An imposing figure rose from the wreckage of wood and earth, letting out a long deep groan. The earth trembled under the stomping of its heavy feet. The beast shook once, and the debris and dirt flung off and scattered everywhere, revealing its appearance. Its body was similar to a rhino but many times larger, and a large horn protruded from its nose, sharp and deadly. Sharp wide kite-shaped plates stuck out along the center of its spine, reaching down to its wide tail. The rhino was covered in a thick armored hide from its horn to the end of its tail, reflecting the sunlight with a metallic sheen.
"I don't know this creature," Oscar sensed the powers of a Lower Knight Exalt emanating from the rhino. He had only read the records for beasts up to the Elite Exalt realm. Still, it did not matter. Oscar waited for the rhino to make its move, relaxed since he didn't perceive any threats.
"I can take care of this one. You should save your strength for later." Erden stepped in front, releasing his own Ein, and his teal crystal antlers glowed up. The rhino retreated a step and let out a bellowing cry, intimidated by Erden's power.
"It's not alone," Oscar said. Feeling something was wrong as he heard a faint movement, Oscar turned to his right, seeing a rhino had dug itself from the ground and stampeded toward him. It turned into a blue streak, and winds picked up under it, becoming fierce gales.
Oscar's Prinstyct activated, and the world became distorted. He easily pierced through the rhino's beast eidolon, dispersing the shadowy veil to reveal the intent and predictions as clear as glimmering stars. It truly was nothing more than a full-frontal charge.
Oscar acted before the rhino reached him. He crushed the ground under his right foot and widened his stance to receive the blow. The collision of the two ruptured the earth and dug them into a small crater as the deafening Shockwave flattened more of the withered trees. Oscar sensed the fear overcome the rhino as his hands, which held tightly onto its head, felt it tremble.
The Blood Transmutation had provided him with an incredible physical boost to his natural body. With Adamasreis, Oscar's physical power reached an incredible level. Perhaps, even Orden would be no match in a feat of strength. This was no time to dilly-dally. Oscar clenched his hand tighter and threw the rhino in the air.
In the other battle, Erden locked its antlers onto the large horn of the rhino, sparks igniting between their scraping. Suddenly, Ein flooded into the rhino's horn, charging up for something fierce. It could get risky. Oscar thought of intervening, but Erden rejected him in a mental message.
A loud screech wailed from the horn, and the Ein exploded out into a cone, a blast of Ein extending from a small point and increasing in width with each passing distance. Everything in front of the rhino became a charred mess. The smell of burn and rot filled the air.
Despite the power, Erden remained unmoving, and his hooves stuck deep into the dirt. A few of his fur was burned and singed at the tips, but overall, he suffered no real damage. Before the rhino could react, Erden flipped and kicked with his back hooves, sending the beast tumbling to the floor.
Oscar's rhino finally landed on the ground, bursting the surface apart in a meteoric crash. It suffered no real damage and shook the dirt from its armored hide, huffing from its nostrils. Oscar eyed the hide like a favored prize. The toughness and hardness interested him. With his copper shield out of commission, he needed a grade-three armament.
"I'll need a workshop first. Can't craft well without a proper furnace and anvil." Oscar charged his fist with a mild Shattering Wave, mixing in some Eirin, and smashed it on the side of the rhino. A dent formed on its armor, and the rhino grunted painfully. It withstood a part of an Eirin Shattering Wave. Before he could land another fist, Oscar heard the cry of a newcomer, another rhino.
"Did we run into a herd?" Oscar frowned and was about to face the other when large roots sprouted from the ground and entangled the third rhino. Shrubs and flowers blossomed from the lively roots, encasing the beast in a botanical prison.
"Hah…She wonders what she was doing earlier. Her two companions are fighting while she stands and does nothing. Not allowed. She had to make herself useful. What use is a journey, an adventure, if she's not involved?" Avril narrated, recovered from her depression. With a clench of her fist, purple Ein streamed from her and entered the roots. They squeezed harder, trying to choke everything out of the rhino.
Oscar was relieved to see her back to normal, in a sense. He had expected her to stay in her downcast state for much longer, seeing her initial reaction. Maybe she was far tougher than he gave her credit for. Without worrying about her anymore, Oscar exerted all of his Adamasreis into a front kick, hitting the jaw with the full might of an Eirin Shattering Wave.
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"Huh?" Oscar felt a rush of Ein course through him, recovering some of the Ein used in the Eirin and the rest coursing to his Shattering Wave, adding to the destructive force. The rhino's mouth, jaw, and nose were crushed and ruptured apart. It fell to the floor, its lower face broke off, and it breathed its last.
"What is this Ein?" Oscar caught some of the remaining wisps, which didn't integrate into him yet; they were light motes of purple. Turning to face Avril, he saw her hold a purple scroll, unrolled to the first section where the word, 'Ein,' was written. Was the scroll her anima? It provided a boost of Ein to him unlike any he had ever felt, and Oscar couldn't believe how fast it added to his attack.
Avril pulled the open scroll once more, revealing the next section. The inside of the scroll was a pure white sheet with the word written in black ink. The word was Ein, and it flew out of the scroll, landing on Erden, who had been forcing the rhino back.
Erden's Ein raised higher, uplifted by the empowerment of Avril's word. Erden ducked down and dug his hooves deeper as the muscles tensed in his body. With his Ein and Avril's Ein added together in the tips of his antlers, he pierced through the thick skulls of the rhino, sticking out the back like a vermillion branch.
Amazing! Oscar understood Avril's power a little more–an astounding effect of boost and recovery. Erden's fur was still burned and scorched, which meant she couldn't heal wounds with it, but a recovery of Ein was far more important. Anyone would desire power with such capabilities. Did she run away for that reason?
Nearly overcome by curiosity, Oscar quelled and buried his burning questions, diverting his attention to the flowery prison where a bright light shone from within, about to explode. The rhino was about to break free. The next moment, a burst of light set everything aflame down to the tiniest petals.
Oscar stopped himself from interfering when he noticed Avril's Ein climbing. A mass of Ein extended before her feet and formed two large wooden hands, further empowered with a third unfurling of her scroll to a new section. Her wooden hands spell clasped the rhino from both sides, trying to flatten it. It worked momentarily as the rhino groaned and coughed out blood, cracks forming along parts of its hide.
"Oh no," Avril mumbled.
The rhino tossed and tussled, breaking itself free from the wooden hands, and approached Avril with murderous intent. Oscar and Erden rushed in and finished the job, destroying the rhino's body with fists and antlers, hooves, and kicks. Oscar rubbed his coarse knuckles. It had been a while since he hit something this tough.
"I could have handled that!" Avril shouted and crossed her arms, tapping her foot on the ground. With a pout, she said, "If I have to be helped every time, what's the point of me being here?"
"It's not a question of whether or not you could have handled it…." Oscar harvested from the three rhinos, collecting their cores, as much hide and plates as possible, and meat. He noticed Avril turning slightly green when she stared at the flanks of rhino meat, so he quickly put them away. Wiping his hands with a clean cloth, he returned to Avril. "The rhino broke free, and I couldn't let a single chance of misfortune happen. Besides, you are my guide, and you supported me with your strange power. You did more than enough to help, or else I would have expended more strength."
"So…I wasn't useless?" Avril asked, her eyes glittering.
"No, you weren't. You're the most useful by far." Oscar played along, but there was truth to what he said. Her powers were incredibly useful, although her mind seemed a bit dizzy. "I am someone who fights quite well from the front. Your spells and style are more suited for providing aid. Next time we fight, we should do it that way."
"Help you from behind. Hmmm." Avril seemed to struggle with the idea. "I don't like staying in the back. Then teach me how to fight like you. Then, I can fight from the front."
"That's not possible," Oscar flatly refused. "If we have time, I can teach you about how to fight but not exactly in the way I do it though that depends. Will you stay here or try to exit with me?"
"Then that's good enough," Avril hummed brightly. "I want to leave as well but never could. The exit is quite horrifying."
"We'll see," Oscar gestured for Avril to continue the journey, and she happily obliged. Along the way, Oscar asked, "So how does your anima work? It's the scroll, right?"
"My scroll anima has three sections, each with a storage of Ein, which can be used on myself or others. Each section takes an hour to be usable again. I used all three in the previous fight, so I must wait for three hours." Avril scratched her cheek with a strained chuckle. "I think I will rely on you until then. Don't worry! It's only until I get everything back."
"Geez. You are a strange person." Oscar thought out loud. He noticed her Exolsia was a grade seven, a well-regarded talent in the same vein as Phillip, Regis, and Serena. With such a high grade and unique anima power, her residency in this place seemed all too odd. Wouldn't a faction give her everything to have her?
"Strange? She turns her head away. Maybe she should run back as his words hurt her feelings." Avril clicked her tongue.
Oops. Oscar realized his mistake and pulled out another fruit. "As my apology, here's another fruit."
"Thank you," Avril ate the fruit, her mood recovering with the glow of her smile.
A few hours later, Oscar, Avril, and Erden reached an incomprehensible place. Oscar couldn't focus on anything because it was just that absurd. Avril pointed straight into the abnormality and said, "That's the exit."