Weeks passed since the Ein Amassing Elixirs were distributed. Although no one knew the reason, they could feel a sense of foreboding. As if this were a respite before a horrific event.

Knowing that these vials were early for a reason, all the new students had locked themselves into private meditation. Except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they all stayed inside to train.

Oscar was not an exception. He continually came down early morning to rest on the grass but cut his rest short to return to his room.

In all this time, he had gotten to the point of sensing thirty wisps of Ein. At a certain point, they say it is pointless to count as the ein would become a flood rather than tiny droplets.

"Os. I'm almost ready."

Once the core was filled with Ein, light condensed into a singular point in the center. Once the point became as small as a seed, it was at the point of awakening. Frederick saw his core reach this stage and knew it was time.

"Good luck, Fred."

Oscar worried for his friend. If the awakening failed, Frederick might have to wait until the next distribution of the elixir.

People needed an enormous amount of Ein to facilitate the awakening. That was why people normally accumulated resources before advancing through the subsequent stages.

"You can keep watch if you like." Frederick stuck his thumb up in confidence.

Oscar sat down on his chair to observe. Frederick pulled out the vial of elixir and drank the entire solution in a single swig.

In a matter of seconds, Frederick started to sweat profusely and his reddened face contorted in pain. Oscar felt Frederick's flushed face looked similar to his father when drunk off the ale.

"Grrrr," Frederick groaned and growled. Veins popped out over his arms and head. His muscles tightened so much that they were visibly showing.

Frederick could not control himself and let out a painful cry. Thankfully, the rooms were sound-insulated so that no one could hear. Oscar was not so lucky since he was in the room. Hearing Frederick's cries of pain amplified Oscar's worry.

The air changed as some pressure emanated from Frederick. His hair stood up, eyes opened wide, and pupils glowed as a green aura wrapped around him.

Frederick said nothing but made an 'ok' sign with his hand. He was visibly exhausted but made a satisfied smile.

Oscar rushed next to Frederick and slapped him on the shoulder in congratulation.

"How does it feel?"

"Feels amazing. I've never felt like this. This is what an Exalt is." Frederick held his hands to his face and teared up. For so many years, he had prepared and trained through rigorous trials. It was all for this moment.

"Hey, don't be too satisfied. You're only a Lower Apprentice Exalt."

The Apprentice Exalt consisted of the Lower, Middle, and Greater Apprentice stages. Lowers was just the entry into the life of an Exalt. They still had a long way to go.

After Frederick settled down his erratic Ein, they went to lunch. On their way, they ran into Samuel, who was strutting around in an overbearing mood.

"You guys still haven't advanced?" Samuel mocked Frederick and Oscar. Thanks to his Grade Six Exolsia and the elixir, he became a Lower Apprentice Exalt a few days ago.

Because of that, Frederick and Oscar tried their best to avoid him by eating their meals as fast as possible and leaving before they could meet. Due to Frederick's advancement, they forgot to keep up their guard.

Oscar stepped forward, "Don't have any common sense?"

"What?" Samuel's tone turned hostile at Oscar's insult.

"As Grade Four and Five, it's natural we're a bit slower. You're boasting so much, but isn't it true that those Grade Seven students broke through faster than you?" Oscar was not kind in his words and spat poison directly at Samuel's ego.

He thought of Samuel as nothing more than a coward who avoided fighting against those with higher Grades.

"Bullying those who can't fight back is just pathetic." Oscar was relentless and continued digging into Samuel.

"Bastard!" Samuel rushed forward and threw out his fist, coated in a yellow shroud of Ein. If this fist hit Oscar, a normal mortal, it would tear him apart.

Oscar felt death was coming for him, but he clenched his teeth and stood his ground. He was confident.

Suddenly, Frederick cut in between and stuck out his own fist. The two blows collided in a mess of yellow and green as their Eins clashed. The grass blew back, scattering around them.

"Back off, Samuel." Frederick spat out coldly. He has had enough of Samuel's act.

"Thanks, Fred." Oscar was confident that Frederick would help him.

"You owe me for this, Os." Frederick pushed off, creating some distance between him and Samuel.

Samuel looked at the back of his hand, which was reddened and slightly bleeding. He could not believe Frederick had managed to receive his blow and inflict a slight wound.

His family, the Carter Viscounts, was slowly declining. Despite their long history, they produced mediocre Exalts one after the other. The other great families easily gained Knight and even Marshall Exalts. But his family had very few Knight Exalts that were getting old.

He could not allow any signs of weakness. What kind of laughingstock would he be if this commoner could insult him? And that this lowly upstart son of a baron matched him in combat?

"No…." Samuel Carter was unwilling.

"You'll pay for this." His eyes flared with fury. The Ein looked slightly disturbed around him, making Oscar and Frederick fall back.

Samuel's entire body was wrapped in yellow Ein like a soft flame. Most of it separated and condensed in the air. The mass of Samuel's Ein concentrated and took the form of a yellow tiger.

"His Anima?!" Oscar yelped in surprise at the hostile yellow tiger next to Samuel. It stepped forward and growled at them.

"My tiger here will rip you both apart. Don't worry, Frederick; I'll make sure Teresa can see your pathetic self. Not that she'd care.." Samuel smiled maliciously.

"BASTARD." Frederick's voice turned deep with hatred, stunning Oscar, who had never seen Frederick like this.

Frederick condensed his Ein like Samuel. It was about to condense until an elderly monotone voice interrupted.

"Stop."

The three students looked at the newcomer, Elder Saul, who looked slightly displeased. Oscar and Frederick shivered because they had gotten acquainted with Elder Saul numerous times and knew his lazy demeanor.

What sort of trouble were they in for pissing off this old gardener?

Samuel was less than pleased at the interference. He shouted at Elder Saul.

"These two insulted me, don't stop me from claiming justice!"

Elder Saul's face dropped even colder at Samuel's tone. He waved his hand, and the three knelt on the floor, unable to get back up.

"Fighting each other without permission is prohibited. If you want to fight, apply for a duel and settle it. You've messed up my grass, so stop now, or I'll send the three of you to the Abyss Prison."

The three of them paled further at the threat. The Abyss Prison was where students were sent to be punished. It was devoid of Ein and let out harsh cold that chilled the bone. Students, who were sent there, returned more silent and behaved than before.

"We'll stop," Oscar said.

The pressure disappeared, and Oscar was able to stand back up. Samuel's tiger dissipated in flakes of yellow Ein. He departed but not without staring daggers at Oscar and Frederick.

"Little brat." Elder Saul mumbled.

Samuel's attitude rubbed everyone the wrong way, even this lackadaisical Elder Saul.

"Boy, you've become a Lower Apprentice Exalt." Elder Saul saw through Frederick's level.

"I have. Thank you, Elder Saul, for stopping Samuel. I almost broke the rules in my anger" Frederick bowed while Oscar looked worried.

Oscar looked down at the roughed-up patches of dirt and overturned grass.

"We can help fix this for you," Oscar suggested they help Elder Saul since they were partly responsible for the damage.

Elder Saul waved his hand and said, "It's fine. You should get back to your training. Become an Exalt if you don't want to be helpless like before."

His words pierced Oscar's worry. He was right; Oscar could not rely on Frederick forever. He needed to be able to stand up for himself.

As Elder Saul left, Oscar asked Frederick, "Who is Teresa?"

Frederick did not respond, but his face looked sad, and his sharp shoulders drooped down. Oscar could tell this Teresa was a sensitive topic for Frederick.

"You don't have to tell me. Let's go back."

"Thanks, Os." Frederick put on a smile, but Oscar could see it was forced. They remained silent the entire way back.

A few days passed since the altercation with Samuel. Frederick was getting used to his body's new power, though he kept his Anima a secret from Oscar. They decided to tell each other their Anima at the same time.

Trying hard to keep the promise, Oscar delved into his Ein meditation more frequently. Even outside early morning, he sought to meditate on the soft grass. It went on until, finally, Oscar noticed his core changing.

At his previous meditation session, the last wisp of Ein entered his core. It flared up more brightly than ever as the light inside became smaller and smaller.

The brightness of the core was still the same, but Oscar could make out a small sphere in the center of his core. It was like a beautiful marble contained inside a glass ball.

It was the moment Oscar had been waiting for. This was the limit of his mortal body, and it was time to become an Exalt.

"Fred. I'm ready." Oscar looked serious as he pulled out the Ein Amassing Elixir as Frederick looked on. He downed the formula and waited.

Suddenly, Oscar felt a searing heat like magma erupting from his chest. He saw numerous wisps of Ein flood around his body and enter. His core spun and spun as it rapidly devoured the Ein.

To break through to the Lower Apprentice Exalt, he  needed to take in more Ein than usual to facilitate this spinning. As the core spins, it would transform and undo his mortal shackles.

Oscar felt his blood boil. No wonder Frederick had veins popping out and tightened his muscles. The pain from the heat itself was enough to make him clench his entire body.

But the most painful was the core's spinning. Oscar felt like he had lost any sense of direction and nearly vomited from the confusion. But he maintained his breathing and meditated. Despite feeling like he was falling all over, he was still on the bed.

Finally, the absorption of the Ein from outside stopped. However, Oscar knew this was not over. The concentrated Ein in the elixir seeped into his body from the stomach and bombarded the core.

The core increased its speed, glowing brightly blue. Blood flowed from Oscar's nose, shocking Frederick, who wanted to help. But interrupting this process would be detrimental to Oscar, so he remained still and prayed for his friend's success.

Oscar screamed as the last of the Ein was absorbed. The core finally stopped, but his chest felt like one of the suns was inside. It was hot, sending waves of sharp pain through his nerves.

His core had advanced. Oscar found himself in a dark space. This was the form of his soul when inside his inner space. He looked up to see his new core.

This core was sky blue and had patterns of geometric shapes on it. Oscar felt it looked akin to an egg. Then he saw a flurry of Ein come out of his orb and form an animal on top.

It lay on top of the core and looked around before meeting Oscar's eyes. It had small antlers and a thin body, while its eyes looked kind and full of life. Oscar recognized the animal. It was an animal he saw nearly every day in the forest, sometimes munching on the grass near his home.

It was his Anima, a young deer. He knew he had finally ascended as an Exalt. He was now a Lower Apprentice Exalt.