The crowd tensed up at Robert's words. The Blue Ocean Pavilion was the holy land for all developing Exalts in the Brilliant Drake Empire. The heaven for those who were found worthy but hell for those who fell short.
What sort of trials were we walking into? How many people would even pass? These questions occupied their minds. If they failed here, then they might as well leave and give up any hope.
Oscar stood patiently with a calm expression, but the sweat on his brow betrayed his anxiousness.
Robert looked at the crowd of prospects and sighed. From a mere sentence, many had given in to fear. He did not enjoy seeing such cowardly behavior.
"Come through this door and move onto the platform," Robert instructed.
Oscar followed the crowd as they stepped onto the large platform, feeling like he was a sheep in a wooden pen. Everyone gazed at Robert, waiting for what was to come.
Robert nodded and said, "Be ready!"
Suddenly the stone platform began to shine, making everyone squint or cover their eyes. The sudden brightness caught them all off-guard, and some shrieked from the flash that overwhelmed their eyes.
"Good Luck."
Oscar heard Robert's voice before he felt his body being squeezed. The feeling was so uncomfortable that Oscar was reminded of the time he had a really bad stomachache. He let out a cry of pain, as did many around him.
The stone platform released a final burst of light, engulfing everyone. The next moment, it returned to normal, but the crowd was gone as if no one ever stood there.
Robert opened his eyes, revealing an odd pair of red and blue eyes. He smiled and stroked his beard while addressing the other elders of the Pavilion below him. "Let's head to the control room. I hope the students can do well to show what they can do."
The other elders of the Pavilion bowed their heads in agreement and followed Robert at a respectful distance.
…….
Oscar felt his vision returning from the initial bright shock, but his stomach was very uncomfortable. With a green face, he vomited out his entire breakfast, taking large breaths. "What the hell happened?"
He recovered but had a pale face. "Where am I?"
The ground was not the stone platform he once stood on; it was a vibrant spread of dark dirt and green grass. All around him were big trees and some large boulders in the distance; the layout of the place reminded Oscar of the forest he sometimes wandered and traveled around near his home.
But the trees here were much taller and wider.
"These trees could definitely provide thrice as much firewood." Oscar placed his hand on the thick birchwood. His eyes glanced slowly around and spotted a small hill in the distance. As he thought about going there, a metal cylinder suddenly dropped on his head, followed by a small bag.
"Ouch!" Oscar yelped. "What is this?"
He gripped the metal cylinder and noticed it was a container. With a forceful tug, the lid popped open, and a scroll dropped out. Oscar picked up the scroll, unfurled it, and read.
The scroll's contents said the following.
"Congratulations on being one of the lucky ones to take the trial. Your trial is to find three tokens laid around the whole field. There's a chance all of you could find the three tokens, or none of you can.
The time limit for finding them is three days. There is also a bag of food and water that will last for the duration of the trial. If you are in any danger, there is also a small medallion that you can break to give up.
Fighting is allowed, but do not take things too far or else.
Happy scavenging!"
The message from the Pavilion seemed very accommodating, but it carried a particular chilling sentence that made Oscar tense. Fighting was allowed during this trial. Oscar had never been in a fight before, so he knew he was at a disadvantage.
Oscar checked the bag, saw the food inside, and pulled out the medallion. It was a small green coin that matched the grass below. Oscar stowed it in his pocket and reviewed all the information in his thought.
"The trees provide great cover."
There was a book he liked about a hunter who encountered a fierce wolf. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the hunter lost his weapons, but he was not easily defeated. The hunter fought from a distance, using trees as cover and throwing rocks to tire out the wolf slowly.
"If I run into anyone, maybe I can do that." Oscar looked around for some small stones to throw. He found a couple, but then his eyes widened in shock. He hastily dug out a golden rectangle, the size of his palm, that was sticking out.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Bringing it close to his face, Oscar saw the symbol of the Pavilion, a trident head engraved on it. "This must be one of the tokens the scroll mentioned. That was pretty easy, or am I just lucky?"
He quickly put away the token in his pocket: one down, two more to go.
Oscar traversed through the forest slowly, trying to spot any tokens, but the search was long and not fruitful. "The first one must have just been luck."
He stood back up after another failed spotting, but his body froze as he turned to stone. His face twitched, and his eyes trembled a little when he saw a person a short distance from him.
The other party also noticed Oscar, and their eyes met. The stranger had handsome features with a sharp chin and charming yellow eyes. His green hair was slightly unkempt but did not detract from his appearance but added a wild feel to it.
Oscar tensed up and took out the stones in his pocket, ready to throw them at any chance.
The stranger looked at Oscar with an odd face before shaking his head and turning around. He seemed to have no interest in Oscar.
"Phew." Oscar was about to move when the ground suddenly quaked under them. The stranger stared around in confusion while Oscar could not get proper footing. The ground under Oscar suddenly caved in.
"I was near a cliff the whole time?" Oscar couldn't see the cliff because of the tall grass and the foliage of the trees. The quaking of the ground unstabilized this cliff, and Oscar tried to grab hold of something, but he was falling. "Damn!"
Oscar thought of anything he could do to survive. The medallion was his ticket out, but he didn't want to use it.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed him. Oscar looked up and saw it was the stranger from earlier.
"You?"
"If you don't want to get hurt, hurry up and pull yourself up!" The stranger spouted impatiently.
Oscar quickly set his feet on the rocky cliff and pulled himself up with the stranger's help. He heaved a sigh of relief and was breathing heavily on the ground from the brush with danger. His eyes looked at the stranger. "Thank you."
The stranger scoffed and said, "If you're so unprepared, then just crack the medallion and go to the Minor Hall. Don't sell yourself short."
He was about to leave, but Oscar asked, "Why did you help me?"
The stranger stopped and looked at Oscar. "What an idiot. It has nothing to do with you."
Oscar was puzzled but nodded. "What does that have to do with it?"
"Nothing, really," The stranger turned his back again. "I just wanted to stop you from falling down that cliff. Simple as that."
Oscar didn't know the stranger's motive, but for some reason, the stranger's tone was different when he mentioned the cliff. It was low and somber, like Oscar's father when his friend passed away. Oscar decided not to pry.
As he walked, the stranger felt something hit his back and turned with his fists clenched. But when he looked down at the golden token on the floor, his eyes widened in shock. He picked it up and said, "This is a token?"
"That's repayment for saving me," Oscar said while patting the dirt off his chest. "Thank you."
The stranger looked puzzled at Oscar, who was heading off in another direction. His hands clenched the golden token tightly. "What the hell is wrong with this guy? I didn't know he had a token. Who gives away a token just like that?"
After getting a considerable distance away, Oscar sighed about losing his token, but he thought it was the proper thing to do. The stranger initially didn't try to fight him and saved his life. The reason was still a mystery, but Oscar still owed him.
Hours passed, but Oscar could not find a single golden token. Slight flickers of regret crept into his heart, but Oscar shooed them away. What was done was done, and he shouldn't be so cheap with being saved.
"However, what the hell is up with this place? Is there any clue that was left behind?" Oscar studied the scroll again while eating some food. But the scroll contained zero hints on it. The two suns descended, so Oscar decided to find a place to rest.
"Bastard!"
Oscar heard a loud voice and turned in its direction. It was the voice of the stranger who had saved him. From the exasperation and anger, Oscar knew the stranger was in danger and sprinted ahead.
As the shouts grew louder, Oscar closed in on the scene and slowed his steps. Behind a tree, he peeked ahead and saw the stranger stuck with a rocky wall behind him. Two others flanked him from both sides.
Oscar recognized one of them as one of the teens who accompanied Stan, the proctor who goaded Lewis.
"Samuel, you piece of shit!" The stranger shouted and swung.
"Oi, is that the right way to talk to a member of the Carter Viscount?" Samuel arrogantly declared. His blond hair flowed down his shoulders, and his yellow eyes eyed the stranger like a predator.
Behind the stranger, the other person swung at him, and the stranger was forced back to the rocky wall.
"Two on you is too much for you?" Samuel sneered. "You're one hell of an idiot. By the way, this is my associate, Greg."
"Don't care about scum like you two." The stranger spat out some blood and took up a stance.
"Scum? Please, I am a Grade Six Exolsia talent. If anything, you're the scum. Didn't your family ostracize you after the fact? But then again, the biggest trash was that fool, Teresa."
The stranger's eyes were bloodshot, and he charged in a rage at Samuel. "You!"
Samuel blocked while Greg put a strong kick in the stranger's gut.
"Ah, I remember, Frederick. You always smacked me or embarrassed me in front of everyone. This is payback for the humiliation you gave me. Don't worry, I won't take it too far, but sometime I will kill you."
He punched the stranger, Frederick, in the face.
But Frederick chuckled with a defiant look. "I remember you were a helpless idiot who thought he could do anything he wanted. I disciplined you in your family's place, and they forced you to stay at home for a year. That was hilarious."
Samuel's face turned red with rage. He quickly picked up a large stick, waving it around. "Enjoy your life in the Minor Hall."
However, a small rock smacked him hard in the back of the head. Samuel dropped the stick, holding his head with a twisted expression, and barked out, "Who the hell?"
Suddenly, Oscar came out of nowhere and pushed Samuel to the rock wall. "Get out of here!"
Frederick stared blankly at Oscar, who was waving his hand and telling him to leave. He only thought about what kind of idiot this person was.
"Who do you think you are?!" Greg moved.
Oscar quickly picked up the stick and slammed it on Greg, crashing him to the ground. He quickly took Frederick's hand and dragged him off. "I told you to run!"
"You…." Frederick was still in disbelief.
Samuel got up and saw the two running off. He tried to follow, but they already ran far. He could only let out a shout. "I'll kill you!"
After their desperate getaway, Oscar and Frederick panted and stopped to catch a breather.
"It's fast approaching nighttime. They shouldn't be chasing us anymore." Oscar drank some water, one of the provisions in his bag.
Frederick quickly regained his breathing and stared at Oscar intently. "Why did you jump in? I can tell you can't fight well, so what if it went wrong? Are you an idiot?"
Oscar frowned and answered, "What words to say to the person that saved you just now? I saved you because I wanted to. Why did you save me from the cliff?"
Frederick fell silent and said, "You're one crazy idiot."
"Aren't you the same? You decide to save some stranger like me despite the risks involved, and you tried to fight two-on-one." Oscar laughed. "I never got to ask, what's your name? My name is Oscar Terr."
Frederick slumped to rest on a tree and chuckled, "Now you're trying to make a friend? I'm Frederick Klein. Nice to meet you."