The metal plate was lackluster, a worn and slightly rusted object contrasting against the clean metal surfaces of the chamber and the block it was placed on, but a strange presence surrounded the plate. The metal plate was special; there was no doubt about that.
Oscar slowly reached out his hand but then paused as his eyes narrowed in thought. He retracted his hand, reigned in his desire, and smiled at Gol-4.
"Can you check it first to see if there's anything wrong with it?"
Gol-4 had not contributed during the Test of the Elements and did not know the desert realm. Oscar was grateful to Gol-4 for leading him and the others out of Tectusen and being a good fellow to talk to, but the golem needed to pull his weight.
"Nothing wrong with asking me that, though you don't appear to have a hint of guilt in doing so." Gol-4 levitated closer to the metal plate, observing it as his head circled the elevated block. He approached, and his metallic nose touched the plate. Nothing happened.
Oscar looked relieved and relaxed his guard. Without hesitation, he swiped the metal plate into his hand and stared at the large word, Reward.
"Nice to know it's safe, but what is the re–"
Oscar yelped and suddenly threw his head back as a light shone from his pupils in the form of a bright mist. The glowing mist from Oscar's eyes flowed into the word, Reward, which resonated with a light of its own. The sudden event caught Gol-4 off-guard, and he hovered close to the misty link between Oscar and the metal plate.
"Should I do something?" His blue glass eyes deepened, and he observed. After a second, Gol-4 backed off.
"Ooooh." He realized what was happening to Oscar. "What a great reward. The Forest Heart Clan may be the hated enemies of the Divine Stone Clan, but at least they provided the best rewards."
Gol-4 dropped to the floor. His Ein was all but spent and could not sustain his levitation. But even as the head bounced up and down, rattling on the metal floor, his eyes never left Oscar.
Moments passed. One minute. Two minutes. Ten minutes.
The bright mist began to spread out, severing the link between Oscar and the metal plate and fading away into the air. Following the sound of a single crack, the metal plate split in half before it turned to dust, spilling from Oscar's hands. As for Oscar, his eyes slowly lost the bright light, returning to their normal obsidian pair of eyes curled in delight.
"What a good reward!" His thunderous shout echoed. Oscar swiped the remains of the metal plate from his hands and clenched.
"So, what spell did you receive?" Gol-4 asked from the cold metal floor.
The metal plate was not an ordinary item but a spell holder which transferred the details of the spell, imprinting them into the mind of the one who received it. Such spell holders were intricate items that required careful procedure and resources. The Pavilion did not use spell holders because of how complicated and wasteful the effort would be for many people when ordinary inscriptions of a spell worked fine for their students.
Some smaller powers had their repository of recorded spells and did not have the resources to sustain spell holders. Even powers such as the Alchemist Guild and Fabricator Guild did not use spell holders. But each faction had a business of creating spell holders to sell or as a special reward for outsiders.
The Forest Heart Clan was a vast and rich faction, richer than the Blue Ocean Pavilion. To use spell holders as a reward to their Elite Exalts was enough evidence to support that, and no ordinary faction could have taken down the Divine Stone Clan.
From the effects of the spell holder, Oscar rubbed his forehead, letting the knowledge of the spell sink into his memories. No matter what, he could recall the exact details of how to use the spell, but he needed time to train. The spell holder could only transfer the knowledge, not gift the sudden mastery of it.
"You can't leave a head hanging, although I'm on the floor. What did you get?" Gol-4 asked, rolling his head over to Oscar's feet.
Picking up Gol-4, Oscar pondered again. Before Gol-4 could ask a third time, the chamber quaked, and a circular pad came up from the floor, similar in appearance to the teleportation pads from the beginning.
"That must be the way out. And to answer your question, the metal plate contained the spell, Grade Two Silver Prison."
"Silver Prison? From its name alone, I can tell it's meant to entrap your enemies."
"That's obvious. But the trouble is–" Oscar stamped his foot, releasing his Ein into tendrils on the ground toward a random spot. The Ein split into four points that made up a square, and metal bars rose from its transformation. Everything seemed fine, but then the sounds of creaks and cracks made Oscar frown, and the metal bars fell apart into shards. "I can't use it in battle yet."
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"Wouldn't be a spell if it were easy to learn."
"Enough talking now; let's see where this takes me." Oscar leaped onto the circular pad but fell limp to his knees and started to breathe in short, rushed bursts. The sweat on his back from the constant mental battle against Demon Oscar had long since run cold. Oscar shivered uncontrollably as his mind and body finally caught up to him.
"I think I overdid it again…." Oscar tried to bring himself under control, but the ground under him began to glow. The teleportation was activated, and the process was underway. Oscar paled and shouted, "Wait!"
The light flashed, and Oscar was thrust out of the metal chamber and landed on a pile of golden sand. The sound of a groan and water spilling, followed by coughs, ruined the tranquility of the desert. The teleportation happened too suddenly while Oscar struggled, causing him to vomit out his last meal.
"That was horrible," Oscar covered the nauseating pool with the golden sand. As he finished, two other flashes of light appeared by his side. They were Emily and Frederick.
"Seems we all made it out! I'm glad." Emily said.
"Useless worries. You don't need to spend every moment worrying about the two of us. I had full confidence in our chances." Frederick laughed. His smile was wide and blazing with confidence.
"I'm not worried about the both of you, only you, Fred."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! Os, back me up. I can handle myself, right?"
"...." Oscar did not respond.
He put on his fabricator helmet and dropped to the sand. The soft and warm sand was the most luxurious mattress and pillow, relieving the cold sweat. His breathing slowed, and he closed his eyes in blissful rest.
"Oscar?" Emily knelt beside him.
"Too tired….Can we pick things up in the morning? I haven't slept at all." However, without waiting for his friends to say anything, Oscar fell asleep. His soft snores were heard by Emily and Frederick, who quietly moved a few steps away.
"He's been through a lot. He's earned his rest."
"Gol-4? That's where you were." Frederick picked up Gol-4 from the ground. Sand spilled from its eyes and cracks. "What did you two encounter?"
"Oh, lots of things. His trial of metal was quite the endeavor."
"See, my worries were right. Oscar had so much trouble, then what does that say for us?" Emily had long since regarded Oscar as someone stronger than her. The fact Oscar had trouble was a legitimate cause of worry for her.
"I suppose so….Doesn't mean you shouldn't have any faith in me…."
"Ah, don't pout. I didn't mean to make you think that." Emily hugged Frederick. "You're strong, but we're still in constant danger." She reached out to stroke Frederick's cheek. "Don't act so tough. I know you like to act tough and joke around to liven us up. You were worried for us, weren't you?"
Frederick rubbed his head to Emily's hand. "I was. Very worried. I don't want to lose any of you."
The entire time in Ashen Grove, Frederick worried for Oscar and hoped his friend would stay alive. When Frederick saw Oscar in the middle region, the amount of tension lost and relief gained could not be surmised. However, Ashen Grove kept throwing more dangers at them, even separating him from Emily.
He ran around the desert in a frantic rush, searching for Emily and Oscar until he found Emily, never wanting to let her go. Then the heavens helped Oscar find them, and the three reunited again, only to be separated again.
The constant shifts did not bear well on Frederick's mind and heart. He toughened it out by sounding confident and strong in his belief. However, he relaxed his guard with Emily's words and showed his weary self.
"There you go. You can be more honest, you know." Emily released Frederick and kissed him on the lips, a sweet smile forming on her face. "Now, let's go to sleep. I'm tired as well."
"Ay ay, ma'am." Frederick smiled again, this time small and relaxed.
Emily and Frederick put up a tent, placed Oscar inside, and closed it with them inside. Though it was the afternoon of the second day, none of them had slept. Frederick and Emily rotated guard duty as the small moon rolled over and away, backing from the rising sun of morning.
The desert was quiet and unintrusive to the three Exalts in their long night. No monsters nor people interrupted their peaceful rest, a strange occurrence for the desert that was full of monsters. A strangeness that did not escape Emily's notice.
Emily exited the tent with her staff, gazing over the landscape, a hazy blur of golden sand and blue sky muddling the horizon. They had been idle in one location for over half a day, yet nothing. There was only the dry air cracking her skin and the sand flowing with the breeze onto her orange hair.
The tent flapped open, and Oscar and Frederick walked to her side.
"Good morning. That was an amazing sleep." Oscar yawned.
"You sure slept like a brick, Os. Nothing fazed you at all." Frederick chuckled.
"Sorry, I was too tired."
"Quiet…." Emily frowned.
"Sorry, Emily, what's the matter?"
"What is it, my dear?" Frederick tried to rouse Emily.
Emily pondered more before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "It's nothing. I might be overthinking it, or it's another reward."
One possible hypothesis Emily had was that the Test of the Elements teleported them to a safe spot where no harm would come to the people on it. There was no way to confirm it, but her gut feeling and instinct leaned toward that.
"If you say so, then it's alright." Oscar took off his helmet and turned to Frederick. "Before I fell asleep, you asked me about what I did–"
Out of nowhere, the sand erupted hundreds of feet into the air. A massive column of sand rose, followed by a shockwave that spread all rumbled like thunder and tossed the sand on the surface.
The shockwave reached Oscar and the others, but it did not affect them much, only a slight pushback and discomfort to the eyes and skin from the sand blowing toward them. While Emily and Frederick were protecting their eyes, Oscar had already put on his helmet and saw the column of sand collapse.
Large sand falls tumbled down as the column shrank and broke apart, revealing a green structure. The green structure had many large spikes covering its green body and round limb-like protrusions. It was a large cactus and very close to Oscar and the others.
Emily's suspicions were right but incomplete. The Test of the Elements did teleport them to a safe spot, but only because it was in the range of the large cactus tree's territory. No monsters dared to go near the large cactus tree due to the restrictions set forth by the Forest Heart Clan.
The large cactus tree stood tall, and everyone in the desert saw it, whether they were close or far away. The third day finally set things in motion.
"Emily, Fred." Oscar clapped his hands together. "Shall we have a look?"