Oscar lay flat on his back on the floor, having lost the match against Emily. His attacks were stronger than before, but it was still not enough to defeat a Middle Apprentice Exalt. "If I were a Middle Apprentice Exalt, it might have been a different story."

The difference in their Ein was what settled this match. Even though Oscar was redirecting the Reis, Emily went all out and destroyed Oscar's defenses, thanks to her overpowering Ein.

His smaller and weaker Ein was not a match against Emily's. Additionally, some of her blows were too powerful that Oscar could not redirect all of the Reis and felt some damage. This was natural due to the natural physical progression as a Middle Apprentice Exalt.

Not to mention that Draven warned him earlier about the risks when using 'Reis Awaken'. Oscar was beginning to feel some discomfort in his heart.

"If you had Ein comparable to mine, then you'd certainly win with the added Reis." Emily wiped some sweat from her brow. "That means you would probably win against anyone who was your equal as an Exalt. Unless we factor in spells and Anima."

Oscar nodded. There were so many factors that made up an Exalt's capability. He was overexcited about learning 'Reis Awaken' and 'Flowing Mountain', forgetting the other aspects to focus on.

"Let's stop here." Frederick motioned. "Oscar shouldn't overdo it, and I need to purchase a weapon."

"You guys can go on ahead. I'll stay behind to keep training." Emily did not want to fall behind. The only reason she won that fight was because of her inherent advantages as a superior Exalt.  The fact a Grade Four like Oscar could push her to this extent was eye-opening to her.

"See you later." They bade her farewell.

Once again, Oscar found himself in The Foundry. This time, he was with Frederick, who was looking excited about his new weapon. As before, one of the Fabricators led them into the room filled with Grade One Exalt equipment and weapons.

"How many points do you have, Fred?"

"I have 550 total, thanks to the previous mission." Frederick double-checked his token badge to be sure. "I've been eyeing a certain weapon."

"Were you here before?"

"I did the first day you were locked up. They allow you to browse freely without any fear of thievery."

Fabricators were also the subject of some horror stories that told how Fabricators melted down the thieves and scammers, turning them into cursed weapons for eternity. Of course, Frederick did not believe it, but no student would want to make an enemy of the Fabricators. Not to mention they'd most likely be sent to the Abyss Prison.

"Here it is!" Frederick's lips curled up as he grabbed a set of short swords. They were categorized as short swords, but they were only slightly longer than daggers.

"Grade One Twin Leaf Swords." Oscar read the description. They had a shade of light green with a line of holes from the base to the tip.

"These are extremely light, but they're sharp at the tip. The holes increase the swiftness of the swords" Frederick held the two near his eyes for a better look.

"I got the idea after battling Austin. He was skilled with his dagger anima, using his spell and speed. These two blades will work well with my 'Wind Steps'." Frederick bought the two blades for 400 contribution points. It was more expensive than Oscar's shield.

The excited duo returned to their room to discuss more and quietly meditate. Sometime later, Oscar stopped his meditation and glanced at the clock. It was almost time for him to meet Celestina in the Archives.

"I need to go to the Archives." Oscar put away the ataerstone he used to funnel purer Ein and hurriedly exited the room.

Frederick could not say goodbye since Oscar left too fast. Shaking his head, Frederick returned to meditation.

"He really loves books." Frederick quit tagging along with Oscar to the Archives a while ago. Only the gods know how he would have responded if he knew Oscar was meeting the princess.

In the Neptune Archives, Oscar saw Celestina was already at the table. She was flipping through a book. Oscar put down a pile of books he had gathered from various shelves. "Sorry, I'm late."

Celestina turned to Oscar. Her eyes widened while her pupils shrank. Her lips quivered as if struggling to hold back until they lifted. "Pfff."

She tried to hold it in, but as her smooth white face became redder, she could no longer do it. "Fufufufufufuffufufu." Her laughter was not loud in respect of the Archives. It was soft and rapid as her shoulders trembled.

Her various acts of failing to stop herself, such as pinching her arm and blocking her mouth with her hands, were adorable. Oscar blushed from the embarrassment of having a princess laugh at him and her cute actions.

"Fufufufufufufufufufu." The laughter continued for several minutes before Celestina finally calmed herself down. Her heavy breathing and tear-filled eyes showed just how hard she laughed.

"Um." Oscar interjected.

"Ahem!" Celestina tidied her hair and wiped her eyes. Her regal bearing returned once more. "I apologize for my behavior." She bowed her head to Oscar's surprise. He quickly made her stop because of how awkward it felt. There could also be someone watching.

"You don't need to be sorry. I cut it off myself." Oscar smiled.

"Really? Why did you do that?" Celestina wondered why anyone would be willing to subject themselves to such embarrassment.

Oscar explained what happened to his friend, Frederick and that he did it to make him feel better.

Celestina smiled brightly, making Oscar nearly lose his breath. "You're a good friend. Frederick and Emily also sound like amazing friends."

"Yes, you're right. I'm grateful to have met Fred at the Trials. Emily was unexpected, but she's really nice once you get to know her." Oscar said.

"I'm envious." Celestina pouted.

"Pardon?"

"I wish I could have friends like that." Celestina looked up in longing.

Oscar did not know what to say to that. He could not relate.

"But…." Celestina turned back to Oscar and pointed at him. "Thankfully, I've got one friend here."

"Ah….I'm honored." Oscar said sheepishly.

"You don't need to take that respectful tone with me. Aren't friends supposed to be casual?" Her eyes narrowed as her face darkened.

"You're right, Celestina! We're good friends." Fearing the repercussions, Oscar complied with Celestina's request.

Enlivened by Oscar's words, Celestina happily said, "That's great! By the way, I finished 'The Red Hat', and now I'm on the sequel. Thanks for telling me about it."

"It's no problem." Oscar was glad she was back to normal.

The two talked at length about their books, stopping to read more only to resume talking. At this moment, they had forgotten all pretenses and ranks. There was only the mutual craving for books.

"I don't think we can do this every day." Although Oscar loved this time with books, he also had to focus on his own Exalt training.

"I agree. We can't fall behind everyone else. How about we meet up once a week?" Celestina also felt some pressure from the Inner Hall.

"Then next week it is!" Eventually, the night session came to an end. Oscar said his farewells and returned to his room. Inside, Frederick was lovingly cleaning his new weapons.

"You've spent way too long in there." Frederick scolded Oscar for wasting too much time in there. He did not want Oscar to fall behind the other students.

"It's fine." Oscar jumped on his bed to relax.

"Do you love books that much? You look strangely happy, even more than before." Frederick felt Oscar's obsession with books was approaching a dangerous zone.

"I do?" Oscar looked at himself in the mirror. There was a smile plastered across his face like a little kid. He smacked himself to make it go away.

"Os, be careful not to become a deranged man." Frederick sighed and plopped backward to his bed.

"Yes…." Oscar was confused. For how long was he smiling like this?

…….

Celestina happily walked along the path to her private quarters in the Inner Hall. Many students went red at the rare sight of her smile.

What happened to their princess?

In the Inner Hall, the princess was known for being distant. She would show a slight grin now and then, but everyone knew she was keeping a distance from others.

This display before them was unheard of. The princess never publicly smiled like this to any of them or anything. They all wanted to ask her but did not want to face her wrath.

"Princess…." One man boldly approached her. He had flowing blue hair and blue eyes like the look of a champion, and his nose and chin looked as if a master of arts had sculpted them. It was Gilbert, the famous Grade Nine Exolsia.

Celestina's good mood ended when Gilbert appeared in her eyes. The delighted expression on her face devolved into indifference as the smile disappeared. Her emerald eyes did not meet Gilbert's as Celestina moved to the side to get past.

Gilbert opened his mouth to try to say something but stopped himself. Celestina's beautiful figure shrank in his sight as she moved farther away.

Clenching his fists, Gilbert went away. He could only leave this matter for later. Right now, he was busy.

…….

Time passed in the Blue Ocean Pavilion.

Oscar was finally sixteen years old. He received a letter from his parents wishing him a happy birthday, which warmed his heart. All this time away made him feel homesick.

"I'll come home when the opportunity arises," Oscar promised. He continued his diligent training with Emily and Frederick. The weights on his hands kept increasing the moment he got such to each level of heaviness.

His progression into mastering the 'Reis Awaken' was maddeningly slow. He could only increase its duration by a fraction of a second. Oscar wondered if he'd ever get to his master's level of thirty minutes.

He tried to use 'Ein Awaken' for Ein meditation. But it failed horribly, leading to a splitting headache that did not go away for a few days.

Overall, there was not much progress made other than his shield usage. The manuals and history he read and the help from Celestina's knowledge were a boon to his training.

Finally, it had been nine months since he entered the Pavilion, and the next batch of Ein Amassing Elixir was distributed.

Oscar sat in his room with Frederick. Both had serious expressions.

"You ready for it?" Frederick asked.

"I've waited a while for this. Of course, I'm ready." Oscar took out two vials of Ein Amassing Elixir. One from the Night Raptor mission and the other from the recent distribution. "Austin is out, and Samuel's sentence is almost over. I need to be stronger." Oscar felt the pressure building, especially from Samuel.

"I'll leave you alone here. You better become a Middle Apprentice Exalt, Os." Frederick extended his fist out.

"I will. Just don't cry when I do." Oscar pounded his fist with Frederick's.

Once Frederick left, Oscar did not immediately drink the two elixirs. He opened his bag and took out the ataerstone from the Abyss Prison.

"An Elixir is already refined Ein, but this can purify it even more." Oscar was skeptical that even two elixirs could help him advance. So he drank the Elixirs in one gulp. The process started as a crashing tsunami of Ein ran straight to his body. He diverted them into the ataerstone.

The ataerstone started to glow as the Ein collected into it. Within the view of his meditated state, the ataerstone looked like a hulking boulder as large as this room. The cloudy wisps of Ein turned into a clear pool in the ataerstone.

Then the ataerstone responded by instantly flooding Oscar's body with all the purified Ein. The sudden rush of Ein made Oscar's body heat up like being surrounded by lava. His inner core spun crazily to absorb all the Ein, and his deer anima basked in the ocean of Ein headed to the core.

The pain made Oscar splurt out a mouthful of blood. His face was riddled with veins as he struggled to endure the pain.

His inner core did not stop at all as the geometric shapes on it started to be filled in color. The process to Middle Apprentice Exalt would not be done until they were filled. Hours passed as Oscar suffered tremendously from the pain, barely staying conscious.

Finally, his inner core stopped spinning. The last geometric shapes were filled, making a burst of light that overwhelmed the darkness of his inner world.

Oscar's blue Ein exploded outward. His hair, which had grown, stood up, and his pupils were filled with a blueish glow.

It only lasted for a few seconds, settling down. Oscar returned to his normal state. He opened his eyes, shining with glee.

He was now a Middle Apprentice Exalt!