In the pot held above the campfire, a stew was boiling. It was filled with vegetables and meat and had an orange color.

"Let's eat." Oscar clumsily took the pot out of the flames with his fragile fingers and pinched a spoon.

A week had passed since his battle against the Rock Ankylon; Oscar's hands were still healing from the damage. Life since then had been difficult without proper use of his hands. But Oscar managed to make do.

Oscar held up the spoonful of hot, steamy soup and devoured it with a hearty appetite. The stew was delicious and warmed up Oscar's body down to his toes.

The days of eating grilled meat were tiresome as some were tough. It was great luck that Oscar found edible herbs for the stew.

"It's been a week now." Oscar chewed. "My deer anima has no issues materializing but attacking with it is an issue. It sucks that I can't use Reis with it." Oscar sighed.

An Anima was pure Ein that could influence the physical world. It didn't have the muscles, substance, and anatomy to be able to conduct Reis through it.

Animas like Mary's bear and Phillip's sword was physically strong, but that was only due to the amount of Ein and the characteristics of the Anima.

Oscar tried numerous times to try 'Reis Awaken' with his deer anima, but no matter what, it could not flow the Reis from its kick off the ground. Thus, Oscar regarded it as a lost cause.

Oscar finished the entire pot of stew with a satisfied look.

After cleaning up, he focused and summoned his deer anima, entering the 'Ein Awaken' state to settle it down to minimal levels of Ein in an instant. Oscar had progressed to the level of being a slight nuisance to do it every time rather than a great effort.

"Let's go on a run." Oscar beckoned his deer anima into the grass.

The deer anima whipped its head around and followed Oscar's instructions. They've done this together all week now.

With a single thought, Oscar directed the deer anima to run as fast as possible. It kicked off, scattering the grass behind it, and bolted back and forth to Oscar, doing laps.

Oscar's face scrunched up from his focus. The cause was in the four hooves of the deer anima. Each hoof had a concentration of Ein, like a clump of blue flames surrounding them.

Since Reis could not be collected, Oscar's focus shifted to improving his Anima's use of Ein.

"Back when I was fighting Greg, I managed to focus all the Ein onto its antlers for the final blow. But that was without a hint of control. With proper control and output, I can enhance certain aspects of my deer anima with Ein."

The deer anima's speed increased by adding more Ein onto its hooves. It was almost twice as fast as before.

But that was not the end.

"Attack."

The blue deer stood on its hind legs upon Oscar's orders and stomped on a boulder. The Ein in its hooves moved and concentrated on the two front hooves. The boulder cracked and collapsed into pieces under the Ein-empowered hooves.

The effect of concentrating Ein onto the hooves compounded its offensive capabilities like this deadly stomp.

However, Oscar wore a look of fatigue as he let out a deep breath.

"I tried it like Phillip and concentrated some Ein in certain parts of my Anima, but it requires too much thought. It might be better for a weapon anima, but for my deer, it's a task to direct the Ein."

The deer anima returned to Oscar's side and lovingly rubbed its head on his cheek. Oscar could not help but pat its head like a caring father.

"It was fine instructing the deer and fighting by its side earlier but now that we're trying to focus on fine Ein control and attacks, it is mentally tiring. If only I could split my mind in two somehow."

It was confusing. Oscar tried to use a spell while controlling the Ein in his deer but what occurred was just a mess of Ein being misused and not succeeding.

"If I leave the Ein focused on its hooves, I don't need to worry about it afterward. But it's when I try refocusing them into a different location, it bogs down my concentration, making my own actions slow or unrefined."

Oscar pondered this problem while he packed up his things and put away his tent.

Since it was the end of the week, Oscar needed to free up some space in his backpack by selling his spoils.

The many Exalt beasts of the plains went about their business, ignoring Oscar, who carefully kept his distance. All the while, he tackled his issue.

"Phillip was able to use the Ein on his sword anima like an expert. That last attack of his was a great focus of Ein on its tip." Oscar stretched his back. "But weapon animas are better for that since the user can wield it themselves. They don't need to consider it a separate being but another weapon."

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The only instance of weapon animas moving on their own was Emily's remote control of her staff.

"But at least they can control the Ein in the Anima from the start. Beast types don't have that head start. It's strange how their positions are reversed each step of the way."

Beast-type Animas were capable of independent action from the start, while weapon types had difficulty doing so. But weapon types could easily induce a flow of Ein and concentration, while beast types had trouble with that.

In Oscar's eyes, everything oddly seemed to have a balance of pros and cons, but there was no doubt that weapon types were stronger in the beginning.

"Maybe if I can raise an Exalt Beast related to a deer and enter the Meld Stage, the beast can take the role of the Ein control with the Anima inside it."

Oscar hoped to reach the Meld Stage of Anima, where he could combine it with an object or beast, but he was far away from that.

"Wishful thinking. Is a beast going to drop itself in front of me and give itself up? The Menagerie had nothing deer-related as well."

Eventually, Tufall City came into view. The sight temporarily cleared Oscar's mind of his nagging thoughts, and he remembered his objective.

Down the street, he entered Tom's Smithery, where they welcomed the Rock Ankylon's hard scales and teeth with glee. These materials were quite good, so he got six gold.

After that, Oscar hurried to Sara's Elixirs, where Dolly was working the counter.

"Welcome back!" Dolly greeted him.

"Hello, I'm here to sell more materials." Oscar took out vials of blood and bags of organs. It was a shame today that he found no useful herbs for alchemy.

"Wow! Rock Ankylon's blood and heart. This will do well for defense elixirs." Dolly appraised everything else. "This will come to five gold."

"Thank you!" Oscar happily received the money and then asked, "Can I purchase a 'Grade One Heal Elixir'?"

"That will be ten gold for one." Dolly stated.

"Ugh." Oscar groaned as he took out five gold coins, adding to his recent sales to ten gold. "I would like one."

He didn't enjoy spending so much money. But elixirs were so expensive, and his hands needed to heal faster. His original estimate of two weeks was far off since he was inexperienced in judging injuries.

After the purchase, Oscar hurriedly downed the entire contents, licking his lips from the sweet taste. A surge of cool Ein flowed through his body like a cleansing river.

Oscar unwrapped his hands. They were healed. Oscar clenched up repeatedly to make sure they were fine.

Grumble

His stomach grumbled, expressing great hunger. Oscar also felt his body feel empty and craved something to eat.

"I should grab a bite to eat before heading back out."

Leaving the Market district, Oscar searched for a place to eat. After asking a guard, he found out there was a place specifically for Exalts to eat and rest.

The White Crow Tavern.

It was a large establishment that looked fancier than the inns Oscar passed by when he first arrived in Tufall City.

"Welcome to the White Crow! Are you looking for a place to stay?" One of the waitresses came up to assist Oscar.

Oscar looked around to find many people idling, eating, and drinking. He could tell they were all Exalts from the presence around them.

They all looked back at Oscar with wary and scrutinizing eyes. But one look at Oscar's ragged clothes quelled their interest.

"Not a place. I'm here for a meal, thank you."

The waitress guided Oscar to an empty table and passed him a menu before placing a basket of bread and water.

"Can I have the steak and eggs?" Oscar was shocked to see the ingredients for the dishes. They were all from Exalt beasts.

"That'll be 80 silvers."

Oscar took out one gold coin and passed it to the waitress with a heavy heart. A single meal here was worth several years of his family's savings. What a luxury!

It did not take long for the meal to arrive. On Oscar's table was a fine piece of meat covered in sauce and two sunnyside-up eggs.

Swallowing the saliva, Oscar cut a piece of the steak and brought it into his mouth. The steak had an amazing flavor that set Oscar's tastebuds to space.

Delicious!

Delicious!

Not just the taste but the food contained Ein that was absorbed into Oscar's body. Somehow, the cooking process allowed the Ein to be processed without the need for meditation. Of course, it was still far less than a typical elixir.

Oscar happily ate the steak while paying attention to what other Exalts were talking about. This was his chance to get some news of Exalt activity.

These wandering Exalts, otherwise known as Wanderers, traveled to and from many places, gathering knowledge and news wherever they went. They were akin to free spirits that held no attachments.

"They say they're recruiting in the army. Maybe we can take that chance?"

"I fought tooth and nail against that hulking beast, and it gave me this scar…."

"How do we want to split the rewards? This request from the Alchemist's Guild was quite the task."

From the latest news to storytelling to negotiations, there was every kind of conversation that intrigued Oscar.

But one particular conversation caught his attention.

"Did you hear? A few Blue Ocean Pavilion students went out a week ago and never returned."

"If it's the Blue Ocean Pavilion, then wouldn't the students be out on a mission? Perhaps they're still out on the mission." One person was skeptical.

"Hmph, those students are always so high and mighty. They neglect the dangers that lurk within the plains. I heard that they traveled straight west, toward the Rust Cliffs."

"Rust Cliffs? What kind of mission do they have there? Those cliffs are more dangerous than the normal plains." One man exclaimed.

"Should we try looting them?" Another suggested. "Blue Ocean Pavilion students are rich with armaments and elixirs."

"Don't think about it. If they ever find out, we're dead, and leaving the Empire for somewhere else is far too much work without a proper airship."

Oscar listened to the trio's words. Last week, he ran into Nicholas, who was with a group and heading west. Were they in danger?

After finishing up his food, Oscar departed Tufall City with a pensive look, thinking about Nicholas. It was like something itching in his throat.

"West, that's around the direction of my camp."

Oscar reached the end of the road where the plains began. After this point, Oscar had to turn to his right to return to his campsite.

But instead, he stared straight ahead with troubled eyes.

The group of fellow students and Nicholas appeared in his mind. Was it right to ignore this?

"I don't owe Nicholas anything. But is it right to ignore this?" Oscar remained still, not knowing what to do.

But, he remembered the oath he swore at the beginning. The oath he had taken when he first joined.

'I swear to be a proud member who will live, fight, and die for our name'.

What does it mean to be a proud member? Isn't it someone who fights for the Pavilion and their peers?

With a loud sigh, Oscar said, "How can I say I'm a student of the Blue Ocean Pavilion if I abandon others? That would shame our name, and Master would definitely rebuke me as a criminal. At the very least, I can recover their bodies for a proper burial."

Oscar took off his obsidian buckler from his back and fastened it on his arm. With a determined look, he stomped straight ahead to the Rust Cliffs.