Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 62: Tufall City

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 62: Tufall City

Oscar approached Isabella.

She was turning her head and stopped.

The two former friends locked eyes. Oscar's eyes were conflicted, while Isabella's were detached and indifferent.

"Have you seen Gilbert?" The amber-haired idol asked.

Oscar did not reply immediately but felt aggrieved. She was talking with him only for the sake of Gilbert. In the end, what hope did he cling to that they could still be friends?

"Last I saw him, he was searching for the princess." Oscar flatly stated.

Isabella's face contorted in a mix of unwillingness, anger, and jealousy. Although she enjoyed her time with Gilbert on missions and activities, she wanted him all to herself.

She could handle the others, but the princess was a major concern.

Irritated, she was about to turn and leave when Oscar stopped her and asked, "How have you been?"

Isabella stared back into Oscar's obsidian black eyes. Her fiery red eyes gleamed, and she said, "I told you not to associate yourself with me."

"I know, and frankly, I see that it's pointless to try. But I wanted to say this. At the very least, send some letters to Uncle Carlson; he's worried about you." Oscar said with emotion and strength in his tone. This was not something he wanted to back down on.

"No." Isabella said coldly.

"He's your father. Being an Exalt doesn't mean you have to abandon your family." Oscar said through clenched teeth.

"There's nothing for me there. I am moving forward, unlike my mother. I suggest you do the same." Isabella turned and began to leave.

"You!" Oscar tried to grab her shoulder, but a fiery red Ein exploded out and made him retreat.

Isabella's Ein surged from within her, the power of a Greater Apprentice Exalt. She looked at Oscar in indifference, and a lofty air surrounded her.

"I'm giving you this advice now. If you allow yourself to be held back by people who cannot prop or support you up, they're worthless."

"Don't you dare call Uncle Carlson and my family worthless!" Oscar yelled, garnering the attention of a few who were passing by.

Isabella, who didn't like people seeing her with Oscar, backed down and quelled her Ein. She didn't speak further to Oscar but left without looking back.

"...."

Oscar looked calm, but inside he was furious. Anger burned in his heart, unlike any he had felt before. But slowly, under meditation, he calmed himself down.

"If the day ever comes when you feel regret for your words and actions, I don't even want to be there to console you."

With that, Oscar left for the port. The familiar sight of the circular landing disks connected by innumerable golden stairs made Oscar recall when he first arrived.

"It's been a long year...."

So much has happened in this past year. He met Frederick and Emily and went on missions together, fought for his life against Greg and barely lived thanks to the Night Raptor's blood, and read books in the library with the princess of all people.

Oscar could go forever about everything that happened. But his time of nostalgia was cut short with the loud blow of a horn.

In his sights, a large airship landed on the platform. Its golden wood surface was gleaming in the sunlight, and its large turbines spun swiftly, rousing the wind around it.

"All aboard!"

The captain stepped onto the deck and peered over the landing platform, calling for passengers. His large hat somehow stayed still despite the fierce wind. The crew was hard at work. Although the ship ran on Ein, they still needed to maintain it.

"Am I feeding it too much?" Oscar had an idea.

Little by little, he lowered the Ein he used to maintain his deer anima in the physical world.

The deer anima yelped but stopped after understanding Oscar's thoughts.

Oscar concentrated and took out more Ein until the deer anima started to crack and fall apart. It shouted to catch Oscar's attention.

"This is our limit? Not bad. It's about half of our normal usage. But it's hard to keep track." It required a larger amount of Ein to manifest the Anima initially, so settling it down to minimal levels was like breaking a bad habit.

"Let's try it again." Oscar's deer anima came out again, and Oscar quickly quelled his Ein levels. His face was tense as he tried to get to the exact level before the deer crumbled.

But he overshot and fell too far below. The deer anima helplessly cracked apart again. The backlash of his Anima breaking made Oscar feel pain in his chest.

"Shit!" Oscar slammed the bed in frustration.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in." Oscar calmed himself down before answering the door.

A crew member came in and said, "We will arrive in thirty minutes. Please pack up and be ready."

"Thank you."

Leaving aside the failure of his Anima manifestation training, Oscar tidied the room and packed up his things. The crew was gracious enough to let him keep the books, so he put those in his bag.

"If only I had the space pocket. Everything would be so much simpler." But that cost an excessive amount of points that Oscar thought were impossible to obtain.

Out onto the deck, there were the other passengers. Oscar did not recognize any of them, but they all wore the uniforms of the Blue Ocean Pavilion.

They stared weirdly at Oscar because he wore simple brown trousers and a white shirt. As a student of the Pavilion, shouldn't one take pride and wear their uniforms?

"They're too naive." Oscar mumbled.

The Pavilion was powerful, but it was not without its enemies. In the Abyss Prison, Oscar saw firsthand people who killed other students and criminals who opposed the Pavilion. Simply being a student isn't a deterrent; it may even be like wearing a suit of raw meat in a beast's cave.

'If I wear the uniform without the proper strength to back myself up, then it's plunging myself in danger. In the stories, everyone travels without attracting attention. Pride? That's nothing but an empty boast. In the end, surviving and living should be the priority.'

"We've arrived!" The captain shouted as the airship descended and slowed down.

Finally, the airship docked at a station in a port.

Oscar saw a great city with bustling activity. The people below were many and all over. Streams of people poured in and out of various buildings. Markets were crowded with shoppers and shopkeepers yelling over each other.

To his side was a large grassland stretching far from end to end of the horizons and more.

The Hurin Plains.

Oscar's goal and purpose were these plains.

"Step off. Welcome to Tufall City."

The captain and crew bid them farewell. A good number of the workers winked at Oscar and gave him a thumbs up for good luck.

Oscar smiled back and waved goodbye.

"Tufall City, here I come!"