"Reis Awaken" Gritting his teeth, Oscar tried to start the Reis from his feet. Within the sights of 'Reis Awaken', he saw the Reis blend into his body. The force from his legs rebounded back up from the ground with compounded power.

He had to redirect the Reis to his fist. However, before he could start, his body, especially his heart, felt like it was ripping apart. This pain forcibly brought him out of the 'Reis Awaken' state, and he was slammed onto the ground by the rampaging Reis.

"Guh." Oscar spat out a mouthful of blood.

Next to him, Draven forced him to drink two vials; one was the Hytr Elixir, and the other was a standard Grade One Heal Elixir.

Grade One Elixirs were so precious that Oscar never imagined the Warden willingly giving them to him. Even if he was a Marshal Exalt, it was still too great of kindness to Oscar. 'I should find a way to repay master later.'

Of course, Draven did not think much of these elixirs. One word and elixirs would flow ceaselessly to him from the Pavilion's alchemists. He needed these elixirs for Oscar because training in 'Awaken' led to serious injuries like this.

Oscar's body would tear apart if not for the support of these elixirs.

"Try to think of it as two separate actions happening simultaneously in harmony. The better the harmony between your 'Reis Awaken' and your body, the less the damage."

"So my entire body needs to get along with the Awaken?" Oscar questioned his Master.

"That is the goal. To be honest, I can only utilize the Awaken for thirty minutes, despite my constant training."

"Thirty minutes?!" Oscar thought Draven was truly a monster. "Isn't that incredible?"

"It's adequate, but my true goal is to always be in the Awaken state. That is my ambition. I'm still so far from it."

Although Oscar could not see in the helmet, he could tell Draven had a yearning expression. He admired Draven even more for being steadfast in his dreams. More importantly, this was the first time the Warden shared something personal.

His head was whacked, his motivations selfish, and his behavior a bit sadistic. But he never looked down on Oscar or rejected him. He was only honest and finally opened up a little.

With a fierce resolution burning, Oscar resumed his training. He did not want to disappoint his Master.

'He's a good child.' Draven could tell what Oscar was thinking.

The countdown to Oscar's release continued to tick down as the master watched the student fail and try again repeatedly. Hours passed by, and the day came to an end.

Draven left behind a hot meal for Oscar to eat and disappeared. Oscar graciously devoured the meal and went to sleep to recuperate for tomorrow.

Three days until Oscar's freedom.

…….

In a certain town, a boy and a girl dressed in normal clothes stepped on the main street.

Frederick was dressed in a green tunic and white pants.

Emily wore a white shirt and a long brown skirt that emphasized her orange hair.

"That airship was fun!" Emily's eyes beamed with joy while she twirled around. She enjoyed the rides on the airship and being so high up.

"You're like a little child holding some candy." Frederick sighed as the trip was exhausting for him. Throughout the entire travel there, this girl forced him to accompany her. He was dragged from one place to another with little rest.

"Want to be beaten up?" Emily cracked her knuckles as the once innocent child-like expression hardened into one of a warrioress.

"No thanks." Frederick relented and took a step back.

"Then, mind your words." Emily turned away.

Frederick was crying internally. This girl had beaten him up several times during the spar. The brutal image of her swinging her staff at his face with a grin was disheartening.

In Frederick's mind, the image of her brutality was replaced by her child-like smile on the airship.

'She was cuter earlier.' Frederick sighed but realized what he had just thought and stopped in bewilderment. He rubbed his head in confusion. 'Why the hell did I just think that? Is my head bleeding or damaged? I must be going crazy. Os, I need you back.' He concluded that spending the past few days with Emily alone had warped his head.

"Hurry up! We need to get some lodgings." Emily waved to grab the absentminded Frederick's attention. She had reverted to her bright smile, loving her experience in this city.

"Ah. Oh. I'm coming." Frederick did not notice it, but his heartbeat quickened after seeing Emily's smile.

…….

Splurt

Oscar spat out blood because of his failed attempt at Awaken and Draven's fist in his gut.

On this fifth day of Oscar's imprisonment and fourth day of training, Draven decided to resume the 'No Step Duel'. He reasoned that Oscar should learn better under pressure and the threat of pain. However, Oscar could not get far in his mastery of 'Reis Awaken', unable to maintain the Reis up his body.

"This is not working." Draven looked at Oscar with a bit of pity. He knew his disciple was smart and hard-working, but Oscar lacked the talent. He was an ordinary child.

'If we had more time, he could reach it. But if I don't get him into that state now, it'll be hard for him alone when he's released.' Draven weighed the options. Oscar showed great progress in the first few days, but now they've hit a roadblock. His eyes darkened; there was one way to get past this. "Oscar."

Oscar froze and gazed up at his master. It was the first time his master called him by his name. The other times were 'you' or 'disciple'.

"The pace we're going at right now is bad. You will never learn 'Reis Awaken'."

"So it's pointless?" Oscar's voice trembled. What was the reason for all this?

"No. I'm not saying that." Draven fell silent while Oscar stared. "Tell me one thing. Are you willing to risk your own life to get stronger?"

"Master?" Oscar blinked in shock.

"Tell me. Will you risk your life to become stronger?"

Oscar did not know how to respond. He could reject this, continue his Exalt training, and try to achieve 'Reis Awaken' on his own. But that would be running away.

Oscar looked back up at Draven, who was silent. He understood that Draven had left the decision in his hands. No matter what he chose, his Master would understand.

Oscar's stubbornness not to back down conflicted with his survival instincts. Oscar got up and dusted himself off while speaking. "Ever since I was young, I've heard stories about the Exalts. I never thought I would be one of them because my parents and grandparents were all incapable. That's why it was a surprise to be chosen."

"I was sidelined because of my Grade Four Exolsia, and I barely managed to hang on in my battle against Greg." He clutched the side of his body where his gruesome scars were. "I realized that I don't want to die. I want to live on. So many Exalts are so murderous and eager to fight. I can't understand that, causing trouble for yourself. Why did they all live their lives like that? I want to get stronger, but I don't want to die. That would make my parents and friends sad. I want to live a good, long life."

Draven nodded. He could only work within Oscar's means.

"That's why…." Oscar was not finished. "I won't die."

For the first time, Draven was perplexed. He did not understand Oscar's words. "What do you mean?"

"I can assume Master's training will be life-or-death. That means I only have to stick to life no matter what. I will live on as a cripple even if I lose and fail. I'm confident in my sturdiness. Don't underestimate my body honed on the days on the farm."

It was completely silent. Draven stared blankly at Oscar for minutes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA." Draven could no longer hold back. His laughter filled the entire room.

Oscar could not help but be affected by the atmosphere and started to laugh. An odd and horrifying scene of a black-clothed adult and a ragged, bloodied boy laughing together ensued.

"Oscar. That is the first time I've heard that. So many people would have steeled their resolve to prepare for death or backed down. I've never encountered a case like yours."

"I'm glad to be unique in the eyes of my Master." Oscar bowed.

"There is something wrong in that head of yours. You don't want to die, but you're fine with living as a cripple. The norm is to say, 'I'd rather die than live my life out in regret.' isn't it?"

Oscar shook his head, "Even if I were crippled, I would be fine with that. I can just go back home to my farm."

"I get it. Your line of thought is opposite to that of an Exalt's. That's fine. Are you prepared, my eccentric disciple."

"Yes, Master!" Oscar took up his stance.

Draven snapped his fingers. Suddenly, three large black cubes surrounded Oscar, leaving only the front as the way out.  Draven blocked the only way out, casting a dark shadow over Oscar. "These are extremely heavy cubes; there's no way for you to move them. There is no way out unless through me."

Sweat formed and dripped down Oscar's cheeks.

"You must take my punch. However, this punch will be stronger than all the other times I've hit you. If you don't want a hole in your gut, use 'Reis Awaken' and redirect the Reis from my attack."

"Reis from your punch?"

"You used your legs to try to generate your own Reis. This time, I will be feeding it to you directly." Draven took a stance for the first time and gripped his fist tight. "Rather than having you try it yourself. I'll forcefully make you receive it."

Oscar felt shivers all over his body as every hair rose. One of his teeth cracked from how hard he clenched it. The foreboding sense of death washed over Oscar, similar to how he felt before against Greg.

The area around Draven felt so cold and biting. It was like his intent to kill. "We're going ahead of schedule. We should have done this after you got the knack for 'Reis Awaken', but there's no time. This move utilizes 'Reis Awaken' to take in, divert, and rebound the opponent's Reis back to them, combined with your power. This move is 'Flowing Mountain'."

"Flowing Mountain? That's a good name." Oscar smiled while feeling suffocated by the pressure.

Draven lifted his chest; he looked bigger and more monstrous than before.

Oscar drew in a deep breath and used meditation. He calmed his body down to its best condition.

"Are you done?"

"Yes." Oscar's eyes shone with a fierce light.

Draven unleashed his fist on Oscar. It was purposely slower than his usual punches. It was to give Oscar time to ready himself right before the punch landed. 'Can you do it?'

The slow, incoming punch was like the grim reaper approaching. Oscar watched as it got closer to him. Finally, it reached his stomach, releasing all its strength to punch through Oscar.

Draven furrowed his brows; he could not interfere or destroy Oscar's chance.

Oscar shouted as the punch sank into his body.

"REIS AWAKEN!"

The view changed. Oscar saw his abdomen twisting and nearly breaking apart from Draven's punch.

'I have to redirect the Reis!'

But his limits began tearing at his body and heart from the backlash. The Reis threatened to blow him apart.

Blood dripped down Oscar's mouth. He had bit his tongue to ignore the pain in his body and heart. His mind and body united, focusing on the single goal of redirecting this rampaging Reis out of his body.

This display was the state Draven had alluded to earlier. It was reachable through training. But the fastest way was the threat of death, the greatest sensation that made a person surpass their limits.

In this condition, Oscar finally stepped into the 'Reis Awaken' state. He shifted all the muscles and veins in his body at various places and times to allow the Reis to flow.

Blood flowed down from his orifices. 'Reis Awaken' was still dangerous to maintain. Hastily, he led it to his fist and unleashed it, combined with his own power.

The resulting blow was so great that Oscar rebounded and collided with the cube to his back, followed by the pain from the 'Reis Awaken'. Oscar blacked out right there, covered in blood. His fist was in bad shape; the skin on his knuckles had torn to shreds.

Draven looked at the motionless boy and then at his feet. His back foot was behind the line.

Oscar's last blow had finally done it. He picked up Oscar in his arms and said proudly, "Outstanding."