"Os, is that her?" Frederick leaned toward Oscar. He couldn't help but take quick glances at Maia's beautiful features but grunted in pain from Emily gripping his shoulders tightly.

"Yup, that's her. Maia Claude." Oscar stared into the fuming Maia's bloodshot eyes, and her Ein turned into flames that shot out but were repelled by the barrier. With a smile, he put up a fist and placed it against his left cheek, an obvious taunt to remind her about their previous encounter.

The taunt worked. Maia's face twisted more in anger, biting her red lips as her Ein rose higher. Out of all the people she had encountered, no one made her feel as angry and embarrassed other than Oscar, and she could still feel the sting of his punch on her left cheek.

"I'll kill you, you bastard," Maia said with fiery determination.

"Next time, it'll be on the right cheek," Oscar responded, brandishing his fist toward her. Though he said that, he knew the best scenario was to kill her to prevent future problems for himself, as he didn't enjoy having a vengeful killer breathing down his neck. Eliminating a grade eight genius from another faction would help the Pavilion tremendously.

Maia nearly lost it, but she breathed out and dispersed her Ein, killing the raging flames around her. Instead of her previous contorted expression of anger, she had the icy look of a sculpture with deep and calm red eyes full of killing intent. She turned to her fellow students with a hum. "If you see that person, try to be cautious because he's strong, but if you can kill him, please do so."

Oscar frowned upon seeing Maia's quick change in demeanor and regretted not being able to kill her before. In just the short week in Ashen Grove, she had already begun to mature and become a more competent Exalt. If they fought again, Oscar wondered how he'd win unless he could do the mysterious things he did while unconscious against Orden.

"You skank," Serena shouted with a killer gaze, addressing Maia. She twirled her axe imposingly, with her Ein rippling around her body. She didn't enjoy hearing death threats against Oscar, and Maia moved to the top of her kill list. "I'll kill you."

"Well, I suppose that's enough." One Undying Flame Sect student put his hand out to halt Maia. His purple snake-like eyes made Oscar feel like an icy hand had gripped his heart, a powerful person who even Maia Claude seemed wary about. The stranger glanced at Oscar and smiled. "That man is the one you talked about, Ms. Claude?"

"I don't care whether I kill him or someone does. As long I can see his corpse laid before me. Due to him and his friends, I lost many people. They have to be avenged." Maia clenched her teeth and hands, the impact of their deaths weighed on her, and while she hated Oscar for hitting her face, she wanted vengeance for her Undying Flame Sect.

"That will have to wait until later," The stranger ran his hands through his black hair and tied it back with a hairband, and Oscar felt the air change as an intimidating presence emanated from the stranger. Their gazes met, and Oscar could tell this person had killed many people, a murderous look he had seen in some of the prisoners of Abyss Prison, a fiend who must enjoy blood and murder.

Then the platform began to shine, illuminating the Golddew Fig Tree, deepening the color of its green leaves, brown branches and trunk, and black figs with a holy aura outlining its shape. Four swirls appeared, one for each side of the platform, portals to the trial.

"Let's go!" Rachel and Emily shouted to the rest of the group, and they ran ahead into the portal on their side. On the other side, the Undying Flame Sect rushed into their portal, their figures vanishing into the swirling pools.

Oscar stepped into the swirl, feeling the familiar straining sensation of being squeezed like a lemon, but he had long been used to the feeling and no longer felt hurt in his stomach. He opened his eyes, his vision slightly distorted from the sudden shift, but recovered quickly. The place was strange, a deep pool of murky water that went up to his knees, soaking his fresh new pants that replaced the ones torn during Tectusen.

"I can't expect to wear clean clothes as an Exalt," Oscar groaned at how all his clothes kept getting ruined, but right now, he had other worries than his clothes and focused. His vision regained full clarity in his surroundings, and he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Large hills of golden sands blanketed the horizons and all around him, sometimes a slow scalding breeze washed over as the sands flowed in a gentle stream, up and down other hills, waning and waxing in size and shape like molds of clay under the gentle, firm grasps hands of the winds. The sun above was still alone in the cloudless sky, but the size of its body and the intensity of its light and heat surpassed Ashen Grove and his home.

Already, Oscar felt his mouth drying, lips cracking, as the heat filled his lungs and the hot breaths he exhaled hurt his chapped throat. The hot arid air stuck to him, and his body was sweating fast as his clothes clung to his skin. This crazed heat from all over, the hot golden sands, dry air, and beaming sun, reminded him of the furnaces of the foundries he had visited as a fabricator.

Fabricators! Oscar took out his fabricator uniform and wore it; the heat-reductive material helped against the harsh heat, and his breathing evened out thanks to the filtration tubes that blocked out the sands in the air.

"How lucky that I brought this. The heat does become more bearable by using my Ein to coat me, but this saves me so much." Oscar made steaming noises from his breathing tubes as he gazed around the area. His black glass visor dimmed the sunlight, allowing him to see into the sky. "A realm within another realm. How amazing."

As he walked away from the pool of water, the one respite in this dry, sand-covered land, the sands swirling in front of him with intent, controlled by someone or something. Oscar readied himself with his bulwark and summoned his deer anima, but the sands meant no harm. They came together in their radiant gold color and formed words.

"Survive in the desert until the sun reaches its highest peak after two days. On the third, the cactus tree will rise. Run to the cactus tree before the third day ends." Oscar read the words before they scattered away back into the ocean of sand. The task seemed simple enough. With two days in this uniform, he would have no staying put in or traversing this desert.

"Did they not expect anyone to come in with a fabricator uniform, or is there another factor here?"

As he voiced his thoughts, the desert responded. The sand quaked as the gentle streams of fine gold became tumultuous waves and rapids, rising over Oscar's legs and creeping to his waist. The desert was trying to swallow him whole.

In a mighty leap, he escaped the sands, but a great maw rose from the sands, a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, each around the length of his arm. The sands erupted as the creature flailed out in an attempt to bite him.

The beast had a large fin on its back and two flippers with jagged edges like serrated blades. Its large body reached the size of an average small airship, 100 feet long, and looked armor-plated in shining gold. A pair of red eyes stared hungrily at its prey, Oscar.

"I've never heard of this creature. It looks like a shark." Oscar shot a 'Silver Star' into its mouth, but its jaw clamped shut, and his spell broke apart on its teeth like glass against a brick wall. He sensed the creature was a Middle Elite Exalt Beast, the first one he ran into in Ashen Grove.

"I've never fought against a Middle Elite Exalt Beast before. Let's see how much stronger I've become." Oscar landed on the soft sands and held up his bulwark. The sands under him rippled and spun around. Two large swirls of sand formed under his feet like whirlpools, expanding until they collided and mashed against each other.

'Adamasreis'

These whirlpools were the effect of him gathering his Reis toward his muscles to form the Adamasreis. Oscar clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles with an elated expression. Ever since his last battle with Orden in Tectusen, his Adamasreis actually evolved from his 85 percent mastery to 88 percent.

"It was unexpected, but I'll gladly welcome this change." Oscar stepped forward, kicking off the sand with his 'Silver Burst', accelerating against the sand shark that moved around with its fin protruding from the surface.

New powers of a Middle Elite Exalt and an increase in Adamasreis, Oscar couldn't wait to try them both out. However, he spotted two other fins extending from the sands, speeding toward his location.

"Two more?"