenseless, they would have suffered greatly.

'Thunder Shock'

Their enemy, a man with long blond hair and a simple brown cloak, invoked the 'Grade One Thunder Shock' to send out two more blasts of thunder toward Oscar and Emily, who were mid-dodge.

'Rock Barrier' 'Steel Scales'

Oscar and Emily responded with their defensive techniques.

A sturdy rock wall erupted from the ground and met the murderous thunder. Although it was a defensive technique, it consisted of the Ein of a Middle Apprentice Exalt. Before the thunder of a Greater Apprentice Exalt, the rocks were broken apart.

But it had done its job and impeded the thunder, allowing Emily to dodge the 'Thunder Shock' remnants.

On the other side, Oscar readied to meet the 'Thunder Shock' with his buckler and 'Steel Scales'. The thunder crashed into Oscar's black buckler. It carried an enormous weight behind its attack and was crackling to electrify Oscar.

CRACK

The thunder exploded as Oscar was engulfed. The pursuer smiled at Oscar's foolishness but soon froze in disbelief.

When the dust settled, Oscar was still standing. His 'Steel Scales' were cracked, and he was breathing uncomfortably, but there was no serious damage.

"Impossible!" The pursuer held great pride in his offensive spells, so seeing a Middle Apprentice Exalt withstand his spell was unbelievable.

"Are you alright?" Emily shouted.

"Felt a shock there, but I blocked most of it." Oscar sighed in relief. His defenses were stronger thanks to his upgraded buckler and 'Ein Awaken' controlled 'Steel Scales'.

The power of a Greater Apprentice Exalt was still amazing. Oscar was spooked when his 'Steel Scales' began to crack, but the thunder was reduced to bearable levels with his Ein.

Emily and Oscar rushed in from the sides. They were intent on defeating this enemy.

"You kids are mere Middle Apprentice Exalts. Don't get too cocky!" Thunder sparked in the man's eyes and gathered in his hands.

"I wouldn't recommend being hit by his thunder. Even though I withstood it, it'd be dangerous to keep being struck." Oscar warned Emily not to be as bold as he was. There were traces of lingering thunder that irritated his body.

'Grade One Static Web'

The enemy put his hands on the floor and released thunder into the ground. Instead of breaking the ground, the thunder spread around in a web pattern. He stood up with a smirk.

Oscar and Emily were caught in its range and felt a shock of electricity travel through their body. It was not harmful, but it was harder to move. If their Ein was more powerful, they could better withstand its effects.

"Oscar!" Emily watched as the man leaped to Oscar. Ein collected in his hands to form a two-handed broadsword anima. It came down to Oscar with tremendous power.

With his legs lagging behind, Oscar knew it was futile to dodge. But this was still a good chance; the enemy had willingly come to his strongest range, melee.

'Flowing Mountain'

Oscar blocked the powerful broadsword and took in all the Reis from it into his body. He flowed the Reis through his body and clenched his right fist; some blood splurted out his nose.

His powered-up punch smashed forward.

"Huk!" The man tried to block with his broadsword but was shocked by the sheer power behind this punch. He was being pushed back.

'Rock Barrier'

Not wanting to give her enemy a chance to retreat, Emily used her spell under her feet and propelled herself above the web.

'Heavy Impact'

By increasing her weight a thousand-fold, she crashed toward the man like a meteor, intent on slamming her staff into his face.

The man wasn't an amateur and swung his broadsword to move Oscar aside for a moment and sliced toward Emily's freefall.

CRACK

The air around them was in chaos from their Ein clashing.

"You brats!" Veins popped over his forehead. The man shouted as he completed his swing, redirecting Emily's dive.

Oscar rose to the opening in great coordination and summoned his deer anima.

'Dual Awaken'

A great concentration of Reis and Ein collected into his buckler. The pain was evident on Oscar's face from the strain of using both.

He and his deer anima gathered their attacks as one.

Emily also joined in with her anima and dual-wielded her two staves.

'Thunder Shock'

Sensing the danger, the man invoked his spell. He miscalculated. These two were fierce melee fighters.

The ground returned to normal as the man gathered more Ein to use his 'Thunder Shock'. He was better at Ein control than the one who chased George.

Oscar and Emily clashed directly against the 'Thunder Shock'. It broke apart from the well-forged concentrated attack of Oscar and Emily's sheer weight but still blew them back and shocked their bodies for a moment.

"Hah hah." Oscar watched as the man retreated several steps while they were affected by the 'Thunder Shock'.

"You brats are melee-oriented fighters. If it were one vs. one, I would win easily as a Greater Apprentice Exalt, but the two of you are well coordinated." The man wiped some sweat off his brow. If any of the brat's attacks had landed, he would have been in trouble.

"But that's all. You don't have a good range." The man unleashed blasts of thunder toward Oscar and Emily.

Still reeling from the effects of 'Dual Awaken' and 'Thunder Shock', Oscar threw out his buckler, clad in Ein. It collided against the thunderblast and did enough to deter it.

The man rushed out after seeing Oscar's buckler in mid-air. He didn't expect the boy to have this trick, but it created an opening. The girl was a distance away and had to deal with his other thunder.

He swung his large broadsword at the defenseless Oscar with his Ein furiously surging on its edge, more than ever before. He disdained going all-out earlier but no longer. This broadsword with immense Ein will make short work of a Middle Apprentice Exalt child.

Oscar knew that redirecting the Reis in it would not help with the overwhelming Ein the man used.

"Die!" Besides that, he had used his 'Static Web' to ensure Oscar could not easily dodge. Once he finished this boy, the girl would be easy prey by herself.

'Stone Gaze' Oscar used his spell to stop the man in his tracks.

"Shitty brat!" The man struggled for a moment before the link was broken.

Oscar hoped to buy enough time for Emily to assist him, but the link was broken too fast. She was running, but not close enough. But unknown to him, this one moment was what made the difference for his survival.

With his buckler back in hand, Oscar readied himself for one last 'Dual Awaken' and 'Steel Scales'. His deer anima stood firm to fight back.

RUMBLE

Before the man could redo his swing, the ground shook, and the air trembled. The trees swayed so far away from an area as if a calamity had occurred there. There was a dangerous Ein in the air.

"What is this?" The man stared behind him. Back there was where his leader was facing off against the girl. This Ein wasn't his leader's.

"Whose Ein is this?" He stared blankly. This Ein was terrifying.

They were frozen for a few moments until the man returned to his senses. His priority right now should be to kill this brat and then run. He lifted his sword, about to swing down.

Oscar propped up his buckler in response.

"Hey!"

A charming and beautiful voice entered the three's ears. Oscar and Emily looked relieved, but the man was confused.

A girl stepped forward out of the forest. Even though an elixir currently disguised her, her beauty shone like a bright star with her sleek black hair and azure blue eyes.

Celestina has joined the fray.