Occasionally, Oscar would find a tree. It wasn't tall and thick like the usual forest trees but twisted, warped, and short like a hunchback. He marked a large arrow on them to know his direction.
"I've gone far, but there's still no sign of a good campsite." Oscar drank some water and wiped the sweat off his hair. It's been hours, yet Oscar could not find a good resting place.
He considered going deeper inside the Hurin Plains, but like most places where Exalt Beasts lingered, the inner regions were where the more powerful Exalt Beasts resided.
In the outer region, the Exalt Beasts wouldn't be too much of a threat.
Places like his village and cities were always on the outer fringes of these territories where the Exalt Beasts seldom enter. Also, the occasional sweepings done by Exalts on missions made sure to prevent them from creeping closer.
"Far too dangerous for Anima training. If only I had a map of these goddamn plains." Oscar complained as he kept walking.
His search continued. Passing by more trees and Beasts, Oscar thought it was futile. The plains were too massive; he'd be wasting more time doing nothing.
But then, he heard it—the pleasant of water. It was streaming around somewhere nearby.
Oscar bolted toward the source of the sound as fast as he could. The tall grass swayed to the side from the wind from his speed. Eventually, he saw a refreshing river.
The river was sparkling from the lively waves meeting the radiant sunlight like rainbows and stars flickering and changing every second. It was a beautiful respite from the endless gold fields.
"Thank goodness it's here. I have a good source of water now." Oscar was relieved. He gleefully smiled at the large river that was a short distance ahead.
Exalts could last without food or water longer than mortals, but the lack of sustenance was still a detrimental factor. Oscar heard that Exalts don't need to worry about drinking or eating after a certain point, sustaining themselves with the Ein around them.
"I have a consistent supply of fish for the next three months. Most importantly, I have a steady stream of Exalt Beasts to fight."
This river was an attraction for Exalt Beasts to quench their thirst, so Oscar decided to use it as bait to find lone opponents to hone his skills.
Oscar put down his things and took out the tent he bought from the shopkeeper in Tufall.
The tent was a thick tarp with latches and metal rings lined on its seams. Oscar pulled out many small metal pegs and stakes that were supposed to match to form the base and support.
"What are these instructions? There are so many steps!" Oscar said in irritation, wrinkling the paper from accidentally gripping too tight.
It took many retries. Oscar constantly looked at the instructions and found he had missed a step or put it in the wrong way. The frustration built as time passed, but Oscar struggled to get the tent put up.
Finally, he finished after an exhausting and infuriating session. The tent barely reached Oscar's height and was twice as wide.
Oscar stepped inside and rested with his feet going out the entrance. The soft tarp enveloped the floor, so Oscar was safe from the dirt.
"Took way too long. That shopkeeper should have given me an easier tent to build." He voiced his complaints to the absent shopkeeper. "But at least it's a good tent. This is a good place to rest from the hot suns."
The entire time, the two suns had beaten down on Oscar. His desperation for a water source stemmed from the extreme environment of the Hurin Plains. It had its moments with nice cool winds, but there was no cover from the heat.
After a short rest, Oscar exited his tent with a refreshed look.
"It's time to start. I have only three months." Oscar focused on manifesting his deer anima. Once it was formed, he quickly downsized the Ein he was utilizing for it. His attempt to reach the optimal minimum failed again, and the deer anima began to crack from lack of Ein.
"Practice. It's perfectly fine when I try it slowly, but speed is the priority. A single moment wasted on more Ein is less for the battle after. Achieving this would be an advantage for me over others."
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Again, the deer anima formed from nothingness. But once again, it failed, and Oscar felt the rebound of his Anima breaking. He knelt on the floor in a bout of pain.
He soon got up and tried again.
As the two suns started to set and the golden shine of the plains dimmed, Oscar stood in a pool of his own sweat. Despite his numerous attempts, he was still unsuccessful in reaching the minimum point of manifestation.
"I should stop here. There's no telling what may happen at night. At least I was able to reduce the severity of the damage."
Indeed, after all that practice, his fruits began to bear. The deer anima no longer broke down completely but remained cracked. After more attempts, the cracks began to reduce as a sign of Oscar's progress.
"Not good enough. The cracks make my Anima even less durable than it already is. A slight touch would destroy it." Oscar looked at this deer anima at his side. It was avoiding moving at all to avoid breaking down like delicate stained glass.
He unsummoned his Anima and went to clean himself up.
Oscar took off his clothes, revealing the grotesque scars on his stomach, and took a dip in the river. The cool refreshing sensation enveloped Oscar, inducing a pleasurable and relaxing feeling.
"Ahhh. This is great." Oscar said after dipping his head in and out of the water.
After finishing his bath, Oscar wore new clothes and started a fire. The kindlings of the early flame floated upward, drawing Oscar's eyes up to the sky.
The sky above was a beautiful view of pink, purple, and indigo from the waning sunlight of the setting suns. It was moments like this that he felt grateful for being an Exalt. To see and experience such a view was something he only read about.
Amid all this beauty and relaxation, Oscar could not help but think about Frederick and Emily. He was most concerned for Emily as he had run off immediately after Frederick left them.
"Sorry for running away. I couldn't stay there any longer."
Oscar did leave because he wished to train and better himself, but that was not the entire reason. The truth was that he didn't want to stay in the Pavilion. He wanted time away not to be reminded of Frederick's departure.
Frederick's empty bed, his empty closet, and his table. Oscar's room was full of reminders that Frederick had left.
Oscar never had a close friend like Frederick other than Isabella. So it was a harsh blow to Oscar to go through both Isabella and now Frederick leaving him.
"I'll come back when I've settled down. I'll make sure to be there for you, Emily. Don't do anything rash." Oscar sighed as the fires slowly withdrew.
The suns finally set, and the moon rose above the Hurin Plains. Oscar put out the fire and retreated into his tent, closing the entrance with a second tarp.
Oscar lit a small candle and took out some books from his backpack. One was titled 'Survival Guide III', another was titled 'Creature Report II', and the last was 'Adventures of Louis Raul'.
The third book was not like the others. Oscar always loved to read, but he preferred story books when he was down or sad. The stories' great uplifting moments helped ease his heart's sorrow.
Oscar read his books with great enthusiasm until he finally fell asleep.
The next morning arrived, and Oscar woke up with a large yawn. He went to the river to wash his face.
"The mornings here aren't too bad. It's quite cool."
But there was no time to admire the plains. It was the second day of his training, and Oscar desired to get past this stage today.
Time after time, the deer anima manifested and then started to crack.
The cracks were prevalent throughout its entire upper body except for its legs.
The blue deer whined as it was constantly manifested and forced back. Thankfully, it wasn't a living creature, or it would have severe nausea.
Despite the deer anima's misgivings, Oscar soldiered on and was making progress. The cracks were visibly lessening.
Hours passed by, and Oscar was out of breath, but the blue deer anima was standing tall. There was not a single speck of cracks on its body, but its antlers were still quite damaged.
"No matter what I try, it's hard to get it right. The last bit of cracks is like trying to put the smallest drops right before a cup would overflow. It's meaningless if its antlers are incapable."
Oscar sat down to ponder. It was minuscule, but he was over the minimum boundary. It was hard to gauge the proper Ein usage without doing it slowly. Was there a way to achieve it?
"What would Elder Saul say?" Oscar thought about the gardening elder, who often gave him advice. "He'd most likely say I should relax and let myself feel the Ein. Elder Saul is always too laid back." He chuckled about the elder's outlook.
Elder Saul was not much help here, so Oscar turned to his Master, Draven, the Warden of Abyss Prison.
"Master would most likely put me through some brutal trials to make me feel it. I'd probably die if I tried something he'd suggest. It was like that for 'Awaken'...."
He froze in silence for a moment before smacking his forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that?! Of course, the 'Awaken' can be used for Ein as well. I was too occupied with Reis." Oscar got up with renewed hope. He had focused so much on using 'Reis Awaken' to enact 'Flowing Mountain' that he neglected its use for Ein.
"I'm stupid. Neglecting such an important aspect of 'Awaken' is nothing short of criminal. This training was for my Anima, but 'Awaken' is needed. 'Ein Awaken' can help me reach that minimum point."
Oscar manifested his Anima once more.
'Ein Awaken'
Unlike when using 'Reis Awaken', Oscar saw a shining core in his chest and an outline of his body surrounded by darkness. There were motes of Ein all over the Hurin Plains, which was why Exalt Beasts populated it.
But Oscar's attention was not on these flakes of Ein but on his deer anima. He saw a stream of Ein flowing to his Anima, outlining its shape. He controlled the output of this visible stream of Ein, lowering its power.
"GAK!"
Oscar felt a splitting pain in his head and his core. The backlash of using 'Ein Awaken' bared its fangs. It had only been a split second since he invoked it, but it was already too much to bear.
"It's hard to maintain it. I can't hold it for even a fraction of a second to minimize the Ein on my Anima." Veins were bursting on Oscar's face from the exertion.
"If I overdo it, I'll be in a bad situation…." Oscar said grimly. Before, Draven was watching over him, and there was a healing station during the Grand Gathering.
Here? Oscar was all alone. No one to attend to his injuries, and the nearest town was Tufall City, a far distance away.
Oscar clenched his teeth. "I won't die. I didn't die in the Abyss Prison. I didn't die against Phillip. I won't die here."
His resolute figure stood tall against the golden grass.