"I can't confirm whether we have a way out or not. The only things I can give are options and suggestions. It's a long shot, but if we make it to one of the four portals, I can attempt to start it up again." Gol-4 floated around while linked to Oscar's waist, peering into the vast forests around him.

"It won't be easy. The unknown laws scramble the realm when it is time to open and divide up the beasts by realm. Now that that's gone, we're in a hostile land." Oscar said, scrutinizing his surroundings.

The Deer grunted and came beside Oscar.

"Come to think of it; I should give you a name. George named his pet Buddy, but he's quite awful with names. Let's see…." Oscar eyed the teal crystals which formed the hooves and antlers, brushed his hands across the white fur with patterns etched onto it, and looked back at the cavern.

"How about Erden? You seem fond of caverns, and your crystals resemble the ones I can dig from the dirt. More importantly, my last name, Terr, also means earth." Oscar patted Erden on the head.

Erden groaned and licked Oscar's cheeks like a dog, except as a deer with a lengthy tongue, making Oscar into a saliva-ridden mess. Oscar gagged from the grassy, rotten smell of its breath.

"Ok! Ok! You can stop that!" Oscar wiped himself with a towel from his space pocket. "Not that bad of a name, is it? I wonder if you'll let me ride on you in return."

Erden didn't respond, staying still and yawning. Oscar approached Erden and pulled himself up. Erden's back was warm, stable, and comfortable. Oscar smiled and patted Erden on the back with gratitude. Only one problem…he didn't know how to ride Erden.

His deer anima was simply himself, so the task was simple. Erden remained still even after Oscar got on top of it. Oscar tried many times he remembered from when he rode his horses back home. He yelled, kicked lightly on its sides, leaned forward, and more. Despite his best attempts, Erden never listened, only moving when it wanted to.

"Forget it." Oscar got off. "I'll have to teach it later. For now, Gol-4, can you give me a full map of Stonehaven?"

"The sun is on its descent. We should pick things up in the morning. I'll tell you in the cave." Gol-4 tried to tug Oscar back into the cavern.

Oscar noticed the sun was halfway down, closer to the horizon. Fearing the terrors of a fully open Ashen Grove at night, Oscar followed Gol-4's advice, retreating into the cavern. In mere moments, a roaring flame illuminated the cavern. Smoke floated up and escaped through the hole in the ceiling, a great natural chimney.

Large amounts of meat sizzled and released a savory aroma. Oscar gulped and smacked his lips, seeing the meat cooking in flames. He hadn't eaten all week and was starving. While waiting for the meat to cook, he jotted down Gol-4's explanations and descriptions of Stonehaven, creating a large map.

The entire Stonehaven was many times larger than his generation's adjusted map of Ashen Grove. Oscar admired the power of the person who set up the system capable of moving entire lands and readjusting them.

"Oen Fortress and Tectusen were here," Oscar circled icons of a large tree and an anvil on the map, his indicators for the two places. Then, he marked a place in between the two. "Our portal was here, but we could be wrong. The portal might be a separate area readjusted every time."

"It'll take a long time for us to scour the entire realm. But this is a good lead. Maybe when we get to that area, I can help find traces of it." Gol-4 looked over the map, helping Oscar mark more areas.

Holding the mostly blank map in his hands, Oscar sighed and leaned his head back with a frown. "Is there not a certainty here? A place where we know for certain a portal or a way out can exist? We might be here for years, searching for a potential exit, and that's all on the assumption you can do something about a closed portal."

No response came from Gol-4, and Oscar knew that look even though it came from a golem. Rather than a look, it was more accurate to say the sudden silence from Gol-4 meant one thing, yes, but with a catch. It was either that or something he didn't want to tell.

"What is it? You know of a place with a portal which wouldn't rely on searching recklessly around Ashen Grove." Oscar grabbed Gol-4 with a smile.

"It might be impossible for you to go there," Gol-4 said solemnly.

"Where?"

"The Central Palace."

"Are you kidding me?" Oscar slumped down and tossed Gol-4 aside. The Knight Exalt Beast made its home in the Central Palace. Only a suicidal maniac would return to the infinite maws of death, which hungered for blood. Oscar cursed out loud. Either wander aimlessly for years with all the dangers around him or brave the Central Palace and fight against the Knight Exalt red root monster.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Ah, screw this." Oscar roused himself from his depressive thoughts by eating the cooked meat. After freeing his stomach from its week-long starvation, Oscar sighed in satisfaction and felt better. To pass the time in the night, he took out his several space pockets, one from the Pavilion and the others looted from people.

He unloaded all the treasures, armaments, resources, and elixirs he accumulated over his month in Ashen Grove. Organizing them individually, Oscar stopped and held a small yellow petal between his fingers, losing his senses from the overwhelming Ein.

"What is the purpose of having this?" Oscar held the petal to Gol-4.

"Yes, the excess from the Divine Essence. If it truly grew, it would be a part that could be harvested and processed for various uses. Still, you can feel the power within it. I'm unsure what we can use it for, but it's better if you have it." Gol-4 explained.

Oscar nodded and tucked the petal away into the space pocket. He finished organizing everything else and took a full catalog. With such a great haul and his contribution to capturing the Divine Essence, he would have surely been rewarded well by the Pavilion. However, he was stuck in this horrible place….

What about Master, his parents, his friends, and others?

Noticing how his thoughts were turning back to a stupor, Oscar snapped out of it and put everything back into his space pockets. He glanced at his left arm with a frown and searched the cavern, finding nothing.

"Where's my shield?" Oscar asked.

"That…shattered into pieces…." Gol-4 responded.

"What?"

"When you fell, it slammed hard onto the rocks and even took one of the blows of the red roots. It cracked all over and fell off your arm." Gol-4 said quickly.

Oscar felt like nothing had gone his way since waking up. He hissed and tensed his hands against each other; veins popped out as his face reddened. His precious Invicus Bulwark, made by his, his master's, and Aunt Rosett's combined efforts, was gone. He was about to explode. However, Erden came close and rubbed its head against Oscar's. The soft feeling of Erden's fur quelled Oscar's anger as he sighed out a hot breath and patted Erden's head.

"I'll need a new shield. But for now, I can use one of these." Oscar searched around his space pocket for armaments and took out a small green shield. "Maybe I should use the forges in Tectusen."

"I wouldn't recommend that, lad. The lands outside are quite dangerous. I thought we might have a chance, but looking outside, it's unfavorable. Unlike how you dominated in the Middle Elite Exalt region, Greater Elite Exalts may ambush you. These caverns seem safe for now." Gol-4 put a damper on Oscar's spirits.

"Do I look like I have time, Gol-4? I don't know if Celestina brought the Divine Essence out, but a war will surely break out between the four empires. I need to get back to my friends and fight with them." Oscar argued.

"Or you could be torn to shreds in this place. Being too impatient may run you into your death. You must have the surefire strength to survive and dominate the area. Such is the law of the fittest." Gol-4's blue eyes glowed brightly with a powerful gaze.

Facing the gaze of the memories of the former Primaere, Oscar grew uncomfortable as his chest tightened. He gave up and nodded. It was hard to admit, but Gol-4's words were true. He had no clue what awaited him beyond the cavern's borders and the nature of his enemies.

"What should we do?" Oscar asked.

"Keep training in your methods. Build your Reis and Ein, and advance to the Greater Elite Exalt realm." Gol-4 said, not joking in the slightest. He turned to Erden. "The beast will be a valuable ally. The two of you and my knowledge will be enough to sweep across this realm."

"I just became a Middle Elite Exalt a few weeks ago. The Ein in this place is also not on par with the Pavilion's. Even with all my resources, it may take a while for my Exolsia core to feel the advancement."

"Years, according to my estimates. Your growth so far has been quite good for a Grade Four, and you are aware of the chasm that continues to grow with each advancement. Right now, you have all the resources. Take your time and become stronger." Gol-4 said.

Oscar calculated in his head. It took him two years to enter the Middle Elite Exalt realm. Becoming a Greater Elite Exalt would require more resources and time. The issue of time grated on Oscar's mind. He didn't have time while his friends were fighting for their lives.

Gol-4 wasn't wrong. He couldn't accept it. But his circumstances were heavy, and the future grew bleak.

"Fine," Oscar clenched his fists. "Let's do it your way."

…….

"And then, when I met her father, he had the sternest expression I had ever seen. However, when dear Rebecca scolded him, he became a doting father. I couldn't believe it. Our marriage was quite confusing, with her father flickering between weeping of joy and gnashing his teeth in anger." Gol-4's cheerful voice resounded from outside.

Gol-4, mounted on Erden's head and strapped with rope, entered the cavern, following the trotting steps of Erden's hooves.

"We're back, lad. I got some fruits from the nearby tree and was almost chased by a Greater Elite Exalt Beast until another came to fight it. A lucky close call." Gol-4 said. Erden dropped a makeshift basket of fruits from its mouth.

"Thanks," Oscar stopped his exercise and got up from a boulder. "I finally felt my core pulsing. The time has come."

"At last! It's been five years since you started training. You've changed quite a lot since then. I'm positive you grew another inch overnight."

"Have I?" Oscar rubbed his head and glanced at his half-naked reflection in the mirror. He had grown a few inches since isolating himself in his cavern, reaching six feet from his previous five foot ten. He smiled slightly, thinking about how he was getting closer to his father's height.

He patted his chest, full of torn scars, with a sigh. After so long, he finally achieved the completion of Adamasreis.

His body had undergone a major transformation since then. He was thin, but one look at his muscles showed how condensed they were, like a chiseled statue. With a finger flick, he could tear apart boulders into dust. Every fiber of his body contained great physical power and was elevated higher by Adamasreis. The problem remained with the pain in his heart.

'One problem at a time' Oscar cut his hair and shaved off his beard, returning to his clean face. He ate his fruit in one bite, spilling some juices onto the floor. Erden munched on the rest with a happy grunt.

He emptied a space pocket, creating a mound of the leftover golddew figs and other raw materials gathered. He needed a lot of resources to enter the Greater Elite Exalt realm.