Ba-dump

Oscar held the glass box, gripping it carefully as he would an egg. He felt the heart beating, thumping against the glass, but it was very slow and beating weaker each time. A sense of fulfillment and relief washed over him as he held this warm and heavy object.

"Elder Saul will be pleased. That elder rarely asks for anything; I'm curious about his reaction, so this will be a rare sight." Oscar gave the heart back to Celestina. Her space pocket was the best for holding onto materials.

"I would like to spend some time with that elder as well. He's interesting, like a mysterious old man in a novel." Celestina joked. However, she was serious about knowing more about this elder.

"He only spends his time in the Outer Hall, and he's quite reclusive. We only started to talk because of the gardens and the fields." Oscar said. "Now that I look around, I don't like this rocky place."

"As Exalts, do we mind the preference?" Phillip interjected. "Back to the main topic, we should sell the materials when we get back to Windroc City."

"The Alchemist's and Fabricator's guilds would be interested in everything we collected. I even have a membership, so this will help a lot." Oscar whipped out his bronze badges that signified his membership.

"I should get a membership as well. I almost forgot." Emily said.

Celestina, Phillip, and George already had their memberships set up a while ago. Emily was embarrassed to be behind.

After hours passed, the group made their way to the island's edge. Across the chasm of wind and air was the second island they came from. There was no wind blowing to connect the islands.

"Tomorrow, the backdraft winds should connect from the fifth to the fourth island. So we have two more days before returning to the second island." Oscar remarked. "Emily, we might have a good chance of seeing Fred."

"Frederick?! What do you mean? We haven't gotten a clue of where he is." Emily pressed toward Oscar with a fiery gaze. She had low expectations of finding Frederick on these islands, but Oscar gave her hope.

"Is he the one who saved you from the snake? I was too preoccupied with the Thousand Serpent to get a good look around. Someone else was there." Celestina said. Phillip and George were taken aback. They hadn't noticed anyone around them.

"That was Fred's 'Brilliant Slash'. It's too much of a coincidence not to consider him. Not to mention that I was saved means they had a purpose in doing so. There's no doubt. Fred is here." Oscar scanned their surroundings, hoping Fred might be somewhere visible. "But he doesn't seem to want to show himself."

"I can have my dragon anima search around for him." Celestina suggested. She heard a lot about Frederick from Oscar. She hoped to help them reconcile. Good friends were hard to find.

Emily and Oscar looked at one another and nodded. They turned to Celestina and said, "No."

"No? But he's somewhere here. Wouldn't you want to see him?" Celestina was dumbfounded.

"We do." Emily had a face of longing. "But our priority is this group."

Oscar chimed in, "We need to rest and conserve our strength. This island is bigger than the second. There's no knowing if we might run into another Elite Exalt Beast. We need to prioritize the safety of the group."

Celestina wanted to say something more but could not find any counterpoints. She wanted to help Oscar, but they could not risk others for personal matters. With no retort, she sighed and nodded.

"We'll have more chances in the future, I'm sure." Oscar said.

Even though Frederick refused to show himself, the fact he saved Oscar meant some part of him still cared. Oscar was sure that they could still convince Frederick.

"We need to focus on the present, which is the master of the Black-Heart Centipede."

Oscar's solemn words made everyone tense up, including Celestina. The scene of Joseph's agonizing death by the centipede hatchling was still vivid in their minds. Forgetting something as gruesome as that was hard to do.

"Let's take these next two days to strengthen ourselves as much as possible." Celestina suggested with a serious expression. "There's no telling if the owner will come or not, but we must remain vigilant."

"The Ein of these islands are extremely abundant. It's not as good as the Inner Hall of the Pavilion, but it's still better than most other regions." Phillip sat down in a meditative position. "Let's not waste a moment."

After the battle with the Thousand Serpent, he felt a ravenous hunger for Ein that he had been holding back. But now that they were in a secure place, he did not hesitate to begin.

To gather Ein close to each other was not efficient as they would be wrangling each other for it. Everyone decided to maintain a good distance from each other on the island's edge.

Oscar sat down and closed his eyes.

With the aid of the ataerstone hidden in his pocket, his core, which was sapped earlier, spun to the extreme. His body began to creak from the pure Ein that kept washing over it.

In the view of meditation, he spotted the others, who were absorbing Ein.

The Ein was like a vortex that spun around and enveloped their entire bodies. Oscar found his to be the smallest.

'No matter how often I see it, Grade Four is at a disadvantage.'

George's tornado looked a size bigger than Oscar's. His Grade Five allowed his body to take in this vast amount without issue.

Next was Emily. Her tornado was twice as big as Oscar's. If Oscar's was like a small dust swirl, then her's was a fully formed tornado.

There seemed to be a qualitative change between the Grade Fours and Fives against the Grade Sixes. It wasn't a steady increase in absorption rate between grades.

The differences in Phillip's and Emily's tornadoes were similar to Oscar's and George's. Phillip's vortex was a size bigger than Emily's.

'This is insane.' Oscar viewed the last person, Celestina. He could not help but gulp in astonishment.

The Ein fiercely wrapping and entering into her was not like a tornado but a raging hurricane. The size of which far outstripped Phillip's. All of them seemed so small compared to her.

'This must be why she's taken a farther distance from us and why the Inner Hall gives them private rooms.' Oscar thought. It was not unbelievable that she entered the Elite Exalt realm after a year of being an Exalt. This massive absorption and the added resources from the Pavilion made it a cakewalk.

'If Grade Eight is this monstrous, what about Grade Nine?' Oscar could not fathom nor picture the sight of a Grade Nine. The only one was Gilbert, and there was little chance he could see him meditate.

'Don't dwell on it. Just do what I can do. Even if I take more time, it's fine. I just have to reach the Knight Exalt before I reach the age of thirty.'

Ideally, he wished to become a Knight Exalt before twenty-four to enter the Legacy Hall, but Oscar was realistic. He understood his limitations and the differences between him and others. That was why he pursued the path of Reis and 'Awaken' to be better in other aspects.

'Once I return, I should start the training master set up for me.'

Ivanka should have the large bulks of Hytr Elixir ready by the time he returns. Once he gets those, then he can start his training in earnest.

…….

Time passed as the day changed into the night and back again.

The winds should be blowing back from the fifth to the fourth island.

Once more, the day moved on to the next. The winds were now blowing back from the fourth to the third.

During this time, Oscar was not idle and was progressing in his exalthood.

'With the Ein Burst elixir from Elder Saul, I should be able to enter the Greater Apprentice Exalt realm in one go. It's a shame I don't have more elixirs on hand.'

He cursed that he couldn't procure more elixirs, but that three-month blank period in the Hurin Plains took up any time to fiercely gather rewards and contribution points.

RUSTLE, CRACK, SHAKE

"What the hell is happening?" Oscar exclaimed, stopping his meditation short.

The rest also stopped their sessions and were bewildered.

There was a lot of noise from the Exalt Beasts on the island. The island itself was shaking under their heavy stampeding. It was like the island had erupted into chaos.

"Gather around!" Celestina shouted to the others. Whatever was happening, they needed to be together. She had a suspicion and drank her disguise elixir.

Oscar and the others rallied to Celestina's spot and looked warily out into the rocky hills.

More roars and screeches resounded. They saw multiple Exalt Beasts burrowing themselves or hiding in crevices.

"Something's roused all of these Exalt Beasts. The entire island is in an uproar." Phillip already pulled out his sword anima, poised to fight.

"But what can terrify all these monsters?" George also summoned his bow anima, readying it to shoot at any time.

"We-" Oscar was about to talk when it happened.

An immense pressure weighed down on all of them. A terrifying aura of malice made them all break out in cold sweats.

Oscar thought the world had become a sea of blood for a moment. This Ein was bloodthirsty.

"HA!" Celestina stomped her feet, and her Ein blazed forward. Her regal aura could not overwhelm this terrifying presence, but it alleviated the pressure on Oscar and the others.

"Hee~ This girl is an Elite Exalt. Little wonder you were able to withstand my power somewhat." A deep, chilling voice entered their ears like a worm wriggling in.

It was not a pleasant voice. One that grated on the ears.

Oscar looked forward and saw a man in a black cloak. A featureless mask covered his face with only holes for the eyes.

By his side was a large black centipede, the Mother Black-Heart Centipede.

The man spoke while looking at Celestina, "That black hair and blue eyes are quite wonderful. Truly a great beauty. Oh? That other girl is quite the specimen as well."

"If you don't mind, can I have your beautiful heads?"